Electric bicycles - who buys them?
Discussion
Cupramax said:
Acera and Alivio are the entry level mechs, I’d say Deore is mid range and it’s MTB stuff so I wouldn’t compare with 105 which is road stuff.
I think Deore is the entry level of the "serious" MTB groupset really and the equivalent to Tiagra.Dura Ace > Ultegra > 105 > Tiagra
XTR > XT > SLX > Deore
I would be quite happy with Deore on a emtb.
Its a beautiful day to commute to work on the bike......but there is a 20mph headwind all the way in to work, and it feels below freezing with windchill. On my normal road bike it would not have been 'fun', but on the eBike, even carrying work stuff in a backpack I took the long way in to cheer me up before spending the rest of the stay day staring at screens.
As a commuter tool these things are so much more usable than a 'normal' bike. I would have 100% driven to work today if I didn't have the eBike. I did use up nearly 50% charge in under 13 miles though....doing the legal 15.5mph into a heafty headwind gives the motor a proper work out.
As a commuter tool these things are so much more usable than a 'normal' bike. I would have 100% driven to work today if I didn't have the eBike. I did use up nearly 50% charge in under 13 miles though....doing the legal 15.5mph into a heafty headwind gives the motor a proper work out.
I've done 70 miles this weekend on my now 3 year old Bergamont e-trailster full suspension. I think I've clocked 2000 miles or so although my Intuvio has now developed a mind of its own!
Battery is still excellent with circa 23 miles showing on turbo with a full charge.
I got to the top of my circa 550m climb, 6 miles, with 2 miles left and then for the fun!
Unfortunately I fell off at 20mph as I dropped through the woods onto the tarmac as I hit a round at an unfortunate angle! Bad rash on left elbow and I fear a mildly torn scapula muscle!
53 year olds don't bounce like 13 year olds!
Heading out again after a charge. Love it!
Battery is still excellent with circa 23 miles showing on turbo with a full charge.
I got to the top of my circa 550m climb, 6 miles, with 2 miles left and then for the fun!
Unfortunately I fell off at 20mph as I dropped through the woods onto the tarmac as I hit a round at an unfortunate angle! Bad rash on left elbow and I fear a mildly torn scapula muscle!
53 year olds don't bounce like 13 year olds!
Heading out again after a charge. Love it!
ChocolateFrog said:
The 15.5mph limit must kill the concept of a road ebike?.
I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
This is the conundrum I’ve got at the moment. I’ve got a Frankenstein 26” emtb for commuting and a hybrid for general riding. I’m now realising the hybrid probably wasn’t the best choice so I may convert that for a comfortable commuter, so what next? I’ve been enjoying road riding more so do I get a nice carbon roadie? But some of lanes by me are awful and would probably wreck carbon wheels and frame. So maybe a Alu e-road, but as you say seems a bit pointless in the real world? So maybe a full suss emtb? Can’t really over bike when you’re electric so why not and then at least I can go anywhere? Help!I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
I only ride off road, and it’s mostly of a rocky/technical/deep mud nature so I’ve never even considered the speed limit too low. I consider it useful uphill and don’t care otherwise.
Admittedly on a road bike it could be a pain unless the motor really was friction free when you went past the limit.
Admittedly on a road bike it could be a pain unless the motor really was friction free when you went past the limit.
ChocolateFrog said:
The 15.5mph limit must kill the concept of a road ebike?.
I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
Not into a 20mph head wind you wouldn't, nor going up a 5% gradient (or both at the same time), unless you are very very fit! I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
Don't forget adding in a backpack and the need to do a days work when you get to work.
I got home just in time yesterday to beat the clouds, cycling in a snow blizzard isn't fun even on an eBike!!
Compared to my road bike the eBike is much better commuter tool, it enabled me to commute on the bike through out the entire winter except for the week of snow we had.
Am currently trying to decided which next n+1 bike I should buy, something like the Orbea Gain is very close to been my final choice
.
Dog Star said:
Admittedly on a road bike it could be a pain unless the motor really was friction free when you went past the limit.
Am pretty sure most half decent eBike motors are friction free these days. The motor essentially makes my 17kg hybrid commuter bike nearly as quick as my sub 8kg road bike if I really put the effort in with the motor on. The benefit of the hybrid ofcourse for commuting is the more upright position, wider tyres and disc brakes which I don't have on my road bike.
Darth Paul said:
But some of lanes by me are awful and would probably wreck carbon wheels and frame.
A decent carbon road bike will handle any kind of British roads fine. My one is 10(Ten) years old, I've even fallen off it three times including going over the bonnet of a car, the bike frame is much stronger than me!The DuraAce wheelset am running are about 7 years old, they have only needed turing twice in that time, and rim brake clearances really at mms.
Though my eBike is nearly as quick as my road bike in many situations the road bike is so much more fun/engaging to ride. Its like the difference between a Cayenne turbo and a MX5.
Give me a clear day, with a few hours off to go for a ride I would pick the road bike every time, but for commuting to work in heavy wind/rain it'll be the eBike.....n+1 really does make sense. A road eBike coming in at 5kg+ lighter than the hybrid eBike though may end been the last n+1 bike I need, or so I keep telling SWMBO
.Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 7th April 05:10
gangzoom said:
ChocolateFrog said:
The 15.5mph limit must kill the concept of a road ebike?.
I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
Not into a 20mph head wind you wouldn't, nor going up a 5% gradient (or both at the same time), unless you are very very fit! I'm not a great cyclist (been out twice this year so far) and even I could average that speed for hours on a regular road bike.
Don't forget adding in a backpack and the need to do a days work when you get to work.
I got home just in time yesterday to beat the clouds, cycling in a snow blizzard isn't fun even on an eBike!!
[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51099798850_fa6a7c916f_k_d.jpg[/thumb]
[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51099056281_82fcc6a522_k_d.jpg[/thumb]
Compared to my road bike the eBike is much better commuter tool, it enabled me to commute on the bike through out the entire winter except for the week of snow we had.
Am currently trying to decided which next n+1 bike I should buy, something like the Orbea Gain is very close to been my final choice
.[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51041595423_67ba3b2c17_c_d.jpg[/thumb]
All my rides these days start and finish in the same place so unless I'm really unlucky that headwind is going to be a tailwind, likewise what's 12-15kph up hill will be 50 coming down then the dilemma is do you want to turn your 7-8kg road bike into a 16kg one just for those bits?
I was just commenting because I know they're technically sold but I've never seen one out and about whereas I'm more likely to see a eMTB now than a regular MTB.
ChocolateFrog said:
I think the word was average.
All my rides these days start and finish in the same place so unless I'm really unlucky that headwind is going to be a tailwind, likewise what's 12-15kph up hill will be 50 coming down then the dilemma is do you want to turn your 7-8kg road bike into a 16kg one just for those bits?
Clearly you need to do more road cycling......We all know the theory of wind on loops, but a 20mph headwind is a 20mph headwind, and on commutes wind seem to love changing directions for the ride home All my rides these days start and finish in the same place so unless I'm really unlucky that headwind is going to be a tailwind, likewise what's 12-15kph up hill will be 50 coming down then the dilemma is do you want to turn your 7-8kg road bike into a 16kg one just for those bits?
.As for hills, the extra weight of an eBike adds about 50watts/kg of additional power, so going up hill you are essentially climbing at speeds only drugged up pros can do. Coming down weight is never an issue, infact the more weight the quicker you go thanks to gravity, so its a win win on an eBike.
And as GCN love telling us on the flat it really isn't about weight but aero. A 11kg eBike versus a 8kg road bike in the same identical frame + rider position will be very similar speeds. For me holding 20mph on the flat is fine (with no wind), but a 10% gradient and I slow down to 10mph, its the extra speed on the hills that eBike are fab for. I also find my the eBike I hit the flat sections with much freshers legs as I haven't killed my self going up the climb.
As I've shown you already I can hit over 18mph average of my hybrid eBike, which isn't very aero at all. I recon on an electric road bike 19mph wouldn’t be far off on a rolling loop with 500 meters of climbing over 20-30 miles. If you can hit 19mph average on a road bike over rolling terrain already that's not an issue, but I certainly cannot.
Road eBikes aren't as common, but they seem good value. My budget for the next bike is currently £5k, and its hard to justify spending that on an unassisted road bike that looks almost identical to my current bike except for internal cables + disc brakes. Paying the same amount for what looks like the same bike but with an almost hidden motor is much easier to justify.
The Ribble SLR e looks nice to me, I doubt you would be able to tell its an eBike from a distance. For my £5k its between the Ribble, Orbea, or an unassisted Emonda SL - which actually happens to weigh over 8kgs without pedals, so HEAVIER than my current bike which comes in at 7.8 kg with pedals. Seems mad to me to pay £5k and end up with a heavier bike than my current one, so I might as well get an electric assisted one?!
Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 7th April 08:09
Dog Star said:
Nice - looking forward to finding out if you will manage that 48 mile ride. Very marginal I think so you might need to turn down the ECO mode the first time and/or get some free mileage by turning the motor off on the flat or at least the low % descents. nickfrog said:
Nice - looking forward to finding out if you will manage that 48 mile ride. Very marginal I think so you might need to turn down the ECO mode the first time and/or get some free mileage by turning the motor off on the flat or at least the low % descents.
I reckon it will do it no problem.Annoying thing is that I can't ride it yet - I've an invisiframe kit to fit and I don't want any dirt or microscratches whatsoever on the paint.
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