Bicycles? With motors?

Gavin

Hello, fellow.

My bicycle got stolen recently, so I need to buy a new one for getting around and general bicycle-type things.

Problem is, I don't know anything about bicycles.

I'm not sure exactly about my price range, but cheaper is definitely :^:

Also, I would love to possibly get a bicycle with a small motor of some sort, be it electric or gas powered, but I'm not licensed so it would have to be about as powerful as a gas powered scooter or something I imagine. Also obviously it needs to be able to switch to just standard pedaling.

The bike wont be on any harsh terrain or anything, just for riding around town and to friend's houses and maybe to the store or something.

Any cool suggestions?

Thanks

EskimoDave

I was doing some demo work next/above an electric bike store recently. You can get electric bikes starting at ~$600. I zip is the only brand name I can remember as it was the bike in the window next to the entrance that we used.

http://izipusa.com/


edit - apparently they can do pretty fast. They limited to 32 km/h (here at least). Any faster and you'd need a license.

Doc

Electric bikes are mostly useful for going up hills. Over flat and downhill terrain, it's not very difficult to get up to 32 km/h (~20mph) on a traditional road bike, for short-ish trips anyway.

Gavin

EskimoDave wrote: »

I was doing some demo work next/above an electric bike store recently. You can get electric bikes starting at ~$600. I zip is the only brand name I can remember as it was the bike in the window next to the entrance that we used.

http://izipusa.com/


edit - apparently they can do pretty fast. They limited to 32 km/h (here at least). Any faster and you'd need a license.

Those are pretty slick, do you know if that is a high or low price for that sort of product, or if there are even other vendors?

$600 might be a little steep, but maybe not too bad.

Gavin

Doc wrote: »

Electric bikes are mostly useful for going up hills. Over flat and downhill terrain, it's not very difficult to get up to 32 km/h (~20mph) on a traditional road bike, for short-ish trips anyway.

Absolutely. I'm thinking about riding pretty far though, possibly from my house to Seattle, about 20 miles, so a pretty lengthy ride. Is anything gas powered going to be illegal?

EskimoDave

Gavin wrote: »

EskimoDave wrote: »

I was doing some demo work next/above an electric bike store recently. You can get electric bikes starting at ~$600. I zip is the only brand name I can remember as it was the bike in the window next to the entrance that we used.

http://izipusa.com/


edit - apparently they can do pretty fast. They limited to 32 km/h (here at least). Any faster and you'd need a license.

Those are pretty slick, do you know if that is a high or low price for that sort of product, or if there are even other vendors?

$600 might be a little steep, but maybe not too bad.

Here is a company a friend of a co-worker of mine has. They're pretty big in Vancouver.
http://gwev.myshopify.com/

Doc

Gavin wrote: »

Doc wrote: »

Electric bikes are mostly useful for going up hills. Over flat and downhill terrain, it's not very difficult to get up to 32 km/h (~20mph) on a traditional road bike, for short-ish trips anyway.

Absolutely. I'm thinking about riding pretty far though, possibly from my house to Seattle, about 20 miles, so a pretty lengthy ride. Is anything gas powered going to be illegal?

I live in Seattle, and I used to bike commute to the Eastside daily, for a 25-26 mile round trip. Where is your house? Keep in mind that it's going to take at least an hour to do that route, even on an electric bike.

Edit:
Electrics are great for the Seattle area, I just don't see many of them around. You can ride them on bike trails, as far as I know.

Gavin

Doc wrote: »

Gavin wrote: »

Doc wrote: »

Electric bikes are mostly useful for going up hills. Over flat and downhill terrain, it's not very difficult to get up to 32 km/h (~20mph) on a traditional road bike, for short-ish trips anyway.

Absolutely. I'm thinking about riding pretty far though, possibly from my house to Seattle, about 20 miles, so a pretty lengthy ride. Is anything gas powered going to be illegal?

I live in Seattle, and I used to bike commute to the Eastside daily, for a 25-26 mile round trip. Where is your house? Keep in mind that it's going to take at least an hour to do that route, even on an electric bike.

Kirkland to Seattle?

I'm not too worried about time, but I love the convenience it might offer. However it looks like the cheapest ones are around $600 min.

Gavin

I wonder what the legalities associated with operating a motor vehicle without being licensed are?

Could I operate a little vespa, or something like that?

Doc

Gavin wrote: »

Doc wrote: »

Gavin wrote: »

Doc wrote: »

Electric bikes are mostly useful for going up hills. Over flat and downhill terrain, it's not very difficult to get up to 32 km/h (~20mph) on a traditional road bike, for short-ish trips anyway.

Absolutely. I'm thinking about riding pretty far though, possibly from my house to Seattle, about 20 miles, so a pretty lengthy ride. Is anything gas powered going to be illegal?

I live in Seattle, and I used to bike commute to the Eastside daily, for a 25-26 mile round trip. Where is your house? Keep in mind that it's going to take at least an hour to do that route, even on an electric bike.

Kirkland to Seattle?

I'm not too worried about time, but I love the convenience it might offer. However it looks like the cheapest ones are around $600 min.

Nice - you planning on going down to I-90, then? Make sure to stop at stop signs on Mercer Island, I got a ticket there for not doing that on my bike once. I used to do 100% bike commuting when I worked in Bellevue and lived on Beacon Hill. Now I work in Kirkland and live near Green Lake, so I ride my bike to Montlake and grab a bus across 520.

$600 is pretty standard for a halfway decent new non-electric bike, so I'd say it's not a bad deal. I don't know anything about maintenance for them, though.

Doc

Gavin wrote: »

I wonder what the legalities associated with operating a motor vehicle without being licensed are?

Could I operate a little vespa, or something like that?

It has to be under 50cc, I believe. Think "the smallest mario kart."

Gavin

Doc wrote: »

Gavin wrote: »

I wonder what the legalities associated with operating a motor vehicle without being licensed are?

Could I operate a little vespa, or something like that?

It has to be under 50cc, I believe. Think "the smallest mario kart."

Ahahaha

Okay, I'll have a chat with my madre about everything.

Thanks, Doc!

Also Eskimo

Barrakketh

Double check your state laws on the motor restrictions. Here in Florida the motor can't be capable of moving the bike at speeds greater than 20 mph on level ground. Since I saw Seattle mentioned Wikipedia had this for Washington:

"Electric-assisted bicycle" means a bicycle with two or three wheels, a saddle, fully operative pedals for human propulsion, and an electric motor. The electric-assisted bicycle's electric motor must have a power output of no more than one thousand watts, be incapable of propelling the device at a speed of more than twenty miles per hour on level ground, and be incapable of further increasing the speed of the device when human power alone is used to propel the device beyond twenty miles per hour.[72]

No person may drive either a two-wheeled or a three-wheeled motorcycle, or a motor-driven cycle unless such person has a valid driver's license specially endorsed by the director to enable the holder to drive such vehicles. No driver's license is required for operation of an electric-assisted bicycle if the operator is at least sixteen years of age. Persons under sixteen years of age may not operate an electric-assisted bicycle. Persons operating electric-assisted bicycles shall comply with all laws and regulations related to the use of bicycle helmets. Electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters may have access to highways of the state to the same extent as bicycles. Electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters may be operated on a multipurpose trail or bicycle lane, but local jurisdictions may restrict or otherwise limit the access of electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters, and state agencies may regulate the use of motorized foot scooters on facilities and properties under their jurisdiction and control.

I bolded the parts you may be interested in.

Gavin

Barrakketh wrote: »

Double check your state laws on the motor restrictions. Here in Florida the motor can't be capable of moving the bike at speeds greater than 20 mph on level ground. Since I saw Seattle mentioned Wikipedia had this for Washington:

"Electric-assisted bicycle" means a bicycle with two or three wheels, a saddle, fully operative pedals for human propulsion, and an electric motor. The electric-assisted bicycle's electric motor must have a power output of no more than one thousand watts, be incapable of propelling the device at a speed of more than twenty miles per hour on level ground, and be incapable of further increasing the speed of the device when human power alone is used to propel the device beyond twenty miles per hour.[72]

No person may drive either a two-wheeled or a three-wheeled motorcycle, or a motor-driven cycle unless such person has a valid driver's license specially endorsed by the director to enable the holder to drive such vehicles. No driver's license is required for operation of an electric-assisted bicycle if the operator is at least sixteen years of age. Persons under sixteen years of age may not operate an electric-assisted bicycle. Persons operating electric-assisted bicycles shall comply with all laws and regulations related to the use of bicycle helmets. Electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters may have access to highways of the state to the same extent as bicycles. Electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters may be operated on a multipurpose trail or bicycle lane, but local jurisdictions may restrict or otherwise limit the access of electric-assisted bicycles and motorized foot scooters, and state agencies may regulate the use of motorized foot scooters on facilities and properties under their jurisdiction and control.

I bolded the parts you may be interested in.

That is really helpful, thank you!

Zyre

Mini-hijack here...

I was looking at this; http://bicyclecentreseverett.com/itemdetails.cfm?LibID=47732

I started a bike thread last year some time ago as I was interested in a recumbent bike at the time but I've held off since then. Now I'm looking back into it and thought this was really good deal for a commuting bike to and from work, which is a little under 5 miles one way, 10 mile round trip a day, all on pavement. Am I looking at a good model or is there something else worth looking into for what I want? I'm looking basically for the same thing the OP is looking for, a bike that can get me to and from work, with a little recreational use and riding to the grocery store etc.

saltiness

Like Doc said, $600 is a good starting point for a non-electric road bike. So I would seriously question the quality of a bike that has an electric motor for $600.

Doc

Zyre wrote: »

Mini-hijack here...

I was looking at this; http://bicyclecentreseverett.com/itemdetails.cfm?LibID=47732

I started a bike thread last year some time ago as I was interested in a recumbent bike at the time but I've held off since then. Now I'm looking back into it and thought this was really good deal for a commuting bike to and from work, which is a little under 5 miles one way, 10 mile round trip a day, all on pavement. Am I looking at a good model or is there something else worth looking into for what I want? I'm looking basically for the same thing the OP is looking for, a bike that can get me to and from work, with a little recreational use and riding to the grocery store etc.

I don't see anything specifically that throws up warning signs about that bike. Looks like it's got great reviews. Just sit and ride on a variety of bikes before you buy to find one that's comfortable.