cj3209

Gorgeous bike! Is that class 1 or 3? Amazing that you got 75 mi. I can get that but with a battery extender.

mschwett 

thanks! it's class 3, although i can probably count on one hand the times i had the assist on while going over 20. i really only use the assist when climbing, or a crazy crazy headwind or something, so the range comparisons aren't quite fair. my last super long ride was 80.21 miles, 3,922' of climbing, used only 18% of the internal battery.

i'm kinda tempted to get a range extender and just set off for LA one weekend, see if i make it.

cj3209

SF to LA...on a bike...
WOW...

You must only turn on the motor, literally, on hills. How much does your bike weigh? I have a Class 1 road bike that weighs around 27 lbs which I consider to be very light for an eRoad bike.

mschwett 

yep. literally only on hills, and only on hills more than about 4% grade. sometimes i'll push through a little bit of a steeper hill for the first 50 to 100 feet of ascent, but then my heart rate gets too high or my cadence gets too low and on comes the boost, typically at 25% of my output (so say another 65w on top of 250w) unless it's really steep or i'm really gassed out, in which case i'll go to 50% or more.

when i tried to weigh it with my household scale (me holding it, me not holding it), i got 27lbs or so, but everyone tells me it must be closer to 30. i did lighten it up a bit from stock - stem, carbon cranks, speedplay pedals, seat, removed the quick releases, etc etc. i want to get one of those one piece carbon cockpits (save 160g!) and carbon wheels with lighter tubeless tires (currently running gatorskin hardshells - maybe save another 200g) and maybe take another pound off the bike.

cj3209

Dang, a class 3 road eBike weighing around what my class 1 eBike weighs...I'm good with the Mahle class 1 hub motor in terms of power but definitely would like more range.

mschwett 

the specialized SL motors are pretty much the same power as the mahle x35 system, just mid-drive. battery is only about 25% larger.... i thought class 3 would be really important for a road bike, due to higher speeds, but in practice on level ground i can go fast enough for an enjoyable ride covering a lot of ground.

one of these days i'll just put it on turbo and keep riding until the battery runs out and see how far/fast i can go!

Durde_cecof

What carrier is this?

mschwett 

thule yepp nexxt maxi frame mount.

love it, a bit bouncy by design but very adjustable and my now 3 year old is super comfy. many happy miles

Durde_cecof

Looks great on that bike. My wife got an ebike today and I just don’t think our Thule trailer will work on it, so this may be the route to go!
You’ve also got me drooling over the Specialized Creo….

kellichou

My Metrofiets (Portland, OR made) box bike, with a 48V 500W pedal assist. I have a car seat anchored in there, for hauling my 50lb (23kg) 5 year old in comfort and style (we both wear helmets). It is a lot of bike--I think it's probably 9 feet (2.75m) long, but it handles surprisingly smoothly and nimbly! The car seat is latched to stainless steel bolts & locking washers in the box which are rated at 200 lb each, and a slightly lighter-weight one for the tether strap. I got the cushiest dang car seat I could find, a Maxi Cosi, which has a 65 lb. limit for the 5-point restraint, which is awesome. The seat itself goes to 85 lb, I believe, or maybe even 100lb. I have already fallen over with the kid in the box, thank Goodness I had the car seat in there tight, and her helmet of course. I scraped up the outside of the box, and the kid was unscathed, which was its job!

Our commute is 22 mi (35 km) round trip, although I usually ride unloaded in the mornings, as my wife takes the offspring to school. The kid LOVES riding in the bakfiets, which she has named "Tooter, the Lemon Sqwooter." She is downright pissed when I show up to pick her up in the car!

Because the kid is sitting in there for almost an hour at a time, I wanted the car seat to be as comfy as possible. Maybe when she ages out of that, I can look into a bench and simplified seatbelt setup. And my plan for after she doesn't want to ride in the box anymore would be a tandem! If she wanted to be stoker, that is. From what I've heard, most kiddos can ride in some traffic around age 10, which the start and finish of our commute involves, so thinking about systems as she grows is important to me.

AND, the other day I realized I had two broken spokes , so my trusty Tooter is at the local bike shop, getting the spokes fixed. If they keep breaking, I may need a sturdier wheel with a different arrangement of spokes, but we'll see.

Side view. She's a beaut! I have since fixed the obscene angle of my saddle, and yes, it is much more comfortable now.

3/4 view, showing more of the cockpit.

Robert C

I recently got this Priority Current for commuting. With a couple of homebuilt ebikes to compare to, I am glad I made the decision to get this one. My only criticism is that the battery is a bit small.

2old

Great looking commuter. Did you get it through COSTCO since they (supposedly) have 20% off on Priority?

Robert C

No, I didn't. There are no Costcos near me. However, I did use the $300 Electtek discount. I have only commuted with it for a few days now, but I am happy with the purchase.

OldRailfan

"The RBSM SPORTS Mud Adder is a tough and rugged electric “MTB” bike designed and developed for off-road cycling adventures."

To me it is that perfect crossover, with e--drive, that is at home on anything from mild single track to pavement; more or less like my Devinci XC Sport bike.
Still fine-tuning the accessory placements, but ....








But it's getting there.

Next ride will be with SWMBO to see which of the two e-bikes gets the hill award.

SilversSpeed

Is the battery inside the frame? Looks pretty slim. Is that a solar panel or a phone I see on the handle bars?

mschwett 

yep battery is in the downtube. Relatively small motor and battery - 240w, 320wH battery… but makes a huge difference on the big climbs. Range is great if you don’t use it except for on the climbs hahah.

Just an iPhone (12 pro max) on the bars. I use it instead of a bike computer, bike sends power, battery, cadence, speed, etc.

SilversSpeed

Did you build the bike yourself or is it a factory bike? It almost looks likes like it has a pedal assist motor and a rear hub motor.

mschwett 

oh it's very factory. it's a specialized turbo creo comp carbon. the rear hub is just a plain old DT swiss freehub; from that picture the silver part of the brake rotor does sort of look like a motor lol. it's a mid-drive. i actually rarely use the motor, but when i use it, i really need it! great bike, almost the lightest e-bike you can get (26-30lb depending on trim) and feels super natural with motor off, barely any different with motor on, particularly on the more modest assist settings. 3,000 miles on it since i got it 6 months ago.

ptle

This is my converted e-bike that I built for a ten mile commute. I've had the bike for a few months now and put 1200 miles on it. I'm impressed with the performance of the Bafang 500W rear hub wheel.


Novara Buzz w/ Bafang 500W rear wheel

jayhawk12

Looks like a good commuter. 500 watts on a light hybrid should really go!

kahn

I'll have my sister meet you in her Tesla!

AOSTIRMOTOR

My A20 EBIKE

cj3209

Canyon Grail-On with Lauf fork (required some customization due to proprietary Canyon parts/sizes)...although the angle of this shot makes the top tube seem a bit more vertical than it really is...

cat0020

Is that a $12k ebike?

cj3209

LOL, not even close...around half that...it's not the Force eTap version - this is the Shimano GRX manual w/alloy wheels.