electrically assisted bikes

Tigerbaby

Mods please feel free to move to other fora if necessary.

Folks, I am getting a bit long in the tooth and slower, as the years pile up and the grey hair completes its takeover. I have been cycling in Dublin for decades but am finding my commute distance a bit long and hilly.

Anyway, I was wondering would any of you have advice on getting an electrically assisted bicycle.

Any personal experiences or recommendations?

Where would I buy around Dublin, with the bike to work scheme in mind.


many thanks in advance.

Jabel

Greenaer.ie in Dublin (near Tara street station) are stockists of a range of electric bikes.
Olivier is the main man and is very knowledgeable and helpful. I was close to buying one last year
and tried out a BH Emotion Race electric bike which really was great fun on a spin up to Howth Hill.
They are quite expensive though and fairly heavy so rule no.1 - don't run out of juice!
Best of luck.

wrt40

Also looking into one of these. Can anyone tell me, with the 25km/h restriction, is there any point in getting one with a powerful motor? I know some of them can be derestricted, but sticking to the law, is a 300w/36v motor/battery combination a waste?

Like the look of the BH range, but they have a proprietary battery so you're stuck with only one source and if they go belly up you're **** out of luck with a overweight €2,500 bike.

Also not sure about the "normal" bike look. I'd prefer something that looks like an electric bike. A2B might look the part.

We're missing a category of "cruiser" bikes over here, seems to be more suited for powerful 48v/500w onwards category. You should take a look at some of these bikes in the states. Some serious kit out there without the restrictions:

Ford Supercruiser:
http://electricbikereview.com/ford/supercruiser/

OttoCycle (Spanish company, may be possible to ship to Ireland?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkm9A9AoFrs&feature=player_embedded

Cruisers:
http://www.electricbike.com/cruisers/

WillyFXP

wrt40 wrote: »

Also looking into one of these. Can anyone tell me, with the 25km/h restriction, is there any point in getting one with a powerful motor? I know some of them can be derestricted, but sticking to the law, is a 300w/36v motor/battery combination a waste?

Like the look of the BH range, but they have a proprietary battery so you're stuck with only one source and if they go belly up you're **** out of luck with a overweight €2,500 bike.

Also not sure about the "normal" bike look. I'd prefer something that looks like an electric bike. A2B might look the part.

We're missing a category of "cruiser" bikes over here, seems to be more suited for powerful 48v/500w onwards category. You should take a look at some of these bikes in the states. Some serious kit out there without the restrictions:

Ford Supercruiser:
http://electricbikereview.com/ford/supercruiser/

OttoCycle (Spanish company, may be possible to ship to Ireland?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkm9A9AoFrs&feature=player_embedded

Cruisers:
http://www.electricbike.com/cruisers/

If you want something more powerful with 2 wheels, get your A test done and buy a motorbike. There's a damn good reason the restriction is in place.

Lumen

WillyFXP wrote: »

If you want something more powerful with 2 wheels, get your A test done and buy a motorbike. There's a damn good reason the restriction is in place.

As I understand it the restriction is on maximum assisted speed, but it is normal for a fit person on a bicycle to apply 500-1000W (with their legs) when pulling away from standstill.

Therefore there is a decent argument that a more powerful (but still speed limited) motor is safer.

I don't know how much it matters in practice though.

WillyFXP

Lumen wrote: »

As I understand it the restriction is on maximum assisted speed, but it is normal for a fit person on a bicycle to apply 500-1000W (with their legs) when pulling away from standstill.

Therefore there is a decent argument that a more powerful (but still speed limited) motor is safer.

I don't know how much it matters in practice though.

I assumed he wanted more assisted speed, since he quoted the existing speed restriction.

wrt40

WillyFXP wrote: »

If you want something more powerful with 2 wheels, get your A test done and buy a motorbike. There's a damn good reason the restriction is in place.

Totally agree. just questioning is there any benefit to a more powerful bike considering the restrictions? You can buy 36v/300w setups in Dublin bike shops. I'm wondering is it a waste of money?

Sorry I might have confused my post by linking to those cruisers. That was just out of interest.

Tenzor07

If I had the €€€Cash I'd go for the Specialized Turbo-S

250 watt high-performance rear geared hub motor offering three levels of power assist (continuous output 500 watts with peak closer to 700w... Top speed of 45kph+

wrt40

Lumen wrote: »

As I understand it the restriction is on maximum assisted speed, but it is normal for a fit person on a bicycle to apply 500-1000W (with their legs) when pulling away from standstill.

Therefore there is a decent argument that a more powerful (but still speed limited) motor is safer.

I don't know how much it matters in practice though.

Makes sense. Gives you stronger legs basically, might be better for hills I suppose.