My situation is a little bit different from most people. I caught COVID in 2020 and it messed me up good. Got both my heart AND my lungs. I’m now on disability and no longer have my drivers license. (I let it lapse since I can’t afford a car any more.)
An E-bike would be my main method of transportation. So for me Range is king. it is the be all and end all for me personally. Plus, where I live (Vancouver) the law is an ebike can only go at a max speed of 24 kmh. Which is fine for me since I’m not in a hurry. Plus at my age (52) I’m pretty sure any accident at a higher speed would kill me.😂
So here’s my dilemma. I want to build a bike that can do 150 Km’s on throttle only. now I could go out and buy something like the Eahora Romeo Pro, but where I live it would come out to 4k CAD with taxes and delivery all in.
Or I could build an ebike from scratch. I’m sure it would be cheaper. but it would take longer. I was thinking of getting a cheap amazon 48v 500w bike and build off of that. I was thinking of going with a Bafang BBSHD, two 48v 30ah batteries and a geared hub like the Shimao Alfine 8-speed internal geared bicycle Hub.
One of the other problems is my local transit is very bike friendly so to increase range I could use to local transit system to get close to where I want to go and then use the bike as end of destination travel. But the bike can only weigh as much as 50lbs. any heavier and they won’t allow it on the front bus rack.
So I am torn. do any of you have any recommendations or suggestions?
Do you have previous cycling experience, or have you ever had a bicycle properly fitted to you? I ask because without knowing exactly how a bicycle is meant to fit, buying a bicycle online – electric or otherwise – may end up for a less-than-optimal ride, especially if you intend for this to be your main mode of transportation.
If you’re not familiar with all the parameters of fitting a bicycle, I would very strongly urge you to seek a reputable local bike shop (aka LBS) to get fitted for a bike. Walmart or big box stores don’t know how to do this, but a proper LBS has staff to identify and avoid problems before you ever roll out the door. Such a LBS can also sell and maintain an ebike for you, which will inevitably be necessary. Get opinions from multiple LBSs if need be. Some will rent you an ebike to trial.
Specifically for online ebikes, please see this advisory published by the California Dept of Fire and Forestry on lithium battery safety, particularly the (page 2) recommendation for only UL 2849 certified products. Charging safely is a major consideration now, and everyone wants to be comfortable using, parking, and charging their transportation devices. I don’t see any certification marks for that Amazon listing.
My current ebike predates the UL standard’s publication, so I have to be extra vigilant when charging, such as only ever during waking hours and only after inspecting the battery and charger each time for damage or voltage irregularities. Needless to say, this is not an ideal consumer experience, hence why going forward, the UL standard should be relied upon to relieve this heightened vigilance.
Also, for reference, here in California, the most inexpensive ebike I’ve seen for sale that complies with the advisory, is backed by a brand with a dealer/warranty network, and is actually practical for these roads would cost $1100USD. I would not expect to find a quality ebike in California for less than $1k, so I can’t see how that Amazon listed ebike at $857USD would deliver years of quality riding without excessive maintenance.
As an aside, you may want to aim for a 750 W motor if available. Output power is normally useful for quick acceleration, but it shows its real worth on hill-climbs as well. Granted, 25 kph is not a particularly fast hill climb, but it gets annoying very quickly if your ebike has to slow down to climb a steep grade, even with full throttle input, especially if the bike is heavily loaded.