AmpedBike Tube Batteries Getting Closer!

According to Danny over at the AmpedBikes forum, the new tube batteries are due to arrive at their warehouse within 50-60 days.

From Danny
"We are going to sell batteries w/out the wireless. We acquired USA Design and utility patents on the battery tube. The electronics we added cannot be released and combined until my international patent is finalized."

Too bad about the wireless, but these are definitely a step up from the majority of batteries out there and should look sweet on any ride!

Once I have final pricing and specs I'll be accepting pre-orders as soon as possible so stay tuned for more info and be sure to check out our online store for more products.

AmpedBikes Comes to Canada!

Exciting news for those interested. I have connected with Danny at AmpedBikes and it looks as though I'll be carrying their products starting this spring. I will be selling through my new website at www.electricbikecompany.ca/ which is currently in development. In the meantime feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the Amped line of products.

The cost of commuting (or is it the savings?)

Here is a link to a list of all my expenses related to my daily commute. Wherever possible I will include all the details in order to give the most accurate costs involved. All prices are quoted in $CAD and total savings are based on the Transit Costs for the year.

Click inside the table and use your mouse to scroll up and down. Click here if the spreadsheet below does not display correctly


A Few Notes

1. Bikes - I like nice bikes, but that doesn't mean you have to. If you need to keep your costs low try looking at something around the $500 price point. Generally its a nice balance between quality and value. For example take a look at the Louise Garneau Sub-0.
2. Clothing -  I will try to price out specific items that I feel are a 'must have', but in some cases I either can't remember what I paid or already had the item. For example I already own some base layers (long johns and wool tops), but did buy winter riding gloves. Where ever possible I'll make notes regarding this.
   
3. Annual Savings - Realistically I don't expect to be riding the same bike, with the same parts for the next 10 years. Things will inevitably brake down or wear out, but regardless it gives you a good idea of the cost savings you can expect in the long run. Not to mention the health benefits which are hard to quantify.
   

Good Things Do Come in 3's!

Not only did my new iPhone arrive today but so did my new Schwalbe Mararhon Winters and my Amped front wheel kit! I was hoping to ride in today for the first the this year but ran out of time last night installing the new tires.

Schwalbe Marathon Winters

As you can see the tires arrived not folded but twisted (for lack of a better word). Peter White Cycles is pretty clear about this fact on their site, and its mostly due to the bead on these tires - folding them would crimp the bead. The only downside of this is the added shipping costs involved in the larger package requirements. Also, letting these tires sit for a day or two once installed is probably a good idea since they tend to be twisted out of shape a bit - not sure I would like to hop on these right away!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to ride in today because it took me longer to install them then I thought - these are substantial tires to work with and not nearly as flexible as the slicks I removed. However, they definitely look like they'll do the job. Below is a picture of the tire installed on my front rim.

Tire Clearance
I have found a few posts on other forums regarding tire clearance issues with the Seek series of Giant bikes. For this reason I ordered a 700c 42 for the front, and a 700c 35 for the rear. After mounting the front tire I tried to dry fit it to the rear and there is definitely no room for a 42mm version of this tire in the back (no photo but trust me!).

Amped Motor
For those interested here is a picture of the Amped motor I ordered. As you can see everything is very well packaged for shipping and all the components appear to be in perfect condition. I was surprised at a couple of the components - for example the controller unit is quite a bit smaller then I had imagined, and more along the lines of a cigarette pack then an external hard drive.

Once I get my battery pack (whichever one I decide to buy) I'll get this puppy installed and up and running. Stay tuned...

Electric Hub Ordered

I officially placed my pre-order for an AmpedBikes geared front disc motor. When it arrives I'll be sure to take some photos of the package etc. in order give everyone an idea of the product. 

One thing to note - the geared motors only come on 26" rims. At this point I haven't decided if I'm going to re-lace it to a 700c rim for my Seek 1 or put a new fork on my old Raleigh (the original one doesn't offer enough clearance for the motor). I've asked about the possibility of a 700c wheel instead so we'll have to see.

Regardless the motor will eventually end up on my Seek, but for testing purposes (and budget) it may start its life on my Raleigh.

New Amped Battery

Looks like a new battery is in the works. 36V 10Ah and only 4.14 lbs! I'll be ordering one for sure!!

AmpedBikes.com

Amped Bikes Geared Front Hub

I've been searching the web for some time now in the hunt for a well priced, well made internal electric hub. The folks at AmpedBikes.com seem to have put a lot of effort into their product while keeping the price within reach. They recently announced a high efficiency disc compatible geared hub making it the perfect match for my new Seek 1. Its a 350W-450W brush-less Geared motor weighing 9lbs and capable of 20 m/h (32 km/h) and a stated range of approx. 15 miles (2-3x that if you pedal as well). 

On battery power alone I should be able to get to and from work on a single charge - of course this is the worst case scenario since I plan on pedaling my entire ride in order to stay fit. In fact I plan on using pedal power alone for the majority of my rides home.

What's nice about the geared motor is its ability to freewheel when not under power - their other 'direct drive' motors don't have this ability. This means I can ride my bike normally when the battery dies without fighting the motor or just leave the battery at home when I feel like a pleasure cruise. Another nice feature is the size. As you can see in the photo the disc is actually larger then the motor itself making it quite a bit more stealthy in appearance then its larger counterparts.

At this point it looks like this will be my motor of choice!