Of course not gentlemen. Tell you what, why don't you stop looking at this thread and listen to some music. How about AC/DC
You are sinking to our level!
Anyone know anything about electric bikes?
- Thread starter swee'pea99
- Start date
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You are sinking to our level!
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Ive seen a number of ebikes and to be honest how on earth do you go about choosing one is the hardest thing I think, especiwly when you consider that some are quite expensive. What type of motor would last the longest? Is there a lot of differance between them as far as the life of each of them?
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
There's an elderly bloke i know of who's had an electric bike for around 15 years. I saw him yesterday on what looked like a brand spanking new one. I was going to ask him about it but he flew past as such a speed that by the time i'd got down my ladder he was a hundred yards up the road!
I need one desperately for pulling a trailer, specially now as I can't stand up on the hills. I have missed out on wood, apples etc. I once did 5 journeys to pick up wood 50 miles total. What a pathetic pile of wood I had compared to the other option....sharing with a man with a van.
Now power assist would have made it much easier. 2 batteries I could have gone all day. One day I will bid a price on eBay for a Kalkhoff in perfect condition that stands some chance of winning. As of yet £200 bid has not done it!
Now power assist would have made it much easier. 2 batteries I could have gone all day. One day I will bid a price on eBay for a Kalkhoff in perfect condition that stands some chance of winning. As of yet £200 bid has not done it!
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
I've fitted an electric front wheel kit to the trike for hill climbing that's the same as Maz's (arthritic knees) and think this is a better way if you have a bike you like. The kit hardly changes the appearance of the original so they don't look like the earlier ugly things but that seems to be changing as makers see what others are doing (some are still pig-ugly though)
As for the town/sit-up style of bikes IMO they are the perfect vehicle to convert or buy and I much prefer the front wheel to be the assist wheel (where poss)
Personally I can't wait for snow and ice, should be fun on the trike.
(might even put slicks on 
just have to get some more dosh than I get now)
As for the town/sit-up style of bikes IMO they are the perfect vehicle to convert or buy and I much prefer the front wheel to be the assist wheel (where poss)
Personally I can't wait for snow and ice, should be fun on the trike.
(might even put slicks on just have to get some more dosh than I get now)Phil Fouracre
Veteran
Never thought I'd be singing their praises, but, had one for two years now and it is great. Had a bad accident and surgeon said I'd be able to cycle before I could walk. Perfect for anyone who wants to cycle, but, for whatever reason can't manage. Have a BH Neo city and can't fault it.
Hi
As a newbie I would like to tell my story, I have a Specialised Crosstrail hybrid and as I am 6'3" it is a 58 cm frame, this suits me and is comfortable, but now at 73 and having had both knees replaced I was finding that my riding was getting painful and no longer enjoyable,the hills around here in South Wales were getting hard work and I found myself making excuses not to go out.
So the alternative I thought was to give up cycling or investigate an Electric bike, I found that the ready made bikes were not to my taste and also very expensive considering that I was about to purchase two bikes, as my wife was also not enjoying riding as much.
So the next step was convert my Crosstrail ( my wife has the same bike but a ladies frame) as we both find them comfortable having fitted stem extensions and the very comfortable Butterfly handlebars also I like having hydraulic brakes to slow me down when I go quite swiftly downhill (my weight aids this!) after spending hours searching I decided to drive to Cyclotricity near Aldershot I took my bike with me to ensure that the front wheel conversion would in fact fit my Front suspension forks and clear the hydraulic calipers
after confirming that it should be ok I ordered 2 front 250w conversions with the larger batteries which fit in the supplied rear rack.
Two weeks later they arrived and the fun began, as I am a little particular it took about 4 days to fit both bikes and route the wiring as neat as possible using lots of cable ties!, I am very pleased with the quality of these kits all connections are colour coded so you cannot make mistakes.
Well the first ride was amazing I went out looking for all the hills which I had avoided before,as I elected for both a throttle and pedal assist You still have to pedal but I was now using much higher gears and was easily riding at 12 to 15 mph and the "granny" gear has not been used!
So I am now out most days and riding about 25-35 miles, considering the bad weather at the moment the cold is making me go home rather than going further, also my knees are feeling better as I still have to pedal!
Now waiting for the better weather and in May we are away for 2 weeks cycling in Holland
My feeling is it was either give up cycling and sit watching TV all day or spend 1000.00 for 2 conversions and continue riding it just makes sense, and it is NOT cheating
Ken
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Both Maz and have those Cyclotricity kits (fitted by me) they are reasonable quality and excellent for the price 
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Not sure that this warrants a thread of its own
A chap rides a bike with a concealed electric motor up Box Hill, and cogitates upon "mechanical doping" professionally and in sportives etc.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/8c89e112-...cles_share/share_link_article_email/editorial
The bike I had come to try is the first concealed-motor racing bike from a UK manufacturer. Built by Somerset-based Electric Mountain Bikes, it will be launched this month under the company’s new brand, Goat Bikes, and will sell for £4,049.
http://www.goatbikes.com/
A chap rides a bike with a concealed electric motor up Box Hill, and cogitates upon "mechanical doping" professionally and in sportives etc.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/8c89e112-...cles_share/share_link_article_email/editorial
The bike I had come to try is the first concealed-motor racing bike from a UK manufacturer. Built by Somerset-based Electric Mountain Bikes, it will be launched this month under the company’s new brand, Goat Bikes, and will sell for £4,049.
http://www.goatbikes.com/
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
No they dont, no they are not.
They seem to be more mature than people on some forums and the word hxxmet is not deleted every time you post it in case a fight breaks out.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Jannie and I had our Electric bikes for about 3 years before passing them onto friends who still use them in the summer. Mine was a Tonaro Enduro and Jannies was. Tonaro Compy . We bought them for a bit of fun, and they certainly were. I sometimes used mine for my 40km commute in the summer. My route is undulating and it made getting to work a lot easier than a road bike. We would make picnics at the weekends and ride for miles without any effort. At the same time we would still be riding our road bikes during the week.
Now some say it is cheating. But who is being cheated? Thats like a Koga World Traveller owner like myself saying to a road bike rider, that they are cheating. A bike is a bike is a bike, as far as I am concerned. If you are out on a bike, its OK by me.
Electric bikes are very popular in Denmark. The Danes dont have this macho image of cycling. They are ridden by the whole range of the community from school children to pensioners. They are not advertised for use only by the aged or infirm in Denmark, but by everybody.
We really enjoyed ours but were running out of space for bikes and motorbikes and so they had to go, along with the ICE trike. We do miss them and a couple more could be on the cards quite soon.
Now some say it is cheating. But who is being cheated? Thats like a Koga World Traveller owner like myself saying to a road bike rider, that they are cheating. A bike is a bike is a bike, as far as I am concerned. If you are out on a bike, its OK by me.
Electric bikes are very popular in Denmark. The Danes dont have this macho image of cycling. They are ridden by the whole range of the community from school children to pensioners. They are not advertised for use only by the aged or infirm in Denmark, but by everybody.
We really enjoyed ours but were running out of space for bikes and motorbikes and so they had to go, along with the ICE trike. We do miss them and a couple more could be on the cards quite soon.
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Jimmy Doug
If you know what's good for you ...
Here's something I've wanted to ask for a long time. Hopefully some knowlegeable chappy/chapess can answer. The trouble with electric motorisation is the physical cost of running it. I don't mean money, but effort. Electric bikes have dirty, great batteries, weigh a ton, and some are recharged by turning the pedals. They must be great when you've got a full charge and you need that extra hand. But is the extra physical effort needed to move these heavy bikes and recharge them (if they are recharged by pedalling) outweigh that assistance? I guess so, but I've often wondered.
Ps - I'll never forget seeing one flying past me as I was fighting my way up the Gallibier once. It was carrying a lady well in her sixties. I thought: thanks to these bikes, this mountain is open to anyone who fancies cycling up it. That can only be a good thing.
Ps - I'll never forget seeing one flying past me as I was fighting my way up the Gallibier once. It was carrying a lady well in her sixties. I thought: thanks to these bikes, this mountain is open to anyone who fancies cycling up it. That can only be a good thing.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Recharging by pedalling - called regen in ebike circles - is a pointless gimmick.
You cannot use the assistance and also generate surplus power, if you could it would be equivalent to perpetual motion and all energy would be free.
Regen is something people like to think works, so some makers offer it, although the more reputable ones such as Bosch do not.
You can generate a tiny bit of power freewheeling down hills, although the system will act as brake so you are descending more slowly.
Again, no useful amount of power can be generated because you will only be regenerating for at most a few minutes during a ride.
Plugging the battery into the more powerful home charger for a few minutes will not charge it to any noticeable degree.
You cannot use the assistance and also generate surplus power, if you could it would be equivalent to perpetual motion and all energy would be free.
Regen is something people like to think works, so some makers offer it, although the more reputable ones such as Bosch do not.
You can generate a tiny bit of power freewheeling down hills, although the system will act as brake so you are descending more slowly.
Again, no useful amount of power can be generated because you will only be regenerating for at most a few minutes during a ride.
Plugging the battery into the more powerful home charger for a few minutes will not charge it to any noticeable degree.
