How useful is an ebike really?

[Minxy]

Hundreds of questions.
we want two, but which ones?

there are some with a fixed wheel system! I.e. no gears. How important are gears for normal road cycle track with the occasional hill.

wheel size 20inch or larger?

If you go for folders you definitely want some good gearing and pay attention to the chain ring (the large flat disc the chain goes over which the pedals attach to) as some aren't that large (usually sized by number of teeth), you need at least 50 to make riding comfortable otherwise your legs will be whizzing round!

 

[Silver-Fox]

I love my ebike ! This is my second its a Cube Stereo with a Bosh performance line cx motor and a 625w/h battery. On the flat in eco mode I would get over a 100 miles but i rarely use it for that as i like to go off road and over the moors. It has literally been a life changer and I could not recommend one more highly. We are just in the process of sorting one out for my wife. As she is quite short she wants 20" wheels so she can put her feet down, so we have got a short list of 3 makes which are Cube 20", A Tern P7i and Corratec. All have the Bosh motor. Here she is trying the Corratec. Other photo is my bikeView attachment 393202View attachment 393201

Could you not fit a dropper post on wifeys bike

 

[Aerialmark]

Ha ha she she struggles to touch the floor when the seat post is all the way down

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We have used E-bikes for a number of years with both caravans and motorhomes, started with a couple of 20 inch wheel folders, changed to a couple of E-Ranger cruisers with 26 inch wheels, and this year decided to go for a couple of Cube Kathmandu Pro's with 625 w batteries and the Bosch CX performance motors, they are so much better then our previous hub motor models, I cycled 617 miles last month max distance on one ride 37 miles, average around 25 miles per ride, I have not come close to running the battery flat yet.

 

[Mikey RV]

I have been a keen mountain biker for a very long time. Never thought I would go the Ebike route but with the years flying by two years ago I bought one. We were going to get the wife one because she has trouble with her back riding a normal bike and I just thought I have had my Cannondale twenty years so its time for a change. Bought a cube and love it but it’s not a full suspension bike which is more the style of riding I do, downhill, forest trails, bike parks etc. The cube is fantastic for cycle paths and on the road. I have just ordered a new bike so my Cube will be in the classified soon.

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[Tony50]

We have 2 fold up electric bikes, with small wheels , I would not have a small wheel version again ,not good when hand signalling,makes you wiggle, also I would go for rear wheel drive , our rear wheel drive skids on gritty hills, don't forget weight some bike racks won't carry the weight, we always remove batteries and put in garage.
ps. If you get a puncture it takes longer to remove rear wheel drive wheel though.

 

[Paul Wilkins]

Total 'thumbs up' for eBikes. 30 miles comfortably depending on how you use the battery. We have Orbea MTBs with the Bosch CX motors on the crank. One little piece of advise, remove the batteries when traveling with them on the back. The bikes are heavy with the batteries attached, two bikes can weigh as much as a sack of spuds (55kg)

 

[WillH]

We find our Merida e-bikes indispensable when touring. Handy for day trips and shopping with a couple of panniers. Longest run we've done was 70 miles.

 

[Philh]

My son has a Ribble e-bike on order due to its lightness but not so much battery capacity. He chose it for a bit of help commuting on the hills but is still strong and fit.

I have a Ribble SLe on order, delivery tomorrow! Ordered 11th May so less than 4 weeks built and delivered. The idea is to flatten the hills.

 

[Chris CM]

This is mine, it’s a Cube Kathmandu with the Bosch CX line motor and a 625Wh battery. I got it a few weeks before lockdown so it hasn’t been on any van assisted trips yet. But we live in SE Cornwall which, as some of you may know, is vey hilly. With all the good weather we’ve had recently I’ve been doing 15-20 miles most days, and I’ve yet to find a hill I can’t manage, I can’t rate it highly enough, so good that I bought SWMBO the same one. Luckily, when we bought our van it already had a Dutch Busbiker chassis mounted rack fitted which makes loading the bikes a doddle, they weigh about 22 kg sans battery. I can charge the batteries via my 325w Victron inverter with the van batteries charged via 2 x 100 solar panels.

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[Don Campbell]

Agree with pretty much everything said in favour of ebikes but would emphasise two things - get as big a battery as you can so you are not constantly charging, and before you leave the shop make sure you get the saddle changed for one that's really comfortable (young bums can cope with skinny racing saddles but less tolerant with age). Had ours for a few years now and couldn't do any of the hills we do now easily without them. Just remember they are heavy and so is the carrier if you get one that's made to take the weight of two bikes.

 

[Minxy]

Total 'thumbs up' for eBikes. 30 miles comfortably depending on how you use the battery. We have Orbea MTBs with the Bosch CX motors on the crank. One little piece of advise, remove the batteries when traveling with them on the back. The bikes are heavy with the batteries attached, two bikes can weigh as much as a sack of spuds (55kg)

That's a heck of a sack of spuds! They're usually only 25kg.

 

[Al n Val]

we have 2 folding Carrera Crosscity ebikes from Halfords, these were our first venture into an ebike and they are perfect for us, everything folds even the peddles so we can easily fit them into the rear garage, the battery fits inside the frame and locks in, rear wheel drive, Shimano 24 gear, and 3 speed on the battery so giving 72 options of gearing.

They were £850 each and we had the tyres filled with a green gue to stop/help against punctures, 3 years insurance and a change of seats to larger more comfortable Gel ones. As i’m not great walking these have saved me and allow me/us to go virtually anywhere.

Carrera Crosscity Folding Electric Bike 2020 | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Carrera Crosscity Folding Electric Bike is perfect for commuters at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

Highly recommend them

Al

 

[Mikey RV]

That's a heck of a sack of spuds! They're usually only 25kg.

His real name is popeye.

 

[Paul Wilkins]

That's a heck of a sack of spuds! They're usually only 25kg.

You know, you're absolutely right! Apologies, I meant 55lbs = 25Kg. Each bike weighs 23Kg, so that's 46Kg or 110lbs (ish) swinging around on the rack.

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[John Cheetham]

I know this is a bit of an 'how long is a piece of string ' question, but in reality how large a radius are you really comfortable in touring on your bikes and it still be 'pleasurable'? I ask as when the world opens up again we are to equip our motorhome with either a scooter or a pair of ebikes. The choice is ease of touring to those little off the beaten track places that you could never take the MH too, such as little hillside villages in Italy which with a scooter would be a doddle as it would easily give us a 25mile radius around the MH. where on the other hand the ebikes would give us a radius but as to how comfortable that might be I don't really know but it would also provide a good and hopefully pleasurable amount of needed exercise that would be lacking with the scooter...!

Ebikes are the best thing we have ever bought. We have 2 Bergamont Bikes for England and 2 E-Ranger Fold up bikes for the Motorhome. On the flat, you are hardly using any battery power, so range is probably 70 miles or so. If you are using them up and down a few hills, that may reduce to about 35 miles. There are also various degrees of assistance you can set, so if you decide to use more leg power, maybe to give yourself a bit more exercise, then the range will increase. We've done several thousand miles on them in the UK, France and Spain, great for getting into Town Centres, Shopping (We have double sided panniers each) or just exploring local areas. Get them bought, and Enjoy.

 

[Mick Kennedy]

Lots of helpful answers and opinions of and about e-bikes, but to reply to your actual question...........

"I know this is a bit of an 'how long is a piece of string ' question, but in reality how large a radius are you really comfortable in touring on your bikes and it still be 'pleasurable'?"

I would say ''not nearly as big a radius as on a motor scooter.''

Also, the answer is dependent upon your size and level of fitness AND the e-bike in question. If you get a fold-up e-bike, if you are tall or heavy (or both) you will not find them nearly as comfy as a full-sized e-bike. I have had a Brompton, a Raleigh Stow-e-way and a Raleigh Kompakt Motus and (for me) they all become uncomfortable after 15 mins or so, as they tend to promote a lean-forward position for someone of my height - 6'1''. It hurts your wrists and you feel every bump through the small wheels. These negatives weren't apparent on the test-ride at the shops - only five mins long and on smooth roads. But a different story on cobbledy European village streets for sure!

And now, to go further from your core question, you have to consider what others have mentioned - THEFT. If you have full-sized bikes they will have to live on the back of your motorhome, and generally will NOT be covered by your motorhome insurance. Only if they are INSIDE your moho when stolen and then probably only to a max of £500. So you really must go OTT on securing them to your moho. Don't use cable-type locks - too easy to cut with bolt-croppers. After having had an e-bike stolen, we have now had padeyes welded to our chassis that we can lock our bikes to with a) Oxford monster chain locks,
b) Kryptonite D-locks AND c) an Abus screamer alarm. Anything can be stolen by determined thieves, but at least now it won't be done to us easily, quickly or quietly. They'd need angle grinders.

To enlarge further on your question - we're lucky enough to cart around both bikes and a motorscooter and, although a motorscooter has definite range and some comfort advantages, you have to consider that sometimes riding one is just not as NICE as pedalling, carefree on a push-bike. The helmets can be sweaty and inhibit conversation, plus you become part of the ''traffic'' and tend to go faster and will not see as much as you do on a push-bike and (importantly) not everywhere is as accessible as it is on a push bike - e.g., lovely, pedestrianised streets and plazas in quaint European villages - places that welcome bikes, but would frown on a motor scooter.

We love both methods of transport and no doubt both scooters and e-bikes have their advantages, but fit different bills, in a way; but if we HAD to choose, we'd say go with the e-bikes. The likelihood of you wanting to travel further than your e-bike's range is low. And, as mentioned elsewhere here, if worse comes to the worst, you can simply pedal home the last few miles conventionally.

Have fun!

Mick & Lisa.

 

[Minxy]

You know, you're absolutely right! Apologies, I meant 55lbs = 25Kg. Each bike weighs 23Kg, so that's 46Kg or 110lbs (ish) swinging around on the rack.

Is that with the batteries still on the bikes?

 

[Richard n Ann]

My mate's just bought one.

You all need to be sitting down for the next bit...

Four thousand two hundred pounds should have been £5k so he got a good deal, he's now buying some hope peddles and other bits for £500.

Imagine leaving that chained up somewhere

 

[Abacist]

Sacks at 25Kgs /56 Lbs are manageable. I can remember having to cope with sacks of 1 Cwt or 112 Lbs or 50 Kgs. I especially remember the coal men delivering the winter supply of coal in hundredweight sacks! Backbraking but at least they loaded from the back of the lorry onto their shoulder and just tipped the contents out rather than having to lift them from the floor.

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[ianp]

Lots of helpful answers and opinions of and about e-bikes, but to reply to your actual question...........

"I know this is a bit of an 'how long is a piece of string ' question, but in reality how large a radius are you really comfortable in touring on your bikes and it still be 'pleasurable'?"

I would say ''not nearly as big a radius as on a motor scooter.''

Also, the answer is dependent upon your size and level of fitness AND the e-bike in question. If you get a fold-up e-bike, if you are tall or heavy (or both) you will not find them nearly as comfy as a full-sized e-bike. I have had a Brompton, a Raleigh Stow-e-way and a Raleigh Kompakt Motus and (for me) they all become uncomfortable after 15 mins or so, as they tend to promote a lean-forward position for someone of my height - 6'1''. It hurts your wrists and you feel every bump through the small wheels. These negatives weren't apparent on the test-ride at the shops - only five mins long and on smooth roads. But a different story on cobbledy European village streets for sure!

And now, to go further from your core question, you have to consider what others have mentioned - THEFT. If you have full-sized bikes they will have to live on the back of your motorhome, and generally will NOT be covered by your motorhome insurance. Only if they are INSIDE your moho when stolen and then probably only to a max of £500. So you really must go OTT on securing them to your moho. Don't use cable-type locks - too easy to cut with bolt-croppers. After having had an e-bike stolen, we have now had padeyes welded to our chassis that we can lock our bikes to with a) Oxford monster chain locks,
b) Kryptonite D-locks AND c) an Abus screamer alarm. Anything can be stolen by determined thieves, but at least now it won't be done to us easily, quickly or quietly. They'd need angle grinders.

To enlarge further on your question - we're lucky enough to cart around both bikes and a motorscooter and, although a motorscooter has definite range and some comfort advantages, you have to consider that sometimes riding one is just not as NICE as pedalling, carefree on a push-bike. The helmets can be sweaty and inhibit conversation, plus you become part of the ''traffic'' and tend to go faster and will not see as much as you do on a push-bike and (importantly) not everywhere is as accessible as it is on a push bike - e.g., lovely, pedestrianised streets and plazas in quaint European villages - places that welcome bikes, but would frown on a motor scooter.

We love both methods of transport and no doubt both scooters and e-bikes have their advantages, but fit different bills, in a way; but if we HAD to choose, we'd say go with the e-bikes. The likelihood of you wanting to travel further than your e-bike's range is low. And, as mentioned elsewhere here, if worse comes to the worst, you can simply pedal home the last few miles conventionally.

Have fun!

Mick & Lisa.

I think you have experienced our dilemma in a nutshell! What restricts us from carrying both is the weight issue and the 'fadge' of what ever method you would use to carry the scooter as the camper is generally driven by my better half and she's not keen on trailers etc. The bikes are to venture into those little villages and to wander into and around the larger towns so as not to spend the day walking from a to b and being sapped by the sun or what ever.
Security is an issue.....on the camper I think I could make them quite secure to deterre most opportunists especially if the disturb the alarm I could fit. My concern is when in and around the towns ...there will come many a time when we want to 'park' them and wander off on foot....that's when I think I'll feel vulnerable as you can only carry so much security before it becomes self defeating! It strikes me that some kind of 'camouflage would be time well spent but how to make a good bike look like a shite bike!

 

[Mick Kennedy]

Imagine today's snowflakes delivering hundredweight bags of coal...............

 

[ianp]

Its been a cracking thread with some great input....many thanks to all!

 

[Mick Kennedy]

I know this is a bit of an 'how long is a piece of string ' question, but in reality how large a radius are you really comfortable in touring on your bikes and it still be 'pleasurable'? I ask as when the world opens up again we are to equip our motorhome with either a scooter or a pair of ebikes. The choice is ease of touring to those little off the beaten track places that you could never take the MH too, such as little hillside villages in Italy which with a scooter would be a doddle as it would easily give us a 25mile radius around the MH. where on the other hand the ebikes would give us a radius but as to how comfortable that might be I don't really know but it would also provide a good and hopefully pleasurable amount of needed exercise that would be lacking with the scooter...!

I think you have experienced our dilemma in a nutshell! What restricts us from carrying both is the weight issue and the 'fadge' of what ever method you would use to carry the scooter as the camper is generally driven by my better half and she's not keen on trailers etc. The bikes are to venture into those little villages and to wander into and around the larger towns so as not to spend the day walking from a to b and being sapped by the sun or what ever.
Security is an issue.....on the camper I think I could make them quite secure to deterre most opportunists especially if the disturb the alarm I could fit. My concern is when in and around the towns ...there will come many a time when we want to 'park' them and wander off on foot....that's when I think I'll feel vulnerable as you can only carry so much security before it becomes self defeating! It strikes me that some kind of 'camouflage would be time well spent but how to make a good bike look like a shite bike!

No, you don't want a trailer. Some folks are fine with them, but they do require a finesse that lots of people find off-putting, plus make your vehicle effectively much longer and more difficult to manoeuvre, especially in tight spaces. Even our motorbike rack makes our motorhome a metre longer. Judging by what you say, I'd say e-bikes are the way to go for you rather than a scooter. Dependent on your garage size you can get two fold-up bikes in there, which will help the security factor, but DO remember the comfort factor - full-sized bikes are generally much comfier (in my opinion). This would necessitate a full-size bike rack on the back of your moho and will make it c. 0.5m ''longer'' but the reality is that your wife won't find it any harder to drive because of that. And to labour the comfort point - don't be kidded (comfort-wise) by a quick test-ride on a fold-up bike on a smooth surface. You get on a bumpy-ish surface on a small-wheel bike and you'll feel every shock up your coccyx and if you're tall (ish) you'll soon get sore wrists from leaning forward onto handlebars which don't come up high enough to allow you to adopt a sit-up riding position.

 

[Richard the medic]

In regards to the weight of a electric bike, I was struggling to lift mine up onto the bike rack on the back of my Motorhome. Fiamma have a lowering rack, this has saved my back as it lowers down to about 18inches off the ground. Model is a 77 you have a choice of,either a manual one or a electric one, I chose the manual.

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[busby]

That's a heck of a sack of spuds! They're usually only 25kg.

They were in 55kg (1 cwt) bags when I used to load seed potatoes back from Scotland..BUSBY.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

A decent test ride should be a must, especially as e-bikes do cost a fair bit. Evans Cycles, pre-lockdown, used to have a facility you could pre-book and had the ability (for a decent deposit) to take the bike off for a couple of hours. Quite useful to really get the feel of it, and even work out that frame and suchlike was the right sizing.

 

[ianp]

No, you don't want a trailer. Some folks are fine with them, but they do require a finesse that lots of people find off-putting, plus make your vehicle effectively much longer and more difficult to manoeuvre, especially in tight spaces. Even our motorbike rack makes our motorhome a metre longer. Judging by what you say, I'd say e-bikes are the way to go for you rather than a scooter. Dependent on your garage size you can get two fold-up bikes in there, which will help the security factor, but DO remember the comfort factor - full-sized bikes are generally much comfier (in my opinion). This would necessitate a full-size bike rack on the back of your moho and will make it c. 0.5m ''longer'' but the reality is that your wife won't find it any harder to drive because of that. And to labour the comfort point - don't be kidded (comfort-wise) by a quick test-ride on a fold-up bike on a smooth surface. You get on a bumpy-ish surface on a small-wheel bike and you'll feel every shock up your coccyx and if you're tall (ish) you'll soon get sore wrists from leaning forward onto handlebars which don't come up high enough to allow you to adopt a sit-up riding position.

Yes I'm quite sure we don't really want a trailer. What we do have is a crash bar frame on which we could have mounted a tow ball and this when fitted will make for a much better support / security structure for a couple of ebikes than the light weight aluminium carrier we currently have mounted on the back wall. It a pity we have to absorb another 15-20kg in the crash bar frame but hay-ho, its better than the 130+kgs a scooter would have required!

 

[jonasw19]

We keep our ebikes, both full size in the garage of our Hymer MLT620, using a
Radfazz fahrradhalter

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...BMA16BAgIEAU&usg=AOvVaw1DqqwC1-dNa_wn1WkIGS0e

[/URL]
which is a cycle restraint system.
Take off the front wheels and clip the forks into the floor holder, using the quick release type found on wheels. The wheels are stored similarly.
Good system, which allows 2 bikes to be carried in an efficient manner
Jon

 

[Silver-Fox]

I just made a holder for my daughter to carry her mtb in her car.

A piece of conduit cut to length welded to a piece of angle.

This was screwed to the 18mm ply I cut and dropped into the load area

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