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The top 4 seater might have to be squished to fit into bike lanes, but it ticks all the same boxes for being greener than a car. I have 0 problem with that contraption. Or even the hokey faired recumbents that look like cars.
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Jun 12, 2022 08:13
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Invalido posted:or your three kids and a few of their friends.
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Jun 12, 2022 22:46
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evil_bunnY posted:Right, yes, 4 kids to carry at whatever notice. Every time I give our kids' friends rides they end up harassing their parents to get a cargo bike. I mean I get it, for them it's like riding a convertible but they're 6 inches off the ground AND they can chat because it makes so little noise. Thats a pretty solid benefit for the trike. You can fit more kids who will then get excited and make their parents buy one. The way to a bicycle future is the hearts and minds of kids!
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Jun 13, 2022 03:30
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A guy in a sports car just pulled up beside me and said "that looks awesome" so I think I might have caused an ebike sale.
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Jun 15, 2022 01:14
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The downside is all the lycra'd out "cyclists" will definitely hate your guts.
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Jun 15, 2022 20:47
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marxismftw posted:The downside is all the lycra'd out "cyclists" will definitely hate your guts. Not really seeing the downside here.
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Jun 15, 2022 21:08
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Happy Father's Day weekend. https://twitter.com/tjmule/status/1530305752140611584?t=26WjSezyEiWzb43lZIScfg&s=19 
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Jun 18, 2022 15:27
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Cugel the Clever posted:Happy Father's Day weekend.
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Jun 18, 2022 16:28
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kimbo305 posted:What others have you tried? I have a cadence sensor, so if you pedal while downshifting the sensor will still turn the motor over at your selected assist level and keep you moving at speed, actually faster as you downshift, so braking, pedaling and shifting to a lower gear will disable the motor and let you ghost pedal and stop while ending up in a lower gear. This is probably what happens with a regular bike too, but it's been too long for me to remember what I used to do. The Rize MD isn't torque sensing, though after riding a few torque sensing bikes now I can see the appeal. I don't mind the cadence sensor except that it means I end up ghost pedaling if I'm just cruising at 20ish mph and not pushing myself to over-drive the gear I'm in. The issue is that mid-drives are "integrated" into the drive train so a high gear is hard to get moving just like on a standard bike. The hub motor bike I had would just happily spin away at whatever speed you wanted without regard to the load you put on it. At least it felt that way to me. Higher assist level was directly related to how fast you got moving, even in your highest gear. Coasting to slow down while clicking down through the gears, or while stopped waiting at a light, just seems a lot easier. There's also no derailleur adjustment or noise, looks cleaner, and is supposed to be very quiet since you are always directly in line with the front sprocket, although I hear that there's a slight buzz/noise at off-ratio gears because of MATH OR SOME poo poo. I have the Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal geared hub sitting on my desk, and the matching shifter, and once I get it installed I will have close to my ideal setup. There's a company that makes an "automatic" internal geared hub, which seems cool, but the folks that make them recently changed the name and after reading about what supposedly happened with Rize -that they changed their name to avoid quality control related refunds - makes me think they aren't as reliable as they could be. Also the Alfine is a standard bike part and was only a couple hundred, a Rohloff or the automatic hub thingy are way more expensive. I've tried quite a few different bikes at this point. My first one that I bought was an Aventon Level, which was nice for the price (about 1400), hub motor, fast, good power and battery, but front fork was really bad, brakes really bad, taps for the screws in the frame really bad, hardware really cheap in general, shifting gear (cheapest Shimano) and brake calipers (cheapest tektro hydraulic) really bad... well they gripped well but super squealy... though the welding and frame in general looked good. It rattled and squealed and felt cheap to ride. Other bikes I've tried: my friend has a Bosch motor step-through that's made by Giant, but not Giant branded..it was expensive but well made - low features and slow even for a class 2. I demoed a moped style bike with moto wheels on it from a local reseller, it was fast as gently caress on the 750W Bafang hub motor alone w/ twist throttle but impossible to actually ride like a bike... which has it's place but not what I wanted... I tested a Trek Electra brand cruiser that I'm buying for my mom. It is very decent and not that expensive - looks cool as hell with great comfort accessories included. I rode my buddy's Ride 1Up Cafe cruiser (also really really nice but not my thing), his Ride 1Up 500 is nice but not built for my husky 6'2" self. I rode a Pedego step-through which was similar to my friend's Giant...they go for about 3800, and the throttle/shifter configuration and general ergonomics of the style are not for me. This weekend I tried a Trek city-bike that was the first time I rode an actual XL frame and it was very comfortable and very nice and full featured, about $2400 - which is not bad for the warranty, network, and general fit and finish and components, but was still class 2 and I just love a throttle which to me makes riding with traffic easier. Another friend of mine has a Sur-ron with the "green wire" mod and it's insane and hilarious but again more like a moped or scooter and a bike in name only in order to be legal - except the mod makes it not legal of course. You really should wear a full-face helmet and skid clothes with that thing. I drove all over north houston for a couple hours looking into "e-bike stores" and they all ended up being drop-shipped bikes re-branded and sold out of industrial garages or in one case, a dude's house - so I didn't stop at any of them. REI has some ebikes in-store that look pretty nice - like rebranded cannondales with cheaper components. They were chained up and I wasn't interested enough to hassle a worker to try one out that I wasn't considering buying. Dream configuration right now is pretty close to what I have - but with an uncorked 650Ultra and 52V system, and of course the internal geared hub. I should be able to just buy and install a new motor in a year or so, whatever the new poo poo is, and put it in there myself since I'm not going to be worried about warranty. I will definitely slap a class 3 sticker on it and watch my speed on public roads though. So to wrap up the Rize MD checked all the boxes like I said, and I now have about 300 miles on it...and it's still the favorite that I could afford that I've ridden. It can't actually hit the theoretical 28mph limit because its gear limited, but mid-drive lets you upgrade. Quality hasn't been an issue. Like the other person said it's heavy and big but so am I and it feels very stable and is comfortable enough for a 2 hour ride. I'm also looking at a couple folding bikes that I can just throw in the car and have any time I want without lugging around a bike carrier and risking getting my poo poo stolen any time I want to pub crawl in Austin or San Antonio. The Lectric foldable looks decent and is under a grand, but I'm interested if anyone has any recommendations. Jesus I did not intend to write all that. Sorry. Or you're welcome.
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Jun 20, 2022 03:48
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marxismftw posted:Spent more time with the Rize MD. Pretty happy with it so far. I'm definitely on the heavier side, and it's got no problem getting me up the steepest hills in Seattle provided I'm in the right gear and pedaling myself. poo poo. I just looked at the Priority Current. I'll have a chain instead of the belt once I put the Alfine on but it will basically end up being the same price after all is said and done. I do prefer a thumb shift setup over a twist shift. drat I wonder if I'll need a tensioner since the Rize doesn't have a horizontal dropout. [edit] Although the fact they don't say what motor or battery they have in there makes me wonder. strangeless fucked around with this message at 04:03 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 03:56
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strangeless posted:I have a cadence sensor, so if you pedal while downshifting the sensor will still turn the motor over at your selected assist level and keep you moving at speed, actually faster as you downshift, so braking, pedaling and shifting to a lower gear will disable the motor and let you ghost pedal and stop while ending up in a lower gear. Shifting gears while not pedaling is indeed handy, but I don't see it as a inconvenience to brake with one hand and downshift with the other while pedaling into a stop. Or braking with both hands if your shifter is placed in a way that's usable. You will definitely get caught out by more sudden stops once in a while, but with some assist, you're gonna be able to take off more easily than you would without a motor.
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Jun 20, 2022 05:27
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As someone with a crappy bike with a hub motor, no cadence sensor, and junky components so I typically just use the throttle to start from a full stop making shifting before stopping more or less irrelevant all I can say is lol imagine worrying about that on an ebike
mystes fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 13:02
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mystes posted:A guy in a sports car just pulled up beside me and said "that looks awesome" so I think I might have caused an ebike sale.
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Jun 20, 2022 13:55
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strangeless posted:I have a cadence sensor, so if you pedal while downshifting the sensor will still turn the motor over at your selected assist level and keep you moving at speed, actually faster as you downshift, so braking, pedaling and shifting to a lower gear will disable the motor and let you ghost pedal and stop while ending up in a lower gear. This is probably what happens with a regular bike too, but it's been too long for me to remember what I used to do. The Rize MD isn't torque sensing, though after riding a few torque sensing bikes now I can see the appeal. I don't mind the cadence sensor except that it means I end up ghost pedaling if I'm just cruising at 20ish mph and not pushing myself to over-drive the gear I'm in. I have the Lectric XP 2.0 that I use for commuting and I'm really enjoying it so far. I haven't encountered any issues and while the gears and motor aren't as smooth as a nicer bike, they're still a big step up from the cheap used bike I was riding before. I'm at about 100 miles now. The bike is pretty bulky even when folded. It's a pain in the rear end to get it into the trunk of my sedan, but I would guess it shouldn't be a problem for anything with a larger trunk. The bike is heavy, but I can still lift it up onto the commuter train that's part of my commute. The bike has a convenient handle for lifting. I wouldn't want to have to carry it up or down a flight of stairs.
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Jun 20, 2022 14:11
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Would I be an rear end in a top hat if I bought a class 3 bike and used it on the MUP? The Benno is only in stock in the speed version at bike shop (2023 wait time for Class 1, or I can get a step-through now). I'm in Santa Clara county where class 3 is prohibited on the path but I don't see how anyone would know unless I'm exceeding speed limits or cause an accident.
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Jun 20, 2022 16:05
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:Would I be an rear end in a top hat if I bought a class 3 bike and used it on the MUP? The Benno is only in stock in the speed version at bike shop (2023 wait time for Class 1, or I can get a step-through now). I'm in Santa Clara county where class 3 is prohibited on the path but I don't see how anyone would know unless I'm exceeding speed limits or cause an accident. I firmly believe that one can be an rear end in a top hat, or not, on any kind of bike.
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Jun 20, 2022 16:13
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If you you were passing pedestrians at 20mph on a MUP you would already be an rear end in a top hat so assuming you're not I'm not sure the extra capability really makes a difference if you aren't using it on the path? OTOH a lot of non-ebike owners seem to feel differently. mystes fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 16:20
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bicievino posted:I firmly believe that one can be an rear end in a top hat, or not, on any kind of bike. Yeah, if someone is riding an ebike capable of 50mph at normal speeds on a MUP and not being a dick I’ve got no problem with it. The worst riders I’ve seen are the TT guys who baffling decide that the MUP is the place to ride, on the aerobars and everything.
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Jun 20, 2022 16:23
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Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:Yeah, if someone is riding an ebike capable of 50mph at normal speeds on a MUP and not being a dick I’ve got no problem with it. The worst riders I’ve seen are the TT guys who baffling decide that the MUP is the place to ride, on the aerobars and everything. Like yeah if you're riding that much you probably have better bike handling skills than someone who just started riding an ebike and didn't bike a lot before that but that still doesn't make it safe to ride a bike at 20+mph on a crowded MUP.
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Jun 20, 2022 16:25
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mystes posted:The people going at absurd speeds on MUPs also seem to have this obnoxious attitude that they should be allowed to since they're super skilled cyclists (whereas of course ebike riders should not be allowed to). The fastest riders I see on our main MUP are consistently TT and roadies going way faster than is reasonable given that pedestrians and dog walkers are the largest users by far. I try to keep it around 10 and usually get forced to go slower because of crowds.
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Jun 20, 2022 17:45
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I like to think I’m a courteous rider. I slow down to power walking speed when I pass kids, dogs, olds etc. I’m not going to be gunning it on the path
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Jun 20, 2022 18:56
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I had two Lectric XP2 step-throughs in my cart, all info entered, hovering over the "buy" button, and changed my mind at the last second. I'm going to buy my mom a bike with dealer support, so probably the Electra Bali cruiser from the Trek dealer by her house. The other option was the Blix Vika+ Flex, but drat I just can't justify a 50-60lb foldable for my 65 year old mother. More foldable chat: it looks like there are maybe 4-5 molds for foldables in china, and everyone chooses one of those and attaches parts to them. Makes me really really want to basically do exactly the same, but to get a super high end bike for not much money. Alternatively to buy the cheapest carbon bike just for the frame and motor, and swap literally everything else out. Morfuns has a carbon frame, and Carbo... Morfuns' is on indigogo but they have a good reputation, and Carbo appears to also have a good reputation. GoCycle is something extremely cool that I would have to finance, but unfortunately they have a strict "no one over 250 lbs can use this bike or it will explode" policy so it's out. I couldn't find any max rider weight info on Carbo's website. In other news. I've decided to swap my 44T chainring on the Rize MD for a 50T chainring, just to get my top speed up as high as reasonable. Having a 28mph limited bike and being physically unable to hit 28mph because it requires a 120 cadence is what's driving me crazy. With a 50T chainring my top speed at a fairly excercisy 80RPM will get me close to 33 mph flat out and 25 with no effort. That's with an 11 tooth drive gear. I learned a lot about ratios the past few days, like a real nerd. I don't think the extra effort at the top end will hurt, since I'm not currently outside the speed cutoff at my own maximum effort, and it won't hurt at the low end, since the lowest drive gear will be the same and the motor does most of the work when I'm going uphill.... What this does mean is that I was wrong about any speed advantage from the extra gear on the Alfine, since I couldn't pair it with an 11 tooth sprocket either way. Also I goofed and got the 32 spoke version, when I have a 36 spoke rear wheel, so I'll need to buy a new wheel anyway! At least this way I can tool around at 30 while my bike guy builds the rear wheel and not miss a weekend. Spoke recommendations anyone?
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Jun 22, 2022 20:19
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I dunno how often you'll want sustained riding at 28mph, but 120rpm isn't too bad a cadence once you get some practice at it.
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Jun 22, 2022 20:30
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kimbo305 posted:I dunno how often you'll want sustained riding at 28mph, but 120rpm isn't too bad a cadence once you get some practice at it. Not long, more the option to do it for one particular 1.5 mile stretch between the house and "downtown." 120 is just a guess at this point, but at the shape i'm in going flat out for the couple minutes it takes to get off that road and I am seriously winded and my watch beeps at me that I'm about to have a stroke. I was not able to top about 25.5 no matter how hard I worked at it on that road which is essentially flat. But a nice and easy low cadence 15-20 mph in PAS 1 is another benefit, for recreational rides to the farmers market or whatever when I don't want to arrive soaking wet. It's hot over here. strangeless fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 20:55
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Does anyone have any advice for a reputable company to purchase a e-bike conversion kit from? I was thinking about going with a mid-drive system, and the only site I've found that feels well put together is Bafang Direct.
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Jun 25, 2022 01:02
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Bafang direct is fine from what I've heard, it's just not actually bafang, it's a reseller or something. Luna cycle is a good one too, just a little pricey and usually out of stock.
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Jun 25, 2022 06:53
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Not mid drive but Grin Tech from Canada is super reputable (and pricey). We have two of their all-axle motor kits and they are great.
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Jun 25, 2022 13:56
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I ordered a BBS02 kit from Windmeile GmbH yesterday, and a battery off of ebay from ymbattery. The original plan was to order direct from Bafang/Aliexpress, but shipping was too expensive and slow. So re-sellers with local(ish) inventory are cheaper to order from as far as I can tell, given fuel costs and supply chain issues. Plus they're subject to EU consumer protections. webcams for christ fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Jun 25, 2022 |
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Jun 25, 2022 15:38
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Hi folks. I live two miles from the train station I use to commute to work, and I've gotten tired of driving back and forth (and, more importantly, shelling out parking fees). And the station has bike lockers available for rent, plus the road on the way has clearly marked bike lanes. So I decided what the hell, and got myself an e-bike.  So far, it's worked out well riding around the neighborhood, and I get my locker key this week and I'll be able to start properly commuting. Please feel free to tell me what a horrible mistake I'm making and how I bought the worst possible brand.
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Jun 26, 2022 21:56
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Selachian posted:Please feel free to tell me what a horrible mistake I'm making and how I bought the worst possible brand. 
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Jun 27, 2022 05:09
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Selachian posted:
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Jun 27, 2022 05:15
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I think the wheel is fine? tread direction on tires like that isn't that big of a deal, but the backwards fork should be addressed asap
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Jun 27, 2022 11:01
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The entire lower assembly needs to be flipped around yeah
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Jun 27, 2022 17:31
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evil_bunnY posted:well you have made one horrible mistake (your front wheel’s backwards lmao) It's not backwards is the new aero hack. I am a huge idiot. The Alfine is now going onto a 20 year old trek hybrid aluminum frame with new brakes, rims, gravel tires, spokes, tires, seat, seat tube, handlebars, front hub, crank hub, crankset, and front fork. Bafang has a custom crankset and offset that won't take a normal 5-spoke chainring, or at least work very well with one, and the overbuilt frame doesn't have enough clearance to go much bigger. I could go to 46t if I really wanted to, but I don't think it's going to be worth it. It'll be a custom light MTB/hybrid gravel bike. To keep my big rear end from sliding all over these dirty rear end streets and hopefully not break too often. The good side is that I will have saved more than a grand buying a nice new bike with all the fairly nice parts I'm getting. Deore isn't top of the line, but should be strong enough for my needs. The bad side is the frame goes for about 50 bucks so it's kind of polishing a turd. At least at some point in the future I can find a sweet-rear end titanium frame and put all the new parts on it. My advice for anyone wanting to customize their ebike is don't. Spend the extra money to get exactly what you want.
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Jun 28, 2022 03:11
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Urzza posted:Does anyone have any advice for a reputable company to purchase a e-bike conversion kit from? I was thinking about going with a mid-drive system, and the only site I've found that feels well put together is Bafang Direct. Sorry for double posting, but Luna works with Bafang and customizes and does extensive testing with their poo poo. If I was buying a set to put on an existing bike I would try to get what I could from Luna, and use their version of stuff. Just be prepared to wait a bit. And definitely try to go with a "Hotrod" BBSHD and Direwolf battery. For the extra money over a bbs02 you will be getting a much more powerful and reliable setup, even if you are restricted a bit in choices down the road. https://lunacycle.com/bafang-bbshd-1000w-middrive-kit/ If you already have a bike you love, $1500 bucks for the absolute wildest poo poo you have ever ridden is worth it. Tongsheng also has a good reputation and uses torque sensors. Not as fast but if you want torque sensing that seems to be the move. I haven't researched them very much but the Electrek main bike guy loves his. After riding both mid and rear, a rear hub at around 1000W would also be very fun, but not really a bike anymore. Get a half-twist throttle and treat it like a moped. I have no idea where to buy from, except for Luna. AliExpress is a poo poo show but a lot of people have not been turbo-hosed. Supply chain and popularity of all this stuff has really thrown everything to the wind.
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Jun 28, 2022 03:43
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Called up the local Tern dealer about schedule for the Quick Haul. They said they'd placed their yearly order and were expecting "a couple" to show up August, or possibly October if things get delayed. Can't put a deposit on one  . And that at last they can't place orders to Tern. So need to remember to check in then. I was sorta keen to use these people cuz they're a 1 min walk from my house.
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Jun 28, 2022 04:41
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strangeless posted:Sorry for double posting, but Luna works with Bafang and customizes and does extensive testing with their poo poo. This does look like a good option for US customers, but it seems like right now they only have kits for 120mm bottom brackets, which is the minority of frames. Also all of their displays are out of stock.
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Jun 28, 2022 10:15
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Welp. Went to plug in my ebike after a ride this morning and the charger sparked blowing a chunk off the center power pole. That's not scary at all, nope.
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Jun 28, 2022 17:44
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L0cke17 posted:Welp. Went to plug in my ebike after a ride this morning and the charger sparked blowing a chunk off the center power pole. That's not scary at all, nope. Yikes! What brand? Is the outlet grounded?
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Jun 29, 2022 02:42
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L0cke17 posted:Welp. Went to plug in my ebike after a ride this morning and the charger sparked blowing a chunk off the center power pole. That's not scary at all, nope. From my experience with cheap Topping or QSMR amps, that's the spark of quality. Oppa! Does it still charge? My bike paperwork told me in no uncertain terms to unplug from mains before plugging into the charge port, then to the wall. Or is that what you did? I'd love to know more! In a happy accident, the Everflow solar rechargable battery thingy I got from my dad has a 750Wh capacity and my battery is a 740Wh battery. Looks like I'm riding for free, boys! (I've only drained my battery past apparent 70% once, on a 35 mile day. I'm sure the display was not accurate, but it is kind of neat to know I can still ride after the heatpocalypse that's sure to strike Texas because of our wonderful de-regulation)
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Jun 29, 2022 05:00
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