OK so nice for reliably sunny areas but eastern US & much of Europe can be cloudy or rainy even in mid-summer so solar charging might take some time. Perhaps one could mount the solar panels atop a bike trailer & charge while riding.

Pretty kewl. Never tried riding a unicycle; would have assumed that longer distances would be a bit fatiguing ie the extra energy to maintain balance. Many years ago the 60 Minutes tv news-magazine show featured a private school where all the students rode unicycles between classes. I guess the idea was to challenge students. They were great riders & could easily maneuver in crowded hallways. Unicycles or skateboards might be a handy tool for commuters...walk off the bus/train & ride the rest of the way on uni/skateboard.

E-bikes are quiet compared to a noisey motorcycle or scooter. They are heavier, and an e-bike that powers for 90 miles will have a huge battery. The hill topper geared hubs allow for coasting, and so are compatible with peddling. We have a tandem, and I am experimenting with a e-hub powered trailer to push the cargo and more...

A few years back a woman did a blog on CrazyGuy about biking across the USA with her husband, who was riding an e-bike (he had a heart condition or something, if I recall). Don't have the link at hand...

This is the same crazy thinking I hear from a lot of people. "I don't NEED an ebike yet...." Need? I don't need an ebike either. I didn't Need to put over 2500 miles on my last year. When loggers were cutting down giant redwoods in the 1800s they didn't Need power saws. It's just stagnant outdated thinking in a world of change. Penile implants are something that is Needed, or so I am told. The way I ride "need" starts to come into play.



http://imgur.com/a/RCeYa

When I can't pedal anymore I'm getting this:

http://eaa40.org/wp-content/uploads/...Microjet_1.jpg

Yeah, it has a jet-engine but it has wheels & pedals so it's still a bike RIGHT?

What type of bike you ride should not be a contest. People who make it into that have an ego problem.

Well now, It sure does seem to be a contest/a problem... :innocent: Having done a few tours (650 to 830KM)on an E-Bike and tried to post my impressions of them here... :deadhorse:

Well, last September my doctors said I wouldn't pedal any more due to permanent quad muscle and femoral nerve damage. The "physiatrist" suggested an "adaptive sports center", ie: hand operated trike. That seemed extreme, something for paraplegics. Primary care suggested an ebike. I followed up on that suggestion. I don't think it has the battery range to embark on camping tours but it has me back out riding locally at a normal pace again.

No, despite all the hate talk in the old linked thread it is not a lazy cheating thing. My torque sensor rewards more me the harder I work. I used to twiddle up the 2 mile hill to my house in the granny gear at 5-7mph without even breathing hard. Now I blast up in the big chainring at 15-20mph... winded, exhausted and exhilarated at the top, passing teenagers on their racing bikes.

Many of you 50-60 somethings will soon be a 70 something. Despite all your past and current accomplishments, that ability can change overnight and you could be next. Disability happens. Only 8 years ago I was riding the TransAm. That said, any 20 something that jumps on an ebike will have a smile on their face. :D

Exactly... Most people on here seem to relate assistance with cheating... and, yes it certainly "can" be "cheating"... Unless you state up front that you are riding an assisted bicycle, and really, what is wrong with that...? Sitting, at home and doing nothing, or, being out there riding a bike, as long as you are pedaling... Well, It works for me, a HUGE step forwards, IMO. :thumb:

Yea, I think we did this in my thread too, here in the touring sub-forum...E-bikes with a throttle, E-assisted bikes that you Have to pedal to get anywhere, or a Motorized bike is NOT the same animal... I am scratching my brain how to explain the difference... Walking unassisted, or walking with crutches, or a motorized wheelchair.. ? Or doing nothing and sitting in front of the TV all day because that is all you can do, if you choose not to utilize the other options, when you get to that stage... Your view and a few others here, seems to be, that nobody should ride with assistance. :deadhorse:

:bang: I seem to be majorly failing, :cry: at both ends of the spectrum. Here, and even in the E-Bike sub forum... :bang:

:trainwreck:

Do whatever you want. Did I say you should sit in front of the TV. NO I DID NOT! Start a forum for your group. Discuss motors, battery, charging systems. You are in the bicycle touring forum --> wrong place for that.

Yes, bicycle touring, when does bicycle touring change to motor bicycle touring... ? THAT' is a great question. :thumb:

This has wheels and pedals (gas and brake). Not as fast, but much more comfortable for sleeping than a jet, IMHO.

http://www.chilhoweerv.com/images/wi...-tennessee.jpg

Snore... This was all discussed in last years thread and the mods were pretty clear that, as long as it pertained to touring, e bikes could be discussed here.
Same old golden cow preservers making the same old complaints...

But how about a new forum for people who used to tour but don't any more yet still want to tell others that they don't belong somewhere?

It could be right next to the forum for people who have never toured but like to tell others they are doing it wrong...

Not to be pro or anti-ebike but a sorta funny story: I know the owner of the local (thriving) e-bike store, he once mentioned getting a medical-exemption certificate allowing him to use an e-bike on Nat'l Park Service bike paths (some of local paths under NPS jurisdiction). On the Mt Vernon path I saw him stopped with a mechanical issue & calling for a ride. So if an expert can run into problems...? A lot of e-bikes sold in the USA seem to come from rather obscure manufacturers, I'd worry about reliability esp since it could be tough to pedal uphill without the e-assist.

Some folks will say it's not bicycle touring unless self propelled. Some will say whatever you want to do. Get out and do something. It's better than sitting around waiting for someone to wipe the drool off your chin. E-bike touring will never get everyone's blessing. So give that up and move on to watts, hub mount vs mid mount motors, batteries and the rest of it.
E-bike touring has some obvious limits. Stay within the limits and you should be fine.
Drop bar-- I get the impression a lot of the e-bike stuff comes from a few manufacturers. (Correct me)

While I tour on a regular or mt bike, depending on the type of tour, I recently purchased a haibike touring bike for my wife. She has been riding for years for the hills and age have been getting to her a bit. She has about 300 miles on bike. We are doing a short weekend tour this week.

She gets about 45 to 50 miles using the 1st or 2nd assist level, which allows her to average 16 to 18 mph, but at about 115 she is pretty light. She also rides it on the flats without any assist. Can't speak for other ebikes, but her haibike can easily be pedaled without the motor one.

The problem is the bike weights about 50 lbs. Not too big of an issue on the flats, but pushing an additional 30 lbs or so makes a difference.

All in all, I'm very impressed with her haibike. I think as the batteries improve, motor/battery weights drop and most importantly, prices drop on quality ebikes, they will become much more prevalent in general and for touring.

AFAIK the motors & batteries do come just a few manufacturers. But in Europe it seems like some big bike companies are very serious about the e-bike market while in US not so much. A friend has an Indian-made A2B Galvani which is supposedly made with "German technology" & marketed as a touring/city bike. Quality seems pretty good w/hydro discs etc but range is not great, rear ride is punishing etc. Broken spoke took a month to repair since it was a special order item.

I'm not surprised.

An ebike designed specifically for touring will not have hub motors, at least not for long, unless the tour is only in Holland where a street curb is considered a hill. It is obvious that ebikes have taken off in Europe much faster than the U.S. but that is simply because conventional bikes are used far more to start with. However, ebikes don't have to be complicated. An aftermarket center drive can be applied to almost any bike now using a BaFang. Build any bike and equipment combination and add a 750w center drive. 750w (1 hp.) motors only seem large because some idiot thought that a 250w motor would limit excessive speed around pedestrians. Where manufacturers in Europe have erred is in making a separate line of bikes that mount small under powered motors inside the frame. Why is this happening so much with their designs? Because they are all using someone else's poorly designed motors and building their bikes around them. A 500w motor isn't enough power for touring when riders are carrying more and more equipment to remain on the road comfortably for extended periods, let alone 250w or 350w motors.

I guess it depends on what "assistance" means to you... :innocent: A motor with 250 watts worth of assistance is certainly NOT the same as motor with 750 watts of "assistance"... I would say, you would be "assisting" the motor, not the motor assisting you at 750 watts. ;) JMO

E-Bikes are the professional wrestling of cycling sports.

To tell the truth, I have never used full power, I also have never smoked Crack Cocain and for the same reason, I don't want to get hooked on it. 250w may be fine if you ride a stripped down cruiser on flat roads, I don't know. I Do know that even a 500w motor wouldn't take me where I go with the gear I carry. When I get to ride Generals Hwy (198) in central California to General Sherman Tree I want to be able to enjoy the whole ride and only stop when I want to, not because I just coughed up a lung.