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Old May 28th 08, 09:03 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
DougC
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Posts: 1,276
Default ebikes: lots of bad ideas

johns wrote:
Before I start building my ebike, I'm reading everything I can find
on what is available. So far, I'm learning more about what not to
get ..

........

Sounds to me like the ebike has a ways to go.

johns


One thing I noticed right off when I started looking into gas and
electric bicycle engine kits, was that the people with electrics always,
always ended up wishing they could ride longer. During a short test ride
the torque/acceleration can seem impressive, and you usually cannot
explore the limitations of the battery endurance.

With gas engines you can ride all day if you keep pouring gas in. Most
of the gas ones don't do real well up hills either, because they only
allow one drive speed. The Staton/NuVinci setup seems to be the first
that allows variable drive ratios.

A few people have built bikes using the cheap Lifan moped/motorcycle
engines, 50-to-100cc engines that only cost around $300 and come with a
3- or 4-speed transmission. These are usually over legal
displacement/power/top speed limits but the multiple gears totally
eliminates the problem of hillclimbing. And the engine/trans weighs
around 40 lbs.
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