Why are there hardly any electric bikes/riders designed for winter driving?

Posted by Hackkspett@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 30 comments

The market for electric bikes has absolutely exploded in recent years, with new companies, new brands, new models, and upgraded models constantly popping up.

But how is it that the market for something similar for snow and winter-use is still completely dead?

Pretty much the only thing that seems to exist right now is "Moonbikes," https://moonbikes.com which feel like they’re entirely alone in this category – a winter equivalent of an electric bike.

Does anyone know of anything similar?

Is there’s anything like a Moonbike on the Chinese market? available on Alibaba?

P.S. I’m aware there are snow kits available for several models, including the Talaria Sting, Surron Light Bee and Ultra Bee.

But from everything I’ve read and seen, these kits aren’t exactly impressive.

And at the same time, a snow kit can cost nearly as much as a new e-bike.

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dano___@reddit

An electric snowmobile thing will only work on snow, and that’s just not something that will be useful to commuters or delivery drivers. What city has groomed snow trails running through their downtown cores for these to ride on?

If you actually needed a snowmobile you’d just buy a snowmobile. These e-sled things don’t list a price, but considering that $1000 is only a deposit on one I guarantee that you can find an actual snowmobile for cheaper that will outperform and outlast that moon thing in every way.

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ChevyBolt@reddit

Most winter cities have a frozen river to commute on. In the summer they offer boat taxi’s. I’m really surprised in Winnipeg’s most affluent neighborhood’s built on the river will have not single ski doo track. Drive out the suburbs & out of city limits that are built on the same river, you will see numerous ski doo’s ripping it up. And their houses are just as big.

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dano___@reddit

Ok, you groom a trail along the river downtown. Then what? You leave your funky e-sled on the riverbank and walk to work? Why would this ever work better than a e-bike with fat tires that would roll down a groomed snow trail without a problem?

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ChevyBolt@reddit

It says you don’t need to groom a trail unless speed is important. These things don’t even go that fast. and yes, you sure can lock them up like a bike on the riverfront and walk to your job. Is it going to be there when you get back? Lol. Check out the forks in Winnipeg they have bike valet and the river trail practically surrounds the whole downtown. The Moon-bike costs $9kusd. But a cheaper pedal option is a Envo Flex for $4kcdn. I’m not saying they’re any better than a fat tire bike. It seems more of a pricy/gimmicky option to get to A to B. But the days on the river are numbered so not really practical.

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dano___@reddit

Ok, well at $9000usd it’s pretty clear that this isn’t a viable product. These look like cheap Chinese e-bikes with a track and ski, no one with money for a good condition 600cc sled is going to consider this moon thing instead.

allislost77@reddit

Liquid. There are many out there, super expensive

sandark77@reddit

Fat tire bikes.

davpad12@reddit

You can't even ride on soft sand with 5" fat tires even if you air down to 5 lb. Been there done that.. don't believe the hype. Snow would be a joke.

cgjeep@reddit

For a whole year I didn’t have a car in Michigan and exclusively rode my custom fat tire ebike. Multiple inches of snow no problem. Just air down the tires.

You weren't actually riding on top of the snow. You were crushing it down to the hard surface under it which is a different thing.

tarmacc@reddit

Hate to tell you about what happens on powder days... It still goes

chungyeung@reddit

How about a e-trike in snow?

Intelligent_Jump_859@reddit

Because the majority of the planet only experiences snow 1/4th if the year if it all mean there's less demand for winter based everything.

trackerbuddy@reddit

Global warming, duh

missionarymechanic@reddit

There's "winter," and then there's "snow."

Treads eat a ton of energy, skis don't work on roads/ice, cold battery range is pathetic. Take your pick.

Fat tires with studs are the best we can get before you really need a different vehicle. Even then, that's an infrastructure issue, not a bike issue. Plenty of places with active bike trails all winter that get maintained. You can ride on hard-pack with little issue.

thelostgeographer@reddit

This 👆.

I live in the Canadian North and ride a 4" fat tire bike to commute year-round. I put studded tires on for the winter and I'm golden. A snowmobile bike like the one shown by OP would be super impractical even for the far north.

XT2020-02@reddit

Nice. I figure, the best was is to pedal and keep warm. But fat tires with studs will get you around most places. I need to try that, I think 3" is the fattest I can mount on my MTB.

wreckedbutwhole420@reddit

A 3in tire is in "plus" bike territory. Should be decent in the snow

binaryhellstorm@reddit

Limited market, expected long range, and cold is had on batteries.

hroaks@reddit

And they compete with snow mobiles in the same price range which have more range and all around a better option

DrDerpberg@reddit

I mean this this basically is a snowmobile. I wouldn't take it unless my route is 100% snow. Can't have that front ski dragging on pavement.

thishasntbeeneasy@reddit

Have you seen a snowmobile up close? They are HUGE. There's basically a car engine in there to power it because people want to ride 40mph up a 40% grade.

Any little ebike is going to be so underpowered that it's not going to be very fun to ride on snow.

bentripin@reddit

To turn a dirt bike into a snow bike, you start with like a 450cc 4 stroke as a bare minimum.. it destroys smaller engines, really need gobs of power to turn those tracks.

E-Dirt bikes are struggling to compete with 150-250cc Dirt Bikes right now, they are not even on the table for snow biking.

Altruistic-Cress-540@reddit

A 250 yamaha yz kit is on the market an I seen them work across the lake I live on quite a concept been around for a while but that Moonbike is way out of price range for maybe 3months of good snow and my Ebike which I ride in the snow air down an lock suspension rides ok but the battery does loose charge quicker due to the cold tempature just a thought worth mentioning

PicaDiet@reddit

“Limited macket, expected lawng range, an’ cold is had on bat-chries.”

FTFY

Proper_Key_206@reddit

The abysmal performance of lithium batteries at freezing temperatures probably doesn't help

Singnedupforthis@reddit

Abysmal performance is an exaggeration. If you start with a warm battery and ride the whole time, the battery doesn't get cold. You can enclose the battery so it doesn't get the wind cooling it. I have a few em3ev batteries that let you know when they are too cold to operate properly, and that light has yet to come on this winter even though it has been used in negative temperatures fairly regularly. The fat tires with low pressure drain the battery far quicker then the cold on the battery.

HonoratoDoto@reddit

Depends greatly on the bike. I put a neoprene and some thermal insulant on my tiny battery and still gets cold after a bit and goes from full to showing like 20% battery in a second when it's negative temperatures

I have 6 batteries that I use regularly in negative temperatures and none have that issue, sorry about your bad luck, but that isn't common. I also ride with several people whose batteries are just fine in the cold.

Maybe yours is higher end bike? Mine is a low low end commuter folding bike.

In another winter ebike post I've seen lots of other people complaining about battery autonomy dropping in winter. Mine is an extreme case because the battery is tiny (I've chosen like that so I can bring with me to the office everyday), so I have to charge it basically everyday in winter against every 3-4 days in summer.