25 Pound Scooter for your travels!

[Villen]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

Ebikes are my hobby.

That is some rear tire on that thing! Two questions, How fast and how long?

[Barb and Alan]

Originally Posted by Raspy

I bought a Lectric XP at Quarzsite in January. It is a great bike. Love it. Our ground is very sandy and the bike handles it very well.

It also folds down to a size that fits a Lowes plastic storage box that has wheels.

How much does one weigh? Thanks

[Randy P.]

Originally Posted by Deadhead517

How much does one weigh? Thanks

63 Pounds.

[honda03842]

There is a class of airplanes under FCC regulation 103. Interestingly the entire regulation fits on 9 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. A license is not required to fly these planes. The entire plane must weigh less than 254 lbs. The engine typically weighs 70 pounds leaving 184 pounds for everything else.

Truly amazing and interesting providing space for inventiveness.

They are limited to a top speed of 55 mph.

There are numerous example but here's one, plans are $19.

http://www.affordaplane.com/

Norm

[Rzrbrn]

Norm, very interesting. Would really like to fly this thing. You had me right up to the part where you have to build it yourself. I can't even tract down a light fixture on my trailer that does not work. Don't think I will try to build and then fly an aeroplane...er...airplane.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Norm, very interesting. Would really like to fly this thing. You had me right up to the part where you have to build it yourself. I can't even tract down a light fixture on my trailer that does not work. Don't think I will try to build and then fly an aeroplane...er...airplane.

If you go on youtube and search on affordaplane there are numerous regular people building these planes and even more people building planes like this under part 103 of the FAA regulations.

It's very impressive.

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by Villen

That is some rear tire on that thing! Two questions, How fast and how long?

I have two ebikes. One is a fat tire Radmini and is a 2017 model. It has no suspension to cushion the rider. The battery style was changed the next year and the newer models get better battery mileage

"How far can you go on a battery charge?" is the most frequently asked question. The answer is, depends. Wind, road surface, road slope, your weight, the bike's design, and most importantly how much assist you use, all affect the distance per charge.

On the mini, I went 24 miles and was down to the last bit of power. Haven't tried that again.

A year ago, I splurged and bought a mid drive Bosch powered Gazelle dutch style bike. I haven't come close to running the battery down yet. My butt wears out before that happens. I've gone 37 miles on it and the display showed half the battery gone. On another day I rode it 9 miles up a steeply sloped road and used the same amount. I had to use the highest assist on that ride.

There are three classes of ebikes. Class 1 is a bike that has a maximum speed of 20 mph and no throttle. You must pedal to get anywhere. The motor will not help you go faster than 20 mph so like on an acoustic bike, you must either be going downhill or pedaling hard to exceed that speed. My Gazelle is this type of bike.

Class 2 is a bike limited to the same speed, 20 mph but in addition to the assist, it has a throttle. You do not have to pedal, you can use the throttle to go places. This is what my Radmini is. The throttle comes in handy when extra oooomph is needed quickly. One park ranger said he likes it because when he's riding with his kids and they are 15 miles out and his knees start acting up, he can quit pedaling and use the throttle to get back.

Class 3 is a bike with a speed limit of 28 mph and a throttle. In some European countries, these are not allowed on bike paths and must use the roads.

[Rzrbrn]

We need a bike that will go up roads in the Rocky Mountains. And, of course, with good brakes. However, my fear is that it will run out of motive power 20 miles out (going up hill) and I have to push or walk it home. 63 pounds is a lot of dead weight to pedal, but maybe not so bad if it truly is downhill all the way. I can see ditching it in a valley and not ever finding it again.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

We need a bike that will go up roads in the Rocky Mountains. And, of course, with good brakes. However, my fear is that it will run out of motive power 20 miles out (going up hill) and I have to push or walk it home. 63 pounds is a lot of dead weight to pedal, but maybe not so bad if it truly is downhill all the way. I can see ditching it in a valley and not ever finding it again.

It's all about efficiency and the battery chosen. We live where hills exist and have a 17% two block climb to our condo.

When we purchased Terry's Tern Vektron S10 with a Bosch 36 volt 250 watt motor we chose to spend an extra $300 for a Bosch 500 battery. A few weeks ago, after the third ride on that charge, she ran out of battery at 105 miles, but only a mile from the campground. We ride 13-15 mph.

My TSDZ2 52 volt, 750 watt motor on our ICE Sprint NT has a Shark 21 ah battery. The battery alone is about $675. I've gone over 120 miles on a charge three times and have yet to run out of battery.

We can charge our batteries driving down the road with our F150 with it's 400 watt 120 volt outlets.

Terry's Tern rides behind the drivers seat in our quad cab. My trike rides in the pickup bed with the seat removed to clear the 5th wheel hitch. We also have another TSDZ2 equipped trike for when we go with our triking friends that rides on the back of our Escape 5.0 on a trike specific hitch that's built like a tank.

It seems the cheaper the bike the heavier. Many can be 80 pounds or more. I lift e-bikes as much as possible and am surprised at the number of very heavy bikes being sold. Terry's Tern is 48 pounds and my Sprint NT is about 52 pounds. Most of the additional weight is the battery. Our bikes are built for touring though and that adds weight. Unfortunately, most e-bikes come with undersized batteries.

In the end though, you need to remember, the faster you want to ride the faster the battery will lose ah's. Also, the steeper the grades climbed affect battery life. We can easily go 50 miles or more in the mountains.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Rzrbrn]

Thank you Perry, I had no idea. I tried to find a Tern dealer near Nashville, TN. While the Tern website said they carry their bikes, the Greenfleet Bike Shop website is not showing the Tern bikes. I Googled trying to find anyplace that sells the TERN bike and so far not successful. It maybe they no longer sell bikes in the US. But now I am curious and will see what other similar bikes might be available.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Thank you Perry, I had no idea. I tried to find a Tern dealer near Nashville, TN. While the Tern website said they carry their bikes, the Greenfleet Bike Shop website is not showing the Tern bikes. I Googled trying to find anyplace that sells the TERN bike and so far not successful. It maybe they no longer sell bikes in the US. But now I am curious and will see what other similar bikes might be available.

Just talked to Perennial Cycle in Minneapolis a couple of days ago, where we purchased Terry's Tern, and they had a Tern BYB P8 in stock. I also see Cycle To Go in Tucson has bikes in stock. We were in Tucson last winter and they have many models on the floor, whereas Perennial has just a few and mostly cargo Terns. The closest dealer to you is Thor USA in Olney, IL.

We purchased a Tern because of their adjustability and quality of build. I can't ride a Brompton because their bars are too low and lack multiple positions the Andros stem gives for the bars. Plus the small wheels/tires on a Brompton will beat you to death. 55mm Big Apple tires at 50 psi are smother than any narrow tire available. The only changes we did was add bar ends for even more hand positions and change the rear cassette from a 11-36 to a 11-42 for better climbing gears.

To find out more information, you might want to join the Tern Riders Club on Facebook.

Enjoy,

Perry

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

We need a bike that will go up roads in the Rocky Mountains. And, of course, with good brakes. However, my fear is that it will run out of motive power 20 miles out (going up hill) and I have to push or walk it home. 63 pounds is a lot of dead weight to pedal, but maybe not so bad if it truly is downhill all the way. I can see ditching it in a valley and not ever finding it again.

I rode from 2200 feet elevation to 4500 feet in 9 miles. I have never used the Turbo assist so much. I used half the battery. Of course, that meant little battery was used going downhill. While the distance seems easy, it still was a good workout for me. This was on the east side of the Cascade Range here in Warshington.

My problem, and it would be similar on a non ebike, was stopping on the way up and getting going again. I looked for a flatter section of road, or a side road where I could get a run at it, for stopping places if I needed to stop.

My ebike is a class 1 so there is no throttle to help get going.

[Rzrbrn]

Perry, I am not totally sold on this eBike notion but will continue to explore the idea. I will see what is being sold locally.

Pat, I want something that will allow us to explore areas where we camp, hence expect to find a widely differing environment. You make me think an electric motorcycle rather than a bicycle might be better suited to our needs.

On the other hand, the Honda Trail 125 keeps calling to me...

We are...possibly...choke...elderly... and I am 235 pounds, so the thought of pedaling up a mountain is considerably less than appealing. We typically walk 5 miles a day when exploring, and sometimes 10 miles, but camping in Nevada, for instance, where the valleys are wide and uninhabited, just seems to suggest the use of a vehicle would be optimal.

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Perry, I am not totally sold on this eBike notion but will continue to explore the idea. I will see what is being sold locally.

Pat, I want something that will allow us to explore areas where we camp, hence expect to find a widely differing environment. You make me think an electric motorcycle rather than a bicycle might be better suited to our needs.

On the other hand, the Honda Trail 125 keeps calling to me...

We are...possibly...choke...elderly... and I am 235 pounds, so the thought of pedaling up a mountain is considerably less than appealing. We typically walk 5 miles a day when exploring, and sometimes 10 miles, but camping in Nevada, for instance, where the valleys are wide and uninhabited, just seems to suggest the use of a vehicle would be optimal.

Uh, I'm not skinny by any means. Just lost about ten pounds--thanks to the ebike but am still probably "morbidly" obese and I just reached medicare age. I use my bike to explore and run the dog hard while boondocking in the forests. You do have to be aware of what the battery is doing and the limitations of it.

On my own and when I have a plug in, I will try to get a minimum of twenty miles in on my bike and unless I'm going up a long grade that doesn't use much power at all. Things that affect battery are your fitness, wind, slope, tire pressure, speed and ???

With the dog along, I go ten miles. Ten miles is the limit for the pads of her paws. I think she does twice the distance I do.

I like the ebike. I can work as hard as I want on it, or not. When knees start bothering, I can increase the assist and lessen the pain. I used to work in the forests and my knees have taken a beating over the years.

Good luck.

[Rzrbrn]

Thank you Pat. The Honda Trail 125 weighs about 240+ with all fluids. The ebikes on amazonvary from about 50 to 70 lbs or so. So at least weight wise the bikes win.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Perry, I am not totally sold on this eBike notion but will continue to explore the idea. I will see what is being sold locally.

Not trying to sell anyone on the idea of e-bikes.

We have two trikes with TSDZ2 torque-sensing motors (like Shimano or Bosch motors) and Terry's Tern with her Bosch torque-sensing motor.

We also have two trikes without motors and a tandem trike without a motor. We're currently in Florida with our non-motorized trikes.

We're serious cyclists. We camp to ride various places, but I've gotten too old to ride to camp. We also have ridden our trikes/bikes in Europe. We were supposed to arrive in Amsterdam last June to ride until the end of August. Needless to say that didn't happen, and at 71 don't know how many chances we'll get. Terry is from Austria and her cousins are from Germany and the Czech Republic.

My only advice is, "Buy the biggest battery you can afford, and then spend a little more for a bigger battery!"

Enjoy,

Perry