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OFOG* finally decides on E-Bike

Mullardman said:
I've been interested in the idea of an E Bike for several years now. I like walking, but it is getting harder by the day as both knees and my legs fail to obey me, and the old ticker continues its inevitable decline. Add in that I live in a village where everywhere is up hill.. or to quote the locals.. 'It's all up't broo dahn theer'.

I'd like to be able to cycle down onto the flat areas a couple of miles away.. cycle a way under my own steam on the flat and then use a bit of 'assist' to get home. I also wouldn't object if the bike could take over completely when needed...even on hills.

It occurs that the 'EU regulation limiting EBikes to 'assisting'.. may be one of the more welcome casualties of Brexit.

15 mph limit?
The other day I was on foot.. breaking out of the fields onto one of the main roads into the village and watching for motor traffic before crossing. Next I knew.. some young lad shot past at a terrific speed on an almost silent 'bike' of some description. The only thing I heard was tyre noise. The lad wasn't pedalling. He'd just come UP a long hill, unless he was exceptionally foolish and had gained momentum on a descending farm track before turning into the main road on a blind bend.. I'd estimate his speed at a minimum of 30 mph.. possibly more. Will an e bike do that?
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Certainly people are importing ebikes from outside the EU. Maybe his was one of those.
 
It is possible to purchase throttle controlled conversion kits with up to 1000w motors. It is illegal to use these on public roads.

New e-bikes are limited to 250w and must be pedal assist.

At the lowest level of assist most e-bikes provide little more than enough assistance to cancel out the extra weight of the battery and motor, and the drag from the motor.
 
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I saw a video of an ‘ebike’ lifting a front wheel when accelerating on You Tube.

One of many:

Fun but of course completely illegal.

As per Neil, there are a proliferation of (new) ebikes on the road now (loads on mtb trails too) and I’m really pleased to see that if it gets more people out.

There are still cheaper options, but the better ones will ride much better. Hell I could have spent £200 on a road bike, but the £4k one I have is hugely better!
 
Looking through a couple of sites on Google yesterday (Halfords being one) I was amazed by the wide cost range (£500/600 up) and variety of E-bikes. However, it seemed that many (cheaper ones?) had limited ranges and would struggle to be used as a pedal bike. Not until you get into the low thousands do they start to emulate a proper road-going cycle with reduced weight and often superior range.

When we chose our one in around 2004 there were much more costly ones, but the main difference was the type of battery if I remember. Wonder when these 'unassisted' ones became illegal. The 15 m.p.h. limit was in force then, which was more of less the max anyway except downhill.
 
I considered an ebike a year or two ago mainly to get to the pub 2 miles away and via two steep hills one 20%.
I’d already got a good road and decent hard tail so decided to get a folding type with little wheels. I borrowed a £450 ish one from Halfords and a 2K ish one from a bike shop. Both made the ride very easy barely needed to pedal and certainly never broke sweat. The posh one was better quality but in use not a lot in it. Anyhow in the end as I was basically fit I decided to lose the stone and get fit instead. I think they are brilliant for getting people out and doing a bit of exercise.
 
tones said:
I have the same sort of problem. I once had a knee blow up like a football and I needed a keyhole operation to fix the meniscus. I have no pain, but the knee sometimes has what I can only describe as a "dead" feeling. When I tackled our hill on the old bike, I could feel the knees straining (as well as my heart trying to exit through my ribcage), so I decided that discretion was definitely the better part of valour. Now suddenly all sorts of things become possible, even in the hilly area where we live.
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11 years since my op and like Mull and others reasons for wanting one rack up with each year! Trouble is they are so expensive right now and also I love my existing bikes. Those who have ridden a lot will know how we tune our set up through the years and appreciate how our bikes become second nature to us, it really is a personal thing. So I’m hoping conversion kits evolve and lower in price and I can adapt one of my own.
 
I have a nice Raleigh road bike of the classic type made in the UK about thirty years ago. It is the only bike that I could afford that comes close to the qualities of my Carlton Kermesse [bought new by a friend in 1984]; the Raleigh is a good one. Quite light, if not as light as the Carlton, it rides nicely on the local less than stellar roads, and has a nice original indexed Shimano 105 group-set and brake callipers [with more modern levers from Shimano on a Nitto semi-flat handlebar]. The wheels are 700c with Michelin 25 width tyres.

My plan [if I ever can afford it] will be to get this Cytronex assistance fitted.


A new fully equipped e-bike of the quality of the Raleigh would cost thousands, and the cheaper ones are heavy-weight and would most likely bring me no pleasure at all. Not least because I have two flights of stairs to carry the bikes up once home!

Best wishes from George
 
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