ebike or gas powered

[haste]

well I currently have a ebike hub and controller, lacking the 400+ dollar batteries however . I have a nice Front suspension marin mtb that would be a candidate...

However, i really want to build a 99cc harbor freight predator build. The gas bike will not only be faster, quicker, but will have a lot more range! Only negative to the gas bike is of course more maintenance, but from motorized bicycles, some users have put really really high miles on these 4 strokes with 0 issues.

gas will probably be 5 dollars minimum this summer, so both options are in the book. I'm moving a good 13 miles away from the city, so that's mainly why i was looking at the longer range gas route.

opinions?

 

[mrfritz]

My china doll gas bike is fast and fun. But it's a motorcycle and completely lacks the cruising along feeling I enjoy about a bike. The only reason I ever pedal is to start the motor. I think it will go 30 mph all day long on a tank of gas.

I have a couple of electrics and am working on more. You can assemble your own packs either from RC LiPo packs or NiMH cells for a lot less money and weight than the LiPe cells that are common. The LiPe are nice because they super safe.

The bikes I've built so far have the 20mph gov and 20 amp max on them controllers and I'm using a 36V cells. I need to put larger ring gears on them, the 44t simply is not enough for me to keep up with the motor. I like riding them more. The one bike has a 10 Ah LiPe cell the other has two of them. I have ridden the one with duals for a 23 mi each way trip with the controller set on low pedaling along with it, going about 15mph and it's flat. The battery is no more than half discharged. I don't know if it would make that trip running long at 20mph with me unable to keep up pedaling.

The truth is when I go into the garage to get a bike for an errand it's always one of the electrics. It's just not as stressful so I guess that makes it more FUN for me.

Another point is, the electrics would be quite happy running on 72V or more using an un limiting controller and would easily keep up with the gas bike if I did. But I don't think I can pedal with that even if I mount the exercise bike ring gear I bought and the smallest sproc I can fit on the motors freewheel.

 

[haste]

thanks for the response,

i have a bafang bpm geared hub, that should do 30mph no problem with lots of tq(since its geared hub). I have also heard that a 48v15ah lifepo4 on this motor will net me 25 mile range no issues if I keep it 25 and below.

I have built a china girl before...and it was constant issues, and rather have gone electric than dump all that extra money in wasted maintence. ha

I just added up the price of building a 99cc bike..and it will cost atleast 600 to do it how it should be done. Full disc brakes, AGK racing parts..and im sure at 40mph it wont be that comfortable for more than 2-3 miles.

 

[clamdigger]

I just bumped the Aerobic Cruiser thread for ideas for your hub motor. This is a time of battery technology rapid advancement,much the way that the PC quickly improved and came down in price.A lot depends on where you live. Here in NJ stinkers are totally banned on the roads and bike paths.