Of you guys that modified your bikes for added speed, what was your experiences? Was it worth it? Did you kill the range running at the higher speeds? Burn up any parts? Close calls or any accidents? Police pursuits :)
Thanks, Deron.
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When I add a battery to my trike, to run at 48 volts, I get more speed but range stays the same unless I ride slow. The extra watthours in the 4th battery are wasted on speed the way I ride. But It scampers up a hill a lot better.
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36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Details of the MTB here and the BMX here.
Details of how the BD36 is faring at 72V here.
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I have enjoyed having a modified Lashout scooter that can go over 30 mph. I had to upgrade the brakes on it though. With my 48V20AH LIFEPO4 battery, i still have a 20 mile range
I recently hit something and got knocked off me e-bike going about 20 MPH, and it was a pretty intense crash and I sustained some moderate injuries and it could have been worse. I am glad I was NOT going 30 MPH at the time.
I think above a certain speed, we may be better off riding a real motorcycle with full protective equipment. I can still get somewhere pretty quickly going 23 MPH on my 36 Volt e-bike, and the battery life is good at that speed
That said,
After my wounds heal up, I'll probably end up finding a 48V controller at some point and making the E-bike go 27-28 MPH anyway, and I think I am probably a bit crazy for doing so. But I will put 8 inch disc brakes on it!
Ouchy! Sorry about the crash.
Are you implying that better brakes could have prevented the mishap?
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
This evening walking over to the taqueria for dinner.. I saw this short wheelbase recumbent bicycle ride by in the middle of traffic going the same speed as the traffic. No pedaling. Instead the rear wheel had a large black hub -- most likely a crystalite motor, maybe a 5xxx series. There were two large black boxes on either side of the bike, probably luggage and batteries.
Obviously many e-bicyclists want to go for outrageous speeds on their e-bikes. Many.
I've always thought that if what you want is speed that it's best to do so on a vehicle built for speed. A motorcycle. Clearly my thought is being outvoted by the huge numbers of speed demon e-bicyclists. Go speed racer, go. Just, please, protective gear, reflective vest, watch out for the cars, wear clean underwear in case you get into an accident, etc..
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
My Giant LaFree will do about 21-22 MPH with assist on a flat road, according to the speedo. I would like to go faster maybe up to 30 MPH in some cases, like when I want to merge with traffic so I can make a turn. Otherwise going 30-35 MPH, which I have done going down hills seems to be best if you are on a wide open road.
I do not know what it is with a bicycle, but they make me feel way more vulnerable at higher speeds (going fast down a steep hill) then what I have felt on my mopeds or on a motorcycle. Could be just psychological, riding bicycles for like forty years at speeds that are almost always limited on hard you can pedal.
Still not sure I would want to modify my Pedelec to go faster.
Deron.
well ive taken the governor off my bike and a couple of friends clocked me at 43 kph and that was after about an hour of battery drain...this lil bike sure goes good
http://www.voltcanada.ca/DreamRyder.htm
im just dying to see the new 3500 li though and the vectrix wow nice hey i can dream lol
happy riding
"do not know what it is with a bicycle, but they make me feel way more vulnerable at higher speeds"
I think it is a combination of a high center of gravity, and fairly thin tires, and knowing you can't really stop that quickly and still maintain control.
Speed demons try this sometime. See how fast you can actually stop in a big hurry from 30MPH on your electric bicycle. I think you may be surprised at how skittish a bike feels trying to stop quickly from those speeds, and measure how long the stopping distance is. My Lashout scooter with mountain bike disc brakes I run on it can stop without much fuss from 30 MPH. Unlike a bicycle, I have a very low center of gravity on the scooter, and the weight is more biased towards the rear.
My E-bike has the best rim brakes you could get, the Avid Arch rivals, and they seemed to have unlimited stopping power on the bike when it was human powered. Now that I have added 800 to 900 watts of power of a geared hub and nearly 20 pounds of weight, they don't seem that powerful any more. That is why I want to eventually run the Avid BB7's with 8 inch rotors. The high end disc brakes also have better modulation, so you can control the stopping better without locking up a tire. I also run fat tires on my e-bike to try and get a better grip. I have 2.5's on the front and a 2.4 on the rear.
My recent tumble was due to my being distracted looking at how fast I was going on my speedo, and catching the handle bars on the corner of a parked truck. I'm afraid better brakes wouldn't have helped me in that instance. I took my eye off the road for only a second or two and that is all it took. the faster you go on a bicycle, the higher the risk of a mishap, and you really have to stay focused.
I have a Crystalite Racer with 48V 40A controller mounted on an old steel Bianchi MTB frame. Running 12 aH SLA batteries it gets 10-15 miles at a 25 MPH average. Maximum speed is 35 MPH+ on the flats (no pedalling). I have Schwalbe 2.1 x 26" tires run fairly soft (40 psi or so) and it seems pretty smooth. V-brakes stop it real fast. I have no problem running fast on an open road but you need to be real careful in places like parking lots - it's too easy to get going too fast in a big hurry. It actually seems safer to be able to get into traffic rather than trying to find a clear path along side under certain circumstances like rush hour traffic. People don't give you room on the side but they don't run you over from behind (yet) when you are keeping up and are in line.
I don't feel skittish under heavy braking when properly set up even though the 36+ pounds of batteries are in a bag on top of the rack. I had some problems but I got a stiffer rack and re-adjusted my headset. That seemed to make it much better and eliminated some high-speed wobble.