A "Veteran's" take on a Typical, Mid-Priced E-Bike

DGS49

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2012
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Pittsburgh
Well, I've had my E-bike for about 8 months now, 1500 miles on the odometer, and I think I know it well enough to describe it to others who might be considering the purchase of an E-bike. Parenthetically, I also have a non-powered bike, which I've probably put 500 miles or so on while riding the E-bike as my "primary." My bike is a Himiway "Cruiser," for which I paid about $1,500 new. The buying experience was fine, The bike took a month or so to get to me, and everything was fine. Assembling it and getting it ready for my first ride was easy, and took about an hour.


himiway-cruiser-header.jpg


This is a heavy bike, weighing about 80 pounds. Because of its bulk and the 4" tires, it won't easily fit on a typical bike carrier, and I built a carrier out of Harbor Freight stuff. There is of course an owner's group on FB, and an invaluable resource is Tinkering Turtle or something like that, who makes YouTube videos of everything you might want to do with your bike, from recalibrating the power settings to replacing brakes, adding accessories, etc.

People use the motor on these bikes in a lot of different ways. Some people use them as electric mopeds, exerting as little effort as possible, and they work absolutely fine in this way. The "factory" top speed is 22mph, and that is plenty fast for commuting. It can be reprogrammed to 28, and some people even change sprockets to get more. I only use the motor on uphills that I can't easily handle on my own. Interestingly, I find that I can pull short hills fairly easily (standing on the pegs), but the ones that kill me are the long slight uphills. The combination of the weight of the bike and the high rolling resistance of the tires makes these very trying. Riding it the way I do, I use very little of the battery's capacity. (There is a "fuel gauge" on the dashboard, with five blocks, indicating how much charge you have remaining). The other day I took a typical 20-mile ride - 90 minutes approx. - and didn't use a single block on the fuel gauge. This may not be exactly accurate, but suffice it to say, I and my butt wear out long before the battery's charge does.

The motor can be accessed in two different ways, Pedal Assist ("PA") and throttle. The factory setting for PA is zero though five, with five corresponding to the 22mph I mentioned above. Level One results in the bike "wanting" to go about 10mph. THe PA does not activate until you crank the pedals; before you start pedaling, or if you stop pedaling during a ride, the PA shuts off. But you don't have to be putting any effort at all when you crank the pedals for the PA to kick in fully.

PEOPLE FREQUENTLY CRASH in their driveway because they are unfamiliar with what is happening with the PA. When you turn the bike on, it automatically sets at ONE (I immediately set it to ZERO). So as soon as you turn the crank, the BIKE WANTS TO GO 10MPH, and it will take off immediately, with enough torque to lift the front wheel off the ground. Obviously, if you are not prepared for this jolt, it can cause a problem. People turn on their bikes, then casually push down on the pedal, moving the bike to where they want to be, and they are unprepared for the bike taking off.

The second way to activate the motor is with the throttle, which is positioned at the rider's right thumb. With the PA set at zero, the throttle is inactive. But with the PA set at any other level, you can start the bike moving with the throttle, without turning the crank at all. I use the throttle when starting out on an uphill, or when I am stopped at a traffic light, and I want to get started into the intersection as soon as the light turns green. The throttle can access the full power of the motor, regardless of the PA setting. Some people (mainly kids from my observation), just set the PA at one, and use the throttle exclusively to propel the bike, without pedaling.

The Himiway Cruiser has a seven-speed derailleur in addition to the 5 "speed" motor. The motor "doesn't care" what gear you are in. It is propelling you at 10-22mph regardless of whether you are in first or seventh gear. You pick your gear according to what you are comfortable with. At 22mph, I can barely turn the pedals fast enough in 7th gear to accomplish anything at all with my power. It is by far the best derailleur I have ever used. You go immediately into the gear you dial up, no hesitation and no problem. Because the internal gears are plastic, it doesn't matter as much whether you are pedaling when changing gears. I understand that the internal gears are a wearing part, that will have to be replaced every so many miles. Parenthetically, at 1500 miles, my knobby fat tires barely show any wear at all. And they are good for any surface whatsoever. I just run them at 30psi when I'm going to be on pavement. (Factory setting is 20psi).

The intensity of your workout on an E-Bike can be nearly nothing, or extremely challenging, and observers probably won't be able to tell by looking, unless you are straining to go up a grade. I have had people make disparaging (joking) remarks to me when they pass me with their road bikes, like, "Hey, I don't even have a motor and I'm going faster than you!" On level pavement under my own power, I ride at about 10-12mph. Because of downhills, my average speed for a long ride is 15-17mph.

I know a few couples who ride, one with a regular bike and the wife with an E-Bike. It brings out the cruelty of the woman.

This is one of the best recreational/sports purchases of my life. At 72 years old, I was getting to the point where my bike ride routes were being determined almost entirely by where I had to go to avoid the worst of the hills. Now they are simply not a factor, and I get just as good a workout with the E-bike as my other bicycle.

A few parenthetical comments: A lot of people brag about how many miles they ride on their E-bike. I find this ridiculous. I know fat ladies who go out for 30 miles, and never break a sweat. So what? I can go out for a couple hundred miles on my MC, and come home fully refreshed.

Everybody asks, "What is the range of the battery?" THERE IS NO ANSWER to this question. It all depends on how you use it. On my bike, if I used the battery exclusively it would probably crap out at about 25 miles, but I really don't know. I've never used more than one "bar" out of five on the fuel gauge, but I provide 90% of the power when I ride, only using the battery on steep hills.
 
Question: Is the battery portable?
Meaning, can you quickly/easily take the battery off the bike and into your house to charge it?
Or must you park the bike near a power outlet and run an extension cord to the battery for charging?
 
Question: Is the battery portable?
Meaning, can you quickly/easily take the battery off the bike and into your house to charge it?
Or must you park the bike near a power outlet and run an extension cord to the battery for charging?
On that particular Himiway Cruiser e-bike pictured in the OP it has a removable battery pack. You use a key to lock/unlock it. And carry it anywhere you want to charge it.

For example, in the winter you may not want to leave the battery pack outdoors or in an unheated garage overnight. Those type of battery packs survive best at around room temperature. They don't play well with extreme heat or extreme cold.

Personally, I would not trust bringing some cheap-ass Chinese lithium-ion battery pack into my home and charging it overnight while I'm sleeping. If they fucked up your whole house could burn down and you and your family are dead. When those fuckers burn, they burn very vigorously.

Once one cell overheats and burns it heats up the cells next to it and those cells heat up any cells next to them etc.. etc... It's a chain reaction.
 
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The battery easily comes off with a factory-provided key. It is pretty heavy. I have not had any occasion to remove the battery since I bought it. I charge it on the bike in my garage at the end of every ride. It is fully charged within an hour or so.

Some people on the FB page buy spare batteries to increase their range. I can't imagine why. THey must be using the bike as a commuting motorcycle.
 
Why buy a e-bike? I don’t intend to ride for miles and miles. I ride for exercise and I’m done.
 
The reason why I bought an e-bike was because I wanted to be able to ride wherever the mood takes me. At my age, however, there are long, steep hills (Western PA) that I just cannot handle on my own with a regular road bike. Even if I succeed in getting to the top, I'm so exhausted that I'm shot for the rest of my ride.

Other people use them to commute, and they don't want to arrive at work sweaty and tired, and they don't want to have to wear biker clothes and have to change when they get to work. With an e-bike, a 15 mile commute can easily be accomplished in an hour, with very little effort on the rider's part, and clothing has to be reasonable, but doesn't have to be hard-core biker.

The workout you get on an e-bike is entirely up to you. It is heavier than a conventional bike and in my case the tires have more rolling resistance, so if you ride on the level with no motor assist, you will get a pretty good workout regardless. I've chosen to keep my regular bike, and I use it sometimes, but all things considered I usually prefer the freedom that comes with the motor. I can ride as long as I like and anyplace I like, with no concern about being able to take any hill, or getting back home if I become exhausted.

And they are not expensive. I have seen decent ones for about a grand, and for fifteen hundred you can get a nice one. Of course, crazy bastards can spend more than $5k on them...I have no clue why anyone would do that.
 
We took my buddy's e-bike up to Sturgis with us. We figured we'd use it for toolin' around the campground, etc.

It never left the bike carrier...
 
Tires too fat, bike too heavy. Way too much rolling resistance.
 
I guess I need an E motorcycle, as I don't want to pedal at all.
I want a 16-valve 1kCC+ E bike with a Vance & Hines Four into one & jet kit. Dunlop rubber and upgraded brakes. Quick snatch license plate holder, too.

:auiqs.jpg: I had fishing wire run through my tail light and brake light fuses.

In case of trouble, pull the fuses and twist the throttle.
 
Thank you for that. I just assumed that e-bikes were for lazy fat-fucks. I was actually looking at one this evening but failed to convince myself that I needed one.
 

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