Anyone have an E bike?

[Some Gump]

I don't see why people dislike them. They allow people that otherwise can't enjoy cycling to do so. "assisted" or not, some pedaling is better than no pedaling.

[Eric Mc]

ZesPak said:

Eric Mc said:

I assumed it was an attempt to attribute an "Environmentally Beneficial" allure to the bike as well.

Oh, as in E-mail? Or E-Vehicle?

Or "e-nough"?

[ZesPak]

Eric Mc said:

Or "e-nough"?

E-mbarrassing?

[anonymous-user]

daddy cool said:

Then, you will never get fitter or healthier, will you?

Try a hill. Fail.
Next time, aim to get 6ft further up. manage that, then get off and push.
Keep doing that until you get to the top.
It'll be worth it, and you heart will thank you in the long run.

This

The Wife and I are a year into Mountain Biking (I'm 36 she is 32) both smokers and unfit. One of our favourite trail centres starts with a big hill, first attempt 1/4 of the way up and walk, now we can both ride up the whole thing and the sense of achievement is great

[sjg]

If an ebike gives you more fun, gets you out more often, gets you riding with your quicker mates, gets you on longer rides to interesting places that would otherwise be too daunting, then it's all good.

Besides, riding one when the battery is flat will do wonders for your fitness too...

[TTmonkey]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Perhaps when your 50 and have a bit of arthritis in your joints, you'll appreciate a bit of electrical help...

[Hoofy]

daddy cool said:

Any fatty can ride an e-bike, its hardly going to worry someone thats actually using their own calories to propel themselves.

Not sure of your point. Why would they be worried or the opposite? (I can see you are determined to make a point in this thread but I'm not sure what it is.)

Edited by Hoofy on Monday 12th October 18:03

[daddy cool]

Hoofy said:

daddy cool said:

Any fatty can ride an e-bike, its hardly going to worry someone thats actually using their own calories to propel themselves.

Not sure of your point. Why would they be worried or the opposite? (I can see you are determined to make a point in this thread but I'm not sure what it is.)

Edited by Hoofy on Monday 12th October 18:03

Maybe read the first line of the first post in this thread, which I was replying to? Or don't, doesn't really matter.

[Hoofy]

daddy cool said:

Maybe read the first line of the first post in this thread, which I was replying to? Or don't, doesn't really matter.

Ah, forgot that line reading the subsequent replies.

[daddy cool]

TTmonkey said:

Perhaps when your 50 and have a bit of arthritis in your joints, you'll appreciate a bit of electrical help...

Dude - I was giving you some motivational talk/tough love. Im 39, and only started riding a few years back after a lifetime of never doing any sports/exercise, and ive got reasonably good by just plugging away and setting myself small but achievable goals. I would say if you can ride around on most terrains and its only hills you cant manage, then I think you really *can* manage them and you just think you cant.
If the arthritis in your joints is that bad that you cant cycle up a hill, maybe cycling isn't for you? Maybe walking (if you still want to be out in the wilds) or swimming (which is a bit less high-impact)?
Or - which is maybe more likely - its bad fit on the bike - your saddle is too low and your knees are doing too much of the work. I had the same on my road bike - a relatively inexpensive bike-fit session raised my saddle a few inches and my knee pain went away overnight.
Or maybe its technique, and you are grinding away on a hill when you should just remain seated and spin the biggest cog on the back and the smallest on the front and maintain a steady rhythm... gearing has moved on a bit in recent years - maybe you could upgrade to something better suited to hills?
Anyway, I don't know you, or your bike, or where you ride - but I encourage people to get out and ride because its improved my life in loads of ways, so take my comments in good faith. And yes, if someone really has a medical issue or is particularly old, then an e-bike is a great idea.

[The Vambo]

daddy cool said:

TTmonkey said:

Perhaps when your 50 and have a bit of arthritis in your joints, you'll appreciate a bit of electrical help...

Dude - I was giving you some motivational talk/tough love. Im 39, and only started riding a few years back after a lifetime of never doing any sports/exercise, and ive got reasonably good by just plugging away and setting myself small but achievable goals. I would say if you can ride around on most terrains and its only hills you cant manage, then I think you really *can* manage them and you just think you cant.
If the arthritis in your joints is that bad that you cant cycle up a hill, maybe cycling isn't for you? Maybe walking (if you still want to be out in the wilds) or swimming (which is a bit less high-impact)?
Or - which is maybe more likely - its bad fit on the bike - your saddle is too low and your knees are doing too much of the work. I had the same on my road bike - a relatively inexpensive bike-fit session raised my saddle a few inches and my knee pain went away overnight.
Or maybe its technique, and you are grinding away on a hill when you should just remain seated and spin the biggest cog on the back and the smallest on the front and maintain a steady rhythm... gearing has moved on a bit in recent years - maybe you could upgrade to something better suited to hills?
Anyway, I don't know you, or your bike, or where you ride - but I encourage people to get out and ride because its improved my life in loads of ways, so take my comments in good faith. And yes, if someone really has a medical issue or is particularly old, then an e-bike is a great idea.

[WinstonWolf]

Mr GrimNasty said:

You aren't going to worry a serious cyclist on a e-bike unless it is illegally modified.

I had one of the buggers pull away from me north of 25MPH after I'd chased him down for more than a mile. I wasn't happy, that's cheating

[Black can man]

TTmonkey said:

Perhaps when your 50 and have a bit of arthritis in your joints, you'll appreciate a bit of electrical help...

I'm 54 this week & suffer from bad knees & i find cycling the only exercise i can do other than Swimming & i'm doing on average 170 miles a week on my bike,


Never felt better chum.

Edited by Black can man on Monday 12th October 19:06

[272BHP]

I think they make a lot of sense for commuting to work.

Never understood the cycling to work on a bike thing if you work in an office, seems such an inordinate faff all round. Certainly so if it is greater than 10mile or has lots of hills. These things make it a viable option for many people.

[daddy cool]

The Vambo said:

[Rotaree]

272BHP said:

I think they make a lot of sense for commuting to work.

Never understood the cycling to work on a bike thing if you work in an office, seems such an inordinate faff all round. Certainly so if it is greater than 10mile or has lots of hills. These things make it a viable option for many people.

This.

I use mine at least three times a week to commute to work - 15 miles each way with some fairly big hills. I'm 51, have a bit of arthritis and, while I could probably still do the same commute on an 'ordinary' bike, realistically I wouldn't do it anything like as frequently. I don't need a full on work-out before doing a day's work and then the same on the way home. My e-bike means I can get some exercise - as has been mentioned they don't provide assistance above 15 mph so on the flat or downhill your effort is all that makes them go, mine won't go on its own either so, even when it's providing assistance, it's proportional to the amount of effort I'm putting in so I'm still working up the hills albeit not as hard as I would have been without the motor or I can work as hard and go considerably faster: Which means that the other benefit for commuting is that you can maintain a higher average speed by going quicker up the hills - I've knocked about ten minutes off the time in my younger days when I occasionally used to use an 'ordinary' bike on the same journey.

It must be doing me some good as I've managed to lose a stone and a half since I've started using it and I probably eat a fair bit more.

[dfen5]

I had a 1kw kit bolted into the steel forks of a Halfords Carerra Subway. Was running 63v RC car cells.
With a proper controller and pedal assist or throttle it would drag me the 18 miles to work and back without me arriving sweating like a pig. Topped out @ about 28mph and would pull up a decent, long hill without pedalling. Superb.

Also had a standard 'legal' kit. Again, 15 mph, assist was very useful..

Surprised they're not a lot more popular. In Europe they're now allowing 'speed' ebikes. Future for them looks quite promising.

http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/cat...

[Dog Star]

My mum and dad have got a pair of electric folding "Hopper" e-bikes; they're pensioners and take them with them in their motorhome and then go on 30 and 40 mile rides on the thing. I think they're great.

I've used them myself (I can drop my car off for a service, get the ebike out of the boot and zoom to work faster than I can drive cos I can take shortcuts) - amazing how such tiny motors can be so powerful and you don't end up all sweaty in your work clothes.

[cirian75]

I've seem some of these.

one about a month ago, plainly exceeding 15mph blasting up a hill, zero pedalling.

There's also one I chase down Chorlton road on the way into work, normally catch up with him by Deansgate station.

I'm there fully lycra'd, him, heavy thick clothes, waterproofs, seems like cheating to me.

[Amateurish]

I was similarly sceptical about ebikes until I tried one last month. It was this beauty:



I was using it to tackle some trails in the French Alps. Seriously, it's fantastic. I was getting up trails which would have been impossible for me otherwise. It opens up whole areas of the mountains where mountains bikers can't normally get to. And I was totally knackered by the end.