Why are ugly chunky E Bikes so popular?

fastpat said:
@Brightonian how do you turn right?
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It's not a problem i just don't race. My ladder has been caught once by another cyclist which sent me flying and had a few near misses with cars coming too close but most give me extra room. I try to stick to cycle lanes even if i have to go a longer route to get to my jobs. If i have a very busy day using my water fed equipment i use my car though.
One thing in Brighton is window cleaners can park on double yellow lines without getting a parking ticket it's a old by-law don't know if any other city's have this?

This would be my ultimate work bike
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DuxDeluxe said:
When I first saw this thread, I assumed that Shifty had hijacked Jim's account as it was bound to be controversial.

I see nothing wrong with "ugly chunky E-bikes". They are relatively affordable and give people more mobility when needed. I use mine about 50/50 in normal and assisted mode. Not everyone wants to ride around on the latest pinarello or Bosch powered E-bike, very nice though they both are. Mrs Deluxe's knees and hips are completely shot so the E-bike is useful for the occasional times she wants a ride out. I use either the E-bike because I'm lazy or the hybrid which is nice to ride. For the amount of use it gets, there is no point at all in spending anything other than the minimum
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Oops......well and truly hoisted on one's own petard. Just got a bargain priced Kalkhoff and trying to ride out every day and get some strength back in my legs after the back op. Use the battery to help me on the hills around here
 
Mine's a standard alloy-framed pretty lightweight machine into which I inserted an electric wheel. Best of both worlds. The most expensive part was the battery.
 
DuxDeluxe said:
Oops......well and truly hoisted on one's own petard. Just got a bargain priced Kalkhoff and trying to ride out every day and get some strength back in my legs after the back op. Use the battery to help me on the hills around here
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You just bought the best, I've had a Kalkhoff Agattu with Panasonic drive for 4 years now, superb quality build all round excellent bikes, handles roads and most paths with ease. Just considering one of the new Impulse drives with Gates belt at the mo....
 
Don Quixote said:
I can say hand on heart getting the eBike will take you back to the days when a push bike was fun. Enough said. Buy one.
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Right on the money, I've never had anyone try out my Kalkhoff and fail to come back without a broad grin on their face... Love mine, lot of the time it's got me so fit I don't use the assist, but it keeps the fun in things when there is a bad headwind or in my case a long slow slog uphill to home

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Robin McHood said:
You just bought the best, I've had a Kalkhoff Agattu with Panasonic drive for 4 years now, superb quality build all round excellent bikes, handles roads and most paths with ease. Just considering one of the new Impulse drives with Gates belt at the mo....
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Robin McHood said:
Right on the money, I've never had anyone try out my Kalkhoff and fail to come back without a broad grin on their face... Love mine, lot of the time it's got me so fit I don't use the assist, but it keeps the fun in things when there is a bad headwind or in my case a long slow slog uphill to home
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The late Eddie Judge Mental is to blame. I had a ride on his...........
 
we are just back from a two night stay in the Peak District ,we managed about 30 k on both days ,this was up and down hilly countryside and i tow a trailer with three small dogs in it ,my battery consumption is twice as much as my wifes , we absolutely love our ebikes ,going on Eddies advice we went for Haibikes ,not cheap at £4300.00 for the pair but the smile factor is worth it ,the next plan is to buy extra batteries so that we can increase my range in hill country.
 
laird of Dunstan said:
we are just back from a two night stay in the Peak District ,we managed about 30 k on both days ,this was up and down hilly countryside and i tow a trailer with three small dogs in it ,my battery consumption is twice as much as my wifes , we absolutely love our ebikes ,going on Eddies advice we went for Haibikes ,not cheap at £4300.00 for the pair but the smile factor is worth it ,the next plan is to buy extra batteries so that we can increase my range in hill country.
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Don Quixote said:
The late Eddie Judge Mental help was the only reason we got ours. Not look back since. Great fun.
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Hope he is reading this from up there........ (y)
 
DuxDeluxe said:
Hope he is reading this from up there........ (y)
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Knowing Eddie he's probably looking up from below ... enjoying himself no doubt with the ladythings!!!! :D

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laird of Dunstan said:
....the next plan is to buy extra batteries so that we can increase my range in hill country.
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Not sure which battery system Haibikes use but there's a german site offers excellent updated batteries
 
I started out with a Lunar, now I have a Hymer, it's undoubtedly better made but that doesn't mean the Lunar wasn't fantastic as well.

My point is a it doesn't have to be German, it doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles and it doesn't have to be crank driven or expensive, it doesn't even have to be pretty or have an upmarket logo, it just has to be in the right place at the right time.

Incidentally, if you want power hill climbing and speed look out for a bike with a TranzX crank drive (very popular in Germany) takes some beating, compact, extremely quiet and far, far more powerful than a Bosch Active Line, cheaper too.
 
Jim said:
Most I see are cheap heavy hunks of iron, much like the £100 Halfords special but with a motor attached. If all you've ever cycled is a heavy cheap hard to ride bike I suppose the motor must be much appreciated. But eBikes are sooo expensive. For the money you could buy a proper strong lightweight bike that will last a lifetime. Ride a piece of pig iron and you'll want a motor, but spend the money on a proper bike and you'll find how much easier they are to ride and most of you won't want or need a motor. :)
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Well Jim from your views you obviously haven't researched the topic far enough , go down to your Giant bike dealer or Cube to name two, both manufactures produce eye catching smart powerful Bosch and Yamaha power units..I have ridden race bikes, town bikes, mountain bikes over the last 50 years and I can honestly say nothing touches a Electric bike...have you demo'ed one?
 
Jim said:
Most I see are cheap heavy hunks of iron, much like the £100 Halfords special but with a motor attached. If all you've ever cycled is a heavy cheap hard to ride bike I suppose the motor must be much appreciated. But eBikes are sooo expensive. For the money you could buy a proper strong lightweight bike that will last a lifetime. Ride a piece of pig iron and you'll want a motor, but spend the money on a proper bike and you'll find how much easier they are to ride and most of you won't want or need a motor. :)
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Could it be a similar mentality to that of Harley Davidson riders. Owning a HD has no logic what so ever, bit like an over weight over size under performing electric bike.:)
 
mentaliss said:
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Well Jim from your views you obviously haven't researched the topic far enough , go down to your Giant bike dealer or Cube to name two, both manufactures produce eye catching smart powerful Bosch and Yamaha power units..I have ridden race bikes, town bikes, mountain bikes over the last 50 years and I can honestly say nothing touches a Electric bike...have you demo'ed one?
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I certainly have researched it and the technology is coming on leaps and bounds. But right now majority of the bikes I see are cheap and nasty £60 heavy steel bikes with a motor added and sold for £600+. If all I had to spend was £600 it would not be on an ebike.

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Giant and Cube ebikes are not by any description at the lower end of the market which is what I believe @Jim was talking about in the OP

Even saying that I would hesitate to use the terms "eye catching" or "smart" in connection with either company's ebike offerings.

Now Giant's carbon fibre TT bikes on the other hand are things of true beauty even though they're the mother of all pigs to ride.
 
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How about one of these? Twenty Four volt crank motor conversion, beauty is, course - (firmly)in the eye of the beholder.....
 
The originals were probably the most unstablebike ever made-that small front wheel was uncontrolable!
 
Where's the banana seat !!! Coolest thing about a chopper and the central gear shifter knob
 
On the subject of ebikes , any recomendations for lightest small wheel folding electric bike for the motorhome , light being the main priority , thanks.
 
castor said:
On the subject of ebikes , any recomendations for lightest small wheel folding electric bike for the motorhome , light being the main priority , thanks.
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@Techno has just bought a Brompton see his thread. They seem very light. We have an ebike but is heavy.

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castor said:
light being the main priority , thanks.
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Light is important but "rideability" is more so.
My dad used to have a couple of very lightweight aluminium folders. He regularly used to proudly demonstrate how easy they were to fold and how he could pack them into a bag. Unfortunately they were virtually impossible to ride with any degree of safety. My abiding memory is of them hanging neatly bagged on the garage wall.
Make sure you test ride them first.
 

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