Schooled by an E-bike

5uspect · 20-09-2019 7:51am

So I have my ebike for about two weeks now. As I posted earlier my commute increased from 18 to 24 km and I didn’t feel I could sustain that and still have enough in the tank for work and family.

My commute has a bit of country road and a bit of urban cycling and a few steep hills. The 25km/h limit is perfectly fine in town, the stop/start nature is no longer a pain as you’re back up to speed easily. Hills? What hills?

On the country road a bit more assist would be fun but not essential. I wasn’t able to cycle since May for various reasons so it’s great to be off the bus. My fitness level suffered also but I can cruise along at 28–30 km/h on the 24kg bike easily enough. I expect this to improve and hopefully get my fitness back up.

I have noticed that the assist on this new model fades out a good bit more gently than some older models I’ve test rode.

Ebike are great, they give you the opportunity to commute much longer distances. When you do start to tire you have a pleasant 25km/h pace to help you along. The only reason I would see to increase the speed limit is a selfish one.

magicbastarder · 20-09-2019 8:31am

i'm quietly planting the seed with my father in law to get one. he's not as active as he should be, and coupled with his diabetes that's not great. plus, they live 4km from the nearest shop so are overreliant on the car when leaving the house. an e-bike would be very useful, but he's the sort of chap you need to make think that the idea was his before he'll act on it.

Utter Consternation · 20-09-2019 8:46am

5uspect wrote: »

So I have my ebike for about two weeks now. As I posted earlier my commute increased from 18 to 24 km and I didn’t feel I could sustain that and still have enough in the tank for work and family.

My commute has a bit of country road and a bit of urban cycling and a few steep hills. The 25km/h limit is perfectly fine in town, the stop/start nature is no longer a pain as you’re back up to speed easily. Hills? What hills?

On the country road a bit more assist would be fun but not essential. I wasn’t able to cycle since May for various reasons so it’s great to be off the bus. My fitness level suffered also but I can cruise along at 28–30 km/h on the 24kg bike easily enough. I expect this to improve and hopefully get my fitness back up.

I have noticed that the assist on this new model fades out a good bit more gently than some older models I’ve test rode.

Ebike are great, they give you the opportunity to commute much longer distances. When you do start to tire you have a pleasant 25km/h pace to help you along. The only reason I would see to increase the speed limit is a selfish one.

When you have the full assist on, do you really have to put much effort in?

Would you break a sweat with it??

Duckjob · 20-09-2019 10:55am

5uspect wrote: »

Ebike are great, they give you the opportunity to commute much longer distances. When you do start to tire you have a pleasant 25km/h pace to help you along. The only reason I would see to increase the speed limit is a selfish one.

I don't think its quite so simple as that.

If we were more like NL with separated cycle paths along most routes I would agree with you. However, our riding environment is an inherently hostile one with impatient, aggressive and potentially highly dangerous car / van / bus / truck drivers effectively pushing us along narrow roads in many places.

There's certain roads on my commute that I save my energy for because when I get on them I just want to go fast and get off them again as soon as possible.

I'm talking about narrow rural roads with no footpath, no hard shoulders and drivers expecting to do 80-100kph. I go as fast as I can on those roads because I feel less of a sitting duck for frustrated impatient drivers behind me. Riding at 35-40kph feels ok but I at 25kph I would absolutely feel like a sitting duck on those sort of roads.

After his recent visit to Dublin for Velocity, Bicycledutch even noted how Dublin people ride fast (trying to outrun traffic), and how even he instinctively began to ride much faster than he would in NL.

Utter Consternation · 20-09-2019 10:57am

Duckjob wrote: »

I don't think its quite so simple as that.

If we were more like NL with separated cycle paths along most routes I would agree with you. However, our riding environment is an inherently hostile one with impatient, aggressive and potentially highly dangerous car / van / bus / truck drivers effectively pushing us along narrow roads in many places.

There's certain roads on my commute that I save my energy for because when I get on them I just want to go fast and get off them again as soon as possible.

I'm talking about narrow rural roads with no footpath, no hard shoulders and drivers expecting to do 80-100kph. I go as fast as I can on those roads because I feel less of a sitting duck for frustrated impatient drivers behind me. Riding at 35-40kph feels ok but I at 25kph I would absolutely feel like a sitting duck on those sort of roads.

After his recent visit to Dublin for Velocity, Bicycledutch even noted how Dublin people ride fast (trying to outrun traffic), and how even he instinctively began to ride much faster than he would in NL.

Fear adds an extra 20% to your speed. I know it does coming down the bloody Quays in Dublin anyways.

magicbastarder · 20-09-2019 11:03am

Duckjob wrote: »

I'm talking about narrow rural roads with no footpath, no hard shoulders and drivers expecting to do 80-100kph.

granted, but this would probably count for a reasonably small minority of commutes where an e-bike may be the difference between cycling and driving.

beauf · 20-09-2019 11:04am

I do agree that in some sections it feels far safer to merge with traffic and if it's fast flowing you need to keep up with that traffic. Certain junctions are like this. I can think of about 3 distinct places on my commute where I speed up.

In fact I've been window shopping eBikes and the one I prefer (no gears) my main concern is it won't be fast enough.

Utter Consternation · 20-09-2019 11:37am

beauf wrote: »

In fact I've been window shopping eBikes and the one I prefer (no gears) my main concern is it won't be fast enough.

What are you looking at? A foldable bike?

kiely182 · 20-09-2019 12:00pm

I use a hub motor 1000w and cruise at 40kph on open roads nothing dangerous about it. I slow to 25 in town . I use it to make cycling more feasible as a commuting tool. This week I've done 300miles just getting to work

beauf · 20-09-2019 12:33pm

Utter Consternation wrote: »

What are you looking at? A foldable bike?

Gtech belt drive no gears. Like the low maintenance aspect. And it's light. Hate clearing the drive train on winter wet nights.

Utter Consternation · 20-09-2019 12:42pm

beauf wrote: »

Gtech belt drive no gears. Like the low maintenance aspect. And it's light. Hate clearing the drive train on winter wet nights.

I was looking at that too, it looks class. The 'water bottle' battery is a nice feature. It's very well reviewed around the place and not prohibitively expensive.

It seems that for anything half decent you're looking at 1500 euro plus.

5uspect · 20-09-2019 2:21pm

Utter Consternation wrote: »

When you have the full assist on, do you really have to put much effort in?

Would you break a sweat with it??

I’m still pretty sweaty when I arrive to work and I need to shower. On a steep hill like the one at the Angler’s Rest among Strawberry Beds you can pretty easily climb like it’s just a minor hill. If you back off to slower speeds then it’s a breeze but your not just spinning either. End of the day the bike multiplies your power input by around 2X or 3X but the bike is also heavier.

I would recommend going for a test ride to see how much effort is required. The Giant or the Specialized stores here in Dublin will let you take one out for a short spin.

Utter Consternation · 20-09-2019 2:31pm

5uspect wrote: »

I’m still pretty sweaty when I arrive to work and I need to shower. On a steep hill like the one at the Angler’s Rest among Strawberry Beds you can pretty easily climb like it’s just a minor hill. If you back off to slower speeds then it’s a breeze but your not just spinning either. End of the day the bike multiplies your power input by around 2X or 3X but the bike is also heavier.

I would recommend going for a test ride to see how much effort is required. The Giant or the Specialized stores here in Dublin will let you take one out for a short spin.

I know that hill at the Anglers Rest, i've gone up it a few times, it's not easy.

That sounds good, i think i might one of the stores for a look.

Thanks!

5uspect · 20-09-2019 2:32pm

Duckjob wrote: »

I don't think its quite so simple as that.

If we were more like NL with separated cycle paths along most routes I would agree with you. However, our riding environment is an inherently hostile one with impatient, aggressive and potentially highly dangerous car / van / bus / truck drivers effectively pushing us along narrow roads in many places.

There's certain roads on my commute that I save my energy for because when I get on them I just want to go fast and get off them again as soon as possible.

I'm talking about narrow rural roads with no footpath, no hard shoulders and drivers expecting to do 80-100kph. I go as fast as I can on those roads because I feel less of a sitting duck for frustrated impatient drivers behind me. Riding at 35-40kph feels ok but I at 25kph I would absolutely feel like a sitting duck on those sort of roads.

After his recent visit to Dublin for Velocity, Bicycledutch even noted how Dublin people ride fast (trying to outrun traffic), and how even he instinctively began to ride much faster than he would in NL.

Apologies for the double post.

I think when you’re comparing two countries with differing transport cultures you have to be careful not to equate Irish cyclists with NL cyclists when contrasting motorist behaviour.

We have a lot of awful motorists who see bikes as kid’s toys and think just because they are in a car they are superior to another person on a bike. We also have a culture of cycling enthusiasts that, like some of their fellow countrymen can sometimes be a bit aggressive. Then we have a lot of commuters that are either reckless, inexperienced or caught in the middle.

In the Netherlands you have a much more mature attitude to cycling across the population. It’s just another way to get around and their infrastructure reflects their culture.

I think the only solution is time, investment and prosecution. Motorists need to be hit hard for dangerous driving. Cyclists need safe infrastructure. Everyone needs to calm down.

All My Stars Aligned · 20-09-2019 6:50pm

grogi wrote: »

People who can sustain 30 km/h on a flat are those who have done thousands of km in the saddle already. Statistically they have enough experience to know when it is safe to cycle fast. And really - not a big fraction of those in the commute-by-bike community.

If you let the assistance go above 25 km/h, you are effectively opening the high-speed cycling for those less fortunate in fitness and experience area. Horrible idea.

Completely agree with the above. To my mind this trumps any argument suggesting increasing the max speed of an ebike.

beauf · 20-09-2019 9:07pm

I don't see the need either.

Schooled by an E-bike

Comments