Electric bikes and racks
Electric bikes and racks
Well…after our last trip I finally admitted to my age. I need help…electric bikes it will have to be. Too many to choose…recommendations? Also a rack that doesn’t require lifting 70lb? So sad!!! Thanks
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LosLaureles
- Posts: 54
- Joined: March 6th, 2019, 12:07 pm
Re: Electric bikes and racks
Kuat makes a rack with ramps. Well made. However be prepared for sticker shock
2000 Chinook Premier
Re: Electric bikes and racks
The rack depends on whether you mount front or back. I mount front, but it requires adding “plow lights” higher up since the bikes block the primary headlights. In a past thread, I’ve described this and attached pictures.
If attaching rack to back you need a good swing away…or at least a swing away attachment. Haven’t done the research on those, but I know there are several decent ones. But expect to spend some bucks. Regarding which ebike to get—depends on what you want. If you just want an easy pedal, get around heavy one, there are a million of ‘em out there. But if you want to keep the ride and feel of being on a regular bike than you need to look at bikes with mid-mount motors. Bosch makes good one’s. Also range and weight are considerations. I have a high tech Copenhagen wheel that was an MIT project…I got it because the sensation was just like riding a regular bike, it was a wheel that could be installed on my bike, was blue tooth operated, and weighed 42 pounds (light for its day). But it is no longer made (they dropped it to focus on scooter technology). If I were to get a new bike today, I’d probably get the Specialized Turno Vado 5.0 SL (for super light). WARNING—it ain’t cheap! But I have rested a bunch of high end bikes and this one hit all my marks—light (around 30 lbs), smooth and with a real bike riding feel, no throttle (only pedal assist), powerful, but not so much that you don’t have to work at all), and reasonable range with option of carrying a spare battery.
…I say go for it—once you have ridden a goose bike, there is no going back.
David
If attaching rack to back you need a good swing away…or at least a swing away attachment. Haven’t done the research on those, but I know there are several decent ones. But expect to spend some bucks. Regarding which ebike to get—depends on what you want. If you just want an easy pedal, get around heavy one, there are a million of ‘em out there. But if you want to keep the ride and feel of being on a regular bike than you need to look at bikes with mid-mount motors. Bosch makes good one’s. Also range and weight are considerations. I have a high tech Copenhagen wheel that was an MIT project…I got it because the sensation was just like riding a regular bike, it was a wheel that could be installed on my bike, was blue tooth operated, and weighed 42 pounds (light for its day). But it is no longer made (they dropped it to focus on scooter technology). If I were to get a new bike today, I’d probably get the Specialized Turno Vado 5.0 SL (for super light). WARNING—it ain’t cheap! But I have rested a bunch of high end bikes and this one hit all my marks—light (around 30 lbs), smooth and with a real bike riding feel, no throttle (only pedal assist), powerful, but not so much that you don’t have to work at all), and reasonable range with option of carrying a spare battery.
…I say go for it—once you have ridden a goose bike, there is no going back.
David
Re: Electric bikes and racks
We built our own electric bikes. I have a Trek and my husband has a mountain bike. He ordered batteries and motors, along with appropriate carrying cases (his case fits under his top tube and mine are like saddle bags that go over the rack on the back wheel). Both battery packs are removable and we take them off when we travel. They work great and the batteries haven't left us stranded yet. We charge them every evening after our days' ride and so far, so good. The fastest we've gotten them is around 30 mph (which is way too fast for me). They have little monitors that tell us how fast we're going, what power we're in, and how much battery we have left. We mount the bikes on the back of the RV with a Thule 4 bike swing away bike rack so that we can get into the back door without taking the bikes off. https://www.thule.com/en-us/bike-rack/h ... 4-_-9027XT
We had to remove the bottom stair, but it's okay. I just use a little step stool to get in and out and it's well worth that little bit of trouble to have the bikes handy and easy to carry. We can also carry our chairs between the back door and the bike rack with a couple of bungies so that saves room inside, too.
I have a little dog that loves to go with us so I got him a little doggy wagon (Schwinn Rascal Bike Trailer). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4 ... =UTF8&th=1 That thing is amazing and fits right on my bike.
Sorry I don't have all the details on putting everything together, but the handsome honey doesn't remember all the details. He's a pretty smart guy and figured it all out, so you probably can, too. I do know that it was a little more cost effective than running out and buying new electric bikes, plus we know what we have and how to fix it if it messes up. Another thing, we loved our bikes and we were able to add the motors to those and not have to buy something we didn't particularly like just to get a motorized one. I'd estimate that we spent around $1000 per bike (including the bikes--look for used bikes if you want to save some bucks).
We cover both bikes when we travel and use the same cover after we take the bikes down to keep the batteries and motors dry in case it rains. This is the cover we use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQ ... UTF8&psc=1
We had to remove the bottom stair, but it's okay. I just use a little step stool to get in and out and it's well worth that little bit of trouble to have the bikes handy and easy to carry. We can also carry our chairs between the back door and the bike rack with a couple of bungies so that saves room inside, too.
I have a little dog that loves to go with us so I got him a little doggy wagon (Schwinn Rascal Bike Trailer). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4 ... =UTF8&th=1 That thing is amazing and fits right on my bike.
Sorry I don't have all the details on putting everything together, but the handsome honey doesn't remember all the details. He's a pretty smart guy and figured it all out, so you probably can, too. I do know that it was a little more cost effective than running out and buying new electric bikes, plus we know what we have and how to fix it if it messes up. Another thing, we loved our bikes and we were able to add the motors to those and not have to buy something we didn't particularly like just to get a motorized one. I'd estimate that we spent around $1000 per bike (including the bikes--look for used bikes if you want to save some bucks).
We cover both bikes when we travel and use the same cover after we take the bikes down to keep the batteries and motors dry in case it rains. This is the cover we use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQ ... UTF8&psc=1