Anyone here own an E-Bike?

[Andad]

Originally Posted by BreguetRolex

I myself would never ever get caught on one quite honestly...! They do look very nice but I prefer the old fashion way of spinning the crank arms and generating my own wattage..:)

You can still pedal an e-bike and given the extra weigh of these bikes you would get more exercise.

Then switch on the power when you’re done for.

[Andad]

Originally Posted by pacifichrono

Exactly! I'm 73 and hampered by pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema after 50 years of running. Not to mention the hip replacement and both knees with no cartilage left. Oh, and three stents following an angioplasty.

I’d throw in a few buck towards buying you an e bike Tom.

You deserve one.

[330ci]

Wow! So many beautiful bikes! While E Mtbs aren’t for me, I’m happy that people get on the trails anyway possible. I have experienced some frustration with one person out here who thinks he is entitled to run everyone off the trail anytime he gets behind them. But for the most part it seems to be getting people out there who wouldn’t otherwise be.


As for putting the wattage in with my legs, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the amount I train. I’m down 40lbs since I started biking in September. Currently training to get into race shape. Have plans of getting 5000 miles of single track in this year, primarily on my single speed (that I rode 35 miles on yesterday). I have 4 bikes to train/race with as it is and plan on adding 2 more, I certainly am mainly concerned with my personal output.
The E bike isn’t going to see me forgoing any of my actual training, rather would replace use of my car on short trips to town which can only benefit my health. This thing was built as transportation in Germany and the Netherlands, I live in a rural city. I don’t think it will see a ton of use; just opened my eyes to the possibilities e bikes being used as transportation in the future.

FWIW, once this thing breaks I’m SOL. There’s about 300 known to exist and no aftermarket support

[330ci]

Originally Posted by Andad

You can still pedal an e-bike and given the extra weigh of these bikes you would get more exercise.

Then switch on the power when you’re done for.

Mine rides pretty well unassisted considering it’s on 16” tires and 50lbs lol

[330ci]

Originally Posted by Tricolore66

I just got this a few weeks ago and I love it! So much so that I'm selling a couple of other bikes and getting a more hardcore full-suspension Specialized that I can do heavier trail work with. This one will double your output up to 28mph and gets 120 mile range on a full charge on Eco mode (35% assist). It's really light for an Ebike too, under 35lbs.

This thing would be perfect! Much lighter, distance is much better as well as speed. Enjoy!

[anteto]

I was on the fence about buying an ebike for some time until I got to borrow one for two weeks. It is brilliant up hills and it lets me arrive at work without needing a shower. It also allowed me to bike to work much more as I have a 52 km round trip. But the rules for ebike here are so that the assist stops at 25 kmh, so after that I'm stuck with a terribly heavy bike, and whatever I gained in speed up hills I lost on the flats compared to my road bike. Total bike time was the same using muscle power vs electric power. Those two weeks made me not decide to buy an ebike, as it would not be worth it for me.

[Chester01]

I would use an ebike for transportation but never ever for actual riding. I ride for fun and find the challenge of a technical or extended climb or upping my average speed to be part of the fun, and the motor just kills that for me. Plus it detracts from the exercise of it. Pushing our own limits for me, rather than the limits of the machine is part of the fun.

[ts3]

Originally Posted by winst

I think they are great but only if you are too old or overweight / unfit to ride a normal bike under your own steam. I did 52 miles and 4000ft of climbing today and it was bloody hard but I feel good for it. I am 50 years old but am sure once I get to my 70s I will get an ebike.

Exactly this.

[SearChart]

I'm a Dutchman, so I own several bicycles. Will never ever buy an e-bike.

[Tomas Eriksson]

Originally Posted by SearChart

I'm a Dutchman, so I own several bicycles. Will never ever buy an e-bike.

Im with you, I don't see the point for use on normal recreational use.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by SearChart

I'm a Dutchman, so I own several bicycles. Will never ever buy an e-bike.

This bike was actually designed to be released in the Netherlands as a form of alternate transportation. It folds so you can save money taking it on busses etc.

FWIW I haven't ridden it since the day I bought it. For me it's kind of useless/I bought it more to have in my collection as I'm a fan of GM.The range on it is maybe 40 miles assisted. I managed 14.8 average over almost 55 miles with approx 17 average for the first 20 on my mountain bike yesterday. So while it would've been "less work" riding the ebike,I don't think I would've saved much if anything on time. And the bit of suspension I had was kinda nice on the gravel roads, my ass was quite sore from my saddle by mile 35-40

[330ci]

Originally Posted by anteto

I was on the fence about buying an ebike for some time until I got to borrow one for two weeks. It is brilliant up hills and it lets me arrive at work without needing a shower. It also allowed me to bike to work much more as I have a 52 km round trip. But the rules for ebike here are so that the assist stops at 25 kmh, so after that I'm stuck with a terribly heavy bike, and whatever I gained in speed up hills I lost on the flats compared to my road bike. Total bike time was the same using muscle power vs electric power. Those two weeks made me not decide to buy an ebike, as it would not be worth it for me.

I noticed this yesterday on my first longer ride. It saves energy, not time. my bike confirms to EU regs so it's pretty lame. Weighs almost 50 lbs on 16s, definitely not a speed machine or a blast to ride unassisted by any means.

[Blansky]

When I lived in LA in the 80s I used ride the bike path along the ocean from Malibu to Redondo Beach. https://www.californiabeaches.com/ma...l-los-angeles/

Last weekend we did the ride along the beach from Venice to Redondo and at the start of the ride I thought that electric bikes suck. It's cheating. But by the time we got back after a burger and beer in Redondo I was starting to change my mind about them.

I have the feeling though that there is soon going to be some sort of laws/rules about them on bike paths because of their speed. Motorized bikes aren't allowed on bike paths obviously and that has held for years. Now electrics can go 30 plus miles an hour and there is a lot of negative feedback from cyclists and runners now.

We'll see how it goes.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by Blansky

When I lived in LA in the 80s I used ride the bike path along the ocean from Malibu to Redondo Beach. https://www.californiabeaches.com/ma...l-los-angeles/

Last weekend we did the ride along the beach from Venice to Redondo and at the start of the ride I thought that electric bikes suck. It's cheating. But by the time we got back after a burger and beer in Redondo I was starting to change my mind about them.

I have the feeling though that there is soon going to be some sort of laws/rules about them on bike paths because of their speed. Motorized bikes aren't allowed on bike paths obviously and that has held for years. Now electrics can go 30 plus miles an hour and there is a lot of negative feedback from cyclists and runners now.

We'll see how it goes.

I have grown quite irritated with e bikers lately. I know they're advantageous for alot of people, but the only guy I see using one on the trail I frequent only has it because they didn't have a more expensive bike in the shop. He runs me off the trail everytime he passes, never coordinates properly so I can maintain pace. Its either stop or hit trees.
On paved trails it seems like it would be unsafe for people riding 30+ next to grandma on her beach cruiser. When I was in Florida they had police enforcing trail speed which I imagine might've had something to do with e bikers lol

I imagine regulations will become necessary within the next year or 2. It's only a matter of time before someone smokes a little kid on the lake path I ride. I'm all for people going out and losing weight. But most of the people I see e biking are generally just people I could only assume are lazy judging by appearance and choice of workout equipment. Most of the older E bikers I've seen tend to have more hybrid bikes with racks and they ride in groups over long distance, not so much on the trails
With some of these bikes being far more capable than the 49cc mopeds I rode as a kid, I'd imagine they will have to do something at some point. These machines put out pretty good power. The motor on mine is like 750watt and it doesn't use anywhere near the full power to assist

[JasoninDenver]

Our local path has finally restricted use of ebikes on it as too many people were doing 20-25 mph on a path posted with a 15 mph limit. Even though I cruise at about 15, I would always have so e jackass just fly by me without calling out or anything.

Just a couple of days ago, I actually saw a bike cop out patrolling the path. On an ebike.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Our local path has finally restricted use of ebikes on it as too many people were doing 20-25 mph on a path posted with a 15 mph limit. Even though I cruise at about 15, I would always have so e jackass just fly by me without calling out or anything.

Just a couple of days ago, I actually saw a bike cop out patrolling the path. On an ebike.

They have a Police e bike that looks like a mini bike out here. It looks pretty cool(blacked out with white police emblems) but the first time I saw it I kinda laughed. 50/50 chance I'm running from that thing

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Our local path has finally restricted use of ebikes on it as too many people were doing 20-25 mph on a path posted with a 15 mph limit. Even though I cruise at about 15, I would always have so e jackass just fly by me without calling out or anything.

Just a couple of days ago, I actually saw a bike cop out patrolling the path. On an ebike.

But it kinda sucks that we have to use taxpayer dollars and police resources to deal with a problem that really didn't exist a few years ago.

Now we need traffic cops to monitor the speed limit on a bike path. I think that soon in some places they will ban them and let them ride on the streets instead which is too bad for the people who aren't jackasses.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by Blansky

But it kinda sucks that we have to use taxpayer dollars and police resources to deal with a problem that really didn't exist a few years ago.

Now we need traffic cops to monitor the speed limit on a bike path. I think that soon in some places they will ban them and let them ride on the streets instead which is too bad for the people who aren't jackasses.

Or just adopt EU regs for E bikes and it would solve the majority of the problem. My friend with the same e bike as me wasn't able to maintain cut out speed on his with full power assist while I used 50% assist and averaged 17mph overall on our ride. Any decently capable person on a road bike can maintain that.

Right now it's the wild west here. If I could figure out how to hack mine, I could get it cruising around 35 I imagine

[GB-man]

Mine is restricted to 20 mph assist but I generally go around 16-17 mph. I agree they will likely be banned from all paths. I try to be courteous and slow down to pass.

[BreguetRolex]

E-Bike goes well hand in hand with a E-Cigarette....Both a great source...!

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Tried one in Japan and had a great time. I would like to one day get an e-bike for long-distance touring around Europe, and am hoping that by the time that happens, solar tech will make it possible to have something close to a self-sustaining machine. I'm not sure how far in the future that will be. Looks like there's a way to go, but it's a realistic prospect I think.

Yokohama to Osaka in 4 days, with just what's on that rack, and under my own power....
IMG_5250.jpg

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by pickettt

Yokohama to Osaka in 4 days, with just what's on that rack, and under my own power....
Attachment 1225124

You must be sore riding on the bar like that. Why not use the seat????

[Rolexatlast]

I don’t get them

Great for transportation (eg commuting), or for old or disabled people that cannot cycle, but for exercise ...?

For me, the joy of fast down-hill runs is made sweeter by the effort of cycling up

I was out today, and at a refreshment stop, two overweight guys turned up with e-bikes, closely followed by a chubby lad of about 10. Thought it would be far better (physically and mentally) for the lad to have to pedal rather than be able to click a switch

[Tricolore66]

There are multiple classes of e-bikes, and as far as I know there isn't a ped-electric that will do 30mph without some serious cranking by the rider. Most stop their assist at 20mph. I've hit 30mph, but it's not easy and I'm in good shape. E-bikes all seem to be geared more for hills and while it's easy to hit and sustain 20mph on the flats, the gearing doesn't make it easy to get much past mid 20's without a lot of work. My bike is only a maximum of 2x my input, and most of the time I ride with 35% assist and only hit the max button when pulling away from a stop in traffic on the street. I'm 55 and have pretty much destroyed my knees with sports, but with my e-bike I can play 3 hours of tennis and still go on a 25 mile ride with my girlfriend after, instead of choosing one or the other, or doing both and not being able to function the next day!

I can see the trail riders being pretty annoyed with the powerful e-bikes when they see guys literally spinning their rear tires and tearing up hills.

The upside to all the the e-bikes being sold, and more importantly actually ridden often, is that the increased bicycle traffic is hopefully going to force cities to create more bike-friendly roads that benefit all cyclists.

It appears from checking out the various e-bike forums that Europe is way ahead of the US in e-bike adoption and it seems a pretty popular way to commute in big city centers.

Originally Posted by Blansky

When I lived in LA in the 80s I used ride the bike path along the ocean from Malibu to Redondo Beach. https://www.californiabeaches.com/ma...l-los-angeles/

Last weekend we did the ride along the beach from Venice to Redondo and at the start of the ride I thought that electric bikes suck. It's cheating. But by the time we got back after a burger and beer in Redondo I was starting to change my mind about them.

I have the feeling though that there is soon going to be some sort of laws/rules about them on bike paths because of their speed. Motorized bikes aren't allowed on bike paths obviously and that has held for years. Now electrics can go 30 plus miles an hour and there is a lot of negative feedback from cyclists and runners now.

We'll see how it goes.

[ameliyaa1236]

Is it permissible for you to assemble your own electric bicycle? Yes, you are free to construct whatever you want in theory. Even as a private individual, you must comply with the Machinery Directive if you want to ride legally on public roads with it.

[330ci]

Originally Posted by ameliyaa1236

Is it permissible for you to assemble your own electric bicycle? Yes, you are free to construct whatever you want in theory. Even as a private individual, you must comply with the Machinery Directive if you want to ride legally on public roads with it.

I'm sure it ends up being like mopeds, they'll set regulations to control manufacturers, and people will do what they can to get around it. I have friends with 125cc mopeds with 49cc tags and they never have had issues in the years I've known them. Illegal? Certainly. Does anyone care/notice? Hardly

[Blansky]

Anyone looked at Samson ebikes. Maybe a thousand dollars or more less than some of the racing/mountain bike big names that are dabbling in ebikes.

[marchd]

electric bike is much more convenient and easier to use.

[RMF]

Yup, e-bikes are fantastic. Electric Brompton owner here; If I choose to, I can fold it up in the trunk of my car and take it with me everywhere/anywhere to ride.