Electrical bike for commuting

[Tim Kelley]

If it gets you out of a car, and gives you a little exercise, it sounds perfect!

[jabberwocky]

You’ll get a range of opinions on e-bikes among the cyclist crowd, but I agree with Tim: I’d much rather see someone on an e-bike than in a car!

The only thing to keep in mind is that (given your commute), I imagine you’ll want to ride the W&OD. The rules on e-bikes and multi-use paths vary a bit, but generally speaking e-bikes are considered a motorized vehicle and aren’t allowed on a lot of trails. I’m not sure exactly what the rules are on the W&OD (and other trails like the Custis and the paths in DC), so you’ll want to look into them.

[Veik]

Well, I mixed mode commute on WOD during the warmer months already…just want to explore more options.
I have yet to find e-bike rules for WoD

[rcannon100]

With most good ebikes these days, no one but a trained eye will know you are on an ebike. I would not worry about the mutli path rules. I see ebikes on the Custis all the time; no one is going to stop them. I have never heard of any enforcement (just dont buy an ebike that looks like a moped)

Dasgeh rides an ebike and really likes it. I have test ridden one and was AMAZED. The market is not very big in the US and it is hard to get good reviews.

[Veik]

Thanks. Yeah, there is a store in NYC that sells a whole range of them, might have to go north to test them out

[baiskeli]

They are generally pretty heavy because they carry a big battery. They are easier on hills, that’s for sure, but harder to pedal when you’re not using power. It might not be a good choice for long distance as opposed to getting up hills. But try it and see.

[dasgeh]

Hi! My name is Gillian and I’m a ebike evangelist.*

I ride all types of bikes, but since I got pregnant around this time last year, I’ve been on my ebike for my relatively short commute from Arlington (formerly Lyon Park, currently Cherrydale) to DC (Foggy Bottom). I have a pretty underpowered ebike, bought on sale at theclymb. The brand is Kilowatt, but I wouldn’t recommend them — we’ve had some issues with the bike and Kilowatt has been completely unhelpful. (theclymb, on the other hand, has been great).

Even with a sh**ty brand, having an ebike is great. My best spiel: you know how riding a bike, when you’re pedaling along a flat road, not trying to go fast, just enjoying the day, is about as strenuous as walking? Having an ebike makes the whole ride that easy — starting from a stop, going up hill, all about as easy as pedaling along on a flat. Since it’s a bike, you can push harder and assist the motor, and you’ll go faster. But if you don’t want to try hard, you’ll sail along at a nice clip on the flats, and you’ll get up the hills, though not quickly. These days on the trail, I’m trying some. I get passed by plenty of people (mostly those on skinny tire, road bikes), but I also pass plenty of people (mostly on hybrids and up-right style bikes). I probably would be only a little slower on my road bike, though I wouldn’t have the option of not working hard on my way home… Most ebikes have options to turn the motor down, so you could work up to using more effort on your commute.

If you had a nicer ebike, you’ll probably faster (the motor will only help until you get to 20 mph, but that’s plenty fast, and getting up to 20mph from a stop quickly helps your average speed).

There’s a shop in Takoma Park that does lots of ebike stuff – http://www.thegreencommuter.net/ (at least according to their site — I looked into it a little before getting the cheapo cheater bike I have, but I’ve never been there). So you can save yourself a trip to NYC. Of course, it’s always good to have an excuse to go up there.

On the legal issue, there are arguments on both side of the issue, but practically, I would be shocked if anyone ever cared that you are on an ebike. I believe that the bike would always be legal if the motor were off…

In short, get an ebike. Even a cheap one (I’ve seen some on woot recently for $400!).

*Actually, I love my road bike, and would prefer to be commuting on it. But I’m still on my cheater bike because I’m not back in shape yet, and I haven’t geared up my road bike, and I have lots of excuses…

[dasgeh]

And there’s this thread: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?851-e-Bikes-Let-s-talk&highlight=ebike

[jnva]

I have been riding my ebike almost exclusively for the past two years. Yes, I’ve been called cheater, been yelled at and scolded for riding a “motor vehicle” on the trails, but I got over that .
I have not commuted by car or metro for about 6 months now, and really look forward to the commute. The money I’ve saved is amazing, even after the expense of the bike. I’m not tired when I get to work, don’t need a shower, and don’t need to change clothes. If I want a workout I simply don’t use the motor. I do this on the way home usually.
The down side is that if something goes wrong with any electrical part, you either need to know how to fix it yourself, pedal a really heavy bike, or do the walk of shame. I carry a tool kit and fix stuff myself. Only issue I have had are flat tires and once in a while a wire connector needs to be replaced, but that’s also part of the fun for me…
Now, for a commute from Herndon you will need to do some research to make sure the battery will make it with about 10% charge remaining, you can’t drain the battery completely. If your interested in building the bike yourself with a kit, let me know and I’ll pm you the vendor I went with.

[Veik]

@jnva 46558 wrote:

I have been riding my ebike almost exclusively for the past two years. Yes, I’ve been called cheater, been yelled at and scolded for riding a “motor vehicle” on the trails, but I got over that .
I have not commuted by car or metro for about 6 months now, and really look forward to the commute. The money I’ve saved is amazing, even after the expense of the bike. I’m not tired when I get to work, don’t need a shower, and don’t need to change clothes. If I want a workout I simply don’t use the motor. I do this on the way home usually.
The down side is that if something goes wrong with any electrical part, you either need to know how to fix it yourself, pedal a really heavy bike, or do the walk of shame. I carry a tool kit and fix stuff myself. Only issue I have had are flat tires and once in a while a wire connector needs to be replaced, but that’s also part of the fun for me…
Now, for a commute from Herndon you will need to do some research to make sure the battery will make it with about 10% charge remaining, you can’t drain the battery completely. If your interested in building the bike yourself with a kit, let me know and I’ll pm you the vendor I went with.

Please PM your vendor. Thanks in advance!

[Rootchopper]

I am with Rcannon100 on this. E-bikes are amazing. I see two of them from time to time when I commute on the Mount Vernon Trail. They look like run of the mill upright bikes except they go quite fast with little effort. The first time I was passed by one I thought, “God, I’m slow today.”
I’d think your biggest concern would be range. Can the battery last all the way from DC to Herndon? Remember, it’s slightly uphill going west so the battery will drain faster in the afternoon.

[hozn]

I think the rule in VA is that ebikes on multi-use trails must be speed-limited to 20mph.

I agree that Herndon to downtown DC would be quite a commute to do daily without the assist!

[vvill]

I like the idea of e-bikes. I don’t own one but there have been days where I’ve been a little tired/sick, or when it’s particularly windy, where it would’ve been nice to have the option. I imagine it would also be nice on those days where you tend to end up overdressed because you wouldn’t overheat as easily, so you could even wear more formal attire maybe. And of course if you have a lot to carry they’d be handy too.

[83b]

When I’m in a lazy mood or the weather is particularly gross, I commute on the e-bike that I built for my wife. It would be great for someone with a longer commute than they want to tackle on pedals alone.

I built ours using an eZee motor and controller from http://www.ebike.ca. I can’t recommend them highly enough and they are very helpful in designing a kit that will meet your needs. The big downside is the up front price, but our bikes have kept us from needing to run a second car. Over time they’ve been a far more economical transportation option.

If you’re looking to bolt the kit onto an existing bike, I would recommend something sturdy with disk brakes, given the extra weight and fast speeds. I wouldn’t, for example, bolt it onto a carbon road bike with twitchy handling. If you need a complete bike, I would seriously consider the new Xtracycle model that the ebike.ca guys have put together with Clever Cycles. It comes assembled with an eZee kit and will be ready to transport you and whatever you need to bring along.

For your mileage requirements, I would skip their stock batteries and go with a 36V model from Ping Battery with at least 15 Amps (a 20 Amp battery would be much better). I routinely get 20-23 miles of heavy stop/start usage out of our smaller 14 Amp battery (that now holds maybe 12 Amps of effective discharge). Going with a 46V model would allow you to run the motor in excess of 20MPH and would provide a bit more torque up steep hills, but the speed isn’t really advisable if you’re going to be on mixed use trails and the torque won’t be necessary unless you’re hauling a ton of extra weight (like a ton of groceries on a cargo bike).

[Nicholas23]

“There are a few types of bikes tend to make better longer distance commuters than others. The most common recommendation is to choose a 26” mountain bike frame made from steel. Strong can be more important than light weight since you now have a motor to help haul the weight”
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