Hi All

 

I am a keen cyclist, both road and off road, but these days struggle up the bigger hills as fitness and knees not what they were.

 

Looking to get into electric bikes and thinking of either converting my full suspension Trek EX8 or maybe getting a hybrid as a base for a kit.

 

Always happy to share thoughts and ideas.

 

Best wishes

 

Cliff

For any real cyclist, a torque system gives you the real feel. I used to say the settings were 20 years younger, 20 years old and liar. The Panasonic crank drive was great.

 

I'm running a BBS01 kit now it's on/ off power delivery so not as nice to ride but cheaper and takes the sting out of hills.

It helps with starts then you do all the work on the flats and you can get big mileage from a small battery.

For any real cyclist, a torque system gives you the real feel. I used to say the settings were 20 years younger, 20 years old and liar. The Panasonic crank drive was great.

 

I'm running a BBS01 kit now it's on/ off power delivery so not as nice to ride but cheaper and takes the sting out of hills.

It helps with starts then you do all the work on the flats and you can get big mileage from a small battery.[/quote

 

I was thinking about a bbs02. How do you find the crank drive when you have no power assist on? Does it have a lot of resistance? I wondered if a hub drive would be easier to peddle without the power on?

 

What kind of distances are you getting with your battery (Bristol is pretty hilly I recall)?

I was thinking about a bbs02. How do you find the crank drive when you have no power assist on? Does it have a lot of resistance? I wondered if a hub drive would be easier to peddle without the power on?

 

What kind of distances are you getting with your battery (Bristol is pretty hilly I recall)?

The bbs01 does fine. I avoid the steepest hills and get around 140 miles from a sixteen Ah battery. That's more than almost anyone else.

But my bike is very energy efficent too.

If your a real cyclist you don't need anymore than the BBs 01 it has a peak power of over 700watts.

With legal settings I can average 16+ mph even with traffic and lights.

Give me an open road and who knows what I might get certainly 20 mph average would be possible.

Most of my riding is above the cutoff so no issues unpowered.

Those speeds would be plenty for me. I have a motorbike if I want to go any faster.

 

You say your bike is energy efficient. What are you using and how have you achieved that?

 

I am leaning towards getting a flat bar road bike as a base for a conversion. Think my mountain bike is a bit over gunned for road and light trails.

 

Sent from my Paris using Tapatalk

I ride a comfortable recumbent, full suspension and a high ish riding position. Therefore 150 watts of effort gets me over 16 mph something I can do so I don't use electric power except for starting and hill climbing.

Even then on some of my local roads I get up to 35+ mph on the down hill and slow gradually on the climb but still doing over 15 at the top so no power use again despite a slow grind for anyone on a mountain bike.

Most people here use mountain/ hybrid bikes that are as aero as a brick so 15 mph takes a lot of effort. Hence my efficiency and low power use disputed not being a fit cyclist.

I ride a comfortable recumbent, full suspension and a high ish riding position. Therefore 150 watts of effort gets me over 16 mph something I can do so I don't use electric power except for starting and hill climbing.

Even then on some of my local roads I get up to 35+ mph on the down hill and slow gradually on the climb but still doing over 15 at the top so no power use again despite a slow grind for anyone on a mountain bike.

Most people here use mountain/ hybrid bikes that are as aero as a brick so 15 mph takes a lot of effort. Hence my efficiency and low power use disputed not being a fit cyclist.

Ah that explains the speed and range. More aerodynamic.

 

Not sure I would go with a recumbent though as where I live in Hertfordshire there is a lot of traffic and too many drivers trying to kill you.

With legal settings I can average 16+ mph

 

you can set it to 10mph and 200w its still illegal under uk law.

you can set it to 10mph and 200w its still illegal under uk law.

Why? It's a legal kit with legal settings.

you can change the settings and the speed limit i cant do that less i use a dongle.

 

and then i can only lift the speed limit, you can also dump 700w and max amps of power in to it which i can not.

 

no kit you can buy that you can change the speed limit is not legal on uk roads.

 

dongle

program cable

or the ability to rise the speed limit it makes no difference.

The Department of Transport say that electric bikes fitted with off-road switches or modes, that enable a bike’s motor to continue assisting to speeds beyond 15.5mph, do not comply with UK EAPC law.

 

or do you not get that! legal settings. there is no such thing if you are able to change them.

As I have said before it's a of road switch that's mentioned in the legislation.

Not reprogramming.

I stay dull and legal. I still hit 40 mph regularly but that's unassisted.

 

You might use a dongle and ride an unlicensed motor vehicle please stop trying to insult me and others by calling us illegal.

It's also no good for the image of electric bikes to have your provocative statements.

Think of the red top misquotes, all electric bikes illegal etc.

And remember if you are dongled and have any accident you could end up in deep do do.

Me I'm legal for that reason alone.

And going illegal well I don't see it adding significantly to my ride pleasure or range. Yes it gives limited short speed bursts but I get that anyway with sweat.

And if I need to do 50 mph either of our family cars can do that all day long.

so would my bike be legal if i could re programme it ? its not a off road switch its the point off you can change the speed limit or are you that ....

 

(admin note- can we debate politely please)

Edited July 20, 20169 yr by HelenJ

• so would my bike be legal if i could re programme it ? its not a off road switch its the point off you can change the speed limit or are you that stupid?

 

From .gov

We are aware of some electric cycles that have a switch offering a temporary increase in top speed that is often advertised as an "off road" facility. When the switch is pressed the vehicle can be propelled by the motor at a speed greater than 15.5 mph. Vehicles with this feature fitted do not, in our opinion, comply with the GB EAPC Regulations.

 

Your insult is why I don't join in some debates. It's not positive or helpful.

And the end of our debate here. Ignore function engaged.

Edited July 20, 20169 yr by D8ve

ill make it simple, if you can change the speed limit above 15.5 mph then it does not comply with UK EAPC law.

 

i can set it to 15.5 mph but also can raise this limit does not comply with uk epac law.

 

telling new members you have a legal setting is misleading them and utter rubbish so stop it.

ill make it simple, if you can change the speed limit above 15.5 mph then it does not comply with UK EAPC law.

 

i can set it to 15.5 mph but also can raise this limit does not comply with uk epac law.

 

telling new members you have a legal setting is misleading them and utter rubbish so stop it.

There's no point in replying, as like many others he's got you on ignore.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

ill make it simple, if you can change the speed limit above 15.5 mph then it does not comply with UK EAPC law.

 

i can set it to 15.5 mph but also can raise this limit does not comply with uk epac law.

 

telling new members you have a legal setting is misleading them and utter rubbish so stop it.

 

 

No need for rudeness Soundwave

 

Also, and importantly, I don't believe you are correct. There was a fad for off road buttons. These are illegal.

 

The fact you can reprograme doesn'tb make a legal kit illegal. You can mess with any legal setup and make it illegal.

I can do so on mine by adding a booster pack increasing voltage from 36 to 48. Some can be re programmed and some simplly changed in the lcd settings

 

A legal kit is just that..... Until a user makes it not so by whatever method. It is only the very very easy booster button that has a specific exclusion in law

 

And the reason was to react to the market.

Ah that explains the speed and range. More aerodynamic.

 

Not sure I would go with a recumbent though as where I live in Hertfordshire there is a lot of traffic and too many drivers trying to kill you.

 

Welcome to forum

 

I was born and bred in deep herts countryside. I would not go near a recumbent round there either !!

 

That 140 range is quite exceptional !

 

Bet on 30 to 50 imho as an unfit (or in my case lazy) cyclist

30-50 miles range would be fine for me and 20mph would be plenty. What I'm not clear about is whether a 250w bbs01 would be any good climbing lots of hills or whether I would be better off with 500w bbs02 (legal issues aside).

 

Anyone help with this?

 

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both will do it but the power ratings on them dont really matter cos you can put 700w in to a bbs01 anyway and even more with the bbs02.

 

You might as well get Hung for a sheep as a lamb. Get the bigger motor. The 01 can help you do 20 easy on the flat. And climb hills at 5 mph( assuming low gear steep hill and no effort from you) but much reduced range and an easy cop if they decide to clamp down.

I have a gsm 250w which is basically a bafang copy. If derestricted it can do 25mph on the flat. It also climbs anything the South Downs can chuck at it tthrough the gears.

 

And this on a 29er hardtail with knobby tires

 

It absolutely kills batteries in unrestricted mode so apart from a few tests when I first got it, it remains legal.

 

I just cannot see the need for a 500w if, ultimately, you want a bicycle not a motorbike

 

A 500w should be able to climb a given hill quicker than a 250w as you can do it in but a higher gear. But in terms of climbing ability - both can climb anything with right gears.

 

My crank drive goes through a sram 10 gear rear cassette . If you really really need to climb vertical cliff faces then an aftermarket, smaller front chain ring would lower all the gears.

Edited July 22, 20169 yr by KirstinS

Thanks to all for the excellent advice seems like I can get away with the bbs01 and its cheaper as well.

 

D8ve is using a 14.5 amp/hr battery at 36v (presumably this would nominally be giving over just over 500w for 1 hour if my Maths is correct) and getting good range. Is this the way to go or would 48v battery be better for the higher drain when climbing, giving longer range?

 

KirstinS - you say that it kills batteries in unrestricted mode - what batteries are you using. Could it be that you are pulling too many amps for the rating of the battery? I have some experience with lipo powered model aircraft so know that you can kill them if motor pulls more amps than the battery can cope with for too long a period.

 

Many thanks.

 

Cliff