Interested to discuss electric bikes. Pros and cons. What bike/s would you recommend as the best bang for buck? I'm interested in road legal as well as more powerful bikes not allowed on public roads. Thanks for your input.
Electric Bike under $3000
BluebirdV on 07/04/2019 - 17:20
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Do you have any idea how much the bike is worth without the electrical kit? I have a second hand bike so I'm also considering conversion. Is it easy to find a sticker on ebay saying 250w? Would it be not too obvious if I was pulled over? I would be riding in rural areas.
Unfortunately not as to value without the electrics. The reason I say you won't get pulled over is because it looks like a standard electric bike: If you phantom-pedal AND your bike doesn't look like an overpowered bike (ie stealth bomber) you will be just fine, in fact I even see the stealth bikes a lot on the roads but that's pushing it. I think a lot of the time people think that a 750/1000w bike is solely about speed but it isn't. I live in a really hilly area and going up a lot of the hills in a 250w is still a massively overexertive event, but with a 750w/1000w you can travel at maybe 10-15kmh up the same hill with moderate pedaling.
Have you seen anything like this being ridden on the road? I think it should be allowed if you have a motorbike licence and paid registration. https://www.electricbikesuperstore.com.au/Stealth-B-52
@BluebirdV: Yes. My friend has a F37 fighter but hasn't been pulled up in since purchase 1+ years ago. However, the bike always stands out and police always glance at it,and a lot of phantom pedaling is happening to look normal. For that reason he keeps on bike paths as much as possible but still uses it to commute. He made the point that it would have actually been better getting a normal-looking bike with a higher wattage because they look like every other electric bike and would happily go on roads without causing anyone to look sideways.
Why won’t it get pulled up as an illegally modified bike? If you are going faster than 25km/h without looking like you are working hard to pedal it is going to look illegal. I tried to chase down an e-bike on my bike a while ago. It was obviously illegal as the rider was not pushin g hard and I couldn’t keep up at about 35km/h. A sticker isn’t going to change that.
The bike that kit I attached to is fairly low end. Servicavle, but I wouldn’t want to pay more than about $5-600 for it without the e-kit.
For road legal I recommend Giant. Was able to bargain down to about 3.3k, but ended up buying as I went for e-road bike.
What model did you end up buying?
Ended up with an orbea gain.
I bought a Valk 250w one from ebay for 959. Works wonderfully for my 20min journey both ways
While you probably have a half decent setup the bikes attached to those $900 eBay specials are pretty ordinary quality. Like Kmart quality often.
How much is the fine if you do get pulled over?
Depends on the state, but you are looking at the equivalent of driving unregistered vehicle
In NSW; $1200 for unreg and uninsured - if it goes to court then between $2200 and $5500.If only it were possible to get registration and insurance.
It is possible to register and insure, but then you have a motorbike and can’t ride it other than ON the road.
You can’t have it both ways. They want to enable people to cycle so have permitted e-bikes that emulate a reasonable cyclist (250w pedalec). You want more power? Get a motorbike and make do with its limitations.
@Euphemistic: cant you register it, but then while going on bike paths, simply remove the number plates?
@fairgo11: Sure. Go ahead, but before you do have a read of this: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6113511/electric-bike…
Here is a bike I bookmarked when looking at a spare bike when people come riding with me. It is under 3k, and has a bit more power than the 250w legal limit bikes, yet won't get pulled up as an illegally modified bike. The advantage of 250w+ is that when going up hills you will still be going slow, but at least you can pedal with a lot less force and exertion.
https://pirez.com.au/x-trail-48v1000w-mid-drive-electric-bik…
The cons of a not road legal bike is insurance. Home & contents wont insure such a bike if ridden on public roads.