The Real World User Guide for e-bikes
by
Tim Sutton
Luzern, Switzerland
Copyright
2012 Sutski Enterprises
Smashwords Editon
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.
Featuring: The Bionx 250HT electric bike conversion kit and a Montague Folding Mountain bike (and a Wike Golf Trailer!).
This ebike guide tells of my (sometimes painful) experiences and ebiking realisations whilst riding some 2500kms on Swiss urban and mountain trails.
Hopefully my mistakes, learned the hard way, will help you (or a loved one!) make the right decisions when buying and riding an expensive (and fast) ebike.
Welcome to my Real-World User Guide for the BIONX ebike Kit.
Table of Contents
How this online guide works and introduction to Adobe BUZZWORD
Quick facts about the BIONX Kit.
My credentials and BIONX history.
How much does it cost to charge?
How long does a charge last in the real world?
How long does the battery last before degradation sets in?
What are the limitations of the system?
What to look out for in a bike you are going to fit it to
How well does it stand-up to bad weather?
How to turn off the speed limiter and other marvellous Codes to Freedom!
How fast can you go and how far does it go?
The Codes of Freedom - to allow you to alter the wheel size, top speed, assistance levels and a host of other customisable digital parameters.
False battery charge reading solution.
The Big Brother section - Tips on Staying Alive. - including the recounting of my 5 very close calls to meet the great Kahuna in the sky...
What do you need to carry with you at all times - general good ebiking advice
Locking it - what you need at least
Insuring it - Yes do. And do it well.
General good tips about staying alive whilst ebiking in an urban setting
Some pictures courtesy of www.greenspeed.us – Go visit them, they are great!!
The small print: Please remember this is by no means an officially endorsed BIONX user guide, but more a real-world users guide to saving your ass if you ever decide to ride a BIONX powered bike or any other-way powered bike :)
Please keep the ebook you just purchased to yourself (in the spirit of fair play!) so that I can continue to offer it as a useful tool for potential buyers of BIONX kits and current BIONX users.
Thanks so much.
In short am I a very happy BIONX customer ? Yes, a thousand times YES!
Just be bloody careful out there and read the tip on the right !!! [1]
Gloves, a backpack and glasses are an absolute minimum. And always, always, always, wear a helmet. Seriously. Don't even think about not wearing one. It's saved my twice so far, I kid you not.
Also, keep your mouth shut at all times, even when going Wheeeeeeeeee , which you will do repeatedly on an ebike, like a 10 year old, a lot. :)
Check out this dude on a BIONX powered tiny folding bike whooping a fit road bike racer up a 10km hill. 22mins vs 41mins. This sort of hilarity happens daily.
This real-world user guide is compiled though my actual BIONX kit user experience over 6 months and 1100 kilometres riding to date, and also through many hours of online forum searching and question asking, to solve my initial teething problems.
It is provided not as a full installation manual, but more of a "How did I get on" guide. I show you the things to look out for that range from mildly annoying hiccups to really bloody dangerous mistakes!
This document will continue to update as I update my experiences and as I continue to ride, so fire me an email some time in the future and see what else I managed to break. Hopefully only the hardware from here on in!
I am not in anyway connected to BIONX or any other company mentioned in this guide
I live in Switzerland so my on-road antics both in real life and as recounted in this guide are all within the law here in CH and any claimed speeds or perceived misdemeanours/claimed stories made in this report are through my testing of the BIONX system in other countries and also on private and on off-main road unpaved grounds and bike trails. On the road I obey all laws. Yes Sirree.
A Ferrari can go 320km/h (198.8mph for my American and English friends!!) , but it doesn't do it in a 50km/h zone (30mph zone), likewise I don't use my thumb throttle or top speed capabilities on Swiss roads either! (However stupid a law that is no throttle button law!!)
Please leave me some gentle feedback once you have finished!!
Thanks !
Please
print this document responsibly! i.e not at all! Read it online!!
Save some trees.
(or at least set your printer to print on both
sides of the sheet!)
Quick facts about me and my ebike:
Frame type: Montague Swissbike LX folding-bike, 26" Mens.
~
Mods: Wide handle bars, fat tires, LED lights, two big
locks and a big shiny horn.
Motor Tested: BIONX 250 HT
Battery: 36,9V- LiMn – 10 Ah
Weight: 7.7 kg -
Approx: 17lbs (motor and battery pack)
Bike Total weight:
20.5 kg - Approx: 42lbs
Nickname: The Tank [2]
I bought my BIONX kit in March 2009 (still in the middle of Swiss winter!) and as at September 12th 2009 I have done 1125 kms (695 miles) using the bike to commute to work every morning by a combo ride - train - ride to the office. I also zip to town at lunch time usually covering 5kms (3 m) or so in a matter of minutes - or to the pool which is a 2 minute ride or an 11 minute walk. I can then swim for a full half hour and still fit in a salad buffet lunch as well. It really broadens your reachable places map at lunch time, especially when you only have an hour or so to fit it all in !
I also regularly ride the 15kms (9m) from home to my golf course, unplug my electric trolley when I get there and plug in the bike in it's place while I play my round of golf. Marvellous.
It is a fantastic experience to be flying around silently at these speeds with so little effort, and in these days of frankly draconian automobile laws, being free to enjoy the roads again is an absolute joy, and even better, to enjoy the off piste trails and mountain river paths again without the drama and sweaty effort involved with the normal hoo-ha of old-school push biking !
I guarantee you, you will not miss the days when you only had your own power on tap to conquer the up bits and I guarantee you it will make you fitter than you have ever been without you even noticing. Even if you are Mr. Triathlon, this kit will simply blow you away.
Getting on an ebike and easily doing 15kms (9m) without even breaking a sweat, even up significant hills, is really a big deal in my book (literally haha). Arriving at work not sweating like Fred West's paper-boy is also a major benefit* (*Bad English humour)
So big a deal for me in fact, I even sold my car last month...which thankfully means I don't fund the middle east oil producers quite so much any more these days either!
Just to ensure I wasn't feeling like a stranded duck, I also signed up for the Swiss www.mobility.ch car sharing scheme and last month I used a Renault Megane II estate/combi/stationwagon, a 7 seat Ford S-Max, a plush new Civic hybrid and 2 x Smarts for 5 separate day rentals, for a total cost of around $200 for 150ish kilometres of total driving.
I used to spend $2200 a month on my 350Z car and it's leasing, and the garage I parked it in alone cost me $180 a month ! They also allow you to fully off-set your Mobility carbon emissions and they have quality cars like Alfa 159d's and BMW 119d's. Convertibles too ! [3]
I don't go into the perceived or actual environmental benefits of ebiking in this ebook, but as I have now signed up for "Okostrom" power from my Luzern household power supplier, my home electric is now supplied from solar or hydro-electric schemes, both of which are sourced locally from around Luzern.
Hmmm, that means it's a solar powered ebike then :)
I have been so changed in my mobility ways over the last six months whilst learning to live with my ebike that as I mentioned, I sold my car last month. A Nissan 350Z Roadster. I just wasn't using it. After zipping to the train station in under 5 minutes, riding right aboard with the bike and then relaxing with a coffee and my emails for 20 minutes, before zipping another 4 minutes to the office; the old-school 5 minute walk to the car, a 35 minute drive (max 1hr 30 drive), stress, traffic delay and the same on the way home, just suddenly lost it's appeal. Not to mention the speed cameras, idiot fellow road "sharers" actions and general good mood-spoiling annoyances you encounter even on a short drive these days !
Also not mentioned yet and probably shouldn't be really in this family orientated guide, is the serious female weighting ratio of ladies to men that apparently ride the morning and evening trains from Luzern to Zurich every day! Unreal! Now I know why Adam always comes into the office smelling of roses every morning. This sort of eye-candy and free Swiss-german language learning opportunity surely beats sitting in your porsche on your own for two hours a day listening to Radio Pilatus ?!
Never thought I would ever hear myself say that public transport is preferable to a porsche though, that's for sure! haha - especially me being an ex- MG TF160, Subaru Impreza & Nissan 350Z owner as well !! Shame on me !!
Please
go to their website for full product specifications !
Visit
BIONX here !
If you want me to make you an awesome ebike based on mine....come visit me in here!
The BIONX range includes many versions including the - 250 - 250PL - 250HT - 350HT - 500HT and all are available on the market today, so go see www.bionx.com for full model and manufacturer quoted performance details and country specific legalities.
Shown here above it is mounted on the stock folding Montague Swissbike LX that I purchased from www.greenspeed.us
The BIONX kit is a DIY kit that is post-fitable to practically any current roadworthy bicycle and is currently available for sale in most countries in most better bike shops, or if in doubt, on eBay.
It features a hub mounted rear wheel electric motor that cuts in and assists the rider when going up hill and when going down hill, in regenerative battery charging mode, it engine brakes and charges the battery for later uphill re-use. Just like K.E.R.S in F1!
Some models have a thumb throttle which is HIGHLY [4] recommended as you can just Push and Go away from any stops you have to make without clunking through all the gears all the time. [5] For some reason it is not legal in many countries. Probably as it makes you too manoeuvrable and might just assist you in enjoying yourself too much! Still fingers crossed they who know best will soon change that, eh?