New Member, Lots of Questions - EV Global

[Mark]

Hello! I am a new member from Austin, Texas, USA. I have been wanting an electric bike for about 1.5 years. Finally, I have both some money, and a real NEED for an electric bike for transportation.

I'm currently using my bike for most of my local errands. I'm a fairly fit person (I teach dance part time), but there are times when but I could really use a little extra "push" from a motor.

I'm looking for information about what brands or types are best, especially in terms of reliability. What should I look for?

I know someone who is willing to sell me her eBike (from EV Global) for $400 (USA dollars). It has been sitting in their (dry) basement for a couple of years and hasn't been used. The battery is dead, and I can buy a battery locally for about $85. What do you think of this?

What are the drawbacks of electric bikes?

I talked to a salesperson at a bicycle shop, and he told me that they don't recommend them. When I asked why, he said that they don't really work all that well or go very far. He said that you have to consider that you are carrying around all that extra weight, which means you have to pedal harder. This all sounded fishy to me - like, since that shop didn't carry them, they were supposed to speak poorly of them. What do you think?

So, basically, where do I start?

Thank you for all the information you can send me!

 

[lindsay]

I'm a newby to this group but do have one of the E V Global E-Bikes. First, the bike is not a powerful machine like a mo-ped and it seems that many who purchace an e-bike think they should be. It provides assist power primarily but can do it all by itself at the expense of range. That being said, the E V Global bike was built from the ground up as an e-bike. This means good lighting including stop light and a usable headlight. The brakes are good and the ride (with front suspension) is good for the city. It is not an off road bike but can be used on trails. The Heinzmann motor is highly respected (and reliable)and probably the most expensive available in its power class. It is rated at 200 watts continuous and 400 watts peak. Considering that the motor has internal gearing (low and high) this is adequate for most riders. The batteries are sealed lead acid which are adequate but not state of the art. Three modes of operation are available, pedal only, power assist for the pedal, and power only (with a cruise control). One additional thing of interest might be that it is one of the few bikes you can ride in the rain (all electronics are enclosed). Weight wise, it is not all that bad, about 66 lb with batteries (about 47 lb without).

If you want to read the operators manual or service manual they are available for download for no charge at:

http://www.ebike.com

With regard to the price, it originally sold for 995 to 1400 depending on configuration, probably closer to 995. Four hundred is reasonable depending on condition as it is built to last quite a while. I just bought a set of batteries (2) for 70.00 delivered to my door through e-bay. Don't know what the tax rate is in Texas but wouldn't hurt to shop around.

Any other questions, please let me know.

 

[tim]

Try a Bionx, about the best there is. http://www.bionx.ca/ a nice kit that goes an almost all bikes. Many people are very happy with bionx, my wife included. Easy to install, loots of range, prety good power and top speed, lots of nice features. Prices start at ABOUT $1K, OUCH.

 

[Anton]

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