Why did you choose an e-bike?

[Kominic]

I would add "....as opposed to a moped or a normal bike"....but that's just rude. So I won't.

 

[raleighnut]

For me, after snapping my Femur 'like a carrot' it was the only way to get mobile again. (I don't drive and nor do I want to)

 

[AnneW]

Bought my e-bike on Saturday for the simple reason, my health ain't what it used to be. I wasn't able to keep up with my OH and friends, so was cycling much less.and gaining weight at a rate of knots.

I still have to peddle and I make myself work but now I have no fear about where we go - hills will never be a problem again and I don't care if we get lost, as distances aren't a problem either.

People can say what they like but my e-bike has given me back my cycling life.

Happier than I've been in ages, happy as a pig in muck

 

[Paulq]

Same here - old sporting injuries catching up with me that was making 'ordinary' cycling pretty impossible and, at best, uncomfortable to a point where it was de motivating. I was simply in too much pain after every ride.

I was very sceptical about e-bikes but decided to try one and loved it. I use it as a normal bike wherever I can; just using the motor for the more difficult bits and it's reinvigorated my riding. I don't dread going out now, am still exercising the way I love and will still get the health benefits.

Makes me laugh when the lycra brigade laugh at you until you go sailing past them on the hills - that's worth the cost of the bike alone and actually happened to me in the Lakes at the weekend - the satisfaction was worth every penny.

 

[AnneW]

Glad you're enjoying your e-bike too. I've not been out on it today (son's graduation) and for the first time in a long time I'm pining. It's so good to feel that way again after thinking my cycling days we're over.

S*d anyone who laughs.

 

[ufkacbln]

Because she is big heavy, and with 85Kg of mobility scooter in the front, not easy on hills

 

[ufkacbln]

T'other gives my wife a mobility her disability would not allow

 

[DEFENDER01]

I think like most who have gone for an e cycle its down to health / disability reasons.
In my case like many others my knees have finally got to the stage where an e cycle is a god send.
Up to a year ago i was o/k on my M T B but hills were getting steeper and there seemed to be more of them.
I was very fortunate to come across a bargain and i must say cycling is enjoyable again which is what it should be.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/just-got-myself-a-bargain-right-place-right-time.202360/

 

[steveindenmark]

We bought e bikes purely for the fun of them and to add another couple of bike to the collection. We are both fit and healthy. We commute to work. My commute is 40km and Jannies is 16km. I have recently bought a carbon Di2 road bike and Jannie bought a Cannondale CAAD12 at the weekend. We are not your usual electric bike users.

We used them for 3 years and then passed them onto a friend and his wife, who use them regularly. We needed more space for more bikes.

During the time we had the bikes they were used in winter and summer for picnic rides of up to 50km. It was great just riding with no effort at all. I have also had trikes and recumbents. I currently have a couple of scooters. Its different styles of riding that appeals to me.

Its about time that electric bike companies starting advertising them to a wider market that the infirm and the aged.

 

[Pale Rider]

We bought e bikes purely for the fun of them and to add another couple of bike to the collection. We are both fit and healthy. We commute to work. My commute is 40km and Jannies is 16km. I have recently bought a carbon Di2 road bike and Jannie bought a Cannondale CAAD12 at the weekend. We are not your usual electric bike users.

We used them for 3 years and then passed them onto a friend and his wife, who use them regularly. We needed more space for more bikes.

During the time we had the bikes they were used in winter and summer for picnic rides of up to 50km. It was great just riding with no effort at all. I have also had trikes and recumbents. I currently have a couple of scooters. Its different styles of riding that appeals to me.

Its about time that electric bike companies starting advertising them to a wider market that the infirm and the aged.

The likes of Haibike promote their ebikes to the fit and able, as do a lot of other companies.

It's more in the mind of the general public that ebikes are for the infirm and aged.

Most people, whatever they say, are very conservative (with a small c), so need to pigeon hole something new such as an ebike.

I get the impression some push bike riders feel threatened by ebikes, writing them off as invalid carriages is one way to deal with the threat.

I've had conversations with cyclists who are clearly not keen on ebikes - I almost feel under pressure to justify why I'm riding one.

If I tell my inquisitor I've had a hip replaced and have arthritis in the other one (which is true), he will nod sympathetically and congratulate me for 'getting out'.

That's doubly stupid because the hip replacement and arthritis don't make much difference to my ability to pedal.

They do make getting on and off a bit harder, but that applies to any bicycle.

http://www.haibike.de/produkte_liste_epower_en.html

 

[ianrauk]

After seeing Pale Rider on his Ebike, an impressive looking machine it is too. If I get to the stage where I am having trouble cycling due to whatever. I'll be getting one straight away. Pale Rider and his machine sure changed the perceptions of this sceptic.

 

[AnneW]

I'm loving reading about e-bikes. Mine was bought from my local bike shop, it sells Raleigh bikes of all types and just includes the e-bikes with everything else.

Mine wasn't a bargain like DEFENDER01, but it will be worth every penny and will save me shelling out for public transport, which next year will be £1000 a year.

 

[Lonestar]

Hired ebikes in Thailand and was well impressed.Yes if it comes to it I will get one.See quite a few now.Sure I saw one today.

 

[DEFENDER01]

A friend of mine visited me earlier this week to take a look at my e bike.
What did he turn up with today a e bike could be i am starting a trend around here.
I am certainly getting out more and more since getting one and my knees are certainly better for the exercise.

 

[summerdays]

I normally will see a couple of e-bikes on my commute, (but not the same ones each day). I've no idea whether their owners have any mobility issues but I would say they are not just ridden by older people. Some definitely look younger than me, but I think it's the distance they commute or not wanting to arrive at work sweaty. Some are clearly modified and go faster than the 15 mph limit without being pedalled.

I don't have a problem with those modified ones on the road, but I do think they should stay off the cycle paths if they are travelling at speeds greater than what I would consider safe, especially if there are lots of pedestrians around.