Anyone here have or thinking about getting an e-bike?

[Bard]

I really want to buy one so I can use it to start exercising but still have that assist in the beginning since I'm very out of shape. They're pretty expensive though and sadly I'd have to cary it up and down a flight of stairs everyday which would be awful. Still want one though.

 

[SABO.]

I'm a 1 hour walk from my train station but a 15 minute ride. E-bike has been awesome for me.

 

[Bookoo]

I had a Juiced Scrambler. It was a pretty fun bike to zip around on. I drove 6 miles to work each day and took about the same amount of time as driving.

I switched jobs, the pandemic, moved so I ended up getting rid of it. It was pretty bulky (80lbs) and had less reasons to use it since remote work.

Also had a One wheel but sold that as well as I figured I should get more exercise.

 

[Dayfut]

I picked up a onewheel during the Black Friday sale and was planning to ride it to work since it's about 15 min away by car. Wondering how much longer my trip to work will take when it finally gets warm enough to ride.

 

[Mechaplum]

I just moved to inner Tokyo, so yes apparently I will need to buy two...

Anyone in Japan can provide some recommendations?

 

[FliX]

I have a Haibike XDURO
Love it! Commute with it every day to work and to yoga, sunshine, rain or snow.
It's pedal assist, so you still have to pedal, but it just feels as if you always have wind in your back.

(not my picture)

 

[y2kyle89]

Gonna be honest, didn't know these were a thing. Once it stops being cold and money is a little less tight I'll look into it.

 

[yongeandcollege]

Nah, i rather use my legs. Maybe when i'm really old.

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This is my view too.

 

[squeakywheel]

Yes I bought one and gave my escooter to my brother who lives downtown. I love doing 25-30km bike rides twice a week with a normal bike but I use the ebike for mundane tasks like shopping within my city I put the pedal assist to 2 on the way then a full 3 coming home. It's a fat tire one that has a 50km range so it's not good enough to commute to work unless I use the bus part way.

 

[Peru]

I do use my legs and get excercise from my pedelec e-bike. Difference is I actually have no problem making the decision to bike to work and back, up a long long hill, which I never would have if it was a gruelling workout. It would have been a once in a blue moon kind of thing. The threshold is so much lower.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Ebikes are already classified as Class 1, Class 2, Class 3. The issues are the people with throttles that let you bypass the actual legal speeds so a Class 1 (which is legal in most trails) can easily turn into a Class 2 or 3. Plus you can have something like this which technically an electric mountain bike, can piss off those on bike trails and get you questioned by park rangers:

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I know they have classes but you're comment on "technically" is what I'm speaking to. There should be more specific classification to an e BIKE. Because folks are buying stuff like you posted and just think "it's still a bike"

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

This is my view too.

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And this view is incredibly naive and narrow minded. Pedal assist ebikes have allowed tons of people to enter enjoy cycling mountainous regions, even when they're able bodied and young.

 

[lunchtoast]

don't bike but if I lived in a city I would consider it.

 

[yongeandcollege]

And this view is incredibly naive and narrow minded. Pedal assist ebikes have allowed tons of people to enter enjoy cycling mountainous regions, even when they're able bodied and young.

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It's not naive. Do you know what naive means? I'm not speaking for others, I'm answering for myself and I like the physical requirements of biking.

 

[Arilian]

I like the physical requirements of biking.

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Which is still a requirement with an e-bike: if I'm not pushing my e-bike's pedals, I'm not going anywhere, especially not back home, up on a hill.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

It's not naive. Do you know what naive means? I'm not speaking for others, I'm answering for myself and I like the physical requirements of biking.

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Riding an ebike is still physical, especially if it's a mountain bike.

 

[FliX]

Nah, i rather use my legs. Maybe when i'm really old.

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This is my view too.

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Nope. Peddling is good cardio.

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Have you actually tried a pedal assist ebike? Because it really is quite magical and fun.
as I mentioned above I use mine to commute and got it to take a little load off when cycling to work so I wouldn't be excessively sweaty.
And while riding it just feels like you always have wind in your back. I almost always have it on the lowest setting and am still pedaling plenty, unless I am really fighting on-wind or climbing a steep incline then I will crank it up a notch.

 

[Wackamole]

Have you actually tried a pedal assist ebike? Because it really is quite magical and fun.
as I mentioned above I use mine to commute and got it to take a little load off when cycling to work so I wouldn't be excessively sweaty.
And while riding it just feels like you always have wind in your back. I almost always have it on the lowest setting and am still pedaling plenty, unless I am really fighting on-wind or climbing a steep incline then I will crank it up a notch.

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Oh i'm sure it's fun and a great piece of technical engineering. But i sit on my ass all day so i can use all exercise / cardio i can get😁.

 

[yongeandcollege]

Which is still a requirement with an e-bike: if I'm not pushing my e-bike's pedals, I'm not going anywhere, especially not back home, up on a hill.

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A reduced physical requirement -- which I do not want. If you want to exert less energy at times when biking, then get an e-bike. I don't want or need the help but I might when I'm old.

 

[xxracerxx]

We own a Radrunner and love it.

My wife rides on the back.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

A reduced physical requirement -- which I do not want. If you want to exert less energy at times when biking, then get an e-bike. I don't want or need the help but I might when I'm old.

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Actually you're likely to get just as much exercise on an e-bike as on a traditional one. It's because you're likely to use the bike more and ride over longer distances.

Link:

As it turned out, electric bicycle riders ended up slightly edging out pedal bike cyclists in terms of total exercise each week. The study's authors largely attribute this to the increased amount of time that e-bike riders spend on their bikes, compared to cyclists and the longer-distance trips taken by e-bike riders.

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[Aleman]

Actually you're likely to get just as much exercise on an e-bike as on a traditional one. It's because you're likely to use the bike more and ride over longer distances.

Link:

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Yup, I just burned 500 calories riding my e-bike 11 miles into the office via a hilly bike trail. I never would have attempted that on a regular bike. It took about half an hour and that's about the same amount I burn on a half hour Peloton ride.

I also like to think of it as about the same amount of exertion as a regular bike, you just go like twice as fast. I love blowing by the enthusiast road bikers at 20 mph when they're struggling to power up hills at 8 mph.

 

[Pellaidh]

Actually you're likely to get just as much exercise on an e-bike as on a traditional one. It's because you're likely to use the bike more and ride over longer distances.

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Note that the way the article represents the original study is somewhat misleading.

It's true that the e-bike group reported higher exercise numbers, but that's only when factoring overall energy expenditures from every type of activity (so also regular exercise, energy spent during work, normal cycling, etc).

When looking at just the energy expenditure for traveling with e-bikes versus cycling, cycling slightly wins out (and note that this is just for commutes, recreational cycling is not included). The e-bike group just makes up for this difference in other ways, including by unassisted cycling and larger energy expenditure during work, which leads to higher overall results.

The actual details don't really matter for the big picture, because the results are so close aren't significant from a statistical point of view. So both groups get basically the same amount of exercise. But this type of shoddy scientific reporting is a pet-peeve of mine, so I'll call it out when I see it.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

Note that the way the article represents the original study is somewhat misleading.

It's true that the e-bike group reported higher exercise numbers, but that's only when factoring overall energy expenditures from every type of activity (so also regular exercise, energy spent during work, normal cycling, etc).

When looking at just the energy expenditure for traveling with e-bikes versus cycling, cycling slightly wins out (and note that this is just for commutes, recreational cycling is not included). The e-bike group just makes up for this difference in other ways, including by unassisted cycling and larger energy expenditure during work, which leads to higher overall results.

The actual details don't really matter for the big picture, because the results are so close aren't significant from a statistical point of view. So both groups get basically the same amount of exercise. But this type of shoddy scientific reporting is a pet-peeve of mine, so I'll call it out when I see it.

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I've read the study. It doesn't disprove what the article said from what I can see. Table 2 of the study is what they seem to be focusing on, where it's mentioned that e-bikers tend to ride more and over longer distances than traditional bikes.

The article:

As it turned out, electric bicycle riders ended up slightly edging out pedal bike cyclists in terms of total exercise each week. The study's authors largely attribute this to the increased amount of time that e-bike riders spend on their bikes, compared to cyclists and the longer-distance trips taken by e-bike riders.

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The study:

Table 2 shows indicators of travel behaviour. E-bikers use their e-bikes with similar frequency in terms days of use per month as cyclists use bicycles (14.5 vs. 14.0 days per month), but had significantly lower frequencies of public transport use, cycling and walking, as compared to cyclists (7.7, 7.9 and 16.3 days per month vs. 10.4, 14.0 and 18.9, respectively). Travel frequency in terms of average number of trips per day using the three above mentioned transport modes was also significantly lower among e-bikers than among cyclists (0.4, 0.3, 0.5 trips per day vs. 0.7, 1.1. and 0.7, respectively), being the number of e-bike trips per day lower among e-bikers than the number of bicycle trips per day among cyclists. The number of trips per day using a car was similar across e-bikers, cyclists and non-cyclist. For average trip duration, average trip distance and daily travel distance, the following differences between e-bikers and cyclists could be observed. Average e-bike and bicycle trip duration among e-bikers (35.0 and 41.9 min respectively) was significantly higher than bicycle trip duration among cyclists (25.6 min). In terms of average trip distance similar significant differences were found when comparing e-bikers (9.4 km for e-bike and 8.4 km for bicycle trips) with cyclists (4.8 km for bicycle trips). Average daily travel duration was similar for e-biking among e-bikers and cycling among cyclists (32.2 vs. 30.3 min), but e-bikers, in addition, reported 13.4 min of cycling. Moreover, e-bikers reported significant longer daily distances travelled by e-bike than cyclists by bicycle (8.0 vs. 5.3 km per person per day) and e-bikers additionally reported 2.5 km per day by bicycle.

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[Pellaidh]

I've read the study. It doesn't disprove what the article said from what I can see. Table 2 of the study is what they seem to be focusing on, where it's mentioned that e-bikers tend to ride more and over longer distances than traditional bikes.

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The article heavily implies that e-bikes provide more exercise when compared to regular bikes, which just isn't true from the data in the paper. Even when you account the larger distances traveled.

 

[Green]

Yep! It's one of the best purchases I've made for sure. Thing is perfect for my lifestyle. Highly recommend. I want to get one for my mother once she's healthy again since it's perfect for people with injuries, health issues, or even if they're just older and can cycle as easily any more.

Also fun as hell.

 

[Busaiku]

I work for an ebike company, so some of them look enticing, but then I remember I can't ride a bike.

 

[xxracerxx]

Being able to ride around with my wife (who doesn't bike) has been amazing. Not having to get in a car if we are going somewhere together is just the best.

I work for an ebike company, so some of them look enticing, but then I remember I can't ride a bike.

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No better time to learn.

 

[The Albatross]

Definitely thought about it, but probably going to hold off for the time being. Most of my driving around town is two + people, I can't ride to work (~35miles), so it's just not practical for me for the price. For exercise, I have a regular road bike that I use recreationally/fitness.

I work for an ebike company, so some of them look enticing, but then I remember I can't ride a bike.

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You should learn if you have the time & ability! I love riding a bike for exercise/relaxation because you can just *get to places* that you can't if I'm running or going for a walk. Like if I go for an hour long walk, the furthest I can go is, yknow like.... 2miles out, 2miles back, give or take a mile or whatever based on my effort. But if I go for an hour long bike ride I can get out 10+ miles, and really get to some places that I wouldn't see up close like that in a car.

 

[Rune Walsh]

I would love an e-bike but I'd get murdered on my way to work. My city is very unfriendly to bikes and being in the Midwest, I wouldn't be able to use it from November-March anyway. A friend of mine rides his bike to work every day and ended up in the hospital when a car plowed into him, sending him into the back of another car. Luckily he was out in a few days but it's scary here.

 

[loco]

Nah, i rather use my legs. Maybe when i'm really old.

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That was my thoughts originally on these but they are great for commuting if you're lucky enough to live close to work. I live 25 miles from my office so theres no point for me. My mountain bike is great for my weekly rides to get out and about for fun.

 

[Thordinson]

I really want one. I'd love to have one but they can be a bit pricey. There's also not a good place that I could bike around here. I'd have to take it somewhere else.

 

[CatAssTrophy]

One of the Super 73 models ticks all of the boxes for me, and they seem popular enough to where it's not too difficult to find accessories or add-on parts to them, so I may squirrel away some money this year and try to get one by the fall.

Only thing I am concerned about is going to grab some groceries or quick shopping trip, and having to park it and chain it up with other bicycles. Just worried about it getting stolen or something since it's not just a regular bike and will stand out and be more enticing.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

I work for an ebike company, so some of them look enticing, but then I remember I can't ride a bike.

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Can I ask which company?

Also learn to ride. Bikes (electric and otherwise) are amazing!

One of the Super 73 models ticks all of the boxes for me, and they seem popular enough to where it's not too difficult to find accessories or add-on parts to them, so I may squirrel away some money this year and try to get one by the fall.

Only thing I am concerned about is going to grab some groceries or quick shopping trip, and having to park it and chain it up with other bicycles. Just worried about it getting stolen or something since it's not just a regular bike and will stand out and be more enticing.

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Don't cheap out on a lock. That's the main deterrent to any bike thief. I use both a ulock and chain/cable lock.

They've worked out well so far.

Knock on wood

 

[CatAssTrophy]

Oh so I just need to make it such a pain in the ass to break into that they won't bother?

Living in Houston I actually rarely see bikes on bike racks outside stores etc. at all, so it makes me even more nervous, but that's most likely due to how car-centric the city is rather than the theft-danger of owning a bike.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

Oh so I just need to make it such a pain in the ass to break into that they won't bother?

Living in Houston I actually rarely see bikes on bike racks outside stores etc. at all, so it makes me even more nervous, but that's most likely due to how car-centric the city is rather than the theft-danger of owning a bike.

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Pretty much yes to the bolded.

Here's a good video that goes over your options.

 

[CatAssTrophy]

Pretty much yes to the bolded.

Here's a good video that goes over your options.

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Thank you so much! Feeling less nervous about it now.

 

[Muu]

Got one right before summer 2019, used it to bike to work daily till Covid lockdowns @ 14mi one way. Right now our nanny uses it to commute as she doesn't own a car and I wasn't really using it during the winter.

As far as worrying about theft goes I believe most of the fears are on the excessive side, and as long as you're following some simple rules it's basically a nonissue. Simple stuff like what I describe below is all you really need to do:

• Lock it w/ a U-lock, ideally using the Sheldon Brown method.
• Lock it at a visible area. If you're going to a restaurant or something, ideally put it where you can keep an eye on it.
• Bring it inside overnight.

I live in a college town where people claim 'bike theft is out of control.' Honestly a lot of the time people are putting it out in such a way that you're asking for it to be stolen.

 

[Rodney McKay]

I made a basic e-bike a few years ago.

Bought a cheap kit that included a wheel with a motor in it and a lithium-ion battery. Was pretty easy to convert my regular bike with it, the kit included cable organizers to tie them to the frame of the bike.

I screwed up installing the battery though. It included a dock you mount on the bike frame, but I stupidly lost the key for the dock. Thankfully my bike has a flat platform on the back and I bought some velcro straps to keep it secure and still be able to remove it so it doesn't get stolen.

Only gets about 10 miles of range when using the motor (i bought about the smallest e-bike battery you can get) , but that's more than enough to make it to most places near me (groceries, mall, parks, whatever).

Sadly I haven't used it in years, I popped the tire a long time ago and just never got around to fixing it.

 

[Macam]

Not yet, but been looking into it. These links may be useful for people:

Bicycling.com's best bikes

Wired's best e-bikes

Was initially looking at RadPower since they have lots of options (step thru being a plus) and are entry level pricing, but was intrigued by Aventon (unfamiliar with them) and was unaware that Cannondale had e-bikes; my normal bike is from them and is a reliable, solid ride.

Just been looking for something to facilitate uphill assists and do light grocery runs on a cargo rack.

 

[Mengy]

I'm planning to buy a RadRover 6 in a month or two, strictly for trail riding as I don't ride on roads with autos. I have a 15 year old Giant full suspension bike which has been great to me, but I want power assistance to allow me to ride longer trails without killing myself. I'll likely keep the RadRover on assistance 1 most of the time, and only bump it up if I over extend myself and feel like I'm having trouble making it back to the car, LOL!

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

I guess I'll post in this thread? I'm not sure if there is a dedicated e-bike OT that I missed.

Anyway I picked up an Aventon Sinch. There was one locally being sold on FB Marketplace from a couple my age who are moving to a different country to start a business. Ridden once. They had a light, upgraded display, front and rear fenders, and a rear rack included, all for $1,150. The bike alone is $1,700 new. I went and looked at it, rode it around, and it was perfect, so I'm excited to have it home with me.

Just got back from a little 4 mile spin around the greenway behind my house. I tell ya what, 20mph on a bike feels way faster than you expect if you're not used to it. I kept that thing on pedal assist level 1 and 2, and that was fast enough for me. Great to know I have so much head-room, though. I also kept it in a lower gear, so I still feel like it was a pretty great workout. I was using my legs quite a bit. I can tell it'll be fun to find those sweet spots between easy cruises and serious exercise.

It's going to be a fun spring and summer!

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

I guess I'll post in this thread? I'm not sure if there is a dedicated e-bike OT that I missed.

Anyway I picked up an Aventon Sinch. There was one locally being sold on FB Marketplace from a couple my age who are moving to a different country to start a business. Ridden once. They had a light, upgraded display, front and rear fenders, and a rear rack included, all for $1,150. The bike alone is $1,700 new. I went and looked at it, rode it around, and it was perfect, so I'm excited to have it home with me.

Just got back from a little 4 mile spin around the greenway behind my house. I tell ya what, 20mph on a bike feels way faster than you expect if you're not used to it. I kept that thing on pedal assist level 1 and 2, and that was fast enough for me. Great to know I have so much head-room, though. I also kept it in a lower gear, so I still feel like it was a pretty great workout. I was using my legs quite a bit. I can tell it'll be fun to find those sweet spots between easy cruises and serious exercise.

It's going to be a fun spring and summer!

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[UnpopularBlargh]

Lectric has a new budget model of their folding bike:

The Lectric XP Lite folding e-bike costs just $799

US-based support if anything goes wrong

www.theverge.com

Ultra-affordable $799 Lectric XP LITE electric bike launched, and we got the first test ride

The team over at Phoenix, Arizona-based Lectric eBikes has just launched their newest and most affordable electric bicycle yet: the...

electrek.co

 

[Mr Jones]

They look cool, but it's a 2000 dollar device that will get stolen the minute I get off it to go to a store or restaurant.

I'll stick with my ancient Raleigh human powered pos.

 

[shenden]

So I've been a bit against e-bikes, but since I'm at the point where I realise that I wont get a new car anytime soon, if ever again and the tech in these bikes have come a long way, I'm considering to update my non e-bike build up on spare parts literally and want to have another option. I'm willing to cash up, but I'm still unsure if it's worth it. I've started to look at expensive boys such as Cowboy 3 (a 4 exists as well) and Vanmoof e-bikes. Is there anyone here having some experience on these? Or perhaps other options?

 

[AMAGON]

Lectric has a new budget model of their folding bike:

The Lectric XP Lite folding e-bike costs just $799

US-based support if anything goes wrong

www.theverge.com

Ultra-affordable $799 Lectric XP LITE electric bike launched, and we got the first test ride

The team over at Phoenix, Arizona-based Lectric eBikes has just launched their newest and most affordable electric bicycle yet: the...

electrek.co

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I ordered the blue version the day it was announced.

Just playing the waiting game now. First bike since forever and been following Lectric for the past couple years. I'm super down for this model as I like the BMX styling and don't need any gears since I'm riding around flat surface in Austin. At least this will save me on gas money from my WRX.😬

 

[mute]

I considered it for a while when I was in the market for a bike last year but decided on a hybrid trek fx instead. If I had a commute it would be different, just for recreation I think it is better for me at least if I'm peddling. At the time I was looking adding electric introduced compromises for the manual side (weight, gears, cost, etc.) that I decided against it.

 

[UnpopularBlargh]

So I've been a bit against e-bikes, but since I'm at the point where I realise that I wont get a new car anytime soon, if ever again and the tech in these bikes have come a long way, I'm considering to update my non e-bike build up on spare parts literally and want to have another option. I'm willing to cash up, but I'm still unsure if it's worth it. I've started to look at expensive boys such as Cowboy 3 (a 4 exists as well) and Vanmoof e-bikes. Is there anyone here having some experience on these? Or perhaps other options?

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Lectric and Rad Power are other two options I'd recommend you take a look at. Also Trek/Cannondale/Giant also have ebike models too.

It all depends on your budget and what type of riding you'll do.

I ordered the blue version the day it was announced.


Just playing the waiting game now. First bike since forever and been following Lectric for the past couple years. I'm super down for this model as I like the BMX styling and don't need any gears since I'm riding around flat surface in Austin. At least this will save me on gas money from my WRX.

Click to shrink...

What's the eta on delivery?

 

[AMAGON]

Lectric and Rad Power are other two options I'd recommend you take a look at. Also Trek/Cannondale/Giant also have ebike models too.

It all depends on your budget and what type of riding you'll do.



What's the eta on delivery?

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No eta yet besides the website last week stated 4 week waiting time. Checking the site now, 5 weeks.

It's all good, support so far had been stellar as I had an issue ordering this with the comfort package last week due to shipping issue and they threw the comfort package for free so can't complain.