My father-in-law is 70 and struggling to do more than 30 road miles, so I said I'd have a look at e-bikes for him.
Has anyone done some research on this? I'm thinking something half-decent. Who has a good range? I've not really read anything about them in the mags, apart from a drop-bar Giant in this month's CyclingPlus.
I've had a look at them in my LBS. They have volt bikes, better looking in the flesh that on a screen. They also stock Ridgeback but they seemu more mountain bike orientated.
I was thinking about one for when I start my new job. It's a 12 mile commute against the 4 minute walk I've havery at present.
I was very taken with the Trek Conduit+. Hybrid styled and looks more like a conventional bike than the Volt range. With the motor in the crank rather than the rear hub, it'll be much easier to repair a puncture by the roadside. Going to have a test ride nearer to the time I change jobs.
seem a bit pointless as the pedal assist ones are still restricted to 15.5mph
When I'm 70, I think I might be grateful for a little assistance to get me to 15.5 mph.
Yea but a nice downhill run followed by an Uphill you get no assistance until you've lost all your momentum & those bad boys are heavy to move with no assist.
Off road they are brilliant though as your avg speed is lower so you get assist most of the time
Get him a demo on one. They look odd with the massive discs needed to bring them to a halt though
I helped my mum buy one last year. It got her out cycling again at 76 and she's doing runs of up to 50 miles with my dad (currently unassisted). A lot of the time she is using minimal or no assist.
We test rode various different models and she chose a Ridgeback step through hybrid style bike.
My mum had an immediate dislike of the cheaper wheel motor style bikes. The power simply kicks in when you start moving the pedals, so they feel like an electric scooter. There's no feeling of pedaling a bike; you can just twiddle the pedals around with no effort and the bike goes forward.
She much preferred the BB mounted torque sensor type motors. These sense how much effort you are putting in and adjust the assist accordingly. They feel very natural, just like having "good legs". Much more expensive, but well worth the money in my opinion.
There are a lot of very similar bikes around the same 2K price point, with Bosch or Shimano torque sensor motors.
There's a big difference between the "Dutch" style step through bikes & the drop bar e-road bikes.
Now, your father in law may be the exception, but I'd wager that many chaps of his age wouldn't appreciate the ride position of a proper road bike, which is what the Giant Road-E range are.
How about a good quality hybrid version instead? Haibike do some excellent stuff.
My Mum's partner is a life long club roadie, but at 70 and suffering with early parkinsons, he's slowed down quite considerably in the last 5 years.
About 2 years ago he got some sort of cross Hybrid ebike (CFH is right in this case) with bosch kit and a Badass dongle so he can still go out with his mates and keep up. looks really nice and is sort of MTB looking but with 700c wheels. can't recall what it is, might be a Haibike sDuro Cross
Couple of my riding buddies have them. Both have Mondrakers, 1 a hard tail the other top of the range full sus. 1 has had both hips done, the other 2 stents after a heart attack!!! 1 also has Haibike fs & ht bikes. Without them they would/do struggle.
Workmate recently bought a Haibike commuter for work, 40ml round trips(60yr old). Another has just bought a Kalkoff hybrid/touring bike after much research.
This http://www.50cycles.com/product/6255288000.html I think.
Biketreks @ zings are building a dedicated showroom due to the increase in demand