Buying An Electric Bike

[raleighnut]

You can buy conversion kits that fit onto a standard bike (or trike)

Just pick the look of the bike you like and £500 quid or so will electrify it.

 

[darth vadar]

Forgive me for saying, but what exactly is the point of an 'electric' bike?

Surely, you are either a cyclist and ride a bike under your own steam using the pedals, or you buy a motorbike, a scooter or even a car.

An electric bike is just cheating for me.

I realise I might be slightly narrow minded in my opinion, but its just the way I see it.

Sorry!

 

[mjr]

Forgive me for saying, but what exactly is the point of an 'electric' bike?

They let people keep cycling more than they could otherwise, especially when their health is poor or unpredictable, with less risk of being stranded (as there's naff all chance of putting a bike on a bus around here - even folding bikes are unwelcome on many routes, last I knew), plus they don't dump underfiltered pollution on the streets like combustion engines do. They are very welcome on our group rides, whereas the others aren't.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Forgive me for saying, but what exactly is the point of an 'electric' bike?

They are good for older people or those who are very unfit. If you don't mind a very slow commute then it is possible to do 10/15 miles each way with minimal effort (good in the summer if you don't want to sweat much), but for me the urge to pedal was too great, and I don't like going slow, which is why I sold mine and bought a motorbike....

 

[Pale Rider]

An electric bike is just cheating for me.

Often said about ebikes, but who or what is being cheated by someone riding one?

You? Gravity? The public purse?

I've never known a pastime like cycling in which so many are so concerned about what others are doing.

I couldn't give a stuff what other cyclists ride or how they ride it, unless there is a direct impact on me.

 

[welsh dragon]

It isnt cheating. Maybe the person wanting one is elderly, or has an illness that prevents him/her from using a normal bike. At least they are making the effort , and still want to exercise instead of sitting in front of the TV. They get the chance to get out, get some fresh air, and yes they still have to pedal, but not as hard as if they were riding a normal bike. Maybe with time, they will get fitter and will be able to ride a normal bike if they wish to.

whatever anyone else thinks, these bikes are becoming more and more popular. More and more people are taking up cycling as a result of them, and in my book that is a win win situation.

No they will never break any speed record, but the person using one can derive a great deal of pleasure from being able to get out, when without an ebike, they may well not be able to get out and exercise and simply enjoy themselves.

 

[jonny jeez]

I sold it recently. .

thank the lord.


sorry but it was fugly

 

[jonny jeez]

A second for Kalkoffs (spelling) here. I looked into it a while back and they seemed to be far ahead in terms of power transfer (the enginy bit) weight, power delivery (the way the pedals worked with the motor) and also build quality.

Some will illegally adjust the sprocket and ring sizes to up the road speed...which is of course illegal so dont do that...you can also expect an illegally adjusted bike to eat power at twice the rate.

 

[steveindenmark]

Ok let me put a couple of myths to bed.

An Electric bike is cheating............cheating who?

I used my Electric bike for the 40km round commute to work. I start at 5am and have a couple of big hills to negotiate. I ride it most of the year. It was nice not to have to try too much at that time of the morning, especially in the Winter. I do have 8 other regular bikes to choose from and apart from the 200 km on the Electric bike I was doing about the same on a regular bike. So nobody was getting cheated. It was great fun.

There is an idea that Electric bikes are only for the sick and elderly..... Thats just not the case, well not in Denmark. Electric bikes are used by the whole community and they are very popular now. I cant ride into town without seeing a few.
Jannie and I certainly didnt need electric bikes, we just wanted them. If you look at some of the models of Electric bikes on the market, it is obvious they are not for the sick and elderly. Electric MTBs are popular with the Danes in Winter. The guys are out regardless of how much snow or ice we get. We often ride below -10 degrees over here.

http://electricbikereview.com/tag/mountain/


Those who knock Electric bikes are usually those who have never been on one.

 

[Pale Rider]

A second for Kalkoffs (spelling) here. I looked into it a while back and they seemed to be far ahead in terms of power transfer (the enginy bit) weight, power delivery (the way the pedals worked with the motor) and also build quality.

Some will illegally adjust the sprocket and ring sizes to up the road speed...which is of course illegal so dont do that...you can also expect an illegally adjusted bike to eat power at twice the rate.

On a technical point, the speed cut off is by means of a magnet on the back wheel and a sensor on the chain stay.

Tinkering with the gears won't have any impact, the motor will still cut once the sensor reads 15.5mph.

It is possible to effectively remove the speed restriction by fitting a little electronic box which fools the system into thinking the bike is not going as fast as it is.

Sounds good, and it is to a degree.

But the motors are tuned for torque, not speed, so while the motor on a derestricted bike continues to offer assistance above 15.5mph, the amount of assistance is relatively low, and gets lower the faster you pedal the bike.

The manufacturer in the link calls their box a 'tuning' device.

That's misleading because it doesn't alter the motor's power output in any way, all it does is allow the motor to continue to run when the bike is going faster than 15.5mph.

https://www.badassebikes.com/en/

 

[jonny jeez]

On a technical point, the speed cut off is by means of a magnet on the back wheel and a sensor on the chain stay.

Tinkering with the gears won't have any impact, the motor will still cut once the sensor reads 15.5mph.

It is possible to effectively remove the speed restriction by fitting a little electronic box which fools the system into thinking the bike is not going as fast as it is.

Sounds good, and it is to a degree.

But the motors are tuned for torque, not speed, so while the motor on a derestricted bike continues to offer assistance above 15.5mph, the amount of assistance is relatively low, and gets lower the faster you pedal the bike.

The manufacturer in the link calls their box a 'tuning' device.

That's misleading because it doesn't alter the motor's power output in any way, all it does is allow the motor to continue to run when the bike is going faster than 15.5mph.

https://www.badassebikes.com/en/

Things must have changed since I looked a few years ago. The bikes I looked at had not restriction to the motor, only by the gearing. So in top gear it could only manage 15mph...ish.

Chap in the shop (Richmond) suggested the sprocket swap as a way to get up to 20 which is the speed I said I felt safe riding at.

 

[jonny jeez]

One point to consider, a mate of mine sold his trek election bike as it provided unpredictable power delivery. If he pushed on the pedal a little around the bend it would apply twice the power.

He lost it twice on wet leaves and greasy bend with the back wheel loosing traction.

 

[Pale Rider]

Things must have changed since I looked a few years ago. The bikes I looked at had not restriction to the motor, only by the gearing. So in top gear it could only manage 15mph...ish.

Chap in the shop (Richmond) suggested the sprocket swap as a way to get up to 20 which is the speed I said I felt safe riding at.

I believe some of the earlier hub motor bikes were not electronically restricted, but were effectively restricted by the speed an average rider could realistically manage with the supplied gearing.

Particularly true of the cheap Chinese 20" folding ebikes which had very low gearing.

The earlier 24 volt motors couldn't go very fast anyway, so there was hardly a need for electronic restriction.

The modern 36 or 48 volt legal 250 watt motors are no balls of fire, but they are pokier.

I mention 'legal' because there are plenty of illegal higher power kits for both hub and crank drive.

 

[surfdude]

the wife wants one as she is sick of all the hills down here and finds it to hard to ride around here . she has given up cycling at the moment because of them . she has tried an electric bike and loved the little bit of help it gave her up the hills so she is getting one soon . this will get her out on the bike again with me which is nice for us . so that's why they have a place in cycling . without them i don't she would ride a bike again .

 

[kimb0321]

Hi, I to have been looking at e-bikes for a while now and finally took the plunge and ordered a KTM macina cross 9 http://e-motionevc.co.uk/store/product-info.php?pid372.html
I`m expecting to get it after the weekend(tue or wed), will come back and tell what i think of it after iv`e tested/put it through it`s paces