The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Thegoblinchief on March 25, 2014, 12:26:52 PM
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Anyone here have recommendations for a good e-bike (either a hub/mod or bespoke)?
It would need to pull 300+ pounds (~140kg) on a trailer. Not sure what kind of speed or range we're talking about, but if it could handle long-ish trips (30-40 miles/50km) with assistance on the grades that would mean I could still do field trips to further away state parks.
I can handle my kids (about 200 pounds combined and growing) OR groceries, but not both. And the kids are already at or slightly beyond what my body is realistically capable of, especially up hills.
I'd love to ditch the minivan if I could. It's not worth much ($4K) but dropping to a single car would mean roughly $600 less per year in fixed costs, plus another $500-600 in fuel savings.
If I'm crazy and should just keep the minivan, please feel free to say so.
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This is where I'd start: http://www.bikeforums.net/electric-bikes/
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i've had really good luck with this hill topper setup i purchased. i think it was $500. the bike was given to me for free and i've been driving my car 1/2 as often so it's been a good investment. basically a battery back and a new front tire with a motor, that's it. helps me going up hills and pulling out at busy intersections.
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If you want to learn more about the technical merits of or building your own ebike then the best source is:
endless-sphere.com
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A 48v Bafang BBS01/BBS02 with a 15-20ah 48v lifepo4 battery.
Will cost you about $800 - $1000.
Bolts onto existing bike.
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One more vote for the endless-sphere forum. Also you can't go wrong with kits or parts from ebikes.ca. They really know what they're doing, sell to people who ride in all weather in Vancouver BC, and have developed and improved the Cycle Analyst, a key piece of gear if you're building your own e-bike.
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Wow, lots of info to dig into. Surprised that a lot of it seems based around 26" tires instead of 700c.
Both endless sphere and e-bikes.ca seem quite informative. It's also nice to see that e-bikes are still treated as bikes, and not motor vehicles in my neck of the woods. Would kind of defeat the purpose if I had to carry insurance and couldn't use trails.
Well, I've got plenty of time to research, since the DW reminded me that if we drop to a single car, we should really replace hers with something newer than a 97 Outback with 190K, just in case. Hrmmm.
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Might check into cargo bikes. I have a radish xtracycle with an ezee electric motor 500 and it handles my two kiddos 6 and 9 plus groceries a couple bags. With hills. Seattle.
When we bought it we sold the second car and have never regretted it.
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Might check into cargo bikes. I have a radish xtracycle with an ezee electric motor 500 and it handles my two kiddos 6 and 9 plus groceries a couple bags. With hills. Seattle.
When we bought it we sold the second car and have never regretted it.
Yeah, I figured I would end up building it around a cargo bike frame. Starting to finally see a few longtails show up on the used market in my area.