E-bikes?

[biggoolies]

Nice. Can you describe what you have here?

 

[Rivers2run]

I am 66 female and often go solo love my 4x4 Tacoma. I love the idea of an e-bike but yikes the weight I would struggle with a 60-65 lb bike. I see they have some ramp bike racks for ebikes anyone use those?

 

[F350joe]

I am 66 female and often go solo love my 4x4 Tacoma. I love the idea of an e-bike but yikes the weight I would struggle with a 60-65 lb bike. I see they have some ramp bike racks for ebikes anyone use those?

I saw the new Thule one has a ramp and is made for ebikes but the price is steep. If your bed is open you could put a truck crane on it. I had a crane on my last pickup and it was nice, doubled as a canoe rack. You can also take the battery off, they are made to pop right out when unlocked, and lose a chunk of weight there. If you hang it from the frame on a rack you can also remove the tires if it’s a center hub bike, otherwise just the front.

 

[mdmead]

Add me to the e-bike camp! Just bought myself a Rad Rover fat bike and love it! I went with RAD after reading a lot of reviews of the customer service. While not the perfect bike for what I want, the price/performance value is spot on. I will be using it mostly on logging roads and easy two tracks, as well as any other bike trails I want to explore.

One area of consideration is where the bikes are allowed; they aren't always welcome where a traditional bike is and many jurisdictions are just now addressing their use. My hope is the community will become so large (and mostly responsible) that we'll be able to ride anywhere a traditional bike is allowed. My understanding is E-bikes fall into three categories, Class 1, 2 & 3; a Rover is a Class 2, meaning it has a top speed of 20 mph with pedal assist and has a hand throttle too. 1 is same speed, pedal assist only/no hand throttle; 3 is top speed of 28. (Somebody can correct if I'm off on this.) Some jurisdictions allow Class 1 and 2, and not 3, and some allow Class 1 only. Some don't distinguish. It will take time to sort this all out.

 

[shade]

I am 66 female and often go solo love my 4x4 Tacoma. I love the idea of an e-bike but yikes the weight I would struggle with a 60-65 lb bike. I see they have some ramp bike racks for ebikes anyone use those?

Harbor Freight sells a $129 motorcycle hitch hauler with a ramp rated to 400 lbs. I've used one to haul a 200 lb scooter without a problem, so an e-bike shouldn't be too much for it.

400 lb. Receiver-Mount Aluminum Motorcycle Carrier

Amazing deals on this 400Lb Receiver-Mount Motorcycle Carrier at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[AMBOT]

Nice. Can you describe what you have here?

This is a custom build, highlights are a Ventana El Gordo frame 2XL, Luna Ultra Motor 52V, Luna Shark 13.5AH battery, Rohloff 14 speed IGH, 4.8" tires, Lauf Suspention fork. I get 30 miles of real world range and currently have 2 batteries. I had to do a custom build because of the size. 6'6" 230lb.

Friend has a Amazon Ecotric FT bike from Amazon, purchased for $899. He is 5'7" 140lbs and gets near 60 miles of real world range from a 500W 36V 13AH system, fully loaded with bikepacking gear. has been super reliable and great customer service.

 

[al_burpe]

I have the new Rad Runner that I use for commuting to work. I love it for that. I mounted a box on the back to put my briefcase and lunch in. It is great to arrive in my dress clothes and not be all sweaty. It also takes me about half the time as on a traditional bike.

 

[AMBOT]

It should also be noted that calorie burn is very similar between e and non-e bikes. Upwards of 94%! Assuming you're pedaling of course.

ebike vs bike calories - Google Search

 

[Martinjmpr]

I have the new Rad Runner that I use for commuting to work. I love it for that. I mounted a box on the back to put my briefcase and lunch in. It is great to arrive in my dress clothes and not be all sweaty. It also takes me about half the time as on a traditional bike.

I saw your E-bike comments over on the Expedition thread and I was just about to ask you what you got. the Rad Power bikes are on our short list. Biggest issue for us is whether to get the folding bikes or the non-folding bikes. We had (non-electric) folding bikes once before and ultimately sold them because we found they were more cumbersome to carry around than non folding. Of course, we had a different trailer then, too. I believe two folded Rad Mini bikes would fit easily in the center aisle of our current trailer pretty easily.

My other desire is I really want to be able to commute to work when the weather is nice. It's only 10 miles each way but includes a significant hill (Green Mountain, for those familiar with the Denver area) on the way into work and arriving to work hot and sweaty holds no appeal to me.

 

[Martinjmpr]

One area of consideration is where the bikes are allowed; they aren't always welcome where a traditional bike is and many jurisdictions are just now addressing their use. My hope is the community will become so large (and mostly responsible) that we'll be able to ride anywhere a traditional bike is allowed.

This is a concern of mine, too. A bicycle that I could only ride on streets would have much less utility to me than one that could be ridden on bicycle trails. For that reason, even though I really like the Juiced Scorpion (that I posted a picture of earlier) I would likely not get one as it looks too much like a motorcycle to me. I would rather have a bicycle that can 'fly below the radar' and that to a casual viewer looks like a bicycle.

I would hope that e-bike users don't end up terrorizing non-powered bike users or causing accidents on bicycle trails because if they do (and my fear is that as E-bike prices come down and e-bike usage goes up, such accidents will become more common) e-bikes will eventually be banned from bicycle trails nationwide.

As a motorcycle rider, my thought is that if I have to share the road with cars, there's no reason to not just ride a motorcycle.

 

[shade]

I would hope that e-bike users don't end up terrorizing non-powered bike users or causing accidents on bicycle trails because if they do (and my fear is that as E-bike prices come down and e-bike usage goes up, such accidents will become more common) e-bikes will eventually be banned from bicycle trails nationwide.

This was discussed in an earlier thread with regard to U.S. National Parks allowing, then disallowing e-bikes on bicycle approved trails.

Eventually, I think it's likely e-bikes will be classified as motorized transport, and allowed the same access as motorcycles. In a perfect world, that wouldn't be the case, but as e-bikes evolve and gain wider adoption, I think there'll be enough problems created or imagined that they won't maintain bicycle status.

 

[al_burpe]

I saw your E-bike comments over on the Expedition thread and I was just about to ask you what you got. the Rad Power bikes are on our short list. Biggest issue for us is whether to get the folding bikes or the non-folding bikes. We had (non-electric) folding bikes once before and ultimately sold them because we found they were more cumbersome to carry around than non folding. Of course, we had a different trailer then, too. I believe two folded Rad Mini bikes would fit easily in the center aisle of our current trailer pretty easily.

My other desire is I really want to be able to commute to work when the weather is nice. It's only 10 miles each way but includes a significant hill (Green Mountain, for those familiar with the Denver area) on the way into work and arriving to work hot and sweaty holds no appeal to me.

The Rad Mini should work great for commuting to work for you. Mine is a single speed and works fine going up the hill to my office. The mini is a 7 speed so you would have access to a lower gear. As others posted, they are heavy so getting them in and out of your trailer is going to be cumbersome regardless of if you get a folding or non folding one. One of the issues with the Rad Power bikes is the direct to consumer model doesn't allow you to go to a store and see how it would be to wrestle them in and out of a trailer. I suppose you could try to find a shop that carried a similar bike and see if they will let you test fit them in your trailer.

 

[Martinjmpr]

This was discussed in an earlier thread with regard to U.S. National Parks allowing, then disallowing e-bikes on bicycle approved trails.

Eventually, I think it's likely e-bikes will be classified as motorized transport, and allowed the same access as motorcycles. In a perfect world, that wouldn't be the case, but as e-bikes evolve and gain wider adoption, I think there'll be enough problems created or imagined that they won't maintain bicycle status.

From what I've seen at the National Parks and monuments we've been to over the years, it seems likely that the rules will be made locally. IOW I don't necessarily see a "blanket ban" on e-Bikes on bike trails at ALL National Park sites, but it is likely that the more popular/crowded parks (where problems are more likely to occur) will see such a ban. I'd expect to see it, for example, at Grand Canyon, Yosemite (particularly with the Yosemite Valley being so crowded already), and Rocky Mountain. Yellowstone I'm not sure about - unlike other very popular National Parks, Yellowstone is really 'spread out' so crowding isn't as much of an issue except in areas like Mammoth Hot Springs and Old Faithful.

Obviously the "old guard" and the hardcore bicyclists would likely be in favor of a ban on powered bikes but as powered bikes become more and more affordable and common, I'd expect to see some push back from people who have come to expect to be able to use them on bicycle trails.

Even then, if restrictive rules on E-bikes are made, I'd expect to see a lot of people making or buying "stealth" E-bikes, that is, e-bikes that don't look like E-bikes (for example by hiding the battery in the frame or disguising it as a water bottle.) Unless they are going to post a ranger at each bike trail to check each bike, close up, it's going to be tough to enforce an e-bike ban.

 

[Martinjmpr]

One of the issues with the Rad Power bikes is the direct to consumer model doesn't allow you to go to a store and see how it would be to wrestle them in and out of a trailer. I suppose you could try to find a shop that carried a similar bike and see if they will let you test fit them in your trailer.

Well, in that respect we're fortunate because there is a couple in our camping group that has a pair of Rad Mini folding bikes. They even let us ride them around. So when camping season starts for us (in early April) we will be able to try and see how difficult they are to manhandle into the trailer and/or truck.

 

[Rebellion]

We purchased a couple of folding Voltbike Mariner e-bikes which we keep mounted in the rear seat of our crew cab. We've been happy with them, they have 20" fat tires which work well on the beach, we also recharge them from our solar when in remote locations.