[Closed] Should I buy an electric bike

Get a moped ? Or just MTFU and ride your road bike in without any brekkie 🙂

Two wheeled invalid carriage................

Scooter?

How long does the drive take and how hilly is it? Have you actually tried riding it on a proper road bike ever?

Just saying because my commute is longer than that and pretty hilly, I was surprised to find that there is very little difference in time driving vs car. As for showers, shower at work instead of home doesn't take any extra time.

Here you go - just the thing
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the giant electric bikes ive used in the past couldnt pull skin off a rice pudding ....

Have to say, MTFU. A 15 mile commute is a great opportunity for fitness, I've done it without a shower.

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

err, yes ^^^

I had a GoCycle for a few months a couple of years ago. Was great fun, as my job at the time involved nipping around town between locations. GoCycle kinldy lent it to me, as it was rather beneficial for them to have me riding it.

I'd arrive fresh as a daisy, not out of breath at all, having had great fun just whizzing along. (Mine had been, erm, well, tweaked a little to make it a teensy bit faster!). Plug it in, recharge it then ride on later on in the day.

Not sure I'd buy an electric bike for a 15 mile commute though. I'd just ride it.

If this is not a Troll - just ride to work without eating, munch a bit of flapjack when you get in. As for a shower, well dont, just ride slow enough not to get sweaty.

Your a bloke afterall, who will notice if you have not showered. If they notice, tell them you rode in.

i hope non of you guys never get ill, and still have the desire to ride a bike.

Thanks,

I ride the route often as it is part of the road loop I like to do at weekends. I Think I will give it a go tomorrow on my road bike. Yes, I know MTFU, but its not the riding, just all the arsing about that Im worried about!

ton, he's not ill.

OP you don't need any more arsing about...shower and breakfast at work, instead of home, and you'll be hungry for it.

When I was able to ride that long before work I had lots of energy in the day, until about 4pm 😉

wrongun - I used to do 17 miles each way. Min of 3 days, usually 5 days a week.

It takes a little bit of organising as a one off (i.e. all the stuff you need to leave in work) and then you're good to go.

Eat breakfast once you're at work - less than an hour is fine off no food. And shower there. Showering time is just showering time.

You'll get fit as a butcher's dog. And lose the desire to ride at the weekend.

ton, he's not ill.

Not, I think, the point ton was making tbf.

just all the arsing about that Im worried about!

Cycling around 15 miles to work is the easy part,but if you have horrendous roads/routes, a strict dress code at work ,no decent changing/storage area ,then it all adds up to being a PITA .
That's the real bit where you have to MTFU and get organised,and remind your self of all the benefits .
If not get a motorbike,they are the next best thing 🙂

Why buy electric. I used to commute 33 miles sometimes each way to work. Get up at 5:00 am eat breakfast, leave at 05:30 pedal my single for 2 hours and eat a second breakfast at work. Then do it all again at the end of the day. I worked as a teacher and if you pick the right clothing and the right anti perperant body order is not an issue. Beieve the kids I used to teach would have told me if I smelled. In fact I got in so early that most of the time noone even realised I had cycled in as you simply could not tell. A rack and big panniers help here as tha reduces the sweat on your back. Also wear proper base layers and padded shorts help to as they breathe and do not hold on to any sweat.

15 miles is an hours ride very doable every day without the need for an electric bike - also most electic bikes are heavy and you only get assitance up to 15 mph. I like to move at 20 mph+ where I can.

30 miles a day week in week out is quite a commitment, nothing wrong with electric bikes either.

Saying that, is a decent electric bike nearly as much as a cheap second hand ped to buy these days?

There is a new Vespa shop that has just opend on my commute and they have a 50cc Vespa in the window for £1100, tempted to trade my push bike in and fart to work on that 😉

What was ton's point then?

No way would I drop £1K on an electric bike just for a commute, I might consider it, after a good test ride I suppose...

What was ton's point then?

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/stw-afib-club ]See the AFib club thread[/url]

I hada shot on an elecrically assited bike and was impressed.

For many folk a 15 mile commute is a lot. See if you can get a demo on one to see if you like it.

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[b]PLUS[/b]
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[b]Equals[/b]
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😉

Had a go on one of these this afternoon. Took it up a long steep hill. It's really quite impressive as well as being low key to freak out roadies.
[url= http://www.squarewheels.biz/squarewheels_en/cube-epo-2012.html ]Cube EPO[/url]

would not touch any of the current electric bikes

just not worth the grief

I have a lock-up full of broken ones, waiting "warranty" support

as soon as the electric assistance fails, you are riding an extremely heavy bicycle with high rolling resistance

get a nice road bike 😉

wrongun, i bought a electric bike due to ill health.
it is a kalkhoff pro connect disc, i bought it so that i could go on a touring holiday last september.
the range on it is 140km, so would be no problem for your commute.
the good thing about it, is that you can choose to have the assist on or to switch it off and ride like a normal bike.
people seem to have the idea that you can turn the motor on and just rev and off you go. this is not the case on mine. it gives you a push in the back 😉
i dont think it would make a 15 mile ride any faster for me, but it would deffo make it easier.
you are more than welcome to come and take mine for a test mate.

would not touch any of the current electric bikes

For 15 miles, daily, rain or shine, I'd MTFU. But I am fit and have access to fine facilities at work. In other circumstances, a nice Kalkhoff Aggattu would be an excellent tool for the 30 mile round trip. In 20 years time, electric bikes will be very common.

If commuting daily, the cost of batteries will not be insignificant.

I agree with djaustin - the Kalkhoff range of electric bikes are superb and are selling like hot cakes! We have looked at pretty much all electric bikes before deciding that we would only deal Kalkhoff because they're brilliant on hills (due to the crank drive) they have a great range (as much as 140-180kms) which means the batteries last longer because you charge them less and being German built - are of superb quality! I have a demonstrator to test if you're located anywhere around Wiltshire!

cynic-al - Member

15 mile commute...I've done it without a shower.

I don't own one but wouldn't rule one out for a long hilly commute.

Here's an account of a 2000 mile tour on an electric bike. In this case so that the rider who has health issues could keep up with his partner.

http://bicyclelife.topicwise.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=9261&v=272

www.onbike.co.uk know everything, and will give you a test ride. If you haven't tried one you don't know what you are missing. They organise a lovely wee bike festival in Prestigne every year as well.

on that site...

Raleigh Dover is a rebadged Kalkhoff Aggatu. Monarch is a slightly cheaper brand, but has performed well. Wisper have a reputation for being fast and Daum are newcomers. I wouldn't really touch the rest - absolutely NOTHING hub driven. Entry point will be about £1300 (Monarch), but realistically you won't see change from £1800. Giant led the way with the Panasonic crank drive, but have moved on to hub drive for cost effectiveness reasons.

For outright loveliness, look no further than [url= http://www.spencerivy.com/ ]SpencerIvy[/url]. Now with a matching black battery and Brooks saddle and grips. I test rode one at the bike show and can tell you that it is a lovely bike with a beautiful ride, that happens to be electrically assisted. It will make 15 miles seem like 5 (well almost).

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I've been commuting for 13 years without breakfast.

Usually further than 15 mile too. We've never had showers at work either - clean body, basin wash, clothes airer, proper fast-drying lycra, travel towel.

A banana and coffee does me until lunchtime. I've never been hungry first thing person either. I've never been great at getting up early either - but if I've had to get up at 5am to get to work on time, that's what I've done. The lanes are lovely and quiet first thing.

FFS people are so pathetic these days.

Save your money, buy some mudguards, a decent jacket and some panniers/other boring 'commuter' stuff.

I would agree. The £600 ish electric bikes that have come in the shop for fixing have all had issues with the electric part of the bike which I cannot attend to. All of them have been warranty issues. For £700 I sell the Tifosi CK7 it has rack mounts and mudguards. Perfect for commuting. Ribble do there version two.

For £600 you can buy a reasonable commutor. Then buy some racks, panniers, a travel towel. Washing is really not necessary. Sweat only smells if baceria get to grow in it before it dries. So breathable clothing solves this problem.

15 miles each way is a short ride really. The only problem is in heavy rain as then you will need good waerproofs but tha again is no biigy. You will spend less getting a pedal powered bike.

15 miles each way is a short ride really.

Not sure that I agree with that... 🙄 YMMV etc

My commute is 14 each way, when I do ride.
It eats a big chunk out of my day, and riding consecutive days leaves me hanging.

3 days a week is probably optimum. Can't see any way I'd ride 5 days per week (even if domestic and work committments permitted)

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

Not sure that I agree with that... YMMV etc

My commute is 14 each way, when I do ride.
It eats a big chunk out of my day, and riding consecutive days leaves me hanging.

3 days a week is probably optimum. Can't see any way I'd ride 5 days per week (even if domestic and work committments permitted)

[b]Hogwash![/b] Are you trying to use your commute as a time trail?

Do you have a permanent disability, or are you just [u]lazy[/u]?

ADH - 50% of that is offroad, including a 1000' climb followed by forest / quarry descent...

... which at the end of a long day = a very hard quarry / forest climb.

and, yes, I do try to do it flat out, and am always trying to better previous times.

So,

15 miles each way is a short ride really.

So its a case of you're doing it wrong, as well as being lazy then?

Sounds terrific, I'd swap it any day for my 12 miles of flatish boring road work.

I never said it wasn't fun 😉

Just not sustainable for 5 days a week, for me

Well, I'm envious you've even got the option 🙂

I've tried a few off-road options out, they're all a bit mickey mouse. I'm better of riding home on the road and going out for a night ride on the MTB.

Once I worked 12 miles from home and I stopped driving and rode everyday. No shower and I was fine - no smells. Breathable cloths and a good anti persiant for the armpits solves all hygine issues. I worked in school as teacher and used to ride 33 miles (each way for kicks) to work some days. Again no shower. I can assure you that BO was not a problem if you have the correct clothing and dry yourself of before you put your work cloths on.

Electric bikes make sense if you have a disability and simply cannot pedal at a cadance to allow 15 mph. However many people by them to make the ride easier as they think they are not fit enough. This is solved by getting fitter which does you good in the long run. I am passinate about cycling and more people should do it but please pedal unassisted if you can. Cycling to work reduces our personal environmental impact but if you buy an electric bike then the energy used and pollution created to make the motor and batteries as well as the recharing makes a less sound choice than a convential 100% human powered bike.

It simply doesnot bother me how good modern electric bikes are as I really fail to see the point in them.

I've got an electric bike. I like using it for commuting. Some days I use elec, some days non-elec. Probably not cheaper to run than a moped, but I prefer it. It's a bit quicker than non-elec, but the difference could swing the other way if I got fitter. It's definitely less work than non-elec.

There's been some calculations done that for most people the additional food required to ride a non-elec bike has a greater environmental footprint than the resources required to power an e-bike. Unless you eat a locally grown vegetarian diet.

For me the e-bike regularly makes the difference between riding or using the car, especially on wet and windy days.

Well, I rode in this morning. Set off at 7 and was in by 8. 17 miles on my 2003 Trek 1500 US postal special. I just had a "basin" wash and towel down when I got here and its fine. No real sweating apart from my back, so I have ordered up a commuter bag thingy to replace the rucksack.

All in, no real problems and looking forward to the ride home! Might just pick and choose the best weather days each week to ride in.

Did think about electric, although my speed only really dropped under 15mph on a few of the climbs.

There's been some calculations done that for most people the additional food required to ride a non-elec bike has a greater environmental footprint than the resources required to power an e-bike. Unless you eat a locally grown vegetarian diet.

I think these calculations must have been flawed, by a factor of over 1000.

Not to mention beside the point - very few of us live on a subsistence diet. Food miles are overwhelmingly a seperate issue. Important, yes, but seperate.

It simply does not bother me how good modern electric bikes are as I really fail to see the point in them.

Try retiring to South Devon in thirty years time and continue cycling 😉 . My mother is able to ride up hills that she simply would not be able to otherwise. So that's one extra person on a bike. Which is a Good Thing(TM).

My Mrs has recently bought an electric bike. It is a Giant Escape Hybrid 1 which she got for a good price from the www.electricbicyclenetwork.com/ who are selling off ex hire electric bikes. It is like new and had only done 120 miles when bought. She commutes 16 miles to work on it and with it it means she can cycle every day which she wouldn't be able to do as not fit enough on a normal bike. She is saving petrol, wear and tear on the car etc. and it only takes her 10 minutes longer than driving. She is of the opinion that this exercise is better than non at all.

I'm surprised how easy people find these long commutes. I guess we're all built differently?!

I had a 20 mile round-trip and it was a few months before i wasn't too tired to ride at the weekends. I'm talking about riding every single day, rain or shine even when feeling ill etc.

Previously had a 15 mile/1500ft commute each way, and i only managed to do it 5 days per week once (when i was without a car) and i was absolutely totally completely shattered at the end of the week.

30 miles a day week in week out is quite a commitment, nothing wrong with electric bikes either.

As mentioned you don't have to ride it every day or as I do, you can vary it. I live 28 miles from work, some days I cycle it all, some days I'll dive half way and cycle the rest, some days I just park outside the city and cycle in.

I'm lucky I have great bike storage and shower facilities in work. But before we moved building I didn't. Then I found that as long as I showered before the commute and used a liberal spraying of deodorant once I got there I was fine. Sweat doesn't smell if you keep yourself clean! 😉

ADH -the calc I saw was in this paper here;

Needless to say I've not seen any peer review of the approach to confirm or dispute the findings.

I guess the point for me is that often an e-bike is seen as some sort of cheating as opposed to another transport option. And let's face it we're on STW where driving a car to take a bike somewhere to ride is normal behaviour.