Ebike/Moped Gang Cruise Video
- Thread starter grindz145
- Start date
jkbrigman
10 kW
Holy smokes that is one freakin' cool video Troy!
You're "reaching across the aisle" and riding with gasser buddies....that's cool beyond words, dude. You are one hell of a great ebike ambassador, man!
You're "reaching across the aisle" and riding with gasser buddies....that's cool beyond words, dude. You are one hell of a great ebike ambassador, man!
kfong
100 kW
Nice vid Troy, did you have any range issues? How far did you ride that night on your electric Puch?
etard
100 kW
Sons of Apothy = Hilarious!
Great Video Troy! Thanks for sharing, idea for next video:
The gassers go around being hoodlums, like smashing groceries out of old lady's hands and the ebiker comes through as the sweeper and helps old lady pick up her groceries, etc...etc...
:lol:
Great Video Troy! Thanks for sharing, idea for next video:
The gassers go around being hoodlums, like smashing groceries out of old lady's hands and the ebiker comes through as the sweeper and helps old lady pick up her groceries, etc...etc...
:lol:
grindz145
1 MW
etard said:
Haha! No, I want to smash groceries too though!
grindz145
1 MW
jkbrigman said:
Moped are way more accessible than ebikes for a lot of people starting off, and so I want to encourage riding in general. Moped culture is cheeky and fun. Honestly though, the 2 strokes are awful. They actually have terrible range and acceleration. We only rode like 15 miles that night and the one moped needed to refuel. We had a blast though. Most peoples ebikes are on par with gas mopeds, and so I think there is a lot of synergistic fun to be had there. Riding big sport touring bikes in a group blows. I would never do it. But tiny bikes, a whole nother story. It's a complete blast.
jkbrigman
10 kW
grindz145 said:
I definitely felt that in your video. Everywhere, I could see that you guys on the mopeds were in way closer-touch with the city than you could ever be on a motorcycle. I really like it when you guys went down under the roadway and into the tunnels, enjoyed the greenways/bike paths and just tooled around downtown.
I figured the 2-strokes would be rough, especially the smoke. I hope the guys all had good mufflers - the noise can be offputting for some folks and cause them to keep their distance, when really it's better for the public to feel safe and comfortable around you. I'm surprised one had to refuel after only 15 miles - sounds like something's wrong with the carburetor or there's a gas leak somewhere.
Do any of your moped buddies show any interest in ebikes? (Especially the guy getting only 15 miles range)
The fingers
10 TW
Disclaimer: No SUVs were harmed in the making of this video. :lol:
grindz145
1 MW
jkbrigman said:
Two-stroke smoke is lagitimately gross. The sound doesn't bother me though.
The one Puch is extremely hot-rodded and does about 50 mph, which is sweet! However, it only gets about 38mpg with all of those modifications. That's less than what my 1.3 liter sport touring bike gets. Since the gas tank is less than 1 gallon, the range is pretty poor
He carries extra gas with him. It's still a well built small bike that I can appreciate, and I hope more people can use it as a gateway. The barrier to entry for e-bike stuff is just so high.Haha, the guy getting 15 miles range doesn't really have much interest, but the two other guys in the film BOTH have e-bikes. Several of them! I'll see if I can't get them to bring them along to another ride. Much like many other ebikers, they have trouble keeping their bikes running and in one piece. It's not much different with the mopeds. Although I will say that ultimately, the e-bikes are much more reliable in the long term. There are few mopeds with 13k miles that haven't been rebuilt, but my old faithful hubbie is going strong, and I haven't touched the controller, the batteries have seen some attention, but only for wiring.
We need more people on bikes in general, so any way that happens is OK with me.
grindz145
1 MW
The fingers said:
Hah! Love it. I'll put that in the next one
jkbrigman
10 kW
grindz145 said:
Completely agreed: we need WAY more people on bikes in general. Wish the US would prioritize bikes the way Europe has...we're getting closer to that in very urban or population-dense areas (bikeways) but not much going on otherwise in the "infrastructure space" for bicycles.
Now, you just said something important! The reliability issue...is something that's really on my mind these days. Maybe a good thread for reliability discussions would help?
This is the point where I could ask "Are we putting too-powerful motors on these bicycles?!?" or some "We..." question like that. Screw that, I don't care about that.
Think of everyone who's had a charger burn out on them? I lost TWO and my bike was offline for almost 2 months while I searched for replacements then waited for them to get here from China....almost anything that fails on an ebike is a huge pain in the butt and shuts the bike down...low-cost items, I always keep spares. High cost items, I just try to figure a way to get replacements quickly.
How do we make ebikes better and better? How do we make them a PREFERRED way to get around? Is there some kind of "Elon Musk thinking" we can learn from the Tesla and apply to our ebikes?!?!? If I started a "reliability thread", would anyone comment?
grindz145
1 MW
jkbrigman said:
The answer is yes, and that's part of the problem. There is well over a century of motorcycle design that we're all laughing at, and its going to bite some of us. At the same time electric drivetrain liberates frame design in really awesome ways.
What kind of failures do you usually experience? Most of mine have been mechanical, ironically. Stupid, simple, easy to design-out kind of stuff.
jkbrigman
10 kW
grindz145 said:
Agreed: seems to me there's lots of room for innovation in 2 wheeled and other light electric vehicles. We use bikes because it's what we have, but it's always seemed to me that purpose-built, fully engineered ebike frames designed for specific missions (Greyborg, Qulbix, Farfle, Dogati, etc.) always work better.
FAIL: Two chargers failed, days apart. (I was running 18S, so I needed 73.8V) FIX: Two cell_man chargers, tweaked to reach 73.8v/4A.
FAIL: Motor wheel spokes and rim. FIX: Been constantly truing-up my Crystalyte HS3540. Eventually I'll Replace the Crystalyte stock rim.
FAIL: Thumb throttle. FIX: Replaced
FAIL: AP connector to controller from battery. FIX: Replaced
FAIL: Chain Break. FIX: Replaced with shimano "quick link"
FAIL: Handlebar bracket holding windshield. FIX: New handlebar brackets
FAIL: "Old Man Cruiser Handlebars" didn't have enough room for stuff. FIX: Install new flat bar handlebar.
Everything else has been basic bike maintenance: derailleur cable stretch, screws falling out of the rear rack, SLIME solidifying in one spot inside the tube, etc. You have to pay far more attention to an ebike than a non-powered bike because you are pushing the bike so far beyond it's intended speed range. Bolts, screws and nuts will vibrate off before you know it.
Just now seeing my first bad LiPo cell.
dnmun
1 PW
the cell-man chargers is an easy fix.
grindz145
1 MW
jkbrigman said:
I agree, except I would argue that there are very few decent ebike platforms for the power that most of us are pushing.
Yeah, your failures are mostly attributed to poor hobby-grade components, which of course will happen, If they were swapped out there, the bike would be unquestionably more reliable than a moped. My ebike frame is not ideal either, but a lot of the other stuff is optimized and it turns out to be pretty reliable. Even my cheap chinese charger was dead-nuts reliable over a pretty aggressive 4500 mile trip.
beast775
100 kW
Great video,i have a sweet spot for lambretta- vespa -puch scooters to this day,but ride only electric.looked like fun.
grindz145
1 MW
beast775 said:
I know right? I have to build an electric small frame one of these days...
Ykick
1 GW
We called 'em "pack rides" in my day, good times!
yawstick
100 W
I rode for the first time with a couple of guys in my neighborhood that have regular bikes with the add on gas engines from ebay. I was riding a 48 volt 1000 watt hub motor on a bike and was a lot faster in most every way except going up hill. Was a great ride though and great weather too. Those add on gas engines are the epitome of high maintenance though. Most of their issues are vibration related and stuff just coming loose.
Motobikewheels
100 W
Bro please shoot me an invite for the next ride.
Alan B
100 GW
In my college days I did a lot of commuting to school with a Motobecane Mobylette. Put thousands of miles on it. Wore out brakes, fouled spark plugs, wore out tires, but it was pretty darn reliable. It wasn't all that noisy as I recall. Stock pipes. Put a gallon of gas and a couple ounces of oil in every 100 miles or so.
On the steep hill to my first job (still work at the same place now, XX years later) it would make 9mph maximum, and pedaling didn't seem to help.
On the way down the hill I could brake to a stop, barely.
Today my CroBorg eats tires faster (and does everything else faster as well). Better brakes, too.
I'm pretty sure the tires on the CroBorg are wider than the old Moped.
I think I'm about at the point I've exceeded the miles put on the Moped with the miles put on the CroBorg, or it will soon.
On the steep hill to my first job (still work at the same place now, XX years later) it would make 9mph maximum, and pedaling didn't seem to help.
On the way down the hill I could brake to a stop, barely.
Today my CroBorg eats tires faster (and does everything else faster as well). Better brakes, too.
I'm pretty sure the tires on the CroBorg are wider than the old Moped.
I think I'm about at the point I've exceeded the miles put on the Moped with the miles put on the CroBorg, or it will soon.
grindz145
1 MW
roadrash said:
Dude, do you have Facebook?
https://www.facebook.com/events/284261921763376/
That's the next ride scheduled for November. The more the better! I'm afraid your bikes will destroy everything, so you'll have to slow down for us
Motobikewheels
100 W
grindz145 said:roadrash said:
Dude, do you have Facebook?
https://www.facebook.com/events/284261921763376/
That's the next ride scheduled for November. The more the better! I'm afraid your bikes will destroy everything, so you'll have to slow down for us
:lol: I sold off the scooter motor and kick myself everyday for that...Now i am just running a 9C in a 17" moto rim.It only does 40mph at 92v. That will soon change when we get to mxus motors in.
I went on facebook and commented on your post by the way
grindz145
1 MW
40 mph is PLENTY fast enough for this ride
