karma

i would have to agree with you there. walmart and canadian tire being one of em. i talked to a tech at canadian tire last summer about there service some customers had to Whait half the summer just for a simple part.
because the part was warranted from a company in china. im sure things will get Better, when we start producing our own parts. if we ever do


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2dwtZ2gRw

dewdad

Funny Video! Thanks for the Laugh!

Kevin the Giant

Dewdad wrote:

"They have to be off to the side of the road like a bicycle, so they are not required to keep up with traffic."

Kevin's comment:
I don't think that this is a good idea. Unless there is a fully separate bike lane, I always "take the lane" for safety reasons. The Veloteq is a large vehicle that "looks like" a scooter that in Toronto streets cannot be passed safely. Keeping to the side of the road would inevitably result in passing cars pushing me into the "door zone" of parked cars. That's one "door prize" I really don't want to win.

The recent legalization of electric bicycles means that right now the culture of their use is being established. Every day when I am out on my Veloteq I like to think that I am setting the example that will be followed this spring.

Kevin the Giant

Heavy snow in Toronto right now. So its a good time to write of some of my recent Veloteq travels.

The longest recent trip was last week when I went from downtown Toronto at Yonge and Welsley to Richmond Hill at Yonge and Sixteenth. This is a round trip distance of 35 km. I was visiting relatives for dinner. As this distance is greater than the effective range of the battery, I brought the charger and plugged in the bike when I arrived. When I left a little less than four hours later, the charger was still charging, but there was still plenty of juice in the battery when I finally got back.

I went along Yonge Street the whole distance. It was quite a good ride. The bike did slow down to about 25 km/hr going up the big hills just south of the 401 in Toronto and also south of Royal Orchard in Thornhill. But it kept going.

Kevin the Giant

Heavy snow in Toronto right now. So its a good time to ask: How good is everyone out there with riding in the snow?

For me personally, I am not so good with riding my Veloteq in snow. I have to go very slowly with my feet out. So if the streets are covered with snow, I take the TTC instead of my Veloteq. Fortunately, the City of Toronto is very good at clearing the streets. Usually the streets are snow-free the next day and I'm back to e-biking normally.

If there streets are wet, which is usual in winter, this is OK and does not appear to cause any issues for me, with one exception. I have to cross wet streetcar tracks VERY carefully.

karma

i pass on riding in the snow this year anyway, one day ice another day snow on top of ice not very safe.
also riding in the wet is ok but salt and sand is bad for bearings even the sealed ones. fork seals. etc

cheers

Kevin the Giant

Toronto has ploughed the roads down to bare ashphalt, so I've resumed my normal e-biking routine.

There is one route that I go almost every other day. That is to travel from Yonge and Welsley to the Dufferin Mall. This is about 4 km each way for an 8 km round trip. My "official" reason is to go grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart there, but the real reason is that it is a great trip along Hoskin Avenue and Harbord Street. I figure that I'm maybe saving a little bit of money buying groceries there, but probably not all that much.

While we are on the subject of costs, has anyone done any calculations about operating costs for an e-bike? The cost of electricity is insignificant, about 12 cents per charge, but a $300 battery being good for 400 charges gives a battery cost of 75 cents per charge. Throw in maintenance costs and we are probably looking at about a dollar per charge, or 5 cents per km. Comments, anyone?

dewdad

The 300 charges our SLA batteries are rated for is apparently dependant on the discharge...If the battery is 80% discharged each time, 300 is quite accurate. However, I have been told that if the discharge on a daily basis is only 20 -30% (in other words....very short commutes) that the battery life could be extended to 400 -600 charges. Is there any experts out there that agree or disagree?

Also to Kevin - You are absolutely right about "owning the lane." As a cyclist, a driver and an e-bike rider (scooter style) we all deserve respect on the road.

Abneycat

Taking the lane is very good, particularly in situations where dooring or roadside debris fields are threats.

Kevin, what sorts of tires are available for the Veloteq? You may be able to find some proper winter tires, or something that can be modified into such. In winter I can ride in just about any weather, over glaze ice even, thanks to these:



Making your own isn't unheard of, if you can't get them premade. All you need is a pair of tires with some knobs on them, the right length of sheet metal screws, and a tire liner to protect your tube. It would really help the winter riding.

On the lifespan of SLA batteries, its correct that using less power on each charge will increase the battery's lifespan. Being stubborn and draining it down to the last drop on the other hand, will also make it die a *lot* faster.

SLA batteries also benefit greatly from being recharged immediately after use, as they suffer from sulfination which is the main cause of them wearing out. Anyone doing this will also see a lifespan increase. There are also devices called desulfinators, which are normally used to rejuvenate forklift batteries but i've seen some successfully used with e-bike batteries. These devices work quite well at extending the life of an SLA battery.

Kevin the Giant

Alas, I see from the Veloteq parts list that there is no winter tire.

https://veloteq.com/pdf-files/500seri..._lsit_2007.pdf


However, the stock tire is quite good. Even on nasty ice, I just go slow, put my feet down on the ground and "walk" along with the ebike. However, as this is slow, I only do it for short distances. Generally, within 24 hours of even the largest snowfall, the city of Toronto has ploughed all the streets down to bare pavement. During that 24 hour period, I take the TTC. I'll even do that anyway sometimes if where I'm going is right on one of the subway lines.

bikedup

new here, i get my veloteq next week-can't wait. you will get to hear my ramblings from start to finish

Digikid

Great to hear. What model are you getting? Veloteq makes excellent ebikes!!!!

bikedup

sorry didn't answer your question. it is a cougar model, my brother-in-law and his brother got theirs from georgia. brother-in-law's brother got one for his wife, she was skittish about it so i get to buy it. it is almost new hardly ridden.

Digikid

Nice!!! Send us a picture when you get it!!

bikedup

will do, get it this week. what is yours-do you have a pic?

dewdad

Hey Bikedup!...Congratulations on your Purchase. You will love your Cougar...It is only 132 lbs with the battery and really zippy.
It zigs and zags when you want it to. Safe Riding!

bikedup

Thank you. Now the fun begins

Digikid

I will get one soon I promise. I do not own a Digital Camera yet so I will have to borrow one.

Kevin the Giant

Dear all,

Its been a year, so my Veloteq ebike is now out of warranty. It now has 2,550 km on it.

It did have a few issues that were fixed under warranty. These include:

1. Replacing the controller.
2. Replacing a broken front wheel spring.
3. Replacing a broken light switch.
4. Replacing a corroded line to the recharge outlet

All the work was done without fuss, but in some cases there was a delay getting spare parts in.

Digikid

Sorry for the crappy Quality. My friend only had a 1MP Compactflash Digicam. I have the pedals and mirrors off for the winter and it is in his basement for winter storage. I have ordered a replacement body set of fairings to get rid of the horrible color.



I love this thing!!!!

karma

nice ride digikid, i like the ***** seat on the rear. funny my ride never came with that extra

Digikid

Well this was a demo unit and I got a really good deal on it because of it. The fairings have a few scratches when the "demo riders" scratched it but they are just paint deep. Yet another reason why I ordered a new complete set of fairings in Red and Silver.

Incase no one knows...the battery is SLA and it sits under the floor cover there.

bikedup

Well, have I had fun so far? Yes! I am having a blast on my bike. The wind in my face. It is so freeing. I started out, my legs trembling, a grin on my face, on the back streets, now, I have ventured out into the bike lanes and the roads when there is no bike lane. The only thing is, I want to go where all of the cars are, I want a road registered bike. So have to make some decisions. Get a more powerful bike, and get it licensed. But for a while this will do. I go to the store for food and errands right now (every chance I get).

Kevin the Giant

Bikedup wrote:

"I want to go where all of the cars are"

Kevin's comment:

I always do. That is to say unless I am on a fully-seperated pathway I always take the lane. I ride a Veloteq '07 Challenger and it is too big to allow cars to pass me safely within a lane.

The only exception I make to this rule is when there is serious congestion at an intersection (quite common in Toronto), in which case I'll pass all the cars, but very carefully.

I don't use bike lanes, because they are so full of bicycles that I would be continually pulling out of the bike lane to pass bicycles. Such continuous lane changes would also be unsafe, so I always ride in the centre of the regular traffic lane.

Kevin the Giant

For the second time, there is an electrical fault so that I cannot charge my Veloteq through the chassis port. Until I get it fixed, I have to pull out the battery and plug the charger directly into it. What a pain. I bought the bike from Segway of Ontario which is in the Distillery District. Not far, and their mechanic should be in tomorrow.

Since the bike is out of warranty now, I may be paying for the repair myself. On February 13 it was a year old, and I've got almost 3,000 km on it. But I'll complain that this is the second time for this repair.

Has anyone else had this problem?