Hello everyone ! Ok long time lurker and poster of old! Am still cycling , now mostly just for fun ! Not much commuting. Mrs splitshift has offered me the chance of a new bike !
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Licktricity !
(24 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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Ok that went well !! I was enquiring about e bikes, rear wheel power or crank ? Benefits? Can’t seem to be able to post much here !
Posted 3 years ago # -
Good to see you posting again, splitters.
Maybe LaidBack and HartsCyclery will chime in with the industry view? Crank drive does seem to be the popular approach these days. Have the riders found increased chain wear at all with crank drives, what with all that horsepower to deal with?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Thanks, I look in and check now and again, I cycle just for fun now, commuting is a grind , sometimes jump on the bike but I tend to finish work very , midnight late shift pattern changes! I have read heard that rear wheel motors are a bit of a pain when you get a puncture ? I don’t need speed, just a wee help every now and then ! A system to charge it when overnighting wild would be great too !! Solar charger , maybe not enough though ! Good to see your all still here and still at it ! I’ve got a new position at work which means I am doing a lot of training other hgv drivers do it’s always good to push the cycle safety message . Lots of dinosaurs in the trucking world are retiring and thankfully a new attitude is coming through !
Posted 3 years ago # -
Good to have you back!
Always had useful insights and perspectives as you live outside Edinburgh and work all over Scotland.
This is particularly good to hear -
“Lots of dinosaurs in the trucking world are retiring and thankfully a new attitude is coming through“
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tesla have just brought out an electric bike with motors in each wheel. Seems over engineered.
No chain at all?
Lot of people who I have chatted to if using the work electric bike wonder if you can recharge it by pedalling. Alas no.
Big range from folding through to road bikes where you nearly cant see the battery.
Welcome back Splitshift
Posted 3 years ago # -
I know very little about them but if I were looking for one I'd look for features like a removable/swappable battery for security/rechargeability in the absence of a plug near a bike parking space, or one which comes with a wheel size for which spiked tyres are readily available.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I really like my single speed gtech belt drive ebike. Motor in the rear hub balances out the weight of the battery on the frame. But because its single speed its not ideal for very steep hills as you end up not being able to keep the pedals turning even with assist. And long hills you end up relying on the boost a lot since you can't switch to a lower gear and it does a number on the battery.
I bought it for a commuter (poorly timed) but its quite a good run around but not sure its an optimal for a fun machine though.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Can vouch for @steveo's electric horse. Real easy to ride, even if the saddle is a rock. Puts a smile on your chops in a way the small wheel one I had on loan did not.
Don't get a small-wheel one mibbe?
Posted 3 years ago # -
@splitshift - mid drive is best for a real blend of servo assisted pedalling and human power.
@LB currently has three identical Nihola STEPS 700c 'one size fits all' low step through models in shop. One good as new demo. Two used demos. Similar to Gazelle type spec with built in lights etc. @Harts will post soon I'm sure too!
Nice to see you back here!
Posted 3 years ago # -
I have a front wheel power folding e-bike which I'm in the process of selling. It has no modulation in the power which makes the handling interesting. When you start to pedal and the power kicks in the bike pulls in whatever direction the handlebars are pointing if you are on a rough bit of road this can take some getting used to.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Can confirm that front wheel electric drive on small wheels up leaf laden hills is a bad combo.
I'd avoid the Electric Brompton, the battery would cut out on potholes after a while. Ended up returning it after 6 months.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I'd look for features like a removable/swappable battery for security/rechargeability in the absence of a plug near a bike parking space
Don't all [commercially available] EAPCs have a removable battery? OK, maybe the really cheap ones don't but I'd have thought it was nigh-on essential if only because LiIon battery packs have a limited life.
Motor in the rear hub balances out the weight of the battery on the frame
I've not ridden a rear hub drive e-bike so I'm not in a position to provide a meaningful comparison. I can certainly believe that rear hub drive would work well for a bike with a 'minimalist' drivetrain. However, I can say that I've never noticed any imbalance on my mid-drive eMTB - in fact I'd go so far as to say that I don't notice the motor+battery at all on gnarly stuff (the rougher bits of the Pentlands, Glentress trails etc) which is where you might expect them to have the biggest effect on the bike's handling. You certainly notice them on the climbs, though :) I'd actually argue that mid-drive is better for climbing steep stuff as it reduces the tendency for the front wheel to lift on steep ground when using the higher assist modes (an unintended wheelie on a ~20° slope can turn out a tad awkward).
Whether any of the above observations are relevant to the OP's requirements I'm not sure.
Have the riders found increased chain wear at all with crank drives, what with all that horsepower to deal with?
The maximum continuous rated power for an EAPC motor is 250W, which is about ⅓hp. I don't know if anyone has measured the peak power that road legal EAPCs can deliver but there seems to be a general view that some systems can deliver a fair bit higher than that for short bursts.
I know that KMC do "e" versions of some of their chains, but I've not been able to find out exactly what the difference is supposed to be cf the "non-e" versions. I'd expect them to be more resistant to stretching due to pure tension - due to the additional torque that the assistance motor will exert at the chainwheel - but I've not been able to confirm that.
I've also looked around online and found a wide range of conflicting advice and opinions (as well as some astounding levels of ignorance of basic mechanical engineering). So far I'm not convinced that there is any reliable advice out there at the moment. Individuals' experiences related on online forums are, at best, little better than hearsay. And manufacturers' statements in their product descriptions have to be taken with a fair pinch of salt.
When I replaced the badly stretched chain on my eMTB I replaced it with the "non e" KMC 11 speed chain. My reasoning being that I'd allowed the original (also "non e") chain to get trashed as a result of my poor maintenance regime. I'm being a lot more careful how I look after the new chain, and I check its wear regularly so that I can get a view on whether it was largely poor maintenance that killed the first chain, or whether the additional load from the assistance motor was also a factor. If this chain starts to wear out noticeably sooner than expected despite cleaning (at all, cf the original - my bad) and more frequent lubrication then I may well try the (significantly more expensive) "e" version next.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I don't know if all e-bikes have a removable battery. However some are designed to be charged in place and require the bottom bracket to be removed to get the battery out of the frame. The orbea Gain is such an example, although I guess that many frame batteries have the same issue.
Posted 3 years ago # -
What's the broad starting budget, Splitshift? And would the bike be for mostly on road or something else? And which cycle-to-work scheme, if any, do they do at your work? And are you going to need to lift the bike up stairs at home? Those'd be the starting questions to narrow things down, if it were me.
I reckon hub motors are mostly on cheaper bikes except they're also on some mid and high end road bikes.
Other than that, you could do worse than put the wiggle ebikes section into price order , to get a benchmark sense of what's what just now.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@ gkgk mostly on road ,some light trails some possible commuting but no stairs , great bike parking facilities at work. 1-1500 pounds, biggest isdues are wheel and tyre maintenance, I heard maybe incorrectly that a puncture with say a rear wheel motor requires complicated recalibration stuff?
Thank you everyone who has replied, I always like using the forum as the wealth of knowledge comes without prejudice or lookingdowngthenosery !!Posted 3 years ago # -
“I always like using the forum as the wealth of knowledge comes without prejudice or lookingdowngthenosery“
That’s a nice endorsement.
I think there’s some looking down on those who aren’t as enthusiastic about encouraging cycling infrastructure etc...
Posted 3 years ago # -
I look down on everyone, but only because I am no longer on planet Earth, man.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@splitshift - our one can do ok. Suntour Air shock fork front so comfy to ride. (I'm not normally a fan but on a 24kg e-bike it works fine) As used by @dave on this forum.
Easy to use as has framelock = quick parking. Battery can be charged on bike or slots off rack.
Rear wheel with 32mm Schwalbe - plus QR to remove. Shimano 10 speed rapidfire.
White livery though. Nihola not a 'name' brand here so cheaper than rivals. Used one even cheaper - can pm.Posted 3 years ago # -
Thank you all again, I havnt fallen off the end of the flat earth! Still looking, not rushing into a major purchase, lots of ideas and be assured I will ask more of you all !! Scott
Posted 3 years ago # -
Just checked my profile !!! I’ve been a member for 10 years !!!!! Old or what !! Found this site after looking for a new bike in Edinburgh, recommendations then were correct, got an ebc revolution cuilin and spent several years wearing it out !!!! Oval front rings!!! Been riding them for years ! Suppose if I oiled them every now and then I could keep them round !! Actually turned up for mtb trail leader course on it, was told by slightly snippy instructor that it wasn’t really suitable, next day day turned up with totally rebuilt drive train !! Don’t think he suspected that would happen ! I have done bikability trainers course, taught many kids from local area who were part of an uniformed youth group, organised used bikes and a huge trailer. Fallen off bikes, sometimes badly sometimes funny, helped novices on the road with no experience, been ignored by expensive name branded “ fellow” cyclists. Never actually paid anyone to repair my bikes, I’ve taken bikes to parts of Scotland they have no reason to be and failed miserably on the easiest routes! I get out of breath, sore cold and wet , but I keep doing it !
Posted 3 years ago # -
“Actually turned up for mtb trail leader course on it, was told by slightly snippy instructor that it wasn’t really suitable“
Had similar experience, though my course was a more general (not MTB specific one). Only person without an MTB.
Point was it was the sort of bike I was using for leading rides on places like NEPN and WoL (not just flat/tarmac bits).
Posted 3 years ago # -
Chdot I was the only person who actually cycled to and from the course !!! On that very bike , complete with panniers not like the instructor a transit van and a. Backpack !
Posted 3 years ago # -
Sounds familiar...
Posted 3 years ago #
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