Most Silly Bike design

[Brains]

OK, so living here in London one sees a whole range of bikes, the trikes, the 'bents, Unicycles, Segways and so on, but tonight I saw the most silly bike yet being used as a commuter bike.

It was a full susser mountain bike, 6" suspension fore and cantilever aft, hydraulic disc brakes, big knobbly tyres, SPD pedals, crud catcher mudguards and all the works.

.... oh yes, and it was electric !!!

Was this a salesmans bet ? That he could flog the most inappropriate bike to some ill-educated punter. And who on earth designed an Electric MTB ? I can only image the design committee meeting that came up with that one.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

It's your bike, isn't it?

 

[smokeysmoo]

There's a guy at my work who comes on a full susser Lapierre.

It's about as far from ideal as you can get but it's his, he likes it, (he built it ffs!), so I have to say to each their own.

Perhaps London commuter man is a downhill fanatic at the weekend? God knows the motor would be a benefit in getting one of those things to the top a downhill section.

 

[Arch]

There's nothing wrong with an electric mountain bike.

Riding such a thing as a commuter bike is more daft, but only as daft as riding a non-electric bike of that sort.

 

[al78]

There's nothing wrong with an electric mountain bike.

Riding such a thing as a commuter bike is more daft, but only as daft as riding a non-electric bike of that sort.

I occasionally use a mountain bike for commuting, when the weather is bad. I replaced the derailleur gearing with an SRAM I-Motion 9 hub gear, the idea being I wanted a bike that would be robust to the rather corrosive UK climate.

I was thinking of installing a Sturney Archer hub dynamo with drum brake just to increase the weather resistance even more.

 

[Manonabike]

OK, so living here in London one sees a whole range of bikes, the trikes, the 'bents, Unicycles, Segways and so on, but tonight I saw the most silly bike yet being used as a commuter bike.

It was a full susser mountain bike, 6" suspension fore and cantilever aft, hydraulic disc brakes, big knobbly tyres, SPD pedals, crud catcher mudguards and all the works.

.... oh yes, and it was electric !!!

Was this a salesmans bet ? That he could flog the most inappropriate bike to some ill-educated punter. And who on earth designed an Electric MTB ? I can only image the design committee meeting that came up with that one.

What's silly about that?There might be several reason for him to be riding that. When it comes to riding in bad weather a big tyre is better than a thin one I think. Electric power it just goes to help pushing a heavy bike.
My doctor rides a very heavy mountain bike and when I asked why he rides such a heavy bike he said "I don't really care how fast or how far I go, I just want the exercise and protect my joints as much as possible" So there is a market for the "silly" bike design you saw.

 

[ohnovino]

If I had to ride a MTB on the commute, I'd want it to be electric too.

 

[Night Train]

I bought a 3 speed SA hub with drum brake from a chap on Ebay. When I collected it he showed me his bike. A full suss budget MTB with a 500W motor in the rear wheel and big bag of LiFePO4 batteries and controller on the rear rack.
He said he didn't care it was illegal as it got him out on the bike for some exercise without needing to pedal.

 

[TheDoctor]

Exercise without needing to pedal?
Right.......
By that theory, I'm getting exercise on a roller coaster!!

 

[biggs682]

a lad i work with keeps asking me about watt ( a joke ) electric bike to buy so he can ride to and from work for his 7 mile commute as he needs the exercise , but wants a electric bike so he can sit on it and not work up a sweat on his way into work and then when its time to ride home he can ride home using leg power only ....... hes been asking same question for nearly 6 years getting a bit botred now

 

[Sara_H]

I've been using my mountain bike for commuting last week.

I live at the top of a massive hill and work at the top of a medium hill, so the gears on the mountain bike are very welcome, I do have the suspension turned off and I have wide slicks on - the roads in Sheffield are shocking so the wider tyres offer a nice bit of comfort.

 

[derrick]

Might have to put an electric motor on my commuter for a bit.

 

[BobWales]

We pump up tyres don't we?

 

[ufkacbln]

These are our Gekkos

One is electrically powered - can you spot which one?

The motor is a lifeline for my wife who has major knee and ankle problems. We were unable to cycle with a normal upwrong as she cannot safely put a foot down and stop, or travel more than a few miles before the knee pain became too much.

Last week we did the Short Randonnee route on the Isle of Wight at 34 miles!

Electrics have their place!

 

[Andy_R]

We're championing an e-bike scheme at work for site visitors. It means that people going out on site can use a bike without getting all sweaty instead of using a car. They have their place. We're also using them to encourage people who wouldn't usually cycle as it's too much effort (County Durham, land of the hill) and getting them out and about with an aim to proper cycling eventually. Bear in mind, you do actually have to pedal, albeit not as hard. More cycling, more often!