[Closed] Smart Bike

I love ebikes, but the laws in this country don't allow them to be fast enough in my opinion. For the weight penalty I'd want something that could cruise at 20-25mph.

Specialized have one that's quite nippy, but I'd be going for a Grace if they didn't cost the same as a Ford Fiesta.

26.1Kg ,that is one big old beast.

I dont see the point of these especially in a city where its predominately flat so need real need for the electric assistance,just a ton of extra weight to haul round.

Maybe ok for the elderley or such like but at over £2500 they will need deep pockets or go without heating for a couple of years;-)

That's a pretty heavy electric bike - there are quite a few over 10kg lighter...

The concept of ebikes is great as a commuting device. The technology is available now that could cut my commute down from an hour each way to 20-30 mins each way, leave me sweat free when I arrive at my destination and cost pennies to run.

Unfortunately they are very expensive to purchase (although diy conversion is a more viable purchase option if you want a pig ugly bike), have a huge weight penalty which can make them vary hard work to pedal unassisted and the laws over here make anything fast enough to make sense illegal on the roads.

they are very expensive to purchase

Not compared to a car or motorbike - that should be the comparison made as they're everyday commuting vehicles.

have a huge weight penalty which can make them vary hard work to pedal unassisted

Typically 5-7kg - or less than 10% of the weight of the rider.

the laws over here make anything fast enough to make sense illegal on the roads

I'll partly agree with this - though the point is not to make your top speed higher, it's to put up your average speed. Which they do, by a lot, because it means you cruise up steep hills at 14mph instead of struggling up them at 5mph.

Not compared to a car or motorbike - that should be the comparison made as they're everyday commuting vehicles.

Yes compared to a car or motorbike - for anything I would want anyway - the Grace bikes are the sort of thing I'd be interested in, but 9,000 Euros? Can't see how it can be justified.

I suppose some of the capable, but slow ebikes aren't silly money when compared to high end normal bikes, but I just can't get my head round the poor performance (speed wise) for the money. I suppose if that Smart bike did up to 30mph with the assist I wouldn't be complaining so much about the price tag.

Typically 5-7kg - or less than 10% of the weight of the rider.

I hadn't thought about it that way, which is odd because I have with regular bikes!

I'll partly agree with this - though the point is not to make your top speed higher, it's to put up your average speed. Which they do, by a lot, because it means you cruise up steep hills at 14mph instead of struggling up them at 5mph.

I want 20 - 25mph average speeds! What can I say - I'm greedy!

billytinkle, are you in the market for a ebike?

I could be in the future, I've looked at plenty of them, but a new house purchase is putting any plans like that on the back burner for at least 6 or so months I'd imagine.

no worries.
i have a cracking haibike with 2 batteries to get shot of.
well worth a look at.

I want 20 - 25mph average speeds! What can I say - I'm greedy!

It can certainly be done - I've built e-bikes which can do 35mph. Problem is that power goes as the square of velocity - double the speed, you need 4x the power. So your range goes down, so you need a bigger heavier battery to go the same distance at a higher speed.

Plus, there's those pesky laws limiting you to 15mph 😉