Range depends entirely on how much you use the assist relative to pedaling. Conservative use, which we define as only using the assist to climb hills and accelerate away from stops, will get you 50 to 100 miles (80 to 160 km) with a 500 Watt-hour battery. Typical range, which involves moderately heavy usage, will be about 25 to 50 miless with the same battery size. You can use a dual battery system and double these ranges.

Range without pedaling depends entirely on how fast you go. At moderate speeds of around 15 mph (24 km/h) expect 40 to 50 miles with a 500 Watt-hour battery. Expect range to drop off rapidly as you go faster.

Plug the included charger into the battery pack and any standard 110V wall outlet. Each battery type takes a different charger so you can't interchange them or use your own charger. You must use the proper charger for safety and to avoid damaging the battery.

Lithium iron phosphate can be charged in an hour or two with the proper charger. The standard charger that comes with our battery systems can charge a fully discharged battery in 2 to 3 hours. Note that electric bikes are different from other types of electric vehicles. Since you can't be stranded by a dead battery, you can just ignore charge times and charge the battery whenever you get the chance. Then, when you want to ride, you just ride.

No. Recharging the batteries while pedaling is just turning food into electricity which is not very efficient. We could use regenerative braking, but on a bike there is just not much energy to be recovered that way. Regen braking works on cars because they weigh thousands of pounds and a high proportion of the energy required to propel them goes into momentum. Bikes are light and have very little momentum. Most of the energy used to propel a bike goes to overcome wind drag. Regen braking only recovers momentum and so can only recover, at best, a few percent of a bike's propulsion energy. Also, regen braking systems cause drag while pedaling. The drag can be enough to completely cancel any gains from the regen. If you want more detail look here.

1 year parts warranty on all drive system parts except standard bicycle parts. One year labor if unit is shipped back to us. One year warranty against manufacturing defects on lithium batteries supplied by us.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries are spec'd by manufacturers to last well over 1000 deep discharge cycles. That corresponds to years of normal use. Heavy use at high currents though can easily shorten the life to below rated. Your actual life will depend on how you ride, how large a battery you have, and other factors such as operating temperatures and charging practices. Larger batteries are generally stressed less and so last longer. Our EcoSpeed Velociraptor™ motor controller is designed to minimize stress on batteries and so maximize life with any battery system.

It depends on your weight,the load on your bike, and how hard you can pedal. The EcoSpeed EMD or EMtnD will always outclimb a hub motor system of equivalent power though. Expect at least 15% grade climbing ability, with 30% or more possible.

None of the batteries we use have any memory effect.

The motor and controller are sealed and, though not designed for submersion, can withstand a pretty heavy blast of water, such as from going through a deep puddle. Lithium battery packs should never be submerged, though they are well protected from normal rainfall and splashes.

No. There is one extra chain in the system between the motor and the mid-sprocket (EMD) or crankset (EMtnD). It should be lubricated whenever you lubricate the other chains using the same lubricant. Otherwise, standard bike maintenance and tools are all that's required.

No. The motor actually puts less stress on the chain and gears than pedaling does. The reason is the the motor applies a moderate force to the chain over the full 360 degrees of sprocket rotation. Pedaling applies very high forces over the narrow range of sprocket positions where the pedals are near the top of their arc.

Bicycle drivetrain components will seem to wear out more quickly once you install the EMD. That's not because of extra stress, however. It's because you may suddenly find yourself riding thousands of miles per year.

Yes, the motor and the pedals are completely independent. The motor is fully disengaged when it's not under power. Similarly, you can use the motor by itself and the pedals won't rotate unless you choose to pedal. The bike will also coast normally with no part of the drivetrain in motion.

We use a simple, handlebar mounted, thumb or twist throttle. You ride your bike like you normally would until you want a boost. Then you push down or twist on the throttle. Our Velociraptor controller acts as a smart interface between the battery system, the throttle, and the motor and is the brain of the motor. However, it is the throttle that actually communicates how much power the motor produces similar to a gas pedal in a car. For example, half throttle means the motor is putting out half the power of the full throttle position.  This is different from a typical e-bike controller which uses the throttle to set speed and doesn't give you direct control over motor power.

No. Our motors are highly efficient and normally run only slightly warm to the touch. Under heavy use they will warm up but cooling fins and thermal shutdown circuits keep them from getting so hot as to cause injury.

Electric bikes are considered to be the same as regular bikes under the laws of many states. They can be used in the same places as regular bikes unless the law explicitly states otherwise. Under federal law, any electric bike with a top speed of less than 20MPH under motor power alone falls under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission instead of the Department of Transportation, just like regular bikes.

Electric bikes do not need to be registered and do not need to be insured. If you set your bike up to go faster than 20MPH under power, it may be considered a moped under state regulations and may then need to be registered and/or insured. It's up to you to check on your state regulations. In practice though, no one's likely to notice an electric bike that's a few MPH faster than allowed. Also, some states do allow electric bikes that go faster than 20mph and the Federal standards allow higher speeds as long as the bike is also pedaled.

The long legal history of bicycles (they pre-date cars) confers multiple advantages on electric bikes. They are legal on almost any road, even rural interstates and major urban thoroughfares, as well as in bike lanes and on trails. Electric and gas scooters on the other hand, are usually much more restricted or have ambiguous legal status.

If you plan to use your bike off-road, then there are no restrictions.

We build our kits to order so it normally takes 2 to 8 weeks. It can take longer if one or more needed parts is out of stock. If the kit is going to take more than 4 weeks to ship, we ask for a 50% deposit, with the remainder due 2 weeks before shipping.