I wanted to give the bicycle motor I installed a try so today I rode the bicycle to work. The motor performed well, it really flattens out the hills and makes intersections with cars pretty trivial. Usually crossing intersections with cars is fairly intimidating, but with the motor assisting, acceleration through intersections is quite brisk.
Without the motor assist the bike is heavy and sluggish. I'm not sure if there is a problem or if this is just how a fat mountain bike acts. I think because of this heavy bike with a good bit of drag the motor isn't performing as well as it could. I made it most of the way to the office on the fully charged battery pack, but had to power the last half mile or so myself. I left home around 7:45 and arrived at the office around 8:30. The ride is about 6 or 7 miles so I averaged about 8 miles an hour. I could ride a bit faster, but the trails turn through the trees a bit, and the biological component of the system is not yet up to supplying the extra power. I think that if I was going much faster I'd want to be out on the road. The park-like trails are beautiful, but at 15mph I feel as if I'm running a good chance of running down small dogs and the women and old folks walking them.
The charger is 85W and takes about 6 hours to fully charge the pack, so I would normally have time during the work day to top up the batteries. Today however I need to meet a contractor back at the house at 2, so I'll be driving the bike home in the van.
I still think I should try the kit on a light weight and efficient road bike. I think it would perform much better, both in speed and range. It also wouldn't be such a bear to ride with dead batteries :)
Without the motor assist the bike is heavy and sluggish. I'm not sure if there is a problem or if this is just how a fat mountain bike acts. I think because of this heavy bike with a good bit of drag the motor isn't performing as well as it could. I made it most of the way to the office on the fully charged battery pack, but had to power the last half mile or so myself. I left home around 7:45 and arrived at the office around 8:30. The ride is about 6 or 7 miles so I averaged about 8 miles an hour. I could ride a bit faster, but the trails turn through the trees a bit, and the biological component of the system is not yet up to supplying the extra power. I think that if I was going much faster I'd want to be out on the road. The park-like trails are beautiful, but at 15mph I feel as if I'm running a good chance of running down small dogs and the women and old folks walking them.
The charger is 85W and takes about 6 hours to fully charge the pack, so I would normally have time during the work day to top up the batteries. Today however I need to meet a contractor back at the house at 2, so I'll be driving the bike home in the van.
I still think I should try the kit on a light weight and efficient road bike. I think it would perform much better, both in speed and range. It also wouldn't be such a bear to ride with dead batteries :)
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