IanHenry Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 On Saturday whilst out with my Wife cycling along an ex railway line, we stopped for a coffee at an old station that has been converted to a cafe/bike shop. Talking to the owner (who was in top gear selling mode) and he insisted that I give an e-bike a quick run. It was the most fun I've had in ages! I've got to have one! If you haven't had ride on an electric bike, I urge you to try one, you'll love it. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 when i lived in toronto, alot of people commute by bicycle. when the electric bikes got to the point of afford-ability that anyone could have one, they became a nuisance. those same people were a nuisance before, but they had to pedal, in order to ignore traffic laws and basic common sense. i wouldn't mind having a recumbent with an electric motor on it. something like an hp veloteknik streetmachine. i don't know what brand motors are the good stuff these days. but i would want lots of power and long range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glp2012 Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Riding a bike, where I live in California, could get you killed. Vehicle drivers are on their cell phones way too much. They have a ll sorts of bike lanes/paths/trails, but I don't trust the car drivers...buy one and have fun for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 when i lived in toronto, alot of people commute by bicycle. when the electric bikes got to the point of afford-ability that anyone could have one, they became a nuisance. those same people were a nuisance before, but they had to pedal, in order to ignore traffic laws and basic common sense. i wouldn't mind having a recumbent with an electric motor on it. something like an hp veloteknik streetmachine. i don't know what brand motors are the good stuff these days. but i would want lots of power and long range. I understand how much of a nuisance they could be in a city environment. The ones I've been looking at need to be pedalled, it's just the motor gives it an extra boost up to 15.5 MPH (that's the max speed they can assist you to here in the U.K, after that it's classed as a motor bike). I also find riding on the country roads where I live a bit scary, I stick to off road cycle paths. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Friends of ours had them and my impression was that they were very heavy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I understand how much of a nuisance they could be in a city environment. The ones I've been looking at need to be pedalled, it's just the motor gives it an extra boost up to 15.5 MPH (that's the max speed they can assist you to here in the U.K, after that it's classed as a motor bike). I also find riding on the country roads where I live a bit scary, I stick to off road cycle paths. Ian the ones i mean, they look sorta like a moped or scooter, but are electric. i don't know what speed they can do. but like i said, it's not the bike's fault. the people i spoke of were fun-dummies before electric power. hahahaha. you know, 15.5 mph is agonizingly slow. usain bolt is nearly twice that fast. hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I tried an earlier edition sometime ago (3 years?) in France and it was a hoot! As soon as I started to pedal the thing the motor kicked-in and, initially, it was unnerving to feel the resulting acceleration... I can definitely see the attraction for certain applications; using one instead of taking a car for the Saturday Supermarket trip and suchlike. ...15.5 mph is agonizingly slow. Usain Bolt is nearly twice that fast... The downside is that he can only sustain his very impressive pace for around ten seconds and cover 100m in the process whereas an electric bike can maintain a speed roughly half that of Mr. Bolt but can travel roughly 8,500 times the distance on a single charge... FWIW the speed limit on the vast majority of roads in my immediate vicinity is 20mph so using an electric bike - for local use - would make an awful lot of sense with no discernible real-time loss of speed. In fact it would almost certainly be quicker considering the traffic-volume situation hereabouts. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Pretty exhausting to backpedal I expect Never tried one. Maybe I should... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted September 15, 2017 Author Share Posted September 15, 2017 I bought a couple today and we went for a short ride about 14 miles, they are hilarious to ride. It's not about the top speed, it's the acceleration. To put it in perspective, in May I went to Italy and hired an expensive red Italian sports car (it was on my bucket list) but I'm having as much fun on this bike as I did driving the car. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 FWIW the speed limit on the vast majority of roads in my immediate vicinity is 20mph so using an electric bike - for local use - would make an awful lot of sense with no discernible real-time loss of speed. In fact it would almost certainly be quicker considering the traffic-volume situation hereabouts. Pip. Unfortunately, in America you'd be run over by a 1 ton pickup going 50 MPH. I have a friend who bikes to work regularly and he has been lucky in many instances to survive the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 Get out of my way! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rgf51eoNTaQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 Get out of my way! i bet those things are hillarious when you lock up the brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 1505672449[/url]' post='1881934']i bet those things are hillarious when you lock up the brakes Brakes are for loosers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 Is this the future of personal transportation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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