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      08-02-2018, 03:03 PM   #1
The Wind Breezes
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Drives: 135i N55 DCT
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: USA

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The Electric Bike Thread

I've been building electric bikes for a few years now but just as a hobby. Here is a brief FAQ:

Do you get a workout:
--You can get a hell of a workout, see below

Do I pedal:
--No. On the second bike I posted you'll notice the pedals aren't even connected. These bikes are basically ultralight motorcycles with a stealth aspect.

Can you pedal:
--Absolutely! You can setup these bikes so that the motor provides a boost to your natural pedaling, but I'm not into that currently.

How fast:
--Slowest bike I have goes 40 MPH (4KW input power)
--Fastest bike I've built did 70 MPH (16+KW input power)

How far:
--Depends entirely how you ride, and how fast. You could go 10 miles or 50+ miles on the same pack. With a 15lb pack I get about 20 miles of fast trail riding with a top speed of 30-35 mph.

How much:
--For decent equipment and a good battery, $1500-$2000 without the bicycle itself is a bare minimum

Where:
--ANYWHERE. With a good judgement cops ignore you and you can ride in parks and public places where motorized vehicles "aren't allowed". And of course you can ride on the street. Almost nobody thinks a bicycle going 45 mph is a big deal, because nobody rides bicycles.

Why:
--It's fun, and if you ride trails, it's a great workout.

Fitness:
--No, really. Riding trails is a ridiculous workout. You have a bike that weighs 60-90 lbs and you're going much faster than you would if you were pedaling. It's very easy to ride at the lactic threshold.

Pics:
Downhill bike with approx 4hp output. I mounted a larger battery with 1KWh usable capacity on the top tube and replaced the controller with one much smaller since this was taken. Current top speed of ~40, although in the configuration shown it did 50+.


Bike with custom swingarm I fabricated. In this pic it has a motor with approx 6hp output (6KW input). This bike will do 50+ MPH in this configuration. I had a larger motor with approx 15hp output which let me get to 70 MPH. I removed that motor because it was way too heavy and the handling sucked.


Vid of me riding. It's harder than it looks! Power output really limited in this video due to overheating.


So yeah anyone else riding electric bikes of any kind? They are way too much fun.

Last edited by The Wind Breezes; 08-03-2018 at 02:30 AM..
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