E bike for 6 mile (each way) commute and exploring

[wesley]

How much harder to pedalling on electric bike after 15.5mph cut out on flat terrain than non electric bike..

Ie cruising at 17mph on flat cycle path

I do cycling quite fast on my hybrid bike, I often overtake electric bikes....got me thinking it may be too hard to pedal after the speed limiter due the weight

 

[413x]

How much harder to pedalling on electric bike after 15.5mph cut out on flat terrain than non electric bike..

Ie cruising at 17mph on flat cycle path

I do cycling quite fast on my hybrid bike, I often overtake electric bikes....got me thinking it may be too hard to pedal after the speed limiter due the weight

If you're regularly over 15mph (I even get there a lot) there isn't any point having one really.

Or build one like others suggested that isn't restricted

 

[413x]

The 48v I've dropped back to was no hassle.
Just bolt on.. connect & go

My hassle is because I wanted the extra oooomph.

48v felt like the Dogz when I first upgraded to it but when you feel the acceleration of 72v.. Well.. 48v now feels like driving a Trabant.

It should be noted that I only do about 20mph generally but when I'm coming home at 03:00 -------------------------> Whoosh

It's the acceleration that's the rush

I can definitely feel the appeal of custom.
I'm now (after one ride) used to the little push I get on mine

 

[SexyGreyFox]

How much harder to pedalling on electric bike after 15.5mph cut out on flat terrain than non electric bike..

Ie cruising at 17mph on flat cycle path

I do cycling quite fast on my hybrid bike, I often overtake electric bikes....got me thinking it may be too hard to pedal after the speed limiter due the weight

I had a bike that did 30mph on the throttle but they are illegal.
About 3 months after I changed back to a legal 250 watt motor I had a bad accident and my bike was checked over by the Police.
A work acquaintance had his 1000 watt confiscated when he was caught doing 30 on the throttle, not sure if he got it back so be careful listening to people suggesting derestricted motors.

In answer to your question on my MTB when I get speed up I can get to 20 mph on the pedal and on my hybrid I can sometimes hit around 24 mph.

These are mine

 

[Outcast]

My bike came.
Love it. Its like pedalling on flat ground all the time. I like how you still have to pedal but the resistance doesn't really change.

Did 16 miles on it, but of road, bit of rough path (Welsh coastal path) on Monday evening. No knee pain as of yet at all.

It feels a massive bike compared to my road bike. (but I've had that since 14)

It is heavy! Having to lift it over gates! Think it's 20-25kg!

Lovely looking bike mate.
Then centre motor is excellent for weight distribution.
It's really quite difficult to explain to people the pedal resistance bit. It's not until you have a go on one that you then truly understand.
You'll also find out that it aint so much the top speed which can easily be bested by most reasonably fit people, it's the SUSTAINED speed.
Aint no good "winning" the 500 yard dash if you get destroyed up the hills & over the 20 mile range !

 

[413x]

Lovely looking bike mate.
Then centre motor is excellent for weight distribution.
It's really quite difficult to explain to people the pedal resistance bit. It's not until you have a go on one that you then truly understand.
You'll also find out that it aint so much the top speed which can easily be bested by most reasonably fit people, it's the SUSTAINED speed.
Aint no good "winning" the 500 yard dash if you get destroyed up the hills & over the 20 mile range !

That's what I was telling my friends last night.
You never really have to go below 15mph.
Sure it drops on steep hills. But miles clock so quickly. Mine is to be used for commuting and exploring Wales .

No longer will I need to limit myself to 'better not go any further, I might not be able to get back'

If the weather is good this weekend I might take a trip to Caerphilly and go on some of the paths round there. Which is a good trek!


And, best bit of all, since getting this my knees haven't been this good in 2 years! Might be best thing I've ever bought! They feel like they were before I had the issue!

 

[arknor]

How much harder to pedalling on electric bike after 15.5mph cut out on flat terrain than non electric bike..

Ie cruising at 17mph on flat cycle path

I do cycling quite fast on my hybrid bike, I often overtake electric bikes....got me thinking it may be too hard to pedal after the speed limiter due the weight

yea but if you live somewhere not flat I'm sure theyre a god send.

also I doubt many people on electric bikes are actually trying to get fit, and I doubt they care about going fast at 90 cadence, surely they are more likely just wanting to explore the outdoors

 

[SexyGreyFox]

also I doubt many people on electric bikes are actually trying to get fit

That's the beauty of it, my wife asked me why I was sweating so much at dinnertime and I said it was because I'd just really give my bike some welly. I can sweat more on my eBike than I ever did on my road bike (if I want to).

 

[413x]

yea but if you live somewhere not flat I'm sure theyre a god send.

also I doubt many people on electric bikes are actually trying to get fit, and I doubt they care about going fast at 90 cadence, surely they are more likely just wanting to explore the outdoors

Exactly my scenario

I actually probably get more exercise out of mine as i use it more as I know I'm not going to die going up the Welsh hills

 

[bimbleuk]

If you have a decent bike already then a kit like the Swytch ebike conversion is a good way to add some assistance for up to 30 miles. For most people the 250W (300-400 peak) is more than enough to help maintain pace for a typical commute and not turn up all sweaty.

As much as I initially disliked the idea of a 15.5 mph limit it actually works out very well in urban environments on cycle paths etc. 20 mph would be better though

The initial push helps a lot out of junctions or getting back up to speed after slowing and of course on steep inclines that many would just not bother or walk up.

I would try to avoid the cheaper Amazon kits as there's a lot of variance in the quality of cells used to make up the battery packs. Even using branded cells isn't a guaranty without a decent BMS (battery management system).

I've fitted a Dillinger rear wheel kit myself as overall the parts used are decent and they are hand to give advice. The battery has given my over 60 miles of assistance between charges so is actually a bit on the large side.

I also recently invested in a battery charger that can limit charging amps and can select 80, 90 or 100% charge. All ways of extending the battery pack life. The pack alone cost £600 so is well worth looking after.

 

[413x]

Agreed. 20 would be perfect.often I want to go a little faster.

The battery in this is beefy at 500

 

[Outcast]

Agreed. 20 would be perfect.often I want to go a little faster.

The battery in this is beefy at 500

I think there are "delimiter" gizmo's you can install quite easily

 

[bimbleuk]

I think there are "delimiter" gizmo's you can install quite easily

Yes search for ebiketuning and you have various options a simple inline resistor to full reprogramming of components.

For my kit it's factory password "locked" but as it's a global kit the parameters are all programmable from the cycle computer.

Being fairly fit I can easily average 17-18 mph and faster on warm sunny days. However as I'm getting older plus I'm driving an EV the incentive to save money and cycle all year round has been less rewarding. So I bought a conversion kit to get some inspiration so now I can put similar effort in to my cycling but average 3-4 mph more than previous knocking a full 10 minutes off my previous commute time.

I've found that once up to speed on the flat the motor is mostly putting in only 25-50W depending on the assistance level (there some flywheel effect in the rear hub motor too) so I've still doing quite a bit of the cycling. Then I approach an incline and the controller detects the speed slowing (same cadence) and starts to increase the assistance to say 100-150W quite quickly so you tend to flatten out the route and maintain a higher average speed.

So I may not be using anywhere near the 500W+ of my motor most of the time but the lower rated hub also has a lower speed cutoff. I've also gone out for a ride on days I would possible think twice due to high wind and rain knowing I could always dial in more assistance to get back home.

Now I'm happy with my setup I'm going to buy another road bike for pure exercise and for use on my smart trainer. Swapping the rear motor hub out each time is a bit of a pain so I'll leave the converted 2014 Felt F95 for commuting.