Electric Bikes?

[KNMIB]

Any suggestions on Electric Bikes? Seems pricing is all over the board.

[SilhouettePenny]

If your interested in cruising comfort, look at the step thru design on the Day 6 mid drive electric bikes. Hard to find and expensive, but the fat seat with the backrest and crank forward pedals make a nice campground cruiser. Five power levels of pedal assist, although I only use 1 or 2, plus the ability to use electric power only with the left thumb throttle lever like you find on a personal water craft. 2" wide street tires are inflated to 50 psi so not exactly a smooth ride is you travel near mach 1 speed.

But if you are more likely to go off roading, check out Rad Rover from Seattle. Half the price but 20 lbs heavier to load on the bike rack. This unit has a rear hub drive with electronic shifting so there is no derailier. You can simply pull up to a stop from highway speed and immediately shift to 1st for launching. The Rad Wagon allows you to haul lots of stuff and even another small person. This one has 4" fat tires which cushion the ride very well.

Both bikes claim 20 miles of travel and I personally get two weeks of power between charges if i ride 2 miles a day in pedal assist mode. 800 cycles recharge on the lithium battery will probably last longer than we want to ride these things.

Good luck with your research, there is a LOT of info on Youtube.

[JLeising]

Mechanically inclined? I installed a Bafang BBS01 350 watt kit:
https://www.amazon.com/Bafang-BBS01-...ng+bbs01&psc=1

Put it on my old Schwinn CrossCut. I used a BiXPower 36 volt battery from Amazon (about $300).

Works great. Several hundred problem free miles. I like the mid-drive, as it drives through the bike's rear gears - I can downshift and unload the motor on the steeper hills. I went with Bafang's smallest motor and BIXPower's smallest 36 volt lithium battery for weight and size reasons - gives a nice "assist" to pedaling. I easily get 20+ miles between charges (using as an "assist" to my pedaling - I'm sure much less if used like a scooter...). I did have to use the Schwinn's combo brake/shift lever rather than Bafang's brake lever for the rear shifter, otherwise install was quite straightforward.

My wife has a BH Emotion hub drive. Also a 350 watt motor. Also a very nice bike. With hub drive, she has access to both her front and her rear gears when pedaling (the mid drive eliminates access to the front gears on mine) but her motor does not drive through the bike's gears. She can't downshift to reduce load on the motor on hills. At the time (about three years ago, I think) hers cost about three times what I paid to modify mine.

Suspect the alternatives are greater now - I see the Bafang BBS01 is still available- I would probably choose it again. Lithium Ion batteries are the way to go - recommend avoiding anything else.

Really pleased we made the change to e-bikes. Doing a lot more biking now - as I mentioned, using the electric as an "assist", so getting decent exercise and able to handle moderate hills and headwinds easily.

[Beachsailor]

I just installed a bafang(bbso2b) on my wife's bike and about to do the same to mine. My question is a about how you carry and protect your ebikes. Do you carry on bike rack? How do you protect it from rain, dirt, theft. We hope to spend the summer traveling the northeast. Any suggestions on places with good ebike access?