been lurking around some e-bike sites. gas aint gonna get any cheaper, people are on a green kick. could this be the right time to jump on the electric wagon? the technology is baffling for my simple mind, but if it becomes a big thing, wouldnt it be nice to have a jump on the rest of the world? could turn into a business opportunity even. just wanted opinions from you guys. am i in buck rogers land or on the right track?
anyone interested in e-bikes?
- Thread starter X-RAY
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Your a little late to jump on the bandwagon. But if you run there's probably still room on it, if you catch my drift. Last years Interbike was a craze of ebike everything. They were everywhere. From the couple hundred dollar Chinese imports up to the $10,000 PG beauty. There's no doubt in my mind that it's going to get alot more popular than it already is. The lithium battery tech is rapidly advancing, and the ebikes are becoming more sylish. They're alot cleaner to have and run. Easyier to maintain. Quite powerful too. The only thing is, you have to plan a little more cause if your battery dies on a trip, you can't pull into a gas station and fill it up! This is by far my favorite ebike to date. http://www.voltagecycles.com I can't wait to get one ( don't know when that will happen). Also checkout PG if you haven't already. http://www.pg-bikes.com/ I've toyed with the idea of a pedal-less e-bike, like a scooter but a sweet lowrider style bike. Only thing is no one would hear or see you on the road.
WOW! Is Basman supplying the frames for Voltage Cycles? I would buy one in a minute!
Cheers,
Dr. T
Cheers,
Dr. T
I think if your wanting something to play with , or a way to spend lots of your extra money, or want to save the world with less pollution, they are the way to go. If your going to try to give up your car and ride an e-bike , I think you will be like the several people that bought little scooters, in my neighborhood the last time gas went up . They are parked under a ton of dust when they went back to their cars. If gas goes up a couple dollars a gallon and you spend $1000 on a good e-bike you could have gone a long way it that same money in your car. Thinking you are getting a jump on the rest of the world with an electric anything is a poor idea. Build a hydrogen bike. That will move you into the forefront. :lol: :lol: :lol:
X-RAY said:
The easiest way to go electric is to get a scooter and rob the drivetrain off of it. Can be done real cheap. Cruises at 20 mph.
Making money on eBikes is darn near imposible in the states, many companies have come and gone already.
Yes those are basman frames. If I'm not mistaken the bikes start around $2300. There are options for different forks, bars etc... The lexan "tank" is pretty sweet. It conceals all the goodies and it's light. Nice bikes. There's a 450 watt version also.
thanks for all the replies, fellas, please keep 'em comin. i have nothing against internal combustion, im a gearhead at heart. i was just thinking when the masses decide to go electric, hopefully there will be a need for knowledgeable mechanichs to service them,(salesmen too) and if i knew what i was doing then, i could be sittin pretty. probably not a gold mine, but maybe a business to pass onto my kids. anyone have a crystal ball? :wink:
yoothgeye
I build stuff.
deorman said:
Agreed, if you want to save money by switching to an electric vehicle or hybrid and you can justify the cost over time to do that, then more power to you (actually less, haha), but don't say you are saving the world or going green doing so, because the processes to build the materials and produce the electricity are just as bad for the environment, and worse compared to building traditional vehicles.
One of the problems with the American way of thinking is that everything is black and white.
I'm not saving the world by commuting on an eBike, but my car stays in the driveway a few days a week, sometimes all week.
I can't eliminate my carbon footprint but I can put a dent in it. I'm not a tree hugger, I'm more of a tree hand-shaker.
The biggest problem with electric cars is that they're cars. They're just too heavy. Bikes don't have that problem, IOW, the smaller the vehicle, the less batteries it needs to haul around making bikes a great platform for the juice.
eBikes can also be charged with solar cells much easier than a car, for those folks who don't like trading one fossil fuel for another.
You guys who plan to stick to just pedals I feel ya, I haven't had any new eMachine ideas in a while and may leave it that way. I've had a lot of problems with batteries and it's just not worth all the hassle.
BUT...........
They are a blast to ride, they make you feel like a kid blasting down the road and lightly pedaling. I'd invite everyone here to ride one if you get the opportunity.
I'm not saving the world by commuting on an eBike, but my car stays in the driveway a few days a week, sometimes all week.
I can't eliminate my carbon footprint but I can put a dent in it. I'm not a tree hugger, I'm more of a tree hand-shaker.
The biggest problem with electric cars is that they're cars. They're just too heavy. Bikes don't have that problem, IOW, the smaller the vehicle, the less batteries it needs to haul around making bikes a great platform for the juice.
eBikes can also be charged with solar cells much easier than a car, for those folks who don't like trading one fossil fuel for another.
You guys who plan to stick to just pedals I feel ya, I haven't had any new eMachine ideas in a while and may leave it that way. I've had a lot of problems with batteries and it's just not worth all the hassle.
BUT...........
They are a blast to ride, they make you feel like a kid blasting down the road and lightly pedaling. I'd invite everyone here to ride one if you get the opportunity.
X-Ray, sounds like you need to talk to some shop owners and get some deeper info. There's 3 e-bike shops in my city that I know of and I know ones been in business for over 10 years. Not to mension Interbike again but there were alot of seminars on ebike retailing and technology. Maybe some courses in electronics or something to explain the non mechanical side of it. I like to think that if you want something bad enough, it can be done.
I think one of these days someone will come up with a way to power everything without any pollution. It will be something crazy like eggshells. Then everybody will start to get along in the world....no fighting or wars. The earth will once again become clean .....then a meteorite will hit and destroy everything ....hummm anybody seen a dinosaur lately. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2010
- Messages
- 1,108
- Reaction score
- 236
Hydrogen ...haha
Electricity...even more ha..
The Art Deco era was inspiered be the Rocket ant the Nuclear Bomb... :roll:
So find yourself some Uranium 231 and make a Nuclear Reactor...
It'll run for ever... :lol: :lol:
Electricity...even more ha..
The Art Deco era was inspiered be the Rocket ant the Nuclear Bomb... :roll:
So find yourself some Uranium 231 and make a Nuclear Reactor...
It'll run for ever... :lol: :lol:
i just put the wheel from an electric occ on one of my projects a couple weeks back, but that's as far as i've gotten. i don't have any of the other electronics for it. i just decided to try it 'cause i got the ground clearance too high, and i saw where someone had designed their e-bike like that intentionally and lined the batteries along the bottom of the frame. an old pic with a stock wheel. i don't have a home 'puter right now to take a new one
yeah, an old project. i keep changing direction and never getting it done.
one major knock against it is, it's heavy already. the hub wheel feels like i added a brick to the bike, and the batteries will be like more bricks. i already figure it will be more like pedal assist, so really i could probaly do as well or better just having a nice light bike. plus from what i've read the occ wheel isn't very powerful, even with max voltage (comes as a 24v system stock but the wheel can work with 36v)
but i want to try it. i figure if it comes out decent maybe i can try again with a lighter, more efficient electric bike being the idea from the start.
yeah, an old project. i keep changing direction and never getting it done.
one major knock against it is, it's heavy already. the hub wheel feels like i added a brick to the bike, and the batteries will be like more bricks. i already figure it will be more like pedal assist, so really i could probaly do as well or better just having a nice light bike. plus from what i've read the occ wheel isn't very powerful, even with max voltage (comes as a 24v system stock but the wheel can work with 36v)
but i want to try it. i figure if it comes out decent maybe i can try again with a lighter, more efficient electric bike being the idea from the start.
