Originally Posted by
350htrr
This is why the E-Assist bike exists, the best of both worlds IMO...
One too many hills, 5 miles too far, who cares, not me. I
my E-Assist bike.
EDIT; Or time & sweat, those may actually be the two things that really put the E-Assist over the top. Twice as fast getting to where you want to go with half the sweat but still a work out at whatever level you want...
I think there is something to this. My spouse loves to bike for recreational purposes on weekends, but he hates hills and can't stand the idea of arriving at work all sweaty. I'm seriously toying with the idea of an e-bike for him. I think he would love the boost to get up hills and the fact that he could get to work in a reasonable amount of time without working very hard at all.
Originally Posted by
gregf83
Twice as fast might be a bit of a stretch but I would be happy if I could shave 10-15 min off my 60-70 min commute. Most of the e-Bikes I've seen are not very efficient however, and would probably waste a lot of power due to a non-aero riding position plus added weight, higher rolling resistance etc. One of those Copenhagen wheels looks promising if they can ever make them work and have a way to by-pass the built-in speed limits. I'd be curious to try a road bike with an electric motor if it had normal drop bars.
I'm curious if you've had a chance to look at something like the bion-x system, which -- I think -- can be put on just about any bike. It does add a good bit of weight, but I doubt there's any way around that with a bike that needs a motor and battery pack.