Electric bike + external permanent bikestand questions

mrcheez

So I'm considering taking a job that would be a considerably longer distance than I would be prepared to cycle, but still want to use a bike vs taking car/public transport so an electric bike seems to be a nice compromise.
(I also have a question regarding putting a permanent bikestand at the front of the house later)

Knowing very little about eBikes I thought I'd start taking some advice here before searching d'net.

1) Apart from fresh air and skipping traffic queues I obviously enjoy the exercise benefits of cycling, will I still get these benefits on an eBike?

2) Recommend any particular model? I'm 85kg / 6'2" if that's a factor. Speed would be a priority, so perhaps it needs to be light?

3) Battery life: I take it they rely on a daily charge, does it run up expensive bills? How long does it take to charge? What sort of mileage do you get per charge?

4) Are there expensive ongoing costs like servicing etc, that you may not have with a normal bike?

5) Where is best place to get them in Dublin? I've seen them in 360 Cycles, but can look anywhere.


Lastly, I would be looking to leave the bike at the front of my terraced house as it would be heavy to bring through, so where's the best place to pick up a permanent bikestand to put in concrete? Can I get a quick-lock mechanism like the Dublin Bike stands?

mrcheez

Or which is best forum to post this in?

Beasty

There are a few threads on e-bikes, but only perhaps a couple of posters who seem to know (or even to want to know) much about them. Posters typically ride "traditional" bikes. This is the only forum on the site that you are likely to get much of a response at all (maybe to a search in Commuting and Transport also), although you do need to be a little patient

mrcheez

Aye understandable, I normally scoff at eBikes but this job just ain't cycleable every day.

What about the external bike stand? Where can I pick up a discreet but secure one?

Beasty

Couple of general points

Fitness-wise "real" bikes are clearly much better!. How far will your commute be?

E-bikes allow you to pedal, and as I understand it the "electric" bit is supposed to be speed capped/cut-out (25 km/h IIRC). You have to pedal to maintain any higher speed. Anyone who is seriously into cycling is unlikely to see much benefit, although they tend to be a bit more attractive to people who maybe are getting a little older and need help particularly on the hills

Really don't know about stands that you put into concrete yourself. However all you need is something that will hold it up and can secure it to with a decent lock

HivemindXX

I tested an e-bike at a thing my company put on. On that particular model you had a throttle that you pressed to engage the motor. This meant that you could cycle it as a regular bike if you wished meaning that you can get as much exercise as you want. When using the motor you could still pedal hard to add work but that seemed difficult to manage (certainly in the small area we were using). In general I just span the pedals gently when the motor was on meaning almost no exercise.

http://www.greenaer.ie/ just off Pearse Street in Dublin specialises in e-bikes. I'm just offering information since I've no experience of that with them. I did get them to fix my traditional bike since I was working nearby and they did a fine job.

I imagine an e-bike is likely to have a built in kick stand so perhaps you can get an anchor like motorcyclists use similar to one of the ones below:-
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/anchor-locks/

You probably will want some sort of cover as well and to be honest I would be pretty wary of leaving any bike outside the front of my house all night no matter how well it was locked. I would certainly invest in one of those alarmed locks in addition to a really good standard lock so that you might be woken up if someone tried to steal it. If I was you I'd be bringing it through the house anyway, it can't be that heavy.

Bigus

Expert web site http://www.pedelecs.co.uk

mrcheez

HivemindXX wrote: »

I imagine an e-bike is likely to have a built in kick stand so perhaps you can get an anchor like motorcyclists use similar to one of the ones below:-
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/anchor-locks/

You probably will want some sort of cover as well.

Handy, ground anchor that. Nice and discreet.

Will consider the cover too.. I'm in a safe enough cul-de-sac though, neighbourhood watch everywhere, plus have CCTV so I could take the risk.

I guess a Sheffield-type stand would be more secure though.

tomasrojo

Someone in my neighbourhood has a Sheffield stand outside his house, so you can definitely do that. Not sure who sells them, but I get the impression some of them work by drilling holes into concrete and screwing into expander bolts through a plate at the bottom of the stand. For those all you'd need is hammer-action drill and the right-sized masonry drill bit.

A ground anchor is a possibility if you have a stand on the bike, as HivemindXX said; also secured by expander bolts into holes drilled in concrete. That's what I put in the concrete floor of my shed. You might get people pushing it over for a laugh though.

I used the Oxford two-bolt anchor, which is pretty good for my situation, but for yours one of the better ones HivemindXX linked to would be better.

mrcheez

tomasrojo wrote: »

You might get people pushing it over for a laugh though.

They wouldn't be laughing for very long I can tell you