what are they

[cmsuter]

Sorry, probably a silly question. I ha e never heard of these before, but are ebikes bassically mini-mopeds?

[EbikeHawaii]

Sorry, probably a silly question. I ha e never heard of these before, but are ebikes bassically mini-mopeds? they are bicycles with electric motor systems.

[Robert C]

There are some that are mini mopeds, the mini-moped models are popular in China. However, those are not the models that are the focus of discussion. The electric assist bicycles are conventional bicycles (thus, much lighter than "mini-mopeds") that use the electric assist to assist the pedaling action of the rider, not to replace it.

This site has some pictures of electric assist bicycles (I know nothing about this vendor, I just hit it doing a search for some pictures of electric assist bicycles). http://www.bionicwheels.com/Electric_bikes.html

I owned a Moped back in the '80s, when mopeds were popular in the US (once they were required to be licensed and insured they offered no real advantage over a motorcycle other than being a much better way to, safely, begin developing motorcycle riding habits). The electric assist bikes are not mopeds.

[Zeuser]

Read the ONGOING EBIKE FAQ THREAD (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=297376) for more info.

[dwainedibbly]

See a photo of my home-made ebike at http://www.captmonkeyrocket.com. It's a Nashbar frame, mostly Shimano Deore LX components, and a Wilderness Energy ebike conversion kit. In the warm months I use it to commute to work, motoring in the morning so that I don't get sweaty, and pedaling in the afternoon for a workout. I have close to 2000 miles on it in about 16 months (but I didn't ride it at all last Oct through April).

http://www.ebikes.ca has a lot of good information. (I have an early version of his "DrainBrain Speedo".)