Electric Bike or Normal bike

[Stuka]

Hi hoping for a bit of advice it has been a few since I cycled after my £2,000 Mountain Bike was nicked from my Garage !!! after that I din not feel like Cycling any more and left. As I am coming up to 70 this year I would like to start again Boy have things changed and big time not only bikes but the lights that actually light up the road But this is what I want the help for I have got a choice of two bike one that has had great reviews ( This is the one I was Going to get ) this one https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html or I was thinking of this https://www.decathlon.co.uk/original-900-electric-hybrid-bike-36v-id_8399929.html I know nothing about these electric bikes at all I know they are quite heavy but not to heavy that it is a job to cycle the bike if the Battery goes flat and what about gears to get you up slight hills. I will only be doing only road and touring. I have been told to get some cycling to get rid of my Bear Belly So are these electric bikes any Good.Or is it cheating Thanks

 

[Salad Dodger]

Hi Stuka.
I don't know much about the decathlon electric bike, but I have an approximately equivalent Powerbike Salisbury. It is easy to ride with power on, but it would be a pig to ride, even on the flat, without battery power. Like the Decathlon one, it has the motor in the back wheel, and that causes a lot of drag when the motor is "dead".
In my experience, don't trust the claimed distance achievable from a charged battery. Mine is supposed to do 30 miles on a battery charge, but in the real world about 18 miles would be the absolute max.

So .for short rides, an electric bike is great fun and highly convenient. But if you aspire to riding distance, it will probably not be up to the job.

 

[CXRAndy]

Ask in the electric forum aswell for guidance. How is your health? Good to go on a normal bike, just need a bit of time to regain fitness?

The latest Ebikes have electric assist helping riders upto 60miles depending on how much assist you demand. The latest have no drag when not working but obviously the bike weighs more. However for a few extra pounds you get upto 250W of extra power, which will propel the slowest rider up a hill like a whippet

 

[Turdus philomelos]

Sometimes I bamboozle myself when I go on a quest to research which item I should buy but at the end its your choice.
However, I feel I should depart some of my gathered knowledge on pedal assist bikes just to help you.
Firstly I will give you must have/nots.
Definitely no extra weight with shocks absorbers. The level of shocks on this bike will be just dead weight, (and they are weighty), will make little difference to the comfort of ride. It took a lot of research to find a bike without these dead weights but they are out there. Look for carbon forks to take the rattle out of the road.

Definitely bottom bracket, mid drive drive/frame mounted battery. The weight of the battery behind you will effect you cornering and steering. Especially if you have panniers. Look for Shimano Steps series, Bosch, etc

Components, like any bike look at the spec of the drive train, cassette, brakes. Talking of brakes, hydraulic disk brakes most definitely, normal disc brakes at a push, no pun intended.

That's enough to go on with plus I have to pottle of to work on my amazing Whyte Highgate.

Good luck

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning

I have just looked on the Decathlon site and it says that the bike weighs 25Kg that is 56 pounds!

I can feel the difference on gradual inclines rather than actual hills between my 18lb bike and my 26lb bike, so I wonder if this weight would make even a short ride unpleasent without using the motor.

Anybody from the Vintage Forum want to post weights for say an older 3 speed hubbed Raleigh to add a bit more context?

Bye

Ian

 

[youngoldbloke]

You're talking chalk and cheese. IMHO if you are still fit go for the Triban rc520. Ebikes are fun, and have enabled me to continue cycling, but I wouldn't be riding my Orbea Gain if my legs still allowed me to ride a conventional bike, and as other have said that ehybrid weighs a ton. I wouldn't like to try and ride it without assistance.

 

[jowwy]

Hi hoping for a bit of advice it has been a few since I cycled after my £2,000 Mountain Bike was nicked from my Garage !!! after that I din not feel like Cycling any more and left. As I am coming up to 70 this year I would like to start again Boy have things changed and big time not only bikes but the lights that actually light up the road But this is what I want the help for I have got a choice of two bike one that has had great reviews ( This is the one I was Going to get ) this one https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html or I was thinking of this https://www.decathlon.co.uk/original-900-electric-hybrid-bike-36v-id_8399929.html I know nothing about these electric bikes at all I know they are quite heavy but not to heavy that it is a job to cycle the bike if the Battery goes flat and what about gears to get you up slight hills. I will only be doing only road and touring. I have been told to get some cycling to get rid of my Bear Belly So are these electric bikes any Good.Or is it cheating Thanks

Whats the budget??

 

[gbb]

As Turdus says, you can bamboozle yourself with the pros and cons etc etc, but at the end of the day, you just have to consider all the factors and go for one...or the other, or think further and consider other options.
No doubt the drive system on the ebike is cheap and cheerful....thats why the whole package is cheap and cheerful. My wifes Raleigh has a Bosch mid drive and better battery and is of course far far superior....but be prepared to pay twice as much for the package. You can't have your cake as they say

Or the roadbike option ? At 70, how fit are you ?, how are your knees ?, how hilly is it there ?.

Each one will have its pros, each one its cons.

FWIW, my Crossfire ebike is ok at 25 kg, i use the assist when neccesssary to get up inclines or to build up speed, then i turn it off and pedal normally, you dont really feel any drag with the motor off. Hills with no assist are another thing altogether, no assist and its almost murder. With no assist, its important with an ebike to keep a relatively high cadence, even on the flat.

Considering battery remaining life is crucial too. I find when mine gets below say 15 or 10 %....it then falls off a cliff. So it requires monitoring and adapting what level of assist when the battery is low...i simple terms, be mindful of how far from home you are.

So many ifs and buts.....

 

[Stuka]

Whats the budget??

Only the prices I have given above By the way WOW!!!! for all the answers you have given me a Big thank you to you all. I am leaning towards the Triban as I have been told to excise being type 2 diabetic I think getting one of those electric ones will be cheating a bit

 

[jowwy]

Only the prices I have given above By the way WOW!!!! for all the answers you have given me a Big thank you to you all. I am leaning towards the Triban as I have been told to excise being type 2 diabetic I think getting one of those electric ones will be cheating a bit

Cheating at what??
Getting healthy isnt cheating

 

[Stuka]

But I will get less healthy riding one of these electric bikes would I not? as I would be pedaling such as much than I would with a standard Bike. Like I said did not much about these bikes. I will be going out in a minute to see what I can find about them maybe it is me getting the wrong end of the stick here on Electric bikes it seems to me with these you do not have to pedal to much with them

 

[youngoldbloke]

Only the prices I have given above By the way WOW!!!! for all the answers you have given me a Big thank you to you all. I am leaning towards the Triban as I have been told to excise being type 2 diabetic I think getting one of those electric ones will be cheating a bit

NO. Not cheating. But, it cannot be denied - you will get more exercise on the conventional bike.

 

[jowwy]

NO. Not cheating. But, it cannot be denied - you will get more exercise on the conventional bike.

will you really get more excercise on the conventional bike?? what if the ebike allows you to ride further, for longer and on multiple days, but the conventional bike won't......which one then gives you more excercise??

 

[youngoldbloke]

will you really get more excercise on the conventional bike?? what if the ebike allows you to ride further, for longer and on multiple days, but the conventional bike won't......which one then gives you more excercise??

If you do not have any physical issues that restrict your riding, and you are at a reasonable fitness level, I believe that you will get more exercise on a conventional bike. I was riding up to 70 miles a day on a conventional bike. My Gain has a range of 45 - 50 miles and I'm getting assistance to do that, so those longer rides are out. I was riding up to 200, 250 miles a week. If I ride the same 250 miles in a week on an ebike I am obviously not burning the same number of calories. I can tell by the amount I'm drinking on a ride too - on a conventional bike I'd get through half a litre on a 30 mile ride, on the ebike sometimes nothing. I'm not knocking ebikes - I now ride one pretty much exclusively, but it is hard to maintain the same fitness as on my conventional bikes

 

[jowwy]

If you do not have any physical issues that restrict your riding, and you are at a reasonable fitness level, I believe that you will get more exercise on a conventional bike. I was riding up to 70 miles a day on a conventional bike. My Gain has a range of 45 - 50 miles and I'm getting assistance to do that, so those longer rides are out. I was riding up to 200, 250 miles a week. If I ride the same 250 miles in a week on an ebike I am obviously not burning the same number of calories. I can tell by the amount I'm drinking on a ride too - on a conventional bike I'd get through half a litre on a 30 mile ride, on the ebike sometimes nothing. I'm not knocking ebikes - I now ride one pretty much exclusively, but it is hard to maintain the same fitness as on my conventional bikes

that didnt answer my question.....as your comparing to the old you and how you used to ride

forget the old you and look at the current you.....would riding an ebike in your current state get you more or less excercise than riding a conventional bike??

in my case i am getting more excercise, as ive commuted 190 miles this month due to having the ebike...and would have done zero on a conventional, so thats 190 miles more excercise