Electric bikes, bicycles and pedelecs

Is it possible to build a decent e-bike for under $400 US?
I already have a bike I can re-purpose, a older schwinn hybrid/Cross bike with 700C wheels. I need to have at least a 20 mile range with pedaling, as I should be able to charge at work. I do not mind starting out with Lead-acid if I have to.

thanks,
Matt ( Man of a 1000 questions )

Hello,
My name is Brian and I am from Michigan.
I am new to the electric game and want to learn as much as possible about it. The first project I plan on doing is a front hub motor bike built around a frame I am constructing that will be similar to the Giant Revive. I am mainly looking to the electrics as an assist for hills, not for long range commuting.
Can anyone recommend any good books that tells about the electronics involved in an e-bike. I am finding a lot of information scattered around the web, but a lot of it is contradictory.

I'm interested to hear people's experiences with this company: www.goldenmotor.com

More specifically, I'm looking at a rear-wheel kit with their 500W HBS-36 brushless hub motor
on a 26" rim and their new regenerative 36V controller.

I'm interested in opinions of this motor/controller compare with other options out there.
I'm also interested in the possibilities of running this motor/controller @66V.

The application is for a converted Mt. bike commuter (20 MPH x 10 miles x 2).

Thanks,
Scott

I have circuit-board layout program on my PC and I design circuit boards as one of my hobbies.

I would like to collaborate with others interested in designing a circuit board
that would accommodate 3x2 Dewalt DC9360 batteries and work correctly
with the in-pack bms circuits. A built-in charger interface that would allow charging
all 6 batteries in parallel would also be desired, as well as the ability to run
with either 2, 4, or 6 DC9360s.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Scott

Check it out! "First Ac E-bike" (Power Hawg)

http://www.youtube.com/luc59457

Hello,
i live in germany and i have seen a yamaha pedelec being offered to sell (as second hand, not new).has anyone of you heard of yamaha pedelecs? are they stiill produced? are they good? (motor is not on wheels but near foot) if there is some motor problem is it possible to find spare parts? or are those motors so good that they never get problems? where can i find information about yamaha pedelecs and compare them with actual pedelecs
thank you
omar

I just bought a 24 Volt eBike made by EV Global Motors. It came without batteries and I was thinking of converting it to use Dewalt DC9360 33V batteries. Has anyone done this conversion with this type of bike? Will the 24V motor controller handle 33V?

Thanks,
Scott

Have followed the old Voltage forum to the "V", I'm a big fan and just recently registered cause I have a question. I just bought a used Lash Out (24v) electric bike and I have several Minimoto 36v 12ah batteries I would like to use. Can the stock (internal) controller handle the 36v? Will it shorten it's life? Can I step down the voltage (to 24v) at or near the battery before the power gets to the controller rather than change the controller? OR would that be more effort and more expensive than just replacing the controller?

There is a new electric bike shop, Small Planet Ebikes, in my little town of Longmont, Colorado. My wife is on the hairy edge of being converted so we decided to ride up and see what he stocked. The shop currently has some small Chinese scooters that I have never heard of before. They were 20 mph bikes and as such not very interesting. Most of the rest of the stock was Tres Terra bikes. Both Ellen and I rode a Europa and were favorably impressed.

I am continuing my search for the perfect commuter e-bike.
I am seeing a lot of hub motor and bottom bracket kits up on e-bay.
I am cautious about ebay and large purchases.

So, I put it out to this august group? Who would you go to for the best kit?

Thanks,
Matt