www.swytchbike.com/
A lectric kit for the Brompton.
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My purchase of an electric Brompton is on hold for the time being.
Did I tell you that I had a demo ride on one from a bike shop at Chobham?
The people were very pleasant, but the bike was disappointing. Clunky gear changes, twitchy steering (are they all like that?), I decided it wasn't for me, not for now, anyway.
My - half the price - Oxygen electric bike is much better.
Last edited by: Duncan on Thu 14 May 20 at 11:36
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I found the S-type bars, the low set straight ones, to give a very twitchy ride. The standard M type on mine and the (now discontinued) P type 'butterfly' bars on Mrs B's are fine. Having owned Bromptons for 21 years I'm totally accustomed to them and the slight handling oddities that go with the small wheels and high riding position. It probably felt odd coming away from Evans at Waterloo way back in 1999 but I do remember the exhilaration of getting it into its stride on Waterloo Bridge.
The hub gear is like any Sturmey Archer since way back when. You need to ease off the pedals slightly to get a smooth change. The two speed derailleur has a knack to it, particularly on changes 2-3 and 4-5 where both the derailleur and the hub are in play. On the other hand the range of the six speed from low to high is very good indeed - hills no problem.
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Did the P bars just not sell? I have those and quite like them being a plodder, the one criticism being that you can't get to the brakes when streamlining.
I imagine everybody finds a Brompton or other small wheeled cycle twitchy after full size wheels, but I soon adapted - it's a bit like quicker steering in a car.
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>> Did the P bars just not sell?
Not in significant (or at least sufficient) numbers. I thought about them when sorting out my second Brompton in 2009 but eliminated them on grounds of weight and folded size - the latter critical on certain trains. Mrs B went for them in 2018.
At one time it was possible to order the parts to do a M-P conversion but Brompton stopped supply that retail and insist on conversions being done at an approved workshop. The quote for mine was several hundred pounds so I stuck with M type and resolved to experiment with grips but have yet to do so.
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I see from the pictures that the motors have planetary gears that look like they are made from nylon.
I guess that they resolve some lubrication issues but are they durable? I would have expected something more durable like steel.
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Update.
I have now bought another electric bike. Another Oxygen.
An Oxygen Go small wheel, foldable electric bike.
Very pleased with it.
www.oxygenbicycles.com/oxygen-go/
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I've never ridden one, how do they work?
I understand that they have no accelerator so how do you get them to go faster or slower? How do you engage or disengage the motor? Is it otherwise like riding an ordinary bike?
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To be (UK) street legal, the bike has to provide "pedal assistance", it cannot now be controlled solely by a throttle.
The level of assistance will be variable, through a number of pre-sets selectable at will (and also changeable on the move) and the amount of assistance provided will be electronically governed by the level selected, and the road speed/pedalling cadence, and the smoothness will depend on the sophistication of the kit you've bought.
Basically, it's like riding an ordinary bike that will smooth out hills and minimise the effects of headwinds (using the gearing and assistance levels as required).
From experience, some systems and bikes feel considerably more like riding a normal bike (albeit somewhat easier) than others - you're always going to have to expend some of your own energy, though.
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So I would get on one and pedal away from rest like normal, it'd just be easier? And you must keep pedalling all the time or there is no assistance?
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Correctamundo - and UK (EU) legal ones have a limited level of assistance that cuts out at 15.5mph (You can go faster, but you, or a downward hill, will be doing all the work).
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15mph doesn't seem like very much. What sort of speeds do people normally ride at on unassisted bikes?
Do you just need to keep the pedals turning or do you have to put effort in?
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You generally have to be putting effort in. How much depends on the gear and the level of assistance selected.
I can certainly go rather faster on my (analogue) road bike, but I doubt I could sustain that nowadays for the distances I do on the e-bike.
I was up in the Lakes this week, with a 35 mile ride from Ravenglass to St Bees, over mixed terrain and some substantial inclines. Maxed out at 33mph, though that was downhill.
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Thanks, that's helped a lot.
I keep thinking about getting one, but I am not sure. I need to try one first I guess.
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If you do, try a few.
I bought my first 9 years ago, and I'd tried a few, with different characteristics, until I found one that felt "just right". (As you say, like an ordinary bike, but easier). The choice then was limited, now they're ubiquitous, with a fair few permutations. I'm on my second.
From experience, I'd go with a crank-drive (motor at the pedals, so it drives through the gears), battery as large as you can afford, and on/in the down-tube rather than on a panier carrier for better stability.
I don't know of anyone who has bought one who has regretted it (but I suspect, having decided to seriously pursue the option, you're more than halfway there with that anyway).
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E-Bikes are not really available here. Though do you remember the Parisienne bicycles from the 60s/70s with a small 2-stroke sort of bungee clipped to it? There's millions of those.
So any level of trying and testing will need to be done in Europe. I'd much prefer an e-scooter but that doesn't seem a viable alternative in the UK for a variety of reasons.
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...back in the day when Pontius was still a pilot (and it wouldn't have been legal for me to ride due to being too young to have a licence), I had a friend who had one of these:
cyclemaster.wordpress.com/page-13-the-minimotor/
Regardless of the write-up there, it (or at least his) was absolutely lethal!
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Most electrically assisted bikes have some sort of sensor in the pedalling mechanism which, subject to the settings will input an amount of electric power corresponding to the effort that the pedaller is putting in.
The two Oxygen bikes that I have are simpler - and cheaper. Depending upon the setting, as long as you twiddle the pedals the motor will input a percentage up to 250 watts - which I think is the maximum legally permitted.
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>> Most electrically assisted bikes have some sort of sensor
A Hall Effect sensor?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effect_sensor
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>>A Hall Effect sensor?
Two kinds of sensor are relevant,
cadence- detects whether the pedals are turning, and sometimes at what rate. Typically a Hall sensor.
torque-how much force the rider is applying to the pedals. Not all e-bikes have these.
Cheaper e-bikes and kits lack the torque sensor. If the motor has enough power and the battery and controller can deliver it, they can be 'ghost' pedalled, i.e. just turn the pedals and let the motor do the work.
Where a torque sensor is used then the controller is usually programmed to give different levels of torque addition to the rider's effort. E.g. my Bosch mid-drive has 4 levels of assistance
Eco +40% of rider effort
Tour +100%
Sport +180%
Turbo+270%
subject of course to the maximum torque available from the motor.
It feels incredibly natural especially in Eco. The harder you pedal, the faster you go. It feels like having better legs, or a tailwind. I use mainly Eco. To begin with I tended to up the assist level for hills and headwinds, but just changing down is more natural and if I don't mind dropping to 5 or 6mph as I would once have done on an unassisted bike then it is fine on all but the steepest hills or unless I'm knackered and nearly home in which case I whack it up to turbo!
I've also ridden my daughter's Shimano system bikes and they are similar. I've never ridden a bike with only the cadence sensor. They just kick in at the selected power and/or speed rating when the pedals are turned. I've a Swytch kit on order for my Brompton so I'll find out when it arrives but I don't think it will feel as natural, although I expect to get used to it.
I've never run the Bosch right down but I estimate I could get 70/80 miles from my 625Wh battery using mainly Eco with bursts of Tour for hills, in moderate terrain.
Mine's a Gen.3 Active Line Plus motor which will mean something should you start looking at them. It's very quiet and doesn't have noticeable resistance when pedalling unassisted.
www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/drive-unit
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I think it was the Velo Solex I was thinking of.
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>>do you remember the Parisienne bicycles from the 60s/70s with a small 2-stroke sort of bungee clipped to it?
They fetch a very good price here and can be legally registered. You may want to smuggle a few in the back of your Explorer.
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For just two hundred and forty of your British pounds.
www.yapo.cl/region_metropolitana/bicicletas_ciclismo/bicimoto-49cc-frenos-disco-y-amortiguacion-shimano_77841468.htm
Or a somewhat less tatty one.
www.yapo.cl/coquimbo/bicicletas_ciclismo/bicimoto-motor-mosquito_78526985.htm
I did look at vehicle exports to the UK before. Twice actually, once quite deeply. Ultimately though the money is there to be made, it's a quite enormous amount of bureaucracy which disheartened me to a point where I did nothing.
I might have one more look and think before I leave.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 17 Jul 21 at 23:17
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>> For just two hundred and forty of your British pounds.
>>
>> www.yapo.cl/region_metropolitana/bicicletas_ciclismo/bicimoto-49cc-frenos-disco-y-amortiguacion-shimano_77841468.htm
Error 1009 Ray ID: 6706ef20bb052c7a • 2021-07-17 22:33:48 UTC
Access denied
What happened?
The owner of this website (www.yapo.cl) has banned the country or region your IP address is in (GB) from accessing this website.
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I have no clue why they would block the UK.
Here's a screen capture.
imgur.com/X57NvEc
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>> Update.
>>
>> I have now bought another electric bike. Another Oxygen.
What is it with pedlars, why do they start to collect more cycle things than they can ride?
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>> What is it with pedlars, why do they start to collect more cycle things than
>> they can ride?
N+1??
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...first rule of bikes...
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Thanks for this thread - was a topic of conversation on WW2 walking tour today, we were passed by dozens of them. I've been considering taking the plunge for a while and this thread has been particularly interesting.
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You're not old enough for an electric one yet are you R.P. ?
;-)
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>>You're not old enough for an electric one yet are you R.P. ?
We're still talking bikes, right?
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One for our comrade cyclist - Duncan
