A new problem is e-bikers with attitude. They can near as dammit keep up with traffic doing the speed limit, but not.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Electric Bicycles
- Thread starter kentiki
- Start date
Most people drive 35 in a 25 and 45 In a 35.
Most normally fast e bikes govern out at 28 mph.
That puts the ebike right at the speed limit In A 25 mph
My bike is right around 35 mph at top .
they definitely dont make you lazy if anything they make you go farther
Last edited:
Back in my hometown there were some electric scooters (think a dorky Vespa but electric) that proliferated because they'd skirt laws requiring insurance, and I believe licenses and plates for a time while being able (or at least not being stopped) from using the roads. You can imagine certain people would jump right on those - namely those too cheap for a car or maybe who had a license revoked. You can imagine the kind of crap that would ensue. I'm not sure if the situation is still like that, but even before leaving town for a career I don't recall having heard or seen one for a while.
I was talking about E-bikes the other day to a former pro road racer at a bike shop. He said that 70% of all new bikes sold in Europe are E-bikes. I can neither confirm or deny it
So Anyway, I bought a Rad City ebike about 3 years ago for $1500 and have put 2500 miles on it.
I live in a county that converted old railroad tracks into paved bike/walking paths. I can ride without having to worry about street traffic.
Prior to the ebike, I owned a couple of regular bikes...And hardly ever used them.
I live in a county that converted old railroad tracks into paved bike/walking paths. I can ride without having to worry about street traffic.
Prior to the ebike, I owned a couple of regular bikes...And hardly ever used them.
At my age, I can see an e-bike for assist on steeper neighborhood road inclines and maybe for a quick respite here and there. But I would not buy one to keep the "e" engaged all the time because I have a motorcycle endorsement on my license and been there/done that.
E. Bikes for the most part assist, sure you can ride around without pedaling but you wont go far
My piano player resembles that. She lives on a hill and reckons it's the best thing since sliced bread.
Go talk to Crazy Lenny. In addition to new bikes, he's got a lot of trade-ins and other deals. Two of my friends have gotten mint condition bikes that were "used" for whatever reason. Granted, he's making money, but he really seems interested in getting people on bikes.
The endless rolling hills around Madison do get old after a while. I've told people, we have hills that are long, and hills that are steep, but never both. The entire region is contained within about 300 feet vertical range, but just keeps going up and down within that range.
One of my friends has put 1000's of miles on his e-bike. He can pass me going uphill with his motor turned completely off. Now that is unfair.
So I asked him, why do you need the motor, and it's just because he enjoys it more and it motivates him to get out.
Shared computer? The gnomes of google know whose buttons to press with which advert.
If you're middle aged, not in tip top shape, and live atop one of San Francisco's hills, and want to start riding around town a bit, then there is a great need for an e-bike.
I just got my old (2006) mountain bike outfitted with a Bafang mid-drive kit. It allows me to get out, be a little less sedantary, get some fresh air and sunshine, explore the city, visit parks, etc. and make it home at the end of the day. I'm loving it! My experience is that the electric motor with pedal assist makes it so that the hills feel more like flats. I know it's not going to be for everyone and that there will be purists who will look down on it, but for me it opens up access to exercise that I wouldn't otherwise access.
Good you ride again.
Same here, not tip-top shape and big slopes. When I can't pedal anymore I just get off the bicycle and start walking which is still good exercise. Same when I meet stairs, I grab the bicycle and go up.
Wife and I just got a pair of vivi ebikes off amazon. I live a little over a mile from downtown, but you can't get there and back without going up steep hills. We wanted to be able to have a meal, maybe a beer or 3 and come home without worrying about DUI or having to pedal uphill on a full stomach on a hot, humid day. The uphill both ways joke? It's reality getting to and from my house.
I bmx'd when I was growing up, lots of wooded area with trails in and around the neighborhood, which I live in today. The wooded areas and trails are mostly gone now. In the 90s I got a mountain bike as the craze was beginning. I hit the trails I rode as a kid and it wasn't long before I went over the handle bars. It was more painful than I remembered. Lost my enthusiasm for biking. Never wanted to mix it up with cars.
This thing is pretty great. It helps getting started, especially if you find yourself in the wrong gear (which I almost always seem to be). We're downtown in no time. We did get stuck at a brewery by a thunderstorm the first time. Boohoo, we had to drink another beer and wait it out.
I just got back from farmer's market downtown on it. It may not be as good for the environment or my body as a real bike but it's better than cranking up the yukon. My primary motivation for ebiking is beer.
Hill sample:
Bikes:
I bmx'd when I was growing up, lots of wooded area with trails in and around the neighborhood, which I live in today. The wooded areas and trails are mostly gone now. In the 90s I got a mountain bike as the craze was beginning. I hit the trails I rode as a kid and it wasn't long before I went over the handle bars. It was more painful than I remembered. Lost my enthusiasm for biking. Never wanted to mix it up with cars.
This thing is pretty great. It helps getting started, especially if you find yourself in the wrong gear (which I almost always seem to be). We're downtown in no time. We did get stuck at a brewery by a thunderstorm the first time. Boohoo, we had to drink another beer and wait it out.
I just got back from farmer's market downtown on it. It may not be as good for the environment or my body as a real bike but it's better than cranking up the yukon. My primary motivation for ebiking is beer.
Hill sample:
Bikes:
Depends on why you ride a bike. If it's a primary form of your transportation, then it makes more sense. If it's something you do for exercise, then I see no point in going electric.
About the hills - when I moved from very hilly Eastern Washington to Central Texas some years ago, I took my 10-speed bike along. I took it to a bike shop for a tune-up and the gent there took one look at the rear sprocket and said "You're not from around here, are you?"
I looked at some of the other bikes in the shop, and realized their rear sprockets were about half the diameter of the one on my bike! The year before, I had ridden in the "I made the grade" run from Lewiston, Idaho (where the Clearwater river runs into the Snake river) up 2500 feet in seven miles to the plateau above. That hilly gearing helped.
Gearing for hills is important, but it's not as critical on flat land....
About the hills - when I moved from very hilly Eastern Washington to Central Texas some years ago, I took my 10-speed bike along. I took it to a bike shop for a tune-up and the gent there took one look at the rear sprocket and said "You're not from around here, are you?"
I looked at some of the other bikes in the shop, and realized their rear sprockets were about half the diameter of the one on my bike! The year before, I had ridden in the "I made the grade" run from Lewiston, Idaho (where the Clearwater river runs into the Snake river) up 2500 feet in seven miles to the plateau above. That hilly gearing helped.
Gearing for hills is important, but it's not as critical on flat land....
Last edited:
