Are Electric Bikes Prohibited on Arlington Trails

[jnva]

@CCrew 15954 wrote:

http://hacknmod.com/hack/customized-electric-bike-with-50-mph-top-speed/
http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-30-mph-electric-mountain-bike/

I know one of those guys who built that 50mph bike, and it can not maintain that speed for long without melting phase wires. Besides, he doesn’t ride on a multi use trail, he rides on the road.

[americancyclo]

@CCrew 15954 wrote:

http://hacknmod.com/hack/customized-electric-bike-with-50-mph-top-speed/

That one has a cockpit only MCL1981 could love
@CCrew 15954 wrote:

http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-30-mph-electric-mountain-bike/

I love that the rider is wearing jeans and a leather jacket.

[WillStewart]

@CCrew 15954 wrote:

http://hacknmod.com/hack/customized-electric-bike-with-50-mph-top-speed/

This is an unsubstantiated claim. Note that “The total pack gives 100.8V fully charged at 24Ah.” This is a massive, VERY expensive battery pack. A top of the line 36V 9Ah LiFePO4 battery runs $525 with a $95 battery charger (link). The battery in the link you provide would require roughly 9 of these batteries in a hacked-up array that would be dangerous to even charge, much less operate on a bicycle.

@CCrew 15954 wrote:

http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-30-mph-electric-mountain-bike/

The picture of the ‘bike’ above doesn’t show functioning pedals, so it’s technically a motorcycle. None of the bikes you’ve noted have their claims substantiated, nor are they commercially available, so are limited to the rare tinkerer who has the necessary multiple skill sets to implement.

Show me a functioning commercial electric bike that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

[dasgeh]

We bought a Kilowatt ebike during theclymb’s sale last Fall. The “e” part of the bike is very LOW power — it claims to be 250W, but I doubt it’s that much. The customer service side of the transaction was a disaster, but I won’t get into that. At the end of the day, we ended up with a working ebike, though one with very low power. It’s also a “pedal assist” type, meaning that the motor comes on when you’re pedaling, there’s no other throttle. It fits the federal law definition (Public Law 107-319).

And we love it. I use it to commute on days when I’m whiny about going to work. My husband uses it to tote our daughter around to places further away than he was comfortable going on our dutch-style bike — Gravely Point is now a favorite afternoon trip. Luckily, I’m usually whiny about going to work on days when the weather is icky, which happen to be days husband & daughter wouldn’t want to do long bike rides.

The motor is not powerful, as mentioned. I doubt it can get one of us going much faster than 15 MPH. But, it is hugely helpful starting from a stop, and going up hill. Basically, once you get the pedals around one full rotation, the motor kicks in and gets the bike “going” to where it’s easy to pedal. Going uphill we can’t maintain anything near top speed, but the motor will keep the bike upright and moving, making pedaling to give it a little more speed easy.

By way of comparison, my commute to work is mostly downhill, with very few stops. The ebike takes about the same as my road bike. I’m not sweaty getting to work on either. My commute home is the reverse, with an extra uphill thrown in, and the ebike is about 2 minutes faster than my roadbike, and I rarely arrive home sweaty, while I always do on my road bike.

I’m happy to answer any more questions or even show off the ebike, if anyone wants to meet up. In fact, I’m meeting husband and daughter on VA side of the Memorial Bridge (south side) a little after 5:30pm today, and they’ll be on the ebike. Another perk: family rides home!

Back to the original question of the thread: the federal law –Public Law 107-319 — was enacted in 2002. The Arlington memo was in 1999. I haven’t read it closely or done any other research, but I do support allowing ebikes that fit the federal law definition on the trails, subject to the same speed limit. Maybe the legal analysis would change in the context of current law. If not, I support discussing a change in the Arlington Code.

Oh, and I seriously doubt that many ebike riders are newbies — ebikes are MUCH more expensive than regular bikes, and I know many people are loath to invest in them before they’re sure they’re going to stick with bike commuting.

[CCrew]

@WillStewart 15963 wrote:

This is an unsubstantiated claim. Note that “The total pack gives 100.8V fully charged at 24Ah.” This is a massive, VERY expensive battery pack. A top of the line 36V 9Ah LiFePO4 battery runs $525 with a $95 battery charger (link). The battery in the link you provide would require roughly 9 of these batteries in a hacked-up array that would be dangerous to even charge, much less operate on a bicycle.

The picture of the ‘bike’ above doesn’t show functioning pedals, so it’s technically a motorcycle. None of the bikes you’ve noted have their claims substantiated, nor are they commercially available, so are limited to the rare tinkerer who has the necessary multiple skill sets to implement.

Show me a functioning commercial electric bike that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

I’m not going to try and hit a moving target. You wanted a link, I supplied a link, now you want to qualify it further. I’m sure I’ll supply another and it’ll change again.

FYI, on the bike you have the issue with, had you followed the link you would have seen he has $2500 invested in the whole thing. It’s the modders that will give the ebikes a bad name, not the off the shelf bikes. Just like computer hackers, the street racers, etc. It’s about the product and results of their work, not what some engineer type can only theorize and send to legitimate production, rather the tinkerer that can turn a wrench.

[WillStewart]

@dasgeh 15966 wrote:

The motor is not powerful, as mentioned. I doubt it can get one of us going much faster than 15 MPH. But, it is hugely helpful starting from a stop, and going up hill.

I believe this is what 99% of the ebike riders on W&OD, Custis, etc will be using it for.

[WillStewart]

@CCrew 15972 wrote:

I’m not going to try and hit a moving target.

I had said “don’t see the 30+mph ebikes you are talking about, even the ones over $2k. It would take a very expensive, massive battery, and a powerful motor to get anywhere near 30mph and even then that would be in burst mode, not sustained for any appreciable length of time. If you have any evidence to the contrary (besides “people are talking about this”), please provide it.”

You haven’t presented anything that met the above request, so no moving target involved.

[dasgeh]

Maybe we can start another thread on “The most tricked out vehicle that could possibly be a bike” and keep this thread to the question “should e-bikes that meet the definition in federal law be allowed in Arlington Trails” subtitled “There are people on the forum who ride ebikes”

[CCrew]

@WillStewart 15974 wrote:

I had said “don’t see the 30+mph ebikes you are talking about, even the ones over $2k. It would take a very expensive, massive battery, and a powerful motor to get anywhere near 30mph and even then that would be in burst mode, not sustained for any appreciable length of time. If you have any evidence to the contrary (besides “people are talking about this”), please provide it.”

You haven’t presented anything that met the above request, so no moving target involved.

Would have given you credit as a better reader Will.

http://www.evalbum.com/1947 Chock full of specs.

Google will show you lots more. It’s a neat place.

[WillStewart]

@CCrew 15981 wrote:

Would have given you credit as a better reader Will.

http://www.evalbum.com/1947 Chock full of specs.

Google will show you lots more. It’s a neat place.

Still doesn’t address my original question, but I’m willing to agree to disagree, because this could be an endless series of claim and counter claim. Life is too short…

[jnva]

@Tim Kelley 15957 wrote:

Very interesting! Can you tell us a little more about your bike, your buying experience, why you use electric vs. regular, and just more about your experiences?

Hi Tim,

I bought a conversion kit after doing a lot of research. I built my bike specifically for my commute – had a custom battery pack built and did a few other mods to make the bike safer and more reliable. Six months and over 2k miles later I don’t regret doing it. I get to work without sweating but still get a moderate workout. I still ride my regular bike, my ebike just feels like the perfect hybrid vehicle for commuting. Biggest advantage is that i can keep up with traffic in DC and always take the lane – never get passed and I feel a lot safer. I don’t have the strength to do that anymore on a regular road bike…

[americancyclo]

How much does the bike weigh?
Where do you get it serviced, or do you do it all yourself? I’ve heard from one ebiker that truing the wheels can be difficult and some shops don’t want to touch ebikes.
Pics?

[jnva]

@americancyclo 16568 wrote:

How much does the bike weigh?
Where do you get it serviced, or do you do it all yourself? I’ve heard from one ebiker that truing the wheels can be difficult and some shops don’t want to touch ebikes.
Pics?

It’s heavy no doubt, not easy to pick up. Don’t know exact weight.
Since mine is a conversion, I have never brought it to a bike shop for service. If I was a mechanic I don’t think I would want to work on it so I do the maintenance myself. Truing the wheels is no more difficult than truing regular bike wheels. The problem is you need to do it a lot more often due to the torque from the hub motor loosening the spokes.

[MCL1981]

@americancyclo 15961 wrote:

That one has a cockpit only MCL1981 could love

Hell ya! ALL AHEAD FLANK!!!

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