How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

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fooby
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How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

Hi All,
I'm interested in purchasing an ebike and it seems that the cheapest option is to go with a bike made in China. However, in my searching I have developed some questions.

1) How long do the batteries last, both per charge and lifetime?

2) What is the realistic top speed without pedaling?

3) What sort of maintenance is needed? How self serviceable is it?

4) How is the bike on hills? Does it have a set of gears?

5) The wheels are 22"; how easy is it to find tubes and tires?

6) In general how does it live up to other Chinese ebikes? What about non-Chinese ebikes?

If you have any other advice or insight into purchasing a first ebike that would be great!

Thanks,
Fooby

bug500
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Joined: Saturday, May 17, 2008 - 21:03
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

this is most likely a piece of garbage. There are a number of kits available to turn any bicycle into an electric with minimal effort.

Check out the kit available from largoscooters.com or electricrider.com. Cheaper chinese options are all over the web but these retailers have a quality product.

reikiman
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

How could someone with a domain name of 'ilovebikes.com' sell junk bikes? I want to believe it would be a good bike. http://www.iloveebikes.com/ebike098.html

FWIW I've seen little or no discussion of the Liberty Electric bikes and I've been reading e-bicycling groups for 6+ years now. On the other hand the crystalyte and wilderness energy kits are very popular and have shown to be very reliable. With a kit you can choose the bike style you want and add the kit to it. Assembly is pretty simple - though this liberty electric is nice in that all the parts for a complete bike come from one purchase.

fooby
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

Hey guys,
Thanks for the insight. I've gone ahead and ordered the bike. It's manufactured by Small Antelope, a Chinese company who produces over 30 different electric vehicles. As soon as I get a chance to try it out I'll be sure to post all the details. I find it hard to believe that it could be junk when there are so many different electric bikes being made in China. In fact, the popularity of electric bikes has improved the air quality in many Chinese cities!

I understand that there are tons of kits and pre-built bikes around. So, I'll try to explain why I made the choice to get the bike I did.

1) Battery placement - Many of the kits hang the battery high in the middle of the frame, or over the back seat. This would seem to create an awkward center of gravity. The Liberty Electric's batteries are in the seat post, and the post that connects the handlebars to the bottom of the bike. Therefore, the center of gravity is low, hopefully making the bike easier to balance.

2) Range - The factory range is 30-36 miles. This distance is nearly twice what I have seen for other bikes, both kit and pre-built. The only down side to this feature is the added weight to the bike. All together it weighs 115lbs.

3) Price - Other pre-built kits go for $1200. After shipping, the 098 is less than $1000 (with some extras like a trunk and fork lock). Sure, there are benefits to buying the over-one-thousand-dollars bikes. You get a lighter frame and a more bicycle feel, but the range with current batteries is shorter, unless the bike accepts LiFePo4 batteries which would increase the cost anyway.

So there you have it, my three reasons for choosing to get the Liberty Electric 098 City Bike. I sure hope that it works out as well as I imagine it well. I'll be sure to post after I've ridden around the block a few times.

Fooby

electricgirl
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

Hey there. I am new to this but I came across this forum because I am looking for information specifically on the Liberty 48v electric bike. Please please tell me about it when you get it. I am on a very limited budget (hence getting interested in ebikes) and I can't afford a lot of the other bikes like the ego. I need to be able to ride the bike in a fairly hilly area for about 15 miles before charging.
Please please let everyone know how this bike works for you.
Thanks.
electricgirl

fooby
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

Hey All,
So, I have finally put together a review of the Liberty Electric 48V 098 City Bike.

The bike arrived quicker than I had expected and in relatively good shape. The box was mildly damaged which translated into a couple of scratches on the plastic bits, but there were no major problems beyond that. The bike is clearly made in China. That's not to say it's a piece of junk; however, it is simply constructed. Nearly every piece of the bike is held together with a Phillips head machine screw or a Phillips head nut and bolt. This makes the bike easy to construct.
The bike comes with a couple of the pieces removed, but included in the box is a set of instructions that has been loosely translated and edited. There were two pieces of the bike not included in the instructions. The seat hinge, and the mirrors. The hinge is simple to figure out, although my package was without the hinge itself. The mirrors actually replace the bolts that hold the brakes levers to the handle bars. This is an odd arrangement and could lead to the stripping of the mirror's threads. After putting all the parts on the bike and giving a quick charge to the batteries I was on my way.
As I am unfamiliar with other electric bikes I will try to say away from qualitative descriptions about the sound of the motor, but it is pretty quiet. The pickup is alright, but the time it takes to get from 15 to 18 mph is longer than I would have liked. Also, the gear ratio does not lend it self to helping out at those speeds. The 300W motor is great for flat area, but will struggle up hills dropping to about 12 mph on an average hill and 8-10mph on the really steep ones. A second passenger really slows down the bike going up hill, especially on low battery. The true average speed of the bike is 15 mph, or 19.5 kmph. The true top speed on flat ground is 17.6mph or 28.5kmph.
The brakes need to be adjusted. They are not very tight out of the box and have trouble stopping the bike. The bike handles well due to it's low center of gravity which results from the placement of the batteries. One battery sits just in front of the seat and the other is directly under the seat. This makes riding with a passenger very easy as the balance of the bike is not changed by their weight. However, a passenger does make breaking take a lot longer.
I decided to go for the trunk and fork lock as add-ons to the bike. The trunk attaches with two screws through the frame. It makes quite a bit of noise if not secure, and things inside like to rattle. The lights that are in the trunk are very simple and need to be checked frequently to make sure they haven't slipped out of their sockets. The bulbs are held in a rubber sleeve that has contacts in it and the rubber sleeve is then jammed into the mirrored receptacle. Simple, effective, but must be paid close attention to. The fork lock looks pretty secure, but it seems like anyone with a wrench, a Phillips head screwdriver and some time could jimmy it off. An additional lock is highly suggested, but keep in mind there is not a lot of frame to attach it to.

boyelectric
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Re: How about the Liberty Electirc 48V 098 City Bike?

How do you like it now?

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