Hi from Mark in Belgium

[pajtaz]

I'd like to have a bike where I could reckon on 25km/h as my average, or even my minimum speed over a long trek. I'd have enough gears and torque to keep at 24/25 on the climbs, and go faster than this on the flats and downhills. At the moment I'm not quite doing this.

My average for 18 km commute, all flat, ranges from 27 kmh to 33 kmh. When there is strong head wind, average drops to 27 kmh because there is just too much air resistance and I don't want to burn the motor. When there is no wind or wind in the back, I can hit 33 kmh average but there are always external factors that slow you down like road crossings. But with my setup you can easily average 29-30 kmh and only have to charge every 60 kms safely.

 

[mdepps]

No, not legal. Cutoff speed is manually adjusted in the LCD settings. It can be anything up to 99 kmh. I think I set mine to 45 kmh.


Everywhere, was riding up and down the "hills" in the dunes and with lowest level I was passing up the racers, especially up the hills. On the flats too. Since my cutoff speed is 45 kmh, motor is assisting with 100 W up to 45 kmh so the entire time. But that extra 100 W seems to be a massive advantage. I'm pedaling hard and I'm fit but I'm not racer fit.


This is very useful, especially if you don't have kids and can just get a trailer for goods, and not to carry kids. Those trailers are smaller, easier to attach. Trailer can prove to be tricky to attach depending on the type of attachment so do some research. However I also use Ortlieb panniers (best in the world, 100% waterproof, strong) for commuting and for groceries or other things to carry. I have the rack in the back that can carry up to 25 kg. So that can be used for groceries too but eggs still might get crushed!

I've looked at the idea of a kit, but the bike in my garage is a 350€ Decathlon trekking job so it'd be sewing silk onto a pig's ear.

To be honest 25km/h is slowww. I'd shake now on US standard 32km/h but since this is not forthcoming in legislation I might get a dongle when I buy my own bike and set to this very modest increased speed.

Amazing that your 100W can make such a difference. You must get a few looks with gritted teeth from the lycra mob.

 

[pajtaz]

I would not add a kit to a crappy bike. You either have a good solid bike, good brakes, good shifting, stable, maintained, etc. and then you add a kit or you just buy a good ebike. I liked my bike, didn't want to modify it too much, it is perfect for me so adding a good kit to a good bike was a perfect combination.

As for buying an ebike outright, I really don't know about models like others on this forum but for me it would be like any other purchase - better to spend good money once then spend little money lots of times. Buy yourself a good ebike than can be de-restricted or buy a pedelec. That way you will go far, go fast, and be happy.

 

[vfr400]

It's 75€ a month. This includes repairs and insurance, so if you were to value these components (which I would have to pay separately if I bought a bike) and deduct you might be talking about 50€ a month for the net rental. It would take over three years to get past 2000€, so there are good arguments for doing just this, and postponing a purchase until the next wave of market consolidation and technology improvements is complete. But there will always be further improvements so would one ever buy?

That's a good deal and I agree with you 100% if your alternative is to buy a typical £2000 modern crank-drive bike and get it dealer serviced. It wins even further if you were to decide to get rid of the bike after a relatively short time for whatever reason, where the depreciation cost would be substantial.

For comparison purposes I will give my own bike running costs. The reason I have been able to keep the costs low is because: a) I know what I'm doing. b) I knew what I wanted. I got in this position after I spent more than £20,000 trying out every type of bike and electrical system available.

The bike cost £1100 to build starting with a used frame. I got nearly all the other cycle parts used on Ebay and the electrical parts from Chinese resellers. I've owned it for 6 years and done 6,000 miles, and I'm still very happy with it.

Since I built it, I had to buy a new chainwheel, gear cable, chain, rear cogs and a set of brake pads. All of those cost around £50 in total. Originally, I had a Xiongda 2-speed motor. After a year, I changed it to a Q128C for a bit more user-friendliness, as the Xiongda was OTT for what I needed. The change cost around £210. I could be still using the original battery, but it became saggy, so I recently replaced it for £250. Shortly after that, I have temporary health problems, so I replaced it again with a much higher capacity one for £300. Total spend over the 6 years has been £1910 for 78 months, which works out at £25.50 per month.

Considering I have to do my own maintenance, the difference from what you pay isn't a lot, though with my new battery, I should be able to go for another three years , which would bring the cost down to around £17 per month. Also, taking inflation into account, the original £1100 would now be about £1400.

Starting point:


Finishing point how it is today (uncleaned):