I ride a bike now and then for recreation and exercise. Recently I decided to spring for an electric bike.
It’s a Ride1Up LMT’D. 750W rear hub motor, pedal torque sensor, thumb throttle, and front air suspension fork. I think ebikes are da bomb, because now I can ride farther and faster. It’s like having bionic legs; the hills that used to put me into granny gear can now be pedaled in high gear at 20 mph! And it’s a new hobby to sink money into; I’ve only had the ebike about a week and already I’ve added a handlebar riser and a Cloud 9 saddle (neither are in the photo), and bought a hand pump for the fork. (I already had flashlight mounts for front and rear lights, but I haven’t installed them yet.) The ebike hobby might end up being more expensive than my flashlight fixation. I’m thinking of adding a rear rack and panniers.
So, how about it? Anybody else riding an electric bicycle?
My wife and I each have a Lectric xp 2.0. We love them. We can get a great workout or just loaf our way along a leisurely day ride. We do a lot more of the latter than the former I must confess.
we have ridden them, but cannot afford to buy
any of them which i have seen online.
the rentals were fun since we did not pedal at all.
the power decreased markedly after 11-12 minutes
even after the indicators gave full-power
readings before we started.
this is the same problem we had with our 500W scooter.
fun for fifteen minutes on flat ground. not worth $300.
I’ve never ridden an e-bike without pedaling at all, but I still suspect your experience is tainted by terrible equipment.
My e-bike is an inexpensive chinese conversion kit . I can commute round trip, 18 miles each way between charges, and I’ve never noticed any loss of power.
As a Dutchie; yes i do!
My wife bought a new one, so i got her old one.
Ideal, it’s mid engined, with torque sensors and all.
Use it very regular when travelling to the office, (12 km)
If i was to push pedals again ( something i have not done since 1989 ) then it would have to be a E-bike if i was to go anywhere, or even worse just kill myself trying too hard.
I am so bad now that even my default walking pace make me purple in the face in 15 minutes, and make me desperate for sitting down and sucking on my inhaler even if i dont think it do much for me.
It is however a downer that E-bikes here can not do more than 25 kmh, if there are such a thing as a E-moped then like the gas versions it would have to be capped at 30 kmh.
I think for most Americans the concept of bicycling to work, and not least a whopping 4 –5 miles, that is a unknown concept, and from watching from a distance & a country more geared towards bicycles, well i can not blame them, cycling in the US look like the wild west.
We Danes and the Duchies / Netherlanders got it made when it come to pushing pedals.
Yeah, most ebikes are a grand or more… some are way more!
As for power usage, I rode about a dozen miles yesterday, mostly on the highest power level (plus some throttle usage) and when I finished the motor felt just as peppy as when I’d started. It’s a (nominal) 48V system so when fully charged it’s at 52+ volts. When I finished the ride the meter still showed “full” and 50.8V. I have not yet taken any rides longer than that, but at that rate of discharge I suspect I could go 35-40 miles, and farther still if I conserved power with a lower power assist setting (PAS).
Euro regs are more restrictive than US, I know. They can’t even sell you a faster ebike, or one with a throttle, as I understand the situation. I hope it never comes to that over here.
As for biking to work, there are some who do that. But most cannot, because their commutes are too great a distance. Many who work in a city live 20 or 30 miles away in suburbs or in the countryside. The USA is large; New York City to Miami is about the same distance as Paris, France to the border of Greece.
I recently got one in anticipation of a partial knee replacement (done). I mostly ride it for my short commute to work but it is an absolute blast and a game changer to get me back on a bike. Need to upgrade both suspension but I’ve got over 700 miles on stock components. Highly recommend. Now I want another….
I would buy one to maybe go do a little shopping. I’m retired. I won’t buy one until there’s an effective theft deterrent. I certain they’re constantly getting stolen.
If I ride to the store for groceries, I’ll use a cable lock. Preferably cabled to some stationary object such as a signpost. Where I live, I don’t think there is too much risk of theft if no one can simply hop on and ride off. What are the odds that someone’s hanging around the grocery store parking lot with a bolt cutter? I’ll deter the easy “crimes of opportunity” and not lose sleep over it; after all, in theory my suv could as easily be stolen by a dedicated, well prepared thief, and I don’t worry about that… I just lock the doors and take the keys.
