Radvertising

E-HP

10 GW
Joined
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USA
I was out putting around on my ebike today, and saw this billboard:
Rad.jpg

This is the first time I've seen ebikes being advertised like this locally. It was another sunny day out, and the ebikes and e-other vehicle types, were out in force. This summer, however, I've seen a big increase in DIY bikes; where over the last 3 or 4 years, I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Riding through one neighborhood, I saw an ebike shop, but not the usual bike shop that started selling ebikes, but an actual ebike shop that looks like it converts bikes using kits, and also modifies factory ebikes. I saw a hopped up Super 73 near the entrance, and some definitly custom conversions.
Shop1.jpg

Shop2.jpg

Shop3.jpg

I also noticed that there are some faster bikes and othe EVs out there now; mores signs of DIY. I pace behind them and they usually will hit full throttle when they see me behind them, so I can get an idea of their top speeds. I rode behind a one wheel and the rider had a BIG backpack on. My guess is 20S10P or so in the pack. It could hit a legitimate 33mph or so, pretty impressive. The rider needs to lean pretty far forward to accelerate though, so at a stop, or while letting him trail me from behind, there's no way he could accelerate enough to keep up with me when hitting the throttle. Still impressive though, and he could easily out run the other ebikes out there. His hill climbing as impressive as well.

So, while ebikes in general are increasing in numbers quickly, the DIY ebikes and DIY modded factory bikes are growing almost as fast.
 
E-HP said:
I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner!
 
Chalo said:
E-HP said:
I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner!

I'm guessing her reaction time at the stop light garners some respect.
 
That is a great one, not many laughs but that had four rounds to it.

Chalo said:
E-HP said:
I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner!


I am seeing a couple more ebike stores locally, the only one I've been in are a Daymak dealer and an independent seller whos been around for decades. He even made heated gloves for the yuppies to gobble up. Way more diy ebikes in the last couple months then I have seen in the last couple years combined. Very few high powered stuff, by looks across the boulevard while cruising type of deal. I am starting to open up and talking to people again, I go through phases where I dont want to be bothered, leave me alone, but then other times I can be sociable. Easier to avoid interaction.

The money is obviously in selling complete bicycles, many have switched from selling parts to complete custom ebikes.

E-HP said:
ebike today, and saw this billboard:
View attachment 3

This is the first time I've seen ebikes being advertised like this locally. It was another sunny day out, and the ebikes and e-other vehicle types, were out in force. This summer, however, I've seen a big increase in DIY bikes; where over the last 3 or 4 years, I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Riding through one neighborhood, I saw an ebike shop, but not the usual bike shop that started selling ebikes, but an actual ebike shop that looks like it converts bikes using kits, and also modifies factory ebikes. I saw a hopped up Super 73 near the entrance, and some definitly custom conversions.


View attachment 1

View attachment 2

I also noticed that there are some faster bikes and othe EVs out there now; mores signs of DIY. I pace behind them and they usually will hit full throttle when they see me behind them, so I can get an idea of their top speeds. I rode behind a one wheel and the rider had a BIG backpack on. My guess is 20S10P or so in the pack. It could hit a legitimate 33mph or so, pretty impressive. The rider needs to lean pretty far forward to accelerate though, so at a stop, or while letting him trail me from behind, there's no way he could accelerate enough to keep up with me when hitting the throttle. Still impressive though, and he could easily out run the other ebikes out there. His hill climbing as impressive as well.

So, while ebikes in general are increasing in numbers quickly, the DIY ebikes and DIY modded factory bikes are growing almost as fast.
 
I rode around today in a mix of path and street riding, and more populated areas instead of back streets, like the other day. I saw a lot more bikes, but overall, the ebikes outnumbered the pedal bikes by about 2 to 1. They were everywhere. The most common type today were 20-24 inch cargo bikes. About half of them had a kid or two onboard, probably coming home from preschool or daycare. Most were mid drive, but there were 2 rear geared hubs. One of the latter had a fairly large fellow on it, and I was impressed at the performance. Orange, so likely a RAD, so I guess that's 22 inch.

A girl on a pedal bike pull up to me at the light, wanting to know everything about my bike. Another guy by the taco truck, that I talked to before, came over with a bunch more questions. Lots of interest. Saw two more DIY bikes too! I covered a decent amount of ground, 42 miles, so it was a good sample size.

Just remembered this. Last week I was riding along a wider street and was passed by a woman on a mobility scooter going over 15mph. She was towing a large rolling suitcase, and heading towards the train station. Never seen or heard anything like that before. I was putting along at 15mph and hear that sound of the plastic roller wheels of the suitcase on asphalt, rolling so fast, it sounded like a swarm of bees coming up from behind. She probably flicked it to high, hit the throttle, and field weakening kicked in LOL. I can't believe that was a stock setup. I should have caught up to see her setup, but I was turning in another direction.
 
E-HP said:
Just remembered this. Last week I was riding along a wider street and was passed by a woman on a mobility scooter going over 15mph. She was towing a large rolling suitcase, and heading towards the train station.

Rooting around for an additional disability, I'm guessing.
 
Chalo said:
E-HP said:
I may see one or maybe 2 DIY bikes in an entire year, I saw a half dozen today. Even an elderly lady with a trike with a 1000W front hub.

Everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner!
Chalo is making a reference to the 1960s Jan & Dean song "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYxPgFUjDpA
 
99t4 said:
Chalo is making a reference to the 1960s Jan & Dean song "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYxPgFUjDpA

Based on an observation of the forum's demographics, I'd say about half the members got the reference. I was singing that song when I was out riding after reading the post, since I haven't heard the song in a while, even though it's on my phone LOL.
 
Perhaps we will see a heavy increase in new users coming to the forum before they've purchased, and after they purchase when problems arise :lol:
 
I rode over to a 4th of July festival at the park. They blocked off several streets, so you had to walk at least 2 blocks (uphill) if you were able to snag the closest spots nearby; but they had valet bicycle parking at the park, so I could see plenty of people took advantage of that. The back of the envelope estimate is 25% ebikes, and 2/3 of those were mid-drive cargo bikes, and most of those had 1 or 2 kid seats. The area is hilly, so mid drive cargo bikes make a lot of sense, and ebikes in general. The park is at the foot of a 20% hill (same one I'm using for motor temp testing), but I didn't see anyone leaving in that direction.

I also saw another fast wheel and two of the higher performance scooters on the bike path. They all seemed to top out at around 30 mph or so, but at least they all were wearing full face helmets and the right gear for those speeds.

For regular factory bikes, those Aventon Aventures seem to be pretty popular. Looking at their specs, it looks like it's one of the best deals out there by quite a bit, and up close, the build quality looks solid. I see one or two almost every time I go out riding.
 
I saw another electric wheel yesterday. They are pretty fast, but I looked at the one on this YouTube video, and the 0-40mph time is really impressive. 0-30 is really close to my bike, but 0-40 would blow it away.
https://youtu.be/HlPwe7TmsbE?t=358

I also saw a factory bike yesterday that was hitting around 35 mph, so must have been modified. Hopefully they don't start attracting too much attention. I never see the bike paths patrolled.
 
E-HP said:
II also saw a factory bike yesterday that was hitting around 35 mph, so must have been modified.
There are several factory e-bikes that will hit that speed. Two that come to mind are the Grizzly - 52V Dual Motor and HyperScorpion ... of course those two do not look like 'traditional' bicycles.
 
LewTwo said:
There are several factory e-bikes that will hit that speed. Two that come to mind are the Grizzly - 52V Dual Motor and HyperScorpion ... of course those two do not look like 'traditional' bicycles.

I haven't seen a Grizzly yet, but I see new bikes every day. The thing that bugged me was that guy was weaving between foot traffic, which is going to either lead to an accident, or just draw more attention. I don't ride fast when there are people nearby, except on the street among cars; I don't want to be the one ruining things for other ebikers.
 
I have seen quite a few (usually younger) people on non-electric bikes giving cyclists a bad name. Blowing through red lights and riding through crowds on sidewalks among other things.
 
I went for a short ride this morning, having fun throttling around, and saw another rare sighting of a DIY ebike. I only spotted the Hailong pack, so I want to see what he had going on. He was riding at a decent pace, steady 20mph and pedaling about at my cadence (46:13 gears). Riding up closer I noticed the bike was pretty quiet. Quieter than my knobby tires are on pavement. Turned out it was a BBS02. My third sighting of a BBSXX motor in 4 years.
Even though I've decided that a mid drive build is only a remote possibility for me, a quiet mid drive still is appealing. Up until now, I've been only considering the BBSHD more seriously, but now I'm wondering if the BBS02 would have less drive train wear and be easier to maintain. It seemed to do fine on the flats.
 
E-HP said:
Up until now, I've been only considering the BBSHD more seriously, but now I'm wondering if the BBS02 would have less drive train wear and be easier to maintain. It seemed to do fine on the flats.

BBS02 is cheaper and lighter, with better Q factor and more torque per amp. The only reason I'd consider a BBSHD instead is if I wanted to use more power than 48V x 25A.

Watt for watt, there's no difference in drivetrain wear, which is mostly a matter of riding, shifting, and maintenance habits anyway.

My BBS02 was/is quieter than any of the hub motor bikes I've put together, with the exception of a 2 wire brushed hub motor bike I built in the mid 2000s.
 
Chalo said:
My BBS02 was/is quieter than any of the hub motor bikes I've put together, with the exception of a 2 wire brushed hub motor bike I built in the mid 2000s.

Darn. Pushed me over the edge. It's in my cart, while I contemplate pulling the trigger.
 
E-HP said:
Chalo said:
My BBS02 was/is quieter than any of the hub motor bikes I've put together, with the exception of a 2 wire brushed hub motor bike I built in the mid 2000s.

Darn. Pushed me over the edge. It's in my cart, while I contemplate pulling the trigger.

I like my BBS02, I wish I could get the chainline/shifting right.
 
Confirmed, 110%, D.I.Y. is on the scene here, its hard to keep up now, before it was super easy, a quick glance, now I gotta follow them fuckers, take second and third glances just to see what they got, what they are riding, BBSHD, BBSO1, BBS02, Cyclone, Bafang, these are quick instincts do while riding, fun and games. Only seen two enduros, recently and way back, could be the same guy, perhaps Miro. He'd remember me, the lip I gave to someone or something, hes not the actor just audience member for a time being. 20mph time being.

I will add, there will be some serious accidents making the news and will be milked for full wide coverage. I seen to much shit the last days rocking 60 miles a day along the pathway systems we got here. I seek out the bumpy, remote spots cruise for long stretches. Learned its best after rush hour around 7pm ish for the travel between sections. I was previously doing it at rush hour, its just no good. I found a bypass, adds 2 miles though, but lots of outlets, 1500wh netted me 60 miles yesterday, 25wh per mile aint bad at all. Upright stance, needs to change. 20mph, rare short hills, good short burst workout type deals. Gotta pick and choose the route to which kind of hill for what type of workout, its not mind numbing riding, we think while riding.
 
I went out to grab something for lunch and saw a Wolf King scooter for the first time on the way back. Speed was impressive, acceleration was decent. It's supposed to have an estimated top speed of 63mph, but I see more like the 50s in YouTube videos. I think it's the fastest two wheeled e-vehicle that I've seen out there so far. The suspension looked pretty effective when transitioning between the sidewalk/path and the asphalt at the intersections. The King is the off road version.

 
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E-HP said:
The King is the off road version.

"Off road". On 11" wheels. Yeah, right.

You can put knobbies on a shopping cart, too, but that doesn't make it an off road shopping cart.
 
Chalo said:
You can put knobbies on a shopping cart, too, but that doesn't make it an off road shopping cart.

You obviously don't subscribe to the SUV model of toughness: suspension and knobbies makes you Offroad. Period. :twisted:
 
Chalo said:
E-HP said:
The King is the off road version.

"Off road". On 11" wheels. Yeah, right.

You can put knobbies on a shopping cart, too, but that doesn't make it an off road shopping cart.

It doesn't look pleasant, but better than no suspension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bSWped5AVU
I think smoother fire roads or gravel might be ok though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBZhkf4qaUw
 
I saw this elderly couple riding a tandem side by side trike with a front hub motor, riding on a path by the marina yesterday (OK, I say elderly, but they probably went home on posted on their Instagram about seeing an elderly guy on an ebike that day, LOL). The weather was perfect, and they were just cruising slowly at less than 10 mph, stopping to look at the boats and just taking it easy. I thought to myself, wow that looks nice, maybe I should get something like that for my wife and I.
Trike.jpg

I even went home and started doing some research. Then I finally thought to myself, how did they get that thing there in the first place? You'd need a truck to haul it, and they would have needed to ride it quite a ways from the nearest residential areas. Then I thought how tall my truck bed is. Then I scrapped the idea...

20mph is way too fast in my opinion. 10mph looked very relaxing though.

A friend of mine is interested in ebikes now after riding one of those rental bikes. I recommended a step through, since I've been noticing it's getting harder to throw a leg over the saddle.
 
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