[Closed] Ebike MTB for commute

15mph 🙂

Because riding an unrestricted one is illegal 🙂

on motorbike on the road, but no fun at all wondering if the next commute will be my last

Hahahaahahaha awesome. Why are you more likely to die commuting on a motorbike than a bicycle ?

"Why are you more likely to die commuting on a motorbike than a bicycle ?"

Physics.

Because there are no 1+ ton vehicles in woods driven at 80mph to hit you.

Anyway usually dumb ass trolling responses, when I actually wanted information from people who use an Ebike on similar daily commute. Avergage speed over ground, battery performance etc

Doesn't average speed over the ground depend on the terrain? In that if you're commuting off-road in Thetford, for example, it's probably going to be a bit quicker than if you're doing it in a hilly part of Wales.

the beauty of an Ebike (well mine anyway) is that it does 15mph EVERYWHERE.

so i average a minimum of 15MPH regardless of wind/gradient/me not wanting to be sweaty.

Mines not an MTB though - its in a cargo bike.

Obviously if your riding nadgery rocky downhills then 15MPH may not be achievable.

Easy to average 17mph in flat woods/clear gravel paths if unrestricted

Most batteries have a 700-1000 cycle charge so even if you have to charge it once a day, 5 days a week, that's 260 charges a year, so that's 3 to 4 years before needing to be replaced

Replacement batteries are around £700 new but 2nd hand ones with 20-30 charges on them can be had for £500 to £600

On a restricted bike maintaining ~14mph is easy (maintaining 15.5mph feels like harder work as the motor is constantly cutting in/out), so your average speed depends on how hilly the route is, bigger hills = faster speeds as you climb them at 15mph then descend even faster.

You don't really even need to be reasonably fit, even on maximum assistance it should manage 30 miles.

As for long term battery performance, apparently it does drop off eventually but my parents have ex hire Trek's from Rutland and haven't noticed any drop off despite regular use. And I suspect with some electrical knowhow and disregard for the warranty you could probably re-cell them if you had to for less than a new battery.

Because there are no 1+ ton vehicles in woods driven at 80mph to hit you.

To be fair, on an unrestricted e-bike you become the speeding object posing the danger to cycle path users so you invite the criticism on yourself.

To be fair, on an unrestricted e-bike you become the speeding object posing the danger to cycle path users so you invite the criticism on yourself.

Here we go...... 🙂

If it’s flat, maintaining the speed limit will be no problem, and ime is the most economical way to go.

Interesting post, I have been thinking the same for a 20 mile commute about 70/30 trail/road with some hills. Be doing it on CX but knackering more than twice a week.

Ebike could be the answer to unlocking it more days a week

It’s a fair criticism. An unrestricted ebike is illegal on bridleways and cycleroutes and unless registered with the DVLA and insured illegal on the roads.  Would people be so quick to defend uninsured motorists just because they wanted to save beans on their commute?

I’ve got no ebike axe to grind, I’ve looked at them myself for commute purposes but the speed restriction isn’t optional, it’s a legal requirement.

glad to see someone deleted zippykonas rather awful taste post.

Timbo, let me put it this way to you.

i weigh over 19stone, and i can ride my ebike home from work after a 12hr shift, it’s 33 miles with about 1400ft of climbing virtually all in one go, and I basically feel fine after it/next day.

I’m not fit.

i use just over half the battery on a bosch cx equipped fs bike.

if you do a 20 mile commute on a normal bike, you should find an ebike a breeze.

the beauty of an Ebike (well mine anyway) is that it does 15mph EVERYWHERE.

so i average a minimum of 15MPH regardless of wind/gradient/me not wanting to be sweaty.

Mines not an MTB though – its in a cargo bike.

Same for me. I average around 19mph on the way in to work, and 16 on the way back. Also on a cargo bike.

maintaining 15.5mph feels like harder work as the motor is constantly cutting in/out

mine (Bosch performance line CX) seems to cut out at a couple of tenths under 17mph  (gps seems to confirm this too)

maintaining speed right under the limit is fairly easy though, at least on roads. Probably harder on uneven ground, but I just ride and let the motor cut in/out as it wants, I can barely feel it as it’s a fairly soft transition.

Would people be so quick to defend uninsured motorists

It's not really the same, is it?. I work with a couple of guys who drive cars that are capable of 150mph, if someone hits you at that speed, there's really no bonus in them having insurance.

I don't have an ebike,  or foresee me getting one in the near future, but comparing them to cars is a bit silly.

Tbh, for a flat commute, I don't see the point, unless you're doing it every day, and mibbe slow down a bit, save the legs for the weekend.

There’s a useful calculator for battery life etc on the Bosch ebike website

Because there are no 1+ ton vehicles in woods driven at 80mph to hit you.

That's doing it wrong, they'll all be behind you! 🙂

Seriously though, if you're a decent rider there's no reason NOT to use a motorbike. 40,000 miles commuting on my last bike alone and it's all fine.

My Battery degradation on 5 days a week heavy usage, 330amp hour shimano steps has only become apparent after 3 years.   Even then its only down 20 percent. I reckon it could well last longer  (24-6 mile round trips with tools and panniers)

A New replacement battery for my model is £300 which I'm just about to order.  A MTB would be daft.  get a decent tourer with mudguards.

Basically just go for it - battery will be fine and if you’re doing it 5 days a week you’ll still get a lot fitter I’m sure.  Give it a go without derestricting first - I derestricted mine but it was a pita due to software not working properly and didn’t make as much difference as I thought it would.  You can always do it later.

if you’re doing it 5 days a week you’ll still get a lot fitter I’m sure

Absolutely. I do roughly 20 - 25 miles 5 days a week and have noticed my fitness increase significantly. And lost about a stone in weight over the first 3 months (without changing anything else noticeably)

Obviously the fitness benefit is less than doing the same journey on an unassisted bike, but it’s massively more than doing the same journey in a train or in a car.

Good stuff nealglover!

I derestricted mine too, legalities aside it doesn’t really improve the bike, and it does have a noticeable effect on battery life.

i wouldn’t bother again tbh.

The only time I would find derestriction properly useful would be when riding in the city centre, being able to easily get to 20mph ish would mean I could just ride in the centre of the lane all the time and keep pace with traffic, rather than getting overtaken between every set of light by the same cars again and again.

I did de restrict mine for a run on country roads I needed to do quickly.  got it up to best part of 40 mph and burned the battery thru in 8 miles.

For a legal one it really will not make much difference to your commute unless you are going up some big hills IME.  Its easy enough to hit 15 mph on the flat

riding de-restricted one ids a bit of a dicks trick tho IMO

For a legal one it really will not make much difference to your commute unless you are going up some big hills IME.  Its easy enough to hit 15 mph on the flat

Depends on the bike. I can ride into work on the road and average >15mph comfortably. But that's on the road bike playing with traffic. If It take the MTB I average 13mph and have a much less stressful journey. I can see the appeal of being able to average road bike speeds on any surface.

Having said that, the cycle path already feels dicey (I've had one head on where we both sheepishly admitted we'd not been able to stop in the bit we could see to be clear) ridden at self propelled speeds, so going 2-3mph quicker isn't really much use, although being able to breeze up hills would be nice.

Sounds like a good, idea, cruise at 15 while putting little effort in, plus the option to ride it at weekend.

I now often ride mine round the lanes in the Peak District because I don't notice the addition weight of the bike.

I’ve currently got an ebike on loan through the awesome Sheffieldcycleboost scheme. Free!

My commute is 12 miles each way. Approx 1100 feet climbing on the way in, 1300 on the way back. All on road dicing with and being held up by rush hour traffic

It’s a big old hybrid with panniers guards etc. A year old but only 450 miles on the odometer when I picked it up. Shimano STEPS e6000 motor.

I average 14.8 mph. It’s no faster than when I have done it on the road bike in Lycra in the past but importantly I ride in in work clothes and don’t need a shower. Certainly not in November. Heart rate average 124 this morning so not a bad workout and doable every day. It is marginally quicker to drive in the morning and definitely quicker to drive home as I don’t leave work before rush hour has finished very often

Battery though. Disappointing. Ran out of juice a mile from home on the second day. If I’d paid £2k for this bike I’d be disappointed. As it is I just take the charger to work.

Not sure if that helps you specifically op but it has allowed me to do more cycling than I used to.

"Its easy enough to hit 15 mph on the flat"

while it is - there are reasons that i need to arrive at my destination Dry and clean ready to go . not scratching round the clients office asking for a shower.

for that reason the Ebike wins-

REALLY cant be ****ed fighting with traffic. I drove in today after a very hard chain gang last night and regretted it about 20 minutes after leaving the house.... took over an hour. Its a 50 minute ride on my commuter/55 minutes on my Ebike.

What would be a reasonably fit persons average speed on Ebike, unrestricted.

Depends what you consider "reasonably fit" to be but with fast rolling tyres an average speed of 18mph is a pretty easy effort on a derestricted emtb on flat trails. Unless it's super twisty or technical you'll easily get there in under an hour.

All the big brands batteries are generally warrantied for 2 years or 1000 charge cycles.

Loving the irony of a zwift user trying to dis Ebike users BTW