EarthDayLbk 2024: Stealthy & Low $ e-Bikes

If you're interested in making Lubbock a healthier place to live, please attend. (earthdaylbk.com)

So, let's say that you are e-bike curious, but you're struggling with the whole idea of being seen as an e-cyclist, or you just think e-bikes are hideous. (Some of them really are.)

Maybe you've heard it said that e-bikes are a form of cheating, and you can maybe see the point. And, yes, if you are competing with people on non-e-bikes, you probably are cheating. Stop being a jerk. Just go find some e-bikers and compete with them. Problem solved.

On the other hand, if you're riding an e-bike to (work, school, errands, hang out, etc.), you really are cheating. Here's a short list of the groups you are cheating:

• the petroleum industry
• the automobile industry
• cardiologists
• endocrinologists
• the DMV
• that voice in the back of your head that says you'll never go anywhere

I don't know about you, but I think I can justify that kind of cheating and sleep well (even better) at night.

Or maybe you just love the simple aesthetic of a non-electric bicycle and can't stand the thought of the extra bulk and overall clunkiness getting in the way of your idyllic riding experience.

Well, regardless of your reason for not wanting to be seen on an e-bike, I have an eye-opening list for you! This is a list of (reasonably attainable) e-bikes that look like regular bikes. I don't know if riding them will make you feel like a cheater, but you sure won't look like one. (And you know how vain we cyclists are.)

Click on each pic to visit that bike on the web.

Bikes under $1500

I've seen this bike in person and it's impressive. If you're looking for simple, light (Only 33 pounds!), cheap, stealthy, and super-low maintenance, this thing is amazing. More advanced riders may want to look for a bike with more gear choices, but this thing is rock-solid for uncomplicated commuting on a budget.

 

I've not seen this model in person, but I've seen some others and have been impressed with the finish and build quality. The owners have spoken highly of their bikes and have no buyer's remorse. For two hundred more than the Roadster V2 you give up the belt drive; however, you gain a seven-speed drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes. Not bad.

Fiido is a company I know very little about, but they have an impressive range of bikes and lots of techno-perks. (It's the first company that I've seen offer a fitness-tracking/bike-unlocking smartwatch as an optional accessory.) It does have hydraulic disc brakes and a 5-speed drivetrain. You can even order an external battery to extend your range. Definitely worth a look. It's very similar to the Aventon above and costs the same.

The first of 2 from Velotric. The T1 ST is also quite similar to the two above it. It costs $100 more and weighs a little less. Velotric has a good reputation and reviews. I really like the minimalist electronic controls. The lower top-bar should make this one a little easier to ride if you have a shorter inseam, and it comes in two different frame sizes. The drivetrain is an 8-speed Shimano setup. It is a very nice bike for the money.

The middle-child of Ride1Up's stealthy bike is a nicely upgraded version of the Roadster V2 that started this list. This one has wider/cushier gravel tires, slightly lower gearing, and mechanical disc brakes. The Gravel model still has the belt drive system and still weighs less than most of the bikes we've seen so far. The one drawback I see here is the lack of a multi-speed drivetrain. If you ride on mostly flat ground (like we do here in Lubbock) that should not be much of a problem, but if you live in a hilly area, you might consider a different bike.

Bikes Over $1500

The following bikes jump up at least $500 but are still considered inexpensive in the e-bike market - especially when you consider the materials, components, and design work that has gone into them. These are significantly different than the bikes above. 

Above all the other bikes here, this is the one I drool over. The Luna Stealth is the only one that has a mid-drive motor. The others all have rear hub motors. This is also the only bike that offers a belt drive and a multi-speed drivetrain. The frame is aluminum. In spite of all it has packed into it, The Fixed still weighs under 40 pounds. It comes in three sizes. It's fast, simple, and designed for super-low maintenance. Very few people will have any idea this bike is an-bike, but the rider will definitely feel the difference. It's just oh so cool!

This Velotric T1 is gorgeous! The designers put in a lot work keeping it stealthy and light. The frame is hydro-formed aluminun. The cables are all routed out of sight. The control panel blends into the frame. It only weighs 36 pounds. The components are higher quality than most on this page. If you want the classiest of the bunch, check this one out!

The most expensive bike on this page is one the least expensive bikes you will find with a carbon-fiber frame. At 28. pounds, this the lightest bike on the page, and most likely the fastest. The CF Racer1 is rated as a Class3 e-bike which means it can run up to 28mph with electric assist. Stronger riders should be able to pedal it to much higher speeds. It has an eleven-speed SRAM drivetrain and a very aggressive riding position. It probably doesn't belong on this list, but it is quite a bargain for such an exotic machine and it sure doesn't look like it's electric.

That's it - the end of the list of e-bikes that look like non e-bikes. It's not an exhaustive list, but it should be enough to start you off on a stealthy e-bike quest. Happy hunting and safe riding, my friend!

Friday Carbon-Neutral Commute: No Electric Car Required

It is a cold and damp morning here in Lubbock. I got up. Looked at the weather, had a talk with myself, and chose the e-bike.

This morning's coffee

The five-mile ride to work was cold and damp. I arrived at work with a smile on my face and feeling more energized. Yes, the bike creates a few more hassles, but the experience, the exercise, and the lack of climate destruction are more than worth it for this less-than-trim blogger.

May we all find places to choose better and truly enjoy the ride!

The sun, a cloud, a bird, a small electric van, a grumbly brain

Grizz' scoot, my e-bike, and the sun peeking through this morning

It was yesterday I saw the photo of the Salvadoran father and child floating face down in the Rio Grande. It's been haunting me. I miss the days when I believed in my country as a place that offered refuge to those in need. Your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...

Last Saturday's view

Not a lot to report. Other than riding to work, there's been little progress on the green living/project front. The garage is getting cleaner and more organized. The gas-burners are in better repair. One tree is trimmed. The tomatoes are ripening.

A great egret fishing in the rain run-off

We've had a lot of night rain lately. More green. More mosquitoes. The sound of gas-powered lawn equipment is almost constant during daylight hours.

Same egret. This morning it was replaced by a snowy egret.

A Vantage GreenVan

D and I went to recycle this week at Texas Tech and got to check out this nifty little electric van parked at the recycle station entrance. A little web-surfing revealed it to be a Vantage GreenVan. The first tip was the lack of exhaust pipe. It looks very rough on the inside. If it were capable of more than 25mph, I'd sure want it for hauling recycling, bicycles, scooters, kayaks, and dogs.

I was excited to hear John Delaney discussing a bipartisan carbon tax bill (just like the Citizens Climate Lobby plan) on last night's debates. More like this, American politicians, please!

That's enough grumbling for today. May you be well with a forecast for better!

In Case You're Missing the Wheels (Shameless 2WheelsMaybe Plug)

Head over to 2WheelsMaybe and see some of what you've been missing!

2WheelsMaybe site link

Just look at the fun stuff you've been missing:

Okay, I'll quit bugging you about it! May you have a wonderful, carbon-neutral day!

In case you're missing the green wheels...

If you visit Mesquite Hugger for the bikes and cars and scooters and trucks and my weird obsessions with vintage electric cars and cargo bikes, they've all rolled over to a new home:

Click here to get to 2 Wheels Maybe

If you want to look at older wheeled posts, they're still around:

Electric Cars!

Pedal Bikes, Cargo Bikes, and Lubbock on a Bike

Electric Bikes and Conversion Kits

Electric Scooters and Mopeds

Electric Motorcycles

And, of course, the CitiCar! 

All the other Mesquite Huggery stuff will still show up here - local wildlife, DIY, gardening, Personal Carbon Reduction, tiny houses, activism, spirituality, and all that other good stuff.

As always, thank you for reading this blog! May your life be steadily less wasteful and steadily more joyful!

Fossil Free Friday: $500 Simple DIY Electric Bike Formula (The bike)

[If you missed Part 1, you can find it here]

We'll start with a simple and inexpensive bike. It will need to have:

• a steel frame - easier to adapt and less prone to break under the stress of added weight and torque (if a magnet will stick to it, it is steel)
• 26" wheels/tires - the most common size for hub motors - other sizes tend to cost more 
• multi-gear capability - preferably 7-speed (with a hub motor there is no need for 21 gears)
• hand brakes - hub motors don't have coaster brakes
• it needs to fit you comfortably

Cruisers, comfort bikes, and mountain bikes all make great candidates and can often be found at low prices. I'll focus on cruisers for this project, but you should pick the type you like most (or already have in your garage.)

$108 shipped brand new, hmmm

Don't expect a whole lot of bike in this price range, but a bike like this cruiser will still work fine. Let's look at it with our checklist in mind:

and here are some extras that might be nice:

• front suspension (heavier but easier on the wrists)
• a built-in cargo rack (to carry your homemade panniers)
• disc brakes (sometimes better stopping and more adaptability - see Post 4)
• fenders (to help you avoid the dreaded butt-stripe)
• a comfy seat and/or a suspension seatpost (for a happier bum and spine)
• lights (the better to see you)
• a horn/bell (e-bikes are often fast and silent - you can skip this if you like yelling, "Get the !@##$% out of my way!" But the bell is a little more polite.

Here's another cruiser to check out in case you want something a little nicer with a few more virtues:

Sure it's $50 more, but this Schwinn from Ebay has larger tires, better brakes, and a longer wheelbase. It has great potential for this project and reminds me of the $1300 Juiced Ocean Current of my dreams.

Two important things to add to any bike you choose:

• thorn resistant tubes or tire liners (it's not much fun to have/fix a flat on your e-bike)
• better brake shoes - with greater power comes a greater need to stop

If those don't appeal to you or just cost too much, definitely check out the used bikes. I find lots of great deals on Craigslist and at garage sales. Look for ads that say things like "barely ridden" or "just needs new tubes." Feel fee to offer a little less for used bikes, but don't be a jerk about it. Life is too short for that, no matter what reality TV tells us.

A few tips on buying a used bike:

• Buy a nice bike, if it it's worn out, weathered, or broken, you will spend a lot of time and money in the wrong places.
• Buy a bike that has all the stuff you need - parts are more expensive than bikes. For example, it's not hard to find a $50 bike with good tires and tubes but a new set of tires and tubes will easily cost $50 or more. It's also expensive (and a pain in the tuckus) to upgrade a single-speed bike into a multi-speed bike.
• Look for higher quality brands while shopping used. It's not rare to find a $350 Giant or Trek being sold for $75 lightly used.

Not a bad start and it would leave a little more room in the budget

(especially if you could get it for a little less money.)

This Raleigh could be a great (and very old-school cool) e-bike!

One other great source of inexpensive bikes - ask your friends, neighbors, relatives or co-workers. Throw a request out on social media. You never know who has a really great bike gathering dust and taking up garage space. You know the old saying - One man's trash is another man's dream e-bike conversion! [Love ya, Matt! Thanks for the bike!]

Okay, so that's it for the bike portion of our search. So, let's budget $150 for our bike. That leaves us $350 for the electric running gear, battery, charger, assorted hardware, and a way to contain the controller and battery. Is it possible?

Tune in next time for our exciting third post!

May you find the right bike and enjoy the ride.

Fossil Free Friday: $500 Simple DIY Electric Bike Formula (Intro)

Here at Mesquite Hugger, the goal is pretty simple - to encourage people to make more earth-friendly choices without going bankrupt. When it comes to low-carbon transportation, almost nothing beats the efficiency and affordability of an electric bike, but not everyone has the money in their budget to run out and buy a $1000-$4000 e-bike.

 

Inexpensive electric bikes get a lot of web traffic around here. Anything under $1000 starts a feeding frenzy. The least expensive complete bikes I've found that I am comfortable recommending are the two bottom-of-the-line Sondors bikes -  the Original and the Thin. They both go for $499 + $150-ish shipping. And they are pretty basic:

• single speed (can be upgraded for $100)
• 350 watt powertrain (rear, geared hub motor)
• no suspension (can be upgraded for $100)
• no pedal assist (PAS) or LCD screen (can be upgraded together for $100)
• medium sized 36 volt battery (can be upgraded for $100)

It's pretty easy to end up with $1000 in a Sondors bike.

By the way, if you are less than 5'6" tall, the Sondors bikes are too tall for you (and there is no step-through version available so far.)

So, what's a cheap budget-minded e-bike customer to do?

Build your own e-bike!

 

The challenge - to build a very capable e-bike with more features than a bottom-of-the-line Sondors for $500 or less.

We'll use the Sondors Thin as our measuring stick.

 

Before you get intimidated by the thought of building your own, answer one question - do you (or someone you are close to) have the skills necessary to change a rear bicycle tube? If the answer is yes, then YOU CAN DO IT!!!

So, let's lay out the parameters we'll need (and want) to build a solid e-bike in the projected price range. We'll start with a simple and inexpensive bike. It will need to have:

• a steel frame
• 26" wheels/tires
• multi-gear capability - preferably seven-speed
• cable-operated brakes
• it needs to be comfortable (for you)

Now, let's lay out the electric components/abilities you will need to match or exceed what the Sondors Thin offers:

• 500 watt, 26" rear hub motor (more powerful than the Sondors)
• pedal assist (not included on the base Sondors)
• an LCD panel (not included on the base Sondors)
• a throttle (matches the Sondors)
• brake levers with a motor cut-out switch (matches the Sondors)
• a 36 volt, 8.8 amp-hour battery (matches the Sondors)
• a 36 volt, 2 amp charger (matches the Sondors)
• a bag, box, or basket to house the electrical components (It'll be hard to match the Sondors on this one, but it can be done with a little creativity.)

So there's the plan. In the next two posts, we'll cover more detail and see if we can create an electric bike worth having for less than $500.

 

Please stay tuned!

 

May you be encouraged to make more earth-friendly choices without going bankrupt, and may you have a great time doing it!

Electric Euro Cycles We Can't Have #3: OtoCycle

Today's post takes us to Barcelona, Spain (and a lot of other places). [This one is for Flattracker 23.]

 

Otocycles Site (Be sure to click the logo when you get there.)

 

OtoCycles is a Spanish e-bike company that produces four models of hand-built e-bikes. They all look like some type of vintage motorcycle - a boardtrack racer, a bobber, a café racer, and a minibike. Prices start around 3000 Euros (about $3500), but that doesn't matter over here because they (so far) have no North American dealers.

Love the OtoK and (especially) the RaceR, not so much on the CrosS and the OtoR

 

Specs for the RaceR (Very similar to the other three)

 

One thing with OtoCycle that will appeal to nuestros norteAmericanos is the available option to purchase bigger motors and bigger battery packs. I weigh about 250 and I really feel sorry for any 250-watt bike that gets suckered into hauling my cuerpo gordo around.

 

The big appeal of the Otocycles for me lies in the past. One of my favorite vintage cycle brands is the made-in-Spain Bultaco. They also have one of the coolest logos ever:

 

Thumbs up - let's ride!

 

Many moons ago I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend riding a Bultaco Alpina all over the area around Cloudcroft, New Mexico. While the controls were all backwards for me, the rides were nothing but thumbs up! Since then I have wanted a Bultaco, and my first choice would be the Tralla.

Does anyone see a resemblance?

 

The Oto RaceR looks a whole lot like the Tralla of my dreams - but it does not run on gasoline - a true thumbs up!

 

So, check them out, drool a bit, and know that they are not available on this side of the Atlantic.

 

But wait - you know I would not leave you hanging. Here are some similar bikes that are available over here. They're (mostly) out of the Mesquite Hugger price range, but they're sure fun to look at!

 

Stuff you can have here in the States:

 

Vintage Electric Bikes

Hand-built, fast, beautiful, expensive (4 models - made in California)

 

Ariel E-Bikes

 4 models (one cargo bike!) neat options, very reasonably priced

Ariel was formerly a prestigious British motorcycle builder.

 

Italjet North America

Three models hand-built in Italy, not cheap -  great attention to detail

Italjet evolved from a prestigious Italian motorcycle and scooter builder.

Juicer Bikes

Three models (plus custom build options) hand-built in SoCal, very expensive!

 

And for those of you who want a nice cruiser bike down closer to the Mesquite Hugger budget...

 

The Juiced OceanCurrent $1299 shipped!

 

May you find eco-friendly wheels that fit your budget, your body, y tu moda!

 

PS. For those of you who want an electric Bultaco that doesn't look like a vintage Bultaco...

 

Bultaco Moto-Brinco