Put an e-bike kit on my Cheviot

[KC]

Very scary thing I just did. A major dilemma - make it so my "perfect" bike could get up the hill out of my driveway so I could ride it everywhere or risk ruining the ride on my perfect bike, not to mention making it a little heavier to lift for the bike rack.  But we had to do something so we took the leap.  

We had a shop in Pacific Beach (San Diego area) install the mid-drive kits purchased from Luna Cycles. Took our first ride Wednesday and went up the hill like it wasn't there. We set it up for maximum 20 speed and did not put the throttle on, so just using the pedal assist. It took a few minutes for me to get used to the feel of the pedal assist and how to shift now using a combination of the gears and the assist. I thought the ride was "different" but very good, a slightly different version of biking. Chuck thinks I over-analyze and is just extremely happy with his new set-up on his Space Horse. 

I turned the system off completely after our first stop out of the neighborhood and left it off until close to home again.  Went up a hill I am used to without any assist and it didn't feel much different, maybe a little more effort required due to the added weight. That made me very happy because I want to be able to ride "normally" as much as possible. I had to give up my rear rack space for the battery. Maybe that wouldn't be the case for a larger Cheviot - could it be installed where the bottle cage goes? Chuck only had to give up 1 bottle cage spot. Since I will just "borrow" one of Dave Carroll's pannier sets (he'll never notice), I will be just fine.

Joe Bernard expressed concerns about the brakes on the Cheviot relative to adding the kit. I understand what he is saying because it is a powerful machine. But I am a slow, conservative, rider so I think I am ok. 

Part of my agonizing was not knowing how much power I needed to add to the bike to accomplish what I needed. I now know I probably have twice as much as I need. Guess I'll be ready for anything. When Keven spec'd my bike he said I would be able to go up a tree trunk. He was wrong, but now I think I can.  And, very important, my bike is still beautiful. 

One added note. In my research leading up to the decision, I spent some time thinking about battery fires and made sure it doesn't affect my homeowner's insurance. My agent assured me it doesn't. BUT I did discover that once you electrify a bike, it is a motorized vehicle and not covered under your homeowner's policy. So not only does it not cover a loss to the bike, but you are not covered for liability if you hurt someone while you are riding it. I didn't want that added risk so I purchased liability insurance for $108 each a year. To avoid the very high cost of coverage for loss to the bike itself, I declared the value at $500, matching the policy deductible. 

[Jon Dukeman,central Colorado]

I have a Cheviot I bought used and put a Bafang mid drive on it.Great for hills in my neighborhood.
Thanks for the insurance info. I didn't know that.
Pacific Beach question. Is the Green Flash (restaurant) still there right on the strand?
I used to live in Long Beach and we would eat there every time we went down there.
Jon

[Kathy Carroll]

I don't know about the Green Flash. We just moved to North County last June. But if it's good food. I will definitely check it out. We have to go back in a couple of weeks for a checkup

 Install included 1 year maintenance just to make sure all is good. 

Check out veloinsurance. I was able to buy through my regular broker even though he thought I was crazy at first

 

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[Joe Bernard]

Here's my (former) 55cm Chev with a BBSHD and frame-mount battery. I agree your brakes may be enough with a 20mph limit, mine was uncorked and hitting 32mph, which was ridiculous!

Check out this charge safe for storing your battery in the house. It's out of stock from Luna at the moment, but it's just an ammo box you can find at military surplus stores and probably online.

https://lunacycle.com/luna-charge-safe-lithium-battery-storage-box/

On Friday, May 3, 2019 at 1:24:50 PM UTC-7, KC wrote:
> I don't know about the Green Flash. We just moved to North County last June. But if it's good food. I will definitely check it out. We have to go back in a couple of weeks for a checkup
>  Install included 1 year maintenance just to make sure all is good. 
>
>
> Check out veloinsurance. I was able to buy through my regular broker even though he thought I was crazy at first
>  
>
>
> On Fri, May 3, 2019, 12:56 PM Jon Dukeman,central Colorado <row.n....@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a Cheviot I bought used and put a Bafang mid drive on it.Great for hills in my neighborhood.
>
> Thanks for the insurance info. I didn't know that.
>
> Pacific Beach question. Is the Green Flash (restaurant) still there right on the strand?
>
> I used to live in Long Beach and we would eat there every time we went down there.
>
> Jon
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
>
> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/wTZT0Vwns_E/unsubscribe.
>

> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.

[Jon Dukeman]

Enjoy your e bike. I'm not sure what the laws are for Colorado.

I wonder what the laws are for all those electric scooters.

The Green Flash Is right on the strand..Named after the flash that happens when the sun sets on the horizon and disappears.

Good food with great people watching.

Jon