Electric bikes

Sven Cycles will do you a semi custom for £6500 : )

For sure - if you like digging into/servicing your own system Bafang is great.

Took ages to negotiate the contract to film my life

https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/1353341785825828866?s=19

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Quick question:

Mid drive motors send their power through the drivetrain such that a low gear gives the motor the same mechanical advantage that the legs get.

This is not so with hub drive motors correct? they're sending their power directly through the hub in the same way regardless of what gear you're in correct?

I mean it would seem that obviously must be the case unless there's some trickery going on.

This is not so with hub drive motors correct? they're sending their power directly through the hub in the same way regardless of what gear you're in correct?

I mean it would seem that obviously must be the case unless there's some trickery going on.

Not quite, the hub motors are generally controlled via both a cadence sensor, i.e. you have to pedal for power to be applied and the power at the hub is proportional to this plus also a dashboard setting which gives more or less power at the hub.

They work in conjunction depending on the finesse of the system.
So a bit like a normal bike, low gear for hills and turning the pedals at a reasonable cadence

Got it. So there's a torque sensor in the hub which cooperates with cadence.

If you get a Bosch mid-drive it uses a torque, cadence and speed sensors to supply/adjust assist.

Anyone got any experience of the cheap rear wheel kits on ebay?

I bought a rear hub kit from a bike shop, and of course overpaid for the privilege. It has the controller unit inside the downtube battery mount plate thing. Overall a small package. Only 36V/350W, and I find the torque is a bit 'ehh'. When it goes, it goes, but the initial push from stopped leaves much to be desired, even after going into the settings and upping maximum current to 30A.

Need to find a different frame to mount it as I don't like the one I had spare.

Was tempted to find a frame to mount it all up and try sell it to recoup as much money as possible, then buy an ebay billion-watt kit instead. Please report back if you get one.

Has the 250w limit been raised in the UK or are people's 350w motors being limited?

are people's 350w motors being limited?

lol

Fair, wonder how this plays out in terms of RTC/insurance.

Could pretend it's a scooter

Saw a Carrera e bike recently with a rear hub motor being used by a deliveroo rider.
One obviously wasn't enough as they'd retrofitted a front motor & battery setup to double up!
Loose rim brakes, mashed rear derailleur that only sat in 1 gear. I genuinely fear for his safety. Will get a picture if I see it again!

Anyone got any experience of the cheap rear wheel kits on ebay?

Front wheel kits are simpler.
Put one on an old mountain bike for my partner, basic system fitted with a throttle as opposed to a cadence sensor and controller.

Throttle is a bit on or off with very little modulation. Great fun for off road , not too sure it has enough finesse for on road

Haha cheers. Will do!

Problem is I want to keep the dynamo disc brake front wheel on the bike I'd be fitting the kit to so leaves rear or mid as the only options

I only use mine offroad on private land, etc.

Problem is I want to keep the dynamo disc brake front wheel on the bike I'd be fitting the kit to so leaves rear or mid as the only options

most of them seem to be freewheel as opposed to a freehub if that is suitable

are people's 350w motors being limited?

mine caps at 15mph

Mine (Yose Power) is freehub, or I’d never have bought it.

I realise that for many delivery riders e-bikes are just the new mopeds (although many still ride actual mopeds, and a good few ride without e-assist, too), but today I saw someone riding an e-bike nearly get hit head-on by a driver who was going too fast when the rider took a corner much too fast and ended up too far out into the carriageway. His evasive manoeuvre was something to behold, and there were probably centimetres in it. He then nearly hit the back of the parked car that his evasion had enabled him to shelter behind, but that had also blocked his view of oncoming traffic that he should have slowed down to improve. Luckily, no-one was hurt. The driver was definitely at fault, but the rider more.

lol

yeah lots of ebikes with throttles out there generally used by Deliveroo riders, I can see the reason why; cheaper than actual moped.

From an environmental perspective, it's definitely an improvement over mopeds, but I do wish they wouldn't delimit them. No idea if the one in the above incident was, but I've seen so many.

Also, the state of this--should probably post this in the Deliveroo thread, but when you phone to get a takeaway from RASA N16 these days, which I rather like doing and have been doing for over 20 years, you get a free curry (I kid you not, and inevitably an excellent one) just because you're not using one of the exploitative 'delivery' companies (really: monopolising information flow and accumulation to force smaller businesses into accepting a huge cut to their takings).

I mean, I never understood the attraction of ordering pizza to be delivered to your door long before Deliveroo et al. started, but that's probably because I like riding my bike a lot, I don't particularly go for pizza (got nothing against it, it's just not food I turn to first), and I hardly ever get takeaways except from RASA, but I think the current development, where some shit companies are trying to get people to accept having food delivered as the default, is utterly absurd.

100% with you on this, the only time I order a takeaway is if I am ill and cant cook. I also prefer to ride over and collect myself.

but I do wish they wouldn't delimit them.

I think these bikes are sold delimited or at least the motor kits arrive from far east like that. There is no legal enforcement.