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Electric Bikes Gaining Traction

sj

Staff member
Northwest Arkansas
I rode Steve Henry's eBike that he caries in his Just Stol at Johnson Creek (and have ridden a few others) this year. Very nice design and the pedal assist is really cool. However, it is a little big for a super cub and certainly two big for two in a super cub. Amazon now has a ton of ebikes (and scooters). I'd be interested in others who have been using them.

Walmart and Amazon both sell this little folding guy...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752G748V

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My home airport is a tourist destination with a paved bike path to town.
Over the last year, I have seen a bunch of Ebikes pop out of planes.
Most folks scoot off without a hitch on their full-size wheel e bikes. The ones that scare me are on the little tire bikes. Lots of wiggling and wagging as they go down the road on the clown bikes.

On Amazon bike SJ is looking at the tire size is way too small. Frame geometry is scary.
Not on bet I would ride a 12" wheel bike any distance, on unimproved roads or with a load.
Kinda like a flying a Mooney into a back country strip; you can do it but it may not be a good idea.
 
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My guess is that a scooter with some bigger wheels may be the best collapsible transport, although one with a small gas engine may provide the best range and power, and still be light. Just my opinion, but I think the small narrow tires/hard ride on most collapsible bikes will get really old with a little saddle time.

You could always go DeWalt.... https://youtu.be/VwuUQAsr01s

If you can rack it outside, your choices would grow exponentially. Wing or Side mount -

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Yesterday I unexpectedly had a day off work, so being a week day (less traffic then a weekend) I flew to Hailey, got the Montague out with it's 1300 watt e motor, and rode a couple miles to the bus stop. For 3 bucks I got a ride to the north end of Ketchum. Then I rode 64 miles up to Galena Summit and back. Try that with a small tired bike! I am WAY into e bikes, and currently have one for the plane (my Rans S-7S, the Montague) one fat tire one for local real rough trails (it sucks on pavement, kinda, exactly, like using bush tires with 4 lbs of air on a paved runway) and my latest, a third full sized bike I carry in my crane, like a dingy.

Here's my tip of the day: there is a flood of junk out there, you want to deal with a reputable supplier that knows and rides e vehicles of all sorts. That ONLY deals with Panasonic and Samsung GENUINE battery cells. There are a lot of counterfeit branded Chinese cells out there in the various consumer toys, along with quality cells you want the right BMS (battery management system) to go with it. Having said all that, my supplier of choice, the supplier that is head and shoulders above all others both in their pricing and quality is www.lunacycle.com BTW Steve Henry is riding a Luna supplied system conversion on his Montague, I sold him my first e Montague when I upgraded, he got turned on to them and also wanted to upgrade and I believe he passed the first bike on to his wife. What he is riding now is very similar to my ride, except I have a internal geared rear hub, a very high dollar option but one the gives you the broadest possible gearing range between low and high, and worth every penny. What I like about a full sized bike is that they just blend in better then a tiny tired one, or even a scooter, not that that matters but you don't feel like a circus clown quite so much! They are also dead silent, the noise of the tires masks the motor.
 
I second LunaCycles!!!!!!

they supply only quality products and are also enthusiasts who have brought prices down by increasing volume in only quality product!!

They started as a "consumer reports"-type of e-cycle website before becoming a supplier.

Electricbike.com is that info-site and you need to see it if you wanna know what is good and why.

For "SJ" types......check endless-sphere.com Mmore than you ever need to know about electric vehicles. my apologies to Laura!!!
 
Eric, head Luna honcho is also a pilot, and is gen av friendly.I keep him updated on my adventures, having one right now! Right below Borah Peak, o the crane bike, little work, lots play.
 
Thanks for the heads up on Luna. Checked out some Youtubes and saw this interesting sand dune rig.
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I've got a fat tire Rad Rover that's a hoot to zoom around the place on, my only complaint is it weighs a LOT.
 
180Marty. I have one of those track rigs. Have used it on snow with a ski in place of the front wheel. it works. but takes alot of power. not alot of fun if man powered. maybe a elec-version would liven the giggle meter.
 
Early last winter, out riding the efatbike, I saw that the Peruvian range rider had gotten his 2 wheel drive ATV high centered and was having a hell of a time..... so I rode down and between the two of us got him unstuck. NOT using the bike, just by hand, but riding that slope with a low pressure fat tire and 1300 watts of power was easy. This bike is especially low geared, and being a mid drive versus a hub drive, I still the rear cassette gearing to multiply the torque, mid drives are the way to go when hill climbing is involved.

The other pic was also last year, on my way up to the ski area 1200' above my place to pick up my season pass. I couldn't believe I had the needed traction much less the power, but it handled it just fine. I now have even larger tires on it, having worn out the first set, and have "gone tubeless", so I can run even lower pressures without fear of getting a tube pinch flat.
 

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BBS02? or what?

i have resisted for so long. am worried its all i will want to do once i am electrified
 
For my Montague and for the fat bike, I used the more powerful BBSHD, tweaked by LUNA with their special programming to output up to 1300 watts, 52 volts. The HD seems to be bulletproof, and over heating it is not an issue, as sometimes can be with the 02 when used in extreme trail riding. My most recent bike I built up for carrying in my crane, so mostly town type riding, I went with the lighter and cheaper 02, as it does just fine and is equally trouble free when used for that type riding.

Riding these bikes on a day bad for flying is how I do it, and several times now while riding I'll find a LZ and though it is cheating (having the opportunity to walk it first, instead of just eyeballing from the air) it is great fun to then come back on a good day and land it. But... then while doing so I have more trails and then need to go back again and ride them. So yeah it is taking up a lot of my free time, but the best days are when I have a good new off airport landing combined with a new area bike ride. Kind of like a good half day up at the ski area, then followed up by some ski flying, it doesn't get much better then that.
 
For my Montague and for the fat bike, I used the more powerful BBSHD, tweaked by LUNA with their special programming to output up to 1300 watts, 52 volts. The HD seems to be bulletproof, and over heating it is not an issue, as sometimes can be with the 02 when used in extreme trail riding. My most recent bike I built up for carrying in my crane, so mostly town type riding, I went with the lighter and cheaper 02, as it does just fine and is equally trouble free when used for that type riding.

Riding these bikes on a day bad for flying is how I do it, and several times now while riding I'll find a LZ and though it is cheating (having the opportunity to walk it first, instead of just eyeballing from the air) it is great fun to then come back on a good day and land it. But... then while doing so I find more trails and then need to go back again and ride them. So yeah it is taking up a lot of my free time, but the best days are when I have a good new off airport landing combined with a new area bike ride. Kind of like a good half day up at the ski area, then followed up by some ski flying, it doesn't get much better then that.
 
What about this one.? It would be fantastic if they were allowed.


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No dealers, and they don't answer the phone either! It's all done via the internet with hopefully somewhat already educated buyers. They expect a customer to spend some time on the big ebike sites (endless-sphere and Electricbike.com are the best)and not waste their time getting a newbie up to speed! Not the usual business model, but that's why they have by far the best deals out there, they cut right to the chase and leave the sales pitches to others. It's kind of like when I get a call in my little sideline of selling solar panels, a guy will ask "will one of your panels run my house?" I tell him to get back to me when he has a SPECIFIC question, too big a waste of both our times, and I'm doing him a favor as he'll learn more then me just yapping at him.

Best thing about riding ebikes for me anyway is when it's crappy flying weather, the crappier the better! Today was a perfect example, as these pictures illustrate. The goal was to reach one of my LZ's across the valley from my place, 7800' or so, about a 2 K ascent. It was fun, believe it or not. I have an inverter so I can charge the bike while driving, of course.
 

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Thanks, makes sense. I did do some reading yesterday on their site and the links they provided. That business model is one I prefer to use as a customer.

Rich
 
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