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My electric bicycle you can clearly see the huge hub (if you know what you are looking for). But my model is like 5 years old. I saw a modern electric bike th
by ck2 13y ago
My electric bicycle you can clearly see the huge hub (if you know what you are looking for).
But my model is like 5 years old.
I saw a modern electric bike the other day and you'd never know, except the person is going as fast as Armstrong on steroids without breaking a sweat.
- dagw 13y agoWhat kind of bike was that? All the electric bikes I've seen travel quite a bit slower than what a trained cyclist can do on a decent bike. Their main selling point is "not breaking a sweat", not "go really fast".
- ck2 13y agoMy "old school" brushed motor electric bicycle can do 25mph, without pedal assitance. Apparently they have new brushless motors that fit into the rear hubs that can do 30+ mph. Beyond that it is only a wind resistance problem. There are hobbyists with 50mph electric bicycles which sounds crazy.
- masklinn 13y agoEven under lax US federal law, these are not "bicycles" and are classified as motor vehicles. Public Law 107-319 defined "low-speed electrical vehicles" and altered the motor vehicle safety standards to make these low-speed vehicles not considered motor vehicles. Low-speed electrical vehicles are defined as: 1. two- or three-wheeled 2. fully operable pedals 3. less than 750 watts (1hp) 4. maximum speed (power-on-demand) of 20mph on a level surface with a rider of 170 pounds If it goes at 50mph, it's an electric motorcycle.
- dagw 13y agoThose sound more like electric mopeds than electric bicycles.
- radiorental 13y agoThis is my ebike. 32mph without pedaling. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2841/10328825565_ef951c4367_b.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2841/10328825565_ef951c4367_b.... The selling point for me (or rather, why I built it) is that I can do my 40 mile round trip every day of the week. If I try to use my road bike alone I am burning 2+ hours a day commuting and fatiguing before the end of the week. I will say, this thing would be lethal in the city. I commute on country roads and probably the single most important point - it's safer. My motercycle is the safest, cars do not pass me, reduced 'collision opportunity'. My road bike is my most dangerous mode of transport. Cars constantly pass me as I do 20mph. Either cutting right in front of me or veering way to far out. The ebike is somewhere in between and I have not been fitter since starting to use it. I'm not touching the legality debate with a barge poll.
- ck2 13y agoYeah that is the old-school kind of motor hub, I have that on the front wheel. The one I saw was way smaller than that. Must be some kind of motor evolution. The problem with going that fast is you better be looking way in front of you because things come up fast. It also appears you do not have disc brakes which is dangerous not to have at those speeds.
- radiorental 13y agoI have avid shorty cantilever breaks on the front. As good as discs when dry and better in the wet.