Hard News: There in half the time: trying out a Mercury e-bike
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The last photo Russell looks like you are doing a burn out. Surely not. The sooner Aucklanders get used to sharing roads, paths with more bikes the better I say. Good to see you giving it a go. :-)
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Russell Brown, in reply to
The last photo Russell looks like you are doing a burn out. Surely not.
Just a tight turn :-)
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My wife and I bought e-bikes for Commuting a couple of years ago.
One big change was getting to work and not needing to have a shower!
The other big change was being able to climb the hill at the end of the day without being completely knackered.Occasionally on windy days, I get a roady tucking in behind me and using me for slipstreaming into the headwind.
On 4 (out of 5) power assist, it sits comfortably on about 32kmh when I peddle with some effort. It doesn't really coast well at much slower speeds 15kmh is quite difficult to maintain because I have to peddle-coast-peddle-coast.
Mine will do 25km and still be on 80% charge, but then I hit the final hill (about 100 vertical meters) it drops to 40% by the time I get home. On a full charge it went from sea-level to the top of Brooklyn hill (the wind turbine) and back (about 300 vertical meters) and was down to somewhere between 20-40%. (the indicator is relatively imprecise).
Downsides include going faster than a lot (but not all) of the standard bikes, and having to pass a lot, which can be a bit exciting on some narrow Wellington roads; and that the taxis pass me and then go round the corner with their wheels in the cycle lane, and I think they underestimate my speed and several times have nearly driven me off the road. (I'm assuming it's not deliberately due to them being bastards, but when someone cuts me off, it's 9 times out of 10 a taxi).
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Russell Brown, in reply to
taxis pass me and then go round the corner with their wheels in the cycle lane, and I think they underestimate my speed and several times have nearly driven me off the road.
I think this is becoming more of an issue as there are more cycle lanes. I recently (on my usual bike) came up the painted cycle lane to the corner of Karangahape and Newton. The light was green, but a car looking to turn left into Newton had a red turning arrow as pedestrians crossed – but while he waited, he drove across the cycle lane into my path!
I attempted to get his attention but I don't think he noticed me at any point. Sigh.
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Apart from price my main concern is battery life. How long until the battery needs replacing? I looked at electric cars and couldn't justify a purchase on price and battery life issues and would need reassurance on this before paying a hefty wedge.
NZ is very well placed in regard of electrical generation to go big on this technology.
The money saved on oil imports alone have to be a serious upside and then pollution and global warming mitigation can be put on the plus side of the ledger, it's all win.
However as a formerly very keen cyclist I have an illogical view that battery assist is cheating somehow. What should I do with all my old lycra? -
Shaun Lott, in reply to
My personal fantasy in that kind of scenario is to attract attention with a geologist's hammer... It's probably a good thing I don't own one.
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My wife & I have changed from being daily cyclists in London in the 80's & 90's to regular (sometimes not so regular) cyclists in Auckland now.
My wife has been looking at getting an e-bike for a while, her commute ends with riding from the NW cycle lane at Kingsland to half way up Mt Eden & it has tended to put her off doing it too regularly.
We rented some e-bikes in Waiheke a few months ago and found it amazingly enjoyable, it completly took hills out of the equation. And a great way to visit the vineyards!
Have spent a while looking at what's on offer in Auckland, she ended up going with a tasty Grace from Flux in Charlotte St, Newton. The guy there is friendly & knowledgeable. The Grace's aren't part of the Mercury $500 off offer, but for a while he reduced the price by $500.
We found the knowledge of many shop assistants about the e-bikes they were selling was not great, was definitely better at specialist e-bike places.
Also got to ride a Mostache when we met a guy at the John Renyolds exhibition who had one and insisted we take it for a spin. That was very nice, but in another price catagory!
So the main differences so far are my wife's keenness on cycling to work, and me struggling to keep up on our recreational rides! -
Russell Brown, in reply to
Apart from price my main concern is battery life. How long until the battery needs replacing? I looked at electric cars and couldn’t justify a purchase on price and battery life issues and would need reassurance on this before paying a hefty wedge.
Consumer NZ says:
Batteries are lithium-ion. They recharge from flat in less than four hours, and are good for 500 to 1000 recharge cycles before starting to lose capacity – that’s likely to be at least three to six years of use. Once they lose capacity, they still work but with a reduced range. Replacement batteries are readily available, costing upwards of $600 depending on brand and capacity.
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$2549 is quite an alarming price. I've seen Chinese stuff a lot cheaper, but guess it's much shorter life.
You can also get petrol engine kits, but I believe they're not road legal. Endless fun for making petrol powered speedy things though...
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There is also the option to retro fit an existing bike if, like me, you have one hanging on the wall gathering dust. They tend to start around $1000 for a hub based one but also go to $1800 for fancy mid drive units with more powerful batteries.
Also plenty of options for cheaper buying across the internet (as noted previously in the comments) but the freight on some of these heftier purchases, particularly if you have to ship back, gives one pause to consider.
Anyway a potentially more cost effective option for the undecided.
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For several years, on and off, I have contemplated acquiring an e-bike. However, there are two features that I would prefer, without really having any solid basis for the preferences, that make the purchase somewhat more expensive.
The first is a mid-mounted (the crank) rather than hub-mounted motor. It seems that would be more linear with applied pedal effort, irrespective of selected gear ratio.
The other is a NuVinci (variable ratio) or similar hub, rather than fixed ratios or derailleur gearing. Partly also for ease of maintenance.
If anyone has experience, for or against each of these preferences I'd be interested in hearing them.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
$2549 is quite an alarming price. I’ve seen Chinese stuff a lot cheaper, but guess it’s much shorter life.
It's much cheaper than the European models some shops are stocking – like, half the price.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
The first is a mid-mounted (the crank) rather than hub-mounted motor. It seems that would be more linear with applied pedal effort, irrespective of selected gear ratio.
While I don't have a crank drive - mine is a very sedate rear wheel direct drive - I believe that they're a great choice when converting an existing bike. Some users who've attempted to fit retro kits with wheel hub motors, such as the Golden or Smart Pie brands that have been favourites in recent years, have experienced problems with wheel spokes becoming loose over time. This seems to be a problem of DIY conversions, rather than ready-built bikes.
Because the crank mount uses an existing bike's drive train it's not an issue. Also it's supposed to be THE way to conquer hills. There are videos out there of these things being ridden up stairs. The only downside I've read of is that chains wear out faster than they do with hub motors.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
$2549 is quite an alarming price. I’ve seen Chinese stuff a lot cheaper, but guess it’s much shorter life.
It's much cheaper than the European models some shops are stocking – like, half the price.
For non-Mercury customers there are similarly specced bikes to the entry-level Smartmotions for just under the $2000 mark. Perhaps the most significant recent development is that the retail stores are now starting to carry them, rather than sales being mainly from online importers.
To me the discounted Smartmotion looks pretty good. As each e-bike brand, and often each model, tends to have its own peculiar battery configuration, you hope they'll still be around when you need a replacement. A lot of models that were being sold in NZ 3 years ago have since vanished. Because Smartmotion has a significant user base they seem a good trade-off of brand security against bang for buck.
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James Butler, in reply to
$2549 is quite an alarming price.
Bicycles are like computers, cars, musical instruments - however much money you pay, you could always have paid more. $2k+ is perfectly reasonable even for a new entirely-leg-powered bike if you can afford it, and you're going to use it a lot, *and* you expect it to last for some years without trouble.
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Tim Welch, in reply to
$2549 is quite an alarming price. I’ve seen Chinese stuff a lot cheaper, but guess it’s much shorter life.
It's much cheaper than the European models some shops are stocking – like, half the price.
As a retailer of these I'm confident that you get what you pay for (as with most things in life)
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James Butler, in reply to
As each e-bike brand, and often each model, tends to have its own peculiar battery configuration, you hope they'll still be around when you need a replacement.
OTOH Li-ion tech gets better every year, and it shouldn't be difficult with the right know-how to match the electrical characteristics of an old battery pack with a new replacement. I can see this being a growth industry for all kinds of electric transport.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
A lot of models that were being sold in NZ 3 years ago have since vanished. Because Smartmotion has a significant user base they seem a good trade-off of brand security against bang for buck.
Somewhere in their sales material there's an assurance about the batteries being standard and easily replaceable when required.
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It's less than a 20th the price of this puppy too - but it doesn't do 218mph.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
OTOH Li-ion tech gets better every year, and it shouldn't be difficult with the right know-how to match the electrical characteristics of an old battery pack with a new replacement. I can see this being a growth industry for all kinds of electric transport.
Most lithium-ion powerpacks, from cordless drills to Tesla cars, use the now venerable 18650 Li-ion battery. I think we'll have reached an interesting stage when it's easily possible to find someone to "repack" your bike battery, as currently happens with power tools. Right now there doesn't seem to be enough of a market to attract the established refurbishers to doing ebike batteries.
Claims that lithium battery e-bike tech can only get cheaper haven't been borne out by recent history. One of the most successful NZ budget ebikes retailed for $1499 in early 2015. Close to 50% of that price was for the battery. When the NZ dollar dropped later that year the price rose to $1799. Currently it's $1995, with increased Chinese compliance costs following the Tianjin port explosions cited as a reason for the most recent price bump.
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But for science reasons, I did a shopping trip via Motions Road, which is what we cyclists call “seriously fucking steep”
Heh. Wonder how it would cope with a Wellington hill...
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Gareth Davidson, in reply to
I believe the correct phrase is: "Just a tight turn, Officer".
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Gareth Davidson, in reply to
Heh. Wonder how it would cope with a Wellington hill…
Like everything in Wellington, it depends which direction you're riding - if in to the southerly, not a chance; from the south, well then...
Reminds me of the first rule of cycling: if you've got a tailwind, turn around; you're obviously going in the wrong direction.
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Great story, Russell. I have had a go on a Mercury bike and got up to 29km around Hamilton Lake. I just wish they were less expensive--for that kind of money, you would want the rider to be weather-proofed.
In the meantime, until I can afford an upgrade, I will stick to my little Makita electric bike which I won in a Placemakers charity auction last year. The wheels are too small to get up much speed and the batteries power a journey of only 30-40km, but it is fun to toodle around at the beach or around town. It also folds in half and can be bunged in the boot.
However, you do have to sometimes cope with the looks of disdain and slurs from passing teenagers!
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