[Closed] E-bike commute

we'll have you fully converted soon nobeer 🙂

I'm converted already in terms of slogging up fire roads to get to good stuff, but it's too slow for my commute, longer hillier commutes would be a better target audience.

Edit - I've managed to get it for another day, which coincidentally is my first day back at uni, a good 34 miles up the old A77 to GCU, and back home. That'll give it a better run!.

agree, make most sense off road IMO, though would've been handy up the road climb to Loch Ranza yesterday 🙂

On quiet road they're definitely more suited to people who "don't" cycle for whom 15.5 is a speed increase or for those who would rather swap sweaty for slower.

In cities (I've said it before) but I'm amazed how many folks on here manage to commute at over 15.5mph, I can barely manage that in the car as an average given rush hour traffic. I've a fairly even split between rural and urban on my commute and this morning on my bike my splits were at 15kph ish once I got into town and that's passing traffic.

Aye, if I'm in a rush to get home, I do as the motorcyclists do and hammer past the traffic on the outside. Always wary that if someone decides to take a right and doesn't mirror check, I'm ****ed.

In cities (I’ve said it before) but I’m amazed how many folks on here manage to commute at over 15.5mph, I can barely manage that in the car as an average given rush hour traffic. I’ve a fairly even split between rural and urban on my commute and this morning on my bike my splits were at 15kph ish once I got into town and that’s passing traffic.

I commuted in to Manchester this morning at 15 mph av - drafted an ebike most of the way doing 20-22 🙂

But really average speed is not the issue for urban e-commutes - it's having a restricted bike cut out when you want to accelerate it past 15.5mph, which you might want to / have to do even if you're going in at a chilled pace - that must really suck.

I’d normally have been averaging around 140bpm, was 119 average on this. I’d say that could be the difference with being too tired at the end of the week to be biking at weekends, as some commuters say happens to them.

I spent 6 hours riding on Saturday with an average heart rate of 130 and was pretty knackered on yesterday's club ride. However the week before I'd done 3 consecutive 100 mile days on road  averaging between 110 - 120 and still felt good at the end. Not just the average though that makes a difference but how many times you end up going into the red, which happened a good few times on Saturdays ride, and again the e-bike can really help there.

I find a 50 mile ride with an average heart rate of 140 will leaving me feeling tired whereas a 100 mile at 120 and I'm good to do it again the next day.

I'll be moving at some point in the next year and may well go for an ebike depending on the distance I'll end up commuting. It'll allow all that time to be spent in zone 2 which means I can actually build it into my training rather than having to work around it.

Aye, makes sense for zone 2 training for sure, and switch off for an interval session, get that 50lb up to speed!.

when you want to accelerate it past 15.5mph, which you might want to / have to do even if you’re going in at a chilled pace

I can see your point, but in reality if you cant accelerate with your legs then its not really a chilled cycling pace anymore?

Either an electric moped on the road (cbt, helmet, motorbike sized brakes and tyres) or 15.5mph seems a sensible cutoff for riding on shared pavements etc.

I know on the continent there's an inbetween category of fast e-bikes before you get to mopeds, but they do come with extra rules too.

I commute on one of those Ofo bikes, its probably a 7-8mph average (small hill and some traffic lights). Thats chilled out utility cycling pace!

Either an electric moped on the road (cbt, helmet, motorbike sized brakes and tyres) or 15.5mph seems a sensible cutoff for riding on shared pavements etc.

Why though? My commute is 90% on a shared path, I'll average 17-18mph, even slowing for the entitled dog walkers I'll maintain that, why should an assisted bike be slower?.

Genuine question, not on the wind up. There seems to be a perception that assisted bikes are dangerous because fat folk can then go fast? (not saying thats your view TINAS btw! but it's definitely a vibe I get on here)

There's got to be a cut off somewhere and for a lot of people 15.5 is faster than they'd normally go.

It does seem a bit arbitrary a number but whatever was decided on would and there's plenty of places (some shared paths particularly though granted not all) where 15mph is genuinely too fast to be mixing with pedestrians. There's a reason so many carparks etc are 10mph limits and the like.

My commute is 90% on a shared path, I’ll average 17-18mph

I think that is an anti-social speed to be averaging on a shared path.

I think that is an anti-social speed to be averaging on a shared path.

Without knowing this path, that's a spurious claim really. There's no one on it apart from the odd other cyclist at the time of the morning I'm on it, it runs alongside a railway line so has great line of sight, and is 3-4m wide all the way.

No one walks along it really, and the beach is less than a mile away pretty much all the way, so all the dog walkers are there.

I'd suggest you don't ever go to the Netherlands, it'll fry your brain.

Why though? My commute is 90% on a shared path, I’ll average 17-18mph, even slowing for the entitled dog walkers I’ll maintain that, why should an assisted bike be slower?.

Assuming that means your shared path is flat and very well surfaced then what's stopping you human powering past the limmiter.

Are you implying that you get overtaken on your e-bike by regular mamil powered bikes?

to be fair its not that tenuous a link to saying its ok to do 120 on the m74 at night because no one was there.

on the road i can just about accept that more than 15.5mph is reasonable.

on a shared path - im out. not acceptable.

I can see your point, but in reality if you cant accelerate with your legs then its not really a chilled cycling pace anymore?

15mph is fine for a steady urban pace between the lights, but urban cycling in the traffic can be unpredictable, you sometimes need to move the bike around the road. Assistance cutting out at 15mph sounds horrible for this.

It all depends on how you like to roll, I suppose, and commuting routes can be so different. I like a chilled commute but find slow cycling makes me feel vulnerable and exposed on the road. I tried some mobikes in Manchester (before the scallies chased them off) and they were massively under-geared, 10mph on the flat, and it felt like you were cycling with a target on your back.

find slow cycling makes me feel vulnerable and exposed on the road. I tried some mobikes in Manchester (before the scallies chased them off) and they were massively under-geared, 10mph on the flat, and it felt like you were cycling with a target on your back.

I know the feeling, but the reality is youre just cycling at the same speed, just more upright.

Own that feeling, sit up, own the lane and revel in the feeling of being bad ass.

Whats better, or mentally healthier, cycling upright feeling like car drivers can see you, or scruching up making yourself invisible because youre not embracing your right to be there.

Are you implying that you get overtaken on your e-bike by regular mamil powered bikes?

I don't have an ebike, but at 15.5mph, yeah I would.

to be fair its not that tenuous a link to saying its ok to do 120 on the m74 at night because no one was there.

There's a speed limit on the M74.

As I said, I don't really see the point for my commute in their current guise, MTB for sure.

There’s a speed limit on the M74.

Exactly, and there are rules, insurance, licencing and road worthyness checks in place that make 70mph safe.

15.5 mph is a lowest common denominator way of achieveing the same thing on a shared use path.

There are already other options if you want to go faster. Just get a moped. Removing limits would make cycle paths into b-roads for electric 2 wheeled transport and remove their raison d'etre.

Fair enough, we'll agree to disagree.

One of our fitters has a bafang bolt on kit on his cx bike, 30mph on roads all the way in to work for 12 miles, just as well he's not on here! 🙂 He'd be in a car otherwise, so he says, so a car off the road is a positive for me.

He knows if he gets caught he's in bother.

Certainly better than the folks that live a mile away and drive every day.

Why though? My commute is 90% on a shared path, I’ll average 17-18mph, even slowing for the entitled dog walkers I’ll maintain that, why should an assisted bike be slower?.

I've said it before. Ride a bike and generally your available power increases with experience and, hopefully, skill. By the time you're cruising at 20mph or so, you've a few miles in your legs and made some mistakes at lower speeds.

With no license system then it's a sensible speed. If you can go faster without assistance, great, knock yourself out. If not that's fine too, use an ebike.

(While I'm writing this, I'd like to know why people would consider 17-18mph on a bike to be antisocial but have immense trouble sticking to a 20mph limit on busy streets with 1.5 tonnes of metal behind them?)

15mph is fine for a steady urban pace between the lights, but urban cycling in the traffic can be unpredictable, you sometimes need to move the bike around the road. Assistance cutting out at 15mph sounds horrible for this.

The 15.5mph limit on ebikes isn't the problem here.

Ebike commuting......is a brilliant concept.

To know if it's for you, you need to have a look at yourself as you step out of the house. If you have put 'special' clothes on for your ride in I'd suggest sir should continue with his standard bike. If you are wearing your standard clobber that you will sit down at the office in (you are allowed to take off your coat and on crappy weather days might need a bit of a sartorial rethink) you are on a path to ebike urban commuting nirvana. If on the way home you stop off at the supermarket and buy a load of milk or tins (with you put in your sturdy panniers on your even sturdier pannier rack that you now don't mind having on your bike because you are no longer
a weight weenie and would rather not have a damp back) and don't think twice about what it'll feel like up the next hill you have made it.

I’ve said it before. Ride a bike and generally your available power increases with experience and, hopefully, skill. By the time you’re cruising at 20mph or so, you’ve a few miles in your legs and made some mistakes at lower speeds.

I tend to agree. Perhaps you could have your ebike re chipped to 20mph on production of your cycling proficiency test certificate 🙂

That's a fair point Convert. 😊

My recent views on ebike commuting including the frustration at the 15.5 mph limit and subsequent hacking of the bike
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/ebike-commuting-5/

I've just read both these threads with interest as i currently ride 15 miles to work a couple of times a week, but i think i'm going to be losing my driving licence soon due to excessive awesomeness & driving skillz. Which will mean riding every day, through the winter most likely.
The 2 options iv'r been looking at are; ebikemotion equipped road bikes as they seem like they would be less of a drag on the flat sections when doing 18-20 mph, or soemthing like the Synapse neo, which although it looks much heavier, can me 'hacked' i think.

21 mph is a good limit.

I’ve just read both these threads with interest as i currently ride 15 miles to work a couple of times a week, but i think i’m going to be losing my driving licence soon due to excessive awesomeness & driving skillz. Which will mean riding every day, through the winter most likely.
The 2 options iv’r been looking at are; ebikemotion equipped road bikes as they seem like they would be less of a drag on the flat sections when doing 18-20 mph, or soemthing like the Synapse neo, which although it looks much heavier, can me ‘hacked’ i think.

Blimy mos, assuming at least some of the points you've amassed are for speeding, don't you think that cheating a purposely speed limited vehicle is somewhat daft? In the, (unlikely admittedly) event you got busted you're not going to get much leeway from the law, and surely the punishment of loosing your licence is there to persuade you that 'speeding is bad, mmkay?'

21 mph is a good limit.

agreed - so long as you are not on shared use pathways and accept that youll be using the road. - probably need a plate and an MOT as well.

Yeah, you're probably right. Our sales director did a few weeks at her majesty's pleasure for 'perverting the course of justice' because he had a radar jammer on his car. I'm not fancying that, so looks like an un-hacked e-bike is the way.

I commute to either central London or Beaconsfield 3 or 4 days a week. 160 miles a week is killing me and I am not getting any fitter so am considering a cheap ebike front wheel conversion to fit on my old Charge Mixer. Into London I currently average 12.5mph and out to Buckinghamshire nearer 13.5mph - will my average speed increase/ decrease with a legal conversion? Will I be less tempted to jump in the car? Will I feel like riding for pleasure again?

Can anyone recommend a cheap front hub kit and battery

Thanks

Yeah, you’re probably right.

OK, shut the internet down for the day - STW has just reached an agreement. 🤣👍
Maybe me and mos should trundle over to Brussels to sort out the Irish backstop.

Edit - I'll drive mos, it'll take too long on bikes at 15.5mph.

We could hack them!:)