i need to get out on a bike, sick of the flat canalside.
so been doing a bit of research and come up with this bike.

anyone had any experiance with a electric bike of any sorts.
and just to add, the electric bit will only be used to help me climb hills.

http://www.electriccyclecompany.co.uk/bike_detail.aspx?bikeID=79

any help is greatly welcome.

I saw loads of electrically assisted bikes being used in the Netherlands – they looked really good. The ones built specifically for this rather than an add on might be better.

http://uk.batavus.com/collection/Electric+bikes.aspx

Or you can get the hubs motors to add on to your existing bike

http://www.goldenmotor.com/

Your link is just along the road from me if you want me to check them out for you

thing is, i hope to be back to normal riding eventually.
something like the trek or the ones giant do convert back to standard bikes.

The Giant electric bikes are good. I’ve ridden one and was impressed. Assistive power – only supplied when you pedal, but will take you uphill no bother.

Make a great commuter.

(No experience of ownership though)

well, it looks like a reasonable bike in its own right, which would be important if (when?) you run out of elctricity.
i havent ridden anything like this, but i tend to agree with TJ, better to have one thats built for the job rather than something adapted.
and just for the record, im not laughing, if it lets you get on your bike then its a great idea, one less car innit?

If you want to be able to concert back then a hub motor and a battery pack on one of your existing bikes?

teej, i dont have any bikes left to do that with.

they appear to sell the trek ones in evans.
might pop in and have a peep at one.
it does seem a lot of cash they have put on top for the motor tho.

Check out Giants twist express with 2 x 26v batteries to assist you. The bikes can be off putting if you pick them up but the ride more than makes up for it when the power kicks in.The twin battery pack version has got quite an impressive range even on its most powerful mode.I used one before xmas to drop something off and it started to snow (with a gusty wind) and i was dreading the climb back up through the village but it made short work of it. I rode it quicker than i could ride any of my own bikes! Even if the battery went flat/you didnt charge it enough for some reason,its still a perfectly rideable bike.You wont be stranded.For someone not that fit and wanting to get out and about without breaking a sweat,they seem great. Dont think you have to sit back and just turn the cranks though, it still gets you working the heart and lungs. I think some folk get the idea that some of these kind of bikes are like an electric motorcycle so try them out to see for yourself.

Just be aware that most electric bikes are a total PITA if you get a rear wheel puncture. And they’re not allowed to be powered to more than 12mph which, frankly, is pathetic. And they weigh a ton. Normal commuter style bike, even with mudguards/rack is 15kg or so. Electric bikes are 20kg+ so all that power is used to cart the extra weight around. Some manage to be reasonably nippy though.

Why do you want/need an electric bike “just to get out on”? Surely if you’re sick of flat canal side you just ride somewhere else? The hills can’t be THAT impossible to climb can they??

yeah,i would suggest fitting puncture resistant tyres. It is a mare. but then again,some of these folk will be taking it into a bike shop to get the puncture fixed anyways!

i was gonna try one of these solely to aid me up hills while i am poorly.
i climb like a angel of the mountain under normal cicumstances. 😀

crazylegs, i am suffering from a heart problem at present which make any hills nearly impossible to ride up.

crazy legs – his heart attempted to explode or escape or something IIRC

Ton – If yu want me to check out the guys in your link they really are only along the road from me

teej, if you could ask them about the trek and giant ones, that would be greatly appreciated.
thanks.

I’ll have a nosy tomorrow

We have the use of 3 electric bikes. They are cheap Chinese ones and the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ applies especially to elecy bikes.

The electrics are shoddy to say the least, but once you get to know what’s what they are absolutely brilliant. Ours are 250w and are fine, but you can get bikes with larger motors.

We live about 1 1/2 miles from the nearest town and it is much quicker to get on the elecy bike and fire into town than to take a car and have to park etc.

On the continent they are much more popular – a mate in Germany says they’re more common than normal bikes.
I’m in the process of building a trailer with a hub motor at the mo.

And if you want a laugh take it to a party and watch people fly up and down the road on it whooping.

crazylegs, i am suffering from a heart problem at present which make any hills nearly impossible to ride up.

Ah OK, I didn’t know that! Apologies and I hope you recover fully very soon.

Ton

Probably not what you’re after but if it’s just a case of getting out into the countryside and up the hills and not necessarily offroad, THIS GUY might be worth a look as he hires bikes out on a monthly basis (might only be for businesses though rather than individuals). I dealt with him on something else and he seemed like a good bloke.

You will have to go into the countryside though as people will point and stare 😯

There was an interesting article in Cycling Plus about them the other month. They rode one round part of the Fred Whitton route. It was one of the Treks, basically, as long as you were turning the pedals it would keep your speed at 15 mph. This didn’t matter how slowly you pedalled uphill, it would maintain your speed at 15mph. However, the motor cuts out above 15mph at which point you lose all electrical assistance and have to put all the effort in yourself.

There was also a good review of some different models in the CTC magazine a month or so ago.

woody…………..i wonder why they would stare….. 😉

If they are limited to 15mph, why not get a bike with a different kind of motor, maybe swap the electric for petrol? I think Duccati make some nice ones with small (sub 1 litre) engines.

have a Giant twist for 10 years now, for those post sunday rides where you are too knacked to bother with headwinds etc . took the 17 tooth sprocket off and put on 15 and up goes the top speed. been a life saver after shattering heel and i still got in the woods to play.

pegglet, more like i want to hear.
i will have a look at the giant too.
thanks

OP, that’s my shop!

Come in or give me a call and I’ll let you take a bike away for a couple of days to see how you get on with it.

We sell the most Trek leccy bikes of anyone in the UK

Tony January cycling plus had an article with an electric bike v a normal one on a hard ride in Jans issue. I’ve not read it but it could be worth a look at to see how they get on . Get well soon fella

get your hands on one of these badboys

http://www.m55-bike.com/en

Hopester, i will give you a ring tomorrow.

mick, cheers mate, i will have a look.

My name’s Neill when you call…

Well I used this as an excuse to go and pester the chaps in the shop.

Very friendly and helpful guys.

The trek does not look like a bodged conversion, it rides really well, the electric assist on max is a big boost – well worth having and would push you up a hill no bother I think. Regenerative braking as well which would be useful in a hilly area.

Not much clearance for tyres but enough for a slightly chunkier tyre. Canal towpath worthy only really – not up to anything real offroad

They have a last years v brake one for much cheapness in a large frame size, the disc brake one I tried was a bit more expensive,

I was much more impressed with it than I was expecting to be. the bike was quality and rode well, the electric stuff was neat and worked really well giving a good boost but that felt natural with quite sophisticated controls.

Ton – Neil said he is down your way next week so could deliver 🙂

TandemJeremy – or anyone else – have you used or know/heard about the Golden motor link?

I’m interested in converting a cargo bike.

no – just a link I found of the net.

I tried that Trek Bike in my LBS and it was pretty good, the assisted acceleration was quite weird though, it gave a real surge of acceleration when you started pedaling which could be a tad unsettling if you pedal out of a corner. I guess you’d get used to it. I seem to recall the assistance stops at 16mph and it then becomes very hard to pedal any faster (i guess you’d be ok on the downs though).

The biggest downside is that i think it weighs around 44lbs which is quite a lump to pedal around.

One of my neighbours has the Giant, she seems to find it more than adequate to get up the reasonably steep hill to our close – though (no offence intended 😉 ) she is quite a slight thing.

Get well soon, any bike is better than no bike if you ask me. You could always start an underground modding scene when you start to out power it – underlighting, banging tunes etc. 8)

This is a rapidly evolving field but there are a couple of magazines focusing on these bikes now. Then head to a specialist retailer. Happy hunting!:

http://www.electricbikemag.co.uk/
(say Hi to Peter for me if you subscribe)

AtoB
http://www.atob.org.uk/Electric_Buyers’_Guide.html

the long lost Ben Kinetics is a good spot for asking about this kind of thing.

http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/electric_bikes.shtml

he used to post on here a fair bit many moons ago. Indeed he may still do…anonymously? 🙂

As Brassneck says… Any bike is better than no bike.
Found these beauties through a google search though!

Electric Bike Specialist

The lovely chaps here will set you right on an electric bike. They also run a great bike festival in Prestigne in wales. Beer is very important at this festival too.

You want this….

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/ego-kits-declares-victory-over-nature-gravity-with-its-e-powere/?icid=engadget-iphone-url

No need for apologies or sniggers, electric bikes certainly have their place. But there are ELECTRIC bikes and electric BIKES.

What you want is a bike with the Panasonic Crank assistance drive. This adds to your efforts rather than pulls you along via a hub motor. I have test ridden several for my wife, and find them to be superb. Not cheap – about 1500 – 1800 pounds new, but expect to retain up to 66% of value if you keep it a year.

Top two names to look for are Kalkhoff Aggattu from 50cycles or the new SpencerIvy. You can get test rides. If you like the look, I’d go for the SpencerIvy. For resale, I’d buy the step through design as these are more desirable on the used market. Not as trendy (Woman’s Frame!!!), but you aren’t planning on keeping it forever.

Handling will be Dutch Roadster smooth. It’s cycling, just a bit different, you’ll love it.

Ton – what has your cardiologist said about cycling, just out of interest?

ton,
if its a proper MTB you are after what about these, might be more what you are looking for, a bit pricey but proper MTB and the erace comes in at 21kg without pedals ecross or erace
I have had a couple of KTM bikes, not electric though, had an XC which I thought was excellent and now have the Aphex DH which I also think is excellent. Not sure about dealers in Englandshire but Bikeworx in Dundee can get them or advise if your interested.