There is some electric bicycles for sale at 3rd Rd near Pattaya tai. ~20.000 baht.

Does anyone have experience of these ?

Among other things, i'd like to know if they can haul a 40 kg thai girl up Pratamnak hill ?,

and if they are popular to thieves ?

for 20k buy a scooter. Once the battery goes bad it will cost close to over 10k baht to replace with a good one.

All these electric bikes are all about the battery.

How long would a battery last in time with limited use,

say 500 meters/day on average ?

Depends on the type of battery and recharging intervals as well as discharge level.

There are Nickel-Hydride, Lithium Ion and sealed lead acid.

The Lithium Ion batteries have the longest life and energy storage capacity.If it is of good quality it can be discharged to near 0% without damaging the cells.(lithium Phosphate)

If your GF is religious in recharging the battery every night for a full recharge,it should last you 'atleast 'a year. But if you charge it off and on are lazy about it and keep killing it over and over again do to under charging, expect 6 months. - as this is almost certain to be the case if she lives in an apartment, a house will be more convenient to recharge.

The most important item is the BMS (battery management system) this cuts the current when the batteries are full to prevent overcharging and damaging the cells. The second item is the speed controller, this controls the motor and limits the current consumed if its an AC or PMDC motor.

For 20k baht its probably just a regular dc motor without electronic speed control, so it will probably use resistors to limit current and speed of the motor.

If the bike uses sealed lead acid they would run you about 5k baht for replacements and have a quarter the capacity of Lithium Ion and 4 times as heavy. Nickel hydride are about 65 % capacity of Lithium and weigh about twice as much as Lithium.

almost forgot, limited use is what is going to kill the battery, make sure you keep it topped up even when not in use.

for that kind of money (20k or there abouts ) id look for 2nd hand scooter

something around 110cc would pull a 50 kg girl up a hill all day long +

a tank of gas would last her weeks if shes only doing 500 metres a day on it

so no worrys about remembering to charge it every night also

^^^^^^^^^^^ +1

You can also buy a Ducati CityPearl, 100% electric bike and completely environmentally friendly but not something the average Ducati lover would buy...

You can also buy a Ducati CityPearl, 100% electric bike and completely environmentally friendly but not something the average Ducati lover would buy...

And where in Thailand would you buy this 'pearl' of wisdom. And how much?

You can also buy a Ducati CityPearl, 100% electric bike and completely environmentally friendly but not something the average Ducati lover would buy...

And where in Thailand would you buy this 'pearl' of wisdom. And how much?

Serious? But you can order this bike at any Ducati dealer, in Thailand you probably need to pay a good amount down to get them to order the bike for you. As the bike is not actual a motorcycle as we most motorcyclists would imagine you do not have to pay so much import duty and the bike not has the be registered as it hardly a speed devil it for the same reasons also not have to be tested for road safety...

The Ducati City Pearl... :rolleyes: Price I would say call Ducati office in Bangkok....

You can also buy a Ducati CityPearl, 100% electric bike and completely environmentally friendly but not something the average Ducati lover would buy...

And where in Thailand would you buy this 'pearl' of wisdom. And how much?

Serious? But you can order this bike at any Ducati dealer, in Thailand you probably need to pay a good amount down to get them to order the bike for you. As the bike is not actual a motorcycle as we most motorcyclists would imagine you do not have to pay so much import duty and the bike not has the be registered as it hardly a speed devil it for the same reasons also not have to be tested for road safety...

The Ducati City Pearl... :rolleyes: Price I would say call Ducati office in Bangkok....

Well... no mention of it on the Ducati website.. they DID allow Italwin to use the Ducati name on an electric bike in 2009 but i don't think they sell it now.. They do a good range of 6volt Kids toy bikes though

here's a review of the (ahem) Ducati

Ducati City Pearl Uomo electric bike review

£2400

Wed 11 May 2011

We were excited at the prospect of a Ducati to ride, and the City Pearl didn't disappoint – much. With its hydroformed aluminium frame and bike-like shape, we were hoping that it would ride like a conventional bike too – with or without the promise of 250W power assistance. And it does, albeit with just the slightest lack of finesse.

The performance is good, with actual ride comfort, braking and handling decidedly normal-bike-like. There’s plenty of power delivered through the 250W front hub motor too, with good acceleration up to 15.5mph even on slight rises.

read more

we saw many of these bikes in Singapore last year - they seemed to me to be ideal vehicles for round-town commuting in that city.

Priced at Singapore $800 - about 20,000 baht

And a thread here on electric motorcycle technology

article on the Smart eBike in the news

Daimler Will Build Smart Ebike

Published Aug 23, 2011

• Smart will expand its portfolio of electric vehicles when it begins production next year of the Ebike.
• The Smart Ebike will be sold initially in Europe and North America.
• The Ebike is being developed and built in cooperation with German bike manufacturer Grace

Smart hopes to tap into a growing movement in Europe and other markets for e-bikes. The bicycle industry estimates that sales of e-bikes in Europe jumped 40 percent last year, to around 700,000 units. The Smart Ebike is a lightweight two-wheeler that combines pedal power with a 250-watt electric motor and a removable lithium-ion battery pack that can be recharged from standard household current. Range is 60-plus miles, and top speed is 15 mph.

Among the bike's features are lightweight aluminum and plastic construction, disc brakes, LED head- and taillights, 26-inch wheels, belt drive, regenerative braking, three-speed gearshift, adjustable seat height and a built-in USB port for smartphones.

read more