Is electric assist cycling not 'real' cycling?

[Supersuperleeds]

Went into my LBS today and they had a Specialized mountain bike with a motor. Looked quite nice, had a 1x11 speed set up on it. Didn't look at the price.

Just looked at the Specialized website and it was the Turbo Levo- £4k RRP

 

[Smokin Joe]

Went into my LBS today and they had a Specialized mountain bike with a motor. Looked quite nice, had a 1x11 speed set up on it. Didn't look at the price.

Terrified you might be able to afford it? I'm like that too.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Terrified you might be able to afford it? I'm like that too.

No I got distracted by the Titanium frame road bike next to it

 

[roadrash]

whatever ebike i get , it wont be £4k

 

[marzjennings]

Went into my LBS today and they had a Specialized mountain bike with a motor. Looked quite nice, had a 1x11 speed set up on it. Didn't look at the price.

Just looked at the Specialized website and it was the Turbo Levo- £4k RRP

I test rode the full sus version and few weeks back and I'd love to get one, the full sus version I rode was about £7k. So tempting.

FYI i just posted a video of these bike earlier in this thread.

 

[keithmac]

This is my Gtech, it only weighs 16kg so not too heavy and easy to manoeuvre in rush hour traffic.

Some of the mountain and road e-bikes are very nice, would love a Giant E-Road for the weekends but can't really justify it..

 

[jefmcg]

This is my Gtech, it only weighs 16kg so not too heavy and easy to manoeuvre in rush hour traffic.

View attachment 154420

Some of the mountain and road e-bikes are very nice, would love a Giant E-Road for the weekends but can't really justify it..

Very stealth. If you motored by me up a hill, I would think it was all you

 

[mustang1]

Riding anything other than fixed gear is not real cycling.

If anyone already mentioned that in this thread, then you don't know what you're on about.

 

[RichardB]

I don't need the assistance to ride, just to go faster...

Remember that the ebike won't give you anything on top speed. Once 15 mph is reached, you're on your own. What it will do is boost your average speed, as you are much faster up the hills. In the moderately hilly country round me, I reckon the ebike is about 30% faster overall.

That's if you keep it legal, of course. Removing the speed restriction would give you a higher top speed, but if you're doing that, why not get a motorbike?

 

[marzjennings]

Remember that the ebike won't give you anything on top speed. Once 15 mph is reached, you're on your own. What it will do is boost your average speed, as you are much faster up the hills. In the moderately hilly country round me, I reckon the ebike is about 30% faster overall.

That's if you keep it legal, of course. Removing the speed restriction would give you a higher top speed, but if you're doing that, why not get a motorbike?

Ahh, but over here the limit is 20mph, not piddling 15mph. My general offroad unassisted average is around 12-14mph and on the short demo I had, I easily averaged 15-18mph. Not much, but it felt great.

And why assist rather than a motorbike, 'cos I still want a great workout and feel I've done something. From the other riders I've spoken to, who've ridden the Levo turbo, they're just as worn out at the end of a ride, but have covered more miles for the same effort.

 

[raleighnut]

not doing much riding at the moment , used to do mainly road but due to spinal problems started to find the position too uncomfortable , switched to mountain bike just on trails and canal tow path etc, but havent really done much at all since spinal surgery , cant put too much pressure through pedals , recently been thinking of trying recumbent trike or ebike, its doin my head in , i really miss my cycling
will have a look at pedelecs forum, thanks.

I managed to build this for just short of a grand,

250w front wheel kit from Cyclotricity.

Oh and BTW that curly 'telephone' cable is for my front lamp set-up, nothing to do with the electric motor.

 

[keithmac]

Ahh, but over here the limit is 20mph, not piddling 15mph. My general offroad unassisted average is around 12-14mph and on the short demo I had, I easily averaged 15-18mph. Not much, but it felt great.

And why assist rather than a motorbike, 'cos I still want a great workout and feel I've done something. From the other riders I've spoken to, who've ridden the Levo turbo, they're just as worn out at the end of a ride, but have covered more miles for the same effort.

That's the thing, quite a few e-mtb riders say that they can go further and stay out longer. Two plus points.

 

[mjr]

That's the thing, quite a few e-mtb riders say that they can go further and stay out longer. Two plus points.

@Fnaar? Miss Goodbody tells me she likes a bit of electric assistance with a ride sometimes.