E-bike

[motoyak]

I mnt biked a lot in my late 20s and 30s but hae been off the trails until just recently. I picked up an old school Specilized mnt bike about 8 months ago and have rediscovered the joy of peddeling. Im seeing this caze to Ebikes and have become intrigured. Looks just like what this older man could use to extend my rides. Currently, I can go about 10 miles of fairly ez stuff but then Im whooped (That's 100% pedal power)
Who here has an Ebike? recommendations? brands? things to look for when buying? Any help would be great!

[Ron Mc]

My buddy Donny in the Rockies began with a fat-tire bike and added Lunacycle motor and batteries.
The added handlebar is Jones H-bar.



With a trailer, they go on extended camping trips - this is his partner loaded up.
Donny hauls home elk carcasses on his.



No E, but here's my upright built on a CX racing frame. Extremely comfortable, and I've been out 70 mi on this.



Loaded for bikefish bear, with rods in the half-frame bag, fishing bag and wading boots in the front bag.



Building bikes is more fun than rigging kayaks or building fishing reels. My '75 Raleigh from college on its 4th rebuild (10,000 mi on the rebuild).

[motoyak]

Very nice bikes Ron, especially the Raleigh!
I did some road biking but dodging cars is not my forte. Been across 2 hoods urban riding in Austin in my day. Where Im at now is MUCH more condusive to biking with a city hike n bike trail and park that has miles of fairly EZ to hard Mnt bike stuff.
I ended up with a Velowave E-bike after hours of research, just put it together and waiting on a battery charge.
My intial ride was straight human power and its #57 weight is manageable with its 7 speeds so thats good to know. Swapped seats out with my Specialized and ordered different stem (adjustable) and grips (stock was hard meat grinders)
Ill post back with pics later.
BTW-got the same polar h2o bottle as you, nice huh?

[Ron Mc]

Thanks, friend. Um, I have more
This one is a great greenway rider. Took this photo at a stop to eat an orange.
'85 Mercian

Two more bikes, '57 Raleigh Lenton, and '98 Moser, the last Italian lugged steel, which I don't ride on the greenways, because it paces too easy at 18 mph.
I also ride in a crack-of-dawn sprint on Sunday mornings from Alamo Heights to the Alamodome - we take over downtown streets.
We often get a police escort through Alamo Heights across Hildebrand.

I've been in better shape, but I'm riding 60+ mi/wk currently. 4 or 5 years ago, I was doubling that.
San Antonio is way ahead of Austin in greenways. Currently, you can combine Leon Creek and Upper Salado to ride continuously 50 mi one way from Ingram Mall, across the summit at Eisenhower Park, to Ft. Sam Houston.
My standard rides begin at Eisenhower and finish with the climb. If I take Leon Creek, I ride 32 mi and climb 700'. If I take Salado, 20 mi and 400' - depends on schedule and timing.
This will eventually all be connected, from the summit through downtown, the Missions, and all the way to Medina Natural Area.


My kayak buddy Lou "retired" and took a trail steward job, riding 100 mi/wk on the greenways for city parks.
In cooler weather, I'll ride down from the summit, join him at the start of his shift, and we'll ride back up together.


Polar bottle - I always have 3 in the freezer 1/3 filled with Smart Water - top it off and head out.

[motoyak]

Nice barn of vintage iron you got there!
Just took my intial spin on the Ebike, its crazy fast hitting 28 MPH VERY quickly. With a 52T chainring x 7 cassette, its more geared to hauling butt.
I have a 12% grade paved hill nearby so I ran a quick test. Made it with ease on throttle only dropping down to 10 mph near the 4 block long peak. Using pedal assist on #2 of 5 I could maintain 15 mph without even trying hard!
Im going to get into programing to try and get a more manageable slow speed operation but I suspect I'll have to swap the chainring to a 44T and sacifice some top end (which I don't need or want anyway)
This is going to be just the ticket to extend my riding time and days

[Ron Mc]

I'm going to nap this afternoon.
Just got off 52 mi in 4 hours + 600' climb - on the '75 International .
Riding with a friend who's training for MS 150.

[txanalogkd]

I've been seeing more E-bikes on the White Oak Trail here in Houston. I prefer off road riding, but this year I road the Tour of Houston and really enjoyed it. I need to consider a hybrid or put slicks on my mountain bike. The E-bike looks ok for an occasional ride, but I need to keep my heart and blood flowing.

I love the vintage bikes. A few years ago, I upgraded an on old Diamondback mountain bike. It's a beast to ride but a fun ride.

[Ron Mc]

I've been seeing more E-bikes on the White Oak Trail here in Houston. I prefer off road riding, but this year I road the Tour of Houston and really enjoyed it. I need to consider a hybrid or put slicks on my mountain bike. The E-bike looks ok for an occasional ride, but I need to keep my heart and blood flowing.

I love the vintage bikes. A few years ago, I upgraded an on old Diamondback mountain bike. It's a beast to ride but a fun ride.

The Jones H-bar in Donny's first photo is the most versatile and comfortable Alt-MB bar made.
But it requires an Ahead or other face-plate stem to install.
The Ahearne Map bar on my Viner copies the same angles, as does On-One Mary, and Nitto Flat bar made for Jitensha Studio.
Soma offers their version, and also ofer an aero add on.
I made my own using a Nitto double lamp bracket and mountain bar ends - makes a huge difference in a headwind, and gives you alt hand positions on a long ride.

[motoyak]

Mission success! Rode a quick 15.7 miles in an hour today on streets and trails. The Ebike did exactly what I wanted it for....to extend my range.
Yes, I can and did elevate my cardio by choosing PAS 1-3 and a cadence of 55-65. Sure is nice to come off a dead stop and hit the button to get back up to speed. On trails, that quick burst really helps over baby head rocks and short, steep uphills

[TarponTime]

I bought 2 Bee Cool Explorers. Check em out. Awesome on these Ozark hills. Have been 44 mph down hill

[motoyak]

I bought 2 Bee Cool Explorers. Check em out. Awesome on these Ozark hills. Have been 44 mph down hill

Those are sweet bikes. You are bold traveling downhill at that speed. My friend has a home in Mt Ida and he really enjoys mnt biking his ebikes

[Ron Mc]

Lou and I have a bike-fish plan for our Arroyo trip next month.
The main reason to go there is the superb nite-lite dock fishing from dusk until first light.
But that fishing isn't continual, because the shcoolies have 4 miles of dock lights to choose between.
So you take a lot of cat naps and get up every few hours to test the water.

While the days will include some catch up naps as well, we're hauling bikes this trip.
I've always wanted to pedal Laguna Atascosa NWR - roads there have been closed to motors since 2013, to protect the population of 35 ocelots.
Here's whee we beached our kayaks on Horse Island 6 year ago - trails and roads from Tomae County Park let you pedal to the same spot.



You can also get to North Point, along the short of Rattlesnake Bay to Rincon Point, and along the Cayo shore.



We're taking opportunity rods to sample the guts along Horse Is. and the Cayo, and maybe spot tailing redfish in skinny Rattlesnake Bay.
I found a 5-pc that exactly fits my bike half-frame bag, and the right rating for fishing inshore.





opportunity lure box that covers deep guts, and topwater to bottom-bouncing.



We'll keep you posted when we report next month.

[TexasJim]

Looks like all you and Lou need are inflatable yaks to carry. That'll be fun. Hope the trails don't have too many stickers. Flat tires suck.

If you haven't seen the video by FeedEm'Flies, from Arroyo City, it's worth a watch. Shows what a rare jewel the LLM is.

Home In the Salt
https://youtu.be/E_EaUd645Lk Masybe thaty'll get you to it. If not, it's on TFF, under Saltwater topics.

TexasJim













Home In the Salt
https://youtu.be/E_EaUd645Lk

[Ron Mc]

...Hope the trails don't have too many stickers. Flat tires suck.

If you haven't seen the video by FeedEm'Flies, from Arroyo City, it's worth a watch. Shows what a rare jewel the LLM is.

Home In the Salt
https://youtu.be/E_EaUd645Lk Masybe thaty'll get you to it. If not, it's on TFF, under Saltwater topics.

TexasJim
https://youtu.be/E_EaUd645Lk

I'll check it out, friend.

Native yucca chert is almost guaranteed. My urethane tubes are supposed to deform around stickers.

I'm bagged out on this bike. The front bag carries a 10-l roll-top cooler bag, 17" open, that will carry beer out, and double as a fish bag coming back.
The 15-l front bag expands upward to the size of a grocery bag.
Upgraded from my old 6-l to a 10-l rear bag, carries a fold-up tire, 3 tubes, full tool compliment, and still room for lunch - it also has external straps for building on top.

Of course the half-frame bag carries the 5-pc rod, reel, and opportunity lure box.
But I can also transport the rod rigged to the next spot, by putting the rod butt in the half frame bag, tip toward the rear, with the rod mid under a top saddle-bag strap. Have to lean the bike over and step over the top tube so I don't kick the rod.

You can also see the reason for the double kickstand - the bike is stable with a load.
It even functions as a jack for changing a tire.





btw, the house we rent is owned by Spencer Bell, who pretty much founded Arroyo City, and used to have a fly fishing lodge on Green Island.
He staged lodge guests at the big house we rent.
From the east side of Green Island, you can wade-fish 4 mi to Padre.
The Arroyo boat traffic finally outgrew his interest, and he retired to Colorado.

[TarponTime]

Know that area well. Two words, fat tires.