Should I buy an electric bike

I live 15 miles from work, and have always thought about bike commuting. I have a road bike, and am fairly fit through road & MTB riding. However, the reasons I drive in is that I would have to get up early & force down brekkie before I rode in (I am not a brekkie person & have no hunger first thing at all). Plus I would have to get here early for a shower etc as i work in an office. PITA basically.

I have seen a bike (the Giant Twist Express), which I coud get on C2W. Its looks OK & not rubbish like the usual electric affairs. I think with the elec assist I would not need to get up early for brekkie, or have a shower when I get to work. I could recharge it at work.

What are these bikes like, and has anybody done the same?

I used to laugh at these bikes, but with petrol at £1.40 a litre I would save hundreds per month, and it all seems to make sense!

hmmmm

Get a moped ? Or just MTFU and ride your road bike in without any brekkie 🙂

Two wheeled invalid carriage…………….

Scooter?

How long does the drive take and how hilly is it? Have you actually tried riding it on a proper road bike ever?

Just saying because my commute is longer than that and pretty hilly, I was surprised to find that there is very little difference in time driving vs car. As for showers, shower at work instead of home doesn’t take any extra time.

Here you go – just the thing

the giant electric bikes ive used in the past couldnt pull skin off a rice pudding ….

Have to say, MTFU. A 15 mile commute is a great opportunity for fitness, I’ve done it without a shower.

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

err, yes ^^^

I had a GoCycle for a few months a couple of years ago. Was great fun, as my job at the time involved nipping around town between locations. GoCycle kinldy lent it to me, as it was rather beneficial for them to have me riding it.

I’d arrive fresh as a daisy, not out of breath at all, having had great fun just whizzing along. (Mine had been, erm, well, tweaked a little to make it a teensy bit faster!). Plug it in, recharge it then ride on later on in the day.

Not sure I’d buy an electric bike for a 15 mile commute though. I’d just ride it.

If this is not a Troll – just ride to work without eating, munch a bit of flapjack when you get in. As for a shower, well dont, just ride slow enough not to get sweaty.

Your a bloke afterall, who will notice if you have not showered. If they notice, tell them you rode in.

i hope non of you guys never get ill, and still have the desire to ride a bike.

Thanks,

I ride the route often as it is part of the road loop I like to do at weekends. I Think I will give it a go tomorrow on my road bike. Yes, I know MTFU, but its not the riding, just all the arsing about that Im worried about!

ton, he’s not ill.

OP you don’t need any more arsing about…shower and breakfast at work, instead of home, and you’ll be hungry for it.

When I was able to ride that long before work I had lots of energy in the day, until about 4pm 😉

wrongun – I used to do 17 miles each way. Min of 3 days, usually 5 days a week.

It takes a little bit of organising as a one off (i.e. all the stuff you need to leave in work) and then you’re good to go.

Eat breakfast once you’re at work – less than an hour is fine off no food. And shower there. Showering time is just showering time.

You’ll get fit as a butcher’s dog. And lose the desire to ride at the weekend.

ton, he’s not ill.

Not, I think, the point ton was making tbf.

just all the arsing about that Im worried about!

Cycling around 15 miles to work is the easy part,but if you have horrendous roads/routes, a strict dress code at work ,no decent changing/storage area ,then it all adds up to being a PITA .
That’s the real bit where you have to MTFU and get organised,and remind your self of all the benefits .
If not get a motorbike,they are the next best thing 🙂

Why buy electric. I used to commute 33 miles sometimes each way to work. Get up at 5:00 am eat breakfast, leave at 05:30 pedal my single for 2 hours and eat a second breakfast at work. Then do it all again at the end of the day. I worked as a teacher and if you pick the right clothing and the right anti perperant body order is not an issue. Beieve the kids I used to teach would have told me if I smelled. In fact I got in so early that most of the time noone even realised I had cycled in as you simply could not tell. A rack and big panniers help here as tha reduces the sweat on your back. Also wear proper base layers and padded shorts help to as they breathe and do not hold on to any sweat.

15 miles is an hours ride very doable every day without the need for an electric bike – also most electic bikes are heavy and you only get assitance up to 15 mph. I like to move at 20 mph+ where I can.

30 miles a day week in week out is quite a commitment, nothing wrong with electric bikes either.

Saying that, is a decent electric bike nearly as much as a cheap second hand ped to buy these days?

There is a new Vespa shop that has just opend on my commute and they have a 50cc Vespa in the window for £1100, tempted to trade my push bike in and fart to work on that 😉

What was ton’s point then?

No way would I drop £1K on an electric bike just for a commute, I might consider it, after a good test ride I suppose…

What was ton’s point then?

See the AFib club thread

I hada shot on an elecrically assited bike and was impressed.

For many folk a 15 mile commute is a lot. See if you can get a demo on one to see if you like it.

PLUS

Equals

😉

Had a go on one of these this afternoon. Took it up a long steep hill. It’s really quite impressive as well as being low key to freak out roadies.
Cube EPO

would not touch any of the current electric bikes

just not worth the grief

I have a lock-up full of broken ones, waiting “warranty” support

as soon as the electric assistance fails, you are riding an extremely heavy bicycle with high rolling resistance

get a nice road bike 😉

wrongun, i bought a electric bike due to ill health.
it is a kalkhoff pro connect disc, i bought it so that i could go on a touring holiday last september.
the range on it is 140km, so would be no problem for your commute.
the good thing about it, is that you can choose to have the assist on or to switch it off and ride like a normal bike.
people seem to have the idea that you can turn the motor on and just rev and off you go. this is not the case on mine. it gives you a push in the back 😉
i dont think it would make a 15 mile ride any faster for me, but it would deffo make it easier.
you are more than welcome to come and take mine for a test mate.

would not touch any of the current electric bikes

you clearly have never ridden the current generation of crank-driven bikes. Nor have you seen reviews in AtoB magazine (who have a test loop of about 30 miles).

For 15 miles, daily, rain or shine, I’d MTFU. But I am fit and have access to fine facilities at work. In other circumstances, a nice Kalkhoff Aggattu would be an excellent tool for the 30 mile round trip. In 20 years time, electric bikes will be very common.

If commuting daily, the cost of batteries will not be insignificant.

I agree with djaustin – the Kalkhoff range of electric bikes are superb and are selling like hot cakes! We have looked at pretty much all electric bikes before deciding that we would only deal Kalkhoff because they’re brilliant on hills (due to the crank drive) they have a great range (as much as 140-180kms) which means the batteries last longer because you charge them less and being German built – are of superb quality! I have a demonstrator to test if you’re located anywhere around Wiltshire!

cynic-al – Member

15 mile commute…I’ve done it without a shower.A bohemian approach to personal hygiene is nothing to boast about, al.

I don’t own one but wouldn’t rule one out for a long hilly commute.

Here’s an account of a 2000 mile tour on an electric bike. In this case so that the rider who has health issues could keep up with his partner.

http://bicyclelife.topicwise.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=9261&v=272

http://www.onbike.co.uk know everything, and will give you a test ride. If you haven’t tried one you don’t know what you are missing. They organise a lovely wee bike festival in Prestigne every year as well.

on that site…

Raleigh Dover is a rebadged Kalkhoff Aggatu. Monarch is a slightly cheaper brand, but has performed well. Wisper have a reputation for being fast and Daum are newcomers. I wouldn’t really touch the rest – absolutely NOTHING hub driven. Entry point will be about £1300 (Monarch), but realistically you won’t see change from £1800. Giant led the way with the Panasonic crank drive, but have moved on to hub drive for cost effectiveness reasons.

For outright loveliness, look no further than SpencerIvy[/url]. Now with a matching black battery and Brooks saddle and grips. I test rode one at the bike show and can tell you that it is a lovely bike with a beautiful ride, that happens to be electrically assisted. It will make 15 miles seem like 5 (well almost).

I’ve been commuting for 13 years without breakfast.

Usually further than 15 mile too. We’ve never had showers at work either – clean body, basin wash, clothes airer, proper fast-drying lycra, travel towel.

A banana and coffee does me until lunchtime. I’ve never been hungry first thing person either. I’ve never been great at getting up early either – but if I’ve had to get up at 5am to get to work on time, that’s what I’ve done. The lanes are lovely and quiet first thing.

FFS people are so pathetic these days.

Save your money, buy some mudguards, a decent jacket and some panniers/other boring ‘commuter’ stuff.

I would agree. The £600 ish electric bikes that have come in the shop for fixing have all had issues with the electric part of the bike which I cannot attend to. All of them have been warranty issues. For £700 I sell the Tifosi CK7 it has rack mounts and mudguards. Perfect for commuting. Ribble do there version two.

For £600 you can buy a reasonable commutor. Then buy some racks, panniers, a travel towel. Washing is really not necessary. Sweat only smells if baceria get to grow in it before it dries. So breathable clothing solves this problem.

15 miles each way is a short ride really. The only problem is in heavy rain as then you will need good waerproofs but tha again is no biigy. You will spend less getting a pedal powered bike.

15 miles each way is a short ride really.

Not sure that I agree with that… 🙄 YMMV etc

My commute is 14 each way, when I do ride.
It eats a big chunk out of my day, and riding consecutive days leaves me hanging.

3 days a week is probably optimum. Can’t see any way I’d ride 5 days per week (even if domestic and work committments permitted)

Are you really going to be getting there any faster on an elec bike?

You prob actually wont get there any quicker on an electric bike as they are limited to 15mph in the UK which you can easily do on a standard road bike.

Not sure that I agree with that… YMMV etc

My commute is 14 each way, when I do ride.
It eats a big chunk out of my day, and riding consecutive days leaves me hanging.

3 days a week is probably optimum. Can’t see any way I’d ride 5 days per week (even if domestic and work committments permitted)

Hogwash! Are you trying to use your commute as a time trail?

Do you have a permanent disability, or are you just lazy?

ADH – 50% of that is offroad, including a 1000′ climb followed by forest / quarry descent…

… which at the end of a long day = a very hard quarry / forest climb.

and, yes, I do try to do it flat out, and am always trying to better previous times.

So,

15 miles each way is a short ride really.

is meaningless without context of the type of route

So its a case of you’re doing it wrong, as well as being lazy then?

Sounds terrific, I’d swap it any day for my 12 miles of flatish boring road work.

I never said it wasn’t fun 😉

Just not sustainable for 5 days a week, for me