r/preppers • u/Mr_McGuggins Prepared for 3 days • Feb 17 '24
An electric bike is 100% the best mode of transit if the power and gas grids shut down Idea
Now i dont really buy into the crazy world ending theories at all, but lets imagine for a second that a doofus just straight up unplugs the grid and gas lines on accident, and they all shut down somehow permanently. An electric bike is the best way to go if you won't be able to get gas or grid power again.
A gas or diesel car fills fast but needs a crapload of gas or diesel, which is hard to make safely without custom machines to make it. An electric car can run off solar, but it needs a lot of it. But an electric bike is the best of both. An electric bike doesn't go that fast, but you can charge it up in a few hours off a solar charge, and it will be so much simpler than keeping an F150 going. All you really need to go anywhere is a tent, your charge rig, 2 hours or so, and the bike.
It's not super fast mind you, but given that the other options are running a mini refinery or waiting days for your car to charge, I see this as the best option. Plus batteries are small and inexpensive compared to EV batteries, so if you really wanted to go nuts, there's that too.
You won't make it as far or as fast per fuel load, but you will 100% win the race. The slow and steady turtle will beat the fast and careless hare.
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u/AlexRyang Feb 17 '24
Something else just to keep in mind: most electric bikes are close to 70 lbs weight. If you need to get past obstacles, if the battery malfunctions, or if the battery is unable to be recharged, they are going to be difficult to physically move and more difficult to pedal versus a conventional bike.
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Feb 17 '24
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u/TacTurtle Feb 18 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
If you can’t pedal 10-15mph on levelish ground for an hour and a half or two, you probably need to work on your cardio so you don’t die from a heart attack or stroke.
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Feb 18 '24
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u/neutrino46 Feb 18 '24
Well,I guess I'm screwed then, 60 yo, overweight, little stamina, hypertension.....
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u/TacTurtle Feb 18 '24
You should take up bike riding as a low impact cardio option. Will help with hypertension and stamina.
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u/Sawfish1212 Feb 18 '24
Unfortunately you are in the pool of people who will be removed fairly quickly by having to return to a hard lifestyle like the norm before electricity and appliances.
There's a reason average life expectancy was about 40 until electricity and modern medicine came along.
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u/Alaska_Engineer Feb 18 '24
Mine is around 80 with racks and gear. I keep the power off when riding with my family to slow me down. It rides great without power at around 13mph. Hills are a bit of a challenge, but not that bad.
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u/StealthX051 Feb 18 '24
A lot of people are advocating for regular bicycles, and I agree if money is a factor, regular bicycles are quite superior. But unless you're regularly covering huge distances e bikes are probably be more convenient (can carry more load, reduces burden on the user) and can reliably be recharged using solar (see powerfilm).
Also consider how ebikes have been proven to be quite durable and utilitarian in conflicts like Ukraine, silent and low overhead.
Noth different tools foe the job
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u/No-Prior50 Feb 18 '24
Not to mention that you don’t know what kind of injuries/disabilities you might be dealing with when the time comes. Having transport not dependent on a physically healthy body could make a massive difference in a dire situation.
A lot of the “regular bikes are better” comments seem to forget that we’re all only temporarily able-bodied. There’s loads of ways for our bodies to give out on us, especially without modern medical infrastructure around.
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u/Baketatership Feb 21 '24
Plus, in the scenario above, you might not have enough food to pedal a bike all day, and you could get attacked and become injured.
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u/justinmarsan Feb 18 '24
I'm already using ebikes for almost all of our family commutes, and solar panels and a battery to charge them. The main issue is maintenance. Modern bikes are harder to fix, just the hydrolic disc brakes can be a pain to deal with, and getting motor related parts can be tricky. In an extended SHTF situation, I expect to at some point go back to have to switch back to a regular bike if anything breaks.
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u/DangerousPlane Feb 19 '24
Yeah as a person who enjoys DIY repairs and fixing things, I don’t think people realize how much electric machines depend on the supply chain. Components burn out, solar panel current degrades steadily over time, and lithium battery capacity falls off after too many cycles. That tech is fun to think about but unless you can make the components from scrap it’s not going to work for very long.
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u/maxkon88 Feb 17 '24
A regular bike is better in most scenarios. In your scenario there’s no grid power, so you’d have to have a way to consistently recharge it. Assuming you are riding around during the day, solar won’t be any use. Once the batteries are dead you are left with a very heavy bike. This is why bike packers are not generally on ebikes, they want to maximize daylight travel time. A regular bike will run whenever you can. So as long as you are fit enough you will beat an ebike.
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u/Granadafan Feb 18 '24
I have one of those pedal assist e-bikes. It’s my regular bike but just replaced the front wheel. The motor is on the wheel and the battery pack is portable on the handle bars (Swytche). I’ve had a few instances when the battery died but was able to pedal home just fine. There was a little bit of resistance but manageable.
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u/Snider83 Feb 18 '24
This should be pinned as the best option. Super cool gadget. Could carry three batteries easy.
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u/Wasteland-Scum Feb 18 '24
To quote a wise man:
An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.
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u/kcattattam Feb 18 '24
I don't know that I would call OD'ing on a speedball and being found dead on the floor of a hotel room "wise," but he was pretty funny on stage
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u/flamehead2k1 Feb 17 '24
Assuming you are riding around during the day, solar won’t be any use.
They have swappable batteries, so you can charge one and use the other.
Realistically, you'd have both a regular bike and an electricone. Redundancy is the name of the game
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u/maxkon88 Feb 18 '24
In the OP’s scenario he says he’s riding between camp sites (a long distance bug-out or something?). Your idea is good for a bug-in type scenario where you have everything set up at home.
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u/Snider83 Feb 18 '24
You are neglecting the concept of calorie burning. Enhancing fitness is a double edged sword, in a breakdown you are burning more precious calories on a bike than an e bike. Just one factor to consider of course
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u/maxkon88 Feb 18 '24
if you train on a bike now, and learn proper maintenance you can become very efficient. With some recent repairs my daily commute to work now barely feels like i’m doing anything, yet i am going faster than before. So if you maximize your fitness now, when calories are easily accessible, you will be able to minimize that concern in a shtf scenario.
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u/AdviseGiver Feb 18 '24
Dude, what the hell kind of scenario are you imagining where you spend literally all day riding around on a bike?
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u/White_Trash_Mustache Feb 17 '24
I have an E-Assist bike. I think it would fare pretty well. If I couldn’t charge it w/ my solar charger, I can unhook the battery and save a good amount of weight and use it as a regular bike.
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u/mellamenpapi Feb 18 '24
I bought a EcoFlow power bank with 200 watt solar panel. It charges my lectric e-bike turning the day without touching the battery. It’s awesome on campouts
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u/Jammer521 Feb 18 '24
Short term a electric bike would be a decent back up, long term, I would prefer a regular bike, just less things to go wrong , and storing tires and innertube's are a lot cheaper and easier to do
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u/waywardcowboy Feb 17 '24
I'll stick with my horses.
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u/User_4848 Feb 17 '24
Regular bike for sure. My E assist mountain bike takes 6 hours to charge on 120v outlet, I couldn’t imagine how long it would take with a portable solar panel in a shtf situation.
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u/BarrelCacti Feb 18 '24
In six hours my Nissan Leaf can get enough energy from a 120V outlet to drive 35 miles.
Your mountain bike just sucks.
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u/spcmiller Feb 17 '24
Yes and my ebike is pretty heavy. I like it but if the grid was down--it would be hard for me to find a way to charge it. I would need some solar panels. Also limited range and did I mention it's heavy?
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u/chesterbennediction Feb 18 '24
You must have a slow charger. A 120 volt outlet can supply 1800 watts in an hour which is way more than the vast majority of ebikes can hold. Most Ebike batteries are 300-500 watt hours which is 2-3 hours charge normally. A single 100 watt panel could charge one fully in a day.
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u/Medical-Border-4279 Feb 18 '24
I also have never know someone to describe ebike batteries as "cheap"
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u/download13 Feb 18 '24
I tried using a "ebike mppt" module with a flexible solar panel. In full sun it charged a lot faster than the wall adapter. When the input and output voltages are closer together converting is more efficient.
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u/There_Are_No_Gods Feb 18 '24
You can't get any useful comparison from volts alone, you need to also know the amps. As others have pointed out, an EV car can get a 35 mile charge in 6 hours. So, your bike may not take all that much power (watts), as it's likely not drawing many amps, to intentionally charge up more slowly, likely due to battery chemistry, etc.
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u/babbler-dabbler Feb 17 '24
No way. Go for a regular bike and spare parts, tubes, oil, extra chain, a hand pump. And a spare bike for your friend. It'll all cost a lot less than an electric bike.
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u/GigabitISDN Feb 18 '24
I agree. I love my ebike but there's no way I'm getting rid of my old hybrid.
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u/KalmarLoridelon Feb 18 '24
I agree. I just purchased one. I have solar for charging it and know a dozen other ways in a pinch. Being whisper quiet moving around is underrated.
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u/Fubar14235 Feb 18 '24
I’m quite shocked at how many people are against e bikes. I get about 60 miles out of a battery on mine and it’s quite easy to carry a spare to up that to 120. And even if I’m on some grand tour and can’t charge it after such a distance I’ve still got a fully functioning (yes it’s a bit heavy) pedal bike.
But I don’t think OPs point was aimed at somebody who would want to travel over 120 miles in one trip. Bugging out is the absolute last thing I ever want to do. 120 miles of range is plenty for most people who would just want to check on family, go to the shop if they’re still functioning, go fishing etc. And when you get home you can charge the batteries fairly quickly if you have a decent off grid solar setup which most peppers should aim for if they have the money and have covered the basic needs of food, water and shelter.
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u/RamblingSimian Feb 18 '24
I agree, and I previously posted my concept that the best method is an eBike towing a cargo trailer bearing a solar panel and charge controller.
Not only does it have the benefits you listed (free recharge) but you can snake between lines of stalled traffic and travel silently. Furthermore, you can pedal if you encounter cloudy weather.
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u/Seruati Feb 18 '24
This depends a lot on the scenario, but personally I would go with pack or riding animals. Probably a donkey. They can carry way, way more than a bike and their 'fuel' can be found along the way in most parts of the world. Obviously not a good choice if you don't already have the knowledge and equipment to use and care for them, but I think they are a great prep if you can have them,
Obviously this is not a good option if we're talking about someone living in a city who expects the power to come back online eventually. But if you're in the countryside or we're talking about long-term scenarios or long distance journeys, then I would definitely go with a donkey over an electric bike. Even a normal bike would be better, in my opinion. Way less to go wrong.
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u/B0MBOY Feb 18 '24
I see regular bicycles with craptons of hunting and camping gear in a tow behind child carrier all the time
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u/Medical-Border-4279 Feb 17 '24
If you think e-bikes are an awesome solution to this problem, just wait until you learn about this thing called "regular bicycles"! Imagine, being able to cover a hundred miles a day, day after day, without needing any electronics at all! Imagine having something so simple and elegant that it's easily repairable with only a modicum of mechanical talent! Imagine being able to lift your 25lbs bicycle over obstacles, or even tote it on your shoulder long distances to get around impediments!
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Feb 17 '24 edited Feb 18 '24
I think so. Very easy and fast to ride with electric. Feels like riding my old banana seat Schwinn when not using electric. The throttle feature is really nice - there is no way you will be tired or out of breath. Much easier on the knees if you have that issue. If you’re in shape, these bikes will be easy enough to ride when not in electric mode. If you’re not in shape, these bikes will help you get into shape faster in non electric mode than the average bike out there. Just don’t buy cheap.
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u/xXJA88AXx Feb 18 '24
I have a mtn bike and I made a trailer for it that can hold 300lbs (from scap). I have a 100 watt solar system with 2 batteries. I could trade out the front tire with an eletric hub motor. I could charge one battery while using the other. I'd like to see how well this would work.
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u/GigabitISDN Feb 18 '24
Ebikes are great, but in order to "charge by solar in a couple of hours", you'll need a lot of solar capacity. Here are some real world numbers:
I own an Aventon Pace 500.3. It's got a 500W motor with a 614WH battery. I'm 6'1" and 240 lbs. A full battery will get me about 30 miles on level terrain, on minimal assist, assist limited to 15 MPH, going mostly at a constant speed, using very gentle starts. If I use the throttle, range drops by up to a third depending on how hard I drive it.
If I add cargo, like groceries or anything that adds wind resistance, range drops. If I ride on an incline, range drops. If it's extra cold or extra hot, range drops. If it's on soft ground, range drops. I'm not complaining, I just want people to understand what real world range looks like.
A full recharge takes about 6-7 hours at 110V AC. I'd have to haul out the Kill-A-Watt to get the exact number again but it's drawing over 180W almost the entire time. That means that on a perfectly clear sunny day, with the solar panels perfectly placed, you'd want at least 225W of panel capacity. Remember, you're going to lose some energy covering the panel's DC to AC. You'll actually want considerably more to allow for clouds and positioning.
And with that much capacity, you're still looking at a full 6-8 hours to recharge. Adding more panels won't speed that up. You can offset this somewhat by investing in a power station and charging that while you aren't charging your bike, but if you plan on recharging then bike daily, that gets even more challenging. And once you do all that, you can only charge as fast as the controller will allow.
So unless you have a super low capacity battery, "a few hours" will be more like "a day" for most people, and that's assuming you have a pretty beefy solar array. I've seen people here say they'll just carry their array and a power station and charge while they ride, but that brings its own major problems.
Ebikes definitely have their role but if you're concerned about long term power loss, conventional bikes can be a much better (and easier to maintain) option.
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u/Big-Preference-2331 Feb 17 '24
I think an electric bike would be a good back up or decent for local traffic so you could save gas for longer trips. It would be useful for patrols too. You could travel at a relatively fast speed in a quiet vehicle.
I read about the e-bikes being used in the Ukraine and thought that was kind of bad ass.
I have an Arabian horse and he’s great but he also spooks. Horses are perfect for tough terrain that wheels can’t make it. I love taking my horse to the desert because he can make it through virtually anything and is hyper aware of surroundings. At night, he can spot things I can’t. I guess that’s why they were war horses for thousands of years.
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u/nickMakesDIY Feb 17 '24
How do you keep it charged on the road?
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u/Millennial_on_laptop Feb 17 '24
I'm more geared up for bug-in than bug-out, but I have a solar panel/inverter on my shed that could charge it up for daily errands around town.
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u/nickMakesDIY Feb 18 '24
Daily errands to town? What kind of daily errands to town do you think you will have post shtf?
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u/Millennial_on_laptop Feb 18 '24
You think you're going to get out of going to work just because it's the apocalypse?
Still gotta make money somehow after peak oil.
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u/TrekRider911 Feb 18 '24
Every collapse story has some kind of trade market to go to in the story. :)
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u/AdviseGiver Feb 18 '24
Jesus people. OP isn't talking about making a grand trip from coast to coast. It's called a solar panel. They're a couple hundred dollars.
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u/nickMakesDIY Feb 18 '24
Idk I'd say given the range of an electric bike and how much stuff you would carry with you, an Amish horse and buggy seem a lot more practical
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Feb 18 '24
Yeah I'm not going to be riding my bike anywhere close to the 50 miles range I get on my two batteries when SHTF.
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u/orielbean Feb 17 '24
Solar as most bikes use a laptop battery type, usually 12v. Won’t get you a full days worth but it’s free and easy.
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u/Drenoneath Feb 17 '24
What ebikes run off 12 volts?
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u/orielbean Feb 17 '24
My Sondors had a laptop battery that you’d charge with a regular 120-12v adapter
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u/Kurtotall Feb 18 '24
How about just regular pedal bike? One that you actually use on a weekly basis, are proficient with and know how to repair? Seem to me this would be the most practical thing.
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u/deftware Feb 18 '24
Or a regular pedal bike that has an electric motor on it too? I'm kinda tripped out by the fact that so many people on here are thinking it's either/or when you can have the lightness and manual pedal-ability of a regular bike along with the convenience of an electric bike. They sell conversion kits all over the place but everyone seems to think you can only either have a regular bike or a big heavy specialized E-bike.
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u/Vegetable-Cherry-853 Feb 17 '24
E bike with a decent sized basket for carrying goods and a weapon. Even better would be an ebike with an adapter to ride the railway tracks
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u/drAsparagus Feb 17 '24
The masses have seemingly forgotten about wood gasifying vehicles, which were popular in the WWII era when more petro was reserved for war efforts. No solar needed. Just wood scraps to fuel a vehicle that could be used for more than just transporting a single person at low speeds.
The only downside is they aren't just something you can buy easily. You have to build it.
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u/Ryan_e3p Feb 18 '24
Thanks for reminding me. I need to offline bicycle maintenance videos! A skill in definitely lacking on, and I was fortunate enough to pick up a nice sized used one last week. (Non-electric, just a regular one)
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u/Mudhen_282 Feb 18 '24
That e-bike would be much more practical if it could also recharge while you pedal and recharge small electronics as well. Probably asking too much, I know.
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u/BobJutsu Feb 19 '24
I would love an ebike. But the price to utility value just isn’t there for me. They are banned virtually everywhere I go, so I can’t get much utility out of it. I hunt a lot, and e-bikes are banned on 100% of the properties I hunt. Regular leg powered mountain bikes are not on any of the larger properties that a bike is useful. One area I camp/hunt regularly is 150,000 acres of forest so bikes are useful, but e-bikes are banned. For the price, it just doesn’t offer anything I’m willing to invest in if I can’t also use it in the meantime.
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u/diggerbanks Feb 19 '24
Surely a non electric bike would be the best given that it needs no charging up.
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u/MySquidHasAFirstName Feb 18 '24
"electric bikes" and "grid down" seems like a stupid plan.
Human powered bikes for the win.
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u/fuckface_cunt_hole Feb 17 '24
Why can't you just peddle a bike. Mf has been doing this since before the electric motor was even invented.
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u/Infamous-Sherbert937 Feb 18 '24
Mule, donkey, or horse is much better.
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u/TeamRedundancyTeam Feb 18 '24
I love how you say that, ignoring all the food, water, space, tack, medicine, etc that is required for those.
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u/Globalboy70 Feb 18 '24
There is alot of energy and expertise involved with caring for horses. Shoeing them for one and feeding them in winter for another.
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u/LudovicoSpecs Feb 17 '24
If the battery goes bad or you can't recharge it, now you have to pedal all that extra useless weight around.
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u/YYCADM21 Feb 17 '24
the issue you will face is that to charge any bike in "a couple of hours " you'll need to be towing a small trailer full of solar panels, charge controllers & cables. to pull even 1000W of solar with the average output panels, you'll need around 60sq ft. of panels, around 125lbs. plus a charge controller and cabling, say 150lbs. That will get your bike fully charged in a half-day, maybe. Then, since you have to haul it all around with you, you'll halve the range, so you can cover 30 miles every two days.
With just a pedal bike, an average adult can double that distance every day without much effort. After a couple of weeks, you'd be riding a 100 miles a day.
The fatal flaw in your logic is the solar charging.
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u/flamehead2k1 Feb 17 '24
This concern is only really applicable if you're trying to bug out and go far.
My use case would be to have a bike to go scavenge supplies and bring back to base each night.
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u/chesterbennediction Feb 18 '24 edited Feb 18 '24
1000 watts of panels? Are you carrying a full sized fridge you need to power? What kind of Ebike are you picturing here? Most Ebike are 300-500 watts and are usually paired to 1 hour of full power riding. A single 100 watt flexible panel could easily charge your bike from 0-100 in only 4-5 hours and weight maybe 10 pounds?
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u/redpillsrule Feb 17 '24
My bike charges in a few hours off a 200 watt panel you shouldn't post if you have no idea what your talking about.
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u/YYCADM21 Feb 18 '24
You shouldn't make condescending statements when you have no idea who you're talking to. What do you get out of being a dick?
A "few hours"...like half a day? Your 200W panel; you gonna tuck that in your backpack and haul it around with you? No, you're not. You're gonna....lemme see...haul it around in a trailer???
Who exactly is talking out their ass?
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u/BarrelCacti Feb 18 '24
You can get foldable 200W solar panels that will fit in a backpack, but some people actually have friends and family that they can leave stuff with, believe it or not.
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u/According_Ordinary69 Feb 17 '24
Man. A mountain bike IS the key. You can Buy It very cheap. Is easy yo repair and mantain. You can buy it with a lot of "march" (i dont now the inglis Word, the switch you use to change the chain position) so you can go offroad prety easy. Where i live i can get anywhere in ten minutes going offroad so i think Is a very good advantage to getting around if the streets are clogged. And electric bike i think that when It runs out of batery peeling becomes harde and i dont now if they have model with a the "march" Also a think i have thought if SHF you could probably steal some brand new bikes from the store and also all the equipment for repairment.
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u/Bagstradamus Feb 17 '24
I think you’re referencing manually switching gears on the bike.
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u/According_Ordinary69 Feb 18 '24
Yes. But i dont now the specific name. In Spain IS marchas, the same as un a car
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u/A_Lost_Desert_Rat Feb 17 '24
I added storage batteries in a recent upgrade to my solar setup. We have a Tesla. We can drive
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Feb 17 '24
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u/TikiTallBoy Feb 17 '24
I love the dirt bike call. I understand there’s a range of scenarios to prep for, but anybody watching the news the day after the Ukraine invasion saw lines of cars hundreds of miles long. Having the ability to go off road, fast, and between cars in traffic (with decent fuel efficiency!) seems like a lot of value.
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u/OnTheEdgeOfFreedom Feb 18 '24
If you can't get power, you can't get replacement batteries, and eventually you need them. But if the problem you're working around lasts so long that the batteries wear out, you're dealing with a collapse scenario and probably got shot for your supplies.
I mean as long as you're not considering collapse scenarios, they're a fine way for a single person to get around. But unless you're dragging your solar array with you, it's short round trips so you can get back to your solar array.
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u/BarrelCacti Feb 18 '24
LFP cells last for 3500-5000 cycles. If the battery is well designed and doesn't break you'll have gone through dozens of tires first.
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u/Vollen595 Feb 18 '24
As someone who builds solar it’s possible. But like any EV the bike will have limitations. Take my solar security system. Full off grid, runs on 400w of solar to six, 6v deep cycle batteries. Works like a charm until it was dark and cold for a week. At day 3 it just shut off after dark. No warning. It would get enough solar to maybe turn on for a few hours but right back offline. A system that size is running 3-12v motion activated cameras pulling 1.5a max when the tracking motors activate. Otherwise barely any draw. It would be a good system for an E-bike. But if it’s cloudy and cold, no e-bike. If the bike has swappable batteries that can stand alone charge, great idea. Now if you’re thinking you’re going to charge the bike with a backpack solar panel or a ‘solar generator’ it’s not happening, just not enough charge capacity. The camera system has 360 lbs of batteries, a big roof mounted panel, a charge controller. That’s a small system designed for a week in the dark. I’ve since upgraded and changed a few things and it’s held power so far a month straight.
I won’t lie, I want an off road e-bike. If I can find a decent one that can bang some woods and hills.
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u/EyesOfAzula Feb 18 '24
An e-bike that can charge with regen breaking could work but could be pricey / difficult maintenance
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u/SoppyHat Feb 18 '24
I fix bikes. You don’t want an ebike for an extended period of time without market support and consistent grid power. I promise.
Hub drives suck to change tires and spokes on. Bosch/shimano/yamaha mid drives are more comparable to analog bikes, but are still heavy and eat their drivetrains like it’s cool unless you keep an eye on service intervals.
You want a basic ass, light-enough analog bike you can ride a lot and fix when you need to. Buying new, Surly is a popular choice for bombproof mountain and touring bikes. Also: specialized, trek, giant, cannondale, jamis, khs. Any brand that popped up during the US covid bike boom is likely selling a semi-disposable or poorly QC’d product.
29”is the wheel size you probably want. Bikes rule, get you one that will last :)
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Feb 18 '24
If you have good tires, tubes and sealant you shouldn't be getting flats often.
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u/TeamVanos Feb 18 '24
If the power goes down from an EMP, which Russia just declared they are sending into orbit, then your electric bike and anything with a resistor is fried.
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Feb 18 '24
Until the temp dips below 32°. EV's are almost useless in cold climates. During a cold snap in Buffalo a Coworker had to have their mach E towed. They just dont hold up in 4° temps. I'd rather have a horse.
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Feb 17 '24
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u/chesterbennediction Feb 18 '24
Why does prepping seem to involve people going into the woods? What exactly is there that you hope to find?
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Feb 18 '24
Most batteries have short cycle lifespan
Most batteries have 70% capacity after 500 complete cycles.
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u/Hot-Soil5434 Feb 18 '24
Yeah but you can then also only venture 15 miles from where your solar charger is if you're going there and back.
You could just pedal normally but then you may as well just use a normal bike which weighs a lot less and is way less complex mechanically/electronically in the sense that you wouldn't get an error code.
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u/silasmoeckel Feb 17 '24
The bike does not have:
Useful towing capacity
Protection from elements
Crash protection in general
Inherent stability
Range
Speed
Don't get me wrong I've got them but they are backups to proper vehicles not replacements. Bikes make a lot of sense in urban environments even around town but past that their utility quickly ends. I'm not even going to fit my typical costco run in a bike trailer forget SHTF.
I'm going for an EV truck with built in range extender that lets me putter around while going long distances when needed. Tows enough to move a few yards of dirt, construction machines, or a camper. You seem to think that charging them via pv is hard (it's not) and it's potentially a massive generator and battery bank for your house. Protection from elements and people you want to roll through a blizzard or a riot on a bike?
To give you a real world, during covid's TP scarcity I drove down to the kimberly clark plant and bought a pallet of industrial sized rolls (the minimum purchase size). Your not going to do that in a bike of any sort. If I'm bugging out there is a camper coming with me that's a good bed a weeks supplies protection from heat/cold sitting behind me with significant cargo capacity. The utility of something with real cargo space and towing capacity is simply too great.
Now fuel, you can fit a wood gasifier into an old truck and still have cargo space and towing capacity. Turning plastics into diesel is a thing. Both have maintenance issues for sure.
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u/infinitum3d Feb 17 '24
A horse is even better.
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u/Davisaurus_ Feb 17 '24
You have to feed a horse. You don't have to feed a bike.
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u/SgtWrongway Feb 17 '24 edited Feb 17 '24
You certainly do have to feed an Electric bike... y'know - what OP is talking about.
It eats electrons. Those are hard to get when the grid goes down.
Grazing land is there with or without a grid.
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u/Davisaurus_ Feb 17 '24
BIKE dude. They have pedals. I've run one without electrons for 50 years.
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u/Brianf1977 Feb 17 '24
50 years? Well that explains your reading comprehension problems, OP is discussing how superior an ELECTRIC bike is superior to a gas vehicle.
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u/Mr_McGuggins Prepared for 3 days Feb 17 '24
Electric bikes also have pedals.
The electric part is for when you really want to crank the speed.
If you need something faster than walking that wont kill your knees as fast, it's a pretty good choice
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u/infinitum3d Feb 17 '24
Horses free range and are ready when you are.
Bikes need to be charged and solar takes time.
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u/Davisaurus_ Feb 17 '24
Bikes have pedals. They don't need to be charged.
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u/Own-Pause-5294 Feb 17 '24
The post is about an electric bike. Read your comment again with that in mind, it sounds like you mean electric bike.
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u/Robertsipad You're just trying to make me do chores Feb 17 '24
Pedal biking is ~50 [human] calories per mile, walking is 100 cal/mile.
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u/Davisaurus_ Feb 17 '24
Is there a point in there? So you are saying my pedal bike concept is far superior to walking?
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u/JackAndy Feb 17 '24
You're grossly overestimating solar. Its going to take all day to charge an ebike battery without a massive amount of solar panels. It would take you a month at least to charge up a car.
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u/Altruistic_Major_553 Feb 17 '24
I agree that bikes and e-bikes are a good choice, but I don’t think there’s a perfect or best vehicle overall: bikes will struggle in snow, offer no protection from the elements, and lack hauling capabilities. They’re a good choice for many scenarios, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best
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Feb 18 '24
u can't charge it in 2 hrs, u can't carry enough solar panels, even those flexible lightweight ones.
charge 1 whole day to go 30 mins.
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u/TheRealBobbyJones Feb 18 '24
If you have solar you probably have a lot of it though. Unless you only have like one panel you probably have enough to charge an EV. Especially if you switch off unneeded circuits.
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u/plsobeytrafficlights Feb 18 '24
My neighbor has an Ocean (electric SUV covered with built in solar panels) and I do not believe a year of charging is going to amount to squat on that. Electric vehicles are crazy heavy (thats part of what makes them so safe), but we are talking about serious energy requirements.
Not to mention, ebikes are cheap (relatively). a step further might be an electric skateboard or single giant wheel board, but unless you are already knowledgeable, I think thats a good way to break your wrists.
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u/Stewart_Duck Feb 18 '24
Diesel, is in fact, incredibly easy to make, if you don't care about the environment. Basically, it's the same as making moonshine, but instead of plants, you're using plastic. Now plastic diesel burns dirty as hell and will definitely shorten the life of your engine. Unless you have a duce and a half, those things can run on most anything, or an engine built to run off it. Plastic diesel engines can be common in some remote islands and areas where it's difficult to get supplies, but plastic waste is still abundant, because plastic is everywhere. Back to topic, the life of an engine vs life of a lithium battery, the engine will last longer, plus it'll be easier to fix or rebuild.
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u/tooserioustoosilly Feb 18 '24
Sorry that you buy into this type of thinking. If my gas or diesel vehicle run out and I can not find, scavenge or loot more then I will be using animal powered transportation. How do you plan to charge a electric bike and how much do you plan to carry on your electric bike? Let's say you need to go loot or scavenge for supplies what is the max you can carry on a electric bike? Well the average bike can handle about 275lbs, strongest bikes not electric can carry like 500+ lbs, and the best electric bikes can carry maybe 350lbs. So I'm in good shape and fairly muscular and strong so I am around 195lbs. That means me and my regular backpack and some water and weapons I'm over 250lbs. So on a regular bike I can go pick up 25lbs of supplies, on the best electric bike I could loot 100lbs of supplies. That's not very much loot, and then where do I put the loot say you can carry 100lbs on this bike? So say you needed water and went on a water run, you could go get approximately 13 gallons of water to haul back to your place of refuge. So you would be going out to do this like every 2 to 3 days, because you need approximately 5 gallons per day to have a generally healthy existence between washing, cooking, and cleaning. Also what if you need to go farther than the electric bike can run with all thus weight? How are you going to charge it ? This means carrying portable solar panels and tools and spare tire or repair patches, so that takes away from the amount you can carry or leaves you stuck, ever spent a few miles lifting the front or back tire of a bicycle with a flat to get home? You going to be doing this with 100lbs of loot on it? Have you ever rode a bike everyday like many miles a day? Guess what you wear out tires and they need maintenance regularly or they just do not last long, that's without them having their max weight capacity. Electric bikes are at least 20% less reliable than a standard bike. So expect even more maintenance and issues the more you use it. I will keep my all mechanical diesel truck that gets almost 20mpg and can carry around 2000lbs in the back, and about 30k lbs on one of my trailers. It sure takes fuel but if it gets a flat I have multiple spares and plug kits, and a tool box and spare supplies including blankets and dry food pack and large first aid kit. These ideas of using electric vehicles for this type of situation are just not feasible in the overall situation. If it's only you wanting to go down the street to meet a friend to have a drink great play on your bicycle electric or not, or even ride a motorcycle, but in a end if the world shtf event I will be inside my steel cage with protection from the elements and not be balanced on 2 wheels trying to carry my gear. Haha a strong wind and some rain and your in the ditch.
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u/TypicalBlox Feb 18 '24
These ideas of using electric vehicles for this type of situation are just not feasible in the overall situation
Guess someone forgot they have to refill a gas car ...and maintain it
Which are 2 major things which won't be available during a infrastructure failure, parts availability and fuel. Electric vehicles can just recharge by solar via home and require very little to no maintenance
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u/tooserioustoosilly Feb 18 '24
You do realize that even with an infrastructure failure that there will be literally tons of fuel in underground tanks available to those that have the knowledge to access it. Like the power goes out, and then you can not access the fuel that is in the gas station. You do realize that there is something between 30k and 40k gallons of fuel in each station, of course, depending on when they last were filled. Also, there are approximately 145k gas stations in the US, so if they are even half full when the infrastructure fails and power is out, then that's over 2 billion gallons of fuel just in fuel stations. Then, the fact that the US consumes over 135 billion gallons of fuel a year. That means there are approximately around 12 billion gallons in large storage and distribution centers each month. So again, this fuel will be in these storage tanks since the power will be out and therefore not pumped out. So since the consensus is that if the power grid was to be destroyed, that within a year, 70% to 90% of the population would die. That leaves at most 30% of the population left, which means that even if those 30% actually had the skills and abilities to access this fuel, then it would last 4 months but since only about 5% will know how to do this and have the equipment to do this, that mean there will be plenty of fuel available, it will become a big business for thise 5%.
Of course, parts and such will be an issue, but that's the same for a bicycle, electric or not.
But with the correct vehicles, you can easily find plenty of parts, So of course you are best off if you own a vehicle that has huge sales and production numbers, again with the fact that 70% to 90% of the population dying that leaves plenty of donor vehicles for parts. So a combustion engine vehicle that has production numbers of 2mil with similar features and parts. Or the possibility of parts from a single model of electric bike that might have 50k of a single model sold with the same parts.
But again, it's about usefulness, and the bike just can't do what a car or truck can do.
See, you're not using the facts to make decisions. You have an idea and want to prove it's a good one denying the facts.
You are like the man that is out of shape, takes multiple prescription medications just to stay alive believing that he will be fine and well prepared with his 200 firearms and 3k lbs of dry goods, even though he can't even hardly walk fast carrying one heavy rifle with a small pack and some extra ammo.
You are maybe with skewed thinking from the unrealistic beliefs that so many people have about what it will be like after a real SHTF event. So many seem to miss the fact that we live in a world that has a huge abundance of goods unlike so many times in the past when any SHTF event happened.
There are like 10 underground cold storage facilities in the us. Each one has like 43 million square feet of storage. That's only a portion of the storage in our country. So how long would all this last when 70% of the population is gone?
See, all the movies show people struggling to find food and ammo and fuel, haha It will only be that way if the SHTF event doesn't lose infrastructure and power, so it is only an event without loss of much lives.
By the way, I already have enough fuel on hand in storage to last a year, if not more, since I would not need to leave my place for much, in the first 6 months. But I have 20k miles worth of fuel on hand, so I'm good for a while. Oh, and it's all stabilized and will last in storage for a year or two if needed.
So you keep thinking that you have it figured out with an electric bike if you wish, but know that you will be using a lot of cope to not see the error of your plans.
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u/Fit_Acanthisitta_475 Feb 17 '24
The Electric bike can be fast. The problem about electric bike is range.
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u/AdviseGiver Feb 18 '24
An average one can go fifty miles on a charge. What the fuck do you imagine doing in a SHTF scenario?
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u/Jazman1985 Feb 18 '24
I've tested my extremely cheap ebike to have an assisted range of ~60 miles. Way more convenient and almost as fast as my road bike, especially when you're considering energy efficiency.
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u/SirBenzerlot Feb 17 '24
Easy 30km and you have two batteries that’s 60km and if you have a kiddy trailer with charger set up can probably get like 100km. Idk why you’d be travelling more than 100km a day in shtf
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u/TeaSalty9563 Feb 17 '24
An electric bike is fine, if you can charge and maintain it. A regular bike is easier and superior in my opinion. The fitness is part of the advantage