Does anyone have an electric bike?

fun loving criminal

What are they like? Is there much difference than a regular bike and an e-bike? How far can you go?

8valve

Lots of info on the net.

Here's the main points...

E-bikes (the legal ones) here in ireland are classed as ''pedal-assisted'' cycles i.e. the motor won't kick in unless you are pedalling; this prevents them from being classed as self-powered motor driven bikes (mo-peds) under current Irish law.

The above are also limited to 250w motor output and a max assisted speed of 25kmh i.e.the motor stops helping at speeds above 25kmh.

There is a trade-off between power used and range; run the bike at max power assistance, and it won't reach the range quoted online/in brochures; this is much the same as the old car ads that advertised ''XXmpg''....that figure is based on a car, with over inflated tyres, in a chamber without any wind resistance, with a dribble of fuel in the tank....and the skinniest test driver possible!

Spend at least €1500 to get something with decent range between charges (80+kms).

Buy from a bike shop that knows about what they are selling.....not a chain store.

Buy from a bike shop that can deal with any warranty issues; most reputable ones have, at this stage, at least one employee who has received specialized training in fixing e-bikes.

Dempo1

Have to say the Idea of an electric Bike is becoming more and more appealing with costs of running a car. I know not suitable for everyone but for me, I'm doing less than 2km a year, diesel car, live quite rural ,main shopping town 19km but roads good. Its downhill there, uphill back (live in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

@8valve makes excellent points, my own worry is servicing .I've done a little research and locally electric bikes up around the 2.5 / 3k Mark, on recommendations have looked at rad bikes (online) and they offer excellent value, I know opinions differ and of course you'll pay for Quality, Specs, Brand but have to say I'm 90% committed to taking the plunge in early 2022 😏 will just maybe have to talk nicely to neighbours when weather not so good 😁

Ubbquittious

Ya I have one. 800w but controller is gone so must try to fix. It was a kit from China I bought years ago, BLDC motor in rear hub. Have a 10ah lithium battery which I will put another one in parallel with after I fix it. Kit cost about 300 and the battery I have just under 200, though batteries might be cheaper now

Squidgy Black

Both my parents have one, and absolutely love them.

Personally think they’re fantastic, especially in terms of getting people who wouldn’t be the fittest or most keen on getting on the bike (for example my ma who hadn’t ridden a bike in 20/30 years now cycles her radbike 6km each way into work).

They make a huge difference in terms of effort, particularly if there’s any hills, but it’s not completely sailing along, you do still need to pedal.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106048#Comment_118106048

Lovely story and good to hear good feed back on radbikes 😏 I'm in the category of needing more exercise and have not been on a bicycle in over 30 years, I'll need a little practice 😁

magicbastarder

my wife has one, a cube touring. it's great.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106093#Comment_118106093

Actually met to gentleman recently in my village, regular cyclists around the slieve Blooms were I live, both had Cube bikes and my god, they are impressive looking bikes.

thefallingman

Any cycling is better than no cycling so go for it, great story from Squidgy aswell that's the real benefit of them, although the first time an oldie flew past me on my push bike i was concerned until i realized they were on one of these bikes !

Vidcon

I ordered a rad bike in august and it's due to be delivered this Friday. They moved warehouse recently and are still backlogged so don't expect a quick delivery if you are thinking of ordering a rad bike.

Tried a few different ones locally but the prices of similar spec bikes were more than I was willing to spend.

I live at the top of a nightmare hill and have had multiple knee surgeries so I'm hopeful the electric bike will reduce the knee pain and damage.

I'll report back after it arrives

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106162#Comment_118106162

Please do report back, I've seen there's a backlog but at least they are very transparent about this and pre orders etc 😏

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106132#Comment_118106132

we got lucky - our local bike shop had this bike 'returned' to them by someone who had bought it last christmas but due to health issues had to give up cycling. only 261 miles on the clock; we paid handsomely enough for it but it's in excellent nick and it was there and available, and the right size.

mailforkev

Got a VanMoof at the start of Jan.

Have put over 1,500 km on it so far, mostly just cycling around my local area but with a few commuter trips into the city (the actual reason I got it, naively thinking back when I ordered it that I'd be long back in the office by now).

Every kilometre that I do on it is one that I would have either driven, got a bus or DART, or just not done at all. For me, it hasn't replaced a regular bike, it has mostly replaced my second car. I wasn't a cyclist previously. For me there have been no downsides, only benefits.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106211#Comment_118106211

That a lucky find 😏 actually spoke to the nearest dealer in my nearest town, they rarely get 2nd hand or returns but they've my details . Great shop and staff but the cheapest they have (can't recall the brand ) was around €2900, a little saucy for me but they've offered to assist in servicing repairs etc if I go the online route so that's good to know.

oinkely

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105847#Comment_118105847

I'd suggest that you also budget for decent rain gear - jacket, gloves, overshoes or waterproof boots and trousers. Get some decent lightweight ones and you won't need to rely on the neighbours at all, except on icy days! Full length mudguards and decent rain gear and you will be fine on even the wettest days. Also, decent lights, but a lot of ebikes seem to have them built in. You won'r regret it anyway. I'd be getting one instead of our tiny second car if the kids were a bit bigger. Though to be fair, the tiny car is electric so better than most for tootling around and costs almost nothing to run aside from the insurance. When it's just me and the wife i'll be shifting the second car and going full time bike.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106311#Comment_118106311

Absolutely, funny enough I was actually thinking about rain/weather gear before the Bike 😁. My plan is to keep my car albeit very low milage annually, aim for the Bike around March next year and gradually wind down the need for the car (Hopefully)

novarock

I've been commuting 18km each way for over a year now, 8000km up on an e-bike..

Saved a lot of time sitting on buses and on fuel for the car.

If you are getting one, as above make sure you buy from a reputable place, if its not specced correctly or a cheaper model you can end up with brakes that aren't properly able to stop the bike, or wheels that are fine on a regular bike that aren't able to deal with the added force of the motor - broken spokes etc..

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106482#Comment_118106482

Fair play, that's some going, almost identical to the distances I'll be travelling, albeit more rural so to speak 😏

HeidiHeidi

I have an electric bike I got about six months ago - and it's hands down the best thing I ever spent money on!

Not sure I'd be using it to replace a car if I lived up a mountain, mind you.....

I did have a real bike until about 2 years ago, and didn't use it as much as I should have because it was usually just too much like hard work to get home. I don't cycle for fitness, I cycle to get from A to B.

The battery just takes all the pain out of cycling now - if I'm against the wind, or uphill, or both, just boost the power and Bob's yer uncle!

The rest of the time, I keep it at minimum assistance so I'm still actually cycling and getting a bit of exercise.

I live in the city and mostly only tootle around the place, so I got basically a commuter bike that I'll never break any land-speed records on - it's a folding one with only 7 hub gears - if I was buying again, I'd probably go for a normal hybrid-style, but this one suits just grand for now.

I did rent a monster electric mountain bike away on holidays recently to tour an island, and it was an absolute beast of a thing! Fantastic fun!!

I honestly couldn't recommend the e-bike experience highly enough - I'd say my car use has dropped by a third, and for one particular journey I regularly make which could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 in the car depending on traffic levels, it's a guaranteed 20 mins (15 if I hoof it) door to door, which is another great advantage.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106673#Comment_118106673

Thanks and I hear you re replacing a car. Honestly if I had kids, family etc I wouldn't for a second consider getting rid of a car . I guess looking back over the past 2 years of restrictions etc really opened my eyes. I literally did around 1300km last year, forked out nearly €500 for annual servicing , motor tax, insurance etc . But your right, I'll take my time re abandoning car all together

Ush1

I bought a Himo Z20 recently and use it for a 20km round trip commute to work. I'm only in office 1 or 2 days a week but loving it so far. I plan to eventually sell our second car as it gets such little use at this stage. I've been lucky so far in terms of not needing wet gear but will definitely invest in some soon. E-bike is great in that I'm not sweaty at all going in to work and then can still get some exercise on the way home.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118111864#Comment_118111864

Just looked up that model , looks great. I've wondered about the Electric Bikes with smaller wheels as an option. I'd imagine easier to use , particularly in built areas. I've just honed in on the larger wheel model's.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118112024#Comment_118112024

I would disagree about smaller wheels being easier to cycle - they're incredibly twitchy.

Mine has smaller wheels, but has a spring "damper" on the front wheel that steadies the steering, so it cycles like a full-size bike - I tried a few of the other folding bikes with small wheels and I found them fairly lethal!

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118112134#Comment_118112134

Thank you, I just assumed they might be easier to control etc , my personal preference would be the larger wheel models 🚲😏

Ush1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118112024#Comment_118112024

I never even considered the wheel size to be honest. Just that it would have the range for my commute and be comfortable. The fact it folds is handy also as it takes up less space in a hallway.

dingding

Got an ebike about 5 years ago, a folding one so it fits in the boot of the car. It is great for hills and really smooths them out. This year I got a second battery which gives me more range.

I got it from a crowd called EasyMotion in Dublin.

Wishbone Ash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118103913#Comment_118103913

Just curious about the part where you say the motor stops assisting at speeds over 25km/h. Does that mean that if you wish to travel at 30km/h you have to do all the work or does the motor still assist? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question - I have no experience of e bikes.

DaveyDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118114040#Comment_118114040

You have to do all the work, however depending on the motor the cut off can be smooth and the transition to 100% own power is gradual so it's fairly seamless.

8valve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118114040#Comment_118114040

if you can cycle a heavy ebike at 30kmh.......maybe you don't need an ebike!! :-)

Minier81

I got an ebike a few months ago. Work is 15km away from home and invoked crossing Dublin City centre. I LOVE it, no regrets. No more jelly legs, it's like cycling on the flat all the time. If the battery runs out you would feel the weight of the bike. I get about 60km per charge but I fairly liberally use the higher levels of assistance. Mine is a Raleigh Motus and it cost 2,350€, thankfully bike to work scheme helped with some of that.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118111864#Comment_118111864

How durable is it proving to be? I like both the Z20 and C20 and they are so cheap compared to some of the bikes being referenced here.