Thoughts on motorbike style eBikes?
- Thread starter Boopop
- Start date
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bonzobanana
Guru
It looks quite tarnished so I'm guessing it has done a lot of miles. The tyre tread at the back looks pretty bald. It's probably got a 2000W or more controller and that is the illegal bit. Direct drive hub motors are happy to work with 200W or more. It could easily be made legal with a lower wattage controller and a 15.5mph assistance restriction. The issue with direct drive hub motors is the more power you give them the more speed you get but torque doesn't go up much. This probably would only deliver 25-30Nm torque with a legal controller. A typical Bosch motor based e-mountain bike has a 23A controller which at 42V (a fully charged 36V battery starts at 42V) is 966W although I think the maximum wattage tested for a Bosch motor going up hill was over 800W. That direct drive motor at 15.5mph probably wouldn't need any more than 300-600W considerably less than a so called legal Bosch 250W motor but it would also deliver considerably less torque too for hill climbing.
Elybazza61
Guru
We regularly get bods in with things like these asking to repair them (or fix a puncture) we just laugh now,,,
Oh and they are a proper menace.
Oh and they are a proper menace.
tinywheels
Über Member
- Location
- South of hades
crackdown long overdue, I wager most are illegal.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Let's round 'em up, put 'em in a field, and bomb the barstewards!
Slick
Guru
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I now have an image of Bruce flying a Tornado screaming down out of the clouds and pulling up as he drops the bomb with you riding it down YeeHah ing like that bloke on Dr Strangelove
Yes - I know there are several inaccuracies crammed into one sentence but its in my mind so I can have what I want
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Kenny Everett really was a funny guy.
Oh my lord, Reg Prescott still cracks me up to this day. The guy was a genius.
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MU2BO5Obg2k&pp=ygUNUmVnIFByZXNjb3R0IA==
rustedchain8919
Active Member
- Location
- London
Maybe I should post this on /r/UnpopularOpinion on reddit, but here goes...
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This trend for fat bikes. I'm not talking about fat mountain bikes designed for snow and sand that we had five years ago. I mean this more recent obsession amongst some people for electric bikes that aren't really set up for going off-road, yet they have tyres that would look more appropriate on a motorcross motorbike.
Now, I'm not going to ignore the fact that part of my dislike of them is I think they're ugly. Besides that though, I think they're the antithesis of what makes cycling great - highly efficient local transport. Not only do they waste energy thanks to the extra drag introduced by the big tyres, but the big tyres also mean more rubber is used, and the frame has to be bigger to accomodate them too. I like bikes because they minimise my impact on the world but these designs seem to completely ignore that for the sake of aesthetics. I don't buy that they offer a more comfortable ride...sure they might, but that's what suspension is for.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still rather someone cycled one of these than drove around town, I just think they're A: Ugly and more importantly B: A waste of energy and materials.
So go on, is @Boopop an ultra-snob, mega-snob, snob, or not a snob at all?
My first ebike (in profile pic) had fat tyres. I bought this when I knew. nothing about bikes and was so very fat and out of shape I feared anything else wouldn't support my weight. I should add it is road legal and I bought to from a proper (now closed) local bike shop so they made it sure it was road legal, but many of the ones I've seen are modified so they aren't.
But I hate it now. The fat Tyre make it heavy and unwieldy, it folds, but what's the point since it's still really have and takes up more space folded. The tyres don't fit in the bike racks at work, and it's not very efficient.
I just ordered two new ebikes (long story) and one is from brand called Hygge with a shop based in London and they sell 6 models of bikes, 4 are folding fat tyres and they keep showing pop-ups of these every time I login in to the website to check my order status! They seem to be everywhere and the industry pushes them because they are what sells.
Fat Tyre bikes are like low rider cars in the 90s. Stupid, impractical and everyone had one.
You always see the food delivery drivers in these things running red lights and riding on pavements and otherwise acting like aholes and it's the just whole culture shift regarding these bikes that have put me off of fat Tyre bikes.
Getting people out of cars by getting people onto these often not road legal bikes that they ride recklessly is probably still better than them driving, but barely.
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OP
OP
Boopop
Guru
Good luck with the new bikes!
mustang1
Legendary Member
- Location
- London, UK
My e-mtb which has been added to commuting duties has 2.6 inch wide tyres rolling on 29ers. It's very comfortable.
But this comfort doesn't come just from large volume tyres and suspension. In fact, much of the comfort I get from peace of.mind in the sense that I donnot need to concern myself with potholes and various large cracks in the road. This allows me to enjoy the ride more because I know the tyres will handle it.
So it's not just physical comfort I get from the large tyres, but also psychological comfort in having to think less.
But this comfort doesn't come just from large volume tyres and suspension. In fact, much of the comfort I get from peace of.mind in the sense that I donnot need to concern myself with potholes and various large cracks in the road. This allows me to enjoy the ride more because I know the tyres will handle it.
So it's not just physical comfort I get from the large tyres, but also psychological comfort in having to think less.
MGman
Well-Known Member
Totally agree.
I use my Orbea Gain for longer rides where my Ribble & Genius bikes would tire me.
Perhaps when the poster reaches 80+ and still wants to carry on cycling - then he may not be quite so arrogant, especially as age tends to mature most people
Then again, he .........! Well you can add the rest!!
