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| Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
| Q.
| WHAT ARE THE ROAD RULES ?
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| A. |
In Australia much confusion surrounds the road rules and use of bicycles with motors (power assisted bicycles) in public places.
According to motor vehicle ADR's (National Standards), a bicycle with an auxiliary engine (petrol or electric), with less than 200 Watts (0.27h.p) OUTPUT* is classified as an AB Category Vehicle, a 'Power Assisted' or 'Motor Assisted' Pedal Cycle.
Fundamentally, it must STILL BE A BICYCLE with the primary form of motive power being the pedals and the auxiliary engine supplying assistance only good enough to maintain low speed on level ground, no greater than an 'average' person pedalling.
*OUTPUT. Output can be measured/quoted a variety of ways. Authorities have not yet advised which method/standard (AS/NZ,DIN,SAE or other) is expected to be used when quoting power output. Depending on where and how you test, a variety of figures can be obtained from the same power unit. Most people have come to assume output to be 'the amount of power available to assist the propulsion of the bicycle'. Given this is most logical & aligned with the intention of 'performance' limit, this is the method we use, also known as 'shaft' or 'effective' power.
CLICK HERE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD RULES and go to the dictionary of terms, look up 'bicycle'.
ROTARY'S INTERNALLY GEARED HUB MOTOR IS NOT GOVERNED, it is NOT CAPABLE of more output without EXPENSIVE internal re-engineering.
HOW CAN IT BE LESS THAN 200Watts ? CLICK HERE FOR INFO SHEET
N.S.W R.T.A clearly indicates to AVOID certain types of motors that are easily adjusted for more power. Rotary's is NOT one of these.
Each state & territory has slightly different rules involving the use of such products in public. Some states do not allow use in public.
CLICK ON THE BELOW LINKS TO STATE GOVERNMENT WEBSITES;
N.S.W R.T.A (see 'exemptions')
VIC ROADS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
NORTHERN TERRITORY
TASMANIA
QUEENSLAND TRANSPORT
?? HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIKE IS UNDER 200 WATTS ??
Each manufacturer/supplier of power assisted bicyles who make the claim "less than 200 Watts" should back this up with a declaration.
ALL ROTARYS PRODUCTS COME WITH A COMPLIANCE DECLARATION, CLICK HERE TO SEE AN EXAMPLE
Some 'other' products 'claim' to be less than 200 Watts. Then advertise a top speed of much more than 30Km/h.
We have measured the amount of power (work) required to pedal a standard 26" MOUNTAIN BIKE at steady 35Km/h on level ground with no wind and it required much more than 200Watts to do this speed.
The conclusion offered here is that it is generally not possible (with the rolling resistance & wind drag of a mountain bike) to do much more than 30Km/h with less than 200Watts, and this can be used as a rough guide for 200Watt compliance.
IF A POWER ASSISTED BIKE CAN DO 35+Km/h UNDER ENGINE POWER ONLY, THE ENGINE POWER OUTPUT IS CERTAINLY MORE THAN 200 WATTS.
When a bike is fitted with Rotary's Hub Motor, its not possible to do much more than 24Km/h under engine power alone, and thats under best conditions, hills & headwinds will considerably lower top speed under engine only.
Rotary Australia is staffed by technically qualified people with many years experience in motor vehicle compliance and testing issues. |
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| Q.
| WHY A MAXIMUM POWER OF 200 WATTS ? (0.27 H.P)
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| A. |
Not an easy question to answer, and has been partially answered in the previous FAQ, but put simply;
Long ago authorities had to decide what seperated a Power Assisted Bicycle from a Motor Cycle. It was determined that 200Watts was approximately the amount of work that can be continuously delivered by the average person while pedalling a bicycle.
The performance of a power-assisted bicycle (on motor alone) should be no more than a non-powered bike.
If a higher power limit was allowed, this may introduce extra requirements which negate the entire purpose of a ‘power-assisted bicycle’, such extra requirements could be; Licencing, Insurance, ADR compliance. Remember with more power, the product would be more capable of injuring the rider OR an innocent 3rd party. 200 watts is the maximum. |
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| Q.
| PETROL, HOW FAR WILL IT GO ON A TANK OF FUEL ?
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| A. |
It is difficult to accurately advise range due to various operating conditions, for example; if 5 different people drive the same motor vehicle, fuel consumption will be different for all of them (unless their driving habits are identical !).
At present there is no ‘standard’ fuel consumption test procedure for power assisted bicycles, so we will give a typical ‘highway cycle’ figure of 1Litre/60km’s (Flat ground, NO stop-start ,NO pedal-assist).
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| Q.
| PETROL, HOW FAST WILL IT GO, CAN I MAKE IT GO FASTER?
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| A. |
On level ground, a speed of approx’ 24 km/h is achievable without any pedal assistance, maximum power is available at approximately 18km/h, which is the average speed most recreational cyclists would travel at. You can pedal faster than the engines maximum speed if nec'.
The RH-01 Hub Engine was designed from the 'drawing board' only for this application. There is no governor , throttle limiter or intake/exhaust restrictors. The current engine is not capable of more output speed or torque.
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| Q.
| PETROL, HOW HEAVY IS IT ?
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| A. |
The 26” mens classic weigh’s 33kg and the D.I.Y kit will add 14kg to your bike. Rotary’s petrol unit is one of the lightest available. |
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| Q.
| PETROL, IS SERVICING REQUIRED ?
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| A. |
When using clean-fresh fuel and proper oil mix, servicing is usually limited to once a year.
It involves replacement of; Fuel filter, Air filter & Spark plug.
Drain/flush & refill fuel tank with fresh fuel.
Some external bolts need to be checked as well.
All parts are available through Rotary’s extensive dealer network.
If the bike is used daily or under harsh conditions (eg. Dirt road OR poor quality fuel) the bike will require more servicing. The bicycle frame only requires standard bicycle-type checks (tyres/brakes etc..).
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| Q.
| PETROL, WHAT ARE THE WARRANTY CONDITIONS ?
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| A. |
Your Rotary petrol bike has 6mnths parts & labour warranty,
The warranty does not included failures that are/were the result of outside influence such as (but not limited to) ;
- Incorrect or poor quality fuel specification.
- Poor maintenance habits.
- Normal wear items eg.. tyres / brake pads / clutch linings.
- Bikes used for commercial purpose.
- Accident damage.
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, HOW FAR WILL IT GO ON A SINGLE CHARGE ?
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| A. |
Be wary of claims that a particular E-bike is capable of ‘50km’s on a single charge!’, The truth of the matter is that E-bike range is even more varied than petrol. During testing of our ESH-01 system, we discovered that a typical ‘Highway cycle’ figure of 25kms was easily achieved (Flat ground, NO pedal-assist, NO stop-start). The same test bike with light pedal-assistance travelled up to 40kms, BUT, the same bike subject to extreme stop-start & hill-climb with under-inflated tyres produced only 5kms ! |
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, HOW FAST WILL IT GO ?
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| A. |
Generally, the top speed on flat ground without pedal-assist is the same as the petrol bike’s; approx 24km/h. |
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, HOW HEAVY IS IT ?
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| A. |
The ESH-01 System will add 8.2 Kg to an existing bicycle. |
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, IS SERVICING REQUIRED ?
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| A. |
The electric system has been designed to be maintenance-free. Battery replacement can be expected at some point in the future depending on usage habits. |
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHARGE ?
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| A. |
The ESH-01 System takes about 5hrs to charge from a fully discharged condition. |
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| Q.
| ELECTRIC, Why is the motor on the front wheel, does it make any difference ?
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| A. |
With 'only' 200Watts@130 r/min & 'only' 25Nm of torque@40 r/min it really doesn't make any difference where the motor is. It certainly doesn't have enough power/torque to make any obvious difference.
A possible advantage of being fron mounted is better weight balance, from a loading point of view, the front tyre of a bicycle is under-utilized, having the motor weight on the front somewhat negates the need to have a heavy duty tyre on the back.
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