Electric bikes - ready for primetime?
Discussion
Hi,
So the winter months mean planning for the summer and the inevitable trip round the web looking for the winter bike bargains. I notice that a number of large manufacturers have electric bikes and the idea has appealed to me before but this was 10 years ago when battery technology was a quite a bit less mature.
The idea of wafting around town on the daily commute on one of these does appear highly and it would be a functional product that could get lots of usage. Turning up to work or riding to meetings without getting changed and dripping with sweat would be great.
http://www.kalkhoff-bikes.com/en/bikes/e-bike/e-pe...
The price is a shock but no doubt cheaper products do exist from the likes of Giant et al.
Am I chasing a pipedream or is it time to take a punt on the technology? What is the market like these days and has anybody here taken the plunge?
Many thanks,
So the winter months mean planning for the summer and the inevitable trip round the web looking for the winter bike bargains. I notice that a number of large manufacturers have electric bikes and the idea has appealed to me before but this was 10 years ago when battery technology was a quite a bit less mature.
The idea of wafting around town on the daily commute on one of these does appear highly and it would be a functional product that could get lots of usage. Turning up to work or riding to meetings without getting changed and dripping with sweat would be great.
http://www.kalkhoff-bikes.com/en/bikes/e-bike/e-pe...
The price is a shock but no doubt cheaper products do exist from the likes of Giant et al.
Am I chasing a pipedream or is it time to take a punt on the technology? What is the market like these days and has anybody here taken the plunge?
Many thanks,
Last year I bought a Dawes "city" that had done less than FIFTEEN miles from new, guy had paid £1000 for it two years previously, totally as new. Paid £350 for it.
Not planning doing anything serious with it, just up and down a few canal towpaths, seafront promenades etc, my high mileage days are over, but yes, go for it, they are great.
Just make sure you do your research.
Not planning doing anything serious with it, just up and down a few canal towpaths, seafront promenades etc, my high mileage days are over, but yes, go for it, they are great.
Just make sure you do your research.
The market for these things here in Germany is massive and increasing year-on-year.
With some exceptions, the market seems to have settled on bottom-bracket assist systems (Bosch or Panasonic) with approximately 250 Watt of assistance. Lithium-Ion batteries are getting cheaper too.
Go for it!
With some exceptions, the market seems to have settled on bottom-bracket assist systems (Bosch or Panasonic) with approximately 250 Watt of assistance. Lithium-Ion batteries are getting cheaper too.
Go for it!
I was looking at electric bikes for commuting a while back but couldn't justify the price. I ended up buying a conversion kit as I already had an old Giant mountain bike that wasn't getting any use. It was also on the ebay 20% off day so got the kit for £160, then spent £50 on a decent set of waterproof panniers. I didn't need to buy a battery as I've already got a shed load of lipos for my drones so I just run it on those.
I've now covered 700 miles since November and its been great, I'm not that fit so could never manage the ride to work and back (about 15 miles) plus there are no showers at work so can't turn up sweating like a pig, but I'm getting fitter with doing it as obviously you still put some effort in (although you can put as little or as much in as you like). Its great on the really windy nights where there's a massive headwind as you can just carry on regardless.
I've now covered 700 miles since November and its been great, I'm not that fit so could never manage the ride to work and back (about 15 miles) plus there are no showers at work so can't turn up sweating like a pig, but I'm getting fitter with doing it as obviously you still put some effort in (although you can put as little or as much in as you like). Its great on the really windy nights where there's a massive headwind as you can just carry on regardless.
I've done my own conversion too. I have a heart condition which has progressively reduced my pedalling ability.
After some research I chose a two speed rear hub motor, perfectly suited to MTB use. I built the motor into a
wheel and thence into my Kinesis Maxlight.
It's ACE !!
The display has a motor wattage readout which tells you how much work it's doing. This figure reduces according
to how much pedal effort you put in. I aim to give about 50% with the motor doing the rest.
A 20 mile, mixed, on-off road ride uses around half the battery capacity.
I'm no longer "tailend Charlie" either.
001 by Geoff Lee, on Flickr
After some research I chose a two speed rear hub motor, perfectly suited to MTB use. I built the motor into a
wheel and thence into my Kinesis Maxlight.
It's ACE !!
The display has a motor wattage readout which tells you how much work it's doing. This figure reduces according
to how much pedal effort you put in. I aim to give about 50% with the motor doing the rest.
A 20 mile, mixed, on-off road ride uses around half the battery capacity.
I'm no longer "tailend Charlie" either.
001 by Geoff Lee, on FlickrEdited by spyder dryver on Tuesday 4th July 11:32
I'm seriously tempted to get one for my wife. She enjoys going out cycling, but is not "serious". I enjoy riding with her, but she is very slow and feels guilty that she is making me ride slowly. I don't mind, but I think she would be much more likely to go out cycling on an electric bike.
Has anyone used these?
https://www.pedalease.co.uk/index.php?rt=product/p...
Seems a far cheaper option, i have several bikes.
What's the views on the different drive methods?
I like the mid drive option but seems far more expensive and all come with hideous cheap looking cranks.
Rear drive, how easy are these to get up and running, getting the matching block for your gears etc?
Front, not sure about this. I would imagine off road or in bad conditions loosing grip at the front would be rather worrying.
https://www.pedalease.co.uk/index.php?rt=product/p...
Seems a far cheaper option, i have several bikes.
What's the views on the different drive methods?
I like the mid drive option but seems far more expensive and all come with hideous cheap looking cranks.
Rear drive, how easy are these to get up and running, getting the matching block for your gears etc?
Front, not sure about this. I would imagine off road or in bad conditions loosing grip at the front would be rather worrying.
I got myself a KTM Macina Cross 9 last year for commuting and leisure. Brilliant bike which I've added mudguards and a rack to. Your best bet is to go to a decent ebike shop and try out different models to see which you prefer.
Mid drive tend to be more expensive but are more efficient so you get more miles out the battery. I can go 40 miles on mine with the assistance level set to normal. Mine has the Bosch system but Panasonic and yahama also do crank units.
I've always enjoyed cycling but couldn't face the 10 mile mostly uphill ride home from work on a regular bicycle and despite the assistance I'm definitely fitter than before.
++
Mid drive tend to be more expensive but are more efficient so you get more miles out the battery. I can go 40 miles on mine with the assistance level set to normal. Mine has the Bosch system but Panasonic and yahama also do crank units.
I've always enjoyed cycling but couldn't face the 10 mile mostly uphill ride home from work on a regular bicycle and despite the assistance I'm definitely fitter than before.
++
Edited by colin79666 on Saturday 6th February 11:49
The_Burg said:
Has anyone used these?
https://www.pedalease.co.uk/index.php?rt=product/p...
Seems a far cheaper option, i have several bikes.
What's the views on the different drive methods?
I like the mid drive option but seems far more expensive and all come with hideous cheap looking cranks.
Rear drive, how easy are these to get up and running, getting the matching block for your gears etc?
Front, not sure about this. I would imagine off road or in bad conditions loosing grip at the front would be rather worrying.
That would be OK off-road(1000w) but not on-road as anything above 250 watts needs to be registered(number-plates and all) to be legal on-road. https://www.pedalease.co.uk/index.php?rt=product/p...
Seems a far cheaper option, i have several bikes.
What's the views on the different drive methods?
I like the mid drive option but seems far more expensive and all come with hideous cheap looking cranks.
Rear drive, how easy are these to get up and running, getting the matching block for your gears etc?
Front, not sure about this. I would imagine off road or in bad conditions loosing grip at the front would be rather worrying.
A friend has one of the crank drives from Woosh Bikes and, though more expensive(and illegal on-road but they do make an 250W if on-road) is very happy with it. It being crank drive also means easier to repair punctures as there is no faffing about disconnecting the cable to the motor.
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