bobwysiwyg

I know nothing about eBikes but stumbled on this. If it's already been posted, my apologies, I rarely come to this area.

Frankenbike27

Skepticism is a road block to advancement-Frankenbike
Love your quote, we would get along together
Great minds think alike

momsonherbike

Doesn't even belong here because that, my friend, is not a bicycle. That is actually an underpowered motorcycle. Just because it has pedals on it, which in this case seem to be completely useless, doesn't qualify it as a bike. It looks like an old fashioned motorcycle, works like a motorcycle, and is ridden like a motorcycle.

Not an e-bicycle.

mrv 

man! you ain't kiddin' why'd the video guy even bother keeping the pedals on his e-motocycle? if he actually started pedaling he'd start damaging his knees with the seat that low.

MNebiker

Last year I was on a local trail, coasting down a long clear straight on my ebike at about 19-20 mph when a guy on an ebike blew past me like I was parked. He stopped down the trail at a rest area, so when I caught up to him I stopped to talk. The bike was a beefy steel frame with a dual shock fork like a small motorcyle, disc brakes, and heavy 26" rims. It had a massive 48V battery and a direct drive hub motor that I believe he said was rated at 2000 watts. He said he builds them to custom order, and promised a top speed on the flat of over 40 mph.

Interesting considering MN law restricts ebikes to 1000 watt motors which must be incapable of propelling the bike over 20 mph, with, or without pedaling.

2old

Pretty creative project. Electric-powered, and at that level, a moped in CA. If if was PAS instead of throttle, it might be classified as a Class 3 e-bike.

Nightdiver

Much respect to the person in the video though. That is some seriously awesome work on their end.

Schwinnsta

Bicycles often imitated motorcycles.

momsonherbike

I agree. I was impressed by the technology, the very precise styling and neat "packaging" of the batteries and LED indicators, and the separate batteries that would be easy to switch out if one goes bad. A huge amount of planning, work, and execution went into building that electric motorcycle, and it showed. It is beautiful, and looks so retro. But he really needs to take those pedals off. They're a joke and do nothing for his attempt at deception except to look stupid. He should be proud of his motorcycle, not try to pretend it is an "ebike".

2old

Not to argue, but I have similar (faster) "e-bikes"; sometimes I ride them without the motor for extra exercise or to extend their range. Really don't care what they're called.

Schwinnsta

It is a bicycle. At least it appears to be legal. If you pedal it, it goes. It is likely a class 3. Agreed that the Q-factor is very high. It is quite well done. Not my cup of tea, but really how many of us could do this. It looks like a motorcycle but so do many cruiser ebikes, such as Ariel.

2old

Class 3 is PAS only where the system prevails, but not really relevant in the US yet AFAICT (definitely not in the "OC").

slomoshun

K.i.s.s.

MikeyMK

Here, the motor cannot operate without the pedals turning. Legally.

But whatever, it's a nice looking thing, i can appreciate the work. Not keen on a radio myself, and whilst the batteries are made to look like cylinders, that's an expensive way to have very little capacity - can't be more than 9ah if that, so it's no tourer...

Nightdiver

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean by this, but s-peds are sold in the US and some of the larger ebike dealers are doing pretty good volume in this category.

2old

My comment was this: CA (and about 15 other states) have a Class 1, 2 &3 system. Class 1 is 20 mph max assist and PAS, Class 2 is 20 mph max assist and throttle is OK. Both are allowed on bike paths unless specifically prohibited (we have a couple of bike paths is Orange County where any ebike is prohibited). Class 3 is 28 mph max assist and PAS only. Class 3 bikes are allowed in bike lanes that are contiguous with a road.

Nightdiver

I guess I really misunderstood your post. What did you mean by "not really relevant in the US"? It sounded like maybe you thought s-peds weren't available for purchase in the US.

2old

Sorry, my comment was misleading. Just a statement that policing seems non-existent in the US, but probably should have confined the statement to my area. Except for a couple of relatively congested parks which are policed, I've never seen or heard of anyone receiving a ticket in the parks or on roads here in Orange County.

Nightdiver

Gotcha. Makes sense now. I've never heard of any policing anywhere in CA. Does it actually happen on bike paths some places? I've seen all sorts of crazy **** on bike paths in Northern CA. Enough so that a class3 s-ped would be the least of anyone's concerns.