Considering a Electric fat bike for tracks and areas where I camp

[cyberess]

Just looking to get into a electric fat bike as for exploring some tracks and areas where I camp.



And looking what what these bikes are capable of
Some youtube links
Showing what hills that they can climb
https://youtu.be/ygmfEO-EwSM

Another link showing a fat bike exploring a mountain trail -- sort of like bush walking on a  fat ebike 
https://youtu.be/d7EYeJHll7I

I am thinking, it should be easy to mount up on the back of my 4WD, not too heavy, no need for rego, shoud be good for beach exploring and exploring some of the outback tracks that I do, without wrecking the 4WD all the time.

Anyone on this forum got any experience with these?

 

[loanrangie]

Maybe you need to walk so you wont need a fat bike

[cyberess]

Maybe you need to walk so you wont need a fat bike

What's the fun in that 

Actually in the Topend where I live, it's gets bit hot to walk around all the time -- about 34Dec and 95% humidity

I couldn't help myself, I have actually ordered the fat electric bike today A 1000 Watt one -- probably more money than sense as it's costing near $4000 by the time I get it to Darwin.

Now just looking on how to mount it to the back of my 4WD
May be something like this


Yeah can't exactly mount up motor bikes that easily.

What's nice about a ebike is that I will be able to ride it on the bike tracks about Darwin, and I will give it a bit of a go at the Charles Darwin NP Bike tracks start with

I will see how it goes -- I guess I am going to have to sort out the puncture resistance a bit 

Easy riding fun days ahead 

 

[Bigfish]

Wanna make sure its insured well too!

[cyberess]

Wanna make sure its insured well too!

Good point --  I will see if i can add it as an extra on my home and content Insurance.

[Bird]

-- probably more money than sense as it's costing near $4000 by the time I get it to Darwin.

can buy a great bike with a real motor for that.

[cyberess]

can buy a great bike with a real motor for that.

It does have a real motor a Bafang M620

O.K. not a really a real motor 

With a Ebike there are a few things that I can do that I can't do with a motor bike like:

• Without any road registration on my ebike, I can ride it out of my driveway onto the street just with a bicycle helmet
• Ride it down any of the bicycle tracks around town
• Ride it on the beach
• Ride it on the bike tracks in my local national park
• It's light enough to mount up on the back of my 4WD without a trailer
• It's quiet, a bit stealthy, just like a normal bicycle, so I should be able to get away with doing what normal bicycle can do
• In the Youtube video https://youtu.be/d7EYeJHll7I where the bloke rides the bike up that mountain trail, my guess riding motor bikes there would not be allowed

There is probably heaps more that I could add to that list, and I could have gone cheaper electric fat bike, but I just wanted a fancier one 

 

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

You'd want to store it securely, because you'll never hear it leave. 
It will leave a lot faster than you walking, or riding a normal bike.
Everyone else out there will want it more than you.  Some a lot more than others.

[tryagain]

I assume you had a look at these or similar before dropping 4K, dosen't exactly sound road legal to me https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/374352/v56-motorised-foot-scooters-and-power-assisted-cycles.pdf

[Bigfish]

Sounds like you need it to be registered and you will need a licence or am I assuming too much.

[gronk]

I assume you had a look at these or similar before dropping 4K, dosen't exactly sound road legal to me https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/374352/v56-motorised-foot-scooters-and-power-assisted-cycles.pdf

As a pedalec it sounds OK.......as a bicycle it is a bit powerful. Don't mention the 250W and you'll be fine..

[cyberess]

Yes by the look of it, it is a pedalec,

As from the Motor Vehicle Registry Information Bulletin V56 - Motorised Foot Scooters and Power-assisted Cycles

Pedalec:
A pedalec is a bicycle with an electric motor that fall within a class of power-assisted pedal cycle defined in European Standard EN 15194. The Standard sets a number of requirements to include:

• a maximum motor power output of up to 250 watts;
• restricting motor power output when pedalec reaches 25 km/hr; and
• requires the rider to pedal to access the power.

Further to an exemption for pedalecs – refer Appendix 1 S115, 19 November 2014 – pedalecs are recognised similar to a bicycle and road rules relevant to bicycles apply equally to pedalecs The motor must be electric.

• The maximum continuous power output of the motor cannot exceed 250 watts measured at the wheel.
  Note: A motor that delivers 250 watts of continuous power can produce greater power
  for very short periods of time, which can be beneficial when pulling away at traffic lights or starting a hill climb.
• The rider must pedal the cycle to activate the motor*
• The motor must cut-off once the vehicle reaches 25 km/h, or sooner if the rider stops pedalling.
• The vehicle must be certified by the manufacturer, and labelled as complying with EN 15194. The label must include the manufacturer’s name, the motor’s cut-off speed in km/h and its continuous rated power in watts.

I didn't actually look right into this, but I now know that this bike is governed to keep it within the legal range -- I also know that's it's possible to change the govern speed and wattage via a usb lead and a PC to allow for off road mode, and with the change enabled it's not quite street legal.

[tryagain]

They could potentially get you under the maximum power bit BUT I think the chances of getting done by it by a cop in the NT would be a lot less than in one of the big cities where I have heard of them cracking down on it.

[cyberess]

My guess they way to be caught is to get clocked doing 50km/h in a 30km/h area, might be a bit obvious, when the top speed is only meant to be 25km/h , hmm something been modified. 

[Bigfish]

My guess they way to be caught is to get clocked doing 50km/h in a 30km/h area, might be a bit obvious, when the top speed is only meant to be 25km/h , hmm something been modified. 

Shouldn,t be an issue really.  You have bought it for exploring tracks and camping areas.  Hardly Highway Patrol areas.

[tryagain]

My guess they way to be caught is to get clocked doing 50km/h in a 30km/h area, might be a bit obvious, when the top speed is only meant to be 25km/h , hmm something been modified. 

I remember reading that in Adelaide (from memory) the police were cracking down on it a year or two ago, and as most people were falsifying the stickers on their ebikes they were taking them to a Tafe that could test them.

Some of the vids on the big watt (think the biggest I have seen was 28000w) are pretty impressive, they are capable of 100km/h+

[Fizzie]

My guess they way to be caught is to get clocked doing 50km/h in a 30km/h area, might be a bit obvious, when the top speed is only meant to be 25km/h , hmm something been modified. 

Or by riding a bicycle with a 2-stroke petrol engine fitted

[weeds]

I’d go an electric MTB over a FAT...I have both (non-electric) and can only imagine the FAT will suck more power and I reckon you will get more km’s of riding out of an electric MTB.....plus the suspension and ride will be way better on the MTB version.

GripSport have a good range bike rack.....this is how we were loaded up for our las fraser trip.



Weather didn’t last



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[cyberess]

Thanks for the post 

I have been looking into the bike rack situation, and with your help i have discovered GripSport's website https://www.gripsport.com.au and I will defiantly be looking into their racks, I might still need to workout is the number plate issue and where one would order a number plate to go on the back of a bike rack/

About MTB over Fat bike, (hopefully I haven't gone too wrong) I have actually already ordered a Volt Bike "JUMBO Plus" M620 http://voltbike.com.au/product/jumbo-plus-m615-premium-snow-sand/, it does come with decent front suspension with 120mm of travel -- time will tell if that was a good or bad choice.  According to specs and I have ordered the bike with the larger battery the, bike could have a range of upto 120kms on a single charge, for me I am hoping that will be O.K. for about 30kms of a rougher round trip. 

Today, as Volt Bikes are actually making up the bike for me (Australian made) , today I was given a choice of having a hand throttle, or just peddle assist -- I choose the not hand throttle and just peddle assist, as that will help keep the bike in the class of being a Pedalec and more legal as being a non registered pedal bike, that I can still use on the road and bike tracks.  If a throttle is added the bike could be considered as a moped, not so legal as a on the road -- It's just like getting too larger of a tyre size and over lifting a 4wd, and not keeping a 4WD legal, although it would have been nice just twist the throttle and just go without peddling.

I am already thinking of the first mod that I will do to the bike, and that might be to convert the tyres to tubeless --
https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/how-to-convert-your-fat-bike-to-tubeless-using-a-split-tube/
https://youtu.be/NEn3IVHsRvA
https://youtu.be/3LAqubBLzYc

I will see how i will go with all of this as it's all experimental.

 

[weeds]

Okeydoke.....serious end of town, should be a nice bike. What sort of weight are they?

We have been happy with our rack.....has stood up with our trips to date.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[cyberess]

I reckon the bike will be rather heavy, somewhere between 24 to 28kg  as a guess, as it's going to have a huge 52V 910Wh battery.

Looking at a similar fat bike "BULLS Monster E S" as on https://electricbikereview.com https://electricbikereview.com/bulls/monster-e-s/ that comes in at 52.5 lbs (23.81 kg) -- might not be as good as that one as that comes in at US$4,299 probably something like AU$7000

 

[KingBilly]

In Qld you can buy an accessory number plate from Qld Transport for attaching to bike racks.

Will be following your review of the bike as it is something I am considering.

As to hand throttle, isn’t there a speed reduction control or something that still keeps it legal?  Early days of my research.

KB

[cyberess]

It's to deal with trying to keep the bike in the class of being a Pedalec and referencing gov documentation  https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/374352/v56-motorised-foot-scooters-and-power-assisted-cycles.pdf

The line in that document under Pedalec
"requires the rider to pedal to access the power."

This sort of counts out the throttle idea, I mean you can still add a throttle during the build, but it might make the bike to be considered to be a moped, then the bike will need to be registered and the rider to be licensed. Maybe one could get away with having the throttle, it just starts to make things a little risky if things were to be checked.

 

[KingBilly]

Queensland rules for electric bikes

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/wheeled-devices/bicycle#motorised

Tink

[cyberess]

Got my Gripsport Rack, have to say what a pleasure it was to deal with Gripsport, I ordered a 3 bike rack that was on a run out special.

It arrive about 5 days after order in Darwin, and excellent quality and it's great buying something that Australian made.

What's a post without pictures 


I have been after a solution for years

Using the front mount point a bit close, but still usable

I have to say I am very happy, it's only minutes to lift a bike up  , I wish, I had this years ago.