E-bike E-xperiences?

Jakedata writes "I am in the process of building my first e-bike. I intend to use it to commute to work a couple times a week, weather permitting. I can only assume that many members of the /. crowd are already riding e-bikes and would be only too happy to share their experiences. I am looking at a very affordable e-bike conversion kit from Golden Island Machinery. They offer a 36 volt lead-acid battery pack for it, but I am concerned that it will be too heavy. Rabbit tool has a selection of components and power options but they are pretty pricy. So, is Golden Motor's kit any good? Is lead acid OK to start off with? Does someone want to donate a direct-conversion methanol fuel cell to the project?"

Comments

how about a real bicycle?

[brer_rabbit]

when I was employed (oh so long ago...) I biked to work 2-3 times a week, about 12 miles each way. Screw the e-bike, get the real thing. Peddling your ass that distance will get you in great shape. On top of that, I find cycling a lot less stressful than driving, it's relaxing really.

Re:how about a real bicycle?

[whookey]

I find the odors emanating from the fat and lazy, the smokers, and those who need to distance themselves from smelling like real people by applying an excess of chemicals to their bodies to be much more bothersome. I pedal in to work every day awake, usually with a smile on my face. Try biking sometime, it's great.

GoMotorboard 1500X

[Doc Ruby]

I've been riding a GoMotorboard 1500X that I got refurbished for $150 (down from $300 retail). It really does go 15MPH for about 10-15mi on flat, paved streets on a charge. Small hills (30 degrees) slow it to a crawl and eat the battery, but it keeps chugging, though the rises in Manhattan and most of Brooklyn are no problem. And the regenerative braking seems to work, albeit at much less than 100% efficiency. I've had some battery charging problems, but I got a couple replacements that I can now carry charged, extending its roundtrip charge life to up to 45mi or so. Best of all, it snaps down into a 25lb package over my shoulder, so 10 minute walks from subways are now 3-5 minutes. And it's really fun whizzing around nearly silently. But I wish it had inflatable (less efficient) tires, because the ride over any roughness, including sidewalk seams, can be too much. And quits immediately if the drivewheel gets even a little wet. Worth it.

Why not help him?

[potat0man]

Why don't you help this guy instead of giving him advice he's not asking for?

I can't believe how pessimistic this slashdot crowd can be. Some guy wants to work on a new project to replace his car and all anyone can do is call him a fat ass.

Good lord...welcome to slashdot

[omarKhayyam]

The poor guy asks for advice building an e-bike, and 50% of the +3 comments are "Why don't you just peddle (you lazy f*ck)?" Because I'm sure that thought NEVER CROSSED HIS MIND. Ever.

Re:Good lord...welcome to slashdot

[gujo-odori]

You write like a person who has never ridden one, maybe even never seen one. E-bikes do:

- Confer a speed advantage

- Often need to be pedaled in addition to electric power.

Many others have already pointed these things out, perhaps you would do well to read a bit more.

You might also want to consider that a person who is planning to build/buy an e-bike to take to work at least some of the time is most definitely reducing pollution relative to taking a car to work every day. So what does he get instead of help with his plans and maybe a little praise for lowering pollution? Crap from people who think his good efforts are not good enough unless he's a triathlete.

By they way, how do you get to work?

an observation about the OSS crowd

[Anonymous Coward]

i dont know how many comments ive see that say something like "why dont you just peddle the bike and forget about the e-bike stuff"

making jokes about being Tubby and this and that..

this is a common (but unfortunate) attitude i often find in the OSS community at large (bad pun, i know)

the question is NOT "what do you think about e-bikes" or "do you like the idea of ..."

the question is about how to build one regardless of your opinion on the matter.

i often encounter this attitude in IRC aswell somebody asks a question about how to use a program and people say things like "what you are trying to do is stupid, you shouldnt be doing that at all, instead you should " rather than helping the person do what it is they are asking about in the first place.

point is: if you dont have something constructive to say that helps the person asking the question they are posing to you, butt out and let people who are actually interested in the specific topic in question to help add productive comments to the thread.

Re:Two or Three a Week

[dasunt]

I was coming down out of the mountains last year and got stuck behind some flatlander doing 35-40 mph around the curves. On that road it's all curves. The funny thing was, there was a bicycle behind him and the guy on the bike was tailgating the flatlander.

FYI, not all vehicles handle curves the same, nor do all tires. Also, many people don't want to feel the centrifugal force while going around the corner, or have everything in the back shift to the other side of the vehicle.

Is it the car commercials that creates the race-car mentality in most people? Is it the long commutes to work? What? Its amazing how irate people can become when you do "only" 5 mph over the speed limit. Or when you slow down on a curvy road so that your stopping distance is less then your field of vision. Speaking of stopping distance, its amazing how many people think that a 20 year old pickup, fully loaded, with trailer, will stop as quickly as a compact car. At least, that's what I'm assume they are thinking, why else would they pull out right in front of me?

Slow down.