Get on Your eBike and Ride!
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Electric bicycles and Light Electric Vehicles in general, are making a big come back. The state of California is supporting them and hope that they will replace cars for short trips, they have already started building protected bike lanes and other states are using what they call green lanes where bikes share lanes with cars but the bike has the right away. Here in CA the law is 3 feet but most drivers don't know.
Here are some links to get you started:
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Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA)
http://www.levassociation.com/
New eBike Law Passes in California
( http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/new-e-bike-law-passes-in-california )
( https://www.electricbike.com/california-ebike-laws/ )
Protected Bike Lanes:
( http://www.peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project/pages/protected-bike-lanes-101 )
There's so many new companies coming out with new electric vehicles and eBikes that it is hard to keep up. You need to learn about battery management systems, and battery configurations and types before you buy. Batteries can be the most expensive part. They come in different sizes and types depending on the type of riding and the distance you want to travel. The legal speed limit is 20 mph, any faster and you need to pay a one time registration fee. It's too much technical info to cover here right now. The eBikes are setup so you can use peddle power, peddle assist power, and full throttle. It depends on configuration of the motor and the battery how long the battery will run and how fast the top speed is.
You can learn more about the technical at Khan Academy . You can become a Bike Repair Tech by taking classes with the Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA) I recently took the Level 1-4 courses with LEVA and I had a great time! They have all the resources and tools and the repair manual. The class I attended was in the Local News!
You can take the Level One class online and take the exam and get a certificate. Probably a good idea for anyone interested in buying an eBike or any new owners wanting to understand more about their investment and any safety or maintenance issues. In my class we had the owner of The Bike Shop in Bel Air MD, wanting to learn because they have been getting so many electric bikes in for repairs or accessories, so much so that they decided they better start selling them. We also had a new employee of Green Light Innovations and he brought the new Amp Errand eBike, and we had Mom that is taking Electrical Engineering classes, at the college, with her son. I have to admit that I was very impressed with the college and their commitment to NEW technologies.
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| Danville VA Community College for Advanced Technology and Training. |
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| This is the Lab our classes were taught in. Impressive |
Other Links
The Bike Shop in Bel Air MD
Green Light Innovations
Local News Virginia:
( http://wsls.com/2016/10/13/danville-community-college-offering-unique-electric-bicycle-workshop/).
Links to Additional Learning
LEVA Tech Training( http://www.levassociation.com/leva-certified-technician-training/ )
Khan Academy
( https://www.khanacademy.org/ )
Endless Sphere E-Bike Forum
at ( https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums ) to get more experience.
Some great articles about eBikes
Pedego Electric Bikes make riding more fun.( http://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/in-the-news/ )
LA Times:
( http://articles.latimes.com/2000/feb/23/news/hw-1519 )
Entrepreneur with Asperger's peddling affordable electric bike
( http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autism-entrepreneur-20150228-story.html )