Originally Posted by cerewa
Electric assist bikes are not as versatile as we might want them to be, though. I think Todd's kits are more practical than most electric kits for long range and high speed commutes, but i'm not sure whether it's up to the task of a fast 60 mile round trip and you shouldn't expect top speeds much over 25 miles per hour, i think.
Well, I'm still fat and out of shape... err... Round is a shape...
I have a family, and being away for 15-17 hours for a 9 hour work day isn't going to fly. My wife respects that I'm utility cycling as much as I can because:
1) I love it
2) I want to get healthier
3) It's saving us money
Spending 6-8 hours on the road a day would be a show stopper. There's a bunch of hills no matter what route I take, and even once I start getting in shape, I doubt I could carry much more than maybe a 10 MPH average for the entire trip. 30 miles each way means 6 hours on the road. Maybe in another 2 years I'll have lungs, heart, and legs of steel and can hammer through it in 3-4 hours.
If Stokemonkey shaves that down to an hour and a half each direction in the short term, it wouldn't really be much slower than taking the bus, once you consider all the streets it hits and stops it makes that are superfluous to my commute. I wasn't expecting much more than the ability to hold a 20 MPH average with assist. I certainly didn't think anything would make my bike capable of keeping up with suburban 45 MPH traffic.
I already own two great compact cars that get good gas mileage, but they're getting more and more jealous these days. For the last 2 months, I've been using them only when something at work requires me to be there outside the bus schedule (once per week).
I did all my christmas shopping on my bike and I always use it for trips to the grocery store.
I just keep thinking, I could avoid the hassle and expense of the bus, then I wouldn't need to rely on its schedule. I wouldn't need the car. I could save $650+ per year in bus fare, and tell my consulting company to cancel my $50/mo parking space at work... And voila. It wouldn't take long to get a good return.
Anyhow, sounds like a mixed bag of opinions so far. I kind of expected some hostility.
For what it's worth, the electric ones aren't THAT noisy and most of the pollution is from the electricity generated to charge it. I rarely use the local MUP as it is. I certainly wouldn't be operating under power where it's not legal. Likely, I would use a lighter and more practical bike for recreational use on a trail anyways, and I always keep my brakes in top shape.