My situation is a little bit different from most people. I caught COVID in 2020 and it messed me up good. Got both my heart AND my lungs. I’m now on disability and no longer have my drivers license. (I let it lapse since I can’t afford a car any more.)
An E-bike would be my main method of transportation. So for me Range is king. it is the be all and end all for me personally. Plus, where I live (Vancouver) the law is an ebike can only go at a max speed of 24 kmh. Which is fine for me since I’m not in a hurry. Plus at my age (52) I’m pretty sure any accident at a higher speed would kill me.😂
So here’s my dilemma. I want to build a bike that can do 150 Km’s on throttle only. now I could go out and buy something like the Eahora Romeo Pro, but where I live it would come out to 4k CAD with taxes and delivery all in.
Or I could build an ebike from scratch. I’m sure it would be cheaper. but it would take longer. I was thinking of getting a cheap amazon 48v 500w bike and build off of that. I was thinking of going with a Bafang BBSHD, two 48v 30ah batteries and a geared hub like the Shimao Alfine 8-speed internal geared bicycle Hub.
One of the other problems is my local transit is very bike friendly so to increase range I could use to local transit system to get close to where I want to go and then use the bike as end of destination travel. But the bike can only weigh as much as 50lbs. any heavier and they won’t allow it on the front bus rack.
So I am torn. do any of you have any recommendations or suggestions?
6.2 hours (150km at 24kph) is one hell of a commute.
TLDR: Because of rain and snow, I’d recommend prebuilt (water sealed electronics are difficult to do right). You can get both the bus and 150km range by getting one that’s well-under 50lbs with a quick release battery. Use the bus for 99% of commutes, and when you want to go for a 6 hour trip, get saddle bags and load them up with ~5 extra batteries and a charger. I say well-under 50lbs because putting any bike on a bus mount is a bit awkward; putting a 50lbs bike on a mount in the rain/snow many weeks out of the year is asking for a back injury.
In terms 150km off a single charge, Eahora Romeo seems hard to beat to me. Being over the 24kph limit probably doesn’t matter so long as it doesnt look like it very obviously goes over the 24kph limit. For context, the Onyx RCR with an extended 55ah battery, should get you right around 150km at 32kph, but the battery alone weighs 37lbs and costs $2,200. It also definitely looks like an “above 24kph” bike cause it does +90kph. The Eahora Romeo battery seems more efficient at 27lbs and 60ah. If you want actually under/at 24kph I don’t know of any prebuilt with 150km of range on a single charge that doesn’t have top speed of like +40kph, so it would probably have to be custom. Even custom though, getting that down to 50lbs with 150km of range on a single charge, with a ~300lbs payload (person+backpack+saddlebags,etc), and tires capable of rain/snow, is near limits of technology. With the right design you could get away with taking the battery off the bike before putting it on the rack. But really, frames that support a +55ah battery, even if they’re pure carbon fiber, still are probably are probably not a good form factor for a bus rack. Using a smaller battery and bringing two or three
Even with multiple batteries, unless you find a great deal, I don’t think there’s a real way to get that kind of range without spending upwards of $2,000 after taxes. Batteries are getting cheaper, but 150km is a long drive, even for a car.
That is my thinking as well. a basic ebike, but buy multiple batteries. As for long rides, I am well aware of how uncomfortable a 6 hour long bike ride would be. So I would be taking alot of rest breaks.😂 Like I said earlier I’m in no hurry.
👍 when you get one definitely post it!