E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Safety Dance posted:

Gazelle didn't think too hard about how people were going to work on their bikes. The Bosch and Shimano parts use 3mm hex, the grips use 4mm hex, the brakes need a T25 torx, and the bar clamp uses a single 6mm hex.

That's par for the course on p much any bike, because they're all assembled from 3rd party components.

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

The newer Radwagon has smaller tires and that's been a rare point of e-bike criticism. I suppose that could make the wheels sturdier and lower the center of gravity. However, the bike doesn't have a suspension so that makes it a smooth road queen.

We have a Tern GSD and it's a much, much better bike for having smaller rims with fatter tires. If you add a basic suspension seatpost it's comfy as hell.

If anyone's interested in one, the main drawbacks are the chinesium stand and lovely facing on the brake mounts. Apart from that it's been great.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 11:13 on Jul 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 27, 2020 11:04

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 19:46

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

stephenthinkpad posted:

There are only maybe 5 wagon ebikes on the market. The thing with the GSD is you can buy 3 radwagon with it.

Also alot of people think they need a wagon bike when they rarely need to. You can even carry 2 children on a standard sized folding bike if you want to.

It's kinda silly to get a longtail just to carry 2 kids that'd fit on a normal bike, but that's not everyone, and riding a 27" city bike with 2 kids and groceries/toys/equipment is an exercise in frustration. They get really tippy, they're either low-instep and noodly or high instep and hard to get on with someone in the back.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2020 18:05

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

Also, this thing with smaller wheels on the cargo ebikes comes some benefits. It's easier to mount and dismount. Apparently, you accelerate faster which would matter for hauling loads. That trades speed but this is fine if you're treating the motor like it's there to even make this at all possible, not to also make it super fast. It puts less stress on the spokes, and spokes going out was a problem with the larger Radwagon tires. The Radwagon complaint I saw a lot about their new 22" tires was that there was only one source for them, so you're locked into their stuff even for basic repairs.

You can *definitely* tell the bosch mid drives were just not designed for 20". In 4/4 it'll yeet you off the line are the slightest hint of pedal pressure. Luckily i've never felt I've needed more than 2/4 basically ever.
22" are the dumbest loving thing. There's *so* much decent rubber in 20" and 24"; just let it go and use that.

spwrozek posted:

There is also a sort of turf war going on with non ebike and ebike riders. There is a lot of concern around mountain bikes with motors leading to land managers closing areas to bikes all together. Thankfully we have generally only seen ebikes banned and not mountain bikes all together. You see the mountain bikers who fought for 30 years to make us not motor bikes as that was originally where we were lumped in and they get really worried.Personally I have no issues other then giving an eye roll with secret jealously on brutal long climbs.

euro goons in that respect are in a much better place IMO. legal ebikes really don't cause any issues regular MTB's wouldn't. And yeah gently caress your extra 250w going back up the hill.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Jul 28, 2020

# ¿ Jul 28, 2020 21:50

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

DELETE CASCADE posted:

i am a bit worried that the bike is too big for me. i can't really stand over the top tube without it touching my crotch. but it feels great to ride, and when i stop at a light i tend to just put one foot down and have the other on a pedal, which works fine. not planning to take this thing off road so i suppose i'm ok.

This is probably fine.

kimbo305 posted:

Everything else equal, a heavier bike will be more stable in a crosswind. It might be the particular geometry that makes it more sensitive.

It's also that once you're off balance the heavier bike is more annoying to recover.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2020 09:05

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

DELETE CASCADE posted:

i don't think i've even tried to press + from sport mode. lmao are you telling me this thing can do EVEN MORE boost than i've been using

yeah, and turbo is literally unusable at low speeds. It'll yeet the bike forward if you even look at the pedal.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2020 20:36

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

i only use 4/4 if i�m uphill in a headwind with 2 kids on the back. For anything else 2/4 feels about right.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2020 00:58

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

DELETE CASCADE posted:

battery not pictured (it's charging)

hey a friend of mine bought basically the same thing. Seemed p good!

# ¿ Aug 7, 2020 12:01

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

kimbo305 posted:

Good advice:
https://twitter.com/SimonCowell/status/1292629837790601216

Loose QR? stem?

LMAO get hosed simon

# ¿ Aug 11, 2020 20:42

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

aldantefax posted:

After much hemming, hawing, and probably two years of consternation, I ended up buying a Riese & Muller Charger3 Vario HS in the 2020 model year (Bosch gen 4 motor). While that thing is freaking expensive and has a long fulfillment time (I ordered it last week, it'll be here mid-October!), I'm pretty pumped up at getting into the saddle. I did a test ride against an R&M Nevo3 and a Tern GSD and the best overall feel was the Charger3, so getting it with a belt drive will be pretty dope.

One of the things that stuck out to me was the level of paranoia that the bike shop put into me regarding battery care. To my knowledge and what Bosch recommends, it's something like:

- Wait 30 minutes post ride
- Charge batteries but only for a couple of hours, don't leave them plugged in for the entire course of a day (use a plug timer or similar)
- Don't charge when it's too hot or cold, charge in a climate-controlled environment, ideally
- Don't use anything other than the Bosch charger, there are no aftermarket chargers that are approved to charge and will void the warranty

That said, the shop also had no idea the Bosch Quick Charger exists, even though it's noted in the 30-some page battery care guide.

Even though the world is in hell quarantine and I don't have an office to commute to now, I'm expecting at some point in the future to bike commute to downtown Austin, which is about a 20-25 mile round trip. I'd also like to do some easy touring, so the extra power will be welcome there.

Are these battery sizes and form factors consistent, or only the load cells and connectors are? What are my options on spare batteries if I wanna just Keep Going but I'm 50+ miles from everywhere?

aldantefax posted:

- Don't charge when it's too hot or cold, charge in a climate-controlled environment, ideally

This is the only thing that truly matters. If you charge a really cold battery, you'll effectively overcharge it (because its voltage goes down with temp, and the charger isn't temp aware). Bring the battery in, let it come up/down in temp then charge it. I suspect this is why they tell you to wait.
I wouldn't use anything but the bosch charger (not the quick charger, multi-C charging kills your cycles if the pack isn't temp-controlled).
If you want more range you buy another pack. If you want something fabricobbled together you don't buy a bosch mid-drive, there's plenty of DIY systems where you'll control every element.

Safety Dance posted:

Do you have a link to the Ortleib e-bike bags with the battery sleeves? That sounds awesome.

https://www.ortlieb.com/uk/e-mate
If that pack sleeve can only mount in the very middle of the pannier that makes the whole thing sorta useless. It also appears to be QL2.1 so I hope you don't have to walk far.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 08:25 on Aug 20, 2020

# ¿ Aug 20, 2020 08:19

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Always note where the tube failure occurred, and check for aggravating/causal factors in that spot.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2020 22:31

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

There's a general downside to trikes: you can't shift your body on them to fine tune your steering. It's something you take for granted until you hop on, try to gently swerve around something, and wind up going straight into whatever you're avoiding. It all has to be done through the wheel. Leaning just gets absorbed into the rear wheels.

Leaning much at all is counterproductive because you just end up tilting to the outside of the turn, with your seatpost acting a nice long lever. Non-recumbent trikes are loving death traps when ridden at anything but jogging pace IMO.

stephenthinkpad posted:

A pair of training wheels is a lot cheaper and take up a lot less space than a trike.

NEIN

Safety Dance posted:

If you love your mom $7k worth, get her the Butchers & Bicycles MK1-E: https://www.butchersandbicycles.com/mk1e-touring
It tilts, so you get some maneuverability back!

These are really fun but you've gotta be real careful of max lean angle. It's really easy to overcook a turn, run out of lean and over-steer into oblivion after you hit the bumpstop.
They do make great powerslides in the snow.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2020 11:01

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

DELETE CASCADE posted:

i think the radwagon has a twist grip throttle so you can power it up the stairs. my bosch ebike has a walk assist mode but it doesn't do much.

I don't know what motor you had on that bosch but if you stick our Tern GSD in a low gear and use walk assist it feels like it could creep straight up a tree.

Safety Dance posted:

I also forgot my helmet light the other day, but I found out that my headlight works pretty well when it's aimed properly. As a maintenance issue, my chain's starting to make a lot of noise against the chain guard. Probably needs to be tightened, and it could stand to be cleaned / lubed too. The chain guard is really good at keeping crud out but it's a been almost 400 miles.

Get a chain gauge if you're in there anyway. 400 miles shouldn't be enough to stretch it out but they do go faster on middrive ebikes and at least you'll get an idea of the rate.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 13:01 on Sep 16, 2020

# ¿ Sep 16, 2020 12:57

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Epoxy Bulletin posted:

My bike came, and I've been rambling around with it a few weeks now. The stock headlight is pretty dinky, 100 lumens definitely won't cut it for me. I'd like to get a replacement that also fits on the fender mount and wires into the battery, is there anything I should know or look out for when shopping for lights? I could make things simple and strap on a handlebar mounted one, but I want to keep the bars clear if I can, plus the wired connection works off the controller which has a sensor or something that clicks it on automatically, which I like.

Most e-bike lights work from 6V and up. If you want something really shiny get a STVZO light, it'll have a sharp cutoff so you can blast the road without blasting oncoming traffic.

The cheapest lamphead with good power, stvzo and a remote for high-beam is probably the lezyne e550 but i've got no experience with it.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 09:49 on Sep 28, 2020

# ¿ Sep 28, 2020 09:45

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Cugel the Clever posted:

Write your congresspeople to include ebikes in any electric vehicle subsidy, folks. If we're actually committed to fighting climate change by electrifying transportation for the average person, a $1500 electric bike discounted to $750 is going to be vastly more accessible to the broader public than a $30k automobile discounted to $25k (to say nothing of more environmentally-friendly). Would also expand the constituency for bike infrastructure.

Sweden did that and had good outcomes and of course they let it lapse unfunded. Did the electric car incentives ever go unfunded? gently caress no

# ¿ Sep 29, 2020 07:35

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

I thought the compass could take 2 batteries to begin with?

# ¿ Oct 14, 2020 09:45

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

stephenthinkpad posted:

No hiking? Why would they ban the activity thats least likely to spread the virus?

Because assholes were assholes, and hiking is only safe when trails aren't at 400% of rated capacity.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2020 17:44

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

marmot25 posted:

I might cancel my wagon order in favor of something like a tern gsd?

The second gen GSD seems to have fixed the gripes we have with the first one (ultra lovely stand and front end is kinda harsh), provided they�ve learned how to face brake mounts properly, and you buy a suspension seatpost.

The enviolo IGH *really* doesn�t like shifting under power, but unlike shimano hubs it just won�t let you shift, instead of taking the shift and grinding the gears to gently caress if you�re pedaling with any power at all.

I don�t know how the rohloff shifts behind a mid-motor.

I�d buy the S10, if i were buying one today.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2020 12:17

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

kimbo305 posted:

Does the hub come with a hollow axle? What path do the wires take such that they're not twisting with the motion of the hub?

"it depends"

My old bionx had a D-shaped axle and retainer with a dog that'd fit in your dropout instead of a torque arm, and the wiring ran on the inside of the dropouts, on the fixed part of the hub.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2020 14:08

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Safety Dance posted:

I got ankle surgery yesterday. The ebike batteries are stored inside and they're both 40-60% charged. Let's see how they do sitting until January/February!

Do they have a low self discharge mode?

# ¿ Nov 5, 2020 19:53

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Just push the button every once in a while and keep them around 3-4 bars and they�ll be just fine.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2020 20:04

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

stephenthinkpad posted:

Just charge it every 3-6 months back to 80% and you are fine.

Once you've established it doesn't self-discharge too fast that's the move.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2020 12:19

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Man the Tern GSD v2 looks like such a great bike.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2021 11:50

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

CopperHound posted:

Comes with a good kickstand now?

lol yes. God the v1 had such a piece of poo poo. The v2 is a remote-unlock version of the upgrade for the v1.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2021 22:38

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Voodoofly posted:

Last week I demoed a full suspension e mountain bike. 21 kilometres total, mainly up a mountain and back down, including some real trails. I broke down in tears after getting back to the shop. We placed an order the next day and I should have it next month.

Man that's awesome.

Also you're the perfect case to demonstrate the correctness of EU ebike rules. 25kph bikes are bikes, period. Above that you're a moped with all that entails. There's a bunch of people on ebikes on our trail network and honestly it doesn't bother anyone, plus MTB peeps get to take their spouses/kids along and that owns.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2021 11:28

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

marmot25 posted:

Pulled the trigger on one of the gen2 GSDs from my LBS. Decided I couldn�t justify the Rohloff and went for the s00 instead. I think I can get used to the Enviolo cvt...we�ll see!

The first enviolos were unreliable POS'es but they've really improved and have a cargo/ebike specific hub too. It absolutely will not shift under load but it's not biggy, and it doesn't make death noises when you shift it with just a bit more torque than idea. Overall I quite liked it when I rode one for a week.

The v2 GSD solves 90% of the issues with the v1, so if you want a long tail it's the best option IMO.

chaosbreather posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0CJk5UpY4w

This is good practice. You can't have your butt on the saddle, good leg extension at the bottom of the stroke, and any ground clearance at the same time. The saddle is the right part to compromise. When you want to stop just stand on a pedal at the bottom of the stroke and put your opposite foot down.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Jan 28, 2021

# ¿ Jan 28, 2021 13:53

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

your LBS sounds cool, glad you�re riding

# ¿ Feb 15, 2021 20:04

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

meowmeowmeowmeow posted:

So the main difference between cheap kit and nice bike is power sensing and smoothness of the boost?

That, noise, reliability, parts availability and LBS support, etc

# ¿ Feb 18, 2021 12:22

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Dren posted:

I'm having trouble imagining replacing my car with an ebike. I regularly transport passengers and travel longer distances, both of which would be impractical on bikes.

This is by design. American midcentury city planning was a hell of a thing.
There's only so much public space and rich white guys decided it'd be used for cars, and more cars, and gently caress you. Also everyone that matters would live in free standing houses in the burbs, which make disproportionate use of city resources. No, you can't build anything else.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Mar 9, 2021

# ¿ Mar 9, 2021 15:46

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

learnincurve posted:

I caved and bought from a company reconditioning Argos returns, vitesse pulse, new �1100, but mine was �600, has the 100-120km battery which makes up for the front wheel drive and v brakes (??)

Standard �I took this shot for the insurance outside Halfords� shot.

If the V brakes annoy you HS 33�s are a massive improvement.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2021 17:49

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

The trick with rim brakes in the wet is to clear the brake track with light pressure before you actually brake.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2021 19:03

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

kaptkobe posted:

Well I�m finding out that I really over bought on the batteries. I rode to work all week and around town a bit and I still have 54 volts on the two 52 volt 900 wh batteries. I�d just use one but want to keep the other fresh if I want to take longer rides.

If you're over capacity you can make li-ion cells essentially last forever by only running them from 80 to 20.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2021 16:33

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

kimbo305 posted:

I've heard that before -- do you have to stay under the 80 or some upper threshold for that to work? Does fully charging also wear the battery?

yeah, dendrites!

EVs really encourage you to not top up unless you need the range for the same reason.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2021 00:34

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

Dren posted:

Batteries cost like $650-$850, it�s worth it to prolong their life even if other components fail and need to be replaced first.

Yeah first tier OEM batteries are a loving ripoff, but their components can have extensive warranties. It's worth taking care of them.
I just have an hour timer behind my charger, and give the battery a squirt when I'm down to 3/5 bars or so.

It'd be real nice if the chargers had a cutoff switch, but they're essentially just power bricks, most systems have the charge controller and BMS integrated in the power pack.

evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 11:37 on Mar 17, 2021

# ¿ Mar 17, 2021 11:34

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

gonger posted:

I recently crossed the �200 miles ridden� milestone of my R&M Load and it�s been a godsend for giving me and the little dude something to do.

I loving love those things. The design brief discussion must have been like:

"so what features do we want on this?"
"yes"

# ¿ Mar 18, 2021 23:02

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

You'll burn the FETs from excessive draw.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2021 14:17

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

kimbo305 posted:

That's one thing I've found weird about the ebike community. There doesn't seem to be a detailed and sufficiently critical review site. Or YT channel.
EBR is the most critical, and they're never that harsh on a product. And certainly not detailed enough.

An e-bike hambini would own

# ¿ Apr 3, 2021 09:35

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

So in the US when they say no e-bikes on this trail does that include even 250W pedelecs? E-bikes are a total non-issue around here so I'm wondering.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2021 17:18

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

CopperHound posted:

Some places, such as Henry Coe state park, specificaly only allow class 1* ebikes.

*Most people do not have class one ebikes in the US.

Lol I looked it up and not only do you have 3 classes of ebikes, there's no loving federal standard.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 12:50

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

For comparison's sake, in the EU anything without a throttle and less than 250W constant output is legally a bike, and anything over is a moped and better be registered and plated as such.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 14:59

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 19:46

evil_bunnY: Apr 2, 2003

ES is definitely the place is you're an EE looking to build an e-bike from scratch, and absolutely no one else :mrgw:

# ¿ Apr 19, 2021 12:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

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