Are ebikes worth having?

[busby]

50kgs? Are you sure it’s a dog and not a bear?

Think the dog could pull them??BUSBY.

 

[Minxy]

Cycle rack is the one that clamps on the door edges but also bolted into the doors.

Ah, that may be the secret often they don't like to bolt/screw into the doors at all. Carrying that sort of weight on the rack though is still not something I'd do but if you're happy with it then carry on chuck!

 

[busby]

Ah, that may be the secret often they don't like to bolt/screw into the doors at all. Carrying that sort of weight on the rack though is still not something I'd do but if you're happy with it then carry on chuck!

Would think something labelled at 35 kg the safety margin would be much higher than 5 kg,,BUSBY.

 

[Minxy]

Would think something labelled at 35 kg the safety margin would be much higher than 5 kg,,BUSBY.

I would never assume anything ... especially if doing so could cause issues further down the line ... there have been reports of doors being 'distorted/damaged' due to the weight they've carried.

 

[Makingtrax]

I would never assume anything ... especially if doing so could cause issues further down the line ... there have been reports of doors being 'distorted/damaged' due to the weight they've carried.

Like every good pupil, it’s best to do your homework. I’ve emailed Knaus about the bike carrier and weight of ebikes I’m considering, to see if the back wall of my coach built can safely take the 40kg weight. It’s been two weeks now and all I’ve had is an email to say that they’re considering it.

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[HandyAndy]

In a word ..... YES

THIS ☝?
Convert your already purchased "owes you nothing" bikes to electric assist with a crank drive unit and a battery in a bag for the a frame.
Cheaper, easier and no love lost if you don't get on with them. Can always resell the built bikes on ebay for more than the kit cost you if you wanted a "get out of jail free card"

 

[tonyidle]

Apart from the physical weight of the motor and battery combo, I don't know why Ebikes are so heavy ? Our Kalkhofs are not light by any means, my old Marin hybrid is as light as a light thing and could easily handle the 250w output of an ebike motor. On the whole though, the ebikes have been a Godsend with my dodgy lung and Val's knackered knees and I would recommend them to anyone with fitness/medical issues.

I rebuilt a bike using a Giant alloy frame & the usual transmission & wheels. After a couple of years I converted it to an E bike. The weight has increased by an amount that exactly corresponds to the additional weght of the battery, controller, and motor. A lot of E bikes appear to be built on heavy frames with cheap running gear and controls that no doubt add considerably to the weight. A really excellent E bike can, IMO, be built by selecting a non-electric bike of the quality you desire and then adding a motor kit. That way you have control over the quality and weight of all parts used.

 

[Ditcha]

Not long converted our dutch bikes really happy with the outcome
and it did not take long

 

[Lenny HB]

Not long converted our dutch bikes really happy with the outcome
and it did not take long
View attachment 320590View attachment 320591View attachment 320592
View attachment 320590

What kit did you use?
Tempted to convert our Specialized bikes & flog the e-bikes.

 

[Ditcha]

What kit did you use?
Tempted to convert our Specialized bikes & flog the e-bikes.

Hi Lenny HB , I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit it uses a torque sensor so the harder you pedal the more assist you get plenty of info if you google it I got the 48v kit and a 20ah battery the whole kit came in at about £600 then about 2hrs to fit

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[Makingtrax]

Hi Lenny HB , I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit it uses a torque sensor so the harder you pedal the more assist you get plenty of info if you google it I got the 48v kit and a 20ah battery the whole kit came in at about £600 then about 2hrs to fit

Interesting post. If I had lightweight specialised bikes like Lenny HB it would be tempting. But having bog standard Giants that are already quite heavy, this would really add to the overall weight I think.

Have you upgraded the braking system?

 

[Manic]

Found this with some YouTube clips .
Doesn’t mention battery packs

 

[HandyAndy]

Found this with some YouTube clips .
Doesn’t mention battery packs

I think you forgot the link there matey ?

 

[Manic]

I think you forgot the link there matey ?

Your not wrong, dah, better late than never

Tongsheng TSDZ2 review: great value but not without problems

This Tongsheng TSDZ2 review is based on my experience installing over 30 of these motor kits on bikes as diverse as road bikes, mountain bikes and recumbents.

ebikechoices.com

 

[Ditcha]

Interesting post. If I had lightweight specialised bikes like Lenny HB it would be tempting. But having bog standard Giants that are already quite heavy, this would really add to the overall weight I think.

Have you upgraded the braking system?

The good thing with torque sensing motor is it only kicks in when you apply pressure to the pedals (wont while standing still), no need to uprate brakes as soon as you stop pedalling so does the assist as for the weight the motor is really quite small maybe a couple of kgs its the battery that adds the weight, we bought 20ah batteries but on second thoughts I wish I had of bought something smaller it seems to last forever.

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[Ditcha]

Found this with some YouTube clips .
Doesn’t mention battery packs

You buy the battery packs separately their is many ways to mount the battery ie rear rack, cross frame you decide and what size

 

[Neil Bedwin]

Is it rude to ask how much the conversion cost Neil and is it an easy job? BUSBY.

The conversion kit was £176 and the battery was £179. All took a couple of hours on my bike, less on my wife's as I knew what I was doing.
As long as you can replace the rear wheel and plug wires together then the job is easy.....

 

[Makingtrax]

The conversion kit was £176 and the battery was £179. All took a couple of hours on my bike, less on my wife's as I knew what I was doing.
As long as you can replace the rear wheel and plug wires together then the job is easy.....

Unless you’re used to working on bikes and got all the right tools to remove the crank etc a hub conversion is probably the easiest for a first timer. And a front wheel, easier than a back.

 

[Paddywack]

Mrs Whack had amongst her bike collection a good cyclocross bike. Incidentally we find cyclocross bikes or the new fangled "gravel" bikes the best compromise for the motorhome, capable speed on road and fine for forest tracks etc.

After a couple of years out due to illness we looked at buying an electric bike to ease the return. Now for me the entry point for a reasonable non-electric bike is a £800 - £1,000 anything less and you are just putting off buying a lot of new parts you will be replacing IF you intend to do any sort of mileage.

So looking at electric bikes you had the sub £1,500 heavy and probably limited life battery type - both range and chargers - which to my mind are built on a £450 base bike when you look at the components. Next up were the £1,000 "base vehicle" with a £2 -2,500 bespoke electric kit = £3,000 - £3,500 RRP.

As a "tight fisted northern git" this got me looking at kits - and here there was a similar range! I spent a lot of time trawling the internet and found this site particularly good Pedelecs Forum
I saw no point in taking a good bike and weighing it down with heavy batteries and drive and after looking at what's available I spent £1,100 on a Cytronex . Now that may seem a lot but as I look at it she's got a £2,500 electric bike. Yes there are cheaper kits available but there is a reason they are cheaper.

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi Lenny HB , I used the tongsheng tsdz2 kit it uses a torque sensor so the harder you pedal the more assist you get plenty of info if you google it I got the 48v kit and a 20ah battery the whole kit came in at about £600 then about 2hrs to fit

Sorry forgot to get back to you, thanks for the info they look really interesting.
I like that you can get double front chainwheels so could keep your original gearing, could be useful if you need to get home on a flat battery. Also could save a £100 and a bit of weight by having the 300 watt battery.
With our 400 watt Bosch batteries never come anywhere near to flattening them on a single ride.

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[Ditcha]

Sorry forgot to get back to you, thanks for the info they look really interesting.
I like that you can get double front chainwheels so could keep your original gearing, could be useful if you need to get home on a flat battery. Also could save a £100 and a bit of weight by having the 300 watt battery.
With our 400 watt Bosch batteries never come anywhere near to flattening them on a single ride.

Lenny I know you like tinkering with things this is a thread running with a few guys developing new firmware for the TSDZ2 motors good read and very interesting what they are doing take a look

TSDZ2 mid drive with 860C, 850C or SW102 displays only -- Flexible OpenSource firmware (Casainho code only)

Project status as of 2020.01.17: full working and tested, other developers did join and users are very happy, including online shops selling the TSDZ2 motor and 850C displays with our firmware installed. About the TSDZ2 Flexible OpenSource firmware/embedded software This OpenSource firmware...

endless-sphere.com

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny I know you like tinkering with things this is a thread running with a few guys developing new firmware for the TSDZ2 motors good read and very interesting what they are doing take a look

TSDZ2 mid drive with 860C, 850C or SW102 displays only -- Flexible OpenSource firmware (Casainho code only)

Project status as of 2020.01.17: full working and tested, other developers did join and users are very happy, including online shops selling the TSDZ2 motor and 850C displays with our firmware installed. About the TSDZ2 Flexible OpenSource firmware/embedded software This OpenSource firmware...

endless-sphere.com

Very interesting, might have to upset the boss and spend a few hundred quid.

 

[Belledog]

Just another thought, we did a lot of research before buying, so if you want our exact specification, and why we choose it, please let us know. Otherwise we won't bore everyone with the nitty-gritty.

I would be very interested in your research. We are in the market for a couple. If you don’t mind.

 

[suavecarve]

This is the trouble Lenny, her indoors is talking about changing the motorhome for one with a big garage to put them in. Yes, that takes away the hassle of the overloaded bike rack and security around the van but I’m looking at her and my wallet and thinking is this a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Mate, I only got to page 1 not having seen this thread
A month ago I was with you. waste of money. couple of grand for increased concern on security.

Then we were at the moselle with our motorbike. 40 vans on site. 39 had ebikes. It got me thinking that everybody else was wrong and i was right !!!! I succumbed to the wifes 5 year moan and we looked when we got back.
Never having ridden one we bought one off the internet within a night shifts worth of research.
I had never ridden a tandem before either (nor has she) and this one folds !!!!
£1300 spent. About 60 nicker in extras and she goes in the back of a hyundai i10 in about a minute.
I think its ugly, but we have had nothing but compliments about it from others.
We have only done 100 kms on it but we would have done zero on a normal bike.
Bike is giong with us and the motorbike next time and really looking forward to it

 

[Minxy]

Mate, I only got to page 1 not having seen this thread
A month ago I was with you. waste of money. couple of grand for increased concern on security.

Then we were at the moselle with our motorbike. 40 vans on site. 39 had ebikes. It got me thinking that everybody else was wrong and i was right !!!! I succumbed to the wifes 5 year moan and we looked when we got back.
Never having ridden one we bought one off the internet within a night shifts worth of research.
I had never ridden a tandem before either (nor has she) and this one folds !!!!
£1300 spent. About 60 nicker in extras and she goes in the back of a hyundai i10 in about a minute.
I think its ugly, but we have had nothing but compliments about it from others.
We have only done 100 kms on it but we would have done zero on a normal bike.
Bike is giong with us and the motorbike next time and really looking forward to it

Out of interest why a tandem as opposed to 2 singles?

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[suavecarve]

Out of interest why a tandem as opposed to 2 singles?

We are never likely to go anywhere without the other
Half the amount of batteries to charge
Fits in the back of the car in about a minute (we didnt know that when purchasing)
Fits in the garage whereas with a motorbike already in there would probably have to put singles on the rack
When we used to go out on the bikes wife would be well behind me all the time. When she caught up, I would be off again.
And i am a tight fisted git and it was £1300 so probably £700 cheaper than 2 equivalents
Yet to see a downside, maybe parking, maybe riding single crewed to get the bread in the morning

 

[Minxy]

We are never likely to go anywhere without the other
Half the amount of batteries to charge
Fits in the back of the car in about a minute (we didnt know that when purchasing)
Fits in the garage whereas with a motorbike already in there would probably have to put singles on the rack
When we used to go out on the bikes wife would be well behind me all the time. When she caught up, I would be off again.
And i am a tight fisted git and it was £1300 so probably £700 cheaper than 2 equivalents
Yet to see a downside, maybe parking, maybe riding single crewed to get the bread in the morning

Interesting ... not like us with the double canoe we had where we argued all the time so got 2 singles!

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

After much deliberation and a lot of research we decided to buy two Bianchi allroad ebikes.
These replicated the bikes we would normally ride and if we took the batteries out then the two bikes only weighed 1 kilo more than our touring bikes so that solved the problem of the weight on the back of the Burstner.
In February I was rushed into hospital with influenza which kindly turned into pneumonia and sepsis! 8.5 weeks later I was out of hospital and was told it would take a year to get back to where I was. However 12 weeks after getting out we were on the bikes slowly building up the mileage
I could not have done this without the ebike so we are so glad we took the plunge and bought them.
We are so looking forward to cycling in year.

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

The photo is of Yvonne on her ebike.
We are off to France next year to ride all the cols again, this time with a bit of electric assistance

 

[Chrisy]

Ebikes definitely worth it especially as you get older. Once you ride a decent one you'll be quickly hooked. We go three to four times the distance we would on our old bikes. Surveys have shown they are just as good at keeping you fit. There's some strange notion that they don't involve exercise. Rubbish.

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