Drove some lithium-ion EV's today

[MetroMPG]

Electric bikes, that is - 250-350 watts 36v systems. They either provide one of 4 user-selected levels of assist when you pedal, or full drive, controlled by a thumb throttle.

Slick: it even had regenerative braking, activated by the slightest pull of the rear brake lever, or activated by hitting a button on a tiny, bar-mounted control panel/display.

Also tried a used Chinese-built electric scooter with pedals, which actually falls under our new "power assisted bicycle" regs since its top speed is under 32 km/h. 250w, PbA. Kinda funky, but more of a toy than anything else. A powered bicycle is more practical.

[Brock]

I would like to get a powered bike to go to and from work in the summer. What kinds did you try out, which one would you get if you had to get one?

[MetroMPG]

I tried bikes which had kits added to them.

http://www.bionx.ca/en/main/default/31.shtml

I tried the PL250 and the PL350. And the plastic Chinese pedal/scooter thing, but, no.

I probably wouldn't get one with regen because what smart driver/rider uses regen? Also it adds another layer of complexity. One more thing to go wrong (and in fact the 350 needed to be "rebooted" because I noticed while riding it that the brake lever activated regen wasn't coming on).

If I were going to buy one, I'd probably lean towards a brushless DC system with "pedal start" - (vs. throttle start from a stop). It's the simplest version of the most efficient motor style (vs. brushed DC).

Then you have to decide what battery chemistry you want, based on price, range & weight.

[JanGeo]

I am adding a 1hp brushless motor to my S-25 Schwinn mtb whenever I get around to it . . . and fix the front wheel broken spokes. Problem I ran into was I tightened the crank bolt and now the crank arm will not come off and I was planning on mounting the electric motor drive sprocket to the left side crank with a freewheeling motor drive. Not crazy about turning the pedals with the motor but this way I have use of ALL the gears both front and rear sets. This should allow me to climb just about ANYTHING short of going vertical and take care of the dead zone at the top of the pedal travel where one tends to stall on really steep inclines. The plan is to run Li-Ion laptop cells since I purchased about 70 of them and they seem to have the output power level that will be sufficent for this motor.

[MetroMPG]

Yes, I hear you can get a deal on Sony laptop cells these days

JanGeo - when are you going to start a thread to show your EV projects??

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

This should allow me to climb just about ANYTHING short of going vertical and take care of the dead zone at the top of the pedal travel where one tends to stall on really steep inclines.

Clipless pedals would solve that too!

[JanGeo]

Yeah! like I need to put cells that have metal filaments on a mobile platform for them to bounce around and short out ! ! ! Aim the cells rearward so when they light off you get some thrust! Guess I need to take some recent photos and post them here huh. Been reconditioning a used boat battery 125ah to see if my Vector charger can reclaim some of its lost capacity. It seems to have about 25ah so far - not so great after 3 years of service for a deep cycle battery and there are 5 of them! Right now there are too many leaves on the road and too much construction on my favorite EV scooter route to ride - they are installing new water pipes on Ocean Drive and when they are done then there will be some really NICE SMOOTH PAVEMENT! WOO WOO!

[MetroMPG]

Ok, this is an order: post a new thread about your EV's! You've been sending us bits and bites here and there for a year. Pics too, please!