Electric bikes

where do they come from? who develops them? who markets them?

I'm guessing most people aliexpress them. Yeah, the Ubereats/Deliveroo market seems the biggest one for ebikes at the moment.

just seen deliveroo have partnered with zoomo and one other to allow the riders to rent the bikes on a subscription basis. makes sense

They are probably the in-house brand of a factory that either produces bikes or e-bike systems for other brands. They likely show at Eurobike or Taipei bikes show and sell / market directly to bike share schemes or bang them straight on Aliexpress. I'm sure similar bikes will appear at consumer electronics shows and sell to shopping channels as well.

Do you think it could be the case that it is just seen as an electric version of a "normal" bike, and that to Joe Public, it's not any more valuable than a cheap eBay e-bike or conversion so they ran out of people who would buy it?

Agreed. Any bike that needs an app is over engineered.

I did this and am very happy with it, using a Bafang kit.

Regarding battery fires, the consensus seems to be that scooter and skateboard batteries are most at risk because the battery is mounted under the board and subject to knocks and bangs, compromising the integrity of the cells inside.

What do renters of upstairs flats do about security for an e-bike which is too big or heavy to keep indoors? Those bike hangar things are not much of a challenge for a thief.

Zoomo has a shop by us in Streatham and another in fulham I go past on the way to work.
They rent to delivery folk but also have options for the regular commuter. If you were only going to use an ebike for a few months in the summer, or just want to get an idea of what they are like before splashing out on buying one I think that's a pretty sensible option. All maintenance included in the hire term.

Supposedly this is the third time Van Moof has run out of money lol

Finally got round to doing the Swytch conversion today. All pretty straightforward. The pedal sensor was a slight faff to get aligned but nothing too tricky.

Had a bit of a test ride and seemed to work fine. Would like the power to come on slightly quicker when setting off but guess that is a limit of the system.

What do people do to neaten up the extra cables that aren't being used for the Swytch? I've got these connected to nothing (which are things like throttle and brake sensor I think).

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Has anybody gone down the LPM250 route?

Definition of 250 watt LPM250 Low Powered Moped class

LPM250 250 Watt Low Powered Moped. This is a sub-group of Low Powered Moped that meets the criteria laid down in the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 (SI 1983 No. 1168) as amended by SI 2015 No. 24. The requirements are that the vehicle: Be fitted with pedals by means of which it is capable of being propelled. Be fitted with no motor other than an electric motor, which has a maximum continuous rated power, which does not exceed 250 watts and cannot propel the vehicle when it is travelling at more than 15.5 mph. (Note:the official speed is 25 km/h, MSVA will accept declarations up to and including 16 mph as per low powered mopeds).These vehicles will be required to meet the standards applied to Low PoweredMopeds except where specified.

Amateur built vehicles definition

A vehicle constructed or assembled for the use of a relevant individual; and the construction or assembly or asubstantial part of the construction or assembly was carried out by the individual and/or persons acting on his behalf, and the individual/other persons acting on his behalf during the period of construction did not carry on a business in which motor vehicles are normally constructed or assembled.

MSVA (Motor Cycle Single Vehicle) test for approval certificate

1. Check that the machine has at least a prop or centre stand; a) fitted, b) which is secure, c) which has a system that retains the stand in the travelling position. It does not need to auto retract.
   
   

2) An adequately loud audible warning of approach device, which can be a mechanical bell.

3) Check the tyres are appropriate for the use of the machine. Should be no problem. Surprisingly under inflation is not an acceptable reason to deny approval.

4) Brakes: All low power mopeds can have pushbike brakes and need to meet the requirements of 2 wheeled vehicles. i.e. A brake on each wheel, front and rear. Brake performance is checked using an electronic decelerometer and its associated mounting kit, the front brake for 32% efficiency, the rear brake for 25%. It's unlikely that any bicycle brakes in reasonable condition could fail. To calculate the braking force for the check a rider weight of 75 kilos is assumed.

5) Pedelec tricycles must have brakes on all three wheels. The unpowered tricycle permission to have only two brakes both on the front wheel does not apply once motorised.

4) Lights are optional, but if fitted should comply with the following positional rules:
Single lamps must be fitted on the centre line of the vehicle. Multiple lamps must be fitted symmetrically to the centre line of the vehicle. Twin headlamps may be fitted one above the other. Obviously if you have any lights not compliant for position, take them off before the test.

Items not necessary for 250 LPM

Mirrors, Speedometer. Any fitted will be ignored for test purposes.

Although manufactured pedelecs require a plate detailing one of two forms of information, the MSVA test for 250 LPM does not require any plate, leaving the way clear for kit bikes and other home builds.

The test costs £55 and is bookable at any of the motor vehicle testing stations dealing with two wheelers that are included on this map.

Always phone to check first if they cover the vehicle type.

???

It’s a one off £55+vat test. No MOT, VED or insurance need afterwards.
A colleague’s Mum has had a stroke and can no longer pedal her Jorvik trike ( jorviktricycles.com/jorvik-elite-mid-drive-electric-folding-tricycle-jet-e2 ) it’s only done 500 miles or so and has a motor and battery capable of the distance she needs to travel and I’m pretty sure it has a throttle that can be changed from an on/off to progressive. Just wondering if can really be that easy?
Ta

Drum brakes don't kick like a disc does. If you look at the fork crown to fork leg intersection, its done in just about the cheapest way possible. Suitable for v brakes forces and normal riding, not for a hub motor. been a few failures on brompton forks (they are lugged and built well enough) where folk have put them swytch kits on them.

Those two varients of whatever falls off Aliexpress aren't too bad. At least they aren't total death traps.

Most of the rest of the fat tyre ebikes the deliveroo guys get now ARE deathtraps. Recent failures noted in person (LOTS of them)....
Disc brake rotors worn down to a knife edge in as little as 400 km (1 week)
Disc brake pistons making a break for it due to wrong size caliper adapters installed so only 20-50% of pad is touching rotor
Fork failure, lots at the crown and internally
Steerer failure above the headset
And then all the usual, bad hubs, bad tyres, bad BB, headsets etc all disintegrating within a few weeks/months of use leaving uber/deliveroo rider stranded with no income and a big bill from any bike shop that would take on the work, but most including us now (had way way too many of these guys have full blown man tantrums when we tell them it'll take 8-10 weeks to get a replacement fork from china for them, when most shops turn them away at the door, so we now also turn them away at the door).
And then the usual battery failures, not fires, just failing to take a charge or work.

damn! unfortunate but also predictable...

3 months commuting with my partner on their Vitus E-Mach Alivio (this entry level model has dissapeared from the web!) and it has been a game changer. In stock mode, it has shaved off 30 minutes each way riding in eco.

As they are from the US, I've setup the E6100 for riding in the US (that's how it works right?!). On the commute you quickly start to observe who is on what setting and every Vanmoof in London is running US settings.
They ride the bike 99% of the time in eco and it cruises around 16-18mph while still getting a workout, in line with traffic speeds which gives me some peice of mind when getting through shitty parts of the ride, like Putney/Lower Richmond Road or Priory lane. Being essentially stuck at 15.6mph was frustrating.

But I'm big ol' hypocrit, I can't imagine dealing with Lime bike riders if the limit was lifted to US spec.

/Ramble

I was wondering the other day whether it would be sensible to up ebike speeds to 20mph. 20mph seems to be becoming the urban speed limit and would mean that not everyone would be desperate to overtake you.

everyone would be desperate to overtake you.

citation needed

What umop3pisdn said. I'm forever being overtaken when in my car driving at the speed limit.

I would agree that being able to ride at 20mph with ebikes would be safer in terms of keeping up with traffic, I feel that makes a difference, and would antagonise drivers a little less.

Of course, kids and 'youths' riding at 20mph creates more of a problem..

What I've found is that at peak hours on some sections, if you can ride with the group off most lights ~ about 20mph, then cyclists take up enough of the lane that you don't get overtaken.

Well of course there will still be plenty of dicks trying to overtake you at 20mph but it won't be everybody.

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/faulty-electric-bike-battery-caused-8659297

fire in leicester suspected to be caused by an e-bike battery, two in hospital with serious injuries.
hope they pull through.

(is this the correct thread to report these types of incident, or is there a dedicated one elsewhere?)

Repost from cargo bike thread,

Just built this 36V 20aH battery from Eig c020b cells for a pal. Built into a box under the kiddo seat of their bakfiets.

Bought the cells from a chap on endless sphere forum, who also sells the busbars that connect the sells. Pretty cool solution without having to buy a spot welder.

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^ impressive!

2nd attempt at fitting the Swytch kit. Filing all the things to 9mm is both anxiety inducing and a bit tedious.

6.5hrs later (10+ total), and one less front rack (for now) it spins the front wheel. Bed now, test ride tomorrow.

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Much fun, fuck you headwind!

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