Cycling in Melbourne Australia
Electric Bikes - Improvements? Pros and Cons?
Hi all, I work for an electric bike business that has 4 dealers in Melbourne. In my research on electric bikes I've found that a lot of people love ebikes, but some are really worried about certain aspects of the electric bikes, most commonly the expense and reliability of the bike. What are your thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on -
I'm with Chris, hub mount, and another advantage of hub drive is it puts the spin-up mass close to the centre of rotation, which improves acceleration, especially important if you're forced to pedal due to breakdown or battery discharge.
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Permalink Reply by Donald Rintoule on -
Pleased to see you concession because you are right that they do have their uses and not all people are able bodied, fit or have a shower at work.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Parker on -
First U.S. E-Bike Sharing System to Debut
This came on my email today. PEST
KNOXVILLE, TN (BRAIN)—The first e-bike sharing system in the U.S. could be unveiled as early as this fall at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The small-scale pilot program will consist of 15 of Currie’s pedal-assist trekking-style bikes and five hybrid, traditional Marin bikes with no batteries. Chris Cherry, assistant professor at the university’s civil and environmental engineering department, came up with the idea a year ago as a course project for one of his classes.
“It started as a concept I was interested in studying and I was able to find money to buy the equipment and have my students to do the initial design and analysis for a transportation planning course project,” Cherry said.
But the project soon ran into funding and liability issues, which have delayed its implementation. However, Cherry said the system is just about ready to go live with most of the details, including the unique docking stations, tailored e-bikes and battery vending machines, ironed out.
Cherry emphasized that the impetus behind the program is to develop research findings about bike usage, safety-related issues with bikes and e-bikes and physical activity. The e-bikes and bikes will be equipped with GPS and pedal sensors to track usage.
Cherry said he opted for e-bikes instead of a full fleet of traditional human-powered bikes because of the campus terrain. “Our campus is pretty spread out and very hilly so riding a bike requires a bit of devotion,” he said. “This is a way to hopefully get people to ride more bikes. A lot of students will drive across campus. It’s really auto-oriented.”
Larry Pizzi, president of Currie Technologies, said that aside from providing the fleet at a deep discount, Currie worked closely with Cherry on modifying the e-bikes to make them viable for the program, specifically the battery configuration. Pizzi doesn’t think public e-bike sharing systems will proliferate due to the higher price tag of an e-bike and the large scale of citywide systems. “But with private programs, like a university program, it definitely becomes more viable,” Pizzi said.
—Lynette Carpiet
lcarpiet@bicycleretailer.com
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on
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Aside for people with disabilites or health issues, why not get fit and harden up a bit?
Yep, zackery :-)
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on
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Hi, I bike 84 km a day on my electric bike, from Patterson Lakes to Flinders Street in the city and back and ejoying scenic Beach Road around 3 times a week. The electric bike is one of the answers to Melbourne's traffic woes.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Ayling on
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Nick,
Do you recharge at work or can you do the round trip on a single charge?
Mike
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on
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Hi Mike,
I can do the whole round trip on a single charge. I haven't done more than 84 km yet, so I don't know what the limits are. Keen to run it flat and see what the total range is.
Nick.
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Permalink Reply by Wendy-jane Anderson on
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Hi Nick, I am going to a cargo bike picnic tomorrow and would like some pointers on what to look out for in an e-bike..yes I a am going to invest $4,000.00 in an e-cargo bike...There seem to be the difference of front wheel motor backfiets.nl or rear wheel drivers like the Chirstiannia (danish) ....peter from PS bikes said his battery is a 3hr charge and about 45km ride...I have a 30k+ school run daily through the city..So tips on batteries is great for me and all the cargo bikes are pedell assisted...I have found a website that an sell retrofit motors, but both dealers say the warranty will be void....Christiannia has an alloy frame and is 15 kg lighter than the dutch cargo bike...there are chinese version for $2,000.oo less but I am going to buy the best I can for my money...Also the gears differ in that the dutch has hub and the Danish has deraillier... I have read all the blogs for the last 3 months and still am somehwhat undecided......The more I read the more I feel confused as there is pros and cons for every part of a bike.....All advice is welcome and may helo me invest in what best for me..
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on
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Hi Wendy-jane,
For $4,000 you'll be able to buy a very good bike. You need spend the money wisely though as there are lots of good but also bad options available. Most of the electric motors on the market today are simply not designed for efficiency. The key is to get the torque by weight ratio right. e.g. the more power needed to carry all th weight up the hill, the more power will exponentially be needed and therefore draining the batteries quicker.
I won't buy a pre-made electric bike. First of all the pedal assist is very inefficient, e.g. I prefer a manual controlled throttle where I myself can decide when more power and how much power is needed. Pedal assist doesn't get this balance right and therefore draining the batteries very quickly.
I installed 2 seperate smaller motors which runs off their own seperate battery packs. This gives more efficiency, e.g. 2 motors are using less power working together than 1 motor trying to do all the work.
I've done lots of research and found only 1 vendor / distributor who could help me achieving my goals of getting an 84km run on a single charge. Check out their website www.chituma.com.au. They are based in Seaford, They are far from the city but still worthwhile to have a look.
I recommend you get a plain cargo bike, e.g. no retro fitted motor or batteries and get them to do a conversion for you. Ask For Laurie Wills and tell him Nico referred you. I can send you or I'll post some pictures of my bikes so you can get a better idea.
Regards
Nick.
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Permalink Reply by Wendy-jane Anderson on
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Hi I am familiar with gazelle and think they are great..I am in discussion with a conversion guy Laurie who is going to convert my cargo bike into an efficient e-bike. So the bike already weighs about 30kg then add me the dogs and the shopping and the kids stuff and still have great breaking and safety...yes I have a big ask but Laurie is the man who is interested in the conundrum of having lots of torque with all that weight....I will let you know what he thinks is my best option, as I have not purchased my cargo bike yet, as he is looking into the braking issues of the dutchcargo with the shimano roller brake on the front/rear and how to convert, the cargocycles import with v brakes but coaster brakes on the rear and I personally don't want coaster brakes as for me they jam up. Not saying they are bad it just me and my needs. And yes I am buying the biggest lithium battery I can afford for about $900.00..I have spoken to the cabby guys in sydney and they are trialling the v-feits conversion which you can also look at on the v-feits website, the wooden box suits my needs as I have 3 dogs and lots of sand and I think for me the fabric may not be strong enough, but I will have to buy whatever is going to convert the best for my needs. 2 motors maybe be an option as in Australia the law is backward and limits the watts and not the speed, as in the USA, which limits the speed not the watts so to me that is the sensible way to have e-bike being efficient and suiting all the needs of the various riders. I will post when I know more.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Harris on -
Wendy it sounds very interesting what you're planning.
I'm keen to hear how you go.
Electric bikes are not really my thing at the moment but I have an interest in them.
Cheers, Chris
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on
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HI Wendy,
I'm glad you've called Laurie, he is very helpful. Just to give you more info on my bikes to give you peace of mind you are doing the right thing: I have a motorised tandem bike as well, with wife not too keen to peddle all the time and then a child trailer with our toddler and shopping at the back. I decided to mount 2 high capacity Lithium batteries at the bottom of the trailer. The balancing is perfect as you don't want to carry too many batteries on the bike. e.g. much more weight efficient to carry batteries on the trailer than the bike. And I can use the trailer for my other bikes as well. I think the same will apply for your cargo bike, e.g. I assume it's a trike? Two front wheels, side by side. In this can you can put more weight at the front with limited impact on balancing.
I find well tuned v-brakes are enough in terms of brakes. Also I modified the child trailer to be able to carry more weight, e.g. built an allemenium floor and to mount the batteries underneath the floor.
Anyway, Laurie will help anyone to turn their bikes into something special. 2 motors for the front wheel is the way to go. I believe the Australian law will change over time and I think no bike should be allowed to go faster than 30km / hour anyway, whether a racing bike or electric bike, etc. So let's hope things will turn in our favor over time.
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