Lubbock on a Bike: An electric bike and a 5-day commute

 I love it when a bike comes together!
(You may recognize the components as the same ones from most of my other electric bike builds.)

 

Last August, on that day when people are nice enough to celebrate the fact that I am older, my lovely wife bought me a folding Prodeco Genesis 500 frame - I have a very cool wife! So, I have spent the time since then gathering parts to turn it back into a bicycle. Last weekend I managed to get it all together, and I rode it to work on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. (Woohoo! Success!) Tuesday I rode the non-electric bike. (Woohoo! More success!)

Yep, it's the same frame as the Prodeco Phantom, but a lot shinier.

 

Yep, for me, that's two accomplishments: a bike built and a perfect week of bike commuting (or a week of non-gas-powered commute.) By the time I get home I will have ridden 50 miles on the bike for the week and 6 miles on the truck. Okay, so they're not huge accomplishments, but lately there haven't been many, so I choose to celebrate these.

 

Wednesday Morning - 50th and Utica

 

Spring Break Sidebar - Nope, I did not hang out topless on a beach this week (not a pretty sight!) but I did get a preview of this summer's bike commuter nirvana - no school traffic made the rides much less hectic and I got to take advantage of a couple of bike routes that take me past schools where the traffic is normally rather manic. And it's been nice!

 

Thursday Morning Fog - 36th St

 

Electric Bike Sidebar - for those of you who want details, the e-bike is a 250 watt 36-volt setup with no throttle - it's pedal assist only. Yes, it is completely foldable. No, it's not really powerful enough to haul me and my stuff to work, but I help it out (a lot!) with aggressive pedaling. My average speeds are up about 2 mph over non-electric riding and my commute times are down 4-5 minutes. The bike is a 7-speed, but I use 4th gear most of the time. Once in a while I use third or fifth, but fourth-only would be just fine. I am learning a rhythm for riding this thing. It's a pretty laid-back machine. If you're in a hurry - too bad, Bubba! You pedal and it goes steadily. Windy days are a little easier. Inclines are a little easier. I still get home a little winded, but I recover much more quickly.

 

Hiding under the stairs two flights up

 

May you find yourself enjoying a low-carbon commute as much as I have enjoyed this week!

E-Bike vs Pedal Bike: This time it's personal!

Okay, it's not that personal. But this is not a study by the University of Whatever on the Isle of Some-Place-Far-Away. It's yours truly comparing a few recent days commuting in Lubbock on an e-bike and a pedal bike.

[Why am I writing this one? Well, there are a lot of questions out there about e-bikes and about their validity as transportation. Me, I love bikes in almost all forms, but I see the e-bike as a great tool for commuting and for low impact transportation. Lots of people consider an electric motor on a bike to be cheating, but I don't. I see it as an inexpensive way to get around with a tiny carbon footprint. (And it's a whole lot of fun!) For me, cheating is travelling a few miles in an expensive and inefficient vehicle that pollutes the air and promotes environmental destruction. The e-bike is definitely not a solution for everyone all the time, but it's a great tool to cover part of your transportation needs efficiently and often joyfully.]

The 500-watt Electric Bike

(Bought used on Craigslist with a bad battery)

The Mesquite-Hugger-powered Pedal Bike

(Given to me by a friend who wanted more room in his garage)

We'll start with the pedal bike:

Last Friday was a cold and very windy day here in Lubbock. (We have lots of those windy days.) The e-bike was needing a few small repairs, but I was determined to ride. So, I rode off to work and into the wind. And it was a workout!

Average speed of 7.6 mph. Ouch! And a 39 minute commute -  not good for someone hoping to make it to work on time - I did not. Yep, I was late to work and I arrived needing a shower and a nap. (Five miles in 39 minutes.)

Average speed of 11.1 mph (The ride home is usually quicker due to warmer weather and warmer old-guy muscles.) It was still windy, but the wind was at my (sail-like) backside and gave me a pretty good push. Even so, I took a 20 minute recovery nap when I got home. (4.4 miles in 24 minutes.)

So, the round trip commute time for the day was 63 minutes, and I was exhausted after both rides.

Now let's look at a similar day's commute on the e-bike:

[A little info about how I ride an e-bike - I pedal along with the bike. It's a bike with a boost, not a bike that does all the work. I generally arrive at my destination breathing heavily but I am not wiped out and I don't have an overwhelming desire to lie down and take a nap. As an overweight middle-aged guy, most things make me want a nap, but the e-bike doesn't.]

I love teacher in-service days - light car traffic on the residential streets! (Five miles in 25 minutes.)

4.6 miles in 21 minutes.

You can see, for me at least, that the e-bike doesn't offer a great deal more speed - it offers a lot more consistency. Regardless of how I feel, how cold it is, how windy it is, or what time of day it is, I have a good idea of how long it is going to take me to get to work. There's also a distinct possibility that I will be less smelly when I arrive.

Summing up:

The pedal-bike commute covered 9.38 miles in 62:50 minutes.

(Arrived smelly, late, and exhausted!)

The e-bike commute covered 9.61 miles in 46:12 minutes.

(Arrived on time, less smelly, and invigorated.)

(To be fair, smelly seems to be fairly constant state for me, but there are times when it's especially bad.)

But a friend of mine messaged me about one smelly issue a bike won't save you from here in Lubbock:

I'm with you, Captain Kirk!

Well, you can't have everything, but you can have a very low-carbon, low-cost commute and keep it consistent.

May you find your own low-carbon transportation that keeps you smiling, consistent, and not too terribly smelly or broke.

PS. By the way, recharging the battery after one day's commute will require about 15 pennies worth of electricity.

Electric Bike Buying (and Building) Advice

Is this you?

If you're thinking about (or dreaming about) purchasing an electric bike, the choices can be a bit overwhelming. So, before you go buy one, let's look at some components you're going to want to know a little more about. We'll start with the motivation.

Hub Motors

Photo from Electric Bike Report

The biggest question on hub motors is whether to go GEARED or DIRECT DRIVE. (The second biggest question is front-motored or rear-motored,)

Geared  Hub Motors

The Vanmoof Electrified S has a tiny geared hub motor in the front wheel

The biggest advantage of a geared hub motor is that they can freewheel when there is no power being applied. In other words, you can (mostly) pedal it just like a regular bike. (If you run out of battery power on a geared hub motor, you can pedal it home. If you run out of battery power on a direct drive motor, two city blocks will wear you out!) Geared motors are also smaller, lighter, stealthier, and a tiny bit noisier than a direct drive. One thing that is not possible with a geared motor is regen (power regeneration - where the bike actually recharges the battery {a little bit} when slowing down or coasting downhill).

Direct-Drive Motors

The Radwagon (of my dreams) uses a direct-drive rear hub motor

For bicycles, I am not a big fan of direct drive motors, but that is because they are heavier, less stealthy (because of their size), and because I can't coast with one. But those same drawbacks become virtues when you want your bike to behave more like a motorcycle. If you want to go really fast, carry heavier loads, or use regen, you want a direct-drive motor. They are a great choice for people who don't want to pedal and for people who want their bikes to be workhorses.

Mid-Drive Motors

Bafang BBS Mid-Drive Kit (photo from Lunacycle)

The Oh-so-sexy Karmic Koben S

with a 350-watt Bafang Max mid-drive motor

I have no real-world experience with mid-drives, so I won't weigh in much, but I'd sure like to try out a BaFang BBS mid-drive set-up. Mid-drives are awesome hill climbers but they are much harder on chains, gears, and derailleurs. Their three big advantages are that they allow you to better utilize your bike's gear range, flat tires are much easier to change, and the motor weight is located in the center of the bike.

Lots of high-end (expensive) e-bikes are running mid-drives these days - the Bosch motor is the most well-known of the pricier mid-drives.

Battery Size

(For reference: a very common e-bike battery is a 36 volt, 8.8 Amp-hour)

Battery Voltage  (V)

Higher voltage means higher power and more speed.
If you are tiny and not in a hurry - 24 volts is great
If you are 200 pound or less, 36 volts should be enough
I f you are over 200 pounds or plan to carry extra weight - go with 48 volts
If you want to rock n roll, go for 72 volts! (Definitely not for beginners)

Juiced Bikes Batteries for their ODK U500 cargo bike

(Compare their Amp-hours per distance and power consumption.)

Battery Amp-Hour (Ah)

Amp-hours is a measure of how long a battery can deliver power - so the higher the amp-hour number, the farther your e-bike will travel. Juiced (in the diagram above) offers some very large amp-hour batteries, which is why they can offer ranges over 100 miles, but very few of us need that kind of range in our daily rides. Figure out what range you do need before you go shopping. While you can always upgrade, batteries are the most expensive component on most e-bikes.

Dash/Display Readouts

LCD Readouts - so much better!

Having a read-out that tells you what is going on is great!!! Most LCD dashboards will tell you how fast you're going, how far you've gone, (roughly) how much further you can go, how much power you are using, how much power you have left, and what assist level you are using. LED indicators, on the other hand, will give you a vague knowledge of how much power you are using and of how much you have left. They will also let you know what assist level you are using (if that applies to your bike.)

LCD displays keep you very well informed. LED indicators are pretty vague and less helpful, but they are much cheaper.

Seats

Just a general note, if you plan to pedal a lot, you will probably like a skinny seat more; if you plan to pedal very little, get something big and cushy.

Pedal Assist, Throttle, or Both?

This one also depends a great deal on how much you want to pedal and how much you want to sit back and cruise. I like pedal assist because I like to pedal and I like that pedal-assisted models give you the option of more efficiency which increases a bike's range. On the other hand, it's sometimes nice to have a throttle to help you take off more quickly when you are dealing with traffic. (It's really nice to have both.)

Multigear or Single Speed?

Single speed is not bad if you live in a flat place or are not planning to pedal. The bigger your hills, the more you need multiple gears, but electric bikes in general don't need as many gears. Anything over nine tends to be overkill.

Grizz's single-speed Sondors is great here in Lubbock

where you can watch your dog run away for three days

before he's out of sight. (Man, I miss that dog!)

Weight Distribution

The Prodeco Phantom Series 

Whatever keeps the weight low and spread out (or centralized) makes a better e-bike. Placing all of the weight (battery and motor) on the back wheel is a bad idea that leads to bent rims, loose and broken spokes, and awkward handling. Having the weight up high leads to the bike falling over a lot while parked. If you plan to add a rack for cargo, keep that extra weight in mind when shopping or planning a build. (By the way, it's much more comfortable to let the bike carry the weight rather than your body. Panniers beat backpacks!)

A Final Piece of Advice

Before you decide completely what you want, sit down and make a list of what you need. How far will you travel? How fast will you need to travel? Are weight and size a consideration? Do you need an easily removable battery or wheels? What terrain will you travel? What's your budget? Most important, which bike will make you look truly cool?

I hope this makes your search easier and that your wheels tread lightly while your face smiles all the way to your destination.

May you be the change and encourage others to do the same.

A Leaning Cargo Trike, A Confession, and a New (to me) Electric Bike

Okay, I have two cargo bike confessions to make.

The first, and the most pertinent to this post, is that I have never cared much for three-wheeled vehicles, including cargo bikes. It's not a dislike for what they are, it's a missing what they can't do - and that is lean. I love bikes, motorcycles, and scooters the very most when I get to lean while riding. Cornering well on a two-wheeler is an art and a thrill for me. So, each time I've ridden a three-wheeler that doesn't lean, my body and mind have been sorely disappointed.

It's why I lean toward (you know the pun was intended) cargo bikes like the Radwagon, The Yuba Mundo, and the Benno.

So, I thought I'd share with you a three-wheeled cargo bike that does an impressive job of leaning. It showed up on Electric Bike Report recently, and it does indeed look like lots of fun (if you're not sitting in the front getting seasick!)

 link to the video above

For those of you who want lots of details, it's not available yet, it's European, and I fear it will be very expensive. But it is a seriously cool machine...

...and I love the front suspension!

Carqon website - check it out!

Now for the other confession.

I have decided to stop looking for a cargo bike. Yep, I know it's very scandy (Thanks, BB!) but I picked up a new-old e-bike and came to a new realization. It's time to quit focusing on what I don't have. What I do have is one really nice second-hand pedal bike, one really nice second-hand e-bike, two different second-hand bike trailers, and a really crowded garage! I've come to a time when I want to do more with what I have rather than waste time wanting something more. Some day I may end up with a cargo bike, but it no longer needs to be an obsession.

Here she is - a Prodeco Phantom X 500-watt, folding E-Bike.

Yep, it's a very cool bike, especially considering that I picked it up used for a very small fraction of the original asking price. Why was it so inexpensive? Well, the original 36-volt battery pack has a dead pouch or two, so the pack will only charge to 32 volts; this does not impress the controller which demands at least 34 volts. (Low-voltage cutout) That's why there's a silver bullet on the rear rack. It's the battery from the Huff-E Rat, and that battery is doing a nice job on the Phantom.

This is the first bike I have ever owned that has disc brakes and a suspension seat post. They are two luxuries I am enjoying! (But  the cushy seat post feels a lot like having a low rear tire. I will have to get used to that.)  Having 500 watts of power is also enjoyable. The 250-watt setup on the Huff-E actually made me feel sorry for the poor little thing hauling big ol' me around. This motor is a much better fit. (If you're over 200 pounds, go for something bigger than 250 watts.)

That's it for the cargo bikes and e-bikes today. I will keep you posted on how the Phantom is doing. I may even get brave enough to try repairing the original battery. I will keep you posted on that too.

May going green be a good deal, may you appreciate what you have, and may you be well.

As always, thank you for reading this.

Two Sondors Electric Bikes Unboxed and Rolling in Lubbock

Over the holidays, Grizz and I had an opportunity to unpack the two Sondors Originals and get them all put together. Keep in mind, we are not professionals and most people think we should not be allowed near sharp objects or allowed to try this sort of thing at home. Luckily, we are not smart enough to know our own limitations.

Grizz on the gray Sondors

Just before the holidays, Grizz ordered a pair of specially priced Sondors bikes. The bikes were $499 each and came without the LCD screen (which gives you access to five levels of pedal assist and gives you a lot of info on speed and power level.) Sondors shipping is pretty stout at $200 each, but that still keeps the price at $699 shipped - not bad at all!

The Hot Pink and Black Bike

Straight out of the box

Assembly was pretty straightforward for a couple of rusty monkeys like us. We had to install the handlebars, the pedals, the seats, the controls, and the front wheels. One chain was a little tight, We adjusted it and we spent a little time adjusting the disc brakes. We charged batteries while we assembled the bikes. The bikes came with a few allen wrenches and a multitool. A set of metric wrenches, a pair of pliers, and some sidecutters made the assembly go much smoother.

Those 4" tires are huge!

The Sondors is pretty simple by e-bike standards. It is a single-speed (no shifting) and has the geared motor in the rear hub. The battery and controller are in the well-made plastic triangle box. There is a throttle on the handlebar. There is no suspension, but those big honkin' tires soak up a lot of bumps. On the downside, the seat is pretty hard and uncomfortable and some of the hardware is very low quality.  Overall, however, the big components are pretty impressive considering the price and the lesser components would be cheap enough and simple enough to replace.

The stock 350 watt controller and 36 volt battery pack

We test rode the gray bike with the stock controller and found it to be surprisingly zippy. It hit 16 mph pretty easily and would reach 20 mph with some hard pedaling. At 20.00 mph the controller cut power to keep it from traveling faster.

The LunaCycle Hop-Up Kit ($100)

(Controller and LCD screen)

 

With the hop-up kit installed, the bike will easily hit 20 and will reach 24 with some hard pedaling - at least that's true for us big guys. Your skinnier results may vary. The hop-up parts also allow room for growth - a higher voltage battery pack will definitely increase the speed.

Higher amperage controller

(As advertised, it was a direct plug-in! Easy breezy install)

 

The coolest thing about the hop-up kit is the addition of the five levels of pedal assist - but the display is cool too. Level 3 is really nice. Level 5 is downright disturbing if you start pedaling out of a turn. I can see Level 5 being a little perilous. As a commuter, I think I'd be very happy with Levels 2 and 3. The LCD display is great as a gas battery gauge, odometer, and speedometer. It conveys a lot of information for those of you who like to analyze everything.

90 minutes after unboxing, the bikes were good to go.

 

All smiles

 

So far, they are very happy with the bikes. Now it's time to accessorize with racks, fenders, and lights. I will keep you posted as the weather gets warmer and they start putting some miles on them.

 

May you find the one you want and may it get you out and moving greenly (and possibly hot pinkly.) The hot pink and black bike is really striking!

 

PS. Look what I picked up on New Years Day:

 

A Prodeco Phantom X with a weak battery pack!

More details soon.

 

 

 

Fully Charged Christmas, Sondors, E-BMX, and another ATX Cargo Bargain

We will start with Robert Lewellyn's newest Fully Charged video. Robert does a year-end review that offers some optimism and mirth. Actually, this episode offers lots of good news. Did you hear that? Good news! Watch it already! Yes, good news! (I have really missed good news lately.)

Watch it here!

 

If you haven't clicked that yet, let me remind you that there is a plethora of good news here - and not just cars: bikes, solar, batteries, bio-gas, and one of my new faves - IMBYP! If you are not familiar with Fully Charged, browse the collection of videos on youtube. If you're not familiar with Robert, go find yourself a few episodes of Red Dwarf (after Series II) to watch.

 

 

Sondors News

 

On the local side, Grizz's Sondors bikes have arrived (but they are staying in the box until after Christmas.) I will keep you posted when they do pop out!

 

In other news, they still have several bikes on sale for $500 each, so you can still have a pair of bikes in boxes sitting on your porch for less than $1500. (There are even Thin models for those of you who don't go for that whole monster-truck-bike motif.)

 

In even more news, Sondors announced another model - this one a folding bike. The first run will be available only to those who already own a Sondors bike. They will be available to the general public in 2018. I haven't found details on pricing, but who cares? It's only money!

 

The Sondors Fold Check it out here!

Monster Truck as Folding Bike

(Most of the pics on the website look like computer renderings.)

 

A new Promo Video for the Prodeco Tech/Life EV E-BMX

 

This time with New Yorkers doing tricks!

 

Upside down on an e-bike - Watch it here!

 

If you want one, hurry up - the intro prices are creeping up!

 

Another Cargo Bike Bargain in Austin

Madsen Cycles

 

Madsens usually run a few thousand dollars or more. They are very legit cargo bikes that are especially popular for hauling children about. At $650, this one is a steal -  find it on Austin Craigslist while supplies last. (Our dog pack would love it!) Somebody go buy this thing and put it to good, carbon-free use!

 

There you go - many updates and an uplifting-ish video. May you have a wonderful day and find some good news somewhere in this post!

 

Thanks, friends!

 

Fossil-Free Friday: Bargain Electric BMX? Woohoo!

Yep, you read it right - electric BMX bikes are now hitting the market, and this very promising machine can (temporarily) be bought down in the Mesquite-Hugger price range - $600-700!

 

Short video here

 

And it doesn't even look like an e-bike. Where's the 24 volt battery? (in the frame downtube) Where's the 250/350 watt motor? (in the rear wheel) Where's the 14/18 amp controller? (I have not figured that one out yet.)

A clean little machine! (another short video)

 

Avid brakes? Kenda tires? Samsung batteries? 35 pounds? Yes!

Want to learn more? Check it out here: E-BMX by Life EV and Prodecotech

As cool as this thing is, I have not plopped my money down on the Indiegogo campaign. I fear this would be me:

Find Rondy the Elephant here

 

Even so, it's a very cool e-bike! Now, if they'll just build me a big-boy version in the same price range...

 

May your green transportation get you off the gas and not make you look like a blue elephant!

 

PS. Thanks to electricbikereport.com for the heads-up on the EBMX!