Folding E-bicycle.

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pnancoz

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Has anyone looked into carrying a folding e-bike? I have a Skyhawk and I'm starting to look to find a bike that can be carried without removing the back seat.
 
We took 2 Jupiter X-7s to Oshkosh (which we bought at Oshkosh last year) in the backseat of our RV-10. We bought a couple of large bike bags off Amazon to facilitate loading/unloading and keeping mainly the plane’s interior clean.

The pic is the first bike loaded last year on the way home. This year with the bikes in bags I loaded them vertical instead of laying over on their sides like in the pic.
 

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Lectric XP lite’s might be worth a look.
 
Lectric's are nice...if you need "stealth" electric, look at the Citizen. Their range is a bit less but you'd never even realize the Citizen is an electric bike.
 
tsts4 said:
We took 2 Jupiter X-7s to Oshkosh (which we bought at Oshkosh last year) in the backseat of our RV-10. We bought a couple of large bike bags off Amazon to facilitate loading/unloading and keeping mainly the plane’s interior clean.

The pic is the first bike loaded last year on the way home. This year with the bikes in bags I loaded them vertical instead of laying over on their sides like in the pic.
Click to expand...

Which bag? I also have the X-7 and like it a lot.

Tim
 
tsts4 said:
We took 2 Jupiter X-7s to Oshkosh (which we bought at Oshkosh last year) in the backseat of our RV-10.
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They allow electric bikes and/or e scooters at Air Venture??
 
Check out the Jupiter bikes. I have two of the Discovery X5"s and really like them. They fold and fit thru the baggage door on a Piper Archer.
40lbs, about 30 miles on a charge with pedal assist and about half that on electric only. Has three levels of pedal assist or a twist grip throttle.
I got the refurbished ones, which looked brand new. They are having a sale now, use code RENEW22 for two hundred dollars off.
Brings it down to $495 ea. free shipping
 
Not electric, but the brompton folding bikes are excellent and fold down to smaller form factor than any of the other folding bikes I’ve seen.
 
Paul V said:
Not electric, but the brompton folding bikes are excellent and fold down to smaller form factor than any of the other folding bikes I’ve seen.
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Brompton has an electric version too: https://us.brompton.com/shop/bikes/electric-c-line-explore

Brompton seems to have a very loyal following and to be very compact-folding and light-weight. Not cheap, but seems like they would be a good option for flying with.
 
I looked into the Jupiters a while back when they were getting started and they had delivery issues. Sounds like things have improved if more people are using them. Anyone experienced the difference in the X5 vs X7, primarily with regard to the single vs multi speed, and secondarily with the rim size? Is the X5 single-speed a big bummer? I like the price difference and lighter weight.
 
Electric bikes are heavy ,for us old guys can be difficult to load in the airplane. There is a carbon foldable electric bike out there but the price is prohibitive for most. The Brampton’s are a good quality bike for the money.
 
Yes, most are heavy and for the category of pilot you describe I can see one being loaded relatively easy into a Six/Saratoga or A36 or twin with similar door setup, but can’t see it being lifted into many planes when it’s an awkward loading process.
 
TrueCourse said:
I looked into the Jupiters a while back when they were getting started and they had delivery issues. Sounds like things have improved if more people are using them. Anyone experienced the difference in the X5 vs X7, primarily with regard to the single vs multi speed, and secondarily with the rim size? Is the X5 single-speed a big bummer? I like the price difference and lighter weight.
Click to expand...

We tried out both the X-5 and X-7 and we didn’t like the smaller wheels on the -5; it just felt squirrelly. The 7 handled more like a real bike. My controller went out during Osh so I had to pedal and I’m glad I had gears.
 
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I have a folding HeyBike Ranger. The pedals fold as well as the middle and the handle bars. It's got 20" "all terrain" tires.
 
The problem with bikes at KOSH is finding yours again when you leave the grounds. Bikes are not allowed inside the event and they pile up big time in the parking area. This is one bike parking area at this year's AirVenture:
rXFGqonl.jpg
 
I think when "fit in an airplane baggage compartment" is one of the criteria, e-scooters will always beat e-bikes
 
Flyhound said:
The problem with bikes at KOSH is finding yours again when you leave the grounds. Bikes are not allowed inside the event and they pile up big time in the parking area. This is one bike parking area at this year's AirVenture:
Click to expand...

That’s a bike jungle. Didn’t envision there would be that many.
 
There's a smaller but no less congested one at Ultralights. The "binder" gate has no bike rack and at times the EAA is so understaffed that nobody watches that gate and you can chain it to the fence or even take it inside. When the fascist cop wannabe does man the gate he bars chaining bikes to the fence because "it looks tacky."

EAA security is worse this year than it has ever been. Way understaffed and those that answered the call are really not the ones they would have hired in the past.
 
Problems with things being stolen this year? People being out of line?
 
WDD said:
Problems with things being stolen this year? People being out of line?
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Not that I’m aware of. We always lock our bikes up, but I’m thinking that’s just insurance based upon our observation. If something happened I’m 99% sure it was limited to Scholler. By in large it was typical Osh where civilization still reigns.
 
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schmookeeg said:
I think when "fit in an airplane baggage compartment" is one of the criteria, e-scooters will always beat e-bikes
Click to expand...

Thinking the same thing I bought an e-scooter but found that a scooter is definitely not a bike and, for me at least, it's too sketchy to take onto the streets or roadways so it just stays in the hangar and I use it to get to the restroom or around the airport only. It's kind of like a skateboard except that when you go down you'll have some little handlebars to hold onto.
 
Silvaire said:
Thinking the same thing I bought an e-scooter but found that a scooter is definitely not a bike and, for me at least, it's too sketchy to take onto the streets or roadways so it just stays in the hangar and I use it to get to the restroom or around the airport only. It's kind of like a skateboard except that when you go down you'll have some little handlebars to hold onto.
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Yeah I found that with my first attempt (One of the costco segway scooters) -- crazily underpowered. My current one is 30mph/30mi range and is great, which is about as fast as I'd wanna go on one.

Perfect for connecting that last mile or so from a strange airport :) And I can fit 4 in the nose baggage. My only concern is if the li-ion batteries spontaneously light off -- but the same problem exists with e-bikes.
 
Well the one I got has dual 500 watt motors and I was able to override the controller and get it into ludicrous mode so it's got plenty of power, speed and range but I just found the small wheels to be unstable in comparison to a bicycle. I mean I don't dare try to ride it one handed, that's like asking for a face plant. At first I thought it was just a learning curve and that I'd get used to it but it's been over two years now.
 
I bought an X5 at Oshkosh and way overpaid

but I love it and ordered another for my wife from the link above. Dollar cost averaging I guess.
 
Ed C said:
Check out the Jupiter bikes. I have two of the Discovery X5"s and really like them. They fold and fit thru the baggage door on a Piper Archer.
40lbs, about 30 miles on a charge with pedal assist and about half that on electric only. Has three levels of pedal assist or a twist grip throttle.
I got the refurbished ones, which looked brand new. They are having a sale now, use code RENEW22 for two hundred dollars off.
Brings it down to $495 ea. free shipping
Click to expand...

BTW< the code above works for a Refurbished X5. So $495 for a refurbished one. $200 off for being refurbished and another $200 off on sale.
 
frfly172 said:
Electric bikes are heavy ,for us old guys can be difficult to load in the airplane. There is a carbon foldable electric bike out there but the price is prohibitive for most. The Brampton’s are a good quality bike for the money.
Click to expand...
I'm 65, and can easily lift an eBike (guessing it weighs ~50 lbs.) Used them at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for Vintage Motorcycle Days the last two years. Saved 11 miles of walking!
If I ever manage to get back to flying I'd definitely get a folder.
 
Here's a quick table that I threw together of the bikes mentioned in this thread. For good measure, I also added a Segway Ninebot electric kick scooter (available at Costco).

upload_2022-8-9_8-18-33.png
 
So based on this thread, I bought the Lectric XP Lite. Here's what I think so far:

I don't think it's going to fit in most baggage doors on piston single aircraft. It will probably have to sit on a passenger seat. Those with clamshell doors and removable rear seats probably won't have to worry. I think it will probably fit easily into most car trunks and SUV's though. I see the fold function as being at its best if you are using the bike to tool around some sort of base camp for a few days, assuming you can supply the 200W that the charger wants to eat.

The seat is quite big and cushy, much more so than your typical road bike or hybrid. Combine that with 2.4" wide 35psi tires and the ride is pretty soft. Although I have have not measured it, I'm guessing standover height range is 23"-39".

One thing that I found a little disconcerting is that if you pedal for a while and then stop, the bike will coast for a bit, then the motor kicks in for half a second and then resume coasting. Not sure why it's doing that.

We have not conducted extensive run-down tests, but range seems to be a little better than advertised. However, the battery meter doesn't seem to be monotonically decreasing. During heavy bursts, the battery gauge will go down rather dramatically but after a while come back up.

On level ground, we were able to easily hit the 20MPH max. Near our house, there's a small hill that Google Maps says is a 75ft rise over a 450ft run (75/450=16.666% grade or arctan(75/450)=9.5 degrees). Rider#1 is 45kg (100lbs) and was able to climb it. Rider#2 is 70kg and was not. Trying to make kath proud, I worked out the physics to be:

Watts=(Mbike+Mrider) * (9.8Newtons/G) * (sin(arctan(rise/run))*Vmin/3.6ksec/hour)

Where:
  • Mbike = Bike Mass (21kg/46lbs)
  • Mrider = Rider Mass (45kg)
  • Vmin = minimum speed to maintain stability (10kph/6mph)
...coming up with 295Watts to climb that hill. That gels pretty well with the 300W sustained motor rating. Rider#2 would need around 400W for that hill. The Lectric XP2.0 would max out at 80kg/175lbs.

I should also say that Rider#2 was able to make it up by assisting with the pedals or doing S-turns across the road without pedaling.

Overall, it's a neat toy. Not sure how long it will be until the novelty wears off, though. For aviation usage, I think it's doable but I also think @schmookeeg has the better idea with his electric kick scooter boasting 1360W and being able to more easily fit through baggage doors.
 
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pnancoz said:
Has anyone looked into carrying a folding e-bike? I have a Skyhawk and I'm starting to look to find a bike that can be carried without removing the back seat.
Click to expand...
I have two Qualisports Volador bikes which fit on the back seat of my Skylane. These are a good compromise between range and weight.
 
I brought two Swagtron EB5 Pro Plus bikes, which can fit into my Mooney201 cargo area.
Moreover, I brought 2 Folding Bike Traveling bags for 14" bikes. I can also put the helmet and accessories in the bag and quickly load them into/out of the airplanes.
I have had them almost for a year now. It can travel a long distance, and the battery is removable, so in case of the battery goes wrong, I can replace it. The only two things I can pick are that it has the traditional brakes, not the disk brakes, and does not have built-in LED lights. I think those are minor issues as it is so tiny when folding that I could carry them so conveniently into a car's or airplane's trunk (and the on-sale price is so reasonable).

Bike: (on sale now)
https://swagtron.com/product/eb5-pro-plus-city-campus-folding-ebike-electric-bike/
14" Bike Travel Bag
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749GV8WJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Spring-loaded bike seats upgrade for my sore a$$ after a long ride.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y1MJ2HL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Rechargeable bike LED lights.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GXXLGWX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edit:
I am adding the following fun rides my wife and I could not do without e-bikes in the past one year.

- Bike from Lake Havasu (KHII) to London Bridge and ride along the canal trail. Nine miles each way (18 miles total). Still have juice left over while we use padel-assist instead of full electric powered ride.

- Bike from Borrego Springs (L08) to Boreggo Dragon Sculpture and many other sculptures along the way. 5.4 miles each way. However, riding was tough when we got off the road into the soft desert sands. We have to walk the bike most of the time.
 

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I’ve got a pair of Jupiter x5s. They are alright with some trade offs. I can fit two in the Mooney, through the baggage door and pretty sure with more patience, both in the baggage compartment. But one on the backseat worked well and probably better CG. The pedal assist is good and unless you are doing the bare minimum you can go further than you really would want to ride it. I did the Fisk ride with Martin Pauly and back streets it was fine. The main drag wasn’t as much fun. The biggest issue is I’m 6 ft tall and the seat height isn’t high enough nor is the bike frame big enough to be comfortable for extended rides. I’ve bought a seat post extension so hopefully that will improve things.
 
masloki said:
I’ve got a pair of Jupiter x5s. They are alright with some trade offs. I can fit two in the Mooney, through the baggage door and pretty sure with more patience, both in the baggage compartment. But one on the backseat worked well and probably better CG. The pedal assist is good and unless you are doing the bare minimum you can go further than you really would want to ride it. I did the Fisk ride with Martin Pauly and back streets it was fine. The main drag wasn’t as much fun. The biggest issue is I’m 6 ft tall and the seat height isn’t high enough nor is the bike frame big enough to be comfortable for extended rides. I’ve bought a seat post extension so hopefully that will improve things.
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I dint think that will help much. The pedals are too far back, so it’s going to suck no matter what. But I still like it for what it is.
 
I have a Brompton folder and recently ordered an electric kit from Swytch. The kit should have arrived by now but they've since changed their delivery date to indefinite.

I have ridden the Brompton electric and it's very good. The beauty of the Brompton is that they fold into a very manageable size and fold/unfold in under a minute. The Brompton easily fits through the small baggage door on my Bonanza.
 
David said:
I have a Brompton folder and recently ordered an electric kit from Swytch. The kit should have arrived by now but they've since changed their delivery date to indefinite.

I have ridden the Brompton electric and it's very good. The beauty of the Brompton is that they fold into a very manageable size and fold/unfold in under a minute. The Brompton easily fits through the small baggage door on my Bonanza.
Click to expand...

the bromptons are excellent. The folded size is more compact than any of the other folding bikes I’ve seen. I’m surprised more pilots don’t buy them.
 
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