New Alien bikes on ebay

[The Maestro]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the new Alien bikes on ebay, particularly this one:

Alien CRUISER Electric Sports Bicycle Bike e-bike on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 12-Jun-08 23:32:41 BST)

I've just started cycling to work on a normal road bike (Alloy frame, 700c x 35 tyres) and an averaging 14 mph on my 20 mile round trip which is mostly flat but with some modest hills and very poor road surface. I'm still trying to work out whether to go electric or whether just to plug away as I am and get fitter. I'd like to get my average speed up a bit. I'd previously decided that I'd go for a Bionx kit from Canada which unrestricted would provide assistance up to 30 mph I believe. I have to admit that even though I'd consider myself fairly fit and I'm enjoying the exercise, I am finding that I get home from work and don't have much energy left and just flop on the settee at the moment.

 

[fishingpaul]

If you can average 14mph on a normal bike you sound fairly fit,the main advantage of electric bikes is on the hills,on the flat they can actually slow you down due to the drag from the motor, also downhill can be slowed by the motor drag,there are few electric bikes capable of averaging more than 14mph.although you will sweat alot less to achieve an average of 14mph

 

[allotmenteer]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the new Alien bikes on ebay, particularly this one:

Alien CRUISER Electric Sports Bicycle Bike e-bike on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 12-Jun-08 23:32:41 BST)

I've just started cycling to work on a normal road bike (Alloy frame, 700c x 35 tyres) and an averaging 14 mph on my 20 mile round trip which is mostly flat but with some modest hills and very poor road surface. I'm still trying to work out whether to go electric or whether just to plug away as I am and get fitter. I'd like to get my average speed up a bit. I'd previously decided that I'd go for a Bionx kit from Canada which unrestricted would provide assistance up to 30 mph I believe. I have to admit that even though I'd consider myself fairly fit and I'm enjoying the exercise, I am finding that I get home from work and don't have much energy left and just flop on the settee at the moment.

How bad is the road surface? Is is tarmac or an unmade road? This could affect the choice of bike as most electric bikes don't like excessive vibration (battery mounts break, electrical contacts can be shaken loose etc).

When I do my commute (15 miles) by pushbike I average around 14 mph but on my 36V electric I can average 20 mph which takes the journey time down to 45 mins from 65 mins. My bike has a hub motor similar (if not identical) to the Eeze Torq (suzhou bafang 8 fun motor). If you can get one of these it'd do the job. You'd need a controller such as the 36V brushless one from Ecrazyman on ebay (me and some others on this forum have bought from him). As for batteries I would stick with Nimh if you can.

You would still get plenty of exercise with the electric option but it would reduce the sweat factor enormously, leaving you in control of just how much work you do.

Regards

Paul

 

[frank9755]

No experience of those bikes, but I'm pretty certain he is now using the Suzhou Bafang motor - same as the Wisper and Torq v1 - which has proven very reliable. He used to use the Tongxin and gave up on it after reliability problems.
Style not to my taste, the battery is pretty small, but the motor should be fine.
Probably would be slower than your non-electric and may not save you any effort as motor resistance + lower quality bike can have more negative impact than motor power.

 

[The Maestro]

How bad is the road surface? Is is tarmac or an unmade road? This could affect the choice of bike as most electric bikes don't like excessive vibration (battery mounts break, electrical contacts can be shaken loose etc).

When I do my commute (15 miles) by pushbike I average around 14 mph but on my 36V electric I can average 20 mph which takes the journey time down to 45 mins from 65 mins. My bike has a hub motor similar (if not identical) to the Eeze Torq (suzhou bafang 8 fun motor). If you can get one of these it'd do the job. You'd need a controller such as the 36V brushless one from Ecrazyman on ebay (me and some others on this forum have bought from him). As for batteries I would stick with Nimh if you can.

You would still get plenty of exercise with the electric option but it would reduce the sweat factor enormously, leaving you in control of just how much work you do.

Regards

Paul

Where did you get your motor from? I've emailed that company and they replied that they would send me anything I wanted but they seem to have a few motors and I'm not sure which one to get. I would prefer a source in the UK too if anyone sells it either seperate or in a 700c wheel.

The road with the bad surface is tarmc and makes up about 5 miles of my trip. The tarmac is very patchy and worn away completely especially in the cycle lane. If I could average 20 mph like you that would suit me down to the ground.

 

[allotmenteer]

Where did you get your motor from? I've emailed that company and they replied that they would send me anything I wanted but they seem to have a few motors and I'm not sure which one to get. I would prefer a source in the UK too if anyone sells it either seperate or in a 700c wheel.

The road with the bad surface is tarmc and makes up about 5 miles of my trip. The tarmac is very patchy and worn away completely especially in the cycle lane. If I could average 20 mph like you that would suit me down to the ground.

Hello there

I got my motor as a kit from Electric Bikes Sales (Electric Transport Shop). They don't sell the kit anymore unfortunately but perhaps they may be able to help source one. The kit they sold was 24V with a useless li-ion battery but the controller can cope with 36V and I so bought a 36V battery and charger from 50cycles.

I can do the 20 mph average on the way in to work but due to traffic levels I take a longer route (16.75 miles usually) home which has a few more junctions and I average 19 mph then. The 36 Volt 9Ah Nimh battery has enough juice to do both routes though if I am lazy I can run out at the 14.5 miles mark on the way in if I have overused the throttle or not pedalled from a standing start / when accelerating.

I really think such a motor would be right for you. A Torq would be ideal but if you can't get one then I'm sure you could get the parts without too much difficulty.

I'll have a look at my motor tomorrow evening and check the serial number on it which may help find the right one.

Regards

Paul

 

[coops]

They sell a protanium powered kit now .

No, really, they do!

Stuart.

 

[fishingpaul]

Anybody know if it is a suzhou bafang motor used on alien bikes, it would seem good value if it is,also anybody know how you can derestrict an alien.

 

[flecc]

Other members have posted that it is a Suzhou. I can't help on the controller though,the eZee one's I use are unique to eZee.
.

 

[keithhazel]

They sell a protanium powered kit now .

No, really, they do!

Stuart.

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approx range of 87 miles under no load, 25-40 miles under 15-18 stone of load
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does that mean you can run along side it for 87 miles on one charge ?...cos thats all my problems solved, only 84 round trip to g/f's.

 

[coops]

... only so long as the wheels don't touch the ground keith, otherwise it wouldn't be under no load! also after a while the battery might not manage the 84 miles - even if you do!

The Maestro: I agree with Paul that such a motor could easily increase your average speed & a similar capacity battery combined with appropriate legpower for your speed should manage your journey - with modest hills i.e. slopes less than say 10%. To be fair, I think even for many strong riders, at speeds much over 20mph its usually the rider assisting the motor & not vice versa, so 30mph seems OTT for pedal assist anyway, except downhill of course!

Nick (Tiberius) has just got a BF motor, but consider the kit vs ebike issue carefully .

The best thing for me about ebikes is how they can 'flatten' slopes (hills can be a different matter - depends on steepness & bike setup too...), making it much easier to pedal-assist without straining and maintain speed on modest slopes, so long as you choose the right bike/motor setup for your gradients of course!

Paul: That's good going at that range and average speed - hope you got your brakes sorted in the end... but thats for another thread!

Stuart.

 

[allotmenteer]

Hello there

I'll have a look at my motor tomorrow evening and check the serial number on it which may help find the right one.

Regards

Paul

Checked the motor last night but unfortunately the freewheel sprocket is covering up the numbers.

 

[allotmenteer]

Paul: That's good going at that range and average speed - hope you got your brakes sorted in the end... but thats for another thread!

Stuart.

Helllo Stuart

Yes I fitted a set of decent shimano V-brakes and all is well now.

 

[The Maestro]

Anybody know if it is a suzhou bafang motor used on alien bikes, it would seem good value if it is,also anybody know how you can derestrict an alien.

I asked the seller what motor and battery manufacturer/model he was using but he told me that because of the time and effort he put into researching the best combinations he didn't want to give the info out. I can understand that to a certain extent however personally having researched motors and batteries and knowing there are reliability issues with many of them I could not buy a bike from an ebay seller without this info. I would have bought it straight away if he'd said it was a suzhou bafang.

He did say that to derestric the bikes all you needed to do was turn a screw on the controller though which sounds easy enough.

I still think the bike looks good value considering the equivalent kit he is selling is only a few quid cheaper. Having said that it does suggest that the bike is a real cheapo job.

 

[HarryB]

I asked the seller what motor and battery manufacturer/model he was using but he told me that because of the time and effort he put into researching the best combinations he didn't want to give the info out. I can understand that to a certain extent however personally having researched motors and batteries and knowing there are reliability issues with many of them I could not buy a bike from an ebay seller without this info. I would have bought it straight away if he'd said it was a suzhou bafang.

He did say that to derestric the bikes all you needed to do was turn a screw on the controller though which sounds easy enough.

I still think the bike looks good value considering the equivalent kit he is selling is only a few quid cheaper. Having said that it does suggest that the bike is a real cheapo job.

If it is of any value I have dealt with this seller in the past and found him to be 100% honest and trustworthy. Shame the bike looks so odd as with panniers the installation looks very discrete. Is the bike 24V or 36V? All the kits say 24V but the description says 36V on the built bike (which fits with the size of the battery).

 

[fishingpaul]

i also asked what motor was being used ,and the cost of a replacement 36v battery,and have not even received a reply after one week,if somebody cannot answer basic questions about their products,they do not deserve to be in business.

 

[The Maestro]

i also asked what motor was being used ,and the cost of a replacement 36v battery,and have not even received a reply after one week,if somebody cannot answer basic questions about their products,they do not deserve to be in business.

I guess hes allowed a holiday or something, if hes a sole trader I don't think we can expect him to not have the odd week off. He answered my first couple of questions in a few hours but hasn't replied to my last question from a few days ago.

Replying to the other question as to whether its 24 or 36 volts, I think the bike is 36 volts but its a bit confusing because on the list of replacement parts he only lists 24 volt batteries. He was selling a 36 volt kit in a 26" rim a few days ago but it wasn't much less than the full bike.

I actually think the bike looks kind of cool.

 

[bode]

Me too

I actually think the bike looks kind of cool.

So do I. Subject to a few enquiries, this bike looks rather promising.

 

[rhfubar]

Alien Conversion Kit

I've just perchased the Alien bike kit (36v 10A for 26") from ebay. It looks really promising, but the width between the forks has to be 110mm. It will not fit on my current forks and I can't bend them . Can anyone advise me which forks to get?

 

[flecc]

I've just perchased the Alien bike kit (36v 10A for 26") from ebay. It looks really promising, but the width between the forks has to be 110mm. It will not fit on my current forks and I can't bend them . Can anyone advise me which forks to get?

Welcome to the site Ryan. It's difficult to advise without knowing anything about your bike. If the forks are rigid ones, it's often possible to spring them enough to squeeze in a hub 10 mm wider, especially if they are steel forks.

Another trick I've used is modifying the motor hub components. Sometimes that's been by drastic alterations, but quite often there's full width nuts either side, where a half width nut will do the job, gaining a few millimetres.

Are there any of those possibilities? In general front forks are 100mm, with some on folders around 70mm, but wider than 100mm is quite rare, though front hub motor e-bikes do often have wider ones. With replacement forks they are most likely to be found on suspension ones.
.