2/26/2026 at 1:41:32 PM
by birdculture
3/1/2026 at 11:49:06 PM
Sick. Would be interested in any followup.The off-the-shelf pack I was looking at if I had to make an ebike for commuting (if my employer ends WFH) was about 900 Wh (a little less than half the homemade pack in the article): https://www.ebikessentials.com/collections/batteries/product...
by loeg
3/1/2026 at 5:04:34 PM
Sort of a hijack, but it rides on the awesomeness that e-bikes can bring about. They truly are incredible if you have never gotten to ride one.E-bikes with throttles should not be refereed to as e-bikes
E-peds, e-motos, electric motorycle, whatever. Just don't call them ebikes.
The problem is people (especially kids) getting what are essentially electric motorcycles, thinking they are ebikes, and then causing all sorts of chaos on roads and bike paths. This inevitably leads to the public hating "e-bikes" and the government passing totally confused laws about "e-bikes". This also leads to kids getting killed because mom and dad bought them an "e-bike" and let them loose on the roads with it.
Pedal assist ebikes are incredible, and really just turn weak cyclists into strong cyclists, while still providing exercise. It's a revolution for society, but we have to be careful to not totally fumble it with electric motorcycle death machines.
by WarmWash
3/1/2026 at 8:37:04 PM
As an oldster who used to do weekly century rides and lost that ability due to nerve damage in my foot (thanks to decades of wearing pointy Italian riding shoes), I’d love it if we could focus on simply enforcing laws that exist rather than saddling arbitrary blanket regulations on lawful citizens.I built an ebike and hell yes I put a throttle on it because it enables me to ride more technical trails. This bike has dramatically increased my quality of life. Please leave me alone and if someone uses a throttle bike in an illegal manner give them a ticket.
by wintermutestwin
3/1/2026 at 5:20:41 PM
I agree. I thought the electric motorcycle problem was overstated by people complaining online at first. Then they became popular around my house and I agree it’s a huge problem.I’m fortunate enough to live around a lot of walking and mixed use trails for bikes and pedestrians. Recently they’re unsafe to use in the evenings because you have to be ready to jump out of the way of groups of kids (plus a few adults who should know better) going 45mph on electric bikes with throttles. They don’t even pretend to be e-bikes any more.
The big problem is that there is zero enforcement. If there was at least a chance that someone breaking these laws could lose their bike or have to pay thousands of dollars in fines I think we’d see a lot less of it. Right now everyone knows that they’re not going to get caught, so it’s a free for all.
by Aurornis
3/1/2026 at 5:30:03 PM
I believe this to be growing pains. Legislation hasn't yet fully adapted, some of the legislation I've seen makes the mistake of conflaing these, and enforcement is nonexistent in most places. I suspect that as time passes, we'll find ways of allowing ebikes to flourish. Around me the biggest thing I've seen is parents on cargo bikes taking their kids, and that's a demographic that elected officials tend to listen to.by estebank
3/1/2026 at 5:33:20 PM
We have the laws. What they’re doing is illegal. I think they need a higher tier of penalties for the repeat offenders, but that would require anyone getting caught first.It’s an enforcement problem.
The riders know they’re riding where police cars can’t get them. They also know that the bike cops aren’t allowed to ride ultra powerful electric motorcycles. They also know they can just drive off across some grass into a park if anyone tries to stop them.
It’s a hard problem.
> I suspect that as time passes, we'll find ways of allowing ebikes to flourish.
Electric bikes are flourishing here. Electric motorcycles on bike paths are the problem.
I think the electric term is confusing the issue. If it helps, imagine that these were just really quiet but powerful gas powered dirt bikes riding on the pedestrian path. That should give you an idea of what’s going on.
by Aurornis
3/1/2026 at 6:08:20 PM
> We have the laws. What they’re doing is illegal. … It’s an enforcement problem.Because some people think laws only ever exist to restrain as a show of power over others and something is only illegal if you get caught.
And some people just want to be contrarian and acting against the law is the ultimate punching-up.
Some laws are just a good idea, and provide benefit, or even just expectation/predictability, to everyone.
by thwarted
3/1/2026 at 5:41:59 PM
I know what you're talking about, but a lot of people are conflating them. In some cases it is legislators like a recent attempt to require ebikes have to register and have a drivers' license for them. In others it's parents not realizing that they got their kids an electric dirt bike instead of an ebike. Of course, you do have the antisocial element of people not caring and actually seeking out these, but we need to separate the different problems to address them, as you are doing.by estebank
3/1/2026 at 5:45:57 PM
> In some cases it is legislators like a recent attempt to require ebikes have to register and have a drivers' license for them.Has any legislation been passed or was this only a proposal?
Crazy legislation gets proposed all the time with no possibility of passing. Some times no intent of passing, either.
by Aurornis
3/1/2026 at 6:09:15 PM
I made a comment below about the law that just passed in New Jersey. The short of it is "Anything with two wheels and a motor is now legally a motorcycle, and must follow all the laws and regulations of motorcycles.by WarmWash
3/1/2026 at 10:21:45 PM
Motorcycle cops can ride faster than any e-bike, and go anywhere a bicycle can.by carlosjobim
3/1/2026 at 11:14:07 PM
As someone who has spent a lot of time riding both bicycles and motorized things, this is not true at all.I could hop my bicycle over curbs that would bring a police motorcycle to a halt, or even toss a bike over a fence and then pick it up on the other side if I wanted. Or I could dip into the trees near the bike path where a police motorcycle has no chance of maneuvering.
by Aurornis
3/1/2026 at 10:43:46 PM
A car too, but you might kill the suspect [1]. Chasing kids on e-bikes down with motorcycles is asking for deathly accidents to happen.[1] https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2025/06/03/12-year-old-boy-dies...
by CorrectHorseBat
3/1/2026 at 11:04:17 PM
why is the throttle the issue and not just the 45MPH? would it be better with pedals and people peddling along in some only-would-ever-make-sense-on-an-ebike gear, but still going 45?the problem is recklessnesss and speed, restrict and enforce those things, don't just let the bike makers shift the product 10% and re-create exactly the same issue, but "legally"
by majormajor
3/1/2026 at 11:11:50 PM
> why is the throttle the issue and not just the 45MPH?The bikes with throttles are not legally e-bikes, so the products on the market ignore all of the other e-bike restrictions too. They have much more power and higher top speeds.
Even if they were fully limited, pedaling ensure more rider engagement and changes how people ride them. When you have to put some effort, however small, into moving the bike around you ride differently than if it's an effortless throttle input.
by Aurornis
3/1/2026 at 8:37:55 PM
The problem is the rider not the bike.by wintermutestwin
3/1/2026 at 9:18:54 PM
Easy for you to say. I’ve almost hit a couple stupid kids on an e-bikes with throttles riding on suburban roads at night with no lights.And I’m seeing more and more fuckwits ride fast on side walks and accelerate to jump of the sidewalk and into traffic. Almost hitting unsuspecting people on the sidewalk.
Community needs to police itself. Otherwise it’s just going to be waiting for a critical mass of deaths.
by 2muchcoffeeman
3/1/2026 at 11:14:45 PM
A throttle is excellent on an e-bike especially for city riding. It is far easier to move at slow speeds by applying a small amount of throttle vs. trying to torque the pedals just the right amount, if behind someone or near pedestrians.Many e-bikes don't have torque sensors and instead use a cheap rotation sensor so the motor engages almost randomly at certain points in pedal rotation when moving at slow speed.
by aeternum
3/1/2026 at 5:21:33 PM
> Pedal assist ebikes are incredible, and really just turn weak cyclists into strong cyclistsThe more useful case ime is turning cyclists with reduced mobility into regular cyclists.
In particular quite a few elderly people seem to have picked it up in my city, they aren't quite strong riders but definitely seem able of adapting to normal traffic. It also seems like a significantly safer option for individual transport than cars (especially in regards to the other traffic participants).
by c0balt
3/1/2026 at 10:59:14 PM
> The more useful case ime is turning cyclists with reduced mobility into regular cyclists.That's exactly my use case. I've got a bad leg and this thing made all the difference for longer rides.
by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 6:12:16 PM
The more useful case ime is turning cyclists with reduced mobility into regular cyclists.You mean, turn weak cyclists into strong cyclists, like GP said? :-)
by mikestew
3/1/2026 at 10:32:23 PM
No. Reduced mobility doesn't mean "weak." It means reduced mobility. It's right there in the words. People who cannot pedal much at all, even the motion, no matter how light it is. Joint issues / surgery, deformities, etc.Don't be smarmy.
by KennyBlanken
3/1/2026 at 6:24:07 PM
Elderly on a basically unlicensed motorcycle is a good recipe for injury. Pretty sure the stats look bad for this group especiallyby brianwawok
3/1/2026 at 5:24:49 PM
You just repeated W²s point.by tokai
3/1/2026 at 8:48:25 PM
I think there are many more factors to it than that. I own a Radwagon, a cargo e-bike and I take my kids to school on it. It’s both pedal assist and has a throttle and maxes out at 20mph. I find the throttle very useful because the bike is pretty damn heavy with two kids on it and moving from a standing stop is much easier when I can give it a quick throttle burst then start pedalling.All that said, I do agree the term is overloaded. The bike lines in NYC often have people riding electric mopeds in them and that feels dangerous. Their max speed is clearly way above 20mph and they’re bulky. They belong on the road with other mopeds. So IMO the definition of ebike should factor in max speed more than it should throttle vs not.
(And also, seconding the awesomeness of ebikes. My kids love riding on it and it’s allowed us to take so many trips that would have been difficult otherwise. It’s also allowed us to avoid buying a car, for now at least)
by afavour
3/1/2026 at 9:16:53 PM
The problem with max speed is that while big legit ebike manufacturers respect it (e.g. you can't buy a Bosch ebike in the UK that will go above 15.5mph), you can easily get Chinese models that don't care, or you can mod other bikes that do fairly easily.I don't know what the solution is tbh.
by IshKebab
3/1/2026 at 10:21:27 PM
Why not just define the law in terms of maximum speed and be fine with it? Why nitpick over control modes?I can guarantee that if I asked 10 random cops what the restrictions are of a Class 2 e-bike not more than 1 could answer, but if I asked them to stop people who were going over 30mph on the bike trail they could figure it out.
by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 10:29:02 PM
You can't "easily" modify an electric brushless motor to go faster than its Kv limit, to handle more current than its magnetic saturation limit, or to exceed the limits of back-EMF.99% of the people whinging about ebikes have no idea what they're talking about.
There are people claiming in this very thread that kids are modding their "e-bikes" to go "45mph."
The power levels required to push a hybrid bicycle to 45mph is north of 3000W and thus well beyond the capabilities of the motors and battery packs in nearly all electric bicycles. Even the e-motos struggle to hit those speeds; you need a pretty high end, expensive one to do so.
by KennyBlanken
3/1/2026 at 9:34:15 PM
[flagged]by twocommits
3/1/2026 at 9:36:51 PM
…? Did I find the low effort troll?(FWIW buying the bike had nothing to do with environmental concerns, I got it for financial and practicality reasons)
by afavour
3/1/2026 at 8:31:47 PM
I really like a low speed throttle, like 3-5mph max is fine. 20mph is too fast and results in ebikes basically designed a motorcycles that cannot be pedaled. The throttle is so nice to have to get started quickly like turning left at a light, if you didn't have time to downshift before stopping, on a hill, or if the bike is heavily loaded with stuff. Its also nice to be able to use to slowly move between cars with your feet off the pedals to keep balance if needed.by s0rce
3/1/2026 at 5:40:42 PM
I don't understand that point. Why do e-bikes become better or more safe when you have to rotate your legs? Its really frustrating and silly that I have to go through the motions (literally) of riding a bicycle if I want to get the priviledge of using a bike lane or going without a license plate. (At least that's the case here in Germany AFAIK).They could go ahead and make "fast electric bikes" and "slow electric bikes" or something as categories and that would make sense - but hinging the decision on whether your legs or your wrist is turning is illogical. I think it is actually morally charged - like you have to put in the work if you want the privilege.
by captainmuon
3/1/2026 at 6:14:38 PM
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.We can focus on clamping down of "faux pedal ebikes" when the time comes, but for now it looks like we'll be throwing out everything to just to stop teenagers on surrons.
by WarmWash
3/1/2026 at 6:25:01 PM
How much riding does it take to hold 25mph? 12 months of solid riding? (This is being generous, many people will never hold this speed)How much riding does it take to twist your arm 30 degrees?
You don’t see a difference?
by brianwawok
3/1/2026 at 9:49:35 PM
Why would people have a hard time doing 25mph on a pedal assist bike that isn't limited to less than that?by zardo
3/1/2026 at 11:14:57 PM
They're talking about riding a regular bike at 25mph. Most people can't sustain that.by oblio
3/1/2026 at 8:37:57 PM
Why does it matter how much riding it takes?The point in distinguishing the different classes is about where the bike should fit into the ecosystem. Should it ride on the shoulder, interacting with pedestrians and slower bikes, or should it ride on the road, interacting with cars and motorcycles.
It doesn’t matter how much riding it takes, it matters how fast and controlled it is moving compared to the other traffic in that class.
by cortesoft
3/1/2026 at 10:34:54 PM
The answer is cyclist gatekeeping? Or did I misunderstand your point?by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 5:46:09 PM
Its easy, the accelerations are completely different and very hard to gauge. Also you have the elderly going speeds that does not mach their reactions, while also being unaware of how fast they are going. If you try biking with them it become very obvious how many dangerous situations they cause compared to true e-bike and normal bikes.by tokai
3/1/2026 at 9:58:44 PM
Pedal assist feels like amplifying your natural power. The boost it gives is perfectly matched with your own movements so it feels more like you are just super fit. And there is far less chance you can just slip and apply too much power unlike throttle controlled.by Gigachad
3/1/2026 at 8:49:21 PM
It's because absolutely everyone understands the proportional nature of "press pedals to go" while nobody without special training understands "turn wrist to go", especially not the crucial details of "untwist wrist to stop" and "by the way don't yank open the throttle while attempting a sharp turn".by jeffbee
3/1/2026 at 5:24:33 PM
To me, that sounds like a task for your country’s lawmakers, rather than “Just don't call them ebikes”Motorbikes need training, a license, insurance, registration, a minimum age, etc - and you’re competing with small petrol motorcycles which are cheap new, and plentiful on the used market.
E-bike makers aren’t going to volunteer for that - it’d destroy their business.
by michaelt
3/1/2026 at 6:04:35 PM
yeah this seems to be the catch 22 to me. the laws are out there to limit the e-bikes to speeds and power. i want an irresponsibly powered one because i have an endorsement and want a non-sketch electric motorcycle that isn't mad expensive compared to petrol bikes in north america.but because that would indeed kill their market because most people don't have motorcycle licenses, no one gets them approved, or countries won't allow them.
by gimmeThaBeet
3/1/2026 at 5:50:26 PM
New Jersey just passed some of the most onerous and short sighted ebike laws in the world last month.Basically anything that has two wheels and a non-human energy source drive is now a motorcycle, requiring a license, registration (including a license plate), insurance, and a DOT approved motorcycle helmet, as well as This law came on the back of two teens being killed on ebikes last year.
This is the exact kind of idiotic knee-jerk legislation that will come from the public and governments general ignorance on the state of electric tandem wheel transportation.
So now in New Jersey, Betsy with her class 1 250W pedal assist ebike must get her license and don her motorcycle helmet while only riding on roads with her insured, registered, and license plated 15 mph bicycle.
Lawmakers aren't going to do their homework, they will just kneejerk appease the general public.
by WarmWash
3/1/2026 at 9:12:05 PM
This is what happens when ebike companies take every opportunity to skirt the laws like putting easily removable limiters on motorcycles with pedals and a chain with a gear ratio that makes pedalling practically impossible.I don't know if there was an existing attempt at regulation in NJ specifically but that's happening all around the country.
The problem is that, while ebikes have a ton of really good use cases, the big market for them is basically kids who want to drive a motorcycle before they're allowed. Ebike companies are going to try to sell to that market any way they can.
by parineum
3/1/2026 at 11:16:58 PM
Why is it even legal to import illegal bikes into a country? Shut this thing at the source, make Amazon & co liable for ebikes that don't respect national legislation. The entire problem disappears in 6 months.by oblio
3/1/2026 at 5:48:29 PM
>E-bike makers aren't going to volunteer for that it'd destroy their business.Arguably, complete bans will be even worse for business.
by occz
3/1/2026 at 5:47:18 PM
As an alternative mode of transportation, that could/should replace car usage for many people, I think we need to separate the two completely as well. The throttle version needs to be regulated more like a motorcycle or moped. This would take it out of the hands of most kids and cause license suspension worries for young adults and other reckless users. I agree they are essentially death machines and governments generally have no sane approach to regulating them.That said, I think the e-moto versions have more potential towards alleviating traffic or being an alternative mode of transportation as most people don’t want to peddle at all. E-bikes are great, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to assume that would ever be on the average Joe’s list of feasible alternatives.
by conductr
3/1/2026 at 6:18:01 PM
There is nothing standing in the way of electric motorcycles.People get e-motos because it is effectively a motorcycle, except it doesn't have any road legality requirements. People treat them like bicycles that can just magically go 50mph.
by WarmWash
3/1/2026 at 5:53:18 PM
> most people don’t want to peddle at all.Most people don't want a two-wheeler, period. Otherwise everyone would be riding motorcycles. People want a vehicle that will keep them dry, comfortable, and safe. Two-wheelers of all types fail at all of those things.
by SoftTalker
3/1/2026 at 11:18:30 PM
Plenty of people will ride two wheelers if the infrastructure is good. Most places in the world just have crap infrastructure for using bicycles safely and calmly.by oblio
3/1/2026 at 11:05:30 PM
> could/should replace car usage for many peopleMotorcycles already did that. E-bikes or E-motos do not bring any advantages compared to normal motorbikes, so you shouldn't expect many people to switch.
by carlosjobim
3/1/2026 at 9:58:08 PM
I propose a new and improved e-bike classification scheme:Class A: Bikes that can not go over 10mph via a throttle. And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative.
Class B-Class infinity: These aren’t considered bikes. Class A is the only class of e-bike.
by bjustin
3/1/2026 at 5:50:41 PM
I wouldn't want an e-bike precisely because I can't trust my government not to introduce some new legislation with onerous rules or extra costs. Maybe if they were cheap, but since they cost an arm and a leg there's no reason to get them.by Aerroon
3/1/2026 at 10:39:52 PM
You can get a perfectly workable brand new E-Bike for about $1,000 in the US. While that isn’t cheap as chips it’s also not a major investment for middle class individuals.by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 9:51:09 PM
There's not much difference between a throttle and a sufficiently powerful pedal-assist. Switch to your top gear, and the torque-sensor will say "gee that's a steep hill, let me give you a boost" the moment you start pedalling.Banning throttles just makes manufacturers install token pedals on the motorbikes.
by Qwertious
3/1/2026 at 9:56:18 PM
In theory maybe, but in reality pedal assist bikes are far more likely to be compliant with speed and power restrictions and designed to feel like a bike. While throttle bikes are almost always sold as dirt bikes for use on private property.by Gigachad
3/1/2026 at 10:38:20 PM
When I think of throttle assist in an e-bike my thought is not about dirt bikes but instead the incredibly common low end cadence sensing e-bikes that are hard to get started from a stop.by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 6:31:33 PM
“E-bikes with throttles should not be refereed to as e-bikes”This is simply wrong and does a disservice to the growing eBike interest. The US-federally defined classes are proper and while IMO overly limiting (max speed should be 60kph and still classified as an eBike as it’s simply safer in traffic), they adequately classify what is an eBike and what is not, and having a throttle does not make something not an eBike, but max speed and power.
People have this urge to classify their limited version of what something is by how they use it with some desire to belittle others, and want to limit everyone else who have completely different requirements and capabilities and desires. eBikes in most US states can be ridden on sidewalks, in bike lanes, in traffic, on trails, and across a grassy meadow. There is no justifiable reason to require someone to have different eBikes to be able to do all those things with comfort and safety and capability and utility when a well engineered eBike can do all of them. That they might be safer with circumstantially restricted speeds, such as overtaking pedestrians, etc. again does mean multiple eBikes should be mandated to be able to do each of them.
In the US, hopefully the next administration will buy a vowel and realize they need to set federal standards and eliminate this hodgepodge state and county and city and park and street and neighborhood capricious variety of who can ride what when and where, and with what gear and at what times and for what reasons. If decisions are made that no one under 13 can ride an eBike, and then only to school until you’re 16, and you must wear a helmet until at least 19, then at least there will be consistent rules for people to argue for and against.
by thrill
3/1/2026 at 8:31:28 PM
60kmph / 37mph is very fast for somebody who might just be wearing a bicycle helmet (hopefully). If traffic is going that fast, I think it may just not be the appropriate place for a bicycle to be. I've gone that fast on an e-bike before, and it doesn't feel comfortable nor safe.by bootlooped
3/1/2026 at 10:49:07 PM
I agree with having a good helmet, however to be honest my first motorbike ride and car drive at 60kmh were terrifying. Also many people never bicycle even in a 30kmh limites zone because they don’t feel safe.But I don’t want to downplay speed, as you noted it’s probably the key: most motorbike death are because speed or loose of control without involving any other vehicle. Also small cylinders (< 50cc) are almost absent in the death toll. If suicidal motorbikes with good helmet are allowed, so should be the bicyclists (with good helmet).
by aziaziazi
3/1/2026 at 7:58:44 PM
Why do you think it is bad for communities to set their own standards?by pluralmonad
3/1/2026 at 10:10:33 PM
The throttle isn't a problem, the top speed is. A throttle and pedal assist is nice because you can get started faster and more safely from a stop.Kids riding out of spec motorcycles has always been illegal and always will be. The only problem is that they are a lot cheaper than they used to be.
by idontwantthis
3/1/2026 at 10:49:32 PM
I have a disability and can't pedal for many minutes or hours straight, but my electric scooter with a throttle is absolutely amazing for helping me get around areas that would otherwise require tons of walking (or pedaling). I guess I'm a demon that needs to be regulated out of existence?by LoganDark
3/1/2026 at 5:56:38 PM
I think e-motos should be as lightly regulated as possible. The regulations on bike paths should be speed, not pedal vs. non-pedal. And since "bikes" aren't regulated but "mopeds" are, you see people avoiding government BS by shipping e-bikes that have "off-road" mode that enables no-pedal throttles.by unethical_ban
3/1/2026 at 11:18:28 PM
So, this got posted again I see. A few years later: the pack is still going strong and has not - so far - shown any signs of wear. I've put close to 15000 Km on it now and there is no degradation worth mentioning, though I suspect that if I do a precise capacity measurement that it would definitely show some reduced capacity.The really neat thing is that at the end of a long ride the cell groups still track to within 2 mV of each other, which is a strong sign that all cell groups are discharging equally fast and that there are no cells or welds that are causing problems. Of course with 17P the cells are only mildly exercised compared to what they would be going through in a regular pack.
by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 10:37:43 PM
That’s a fantastic build, I only wish e-bike manufacturers would offer similarly spec’s bikes, a days ride is very rarely 30 km, so 200 min or more like 200 km range would be a bike worth investing in. I feel similarly about electric cars too, charging mud route or at destinations is rarely possible so 300 miles or greater are the only vehicle ranges I see as remotely practical. ( yes, I cycle in km and drive in miles , weird maybe) Oh yes an edit - speed, who rides so slowly, those ebike speed restrictions are crazy low.by fattybob
3/1/2026 at 5:34:45 PM
eBikes are such a game changer. I do most of our family of four's grocery shopping with ours.Because of the assist, I find myself more comfortable in a wider range of weather conditions:
* If it's hot, I use more assist and there's an instant cooling effect. Much better than climbing into a hot car.
* If it's cold, I dress up to be warm outside and if I start to warm up on the ride, I use more assist. I don't have to try and balance staying warm and not getting sweaty.
* Same thing if it's wet out: I can wear heavier waterproof gear and not get sweaty.
by davidw
3/1/2026 at 11:47:39 PM
I think we have different grocery habits.Food, beer, and cat litter would be too heavy for a bike.
by theultdev
2/26/2026 at 4:11:49 PM
In my city, travel habits and condition, I find I wish for more torque and lower speed. Every place I want to go has significant hills that the motor can't handle, and easing climbing hills is the main reason I want an ebike. My ebike's minimum speed for the motor is 15kph, which is ok by myself, but my family likes to go slower, so I have to go fully manual with them. When I look at ebike ads it feels like nobody else cares about these two areas of performance. When I talk to local ebike shops they are unprepared to talk about torque and minimum speed.by jdboyd
2/27/2026 at 8:22:45 AM
I fitted a Bafeng mid-drive motor to my city bike and it's fabulous for hills. Because the power goes through the existing drivechain you can get high torque simply by switching to first gear. No minimum speed, power kicks in after half a turn of the pedals. Coupled with hub gears you can change at rest it's a marvel.Even at the European street legal limit of 250W it makes acceleration trivial.
by pmyteh
2/26/2026 at 4:48:41 PM
It was too early and a bit of a dangerous design, but the StokeMonkey was built for torque and worked great at low speeds.Some pedicab folks in Austin used to use them.
Hill climbing video YouTube https://share.google/iLrHXvjAKMO4esAux
Design info https://share.google/iLrHXvjAKMO4esAux
by rsingel
3/1/2026 at 10:01:10 PM
Exchanging torque and speed is like the only function of the gears on your bike.by Gigachad
3/1/2026 at 5:39:42 PM
Huh, it's you bike have a hub motor? The thing inside the wheel?Mine sits between the pedals. That means I can just go down in gear and the motor helps with going up the hill.
by Mashimo
3/1/2026 at 11:05:17 PM
Assuming it's a relatively cheap e-bike with a motor on the rear wheel (a hub motor), that's likely the motor being starved out of phase amps that create torque, rather than the motor being weak. Especially if it's large and heavy Direct Drive motor with no internal gearing. These need a strong controller (power supply) to feed them current, as voltage doesn't matter for torque.But generally it's not the motor itself that's weak, it's just got a weak power supply (and potentially weak battery BMS. Some controllers tie phase amp output to battery amp input by some 2 to 2.5x multiplication ratio.)
Going from a generic KT 22A controller to a 35A KT will give over +50% torque. Up till the motor hits magnetic saturation, torque scales linearly with the amps. The thinnest kind of direct drive (27mm magnets) can hit 80-90nm too. Most of those are 30mm nowadays and can push 100nm tho.
On the geared hub motor side, the G062 (most 750w bikes use clones of it) can push 90nm before there's a risk of stripping nylon gears. Smaller ones like the G310 may strip gears earlier. These generally need less amps to produce torque than direct drive, so they work better with poor electrical systems.
Worth mentioning that wheel size matters for torque on hub motors. Larger wheels need more torque to climb (thrust). And also motor wattage doesn't mean much for torque (phase amps from the controller and gearing affect that even on bikes sold with the same wattage rating).
I also find the throttle gatekeeping or wattage gatekeeping a bit silly. Going 25kmh by throttle or peddling has no difference in how dangerous a cyclist is on the road. They should cap top speed and acceleration on throttles, but banning them outright unless someone is doing a minimum cycling motion on the pedals is a wrong regulatory approach and limits accessibility.
Throttles above 6kmh (walk assist) are banned across the whole of Europe. Judging by how heavily the Netherlands pushed for the EU-wide throttle ban, and putting my tin foil hat on, I can assume this was done as regulatory capture to ban Chinese ebikes from local stores, as they come with throttles and aren't usually capped at 25kmh on pedal assist. Netherlands produced ebikes are all pedal assist only, mid-drive, and have very poor batteries and electrical stuff for the (over 2x) price they're sold for. And now they have less competition. EU also has a 45% tariff on "e-bike part" imports...
I would also like a regulatory framework to register and insure a faster e-bike (as imo they should not cap wattage and cripple the hill climbing torque, only speed/acceleration) for adults. Right now you can only register one that has a license in EU. If you build your own, it can never be legal, even if you have a motorcycle license and want to insure it. This class of e-bike is impossible to drive legally right now.
L1-b class registration can technically do this, but it needs the bike to be registered in Europe. No e-bike has this. No manufacturers sell class L1-b e-bikes registered in the EU. Only some electric motorcycles afaik.
by AVocaloidFaN
3/1/2026 at 5:30:19 PM
Doesn't it help changing gears? You can even get sprockets changed to lower the gearing for more torque.by tokai
3/1/2026 at 5:46:00 PM
Depends on the bike. On some bikes the motor is mounted in the rear wheel, in which case there's no gear between the motor and the wheel. On other bikes the motor is mounted between the pedals and sent to the rear via the chain, in which case shifting works as you expect. But the latter style (a.k.a. mid-drive) demands custom frames (because mid-drive motors are nonstandardized), which increases costs and decreases repairability. In contrast, rear-wheel motors can fit on literally any frame, so they're much more accessible.by kibwen
3/1/2026 at 8:50:39 PM
It's weird that these restrictions apply: 25km/h, 55km range? The Evolve Carbon skateboard tops out at 50km/h, and 80km range. Granted, you have to be a little bit crazy to ride that fast on a skateboard, and having owned an earlier version, I guarantee it's not pleasant riding that far on one. But people do it. Someone must be putting out faster/longer distance bikes that don't look like/ride like mopeds.Okay, a quick google and this seems somewhat moped-ish but 200 mile range, 28mph top speed: https://aniioki.com/products/aniioki-aq177-pro-max-electric-...
Crazy price, but a real bike with 300 mile range and 36mph top speed: https://shop.optibike.com/shop/r22-everest/
by gcanyon
3/1/2026 at 10:05:00 PM
Ebikes cannot go faster than 25 kph in the Netherlands, where the author lives. Also they cannot provide power assist without pedalling.by bgnn
3/1/2026 at 11:12:18 PM
The blue one is actually an S-Pedelec, governor kicks in at about 43 kph and indeed, you need to keep pedaling and quite strongly if you want to maintain that kind of speed.by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 8:55:30 PM
2021?by mcc1ane
3/1/2026 at 5:36:47 PM
Original post and discussion in 2021: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29198205by HelloUsername
3/1/2026 at 8:13:25 PM
Thanks! Macroexpanded:Show HN: Long Range E-Bike - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29198205 - Nov 2021 (615 comments)
by dang
3/1/2026 at 10:02:49 PM
I know a guy who tried doing something like this and burnt his house down. One of the batteries exploded and took the others with it.by dwedge
3/1/2026 at 11:14:53 PM
That's why you don't touch Lithium Ion packs unless you know what you are doing. I've repaired many Bosch packs before I tried building my own and seeing the guts of professionally designed and robotically assembled packs after they're a few years old is a very sobering exercise in what to do and what definitely not to do.There are a bunch of youtubers that go out of their way to give massively dangerous advice to people and I always wonder what their liability situation is.
by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 11:37:21 PM
While you are Not My Engineer and <disclaimers> .. are there any bloggers / vloggers that are or at least seem to be giving good advice that you are comfortable passing on?by defrost
3/1/2026 at 10:42:20 PM
Yes, always have a fire plan in mind when starting a lithium battery project. They go up very quickly and generate a ton of choking smoke. It only takes one oopsie with a screwdriver or dropping a cell to start a fire.by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 10:17:14 PM
I was working on an LED project that involved some reasonably-sized lithium batteries, and the guy in the hardware store said "I don't want to hear about you in the news tomorrow". That really stuck with me, and I say it sometimes when I think someone's going to do something dangerous.by elliottkember
3/1/2026 at 10:18:56 PM
I was just looking for the comment telling me this is _probably_ a bad idea, so thanks!by ray_v
3/1/2026 at 10:21:48 PM
I think of e-bikes as a kind of "electric horse."* Goes about as fast as a horse
* Goes about the same distance as a horse
* Sitting on a saddle like a horse
* Out in the weather like a horse
* But no feed or vet bills
* No need for lots of land or infrastructure
* Little ongoing maintenance
* Little skill needed to ride :-)
by cbdevidal
2/26/2026 at 4:01:38 PM
Respect: that's a beautiful pack.I'm a total sucker for ebikes and built my first ebike around 2006, powered by 40lbs of lead acid motorcycle batteries.
I recently outfitted a trailer with a large battery made for an efoil (my other obsession) where the non-battery components went bad, the company went out of business, and "Hey, this would make a bitchin' ebike battery.
Here's me cruising around the Oregon back country with said setup last summer: https://imgur.com/a/lmvJSBW
by golson_kindmind
3/1/2026 at 5:42:55 PM
Wow. What is your total capacity and range with that setup?by sriacha
3/1/2026 at 10:24:38 PM
> My first e-bike, a pretty crappy one but enough to get my appetite whetted had a 500 Wh battery, enough for a 55 km trip one-way, and it would be dead on arrival, range anxiety to the max.What? 55km with a 500Wh battery? Was he not pedaling at all? Why does he even have range anxiety on an ebike? You can just pedal if the battery is low.
by Tepix
3/1/2026 at 11:10:34 PM
Yes, I'm pedaling just fine, thank you for asking.The range on this thing is not that large even when you are pedaling strongly, it just uses a lot of power. As you probably know the power consumption of a bike goes up considerably as the speed increases, this is NL and while we don't have hills we do have wind, and plenty of it. Add in a 40 to 45 kph top speed and you can see the battery dwindle in real time.
As for pedaling if the battery is low: I have a bad leg, which is why I ride these to begin with, they help me to get started at traffic lights, which we have a lot of. Once at speed I can ride just fine but getting up to speed really hurts.
by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 10:46:55 PM
E-bikes suck pedal if the motor is not helping. Also, someone going that far is almost certainly doing it at the maximum speed of the bike, and power use goes up quadratically with speed. You could probably do that trip with plenty of power to spare at 15kph or arrive with no charge remaining at 30kph.by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 5:08:24 PM
I think that size of battery would move it into requiring a motorcycle license here in Switzerland, just based on the size alone. And if it goes faster than 45km/h then definitely.I have my motorcycle license and have been considering getting something that I can ride all day. Only problem is that if it's classified as a motorcycle license I don't think I can take it in the train like a bike if I run out of juice far away.
by comrade1234
3/1/2026 at 11:43:13 PM
While I don’t think anyone should be allowed to take a 2150Wh home made battery on a train, I’m not sure why battery capacity should affect classification. Limiting power delivery makes much more sense.Quite common for Bosch powered cargo bikes to allow fitting two 800Wh batteries and you can always carry spares. They’re just horribly expensive.
I’m very glad my US spec e-bike is 28mph/45kmph rather than 15mph/25kmph limited as I feel much more comfortable taking the lane closer to car speeds on residential roads even if I rarely go above 20mph.
by laurencerowe
3/1/2026 at 5:21:48 PM
I know we all carry fully charged batteries in our pockets and sometimes keep them in our ears too.But something about travelling in crowded and closed space like train with a fully charged diy (or even commercial) battery pack sounds risky.
This is one of the reasons I didn't go for a diy replacement of TWS pair with dead batteries.
by devsda
3/1/2026 at 11:06:53 PM
I would never take that pack on a train (or any other closed transport). That would be criminal, but then again, I think that that's the case for all e-bikes. I've seen way too many videos of packs going up without a warning and there is a ton of really bad advice out there from well meaning individuals who have absolutely no idea what they are doing.The welds on this pack are very good, I have checked and re-checked all of them, inspected the pack using a FLIR while running at maximum charge / discharge just to make sure there is no hidden jump in resistance or a bad cell. The whole thing is wrapped in shock absorbent foam but it still is a massive pack and if it were to go into thermal runaway there is just too much energy there to be dealt with.
It stays outside and is charged outside and I'm monitoring the cells groups to mV precision to make sure that they're not misbehaving. I'm not taking any risks with 170 charged 18650s, if I would so much as drop or bump the bike I would discharge the pack and dismantle it.
by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 5:30:29 PM
I'd be worried about getting into a crash on this bike. (still an awesome project)by nickorlow
3/1/2026 at 9:30:53 PM
Man: “How much power that thing got?”You: “Yes.”
Right after the pandemic of 2020, I joined an “outside squad” of OneWheel enthusiasts, PEV daredevils, and E-bike low riders. We would ride around the city in 70 man packs. It was the most fun I’ve had as a grown up. :) Even broke my olecranon in a nose dive but rode my wheel out of the hospital. Best money spent.
by reactordev
3/1/2026 at 5:36:27 PM
I bought an entry level ebike and the range is about 100km on lowest power on flat land, and of course it increases if you drive above 25 km/h.I don't know what the difference is with what op has, but for me it's no extra issue to drive above the top speed. It's a gradient transition.
I use mine daily and charge it every two or three weeks.
by Mashimo
3/1/2026 at 7:18:11 PM
If I'd want more range, I'd go with an extra battery in a backpack.by lukasm
3/1/2026 at 5:17:04 PM
The article mentions using Trespa, which I had to look up. It's a type of cladding that is fire resistant but is also not metal. It's a laminate type. The author is in the Netherlands, the infrastructure there must be really good to be able to ride 160km on an e bike between cities.by skyberrys
3/1/2026 at 5:26:02 PM
EuroVelo will blow your mind.by tokai
2/26/2026 at 3:05:12 PM
It does feel like this is such an untapped market. Think commuters, credit cart tourers, tourism around a spread out city. Something that is safer than a motorcycle and faster than a bike.by stevenhubertron
3/1/2026 at 11:44:44 PM
It's not safer than a motorcycle. Motorcycles have lights and signals and can accelerate away from danger. Plus the riders are generally covered head to toe in safety equipment, whereas nobody is ever going to wear leathers on a push bike.by MagicMoonlight
2/26/2026 at 3:34:11 PM
It’s only safer than a motorcycle if you have bike friendly infrastructure.by adrianN
2/26/2026 at 10:43:18 PM
The fact they are kind of slow and you can take them on trains helps compared with motorcycles.by tim333
2/27/2026 at 10:07:55 AM
In Germany at least the routes are a lot prettier because they go through forests and villages. It's what got me to cycle more and ride my motorcycle less.by nicbou
2/26/2026 at 2:55:08 PM
I would be a bit worried that the extra weight compromises the structural integrity of the frame. 2kWh are heavyby adrianN
2/26/2026 at 5:45:52 PM
high quality heavy 18650s weigh about 2 oz. 190 of them would weigh about 24 lbs. Throw in another 6-10 lbs for bms, wiring, casing and errata and it's not that bad.by BizarroLand
2/26/2026 at 3:05:48 PM
I would be more worried charging that huge home built battery pack. I'm sure OP knows what he's doing, but I wouldn't want to bet my house on it.by elcapitan
3/1/2026 at 4:58:52 PM
Bikes typically have a weight rating. Mine has 150lbs of cargo capacity (is a cargo bike).by Forge36
3/1/2026 at 5:51:50 PM
I don't know if this figures into the engineering formulas, but an e-bike needs to be stronger due to the higher speeds and power levels. On a human powered bike, if you're hauling 150 pounds, you're probably going pretty slow.My friends who have e-bikes go through a lot more "consumable" parts such as chains, tires, brakes, cogs, and bearings.
by analog31
3/1/2026 at 8:31:40 PM
That's why at https://infinite-battery.com we designed a fireproof and waterproof casing for our repairable batteriesby oulipo2
3/1/2026 at 8:28:41 PM
... put your (e)bike on a train, that's where the range come from.Very cool experimentation but in term of making the practice sustainable best to rely on the infrastructure. It's a bit like in sports having to use the big muscles, e.g. you climb with your legs, not with your fingers no matter what super strength grip you have.
by utopiah
3/1/2026 at 9:33:13 PM
Fucking people pushing their ebikes into already crowded trains! You wanted to cycle, go cycle then; don't pester us regulars with your 30kg dirtmachine.by twocommits
3/1/2026 at 10:04:23 PM
99% of the time it's food delivery workers who have to live in the outer edges of the city while all the orders are in the inner city.The solution to this problem is to run enough trains that they aren't so crowded a bike wouldn't fit. These people are paying for tickets so their usage should be funding the running of more services.
by Gigachad
3/1/2026 at 8:40:23 PM
Where exactly is this train that I should put my e-bike on?by cortesoft
3/1/2026 at 8:33:43 PM
Not everyone lives near mass transit nor in a cityby hirsto
3/1/2026 at 5:52:25 PM
The title should say (2021). Great article.by simonebrunozzi
3/1/2026 at 8:47:01 PM
The aerodynamic situation of a bicycle is so disadvantageous that the easiest way to get a long range e-bike is to simply ride more slowly. People internalize beliefs about energy-range ratios from electric cars, but they don't translate well to bicycles.by jeffbee
3/1/2026 at 10:52:55 PM
It is kind of a shame that recumbent bikes are expensive and bike nerd coded. A recumbent e-bike with an aeroshell would be fantastically efficient and useful in so many situations, but if you tried to buy one today it is going to cost as much as a car and have everybody else sneering at you.by jandrese
3/1/2026 at 11:00:06 PM
They're also a great way to get really badly hurt.by jacquesm
3/1/2026 at 5:46:45 PM
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I have an ebike myself and have considered just strapping extra battery packs to the frame so that I can just swap when required. In the end, I mostly take shorter trips (I’ve had it since Dec and my odo only reads three figures).Speaking of R&M, I have wanted to get one of their bikes that has the child container area in the front. I saw one guy with one and it looked pretty awesome. A large bike like that would benefit from some larger battery pack. And those have a flat area in front on the frame where you can host a few parallel to the floor (hard in a normal bike frame).
One annoying constraint is that it’s hard to find a place here in America where people won’t tacitly kill children. As more people here become online only child-free characters driving large EVs they don’t think too much about killing children and will only delay someone’s license for a couple of years for doing so.
The hard problem seems to be other people.
by renewiltord
3/1/2026 at 10:54:58 PM
I was disappointed to discover that my e-bike could not charge and power the drivetrain at the same time. Visions of range extending backpacks were dashed in an instant.by jandrese