Electric Bike

Did Halfords let you have a test ride

No I never asked, but I would fully recommend anyone having a go on one, everyone that I have let have a ride on mine have all had the same reaction, a big smile on the face when they start to peddle and the power assist kicks in.
The other morning it was like being back at school, a couple of the lads were waiting on me asking for a go my new bike.

i can imagine them all waiting about the entrance im first shot

The best of was one of them had sl@gged it off the day before, until someone else told him how good it is to ride. I think he was secretly jealous

People will always slag something they know f.all about , whats his opinion on it now

They are all surprised and impressed, one lad is even thinking of getting his wife one, I said he could borrow mine for the day to see if she likes it.

I've been overtaken by one - blooming embarrassing.
I was pedalling about 80 to the minute in a low gear up a hill , and some 60 year old woman looking a bit like Greg Davies's aunt turning the pedals about 20 to the minute, upright style, basket of shopping scootered past.

A tip though for anyone trying an electric bike in town - always be doing some pedalling. If your body is still as a bolt, and with the bike so quiet, pedestrians may step in front of you as they aren't used to you and are usually scanning the road looking for movement

You can get souped up versions of electric bikes that aren't street legal or make your own.

If I could change anything it would be another gear set one with eight or more gears.

TheBaron would have to come in and have a law breaking machine wouldnt he

Bongo should have just got of and pushed the fecker

Do you think he was following her on his bike and lost her on the hill

sounds like it , old granny whooosh on the hill leaving bongo for dead

mac

Electric bike motors are limited to 15mph; they switch off beyond that. Of course, the bike will go faster than 15mph, but only under pedal power; the motor will provide power assistance only up to 15mph.

No its because of the gearing you really do top out 15 mph even if you peddle like mad, its like when your in too low a gear ridding down a hill, I know the motor has cut out, but the same thing happens even with the power assist switched off so it must be the gears

Unless the gears aren't fixed and some sort of clutch slips when it hits 15 laroche's explanation sounds more likely?

By having the gearing such that the max you'd likely pedal is the same as the max motor speed at 15mph they'd achieve that effect though. If it's got a standard replacable front cog and standard chain you could just put a bigger front on it.

laroche
10 Jul 15 18:15
Joined: 02 Jan 02
| Topic/replies: 442 | Blogger: laroche's blog
mac

Electric bike motors are limited to 15mph; they switch off beyond that. Of course, the bike will go faster than 15mph, but only under pedal power; the motor will provide power assistance only up to 15mph.




Just Checking
10 Jul 15 18:40
Joined: 25 Jun 06
| Topic/replies: 16,937 | Blogger: Just Checking's blog
Unless the gears aren't fixed and some sort of clutch slips when it hits 15 laroche's explanation sounds more likely?

By having the gearing such that the max you'd likely pedal is the same as the max motor speed at 15mph they'd achieve that effect though. If it's got a standard replacable front cog and standard chain you could just put a bigger front on it.



Just had a look at the bike I already knew the motor is situated in the front wheel, but on the back wheel on the opposite side to the gears there is some sort of hub housing so I think you could right.
Typical that something like an electric bike is restricted to 15 mph, when a normal push bike will surpass this speed with ease.  If these bikes had a legal speed of something in the 20s then they would be a serious commuter proposition.

My mums wants a sybian 2000. I tried to get one in Halfords as a Mother's Day gift but they'd never even heard of it. She was furious with the plants I bought her instead. Next time I'll go to Evans Cycles.

This from the net.....
.
Karen Sybian V2000 (@sybianmaker) | Twitter
twitter.com/sybianmakerCached
If you love sybian riding, with anal plug, you should get my sybian video from tonight for 123tk! I **** several times and its over 20 min!

Why did they **** when it was only ***?

macarony - you hit the nail on the head

everyone thinks electric bikes are rubbish until they actually ride one

once they've ridden one, they rave about them.

Exactly.

My idea of a bike is to keep fit and go places, with an electric bike it seems you are taking out the exercise bit, but i would love them if i rode them, like i do driving 100 miles in a car.

for many people, a small hill along their route may put them off cycling.

The electric bike solves that problem

I agree that proper cycling should keep you fit, but for some people just being out in the fresh air and getting out and about is just as beneficial

There are a number of different ways of speed limiting an electric bike. But I have never heard of it being done mechanically - either with gear ratios or a clutch slip device. It's too easy to do it electronically in the pcb control circuitry.

My electric bike's speed is limited by rpm. The motor has a max of 160rpm, which propels my 27" wheeled steed at 14mph. If the rpm of the wheel exceeds 160 the motor stops, restarting only when the speed of the wheel falls - all done in the pcb circuitry.

The bike would go much faster were I to fit a faster spinning motor - up to 260rpm to give a max speed of 22 / 23 mph. However, there would be virtually no torque below maybe 15mph! Personally, I like torque more than pure speed - arguably, it's faster (hills, headwinds etc need torque, not a high top speed delivered from pretty low power).

My kit is: Trek Fx bike with a few mods (about 11kg); keyde front hub motor 200w continuous output (legal limit is 250w) but probably more like 170w (1.6kg, including control circuitry); Bosch 2ah 36v power tool battery (x2) in a small saddle bag at the back (700g per battery, usually only carry one); motor control is by 'pedelec' - ie it will only work when the pedals are turning, though it can be switched on and off manually as well.

By peddling hard on your bike  can you get into the 20+mph easily?

this stuff ain't new, been around for yonks, mate of mine bought an electric chair a few years back as he felt his sitting down was a bit underpowered, haven't heard from him since mind, should give him a buzz.

Couldn't help having a sly peek at what's on offer, and astonished with the choice!

Considering how small the market must be (I've only see a few) and yes I would recognise one if I saw one, it's hard to comprehend how
the manufacturers, individually, can have a big enough slice of the market, to be viable!

The bikes are sold worldwide some markets will be bigger than others.

mac

With the current setup (single 38 tooth chainwheel and 12 tooth smallest rear cog) 22mph requires a pedal cadence of 80. When fitted with a three chainwheel derailleur (48 tooth max), it'll do 27 at 80rpm.

With a folding bike though, typically with 20" wheels, you will have to go well into the 50+ tooth chainwheel bracket to get into the mid-twenties mph. Small wheeled bikes are 'naturally' low geared; they're not for speed.

But high speeds are not for a bike like mine either. It's too heavy (14kg or so), too un-aerodynamic (straight bars eg) and the tyres are too fat (32mm). In any case, it goes faster than everything else except the odd lycra-lout with the wind behind.

Anything which gets people away from the UKs obsession with cars has to be good.
No pollution
no noise
very little damage to roads and the infrastructure
Exercise and less obesity
Sociable

and cheaper of course.
So why don't the government do more to encourage people to leave their cars at home as they do in the rest of Northern Europe.

You can buy electric bikes  from Tesco for £370.  Good reviews.

I've thought about an electric bike as my commute would be under 5 miles a day.

I'd like to know your experiences after a month and 6 months. I'd imagine small things going wrong would make big things in regards efficiency.

BTW its only green when the energy comes from green sources.

BTW its only green when the energy comes from green sources.

Agreed but regardless of where the energy comes from it's a lot greener than the car.
As it's rest day in the Tour de France in the highlights prog on ITV4 tonight there's a feature on cycling in Holland.
Let's hope someone from UK govt. is watching.

The more I ride the bike the more my riding style is changing, on my other bikes I always trying to go as fast as I could, but on the electric bike I ride in a much more patient and layed back easy going style. I  love it

dont look like your enjoying it too much ,some psycho in a metal coffin will spoil your day .

Looking forward to seeing the electric version of this on Tomorrow's World.

Kind of reminds me of those ads you used to get in the back of  American comic books back in the 70s some crazy stuff

A CHARLES ATLAS body in SEVEN days with DYNAMIC TENSION!

With free ANT FARM! As seen on TV!

Sure there was a cardboard submarine once? Can remember all manner of super hero costumes with some big claims also all manner of guns and spy stuff

"Postal Bargains".....believe it or not, I used to do these for an advertising agency, to assist with their overflow.

This was back in the mid to late '60s and there were all manner of crummy things to do!

Struggling to remember now but the one that comes straight to mind was a "Breast Developer"....

Cycling whether electricity assisted or not solves so many problems.
I was reading a school text book about the UK in Sweden recently. They thought it very amusing that in such an overcrowded island where the road system struggles to cope the government's answer is to build more roads or widen them. This encourages people to use their cars which means the roads get even more crowded so the govt. have to build more roads etc.

Yeah, Tesco reviews are excellent, starting with this one
.
"I got a electric bike last week and the engine is not working when I paddle my bike what do I do"

Read more at http://www.tesco.com/direct/hopper-city-electric-bike/432-0796.prd#FJZXqVUbK...

AP^^ The one I always laughed at was the soap saver - when a bar of soap gets very small it gets hard to use. This great invention saved all those little bits up and made a new bar. The only problem was it took so many little bits of soap to make a whole bar, people buying one of these in the 70's still wouldn't have gathered enough today to make a bar. Total scam that looked great on the advert but was never a money saver.

Couldn't find the actual device with a Google search but this is what I mean:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-Your-Old-Soap-Scraps-and-enjoy-it/?ALLSTEPS

-------------------------------------

I am genuinly interested in Electric bikes but I just feel so much can go wrong with them for me to make the investment. I'd love feedback from the O/P after a months use to see if everything is working as it seems.

The rest of Northern Europe sussed it in the 1970s that encouraging people to use the car rather than other means of transport leads to major expensive problems so why doesn't the UK see it 40 years later?

electric bike offends allah in many ways, here are just a few:
1. electricity
2. the use of 2 wheels
3. the use of any wheels
4. combining wheels with electricity
5. the thought of a woman staddling something
6. the combination of staddling with electricity
7. the combination of wheels and straddling
8. that it may cause a woman to think of something being straddled
9. chains are not for causing the movement of wheels by women especially when combined with electricity
there are many more such offences

Ridiculous, but I remember my parents having one of those small baskets, with a handle, for swishing around in the bath!

Sorry, but this thread has somehow gone from "Electric Bike" to "Soap"!

Only our dearly departed "Do Wah Diddy" was the expert in sabotaging any thread!

X Ray specs, Soap saver, electric bikes all gadgets we are led to believe will change our lives. I'm interested in an electric bike but would worry about maintenance being a hassle. I'm not sure it would make me get rid of my car especially on cold wet windy mornings.

Interesting post though and I'd like to hear opinions.

It's not a question of getting rid of the car but simply not making the car the default method of personal travel when there are better alternatives.

The cost of bikes is not the barrier to participation ( which is why the bike to work discount scheme is misguided - it benefits the rich anyway ).
The barrier to cycling is fear of getting knocked down. We could change to north european rules where the presumption is that the driver is at fault if there's a knock down a cyclist, but the UK wouldn't go for that. Or just enforce existing rules - loads of drivers overtake cyclists on junctions ( highway code says you shouldn't ) and almost no-one signals to overtake a cyclist.

I thought this was another Hingis fred..

In seven years ownership of an electric bike (with no car) I've had no reliability issues. Just three or four punctures, all in the first three years. Nothing at all since (I think I've cracked the puncture problem - touch wood). I probably do about five thousand miles pa.

That said, the kit (bike, motor and batteries) were all very good to start with, could certainly not be described as cheap (eg £140 for a battery that's good for no more than 10 miles fully charged) and are kept in near immaculate nick.

Hassles: just one - traffic. I'm lucky to be retired and can thus avoid commuting times. Oddly enough, electric bikes help a bit with traffic. Because they're so fast and make wind / hills an irrelevance, taking a longer, steeper, more windy route to avoid traffic is not much of a problem. In addition, the extra acceleration from an e-bike makes big road junctions and roundabouts seem less hazardous. Nevertheless, Bongo (20:06) is right - and about the cycle to work scheme too.

I would heartily recommend them. I would not swap mine for a car. They keep you fit (how much is up to you, depending on how much time you have it switched on - for me about 20%, the bad bits), put a range on your cycling (miles and cargoe) you would not have thought possible and, perhaps most attractive of all, allow you to look down on all those flabby, idle motorists whilst, at the same time, doing feck all work yourself. And running costs are low - 10 miles for 1p.

How many 10-mile charges do you get out of one of those £140 batteries before it needs replacing?

Between 500 and 1000. The batteries lose power and capacity gradually. The battery that came with the bike in its original form lasted 4 or 5 years in full use and lost maybe a third its original performance over that time. I'm expecting about the same from the current batteries, but they are also a lot lighter and smaller - they weigh 700gm and are approx. 140mm x 80mm x 50mm. One slips neatly into a small saddle bag. They also run the bike's lights - best solution I've ever found to cycle lighting.

laroche
15 Jul 15 21:45
Joined: 02 Jan 02
| Topic/replies: 446 | Blogger: laroche's blog
In seven years ownership of an electric bike (with no car) I've had no reliability issues. Just three or four punctures, all in the first three years. Nothing at all since (I think I've cracked the puncture problem - touch wood). I probably do about five thousand miles pa.

That said, the kit (bike, motor and batteries) were all very good to start with, could certainly not be described as cheap (eg £140 for a battery that's good for no more than 10 miles fully charged) and are kept in near immaculate nick.





What is the best way to maintain your batteries, do you fully discharge them first before charging them back up, or do you charge them at 50% or just as and when?
I have read conflicting reports on the best way to maintain the battery life.

Currently, I have two of these.

http://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/gba-36-v-20-ah-h-b-34844-ocs-p/

I just conform to the instructions which, for these, is charge as often as you like - from / to whatever state of charge you like. But they are protected against deep discharge. Generally, I keep them charged and rotate them.

The old battery was different chemistry (nimh compared to lithium) and needed to be fully charged before being left unused for a month of more. It also required a deep discharge every three months or so. But your battery will surely be lithium, so I would just follow the instructions.

Thanks the maintenance of batteries was my only real worry about my bike.

Good for you macarony. One day the UK will see the stupidity of using a car for all personal transport.

Great info Laroche, it certainly encourages me to get one.

SOAP

You need to have been here some time to know that one.

I haven't done any research, but do they not do a Kers system for bikes like in F1? Perhaps you could charge the battery while coasting?

Barry

BionX, a Canadian firm I think, have been making a regenerative motor for some years. But I think its good reputation stems as much from its robustness and reliability than from its electricity generation capabilities. Apparently, you'd have to go down a hill seven times to generate sufficient power to go up it once!

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hopper-city-electrical-bike-cheapest-electric-bike-around-257-95-delivered-plus-2259430

There's a 6 speed geared Electric Bike for £275 which I'm told is easier to pedal and sems a better deal.

The bike still running well went to my daughters house today, its about a six mile round trip
nice and easy way to travel.
couple of weeks ago I lent the bike for the weekend to a workmate who's wife has a bad knee, she liked so much they are buying one.

Like an bicycle though these things are so easy to steel. They are 200 or so thefts a month around here it's an epidemic. The thieves just use a paid of industrial bolt cutters that go through any chain. The law needs to be tightened up....there's a big gap in the market for some kind of security feature.

Then there's the very high risk of being 'clipped' by a motorist or being trapped on the left side of a turning van.

any*

Use a u-lock then.

The risk of being struck by a motorist or a van is not "very high". It's very low. A cyclist is in no more danger than a pedestrian. Much less danger if you're on a road without a pavement or if you're a pedestrian trying to cross a road.

Photo of my steed. Motor in the front wheel, battery in saddle bag, pedal sensor (you have to pedal for the motor to work) right at the bottom of the frame (very small, not visible) and an on/off switch on the handlebars.

I put this together myself, with minimalism in mind.

No photo link appears!

My first photo upload. Ah, 'pending approval'. Probably a long time.

Apologies.

Re above.

Thinly veiled "Look! I collect garden gnomes!" photo imo.

Also, your fence needs creosoting.

(PS Well done on the bike; I'd find it very odd to ride with straight handlebars, but other than that I'd seriously consider the idea if lived up a major incline again; for now my Trek roadbike can still keep up with district-nurse types electrically whizzing up the local hills.)

Not guilty! It's my sister's garden....and the garage roof is in a far worse state than the fence!

Not too keen on the bars myself. They're too long (600mm tip to tip) and twist the arms into an unnatural position. If I didn't live in a city I would have drops. But in the ever present traffic the extra control and the immediate access to the brake levers are handy. Shortening them (maybe 10% or so to start with) and fitting bar ends might provide a little more comfort on quieter roads.

Yes. Bar ends can make a difference, but, as you say, they need shorter bars.

I live out in the sticks in Somerset, where I don't think I've ever cycled on a level road. Drop handlebars are part of the experience, along with humming the 1980s Channel 4 Tour de France theme as you stand out of the saddle while you climb, then rewarding yourself by freewheeling downhill at speeds which would terrify you if you saw someone else doing it.

When I first got the bike, about seven years ago, it had rather long bar ends fitted, on the extremities of which were button switches to start/stop the electrics. What a stretch! And as for actually using the bar ends....worst riding position I've ever experienced. Gorillas only.

As for the hills, stick with 'em I reckon. Sure, go electric and the drudgery all goes - hills, wind, even acceleration if you really exploit the system (drains the battery fast) - but so does the exercise you get. The effort required to ride an electric bike is minute compared to riding a normal bike. I don't know of any proper measure of this, but I would honestly estimate no more than 20%. Use the 'on' switch sparingly, if at all, imo. I got so annoyed about how easy it made things a few years ago I de-electrified! (It only lasted about six months though!)

And anyway, pedalling up hills brings out underused sides of human nature. For you, musical. For me, it was philosophical - musing on the too often unacknowledged benefits to the human spirit of physical endeavour that could so easily have been avoided.....and such like.

I'm thinking something like, "Wiggins! Froome! Never mind Mont Vent-feckin'-toux. Hauling 24 tins of special-offer Pedigree Chum from Tesco up Bishops Hull Hill - that's cycling, mate, and don't you forget it."

laroche...your chain wheel looks very small. Was that standard or something you did?

I removed two of the original three, along with the front derailleur mechanism. The one left, ex-middle, has 38 teeth. The rear sprockets range from 12 to 30, so the new gear range is from 34 to 86 inches. Normally, if I use the motor for hills, I don't use a gear under 50 inches. At the other end, on flat ground with the motor operating at its max speed (only 14mph!) I use a 78 inch gear with a pedal cadence of 60rpm.

Very interesting thread.  An elderly friend from up the lane has one and uses it to go to the pub several times a week.  I am very tempted, although I have to say I found Laroche's last post slightly more difficult to understand than an obscure passage of Thomas Hardy translated into Serbo-Croat.

Apologies! A lapse into extreme bike-freak-speak!

What I was getting at is that you don't need as many gears on an electric bike, so I removed the very high and very low ones. I have toyed with the idea of replacing the whole lot with a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed. Adds a bit of weight though.

But ignore this gobbledygook. Basically, electric bikes just transform cycling; ease, speed, range, load carrying all move into territory you would never have thought possible. But, turn that motor on and you sure ain't getting fit quick. You get some exercise  - but it's too easy!

Go on. Do it. Get one. Bet you don't regret it.

did you know that the largest electric bike shop in Ireland is in Dublin .AND its owner of the shop is a company calledwait for itANNIE POWER ELECTRIC BIKES.
And if you do not believe me just google it.

What is it in this country, where we pay over the odds for pretty much everything we buy, but we are then stifled by having to accept
Lower performance/specification than available elsewhere.

How come 15 mph is the max for an e-bike, even though reasonably fit people can hit 20 mph, or more, with pedal power?

Just looking around and of course, in the US their limit is 30 mph!

Personally I would be **** scared, to go at the speeds of pro cycle racers, who are at 40 mph for much of the time!
25 mph downhill is scary enough.

Any way, I would be surprised if anyone would be pulled up for doing closer to 20 mph, if they were seen to be pedaling hard.
It must be dead easy to sort the gearing so this is possible.

I had already decided to get a new bike next year, as mine isn't comfortable enough for me, now I am of "mature years".

It's an all out road bike, with the only concession to comfort being flat bars.[   This image is no longer available.   ]

No more comments about the saddle angle as I explained that before.

I've now made an executive decision to get an e-bike, and have a shortlist of two though this might well change on future research.

This was one but it may not be available now....
.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N4SZK1Y/ref=pe_1980291_79856541_em_1p_2_im

.....or
.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/West-Hill-TERRAIN-Electric-Mountain/dp/B012NOWLY8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Q7KY9RMNEAY18XM4N6H

AP

You express the frustrations of many e-bikers and, I suspect, many would-be e-bikers as well.

However, as you surmise, electric bike laws and regs are quite commonly flouted pretty much everywhere that has any and, it seems, with almost total impunity. None more so, oddly enough, than in China where the power of the motors and top speeds are both often about double the comparatively restrictive legal maximums (200w continuous output and 12.5mph).

Uk laws now conform to those of the EU (don't tell the UKIPers): 250w continuous output, 25kph (15.5mph) max speed and an installed system (usually called 'pedelec') that ensures the motor will only run when the rider turns the pedals. All apply to cycle paths as much as roads.

Easily got round! Eg my bike's speed is restricted by the maximum rpm of the motor (theoretically 160rpm, but actually about 10% more than that). A standard road bike wheel like mine (about 27 inch diameter including tyre) rotating at 160rpm will do 12.85mph). However, bikes with smaller wheels obviously need a faster spinning motor to reach the same speed. Hence, the manufacturer (Chinese) produces the motors in speeds varying from 160rpm to 260rpm. Had I put a 260rpm motor, which looks exactly the same as the one I have, into my size wheel the top speed would have exceeded 20mph - though the shortage of lower speed torque would have meant pedalling up to about 10mph before turning the motor on.

There's even a bike on sale now in UK fitted with a switch (a switch!) which de-restricts the top speed from the legal max to, I think, 25mph! Of course, they make it clear that this is for 'off-road' use only ...... yeah right.

However, in fairness to the various governments, they do have a bit of a problem with the laws and regs on electric bikes. In practice, people do not ride bikes fast in urban areas. In seven years of e-bike riding I have never been overtaken by a cyclist in the city when I've had the motor switched on. Outside, occasionally. Inside, never. If legal e-bike speeds were increased to 25mph, lots of people would buy them and they would be doing 25mph. At the moment, they're not even doing 15mph. That would make them a new form of transport, rather than an adaptation of an old one.

Electric bikes require no vehicular documentation: tax, MOT, licence, insurance. Legally, they're just bikes. If max speeds increased, that would have to change. Brakes in wet weather?

Instructively, I think, Germany have two categories of e-bike. One is just like here. The other allows motors of up to 350w and restricts speeds only to the norms of the roads. But tax, licence, MOT, insurance all apply - even number plates! And these bikes are not allowed on cycle paths or tracks; only on the motor vehicle sections of roads. Effectively, they're mopeds - or, at least, they have all the moped restrictions applied. Personally, I'd pick the conventional category.

That was a good long read.

In fairness, 15 mph is a decent speed, as I'm quite happy with that with pedal power.

Love getting new things, so always something to look forward to.

Just wondering, if you pedal your way to twenty, will you loose the electrical assist?

Yes. Bit of a wrench too. At 15mph you do a bit of the work. At 17mph you do all of it!

Try a little experiment before you decide what to get. Load your current bike up with enough extra dead weight to equal the weight of an e-bike and ride it for a few days. Two or three 4 litre containers of water should just about do it. You'll then be able to experience a) physically handling the bike (turning it round, going up a few steps or over a sty, putting it in or on the back/top of a car) and b) riding an e-bike with the motor off.

When I did that sort of thing I quickly reached a decision on which I have never wavered. Go light! Mine is now down to 14kg with more to come. The objective is 12kg. At that weight, I have a normal bike and an e-bike. At 23kg, the heavier of your short-listed two, I would only have an e-bike.

If you want to go the light way you have two choices: build it yourself, perhaps using the bike you already have (it really isn't difficult) or an e-bike from cytronex.com - the only supplier I know of that thinks light.

Two or three 4 litre containers of water

That's 8-12 bags of sugar.

No wonder nobody uses them.

I'm out.

The low speed is the only drawback, if I am on a early start in the morning and it takes me 10 minutes in the car but 20 on the bike you know what mode of transport I going to use after all a 4am start means a 3am rise in the car or a 2.50am on the bike

Could someone give an indication of how an electric bike would cope with a steep hill.  I have to go up steep hills to get anywhere from my house.  And I mean steep.

In fact that is a major reason I don't use my bike at the moment.

sfbtw

That's just the way it is! Look at the weights of the ones advertised. Some of them reach 30kgs! They end up like that mostly because the manufacturers assume people will always ride electric and, therefore, will not be doing much, if any, of the enormous amount of work involved.

But they don't have to be like that. On mine, the motor, battery, wiring and switches add about 2.2kg to the weight of the original bike. So, get a lightweight bike (eg the one you already have?), fit the same tackle and, before you know it, Bob's your uncle and you're bionic!

As an alternative, have you considered pooch-power? Get the dog to either tow the bike or a small trailer designed to carry, at the very least, the dog food.

mac

Your point applies, I reckon, to a lot of commuters - the first thought for whom is always speed. The purpose of the German government's faster category of e-bikes was to address that very issue. (See last paragraph of my long post above.) But, with all the documentation and restrictions that apply to them, you might as well get a scooter. You could, of course, just flout the law instead and find a way to speed it up.... There's an e-biker in London who, apparently, rides round Parliament Square every day on his way to work at 25mph!

Jack

Tough question to answer. It all depends on just how steep. Some of them will go up almost anything. The best hill climbers are probably those fitted with 'crank' motors: ie centrally mounted (not in the wheels) and they turn, effectively, the pedals themselves. One of these, a Kalkhoff (German) went up Alpe D'Houez (notorious climb in the Tour de France) with no trouble at all at an average speed of 9mph whilst carrying an overweight rider.

Kalkhoffs, though, do not work the same as most e-bikes. They respond with torque, not speed. On the high power setting, if you put one pound of pressure on the pedals, the motor will automatically add another one and a half pounds. So, engage a low enough gear and almost any hill is possible.

Mine would not suit very steep hills. The motor is only about 170w of power (250w is the legal max) and is physically very small indeed by normal standards. But even mine scoots up anything under a 10% gradient (the point at which 'steep hill' signs appear).

Google Kalkhoff or Haibike for examples of 'crankers'. They're almost always expensive, but quality (the motors and mechanisms are made by Panasonic, Yamaha or Bosch). If I was going to ride round the world, I'd go on one of them.

Some very interesting post from you laroche, and I also was concerned about the weight issue.

Think I might re-posses my daughter's "Fuji" carbon fibre road bike, that weighs about the same as a hollow fibre pillow.

I wouldn't worry about the weight if your using a folding or other small wheel bike with a low crossbar. The weight gives my bike stability when stopping and starting,low centre of gravity.

AP

The Fuji sounds just the ticket! One small, or perhaps not small, point. E-bike motors almost always have 36 spoke holes, sometimes 32 as an alternative; few have anything else. Carbon road bikes never have that many. May need a new wheel.

Obviously I was joking about Gemma's bike. It's a truly fabulous thing and would never mess about with it!

Can I assume that the bulk of the weight is the battery? Having just changed the one on my car. it's hard to believe how heavy it is!

My bike is quite heavy at 19.5 kg. Gem's is less than 15 kg.

Battery weight depends on its chemistry and its capacity (which determines mileage), but they are by no means the sole source of the big bike weights.

At one end of the scale there's, well, me. Mine weighs 700gm and is good for 10 miles on flat / gently undulating terrain. It uses the lightest chemistry (lithium - phones and tablets use it) and is incredibly expensive (£140) bearing in mind its limited range. But batteries do get very expensive at the ultra-reliable end - mine's a Bosch.

(At the other, very extreme, end there are still lead acid battery (as in cars)powered e-bikes. They always have heavy steel frames; everything else kind of twitches under the strain!)

More normally, e-bikes almost all now use lithium chemistry and a standard, say, 10 amp hour battery (like on the bikes you shortlisted) would weigh 2.5 to 3kg and do about 40 miles on gentle ground.

The total big weight of e-bikes comes from everything. No carbon on these boys! Every darn thing is heavy - even the pedals! In cycling, heavy means cheap. And, with e-bikes, weight does not seem to matter. So build 'em heavy!

Those bike weights you mention seem extraordinary. They're at least 50% heavier than I would have estimated. Are you sure their right?

Those bike weights you mention seem extraordinary

Just me talking from my derriere as usual!

They're not even correct when converted to lbs.

I honestly think I've lost it somewhere!!! 

ttt