Who needs more than 250W?

[Marcus Aurelius]

Blatting up a hill at 800 Watts is fun. When you get a really steep bit, you can be into 4 figures.

If you are referring to illegally modifying you €bike, I hope the police catch up with you

No electricity involved. If the plod can catch me their welcome to it.

[willcee]

Interesting contris, yet still we have a detractor still aboard his Gillot, perhaps as someone who has covered perhaps 5000 miles on E power I can add my experiences, someone already touched on the weight aspect, you don't go to collect a 1.5 tonne load with a 10cwt van, so whoever in the design and build operation of factory machines capable of carrying a 130kg adult with assorted luggage so creating a E bike perhaps like some of the German breeds which weigh in excess of 40 kgs and hang a 250w motor on them then point them at a decent steep hill ..... and are those detractors still wondering why some of us need more power.. its called Physics... yet that and the facts that are now coming out that many of these machines are being bought by folks that are way past the fitness levels that would be required for normal push pedal cycling so they have little strength and less inclination to strike up a high cadence and trail around on a 50T ring in top gear that alone requires more that the average 250W motor can supply..and don't even mention gear changing, they'll do that some wet day!!!! will

[tenbikes]

Why do some riders crave 500 or even 1000W (which are illegal on roads)?

I'd guess that it's because they want to go faster...

Jonathan

Then again maybe not. I often haul loads that I cannot propel even at a snail's pace without a powerful motor. Speed is hardly ever above 15km/h because the terrain won't permit it.
Power above 250w can be very useful, if not essential. Speed is irrelevant. System is set for 25km max anyway.

Not sure of the weights involved, but the bike alone is ?60lbs, plus steel trailer, plus rider. I'm 11 stone and the trailer load is too heavy to lift out: I have to tip it out. The hill is very steep. I can't ride it empty without assist........

On my private land, just so you know I'm legal

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
No competition I'd rather have 350 W any day than 250.
Earlier this year it was 250, two years ago it was 350 for an hour on the turbo
No idea what a single wheel 20 mile an hour hoverboard puts out, but I managed to overtake him anyway.

[Govnor]

Having a bike licence I'd like a electric bike with say 40mph limit, it would of course be a Motorcycle.

Bit concerned 250w and most likely twice the man most are it will struggle.

Guessing a test ride up a large hill at 250w required.

[[XAP]Bob]

A speed / acceleration limit (with modern controllers that should be easy enough) would allow cargo trikes to have serious assistance whilst still basically being a bike - although then you need to start certifying brakes and whatnot.

250w is a decent stoker, and that's what it's meant to be.
last mile e-trikes could easily get type approval as a motor trike if needed.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

A speed / acceleration limit (with modern controllers that should be easy enough) would allow cargo trikes to have serious assistance whilst still basically being a bike - although then you need to start certifying brakes and whatnot.

250w is a decent stoker, and that's what it's meant to be.
last mile e-trikes could easily get type approval as a motor trike if needed.

Yep, nail on the head, This wouldn't even pass for a Childs bike it would it!
Now we will see what all the naysayers think about this?

[Blondie]

Why do some riders crave 500 or even 1000W (which are illegal on roads)?

Because they want to feel like they are a World tour level Pro

[willcee]

...Hey ....thats a chinese BSO E bike i'd bet, and thats gear cable not brake but being used as brake cable a total no no.. never done not designed for the pressure with linear inners.. brake cable is always wound around section...as to speed and legality many and i mean many of the so Called legal factory E machines are as others have alluded no way are they 250w..and don't forget electric motors have the same torque from 10 revs to their max.. from long experience doing over 20mph on our increasing poor roads is a very hard and stressful ride as you are guiding a heavy machine on relatively narrow tyres avoiding all sorts of crap glass stones gravel, cow crap, bits of branches ,silage all of which would have you off and even worse when doing the 40 mentioned here, perhaps when i was younger... I remember claiming at school that i 'd ridden downhill off a mountain pass in the 60s at approaching 50 mph on my Gran Sport, I was laughed at ,someone even tried using maths to prove it couldn't be done, the love of speed is personal however the detractors on here are perhaps .. city dwellers , I'm out in the real world, the sticks where air is fresh and tarmac laced with cow dung.. and open roads.. will

[irc]

It's possible I'm missing the point, I'm not totally sure what a "cyclecraft style" means. I assume it relates to riding responsibly and according to the rules of the road?

Believe this refers to taking the lane where riding at the kerb is unsafe due to cars squeezing past without safe space.

This delays drivers. Drivers are less delayed at 28mph than at 13mph so less likely to try unsafe overtakes to get past.

DRivers should wait until safe no matter what speed the cyclist is at but in the real world ...............

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

...Hey ....thats a chinese BSO E bike i'd bet, and thats gear cable not brake but being used as brake cable a total no no.. never done not designed for the pressure with linear inners.. brake cable is always wound around section...as to speed and legality many and i mean many of the so Called legal factory E machines are as others have alluded no way are they 250w..and don't forget electric motors have the same torque from 10 revs to their max.. from long experience doing over 20mph on our increasing poor roads is a very hard and stressful ride as you are guiding a heavy machine on relatively narrow tyres avoiding all sorts of crap glass stones gravel, cow crap, bits of branches ,silage all of which would have you off and even worse when doing the 40 mentioned here, perhaps when i was younger... I remember claiming at school that i 'd ridden downhill off a mountain pass in the 60s at approaching 50 mph on my Gran Sport, I was laughed at ,someone even tried using maths to prove it couldn't be done, the love of speed is personal however the detractors on here are perhaps .. city dwellers , I'm out in the real world, the sticks where air is fresh and tarmac laced with cow dung.. and open roads.. will

I had an idea that sometime back I saw an brake outer advertised with a gear type construction ?
But maybe I was imagining it.
Had to work on bike again tonight after a chain snapped
The chain is only for pedaling, and has probably seen about 150 miles.
Rear derailleur is a shimano tz, they are the pits!
Its a KMC "Z", bottom of the range, I broke one after just 330 hard miles...........
The quality of this thing is the worst I have ever seen of any two wheeled bike!
I have made sure that the brakes are top condition.
But I fear that my conclusion is that the brake levers over power the disc callipers.....................
Its not a assisted E bike at all.........its got a throttle.................

I have yet to document all the bikes faults, two more noted tonight..make that three...............

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
You never expect to see this on brand bike to you!

[Merlin]

I've suffered an injury that has kept me off the bike for 4 years.

For me it's not the power it's the speed. It needs to be 20mph.

On the flat, even in my now hopelessly unfit and heavy state, I'll ride at 17-18 mph so I'm only getting assistance on hills. Assistance to 20mph, on an E Bike aimed at road use, seems to be both safe and more practical.

On hills, it allows me to ride at speeds that are a bit below what I did prior to the illness but it's the torque I would imagine that's the limiting factor. 250w is ample. Even at my fittest, my aerobic power threshold was just over 250w or 4.5 w/kg.

I would not buy another road ebike. They are IMHO, relatively pointless if the idea is to ride to the shops or pub as well as to hit the club run on a Sunday morn. Give me an extra 5 mph please.

[Nigel]

I've suffered an injury that has kept me off the bike for 4 years.

For me it's not the power it's the speed. It needs to be 20mph.

On the flat, even in my now hopelessly unfit and heavy state, I'll ride at 17-18 mph so I'm only getting assistance on hills. Assistance to 20mph, on an E Bike aimed at road use, seems to be both safe and more practical.

On hills, it allows me to ride at speeds that are a bit below what I did prior to the illness but it's the torque I would imagine that's the limiting factor. 250w is ample. Even at my fittest, my aerobic power threshold was just over 250w or 4.5 w/kg.

I would not buy another road ebike. They are IMHO, relatively pointless if the idea is to ride to the shops or pub as well as to hit the club run on a Sunday morn. Give me an extra 5 mph please.

If you ride at 17-18mph, then you don't need assistance from an electric motor. Which is great, saves you money, saves on batteries, etc.. The ebike rules are not for the "club run" cyclist. That some makers of bikes have spotted that some "club run" cyclists are willing to spend lots on their hobby, and will buy an expensive "club-run" ebike, is no surprise.

I don't see any chance of a change in the power/speed limits on e-bikes (and personally don't see that there is any need for a change either). Its not a priority for anyone setting out legislation, and any proposed change will get a destroyed with Daily Mail headlines about dangerous cycling around pedestrians in busy areas. 15mph is fast enough for an "ordinary transport" cyclist, getting around a town, or doing a short trip of under 5 miles. And provides enough speed for leisure rides of longer distances.


- Nigel

[Merlin]

Nigel,

I'm not going to argue as it's a subjective issue. I would say though that bikes like the E64 and Specializeds aimed at the US market are hard to keep below 16-18 mph..

There's no question that they help on hills. I just don't get why they limit the assistance to 15 mph when I would average more than that over 100 km in the mountains before my injury. Because of that causing multiple seizures, it actually makes my riding more dangerous and yet, I have had my driving licence withdrawn and will never get it back.

I need a practical form of transport. If I can ride a bike on British roads at 22 mph + wearing lycra, I personally (and it's only a personal opinion), why can I not go to the shops in jeans and T shirt at 20 mph? It is not as if a 12kg bike and rider is as dangerous as a 16 year old on a moped. It should also be seen as a very green form of local transport.