Double0757

I'm in a love relationship with my Light speed gravel grinder(tubeless, di2, hyd disc) that I don't want to end. Recently I stoped at my LBS and saw a Giant road electric bike with Yamaha mid drive motor. Looked like a fast road bike with drop handles (like I like them), disc brakes, eyes for rack and fenders..... took it for a spin at the parking lot and OMG! What a feeling, haven't stop thinking about it for a while now.

First impressions was that with no assist, the bike was agile and quick with front derailleur for two different size fly wheels (never seen that on a mid drive). On eco felt like my Giant 17lb carbon fiber, on normal it felt like my carbon fiber with 20mph tail wind and on sport (only three assist mode) felt like I was going down a hill and reach 28mph and held it with no problem for as long as the parking was. What was different from others mid drive I tested is that it felt like you where pedaling and no motor was assisting you. Yamaha did a great job on the torque sensors and the programming, in my opinion. And it also has a true 22 speed to use with no assist. And at $4000 it's a hit , compare to others.

My question for those who have electric bikes is, Would getting an electric bike relegate your other bikes to hanging from the ceiling or do you have the discipline and desire to ride them?

I'm afraid of falling out of love with my Lite Speed. Also of getting lazy and using the electric for my normal distanced on the other bikes.

Thanks in advanced!

Double O

noglider 

I'm afraid of those things happening. That's why I've never driven a motorcycle.

That Giant sounds even amazinger than the Trek and Specialized e-bikes I saw.

Double0757

I know Tom! I've been going to this LBS for more than 15 years and I see more and more selections of electric bikes. I see the usefulness of them, for people that no longer have the speed, but want to go further, or strong riders that want to expand their circle (distant) of bike ridding, etc...

I don't know!

dabac

Spring, summer, autumn, My average speed on my commute is very close to the cutoff speed of many ebikes.
Means I get some help in climbs and takeoffs but I "cruise" unassisted.
Winters, in fresh snow, the assist does have to work harder. It compensates for higher rolling resistance.
Means my travel time stays the same. And its not quite as tiring.

Quite nice.

If out for a training ride, my average is higher, and the amount of assist is too little to make it worthwhile. If I'm out with friends, I can't see the point of being artificially fastest on any climb.

zze86

I switch back and forth but do tend to ride the eBike more for commuting. I live on the edge of two watersheds and so have to get up a hill in any direction I go. On the return trip of my 10+ mile one way commute I have a tedious 3-mile, multi-grade hill that I would not want to face everyday without the assistance of the eBike.

As you noticed, the speed of the eBike is addictive and I find myself constantly trying to maintain that speed but you have a couple of things working against you so that you're working pretty hard to maintain that speed.

1) eBikes are generally 20-30 pounds heavier than a decent bike. This can really limit your top speed. I have a higher top speed on my road bike as compared to the eBike but can maintain the higher speeds for longer periods with the eBike so that I cut off about 10-20 min on my commute depending on if I'm coming or going.

2) Wind resistance increases with speed same as on a regular bike.

3) Most eBikes cut off the assist somewhere around 20-25mph. At that speed you're generally in a lower (or is it higher? I always get it confused) gear so you're pumping fairly hard just to beat the wind resistance and weight.

Having said all that, it is nice to switch things up and ride different bikes. I actually find myself enjoying the more leisurely ride of the other bikes more. Regardless of which bike I ride, I tend to put in the same amount of effort so I don't really consider it as getting lazy.

CrankyOne

I'm a huge fan of e-bikes but won't get one until I need it. The health benefits and exercise, even if just riding 2 miles to lunch and back, is too important and enjoyable. Also no need to complicate my life or transportation any more than necessary. When I get to the point where I can't ride or begin choosing not to ride because of declining muscle or cardio or to avoid sweating then I'll be quick to go electric. I'm guessing our bakfiets will be first and then hopefully years later our daily riders.

Cyclist01012

Its nothing more then an electric moped who cares

Joe Minton

My normal bike is/was a re-purposed full suspension MTB. I rode it every day and averaged about 10 miles.

However:
I now ride my new Raleigh Misceo IE most of the time. I live in a hilly area and near the bottom of said hills; every direction is up ;o) I seldom use our one car. It is hard to say if this new (one month ago) electric bike will become my 'normal' bike or not, but I kinda doubt it. Time will tell ---.

We have a six+ mile circuit we ride that includes a total of 1300 feet of climbing. Nancy and I would think a bit before taking that ride before we got the Raleighs (yep, after riding mine, she had to have one too). Now we consider it a normal ride; the assist given by the Shimano STEPS system, especially on the hills, made the difference.

I have thus far found that I still get a sweaty workout, but ride farther and half-again as fast. It is simply more fun. We now go places we seldom visited before, such as riding the eight miles over to her aging mother's house on our bikes instead of taking the car.

The only downside, for me at least, is the lack of suspension. My MTB is much, much more comfortable in that regard and if I had the money I would buy something like the Trek "Powerfly 8 FS Plus" and put Schwalbe "Big Apples" on it.

I have one friend who is an able and fit mountain biker. Steve bought an electric mountain bike and then one for his wife. They ride them constantly and are taking rides together they never ventured before because she couldn't keep up. He even bought a spare set of batteries to extend their range; they are having a ball.

Electric-assist bikes are more than a small subset of cycling; they are a new and soon-to-be very large part of biking, like disc brakes and suspension have been.

Joe

PS: I am 75 and she is 66 --- good health but not young "whipper snappers"

noglider 

My commute is nearly 14 miles each way. It takes so much effort that I don't bother doing it more than twice a week. Other days, I take the subway. If it took less effort, would I ride bike more and subway less? Impossible to say. I could still pedal the e-bike.

linberl

I actually had an e-bike for almost 2 years and then sold it to purchase a non-assisted bike. Riding the e-bike for exercise, without the motor assist, was a drag...literally. The additional weight and resistance was no fun. It was great when I used the assist.
I've been on my no-power bike for a few years now, and my ideal solution is something like a shareroller. A device which can be attached to add power on rides where I know I will want it, but can be removed to let me ride my bike at normal weight in normal status for exercise. I have not found the perfect device yet. The other option is at least two bikes, a lightweight fitness bike and the e bike. If you care at all about your fitness level from cycling, you won't choose the e bike except for things like commuting in work clothes, etc.

Dahon.Steve

I still dream about getting one of those hill toppers and putting them on one of my 3 speed bikes. However, I worry that my average speed will increase to the point where I'll become a danger. I've seen waaaay too many e-bike riders in New York City riding against traffic and taking too many chances at a much higher speed.

Also, I've seen a number of these 3-4 K ebikes and they weight a ton!! There is no way you're going to bring those up a two floor apartment building or more!! You need a garage to store one of those bikes they better have a secured parking spot at work. You'll need it!

350htrr

Wrong, now it certainly can be... But, if one gets an EU legal E-Assist bicycle 350 watts max without a throttle and must be pedalled to get any assist, no it's not a moped, It is nowhere near a moped...

FrenchFit 

I'll often come back with the battery close to full, so no. I'll tend to kick in the motor when jetting through an intersection or to maintain pace on the hill, otherwise...pedal power. My other bikes get much more action, but my e-bike gives me a good upper thigh and core work-out so a nice 25 r/t every few weeks is fun day.

alan s 

If you are riding an e-bike, please stop pretend pedaling and wipe that nervous grin off your face. Or is is a smirk? We all know what you are up to, and it's insulting to think "but no one knows" when in fact everyone knows. Just sit up and open the throttle.

350htrr

If you don't ride an E-Assist bike, please stop pretending that you know what you are talking about as to how much pedaling is actually needed to make the bike go...

Joe Minton

noglider:

I am finding that I get more exercise on the Raleigh than I did with my ‘normal’ bike. Two surprising reasons:

1) I ride more. We have a lot of hills around here and I don’t always want to climb the steepest of them. This has tended to leave me at or near home a good part of my riding time, which has gotten boring. The E-bike takes the edge off the hills and I find myself going places that I did not frequent before.

2) I ride harder. It is so much more fun going 17mph than 11 that I tend to pedal harder while keeping the assist level low (there are three selectable levels). It is simply more fun to push harder when the (assisted) result is 50% more velocity, more wind and farther down the road for the same effort and in the same time. I do not use or enjoy the highest assist level except on pretty steep hills.

3) Oh Yeah: Traffic is easier to deal with because I can accelerate more quickly from a stop. This has made an important difference for my sense of safety.

Joe -- who is turning 75 in four days

Caution: Don’t ride one of these things unless you’re prepared to be hooked ;o)

InTheRain

I converted my steel, drop bar, touring bike to an e-bike. The touring bike was my main commuter, and as an e-bike, it still is. I never installed the throttle, it would have made the cockpit too messy. I don't think I miss the throttle. The bike is heavy enough that even with the highest level of assist, it takes some effort to keep it at 15-20 mph on my slight uphill ride home from work. My commute is 7 miles each way. It's nice to be out on my bike, do some pedaling, but not have to worry about how much my panniers weigh. I'm prepared for nearly every mechanical situation and every type of weather that I can foresee in this area. The bike is for commuting... not fitness (this is the commuting forum, right?)

My carbon fiber road bike does sit idle most of the time November thru March. However, it is the bike I ride for fitness on club rides or on the weekends during our non rainy months (well, actually our not so wet months - Mar thru Oct.) If your commuting IS your fitness ride, then stick with a regular bike (however, you can get a much better workout on an ebike than a road bike - turn off the assist or ride it in regen mode where you are actually working against the motor.) I can't think of a better alternative for bicycle commuting than an ebike... unless fitness is really your goal (then again, if you really want to be hardcore about that, then a heavy ebike is the way to go... nut as much fun, but...)

KCBikeCommuter

@Joe Minton

I recently acquired a new Raleigh Misceo Sport IE, and love it. My round-trip commute is 42-miles with 2200-feet of climbing, and my legs were usually too tired to make the commute more than 2 or 3 times a week. Now I can bike commute most every day.

I use the e-bike just for commuting, and use my other (traditional) bikes for various riding activities on the weekends.

Classtime 

I tried to resist replying.
If you switch to riding an electric bicycle for workday commutes, the result will be a decrease in fitness for weekend/vacation rides leading to less fun on a real bike and increasing dependence on motorized "exercise". Every working class cyclist I know, who for one reason or another doesn't commute, is jealous of my commute for my weekday mileage. A hilly commute is an excuse to put a triple on your bike -- NOT A MOTOR.
Hey Zeus! Driverless cars and cyclistless bikes.
Isn't there a sub forum for other-than-bicycle modes of transportation and recreation?

Double0757

I know I'm going to love it! The cut out assist speed is 28mph and the bike with battery weights less than 30lb in my estimation. Have 22 gears and well gear to go more than 28mph. If I can bike more and still get my workout, then is a deal!

By the way, this bike has no throttle, it's strictly peddle assist.

I would not necessarily use it for commuting since I do fine on that (25 miles round trip 4 days a week), I would us it to expand my circle of bike transportation (12-14 miles one way).

350htrr

I have found that to be the exact opposite... People tend to ride more when they get an E-Assist bike, Now yes you also need to ride more to get the same amount of exercise but, as long as you get an E-assist bike that must be pedalled to go anywhere not an E-Bike with a throttle, I would actually bet, that you would at least end up burning the same amount of calories or even more, over the year riding the E-assist bike as compared to a regular bike... JMO

Loose Chain

Isn't a bicycle with a motor on it called a moped? Motor + Pedals = Moped

Do those things have regenerative braking or charge while under coast?

350htrr

Some E-bikes certainly can be used as mopeds... Most E-assist bikes are bicycles that Have to be pedalled to go anywhere but do have a motor for "assistance" but if you don't pedal there is no "assistance"...

Some do have re-generative capabilities some don't...

dabac

How do you know that to be a generally valid fact?

I rode an ebike for awhile. Still hit the same heart rate. Winters, it took about 10% off my ride time. No big deal on a 65-75 minute ride.
To me the ebike was a fitness boost.
Unassisted, I missed out on recovery.
Mondays, possibly Tuesdays I could do intervals, work on cadence etc.
But Wednesday-Friday was nothing more than a grind.
Very low quality training.

InTheRain

Maybe this entire thread should be in the fitness section. If you really are concerned about fitness, rather than commuting by bicycle, why would you ride a bicycle with gears? Don't gears just make it so much easier than commuting or getting fit with a fixie or single speed? If the commute is really about fitness, get rid of your geared road bike for your commute... ride a fixie made out of rebar.