ebikeblog.org

Hello. It’s been a stupidly long time since I put any content on this site.

I’ll attribute that to the lack of riding e-bikes, mostly. Which seems pretty reasonable in my mind. And probably to you, too.

But now, dear reader, I have returned to riding e-bikes, and thus it feels rather appropriate to return to blogging about it.

So, a bit of a Cliffs Notes version of what I’ve been doing…

2010-2011

In the e-bike arena, things started to slow down when I moved to Wellington in NZ for a couple of years, everything went into storage, and I just wasn’t on a bike for a couple of years. I had one DIY bike that needed repairs after it was shipped from Perth to Melbourne: I gave it to a local small bike/scooter business who said they could repair it, but after several months, they didn’t do anything, despite claims that they would get around to it… it wasn’t a priority, and eventually, I checked up on them, and the damn place had shut up shop – disappearing with my bike, no less! No way to find them, not answering their phone. Not impressed.

2012-2013

Fast forward to November 15, 2012. Ingress was launched, and my trusty eZee torq was revived and back in service – I began playing the game within the first few days of launch, and was known locally for my ruthless enthusiasm and dogged dedication. I eventually spent more time playing further afield on a 150cc scooter, but initially my gameplay was all on the Torq. A very social game, and quite a few cyclists – from memory I was the only e-cyclist though!

Around this time the Torq also got some use as a cargo workhorse, I got a trailer and managed to stack it with a variety of things!

2014-2017

After a couple of years the Torq was again left to its own devices, and I didn’t ride for some time. The battery surely died some more. I got out of storage & de-constructed & shipped from Perth to Melbourne my converted Giant which had a (DIY c/o Chris) mid-drive which achieved incredible speeds (see very old posts) but unfortunately constantly had chain issues. Used a few times as a non-ebike, especially for Bike Rave.

2018-2019

In the last couple of years, e-bikes have become ubiquitous with food deliveries. Fast and cheap to run around an inner urban area, they are the perfect solution for this kind of work. So they had become MUCH more visible.

By 2013-14 the Torq’s battery had pretty limited range, so even contemplating using it in 2018 was a no-starter. I didn’t even get it out of storage initially, though I did make some enquiries about getting a new battery: and ouch, they were not cheap!!! They had however increased in oomph dramatically.

I decided instead at that point to look around to see how the market had changed in the decade-plus since I was last paying attention. And yes, it’s changed hugely.

Eventually, after much umming and ahhing, I decided to plonk down $550 on a brand new Fortis 10aH (now $730) foldie e-bike. It arrived in October 2019. And it took me a few weeks to even get around to getting out on it! I did not go far in the latter part of 2019.

2020

But now, I’ve managed in the New Decade, to finally really start to see it as my new primary mode of transport.

I’ve had a few fun rides around some of the lovely Melbourne bike trails, including the Upfield Bike Path, Main Yarra, Moonee Ponds Creek, Merri Creek, and Inner Circle Rail Trails. The great thing is once you know the main trunk bicycle routes, you realise how easy it is to get to the main parts of Melbourne in a much greener way (figuratively and literally.)

See:

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And now, I contemplate some more serious rides into the rural surrounds of Melbourne. That will likely be the topic of my next post – for today though, very happy to finally be back in the saddle and sharing my experiences again!

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Why Australians are buying e-bikes

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Just came across these guys, http://www.solarbike.com.au/ – hailing from my own home town, it seems these guys have been experimenting with a variety of charging options and are particularly keen on solar, which is neat. If I still lived in Perth, I would be very keen on one of these, as I had tried to get something along these lines functioning some years ago but gave up as I just don’t have the technical expertise. I like that they’ve worked out an optimal system and can set one up for you, not on the cheap end of things but they’ve done the hard work for you.

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Hitting international news all over the world is the story of Eddie Sedgemore, a 66 year old Brit, who is claiming to be making a world record attempt for the “longest journey on a motorized bicycle” according to Powabyke.com. Eddie has previously completed several trips the length of Britain on electric cycles, and has raised hundreds of pounds for charity, which is fantastic: and he’s now set his sights significantly greater than his previous rides. However, having researched the story a little more, I’m in two minds about how valid this world record attempt is, given the record it’s claiming to break is not for an electric bicycle – but for a mobility scooter. No matter what the age or physical fitness of the rider, these are NOT the same things, and gives entirely the wrong impression about electric bicycles. Not only that: there’s already been a MUCH longer record breaking attempt, on a mobility scooter, not an eBike!

The current “official” world record for “Longest Journey on an Electric Mobility Vehicle (scooter)” was set by John Duckworth in the UK – he travelled 2,662.8 km (1654.6 miles) around mainland UK on a Horizon Mayan electric mobility scooter between June 20, 2004 and July 27, 2004, finishing in Hincaster, Cumbria. However since this world record ride there had since been another MUCH longer ride made by the same charity organising John Duckworth’s currently listed ride: after 117 days riding, they completed 5,349 miles – completely blowing away the currently underway 1,655 mile “record breaking attempt” planned by Eddie.

Now don’t get me wrong – I believe that supporting charities and rides like this are very worthwhile, and raising awareness is even more important; but I’m simply astonished that the rider and bike company in the first place would mis-categorize a fully functioning eBike as a “mobility scooter” like this – and that major media outlets like the BBC would publish this and have it syndicated worldwide, after have done so little research to confirm the facts being bandied about. I imagine the mobility scooter riders who’ve done the previous world record attempts may be feeling… well, a touch miffed might be putting it mildly!

I’d also like to point out the differences between the two types of vehicles, a motorized scooter clearly seen above, contrasting with the image below of Eddie with the Powabyke X-byke electric bicycle he will be riding for this claimed record breaking attempt:

Not the same kind of vehicle in any way, shape or form, no matter how you try to slice it. What there should be of course, is a new category of vehicle for the world record attempt. However, Eddie might find that Spaniard Guim Valls Teruel who is this month beginning his Electric Bicycle World Tour might be beating him by just a little bit…. try 5 continents compared to just tootling around the UK!

Seriously – I’m impressed at the media coverage, and that’s good for electric bikes which are getting more and more mainstream press now (finally!!!) – but let’s do it under appropriate auspices, please?

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So it’s another post not strictly about electric bicycles – but the electric skateboard is probably its closest relative! Thanks to xkcd‘s latest comic (pictured and linked above) I now know that Nathan Fillion does indeed have an electric skateboard – an 800w one from this EW account, and after a little bit of web ferretting, I’m going to guess he most probably owns a board from Altered because they seem to be the best known and apparently are the originators of the vehicle. And when I say vehicle I do mean it, because 800 watts is a serious amount of torque, much more than any of the eBikes I own! Those boards are designed for all terrain and can go over grass and rough ground. Yikes! Below is one of the more standard street versions:

There also seems to be one manufacturer in Australia, Kronik Boardz. They also do a couple of 800w models including one with foot locks – and I wonder how on earth they manage to get away with that in this country! I guess maybe electric skateboards are yet to be classified? If 800w electric bicycles were legal here, we’d probably have a hell of a lot more converts… see below for a Channel 10 intoduction to Kronik electric skateboards in Oz!

While they don’t look too exciting on video, I’m a bit of a nanna when it comes to riding, so seriously, I could even consider getting one of these. I’ve never been keen on skateboarding, and my very brief flirtation with a Razor scooter ended in several bruised bits (including my ego), but an electric skateboard might be something I’d be able to pick up a fair bit quicker. And while I really enjoy my Trikke, it’s a whole lot more effort than a bike to ride, so it’s stayed in storage for a while. An electric skateboard would be considerably more portable than either, too. Plus I could say yeah, Nathan Fillion has one of these, when people ask me about it in the street. *chuckle*

Looking forward to Part Two from xkcd tomorrow!

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Is this fantastic video from cycle stuntman Danny MacAskill. No, it’s not an eBike but it’s just so out-of-this-world incredible that I’m posting it anyways. Check it out below.

Inspired Bicycles – Danny MacAskill April 2009

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Hey folks! The ride is going FANTASTICALLY!!! We just had our first hilly morning and the bikes performed brilliantly.

I’m going to post a handful of pics and we are only hitting a net cafe … well, this is the first one and I only have 5 more mins before we set off again.

Phil Ceberano playing @ Launch

Me!

Heading off on the Yarra trail

Bebe!! Finnley in trailer

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