This is one of the Trek electric assist bikes and I've been drooling over it. Haven't taken it for a test ride yet. $2600 is partially the reason. They tell me it gets up to 20 in no time and tackles hills like crazy.

While it may be fun to have, does it simply defeat the reason we do this to begin with? Still....I want it!

Anybody been on one?

I have seen the electric assist bikes at my local Trek dealer dont know if it was the Valencia or not

I haven't been on a Valencia+, but I did try out one of e-bikes from Giant on a lark once. It was okay, but nothing worth risking a divorce for.

On a related note, the last time I was in the LBS downtown, they had a left over Valencia- that might be worth sleeping on the recliner for a couple of weeks (if I had the ca$h).

Yes, it does defeat the reason.

SF

That's all you got? There's no circumstances where having electric assist would be beneficial? Let's say your commute is 15 miles longer with some killer climbs along the way. You still just gonna suck it up and ride?

If you're fat and lazy?

Disclaimer: I sell Trek Ride+ electric bikes.

As a bike mechanic who got into the biz partially because of the relatively elegant and simple nature of bicycle mechanics, I'm offended by ebikes, electronic shifting, and the like. I did not sign on to this job to deal with electrics and bikes with wiring harnesses are an abomination unto me.

However, using ebikes in practice totally rock. They will put a smile on your face as an invisible hand (not The Market...) pushes you by augmenting the power you put into the pedals. The Ride+ bikes are pedelec, meaning you have to pedal to get power out of them; no throttle, no free ride. There are four modes of boost, for every measure of energy input, the system will add in 20%, 50%, 100%, or 200% more. So at top boost, it's like there's three of you putting power to the pedals. On the Valencia, there are also four modes of regenerative power generation, but unless you life some place with long, steep downhills, in practice you'd never use it. The brake is also hooked up to the regenerative mode, so when you apply the rear brake, you get engine braking as well. I like little details like Hardcase flat protection tires and Slime tubes, B&M headlight. The Valencia also has the larger, 44 cell battery.

Downside is range -- at full boost, you're lucky to get 12 miles or so. Longer commute? You'll need to be judicious in your powered riding and use lower levels when appropriate. Also, you may find a need to either portage your charger or get a spare for your commute destination. Occasional firmware updates are necessary at the bike shop. There have been various issues like spoke breakage, mystery electronics like lights staying on when they're not supposed to, etc.

All that said, the Valencia+ is probably the most commuter ready out of the box, with fenders and disk brakes.

I rode the Transport+ around for a day as part of a promotional deal for the shop and had a hoot. When stopped on a steep hill while carrying a load, cranking boost up to full and starting in a high-torque gear made things much, much easier. Speed limit through town is 20mph, same as top speed, so it was excellent cruising at traffic speed without any real effort. That said, I could easily have done the same routine on the non-electric Transport we have in the shop, just with a bit greater effort.

Also, I come from a motorcycle background, so it was fun being on a two-wheeled thing with a motor. Wife and I were thinking of a Transport+ as a second car. Only change in her employment situation put the kibosh on that.

Summary: Ride+ bikes are fun but probably just unnecessary complication for most commutes.

I don't get the hostility towards pedelectrics. Amongst my bikes, I have a Trek FX+, which is similar to the Valencia. I love riding that bike. You can see the stereotypes promoted even in this thread. Anyone who rides a bike like that is apparently 'Fat & Lazy' as it 'defeats the purpose for which we ride', as if bike commuters are one large block with devotion to a higher cause that rejects any kind of assistance.

There are a ton of reasons to use a pedelectric bike. Here are the ones I can think of off the top of my head
1. Someone getting into bike commuting who isn't sure they can do it & like the reassurance
2. Someone with a ride that is slightly outside of their capabilities
3. Someone with lots of hills on a ride
4. someone with time/family commitments that might otherwise prohibit cycling
5. Someone who is looking to expand their bike use. (I find that I use mine for a ton of trips where I used to take the car)
6. Someone out of shape, looking to get into riding (some would call those fat & lazy)
7. An older person who may not have the stamina they once had
8. casual bike commuters
9. People who want to commute but not sweat profusely
10. People who want to use the bike during the workday to travel, but can't afford the time it might take on a regular bike.

I'm sure there are lots of other reasons, but these are just the ones that come to mind. The FX+ is the most enjoyable bike that I ride. I still like my other bikes & ride them a lot, but sometimes having the electric assist on the huge hill on the way in to work is a real benefit. Also, if I'm running late, I can grab the FX+ & still make it to work on time by activating the assist. There are always going to be internet heroes that dictate that people who do x or y aren't real cyclists (or fill in the blank with whatever activity). I used to see the same thing on the runner's world forums. People would somehow claim the moral high ground agains those who run with ipods, or those who don't embrace barefoot running.

The bottom line for me is that my FX+ allows me to use my bike to replace trips that I used to take the car for & I think that's a great thing, regardless of what anyone else thinks. If you're at all interested in the concept, you really should give it a try.

PS- I know that CC was joking. I see the smiley face, and I'm not calling him/her out specifically. But every time this gets brought up, someone makes the fat/lazy comment.

^^^^
With that heavy bike, what are hills like without any assist? That's what concerns me too. Is it enjoyable to ride without assist.

You pretty much always need to ride it in assist level 1, which gives (I think) a 25% boost. this kind of equals out the additional weight of the electircal assist, etc (The bike weights close to 50 pounds). As long as you have it in level one, it's pretty much like riding a regular bike, hill wise. Trying to ride it on assist level 0 is not fun at all with any hills.

Thanks for noticing. Yes, I was joking and threw it out there just to get it off the table.

That said, I'm not an ebike proponent. Simply because of how I've frequently seen them used. In my neck of the woods I see them frequently used as a poor mans motorcycle. Couple that with Performance blowing them out for under a grand and there are a bunch out there.

My outlook is this... By the time you've ridden a regular bike enough to be able to sustain 20mph you have enough experience under your belt to at least have an inkling of what you're doing. ebikes do eliminate that experience factor and bring higher speed stupidity to the masses. They can start by banning them to public streets and make them comply to the "No motorized vehicles" on the DC area trails for starters.

i don't begrudge the choices others make for themselves, but strictly between me, myself, and I, an e-bike would feel like cheating to me.

it's also fairly easy for me to hold that opinion living in pancake flat chicago.

As much as I've considered one for myself, I've thought about one for the wife. She's an occasional, recreational rider and this might give her a chance to go with me on more rides.

It wouldn't be the Valencia though.

Googling for review brings up a lot of people saying they are having problems losing/breaking spokes in the rear wheel. I don't know if this is a current problem, or it's just the few people that have problems that have posted reviews but warranty work could be something to consider if you were to get that bike.

I think a Surly Long Haul Trucker with electric assist would be pretty sweet for grocery runs with the kids on the bike or pulled behind a trailer.

As I stated earlier, I tried out one of the Giant offerings on a lark- the LBS asked me to do it. Who am I to deny a request to take a bike for a spin?

I have considered e-bikes before, primarily due to the distance I have to cover. 52 miles r/t using the most direct route and traveling by car.

The reasons why I didn't invest in one:
-Initial cost is rather steep.
-The system didn't have the range. IIRC, they claimed a range of 75 miles on 'eco', but that's for a rider who is like 160 lbs. riding on flat ground. Me and my gear easily topped 250 at the time and there are hills around, so I would have had to finish the trip in both directions w/o any assist.
-A lot of times, I don't even work enough hours for the thing to have recharged fully.
-Would have had to buy another charger to keep at work.
-Ebikes are not allowed on the local transit buses.

Another reason is when I last considered them, to have any range whatsoever, the batteries were mounted to the sides of the rack. That greatly reduced the utility factor.

I don't begrudge those who use them.

If I was going to go for two wheeled power, I'd just buy a motorcycle. For $2,600 I could pick up a decent bike that would be much more functional IMHO.

My issue with E-bikes and, even more so, whizzer-style, gas-powered bicycles is that people tend to ride them the same way a lot of people ride bikes. On sidewalks, against traffic and oblivious to other's right-of-way. Doing these things at 20 MPH or more raises the danger-factor exponentially.

Another concern, the LBS guy said he wouldn't ride it in the winter....the motor's too pricey to abuse like that. Makes me wonder about rain too.

I own an FX+ (just like MK313) and use it to commute exclusively since mid-June when I purchased it. I've logged over 1100 miles, a feat I never saw myself accomplishing. I purchased some rear panniers (Ortlieb Bikepacker Plus) and a phenomenal light kit (DesignShine DS-500 tail light & DS-1300 headlight) that allows me to commute in the dark wee hours of the Chicagoland morning (~5 am). I'm sure there are people that will ridicule or scoff at the fact of electronic assist (matter of fact, I work with a few of them and they have the "Body by Brunswick" i.e. bowling pin physique but yet are ready to chide me for my new-found hobby) . . . my advice is to ignore them. I've lost 30 lbs and have increased my stamina. I don't use the assist as much as I did in the beginning but I still use it for crossing busy intersections, hammering up a steep hill or when I'm exhausted and I have to return home in a headwind. It also allows me to commute in a timely fashion to work - only adding about another 15-20 minutes to my normal commute.

My advise is to give it a try. You will definitely feel like a kid the first time you kick in the assist; I guarantee a big smile will appear across your face!

Would I have accomplished 1000 miles or continued commuting solely by bicycle when it was cold, wet, etc. - hard to say. Its been a paradigm shift and I'm not looking back! I'm contemplating the idea of commuting year-round so now I'm looking to purchase studded tires. As far as weather concerns, I've been reassured by Trek that Bionx is well-designed and sealed from the elements - there is no problem riding in the rain/snow.

Spoke breakage was definitely an issue early on. It hit some of the early production runs of Trek Electric bikes. The problem was that they used spokes that were not thick enough. The problem has been rectified & should no longer be an issue. I had one of the bikes with bad spokes & it took a while to get it corrected. However, my bike has been trouble free since February.

To each his own, but a motorcycle is nothing like a pedelectric bike. You get almost zero exercise on a motorcycle, while you can still work up a good sweat on an e-bike. If I were looking for two wheeled power, I would probably get a motorcycle as well. If I were looking for a bike that I can use for those times when my normal bike won't work, I'd get an electric bike.