Tanskavan Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Recently at a local market, Battery powered pedal bikes were being sold for £99. Has any one purchased these bikes? they do fold up and therefore would store in a garage/under floor location. What experiences has anyone had? Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Hi, I have a powerbyke ( Note the spelling there are copies ) First thing to remeber is you need a 200watt motor and a 36volt battery anything less you will be still doing a lot of pedaling. second things can go wrong can you get spares and are there service centres Lastly if you are not on hookup whats the milage capacity as the battery will want recharging ( can be done off an inverter ) but will take a lot out of your leisure battery. The type of battery is also important. Lead acid, heavy and can only be recharged 250 times ( £90 to replace ) Nicad lighter can be recharged 1000 times ( £180 ) to replace. A few very expensive bikes have lithium iron batteries very light but very expensive Go for the powerbyke. Nation coverage for service and spares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Tony...I haven't personally used a battery powered bike, but I once had a long conversation with a motorhomer who did. He had two bikes, and loved them for the convenience of biking into a village or town. He carried them on a heavy-duty bike rack on the back of his motorhome. Some things I did notice, though. Firstly, the bikes are quite heavy with the battery in place, and not very "sports efficient" in design. I have forgotten the practical life of one charge, but I think it was approximately 20 -25 miles if the rider and extras were a "light" load. I would imagine having to ride back to the van with a flat battery might be challenging to some. Secondly, the charge time is several hours so you need to make sure you are keep on top of this, including having predictable access to 240 volts.Hope this helps as a starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 And one last thing, I would imagine that any extra cost for higher capacity batteries would be money well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat P Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Hi Tony We have two Eletra (Italian) electric bikes and we love them. When we put them on the bike rack at the back of the van we remove the batteries to make them lighter. Our bikes are called "pedal assist" which means that you have to pedal to make the battery cut in and assist you. If you stop pedalling the battery cuts out. They look just like ordinary bikes with a black pack on the carrier. We plug them in over night and use them during the day. A bleeper goes off when the charge is running out so you get a warning. I have used mine daily for work and my husband finds his very helpful for his arthritic knees (now replaced and doing great!). Very interested in the posting above about lighter, longer lasting batteries. Any more info available?? Pat P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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