Chatting to a mate today ..........

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
markjohnobrien
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by markjohnobrien »

IanH wrote: 22 Apr 2021, 5:09pm Lovely day for a bike ride in the Blackdown Hills!
My electric bike is a West Hill Classic step-through, so quite heavy but comfortable!
Took the electric bike and stayed in power level one; rode 40km at an average speed of 18.7 km/h. Battery at 50% on completion. Quite hard cycling as the route included one big climb and lots of smaller hills and lanes, so no high speed apart from the Blagdon Hill descent. I'm guessing I'd have achieved similar figures on my self-propelled Croix-de-Fer.
So what? Well it's great to have options, especially for those who can't pedal as they might wish. At power level 2 or 3 (out of 5) it would have been much easier. And it was a lovely day.
So after 6 months I'm converted. Ride your pushbike, but don't give up on an electric bike. It's a whole world better than staying home!
Fully agree: it’s progression, not regression, in using e-bikes.
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Mick F
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Mick F »

So ................. taking the argument to extreme ............... considering it's progression .................

We'll all be riding an electrically assisted bike in the future?
Mick F. Cornwall
Jdsk
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Jdsk »

I shouldn't think so, they'll always be more expensive.

But from my observations on the southern end of the EV15 and the principle that the future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed I'm expecting a lot more in the UK.

Most of this thread has been about how they enable riders to get out on pleasant sociable rides. But there are lots of other niches including cargo bikes, and the additional power could lead to unusual designs being resurrected and invented... quadricycles, sociables, sidecars, partly and fully bodied...

Jonathan
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Mick F
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Mick F »

Just so happens, that Mrs Mick F was at the Rising Sun yesterday early evening having already organised to chat to a friend up the road. Business meeting about stuff I won't bore you with.

Meanwhile, a chap arrived who we both know fairly well - though not seen him for some time ....... who had arrived after a bike ride. I know he's got asthma to some degree, but not worse than mine as far as I know .......... and he rides an eBike. He suggested to Mrs Mick F that he and I should get together for a ride.

No more info than that, but it would be good to bump into him again soon and arrange something.
He does some off-road stuff, and it's not my bag (so to say) but it would be good to ride with him.
Mick F. Cornwall
rjb
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by rjb »

We regularly pass an elderly gentleman cyclist who lives in the next village about 2 miles away. He carries an oxygen bottle in a back pack with a feed straight to his nostrils. Is this an alternative to an Ebike, an O2bike perhaps :wink:
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mattsccm
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by mattsccm »

Going back to the first post.....… On club rides, both gravel and road, the ebike has been a disadvantage. Main issue is that they are not that much quicker up hill than the fit young bucks, if at all and then when the road turns flat the rider is pushing a heavier bike at speeds where the e bit doesn't apply. Chuck in the fact that the ebiker in these situations has such a bike to make up for limited fitness and the difference is noticeable.
Obviously you could factor in waiting etc :D but my local gravel ride usually has a final short blast ( mile or two maybe) for the pub with no quarter given.
swscotland bentrider
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by swscotland bentrider »

Mattsccm you say "the ebike has been a disadvantage" then seem to obliquely demonstrate its advantages? On the hill the fit young bucks are still level with you - but without the motor you would presumably still be back down the slope? And on the flat the fit young bucks would beat you anyway? (Unless of course you are a fit young buck? :)

The point I really want to make though is the general one that there is no such thing as a standard e bike just as there isn't a standard conventional bike. In my limited experience on three e bikes (a Haibike Trekker, a Giant Fastroad and now my CGR they all perform very differently. They all climb well but the Haibike did not want to cruise above 16mph, the Giant would but with a bit of effort. The CGR seems to cruise happily along at 17/18 on the flat. The bikes weigh respectively 23kg, 19kg and 13.5kg. Two are hybrid style and one a road/ gravel bike.These factors have a lot to do with it.
peterb
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by peterb »

Yes, of course the bike-type makes a big difference. As I also pointed out in an earlier post the e-road bike rider is at a disadvantage when riding with a typical mixed club-ride group at speeds over the assistance cut off speed of 15.5 mph, simply because their bike is much heavier. My Gain weighs almost exactly double the weight of my lightest carbon framed unassisted Rose Xeon. So even at the same level of fitness as the unassisted rider the ebike rider has more work to do to keep with the group above15.5 mph.
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Mick F
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Mick F »

The thing is ................. I have rarely if ever reached an average speed above 13mph.
Yes, I can roll along at a good lick, but when it comes to the Devon and Cornwall hills, the speed drops alarmingly.
An eBike could - and will do - leave me for dead.
Mick F. Cornwall
Mike_Ayling
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Mike_Ayling »

Mick F wrote: 24 Apr 2021, 6:48pm The thing is ................. I have rarely if ever reached an average speed above 13mph.
Yes, I can roll along at a good lick, but when it comes to the Devon and Cornwall hills, the speed drops alarmingly.
An eBike could - and will do - leave me for dead.
15 mph = about 25 km/h
The group that I have ridden with since about 1995 never averages more than 20 km/h over a 70 to 80 km ride so when I eventuallyget an ebike I wil find the hills easier but will have noproblems on the flat.

Mikes ķ
peterb
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by peterb »

Mike_Ayling wrote: 26 Apr 2021, 8:18am
Mick F wrote: 24 Apr 2021, 6:48pm The thing is ................. I have rarely if ever reached an average speed above 13mph.
Yes, I can roll along at a good lick, but when it comes to the Devon and Cornwall hills, the speed drops alarmingly.
An eBike could - and will do - leave me for dead.
15 mph = about 25 km/h
The group that I have ridden with since about 1995 never averages more than 20 km/h over a 70 to 80 km ride so when I eventuallyget an ebike I wil find the hills easier but will have noproblems on the flat.

Mikes ķ
Not average speed that's the issue - our leisure rides rarely, if ever, averaged over 13mph for the whole ride. It is the long, flattish stretches where the group's speed creeps up above the e-bike cut off that can be difficult - I found it so anyway, but I'm riding an e-bike because I have developed a physical condition that makes it difficult for me to pedal an unassisted bike for more than very few miles anyway. Otherwise I would still be riding unassisted.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by al_yrpal »

Before the E Bike my average speed on the road was 11.5 mph. With the E Bike its about the same. On hills I regulate effort by using gears and power levels to ensure I am putting a decent amount of effort.

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Mick F
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Mick F »

When I see a cyclist approaching, I can tell easily that they're electrically assisted or not.

Something about cadence maybe? Something about body language? Something about speed in a relaxed manner up a hill (however small)?

My thought is that some eBikers aren't lifelong cyclists. They've come to it feeling that they would like to cycle, but are frightened by the prospect of the effort, so go for electrical assistance if they need it or not.

Once you've got it, it's only natural that you'll use it to best effect. It takes a certain sort of person to limit the assistance the eBike provides.
Mick F. Cornwall
Oldjohnw
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Oldjohnw »

If you want to do a decent daily mileage you have to limit the assistance or you will quickly run out of battery.
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Re: Chatting to a mate today ..........

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

If manufacturers make them, why not buy one? So what if they “leave you for dust” as long as they’re enjoying it, that’s the most important thing.
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