Bicycle Wheel

e-Bike Primer


The bicycle is all about FREEDOM!
It is the image of a child
riding down a tranquil country lane,
with sunshine and fresh air
and the meadow gently blowing in the breeze.


Experience the Freedom
of riding your own
Electric Bicycle

Scrap your car and Qualify for an E-Bike Rebate

Before you spend your money,
there are a few things
that you should know about.


First things First
Electric Bikes can be dangerous to use..
Like any sport, bicycling involves risk of damage, injury, and death..
eBike users should be 18 years old or older and wear an approved helmet.

The ONLY things which truly matter are :
• you are comfortable riding it,
- the bicycle needs to fit you,
• the up-hill power assist is adequate,
• the battery Ah size will get you home
• riding at a higher Pedal-Assist level will use up your battery
• learn how to ride a Mid-Drive


1. A Crank mounted Mid-Drive
delivers the hill climbing power
that blows away Hub Motors
while maintaining the
Simple Freedom of a Bicycle.

2. Hub Motors are common
on less expensive e-bikes,
it takes a 3000w hub-motor
to match the hill climbing
power of a 750w Mid-Drive.

3. There are many types of E-Motors
and most of them DO NOT
recharge while you pedal.

4. Do you want to re-charge
your battery while pedaling,
Click Here

5. Primary Rules for an e-Bike
32 km/h - 500 watts
BC LAW ... and ... ICBC
Cycling & Rules of the Road
Theft, Liability and Insurance
As of July 31 2024, you must be at least
16 years of age to ride a Class 2-3 E-Bike.

6. With many e-Bikes,
the Cost of Battery Ownership
can be upwards of $1.+ per Day

7. Bicycles and e-Bikes
purchased on the Internet
will need to be
Assembled and Setup
This is a Service in which we specialize.

8. Other Frequently Asked Questions

9. An e-Bike is still a BICYCLE
Rules, Regulations and Limitations

10. It is a common issue that
bike shops do not understand
the e-Bikes they are selling.
The ONLY things which matter are :
• the up-hill power assist is adequate
• the battery aH size will get you home
• AND that you are comfortable riding it

11. Fat-Bikes with Mid-Drives
are becoming more desireable
and E-Bikes with Hub-Motors
are getting less expensive,

12. The Bicycle itself, is all about FREEDOM
the Freedom to have FUN
getting from Point-A to Point-B,
while saving money, and
burning calories, not gas.

... with an e-Bike,
you still have the FREEDOM,
to get from Point-A to Point-B ... and BACK.
because ... NOW YOU CAN !

It's time to energize your ride!

Pedal your A** off


ALSO, consider the
Environmental Benefits
of riding your e-Bike.


Just Keep In Mind ...
• riding at the maximum Pedal-Assist level is FUN
• but it will, use up your battery, wear out your chain
• and shorten your motor and battery life.
• The power is there for when you need it,
• but if you abuse the power ... things will eventually break.
•






Hub Motors create a
poorly balanced bike

Hub Motors give you a heavy front or rear wheel. The average hub motor adds 5kg to your wheel, they tend to be hard on spokes, the wiring harnesses create servicing issues, they don't perform well going up hills because the motor is behind your gears, they have increased drag coefficient while coasting or pedaling without assist, and, Re-spoke-ing a wheel is expensive as the spokes can be difficult to find.
Hub-Motors are however, usually the best or only option for Trikes, Recumbants and Folding Bikes.

Mid-Drive's
are usually, a
Much Better
Solution.

1 - Better Balance
2 - Easier Maintenance
3 - Improved Performance
4 - Reduced Rolling Resistance


Mid-Drive's have
better balance

The motor is mounted at the crank, in the center of the bike, which provides better balance and a Lower Center of Gravity.

Mid-Drives make
Maintenance Easier
and Less Expensive.

Unlike Hub Motors, bikes with a Mid-Drive have standard wheels without fragile wiring harnesses or motors laced into the spokes. This makes regular servicing much easier, such as fixing a flat, and replacing a spoke or a whole wheel becomes quicker, easier and much less expensive.

Our Electric Beach Cruiser

DinoBikE !

Mid-Drive's offer
Improved Performance

The motor is in front of your gears, it is driving your chain, which means, if you push your rear deraileur up into first gear, the Mid-Drive is much more able to adequately assist you up hills. Mid-Drives are also better suited to providing better low speed torque.

Mid-Drive's offer
Reduced Rolling Resistance

While only a few Hub-Motors have the ability to provide Re-Generative Braking, (re-charging), Mid-Drives are much more efficient, in that they have the ability to simply coast effortlessly, for increased distances using the bicycle's own freewheel.

The UpSide vs the DownSide
The only downsides to the Mid-Drive is,
they currently tend to be more expensive,
and, are somewhat harder on your chain,
but this is primarily because you'll be
riding further, harder and way more.

! ! ! ! !

The Bicycle has a reputation to be protected. It is the image of a child riding a bicycle, down a tranquil country lane, with sunshine and fresh air and the meadow gently blowing in the breeze.

Consider how much carbon was released in mining the ore, smelting it, making it into metal tubing, and eventualy creating a bicycle frame.

The bicycle has always been universally standard.

Every time a bicycle gets repaired, handed down, or re-furbished, it is given another chance at extending it's life and lowering it's carbon foot-print.


Integrated mid-drives,
which require
custom-designed bicycle frames.

   

e-bike frames with integrated mid-drives become trash when parts are discontinued.




Lithium Batteries typically cost $1+ per day

Many replacement e-bike batteries cost $1000 or more, and all of these batteries have a particular shelf life as well as the issue that they deteriorate slightly every time they are recharged.
Lithium batteries are typically good for approximately 1000 recharge-cycles,
which means, if you use your bike more-or-less every day, your battery might last 3 years or so,
at least until new battery technologies increase capacity and recharge cycles by replacing solvent-based eletrolytes with gold nano-wires and lithium-ion gets upgraded to un-obtanium.



Our Bafang Mid-Drive system can be installed on almost any standard bicycle. The motor mounts just in front of the Bottom Crank, providing better front/rear balance, a lower center of gravity and better torque performance. It can also be replaced or upgraded if needed. The batteries mount to the bottle cage below your seat, again providing better balance, a lower center of gravity and also, depending on your e-bike, come in variable sizes from 11a, 14a, 17a and 20a to give you increased range.

and now for the
reality check
...


if you currently don't ride regularly,
DON'T go and buy an e-Bike just yet!
You probably need a little practice
getting off the seat while coming to a stop.
You're likely not be quite as nimble as in your youth,
and adding a Throttle to the process, might mean blood.
You really need to go riding for a few days on a regular bicycle first,
get back in the saddle so to speak.



When you put a motor on a bicycle,
a number of things happen.
1 - People tend to go riding more
than they otherwise would.
2 - People will ride further than
they normally otherwise would.
3 - People will go up more hills and
steeper hills than they otherwise would.
4 - People haul more groceries
than they normally would.
5 - Some people will want to go
faster than they otherwise would.
6 - People will ride through a ditch/hedge/fence while showing off.


The average Bicycle & Rider
rarely gets above 20km/hr
and weighs less than 200lbs/100kg.

If you excede the normal BICYCLE design parameters things will fail.
Motor windings and controllers will over heat, chains, sprockets and gearboxes will wear out, spokes will break and stability issues may begin to show up at speeds above 20km.


Most e-Bikes claim
a range of 50-70ish kms.
This is assuming
1. your battery is new
2. you weigh 150 lbs or less
( and you're not hauling groceries )
3. you're riding in Saskatoon
( without any headwind )
4. it's not winter
5. you are pedaling ALL the time.
6. your battery is larger than 14 amps

... ahem ... sorry ...
This is how they achieve
a 50~70ish+ km range.

Just remember, ...
An e-Bike is still a BICYCLE


And if you'd like to contemplate other e-Bike nuances, such as, why most e-Bikes don't
re-charge while you pedal,
please >>>

and here is the dark-side of e-bikes
and also, the e-Bike Event Horizon



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