[jnva]

Happy to help – i suggest you read the endless-sphere forums. Lots of good info there with pictures.
I spent about a grand on converting an old unused mountain bike I had and now I ride it almost every day and love it.

[jnva]

At 930am M street is still not bad, IMO. Just watch out for the cab drivers. I always assume I’m invisible to cars, but cabs are always trying to run me down.

[jnva]

@rcannon100 17343 wrote:

Any recommendations?

Email Justin at ebikes.ca or Paul at emissions-free.com if you decide to go the conversion route. They are both honest and will help you with a kit based on what you need and your riding style. Paul may be hard to reach but it’s worth the wait. Don’t waste your time with sla batts or cheap eBay kits!

[jnva]

@CCrew 17327 wrote:

I’ll bet they’re not over-fudging it.

I’ll take that bet!

342 watt hours on my bike averaging 20 mph, I can go about 10 miles. At 28mph it would probably be half that with wind resistance. Lithium batteries can not be fully discharged, so the usable capacity is more like 300wh. They are claiming 24 miles @ 28mph. This would be amazing if it’s true!

[jnva]

Going east on the wod, just past hunter mill road, the fairfax cross county trail intersects and goes off road to the left side of the paved path. Excellent trail running all the way to great falls! It’s about 4 miles from that point on the wod to route 7 near Colvin mill. Great mountain biking too. North side park in Vienna is also not too bad. Further west you can do som trail running at lake fairfax. Also good mountain biking.

[jnva]

No freaking way a 250 watt motor will push any bike 28 mph without heavy pedaling! And if you are pedaling hard enough to go that fast why bother with the ebike? Maybe this bike can do 15mph with zero pedaling. I really hate how ebike manufacturers falsely advertise the top speed and distance possible. Notice how vaguely the battery and motor are described. Most people would not know that it takes between 800-1000 watts @ 20amps to go 28mph! 342wh battery is pretty small – if this bike actually could get up to 28mph, it wont get you very far and then you are stuck pedaling a heavy bike. You really Need to do homework before buying an ebike to make sure you are getting what you want.

[jnva]

Maybe they are looking for all those scofflaw ebikers with their illegal high speed ebikes!

[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.

[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…

[jnva]

@SpokeGrenadeSR 16533 wrote:

^yep, often i get waved through an intersection before i can even begin to stop (ironically this is in falls church). and if i were to come to a full stop then they’d probably get all pissy.

Yes exactly they will get pissy! I even got yelled at once for not giving a “thank you” wave.

[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.

[jnva]

Rcannon – I’ve been commuting on the custis almost every day for the past six months on my electric assist bike. I’ve never posted here because of the anti ebike attitudes, but I can tell you that the “no motorized vehicle” rule on the custis is not enforced for ebikes. I have ridden past park police several times… As long as you don’t act like an idiot on the trail, you shouldn’t have a problem. I maintain under 20 mph while on the trail, and for those of you I’ve smoked, it’s because I can maintain 20mph uphill. I go slow downhill because I can activate regen. 30mph on the trail is not possible on my bike. And by the way, I have been commuting on the custis/WOD for 20 years, and have seen many cycling accidents of which exactly zero have involved ebikes.

J

[Author]

Posts