Electric bicycles - who buys them?

[LeadFarmer]

Ebikes are just really great fun to ride. And that’s what its all about isn’t it? Wouldn’t be without mine now. There’s no cheating involved, just pure enjoyment.

If you don’t like the idea of them , then don’t buy one. But to criticise someone for their choice of bike is immature and nonsensical.

[jonny142]

We hired 2 Giant E-bikes last year for a week down in Villach, Austria ..perfect for around the lakes ,and up the mountains Our Euro cousins have it off to a tee with routes and charging stations too , Hopefully more of the Cube range next year will have the Bosch powertube battery that i like in my budget

IMG_20170615_115023901 by Jon Webster, on Flickr

IMG_20170610_121414476 by Jon Webster, on Flickr

[Hoofy]

That's impressive! (The charging station.)

[Cupramax]

Until sales numbers rise considerably and scales of battery production allow for cheaper overall cost I doubt they’ll drop much. This is what pushed me to build my own, just over a grand for a decent base bike, battery and motor, plus battery capacity way higher that any factory built bike (720wh).

[jonny142]

Hoofy said:

That's impressive! (The charging station.)

It was ,bench seats inside to rest, air pump outside as in the piccy ,all free to use and not vandalised or Graffiti'd . spotless as is the rest of Austria

[LudaMusser]

I'm a hardened mountain biker, been all over England, Wales, Scotland and The Alps doing XC and DH but about eighteen months ago I got into road cycling as locally all the decent woods seem to have been lost. Just bought the Mrs a little e-bike second hand for £225 and she loves it. We go out together and go to a pub usually. I still do my more serious stuff but going out together is great

[Barchettaman]

zubzob said:

Do we think prices will come down much? The battery alone costs 500 quid or something.

Edited by zubzob on Friday 1st June 23:02

Difficult to know. The industry seems to have settled (for now) on mid-motor and 400Wh+ battery for approx €2000 as a starting point.

I would imagine they will try and keep this price point as a minimum and just add battery capacity as (hopefully) batteries come down in price.

It´s a bit like compact cameras - they never really got much cheaper, they just got more pixels, or home computers, they just got ´faster´/more memory.

Having said all that, there are some pretty funky lightweight hub motors coming out of China (xiongda, I think), it´ll be interesting to see if they get any traction in the market.

Edited by Barchettaman on Saturday 2nd June 10:01

[272BHP]

I can't help thinking that in some use cases an electric skateboard is a better solution.

https://boostedboards.com

They are getting very sophisticated now and no one would blink an eye if you used them on the pavement as without inspection who would know?

[Hoofy]

272BHP said:

I can't help thinking that in some use cases an electric skateboard is a better solution.

https://boostedboards.com

They are getting very sophisticated now and no one would blink an eye if you used them on the pavement as without inspection who would know?

Ebikes are easier to use/balance on/brake etc.

[272BHP]

Yes, I am fully aware boards are not for everyone but in certain urban environments and for particular users these would be absolutely ideal.

I have worked at a few places when I was younger where I would have had one of these like a shot! jump off, pick it up and walk through the door with no danger of it being stolen in a bike rack.

[Laurel Green]

I saw one of those, like a big wheel which one stands either side of, only the wheel was in the middle of what looked like a skateboard. Was trundling along a towpath so must have been fairly rugged.

[Hoofy]

272BHP said:

Yes, I am fully aware boards are not for everyone but in certain urban environments and for particular users these would be absolutely ideal.

I have worked at a few places when I was younger where I would have had one of these like a shot! jump off, pick it up and walk through the door with no danger of it being stolen in a bike rack.

I think an escooter is probably better idea then. Funnily, saw someone zip past me on the pavement yesterday.

[RizzoTheRat]

Laurel Green said:

I saw one of those, like a big wheel which one stands either side of, only the wheel was in the middle of what looked like a skateboard. Was trundling along a towpath so must have been fairly rugged.

I've seen a few of those around, but they're not road legal and I don't think they're legal on pavements either. Nice and small if you commute either end of a train journey though.

[Hoofy]

RizzoTheRat said:

Laurel Green said:

I saw one of those, like a big wheel which one stands either side of, only the wheel was in the middle of what looked like a skateboard. Was trundling along a towpath so must have been fairly rugged.

I've seen a few of those around, but they're not road legal and I don't think they're legal on pavements either. Nice and small if you commute either end of a train journey though.

Last I heard was that if it's got a motor, you can't ride it on the road without type approval and you're not allowed to ride on the pavement.

Rule 64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

(According to the HC, must not = legal; should not = advisory.)

[Dog Star]

Hoofy said:

Rule 64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

(According to the HC, must not = legal; should not = advisory.)

I cycle on the pavement where possible - I don't feel safe on main roads (and I say that as a motorcyclist).

[RizzoTheRat]

Yeah but powered monowheels, hoverboards, skate boards, seaway etc never used to be mentioned in the highway code, dunno if they're in there now or if there's seperate legislation to cover them.
At least with an e-bike the legal situation is perfectly clear.

[Hoofy]

RizzoTheRat said:

Yeah but powered monowheels, hoverboards, skate boards, seaway etc never used to be mentioned in the highway code, dunno if they're in there now or if there's seperate legislation to cover them.
At least with an e-bike the legal situation is perfectly clear.

They have a motor so can't be ridden on the pavement and are not type approved for road use. Your living room is the only legal place.

[Hoofy]

Dog Star said:

Hoofy said:

Rule 64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

(According to the HC, must not = legal; should not = advisory.)

I cycle on the pavement where possible - I don't feel safe on main roads (and I say that as a motorcyclist).

I would too but it's a max £1k fine apparently.

[Dog Star]

Hoofy said:

They have a motor so can't be ridden on the pavement and are not type approved for road use. Your living room is the only legal place.

Are you talking about ebikes?

[ElectricSoup]

Hoofy said:

Dog Star said:

Hoofy said:

Rule 64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

(According to the HC, must not = legal; should not = advisory.)

I cycle on the pavement where possible - I don't feel safe on main roads (and I say that as a motorcyclist).

I would too but it's a max £1k fine apparently.

There's a busy junction near me where lots of cyclists use the pavement. Plod have taken to installing two PCSOs there, holding Costa coffee cups of course, most weekday mornings. I don't know if they're dishing out fines or just warnings. But the pavements are narrow and busy with several bus stops, so cyclists really shouldn't be using them at busy times.

Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 4th June 15:35