Passed by a guy on an electric assist bike

[Ian H]

is that 50 miles assisting or on it's own?

That should have been "tend to" - I was obviously not concentrating. I believe that only assist bikes are legal in the UK without tax and insurance, and then with a maximum assistance of 200w. But 50 miles tends to be around the limit, from what I've read.

 

[Canrider]

Yup, I thought you HAD to pedal and it just assisted?
That guy seemed to just spin a couple of times then off he went, bored as he was!

That's what I thought too. I've test-ridden one once for a laugh and it definitely only powered when you pedaled. In fact, I found it hugely annoying because of the slight lag between starting to pedal and the motor giving you a kick forward.

I wonder if he's modified it?

 

[HovR]

You can easily buy kits from china that include a motorized wheel, twist grip "throttle" and battery - So it's easy enough to get electric bikes which aren't assist only.

 

[Crankarm]

Tried to keep up but on the MTB, it was a killer and I ran out if gears, I think if I had been on my road bike I could have kept up, but I just kept thinking that its cheating, you can't over take me unless its 100% of your own effort!

But maybe I am missing the point ?

Anyway my thought for the day !

Shocking ..............

It wasn't Fabian Cancellara was it?

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Yup, I thought you HAD to pedal and it just assisted?
That guy seemed to just spin a couple of times then off he went, bored as he was!

The electric bikes I rode in Thailand were electrically assisted via the chain mechanism,I guess the ones here work on the front (or rear) wheel motor.So I had to pedal before I got a reaction.They were very good though.

 

[BentMikey]

Sometimes I'm very tempted to get an electric assist. It'd be no use to me for most of my ride where I'm above 15mph, except for some of the longer uphills. With a 45 mile round trip and a physical job, sometimes I'd like a bit of an easier time riding home up the North Downs.

 

[jonny jeez]

I've come across one a few times which has a small petrol engine aftermarket fitted to a BSO with a second chain on the left side for the drive. I towed the cheeky fecker from The Oval to Streatham.

My dad used to own a French cycle with a small two stroke engine mounted over the front wheel, when i was a kid. It was bloody lethal.

 

[jugglingphil]

Personally if electric assisted bikes get people out of cars I'm all for them.
I have a friend with a bad-back, she would not cycle without elec-assist.

I frequently see an older chap on an electric-assist bike, and judging by where I have spotted him he covers a far amount of distance (20 miles). He looks great in his old military (air force?) uniform and beret.

 

[jugglingphil]

My dad used to own a French cycle with a small two stroke engine mounted over the front wheel, when i was a kid. It was bloody lethal.

My Grandma had something similar, and used it instead of a car all her life. It was more of a moped with pedals than a bike with an engine.

 

[Linford]

A guy I work with has a Wisper 905SE, and that can hold 20mph on a gradient without pedalling. Unless you are uber fit, you would nt be able to stay in front of one for any length of time

It isn't cycling at the end ofthe day and he doens't pedal apart from a few rotations when pulling away from a standstil, although the guy has a much closer affinity to cyclist for using it as it is constructed with many cycle components. He got it as his health isn't up to riding a real cycle.

 

[perplexed]

i see one quite often on my commute , rider seems more interested in his fag than anything else

How do you know he went to public school? Was his fag on an inferior BSO as befits his status?

 

[Electric_Andy]

Tried to keep up but on the MTB, it was a killer and I ran out if gears, I think if I had been on my road bike I could have kept up, but I just kept thinking that its cheating, you can't over take me unless its 100% of your own effort!

But maybe I am missing the point ?

Anyway my thought for the day !

I think you are missing the point. I ride a Wisper e-bike, which like the other posters say is limited to 15.5 mph by UK law. I did not buy an e-bike to be lazy, or to beat people up hills. I made a lifestyle choice and sold my car, and got an e-bike so that a) I can get more fresh air and b) do not have to pay horrendous fuel costs. I also ride it for leisure, which means I can do 60 miles quite comfortably and maintain a higher average speed (I'm not very fit).

As for the "electricity is dirty" arguement - it costs 10p per full charge. Ok, I still have a carbon footprint, but cars are made in factories using more electricity than I will EVER use charging my battery!

 

[Electric_Andy]

I'd rather him be on an elec assist bike than driving a car!

I've started to see an increase in electrically assisted bikes on my commute.. I want to see what sort of pace they can keep, but they're never going the same way as me!

I get overtaken all the time by people on road bikes. My e-bike only has an advantage on really steep inclines. Downhill I have too much resistance to compete with streamlined individuals with tiny thin tyres. On the flat I have too much resistance and too much weight (and upwards of 15mph the motor cuts out anyway!). Not that I worry though - I just like cycling.

 

[Electric_Andy]

That's what I thought too. I've test-ridden one once for a laugh and it definitely only powered when you pedaled. In fact, I found it hugely annoying because of the slight lag between starting to pedal and the motor giving you a kick forward.

I wonder if he's modified it?

On some (most?) models there is a "throttle". This is very useful if you get caught at the lights in a high gear because the assist mode doesn't kick in until the pedals have done 2 revolutions. However, I can only cruise on mine on the flat, or at least on a very slight gradient. Anything steeper and you are going slower than you would if pedalling alone. You can mod them to draw more power and/or go beyond 15mph, but that of course is illegal.

 

[Linford]

I get overtaken all the time by people on road bikes. My e-bike only has an advantage on really steep inclines. Downhill I have too much resistance to compete with streamlined individuals with tiny thin tyres. On the flat I have too much resistance and too much weight (and upwards of 15mph the motor cuts out anyway!). Not that I worry though - I just like cycling.

The bike I mentioned has a boost button on it and I have clocked it at 20mph on a bit of an uphill without pedalling on my motorbike (which has a fairly accurate speedo at that rate of knots. He was that impressed, he went and bought another identical one as a backup, but slight model changes mean that he can't swap the batteries between the two bikes. He commutes about 12 miles each way.