Electric Bikes?

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GerardF

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Feb 25, 2010
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Hello fellow RVers,
Does anyone own an electric bike?  I'm thinking of purchasing one and was wondering about the pros and cons.  Also which brands you might suggest.  I was introduced to this brand called "Pedego" and they seem to make pretty good quality e-bikes.  I'm not very knowledgeable about these e-bikes but I have seen tons are articles about them lately which on peak my interest.  Any assistance, direction, and general info would be great!

Thanks,
Gerry
 
Hi Gerry,

Have you considered converting your existing bike, assuming that you have one?; http://e-bikekit.com/index.html

Thanks for asking the question because now I have something else on my wish list  ;D :eek:

Dar

 
Gerry - we have an eBike, 24v petal assist bike that my wife uses.  I know nothing about Pedego, but the eBike costs $1,700 about four years ago.  I think they are now out of business which is too bad because it is excellent quality.  It is "street" legal, goes about 20 mph unless you really want to push it harder, and goes about 20 miles before it has to be charged.  If you use the petal assist mode, it will go on forever, in theory.
 
After digging around I noticed that good old fashioned mopeds are going for as low as $500.00. What does the e-bikes have over the good old fashioned mopeds?
 
I don't have, nor have I ever had, a moped, so I'm not in position to answer your question.  My guess is that a moped will go much faster, but I believe it is gas powered as opposed to strictly human or electric powered.  It would depend on your needs. 
 
CW has a folding bike in the current catalog that is a power assist unit.  You can use it manually, or all electric or electric assist.  Specs are 22 mile range and up to about 20 MPH which would be awfully fast on that sort of bike.  Price is $899.  We have the Adventurer non-electric folding bikes and are very impressed with how well they work and have held up.

And the difference between mopeds and bikes would be the exercise available.  An electric assist might give you as much exercise as a manual bike, just allow you to zip along faster.  More bugs in your teeth, etc.
 
They are awesome bikes, Ive got one for the wifey too, best thing I bought for the RV.
 

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Vmax1 or anyone else,

I'm looking at the picture of the bikes Vmax1 posted and can't find them anywhere.  Does anyone know where I can get this electric bike?

Thanks
Robin
 
Roadhappy said:
Vmax1 or anyone else,

I'm looking at the picture of the bikes Vmax1 posted and can't find them anywhere.  Does anyone know where I can get this electric bike?

Thanks
Robin
Click to expand...

I don't know about his but just Google eBike and you will see what we have.
 
Hey I don’t have my own e bike but ones I drive it and that was my first and last experience on it because I found it with a very low speed as compare to our regular bikes and I can’t drive with such a slow speed.
 
I have a electric scooter, looks like a Vespa but quiet. At 220 pounds its a bit short on milage. The thing is rated for 80 miles on a charge. I get about 30. Since I keep it in Boston and use it to get from the RV park to my Yacht Club, and boat its just fine. Top speed is about 35 MPH, with me on it its only down hill. 20 is a good average. It has two battery's total 48 volts. They are small enough that taking them out to charge is doable by a child. It has its own 48 volt charger. Weight is about 200 pounds I think.
The only advantage over a gas unit is no maintainance to speak of, and a very quiet ride. Which I like when a early morning fishing trip is in the plan.
Jim
 
Dar said:
After digging around I noticed that good old fashioned mopeds are going for as low as $500.00. What does the e-bikes have over the good old fashioned mopeds?
Click to expand...
I spent a few months researching this question. I have been full timing for 10 years without a toad and I decided I was going to get something to putt around town in. I ended up buying one of those $500 scooters. The electric bike lost for three reasons. They are much more expensive than a moped. They have a top speed of around 20 mph if you get one of the good ones and they only go about 20 miles on a charge.
 
SeilerBird said:
I spent a few months researching this question. I have been full timing for 10 years without a toad and I decided I was going to get something to putt around town in. I ended up buying one of those $500 scooters. The electric bike lost for three reasons. They are much more expensive than a moped. They have a top speed of around 20 mph if you get one of the good ones and they only go about 20 miles on a charge.
Click to expand...

To respond, I will say that the first answer MAY be true depending on whether you want a WalMart model or a higher priced spread, your are correct about the top speed and your final point is true ONLY if you use the battery alone and don't pedal the bike at all.  The whole point of the original eBike was to provide battery ASSIST.  In other words, the more you pedal, the longer your battery will hold a charge and the further you can go.  When I bought my eBike six years ago, it was almost $1,700.  Now, I'm trying to sell mine for $300 but am having a hard time finding takers because no one knows anything about them.  It was ideal to take with us on the MH wherever we travelled but my age et al has prevented me from biking any longer.
 
I've had an electric bike, a gas scooter, and a bike with gas motor. Didn't care for the electric as much as the other two. The scooter was nice since we could both jump on for a cruise and it had stowage compartments. The gas bike had an aftermarket motor that was not expensive and easy to install. It was fun to ride and did over 30 mph and got about 90 mpg. Easy to maintain, and I could peddle it too. Only drawback was the cheesy muffler, but found a good modification on youtube. We're thinking of getting 2 of them for our MH. Also, no tags or license needed in most places for the gas bike.
 
You might want to look at these:

http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/hill-topper.aspx
 
If you're considering an electric bike, get one with a lithium ion battery pack.  The weight of the battery really impacts the rideability of the bike when you're not using the motor assist and li-ion batteries are much smaller and lighter than equivalent lead acid gel cell batteries.

And the li-ion discharge curve is flatter than lead acid, so the bike retains more performance as the battery discharges.
 
Hi Gerry and all,

There was someone else asking the same question a while back (mopeds, electric bikes, etc. ) so I looked up the forum topics and will post here for people who might be interested. I have given this some serious thought with the price of gas. Not something for a long trip but small trips around town might make a lot of sense. Still with the cost of these, you would have to put about 2500 to 3000 miles on them to pay for them. After that your coming out ahead. Such bikes are a nice way to make a trip into town for a small grocery run or some other need. Not as safe as a car, truck, or motorhome. Hope you find the perfect solution. Best!

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,62930.0.html

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,64372.msg592448.html#msg592448
 
jmugs, I'm looking for a scooter, bike, whatever, and your post intrigued me. I want something that will hold two adults to travel, maybe a mile and a half to a fishing hole and back (within a state park and on pavement). But also easy enough for the frail DW to handle on her own. And would fit on a hitch device on our B. Would be really interested in what you have. Thanks!
 
Built my own 2 person 4 wheel bike , add electric Green Hornet motor 36 Volt L/I battery.  Made from PVC pipe. Search on line for PVC Bikes or Americanspeedster.com and there is a gentleman in Florida that sells these or the plans and kits to build your own.

Weights about 150# with electric but wife and I can easily load it in the back of the truck.  There are some weak areas that I've had to re-engineer due to the hills and inclines in  NW Ohio..  It's a real head turner and we have a ball with it.  We've put a over a hundred and fifty miles on it this past summer just messing around.  If you decide to build one, let me know and I can direct you to youtube videos and give you pointers.
 
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