August 24, 2011
100 X 60 - Completed!
You probably know about my electric bike, and the fact that I ride it to work nearly every day of the year. I've done this for about the past 8 years or so. A few months ago I "built" a new ebike with a 36v 10ah lithium LiFePO4 battery - a very nice commuter bike.
Upon completing the new ebike, I decided to set a life goal for myself to ride this bike 100 miles (a Century ride) in one day. To this end I have been making quite a few 20-30 mile rides to learn about the battery performance, and how much of my own energy is required.
Well, last Saturday beginning at 6:00 am, ending at 4:30 pm, I did manage to ride the 100 miles. The 100 x 60 means 100 miles by age 60 (coming up shortly for me). That is a looooooooooong way to ride a bike in one day.
But now it is done!
Posted by rossm at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
August 2, 2011
New Battery for My Electric Bike
Just today a new 48v 10ah lithium LiFePO4 battery came in the mail. Oh boy, I can't wait to get it charged up and give it a try on the bike. It is a bit heavier than my existing battery, but has a BMS which will help to monitor the individual cells' health much better. Of course I'm expecting it to push the bike along "with alacrity"!
So now I've got this battery and my 36v 10ah battery. These two together should give me about 50 miles of range. I'm running out of time to get my 100 X 60 ride done (yup, that's 100 miles by age 60!). Time to git 'er done......
Posted by rossm at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2011
The Electric Bike Lives
Here's a photo of me riding my electric bike back to work after lunch:
Ridin' every day, some days getting soaked!
Posted by rossm at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2010
My New Electric Bike
You know from reading my past posts that I am a big electric bike enthusiast. That enthusiasm has spread like flood water over a levee and I am working on building my own electric bike. It is pretty much put together and right now I'm sorting out some problems with my lithium battery pack. But I wanted to show you a picture of the new ebike.
If I ever get the electronics problems figured out, it will be a nice ride!
Posted by rossm at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2010
It IS Spring Break After All...
...so I better update you on my electric bicycles! Well, David from electric bikes NW in Seattle came through for me one more time and found probably the last front chain cog in existence for my aging LaFree Sport. SO, it's back on the road now with a new front cog, new rear cassette, new chain, and a new rim (old one wore right through the side!). I am no expert at setting the derailer so it needs a bit more work but at least it is working again. I can't believe how much easier it is to make short commutes on the ebike rather than using my pickup.
My first ebike build is about to get underway. I'm waiting on a rear cassette that will fit the rear hub motor (I already have two rear cassettes, but of course they don't fit). It's on the way, so should be here by the weekend. That will allow me to get the rear wheel setup with a hub motor and 7 speed cassette. Then it's a trip to the bike shop for tires, front fork, handlebars, and who knows what all else. I'll keep you posted as it moves forward.
Posted by rossm at 3:44 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2009
Rhawn Fixes My Electric Bike!
I just have to share this story. My electric bike finally croaked. It would come on OK, but when you went to pedal it, beep, beep, beep....very unhappy bicycle. Well, I replaced the batteries and called the shop where I purchased the bike. They gave me some advice, but it just flat would not work. So, I put a cover over it and parked it by the house. Rats! Next trip to Seattle I was going to get another one, and trade in this one for parts.
Well, Rhawn the electrician was talking to me about the bike and he really thought it was something minor that was wrong with it. He volunteered to take it to his house and look it over, which he did. (Via a trailer that was big enough to haul a yacht - the electric bike looked pretty funny on that gigantic trailer!).
Sure enough, Ron fixed the bike! He found that the connection between the battery pack and the bike itself had gotten loose over time. He cleaned that up, bent the copper parts that made the connection back so they were tighter, and whammo! the darn thing worked perfectly. I have been riding the bike to work ever since!
So, one thing to consider if you are getting an electric bike. This one is 8-10 years old and considered to be "obsolete" by the manufacturer and the place where I bought it. Never mind that it's quite a simple design that could last for many, many years. One small glitch and there are neither replacement parts nor anyone who will work on it for you (unless you happen to know an electrician who is interested in electric bikes!).
Posted by rossm at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2009
Some Different Electric Bikes
Rhawn the electrician brought in a couple different electric bikes last week. He has a friend who is a distributor of electric vehicles. These were E+ bikes, and Rhawn let me ride two different ones home for lunch. He took my LaFree for a spin, too. Well, these bikes are a lot different than mine - the result of 8 years of improving technology, I guess. They had considerably more power, and ride more like a regular bicycle. They have the motor in the front hub, and the battery in the rear hub. Unlike my bike, these will power you along even if you don't pedal. I can easily ride home on them at 20 mph without even pedalling. In fact, they are geared pretty low, so you have to pedal like mad to go 20 mph. I re-geared mine a couple years ago for the same reason. The controls were not quite as easy to use on these bikes - you set the assist by pressing on a thumb control - the harder you push the more the electric motor kicks in. You can set a "cruise" speed and the bike will hold that speed regardless of terrain and how much you pedal. Rhawn tells me the range on these bikes is around 20 miles, so nearly double my bike's range. The biggest downside of these bikes is that they cost nearly $2,000. You can buy a lot of gas for that kind of money. And, like any electric bike, they are just too lightweight for commuting distances greater than about 5 miles (IMHO).
Posted by rossm at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2009
My Electric Bike
Hey, I'll bet you have been wondering about my electric bike, and how it's been getting along. Well, you know, it's doing really well. This winter it was doing some weird stuff like just dying while I was blissfully riding along. I replaced the batteries at a cost of about $90 and now it seems to be running really well again.
The plan to recharge the batteries every other day in order to not let them run down too far seems to really work. The batteries which were replaced were at least a year old, maybe older. So, whereas the amount of electricity the bike uses is pretty insignificant, there is a cost for the batteries it goes through. Still, you're talking maybe $100 - $125 per YEAR for batteries and electricity. Yeah, how many tanks of gas does your non-green vehicle require in a year? When the gas prices go back up, this will look even better.
Here are a few things to consider about the long term ownership of this bike. I bought it about 8 years ago for $850. Replacing it with a similar bike would cost about $2000 today. It is totally obsolete, out of production. Parts might be available at the bike shop where it was purchased, but that is pretty hit and miss. Any major problems will probably spell the end of the road for it. Chain, tires, gears, brakes, and so forth are all standard items and can be easily replaced.
I saw this awesome scooter that cost $8,000 for a new one. It seemed like a good replacement for the old electric bike. The financing of the scooter, though, made me think again. Insurance: $250/yr; parking sticker: $50/yr; gas: $100/yr(?? a guess)--- so about $400/yr, or $30-$35/month without considering anything toward the purchase price. Hmmm, well, as long as the old electric bike hangs on, I'm sticking with that option. But the scooter is a close second! 
Posted by rossm at 3:59 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2008
Just a Little Fun
As the darkness and rain have given way to sunshine and dry weather (well, sort of), I've begun riding my electric bike not only to work, but also to the gym early in the morning. I was just thinking today that this little bike has really been a reliable way to get to work, and to make short trips around town. As fuel prices rise it seems even better. I'm guesstimating that it probably costs me about $4.00 per year for the electricity required to recharge the bike - not too bad! By the way, Dave Olson has an electric moped he's riding to work every day (from Salem). He let me take it for a short spin the other day. It was fun! Electrics are really quiet compared to other vehicles and generally heavier because of the batteries, but this moped takes about 2 seconds to get used to riding. It seems like we'll be seeing a lot more of this type of vehicle on our roads now that fuel costs have skyrocketed.
Posted by rossm at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Bugs Goes On a Trip
Last week was my wife's birthday, so we took a few days off and drove our Miata convertible (named Bugs because the license plate is 123 BGS) to Victoria, B.C. We weren't too sure whether taking the convertible would work out very well, but it added to the adventure so we gave it a try. It worked out great. The weather was so nice we had the top down nearly all the time. We found a curvy two lane blacktop that wound about 40 miles into the back country and that was really fun. Bugs never gave us any trouble at all and got about 30 mpg. You can not take any extra stuff along because the trunk is not too big, but you can take along enough junk for four or five days if you cram it in. I did learn that if you drive all the way home from Seattle with the top down and no sun screen on you will get sunburned.
If you've never been to Butchart Gardens, then you owe it to yourself to go there some time soon. It is one of the most beautiful gardens you'll ever see - they have literally millions of flowers and plants in bloom all the time. You can have "Afternoon Tea" while looking out over the beautiful grounds - very elegant!
Anway, this thread is mostly about alternative transportation, and Bugs fits in here even though it is an automobile. When I purchased it, I was realy focusing on fun and going fast. An added bonus is that it gets really great gas mileage, and is comfortable enough for even long trips.
Posted by rossm at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)
April 30, 2008
Miata Project Update
I just had to take a few minutes and tell you about my latest experience with my new (to me) Miata convertible. It has just under 90,000 miles on it, so was in need of a timing belt replacement. In a crazy moment I decided to do this myself. So, parts were purchased, a manual was acquired, tools were organized, and I tore that thing apart!
I replaced the timing belt, crank seal, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, water pump, radiator hoses, drive belts, and who knows what else. Put the whole works back together according to all the information, and that darn thing would not start! Tore it apart again, reset the timing belt, same thing - no spark, no firing, nothing.
Forturnately, my neighbor's son is a mechanic - an excellent mechanic I might add. He agreed to come over and look at my handiwork. Well, he discovered that a sensor had been knocked out of place. He reset that sensor to specs and the Miata started right up, purring like a kitten!
Today, I'm going for a ride even if the weather is rotten! You know, I learned a few things...
One: don't do a large project like that on a car you just bought - go out and have fun with it
Two: you learn a lot about a car by replacing the timing belt
Three: I'm not as good a mechanic as I thought!
Honk if you see me and my little Miata out and about!
Posted by rossm at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2008
Let's Go! Summer Was Here
There was a brief sighting of summer - last Saturday. I did not let the opportunity pass me by. Here is a picture of my new mode of transportation - a 2002 Mazda Miata (taken on a cell phone from my friends' BMW 330).
OK, so if this works you can see my newest toy, and I learned how to add an image to a blog. It's not a bad picture because you can't see me too good.
Posted by rossm at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)
March 5, 2008
Just a Short Note on Personal Transportation
I've written some blog entries on my electric bike, and my experiences with it - mostly positive. I still ride the thing to work nearly every day, and it is still a lot of fun - even though this is Winter time and it gets me wet once in a while. Well, I thought it would be fun to tell you about my other transportation. I've been riding a cherry 1986 Honda GL1200 Gold Wing for the past 4 years or so. It is a really classy looking motorcycle and is a lot of fun to ride. As I've gotten older though, this feeling that I've just about pushed my motorcycling luck as far as I want has come over me. It is still a lot of fun to ride a motorcycle, but I've become more and more concerned that some careless driver will put me in the ditch, or worse. Don't feel too bad for me, though, because the solution has already been completed - yup, I bought a convertible! A 2002 Mazda Miata, turquoise - a really neat little car. So now I've been driving that thing every chance I get. We are planning a trip to Victoria for my wife's birthday in May, so I'm hoping to talk her into taking this car rather than the sensible one - her Camry. I'll try and get you a picture of the Honda and the Miata, but I don't have time to do it right now.
Posted by rossm at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2008
Hey, I Still Ride the Electric Bike...
except, not when it snows or rains too hard. Just for fun, thought I'd update you on my electric bike experience. I've owned it now for about 5 years (I really forget exactly how long) and ride it to work nearly every day. After performing the repairs on it last year, it has just been rolling along with very little maintenance. I estimate that I've ridden it about 6,000 miles, maybe more. The electric bike is still a lot of fun to ride - it sure beats driving to work in a regular old car. You get the wind in your face, yet are still fresh as a daisy when you get to work. This is probably the biggest advantage to me of owning an electric bike - it is just plain fun to ride.
Current distractions are a squeaky front brake - needs new pads, and the front tire is original so it needs to be replaced. That's it. Oh, it needs to be washed, too. Not bad considering it is ridden day in and day out.
The batteries I'm using now are the Chinese version of Yuasa batteries and they are really holding up well. I read that it reduces the life of these batteries if you run them way down before recharging them. So, I have begun to recharge every other day whether they need it or not. Before, I liked to see how far I could go before they gave out, but that may have been responsible for shortening the battery life. These are showing no signs of slowing down yet.
If you get the chance to ride an electric bike - give it a try.
Posted by rossm at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)
August 8, 2006
On the Road Again!
My electric bike is finally back on the road again. I got a lesson in patience getting this thing fixed. In the end, it all worked out OK, but it took awhile. First, the rear tire was sent to Tommy's bike shop in McMinnville. They put on a really nice looking tire, gave me a new chain, and replaced the gears for $85.00 which was pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, the new tire was just enough bigger that my hack job on fixing the rear brake with a short, BMX type brake arm caused the new tire to rub on the cable, so I just took it off and rode with the front brake only. This isn't as dangerous as it sounds because the bike would not go anywhere.
This is a long story.....
OK, so the chain would just wrap around the front gear until it bound itself up. This is when I contacted Eric and David at Ebikes NW - the place where I bought my bike. I sent them a nice email outlining the problem on June 28th. On July 7th, I sent them another email as I had not had any response from them yet. They sent me kind of a terse email saying they would phone me, and David did phone me on either the 7th or the 8th of July. He knew right away what was wrong and said he would order me a replacement FRONT gear as that was the problem - it was worn so the new chain was hanging up. Also, he said they had a used bike with the rear brake part I needed and he would be able to send that to me as well. About a week later, David called me again, and made arrangements to ship the gear and brake parts to me - it was about $32.00, again not too bad for the replacement parts.
So, the replacement parts came in due course, and I hauled the bike up to McMinnville to have them put on my bike at Tommy's. That wasn't a great experience, as the guy at Tommy's told me they have a shop rule that they don't do any work on electric bikes. Very confusing since they had already worked on my bike. I don't know, bad timing or something. I was allowed to leave my bike and they put the replacement parts on, and it works great. Cost - $35.00. Again, I thought the cost was very reasonable.
As all good and bad things come in threes, my batteries have gone sour so I just ordered a couple YUASA's from an outfit called AtBatt.com in California. $71.91 for two YUASA batteries (no shipping charge!) I thought was a great deal. The batteries should be here in about a week.
So, what did I learn? Well, an electric bike is not a mainstream item. Obtaining advice and replacement parts isn't impossible, but it does take a while. Also, otherwise reputable bike shops may well balk at working on the bike. I was not impressed with Ebikes NW response time to my request for help, but they were able to get the parts I needed. It would be a much better situation if I lived close to them so that I could just take the bike in for maintenance/repairs - something I never thought of when purchasing the bike. Purchasing a high quality bike like the Giant LaFree Sport was a very good move. The electric bike is a great way of getting around for short commutes except in the worst of weather we have around here. This whole thing cost me about $200.00 which isn't much considering that it's really the only maintenance I've had to do on this bike in 5 years of riding (except for battery replacement and the broken rear brake lever). The worst part was the length of time it took. I missed it!
Posted by rossm at 2:03 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
The Electric Bike Needs Maintenance
Well, I've been riding my electric bike to work for about 5 years now, riding it about 90% of the time (only drive my pickup if I've got to get over to Salem or if it's raining HARD). The tires were needing a little more air, but when they were inflated the back tire developed a huge bubble because the fibers just wore out. I'm guessing there are about 3-4,000 miles on the bike now, so can't complain about a tire wearing out. Anyway, the tire and rim are at a bike shop in McMinnville where a good family friend is working this Summer. Not only am I getting a new tire, but they are going to replace some of the gears as well. They're going to put "higher" gears on it, so that hopefully I'll get a bit more speed out of the bike. The way it came, it only does 20 mph tops - this is a legal requirement, not a performance requirement. Hardly ever do you use anything but high gear, maybe shifting down one or two gears at a stop sign. Also, theyre going to lube it all up good and replace the chain. Total estimated cost is about $85. I'll let you know how it finally totals out.
One thing - I feel like it's such a waste driving a whole pickup just to get me to work! For a short commute in a moderate climate like ours, the electric bike really is an excellent choice - far better than a car or pickup. No insurance or licensing fees, plus it uses about $1-2.00 per YEAR in electricity.
Posted by rossm at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2005
Ebikin'
I'm so excited - someone (outside our UCS group here at WOU) actually posted a comment to one of my entries! Well, it made me realize I had been ignoring my Alternative Transportation category. We get so caught up in our work, don't we. Well, I'm still riding my electric bike, but it did finally give me a bit of trouble - a spring on the rear brake snapped, which caused the rear brake to shift all the way to the right and pressed one of the brake pads against the wheel all the time. Fortunately, this happened in my driveway. I emailed the guy I bought the bike from (Eric - info@ebikesnw.com) who has a nice electric bike shop in Seattle. He told me that I could get replacement brakes at any bike shop. Nope. The Giant LaFree uses a brake that's custom made - regular brakes are too long, and BMX style brakes are too short. After a bunch of fiddling around, I was able to use a combination of new brake parts and my old brake parts to get it working again. Actually, I just rode around for a couple weeks with only the front brake - no crashes, so it worked out OK, my apologies to the gal with the dog who was jogging and had to stop for me, though.
The Salem Statesman Journal newspaper had a neat article over the Thanksgiving weekend about a guy named Jim Brown, who has a bicycle with two small motors (not electric) on it. He's going to ride the thing across the country. I gather from the article that he is getting close to 100 mpg on his "custom" bike, and it goes about 25 mph. Here he is:
GO JIM!
There are a lot of alternatives out there, from small electric cars, golf carts, motorized skateboards, small motorcycles and mopeds (big motorcycles get worse gas mileage than many small cars - I have one, I know! My Goldwing burns super and gets about the same as our Toyota Camry). Let's use 'em!
Posted by rossm at 9:19 AM | Comments (0)
August 5, 2005
HOW DO YOU GET TO WORK?
Gas prices spiral upward, the air quality continually gets worse and worse as population increases. So, what are you doing about it?
Nearly every day, my transportation medium is an "electric bike". What the heck is that? Here's the one I ride - a Giant Lafree Sport. It's pretty much a regular bicycle with a 3" longer wheelbase, a battery, and an electric motor! Maybe you've seen me riding it around campus? I've been riding it for nearly three years now (about 2500 miles), so let me tell you about the pros and cons.
Mechanically, this thing is really bulletproof! It does wear out the brake pads a bit faster than a normal bike because you tend to ride around faster. The batteries don't really require maintenance, but they do wear out. They have a usable life of about one year - no more than that (I don't care what the manufacturers say).
Replacement batteries cost either $50 for the cheapies, or $100 for the YUASA brand, which offer a lot better performance, but don't last one minute longer. With the Brand X batteries, you can travel around 12-13 miles, with the YUASA's maybe 17-18 miles before you need to recharge. BUT, recharging is so simple! I have a timer with an extension cord on it in my garage. When I pull in and the batteries are anywhere near low, I just plug in the extension cord and it charges the batteries, then shuts off. In the morning you unplug and whiz off, fully charged. It takes literally seconds. So guess what, I'm running the Brand X batteries and recharging more often. Big deal.
Pros: Really easy to maintain. Cost me $850 used (but like new). No insurance, no license, no parking permit required. Top speed 20 mph (motor quits helping at that speed - a Federal requirement). You can ride on the sidewalks. Burns NO gas, and costs maybe a dollar a YEAR for electricity. It's FUN!
Cons: You get wet when it rains. No good for distances above about 5 miles as a commuter - too slow. Batteries must be replaced about once a year.
OK, this is getting too long. I'll write more about the electric bike later. So, what other devices/tricks do people use to get to campus? Let me know!
Posted by rossm at 10:15 AM | Comments (2)