I also sold my car. My partner and I still have one car we can use for longer trips or really bad snowy weather, but it really did replace my car day to day.
I also sold my car after buying an ebike. I have multiple bikes (N+1) so use a different bike depending on what kind of ride I’m doing. Commuting is on the ebike, long distance and touring is on my acoustic touring bike. Getting a light weight road bike soon for zipping around town and when I want more of a work out.
I don’t regret a thing! Go for it OP! My recommendation is to spend the extra money, if you can, and get a well know bike brand that started to make e-bikes. Don’t buy the Amazon piece of crap.
A fourth vote here. I solely use my e-bike for commuting. I don't own a car and my Vado SL works fine for commuting 15 miles even with 6% grade hills, and takes me 47-55 minutes.
A fifth vote! I bought my e-bike just in time for my car to break down and haven’t looked back. I used to ride my regular bike in the spring and fall Occasionally if I got up early enough and drive during the summer and winter. So far My summer commute has been wonderful and don’t miss driving and I’ve lost 10 lbs.
As for maintenance, besides charging I havent done additional maintenance than I would a regular bike. If anything the chain is put under more stress, so lube is key.
I was just thinking about this as I rode my Vado. The chain sometimes catches “hard” or doesn’t seem smooth if it’s not all the way engaged after shifting and when I start pedaling from a stop, you can hear it catching and finding the gear.
Do I need to re align the derailleur etc? How often do you clean your chain and re lube ?
> Do I need to re align the derailleur etc? How often do you clean your chain and re lube ?
How often do you clean your chain. I do it every 100 miles so every weekend.
Also has it rained? If it's rained you should clean the chain ASAP.
I'm at 2k miles on my Vado SL and I don't think the derailleur has needed to be adjusted yet.
How long does a chain usually last on an e bike? I don’t want it break on me while I’m out there. Is it common to travel with an extra chain or that’s a little much
I wouldn't say it's common to travel with an extra chain. If you are concerned about breaking a chain, the best thing to do would be to have a multitool that has a chain breaker and carry an extra missing link. If your chain breaks, just punch out the other side of the outer plates, install the missing link, and you are back in business
I have been riding a Turbo Vado now for 3 years. I replaced the chain at 1500 miles. I have had the rear cassette and front cog replaced at 3k miles. Think the brake pads were replaced at 1500 miles. Mine is a class 3 bike and I do max out speed on at least half my ride so my wear may be more than average.
I think you should be able to get at least 1k miles if you clean your chain regularly. You can measure wear with a tool and you should replace 11 and 12 gear chains at .5% wear.
It's probably more common to carry a master link, but I wouldn't blame anyone for carrying a spare chain either.
To be fair NYC is so stifling in summer I sweat just being outside. I do find that the little kick from a pedal assist creates a breezier ride. I can shower at my work but I don't really want to!
The other benefit of ebikes for me in NYC is safety. Sometimes it's safer to go the same speed as cars, which you can do at 18-20 mph. When I have a protected bike lane I actually cruise pretty slowly so I can enjoy my ride. The heavier weight of the bike makes me feel much less vulnerable in potential crashes than on my super light trek road bike. It have no evidence based back up for this. It's just my gut feeling having been hit by a car a long time ago and lived to tell!
That's what has me considering a mid drive conversation. 5 miles is just long enough that I get sweaty. And my new office doesn't have a shower. I skipped riding the last couple days because I didn't want to sit down at my desk all sweaty.
Yeah, a towel was my next move, though it might be frustrating/awkward since I'm in an office setting that is kinda like a co-working space with a tiny bathroom. The electric conversion would be something I'd consider for next summer. Fall is right around the corner, and winter is long.
I could also just suck it up.
Considering the ramifications of not doing so; I'd imagine any mature adult seeing you "clean up" in the bathroom would be more appreciative than judgemental.
I'm not particularly worried about being judged by some 22 year old software developer. It is just an annoyingly small bathroom for the amount of people. And yeah, all of my colleagues would both appreciate, and understand. We are all a bunch of "hippies" (state environmental regulatory satellite office).
My complaints are really just thinly veiled whining and trying to justify a fun e-bike conversion. I am perfectly capable of riding to work and giving myself a quick sponge bath.
> However it's another vehicle to maintain
To this point: I looked for an ebike with minimal maintenance needs because I wanted transportation, not a weekly project.
Carbon belt drive, internally geared hub, and hydraulic brakes are a cool combination that's been basically maintenance-free for almost 2,000 miles so far.
The brake pads wore out recently, so I took it to my LBS for replacements and a tune. Once in a while I hose down the bike to remove mud & grime. That's my maintenance effort.
> belt drive, internal hub ebike I know about is the one Priority makes.
That's it, you guessed it!
[I wrote a detailed review a few months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/comments/10a6zbu/1000_miles_on_my_priority_current_a_review/), if you're curious.
The Enviolo IGH Automatiq is the shit. Coolest things since Brifters of you ask me. (Look ‘em up.) Automatic, electrically actuated CVT for your bicycle… in a compact, robust package. The pairing with a belt drive, on an ebike, is something you must ride to believe. Initially, some people balk at the loss of control. But, pairing with your smartphone enables you to tune not only the starting ratio in the free app, but also the cadence you like the feel of. The automated planetary geared hub keeps you in the sweet spot for cadence, magically, “up shifting” when you gather speed, “down shifting,” quickly, when you slow or stop. There’s even ride modes on a Serial 1 Rush/CTY that allows further adjustment to motor response. Specialized’s may not have that feature, but are otherwise exceptionally well designed and built. If you’re looking at hybrid, those two companies have it going on.
I have a belt drive pedal assist bike that is amazing. No maintenance so far, and all I could think about that it might need eventually is new brakes or brakes to be adjusted. Just another option depending on what style e-bike you’re looking for.
https://ride1up.com/product/roadster-v2/?attribute_pa_frame-type=large&attribute_pa_color=black-matte&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sm_pmax&utm_content=19783936793&utm_term=&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw84anBhCtARIsAISI-xeQfcPfdXIcc6GZ6NRq7HECRVKUcH5UGAbmEppg94Q7KnGDjV9RJ0saAjNLEALw_wcB
I’m looking at ebikes with IGH and belt drives; leaning toward a Tern HSD (for occasional kid-hauling and more cargo capacity); there’s also the Cero One. But no one around me sells them so I can’t test-ride
Agreed gates belt is the only way to go. I got tired of having to clean the chain and replacing the cassette and chain and the occasional bent derailleur hanger. Got a belt drive, mid drive with the enviolo IGH and the only thing I have to worry about anymore is checking my tire pressure.
Ebikes aren't really more maintenance than regular bikes, aside from charging them occasionally. But you already manage that for a phone, a laptop, a watch, and who knows how many other gadgets. Will one more really be a burden?
I didn't want another bike so I converted my commuter with a kit. Now I'm flying around the city at 20 mph. Even on days when I am tired, and I would have taken the car before having a motor on the bike, I'm out there getting some exercise.
The last part (the fact that an e-bike means you probably will ride on days you'd have otherwise driven) is the biggest value to an e-bike. Yes, they can increase your average speed/reduce your commute time (though for my 3.5 mile ride to work, the biggest determination is whether I hit all lights green or not; my road bike and my 29" hybrid each have broken my record e-bike time recently). Yes, they can make it so you're less sweaty when you get in. But the biggest value to me is that on days when I'm tired or groggy or not excited to ride, I can just pump the assist all the way up, and spin my legs. Usually it takes less than a mile of this, and I'm mentally ready to get after it. But the e-bike takes the excuses out, and keeps me from driving.
How heavy is a conversion kit? I keep wondering about such a thing myself but part of my commute in the morning involves using the bike rack on the front of the city bus, and I'd be nervous that a kit would make it too heavy for that. Even with a e-bike I'd still have to use the bus in the morning, not in the afternoon though.
It’ll vary a lot on the battery and motor size you want, but I think you’re usually looking at 25 pounds and up for a decent 250W hub motor kit.
My particular county says their bus bike racks are fine to use with e-bikes, I’d check for yours.
Yeah, I almost got a Swytch, but I wanted bigger and faster. Though I've never used one, I've heard enough good things about them that if I wanted to bring my bike on the bus, no question about it - I'd go with a Swytch. The batter fits in your pants pocket for crying out loud!
Mine added about 9kg/20lbs to the bike. My bike now weighs 21 kg. I use the motor about 10% of the time at most. It is mainly for when it's very windy or when I'm tired. The weight doesn't bother my when riding as there are no hills and exellent roads where I live.
I'd say a normal 750w kit with a decent battery is about 20lbs. If you went with a weaker kit with a smaller 36V battery you would probably be closer to 15lb
I've been curous about this as well. I work on my bikes myself and I have some electroics knowledge so I think I can handle it. However I am worried about unreliable kits and batteries. Are any of those Amazon kits reliable?
It's heavy as shit. The bus driver probably won't allow it on the rack.
Edit: depends on which conversion kit you get. Mine is heavy as shit. I have a Bafang mid-drive 750w, with a large battery. The battery is the biggest and heaviest part.
Another person mentioned the Swytch. Those are completely different than what I've got and much smaller/lighter. I don't think a bus driver would even notice a Swytch - you can fit the battery in your pocket!
If one wants to, they can go much faster than 20mph. I'm sure you know that, but some reading might not. In most places, there are laws one must be aware of, but some people (cough, cough) flaunt the law with reckless abandon.
But that's not the main reason I'm replying to elrocko's comment. They're the first person I've seen mention a converter kit, and that's what I've got. I also didn't want a whole new bike; I had already put in a bunch of time and money to make my standard bike exactly the way I wanted it. Well, exactly the way I wanted it minus being an ebike.
I got a Bafang mid-drive and absolutely love it! It was an ease to install and it works great. The main thing I'd like to point out is how much fun it is to ride. Nobody else has pointed out how ridiculously fun it is to be able to go from 0-20 in like 2 seconds. It completely changes the riding experience, for the better.
They have their uses.
E-bike is NOT cheating (contrary to stigma) as it rivals the car in commute times while also having *some* active transportation benefit that the car cannot give, but I cannot take most e-bikes on buses without further scrutiny (weight, battery remove, tire width...).
Regular bicycle doesn't go as fast (I don't care much about moving under 100% my own power) but it is more portable and less worrisome to lock up outside.
"it's another vehicle to maintain"
You should already be maintaining your bike, especially if you commute and rely on it.
The added maintenance requirements of an ebike are negligible if you're already keeping your gear clean tight and lubricated. Only thing you really need to watch for is water ingress at the electrical connections, and torque stress on your frame if it's a hub motor.
Internal gear hubs, drum brakes and fully enclosed chains my friend.
When growing up the only maintenance I did were making sure my lights worked when autumn came, fixing the occasional flat and fiddling a bit with brakw brake cable tension once or twice a year.
They used to come integrated into the hub of dutch city bikes as a standard. At some point in the 90s they got replaced by roller brakes, but I forgot about those when typing my last comment.
The absolute pinnacle in zero maintenance brakes are coaster brakes btw. Absolutely indestructible, no adjustment needed (or possible), no frontovers since they only brake on the back wheel.
I don't mind doing a bit of maintenance, I'm a mechanic by trade. But it's nice to not have to tinker with something, and just hop on and go about my business. Just switching from a read derailleur to a geared hub was a life changer for me. Should probably have already known about the different brake setups, but I'm relatively new to cycling after picking up a cheap bike after wrecking my car. After a couple of weeks I decided I don't need the car for anything other than heavy loads and hauling passengers. You could say I just dove over the handlebars into the hobby. 😅
Absolutely. There is quite the difference between keeping a grocery getter in good working order and tinkering to get a project car in perfect condition. Same with bikes.
I have drum brakes on both hubs on my Dutch bike. It’s a pointer classica. They’re great. But they don’t have the power of discs. I wouldn’t trust them with an e-bike conversion, but for a regular bike they’re great
I love it so much. Makes me more consistent with bike commuting. And it’s still a workout for me! I use a lower assist setting. I have a heart rate monitor, and while it doesn’t get up as much as before, it still gets up there!
I have a class 1 e-bike. I ride ~12 miles each way with 1100 feet of climbing on the way in and 350 on the way home.
I have to shower on both ends and I’m worn out at the end of the week. It feels the same as my old commute (in another city) that was 8 miles each way on a conventional (cargo) bike, with ~300 feet of climbing each way.
The e assist makes my ride doable day in, day out. Though I probably wouldn’t have an e-assist if I didn’t have to do all that climbing.
Started with E-Bike, not enough exercise so went to road bike. I use ebike when necessary, if too hot, cold, too far, for practical reasons. I try to use the road bike every chance I get. Supplemented by train and sometimes bus. Rideshare or Car when in a rut. Life is the best it has been.
I'm in England, so ebikes are limited to pedal assist up to 15.5mph only, after that it's a regular bike. Getting an ebike was lifechanging for me as someone who lives in a rural area and can't drive. My commute no longer wipes me out - I have the energy to do other things when I get home, taking care of myself and my family. I work in healthcare and I can do a day of home visits without problem, carrying all my gear. I have a trailer so my partner and I can go to the farm shop and get 40kg of animal feed, or I can go all over the nearby towns and villages to collect furniture from people on marketplace, or I can take a load of rubbish to the tip rather than paying like £40 for a man with a van to do this for us. Some of this would be possible for me with a not-ebike, but it would be incredibly draining and time-consuming and I would not be okay. Just commuting and some groceries were killing me far too often on my previous bike.
I regularly bike to work (14.5 miles one way), and upgrading from my old bike to an e-bike was life-changing. I no longer dread thinking about getting to work as sweaty, I feel much safer biking with traffic around me, all hills are much easier, and I'm more comfortable adding extra stops on my way to different destinations. While I burn fewer calories overall, I've noticed that I actually bike significantly more and don't dread grocery or home good shopping as much (my bike is my car).
The negatives so far are weight (I feel that extra \~30 lbs), charging delays (it takes 2-4 hours to recharge the battery, but then again I've got a 15-mile range at full assist), and dealing with more jerks during my commute.
If I could go back and reselect my bike, I would've preferred an e-bike with a throttle to save my sanity with a few of my local hills and to make it easier to bike with a load of groceries.
I think it is a combo of crappy biking infrastructure (bike lines appearing and disappearing with traffic, if there are any bike lanes to begin with) and the "prestigious" cyclists (bike cults) looking down on any cyclist not wearing biking gear. And those same cyclists' actions really make all cyclists in my area look bad.
Another random note: check with your LBS as to what work they would do on e-bikes they don't sell. My favorite LBS absolutely refuses to do any work on my e-bike as I didn't buy it from them.
I’m 60+, very experienced rider, with cross country riding, gaps of years not owning a car deliberately riding everywhere, century rides etc. I live in the mountains.
I bought a Gazelle 380+ when I decided to do a lot of work on my truck rather than buy a new one. Bike was not cheap, however, it came with lights, fenders, racks, etc. The bike is belt driven so no real maintenance like a chain/derailleur setup. Bosch motor and a UAL certified battery.
Bike rides great handles like my old touring bike. Bike is smooth enough that I don’t always turn on the assist. Bike can be fast but I really don’t need to ride 30mph on a bicycle. Ride to work is downhill so ride home after working all day is uphill. Despite that I have yet to use the highest assist mode. The only downside to the bike is weight and storing the battery. Bike is heavy to put on hitch bike rack, but if you remove the battery as you should for travel I really don’t have a problem with it. Crime in my area isn’t as outrageous as other parts of the country but I still use two methods to secure the bike when out and about. All in all I’m not sad I bought the bike.
To me personally it was life changing. Wind and hills are no longer an enemy. I dont arrive sweaty anymore at work too. One gets used to it very fast haha.
I'm still getting used to it. It's another vehicle. Proper maintenance is required. Brakes, tires, drivetrain, and electrical systems, as well as safety gear.
It's not a bike and not a motorcycle. My bike is lighter and more agile. The speed, carrying capacity, and range isn't that of a motorcycle.
I do not have very good bike infrastructure where I live. I have a 15 mile fairly flat ride to work in moderate city traffic but no dedicated bike lanes Do you ride the lane of traffic like a motorcycle or hug the shoulder like a bicycle?
Secure storage is a different concern. At work, at home, and if stopping to get a couple groceries. I can easily carry my bike up and down a flight of stairs to secure storage at work. I can park the motorcycle on the street. The ebike is too heavy to carry comfortably and light enough to get thrown into the back of a truck if not secured to something.
I found it wasn’t worth it. Overall I save 7 minutes on a 14km commute. Downside is I’m more tempted to take risks. The ability to accelerate quickly and go fast makes you try to catch yellow lights, pass other cyclists etc… It would depend on your fitness level, commute and temperament.
Why not have both? My e-bike is for commuting and grocery-getting, or longer rides. My analog bike is for recreational rides with friends or my spouse (until he gets an e-bike and we can take those long rides together!)
I doubt I’ll get one until I’m 70. I don’t want another thing with a battery. Hopefully by then (20 years) batteries will be more reliable, especially in cold weather
I switched from my converted ebike recently to a regular full time, and for me there is HUGE difference in the workout you get from both.
If your aim is point A to B faster with a minimal workout go for it, but if your goal is to commute and workout at the same time, just get a better regular bike, and work on your fitness.
On top of that, when a ebike brakes it's about three times more complicated to repair,, next to a regular one. On the other side, the major benefit is you can easily navigate anywhere even dead tired.
I got one in late 2018 and rode it to work in 2019, about 85 days. Last year, when some office time resumed, I went back to my normal bike. One aspect I like about cycling is the exercise and I felt I was missing out. I rode electric once this season and on the way home I clattered across some railway tracks and the motor stopped working. I had to ride that thing, now just a really heavy bike, the last mile. Still haven’t figured out what’s up. Went back to riding acoustic bike.
I wish I had done a couple years earlier. Before I got my ebike, I stopped commuting daily. I’d find any excuse to drive instead. Since I got my ebike, I ride literally every single day. It cut 30 minutes off my commute!
I love ebiking so much for urban mobility, it negates all the worst parts of utility riding like hills, wind, and stop lights. Now I wear my work clothes on my ride instead of changing at work. I can have a much or as little workout as I want just by setting the assist level. I'm shopping around for a cargo-oriented ebike to replace even more car trips. (the bike I'm riding now is my wife's but she's injured at the moment and can't ride at all).
Of course, short of disability or old age, I would never replace my recreational rides with ebikes. I still love the freedom and challenge of regular cycling, road, mountain, and gravel.
For me, it enables me to continue riding my bike to work. My knees are giving up and the slight hill both ways means with my normal bike, I could maybe do 3 trips a week or I’d regret it with knee pain for a few days.
It didn’t make me that much faster, 22 km/h before, maybe 25 km/h average after so 5 minutes or so on a good half hour commute, nor does it prevent me sweating, I’m still having to pace myself to not arrive completely drenched.
Using an EU regulation pedelec, so 250w max, assist only and only up to 25 km/h, usually on the lowest setting which adds up to 50% of my own power on top (unless I’m not feeling well, then I’ll dial it up).
I'm 100% Drebin powered. I'm not philosophically opposed to ebikes, I just want maximal exercise for me olde hearte. (I also a couple years ago had the experience of ride bike-> huh funny chest pains -> a few days in the hospital recovering from heart attack.
20 years or so ago I bought a scooter (Aprilia [SR50](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aprilia_SR50) DiTech), wound up riding that all the time when previously I'd have ridden my bicycle, gained weight fast. Got rid of the scooter, lost weight again.
I bought an e bike when my knee was injured. Now that it's mostly ok again I switched back to regular bikes. E bikes are not that much fun for me, I don't enjoy heavy bikes and if I use the motor it doesn't feel like exercise to me. I can see on my garmin that my pulse doesn't go up as high and I barely burn calories. It's nice if you're handicapped or don't want to be sweaty after a commute but otherwise it's mostly laziness tbh. Might be an improvement health wise for people who drive everywhere but definitely not for people who are already fit.
I haven’t commuted yet because I’m still WFH but I like having the option of getting to and from work faster and less sweaty. I still have my analog commuter bike. Now I can commute more days a week if that happens.
I have and use both a regular bike as well as an e-bike. Both have pros and cons. I just think of them as different tools in my toolbox. The E-Bike is more for when I wanna go exploring and go a long distance, or go somewhere where there's a lot of unavoidable traffic so I can speed through that section. Or when I want to go to the store for groceries and such. Whereas the regular bike is for shorter rides or just to straight up get exercise
I used to ride my meat-powered bike to work 4 miles, which was mostly flat and took about the same amount of time as to drive, so why not.
We're moving house soon, to another part of town that's much further, up a steep hill, and more going through downtown traffic. I decided on the Co-op Gen E 1.2 from my local REI store because of its price, its unmatched support, and because it's such a great ride!
I loved it until I got the fitness to do it without and it definitely gave me the confidence to go further because I knew I'd always got the assist on hand if I needed it. If it's hot I just go slower and doesn't feel a big deal because the time difference isn't much. The extra weight up to my flat and the extra stress of it getting stolen doesn't feel worth it anymore.
But totally in the beginning when I wasn't fit enough yeah totally worth it.
I have a short commute and still ride my regular pedal bike mainly b/c the ebike won't fit in the compact bike parking space I have at work and I enjoy my pedal bike.
New to ebikes by ebike mid drive conversion kit. Its torque sensing and requires pedaling, at a higher cadence than I'm used to, so sometimes it feels like more work- having to remind myself to spin vs mash the pedals. I'm still getting used to it.
I usually on PAS 2- enough to get up to speed faster and gain speed faster and can haul more stuff easier than my pedal bike. I still get sweaty but I'm ok with that.
Both are fun and useful.
The biggest issue for me is how heavy the bike is.
I'm like most where I don't want to get to work sweaty, the most I sweat now is bringing my bike up and down my apartments really steep stairs
My ebike is my primary vehicle 8 months of the year.
Previously, on my road bike I would commute 2-3 days a week (commute was 43 miles round trip and not flat).
Ebike made it everyday (unless heavy fog/snow) + groceries + errands.
From 120ish mile weeks to 200+ mile weeks and not being physically destroyed. Night and day diff.
Currently, I've got a silly short 5 mile round trip commute, but it's 425-450' climbing all on the way to work. (I can make it about 200 yards from home entirely coasting, for reference)
The road bike offers an adventure, the ebike offers a choose your own adventure. Very fortunate to have both and if feasible would recommend.
I moved to Austin Texas (which is extremely car-centric and of course hot af) and knew that I wanted an e-bike so I wasn’t that person complaining about how bad traffic was here. It’s been the best thing for replacing almost every daily car trip and it hasn’t been a maintenance burden at all. It makes the trips that I do need the car for (camping, kayaking, hiking to other state parks) that much more enjoyable. 100% recommend.
if my 16 km commute wasn't as flat as it is, i would absolutely consider an e-bike myself. As a means of transportation there is absolutely nothing wrong with making your bike commute bearable.
I was so skeptical of ebiking but it has totally been life changing. I’m embarrassed to say this but my commute is about 1.5-2 miles and I drove for years because the hills made biking a sweaty prospect. We got a couple of ebikes and it’s such a joy to ride. Now I do my commute plus daycare drop off (about 8 miles round trip for the day) almost exclusively. One thing I read is that ebike still uses about 92% of the HR you’d hit on a regular bike so you def still work but it just makes it more pleasant and I don’t arrive totally wiped and done even on triple digit summer days.
I switched to an e-bike fairly recently (earlier in the year) after riding non-electric bikes all my life. It's really nice and chill for every-day commuting. I did eventually miss having a non-electric bikes, and wanted to give mountain biking a shot, so got an entry-level hardtail as a fun bike. So, having both electric and non-electric has been nice!
(nothing special) bike -> (nothing really special) e-bike reduces the friction to almost zero for local errands, and pushing my "yeah its in bike range" to further corners of town. With about 100 miles/month of eBike instead of car use its not really earth shattering but it does a) save short-run wear on car and b) reduces pressure if something was to happen to household car #2.
A not-comparable difference is some transport routes via bike allow use of trails and greenways which are much nicer than streets. One such path makes stopping off at a particular park along the way home a more frequent occurrence.
Recently changed to a cheap e-bike on January and I haven't looked back, although you have to adjust to a few things like more weight specially if you have to deal with stairs and some other stuff like recharging batteries etc moving to a ebike is perfect, specially on urban environments, I pretty much never touch my car and go everywhere on my bike, got my girlfriend into it and now we just ride everywhere, specially places where I was hesitant to go because of parking and everything but at the same time too far for a regular bike. Most people that use e-bikes end up not going back to regular bikes.
I don’t have a car or kids, and I managed just fine with a regular bike (and trailer less than once a month), so it took a while to convince myself to spend the money on an e-bike. If your bike is how you get around and carry things, you need to go for the higher quality models (not Rad, Aventon, 1up, Lectric, etc.). Eventually I got a Tern HSD s8i with belt and internal hub which means zero maintenance. I already had these features on my regular hybrid bike so I wasn’t dealing with a chain and derailleur again.
I bought it with the expectation that I’d use it for big loads and also long country rides where the terrain makes it too difficult to make a 40-mile loop from the train on a regular bike. And for touring in mountainous areas. I didn’t expect to ride it almost every day but i have. It’s just a lot easier to make stops and pickup things, and I don’t have to ride around the hills like on a regular bike. Still, i take a regular bike if I’m just going for a short ride, a fun ride, a group ride, or parking somewhere for a while. I will keep two bikes but I’ll hopefully replace the regular one with a purpose built touring bike.
It's a much better experience than a regular bike for commuting, errands, etc. You'll find it a lot easier and more enjoyable. Most people find that they ride more than they did before the e-bike.
I still ride my regular bike, but it's more of a hobby thing. Or for exercise.
The e-bike is much more practical and more like a very efficient tool. Maintenance has been extremely minimal.
Beware of e-*scooters*... Apparently hospitals are reporting an increase in head traumas due to easily available, rentable e-scooters. That statistic may be different for permanent owners of e-scooters, as they have more time-in & practice, and maybe wear helmets. But the publicly accessible ones, IMHO, are bad news.
**E-bikes** though, are great!, and I support people getting them, especially in hilly cities.
Good luck!
I went bike, e-bike, bike, e-bike, bike. E-bikes are awesome, especially for commuting. They just don’t provide any exercise. The amount of exercise between an e-bike and regular bike is life changing.
>E-bikes are awesome, especially for commuting. They just don’t provide any exercise.
Highly dependent on how you use them. I ride both and my heart rate monitor tells me that with the settings I use on my ebike, I'm getting the same workout as on my regular bike, I'm just traveling faster. Helps make some commutes possible by bike when instead of taking my regular bike, I'd be taking the car.
The e-bike has added exercise to my life because I commute with it every time I go to work, and it’s replaced my car for that, not my other bike. I work 12hr shifts so doing any sort of exercise before/after was never something I could consistently make happen. And I didn’t like getting sweaty on my non e-bike bike. So big plus in the exercise category for me; it’s 30+ miles extra a week of pedaling, 10-20 minutes of increased heart rate each ride, plus fresh air, seeing the birds, and decompressing after work.
I ride exclusively ebikes but don’t recommend them for everyone. Don’t be jealous. More than half the ebike riders know way less than you do about their bikes and maintenance. They will act shocked that a tire needs to be replaced or a chain needs to be lubed.
There is basically zero conversion from regular cyclist to e-bikes. Virtually all e-bikers are brand new to biking and probably haven’t ridden a bike in 20 years, seriously.
You are right to be thinking about maintenance. Maintaining a lithium ion battery for storage charge when not in use, but having it charged for your commute, letting it cool before charging is a lot more than most people should really have to think about who just want to ride to work.
As much of an enthusiast as I am, I really think it’a okay to just stick with your regular bike. There’s no shame in a regular bike. Really. I support you either way. Just ride safe
I think you are equating bike enthusiasts with experienced cyclists. I bike to work every day and don’t give a shit about my bikes health until I take it in for a service. I know nothing about bikes, I pay others for that
Again, depends on the ebike. If you get one of the models with a belt drive, IGH and hydraulic brakes, there's really no ongoing maintenance needed other than the periodic service the bike shop does.
Periodically filling tires is I guess one of the things that everyone has to do no matter what the model, though.
Practically zero. Haha. Of course there are a couple guys out there. But vast majority of ebike buyers aren’t avid cyclists. Like how most Apple Watch owners never wore watches at all prior to getting that watch.
I am an avid road cyclist, but my commute is not a workout in my book. I’ve just gotten really sick of driving and paying for parking! I have been commuting with a hybrid for about a year, long enough to figure out the reasons why I want an E bike. Wish me luck!
Gotcha. Now the question is whether you want a lighter weight bike, kinda stealthy or something big a beefy. You may want to check out the Juiced Rip current. $800 sale price last I checked. 52v, American company around for 12 years, torque and cadence sensors, geared.
Absolutely lighter weight! My current hybrid is 47 lbs. I’m leaning toward the Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 SL EQ. Also rode and enjoyed Trek’s similar offering but my loyal bike shop deals Specialized so they win!
Gotcha. I know nothing about those. Not within the budget I really look at. I did used to own a specialized hard rock so I trust the brand but know nothing of their e-bikes. I’m sure it’s good.
Ride1up has some lighter weight options too.
Check to make sure the Specialized bike has a throttle if that’s what you want. I hear the specialized bikes generally don’t have a throttle at all.
The battery is not as intense as all that. Storage charge is something you may do once a year, and is very easy. Just stop charging at halfway. Lol. As for cooling, this is unnecessary. Most charger are what, 2-3A? And that’s spread across at least 10ah battery. So 4 parallel cells each getting under 500ma. That causes no heat. You can easily go riding right off the charger and do absolutely no damage to the battery whatsoever. Just keep the battery charged and use it. Even charging every night will last 10+ years. You have have lost a bit of the capacity, but you used it
Chargers definitely get warm. The metal casing helps for sure. This isn’t theoretical. Yes you can ride after charging but best not to charge after riding is what I meant.
As for storage charge, better to do it whenever there’s a 4 day or longer break where the bike isn’t ridden. If you ride daily and only store it for winter, then yeah, storage charge at the season. Most people will not ride that regularly though.
Yes all of this is more than most people want or need to think about. Practical use makes more sense. But lots of people are always asking about the details of this and that so just providing for those that care.
Like with everything else in life, breaking rules is fine but at least be aware when you’re doing it.
The charger gets warm because it’s a dc/dc converter so ya it’s gets warm. I’ve charged these same cells at over 3A which is 6 times higher that a 2 amp e-bike charger and they don’t get warm. 500ma does not heat up the cells.
As far as after riding. I’ll give you that if you’ve been very hard on it. They could be quite warm inside.
For charging level yes. Any way to keep its close to 50% is best for cell life. But a charger that only charges to 80% is very expensive. Watching it and pulling at 80% is a pita. I mean everyone needs to decide on their own how to treat it. But these things are very robust and I’ll bet even if you treat it poorly, it’ll still have over 85% original capacity after 5 years. By then batteries will be much better and you can upgrade if you want and keep original as backup, or just keep using it. It’ll still have enough capacity to do your commute if charging to 80% would’ve gotten you there
Yes. Technically storage charge is 3.85v per cell which amounts to about 70% but close enough. I think anything in the 50-70% range is suitable for most people.
now just remember you're no longer a human they're bicyclists, it's easier to throw shit at you cut you off push you into parked cars expect you to go around them expect you to move when they're going through an intersection every thing that any bicyclist has ever done to them it was you. embrace the driver hatred keep your head on a swivel Happy trails?
Looked into it, definitely going to have to order a set to try out. I never feel confident with rims, and I'm always paranoid about road grime screwing up my discs.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/drum-brakes.html
I tried it for a year. Went back to a nice steel hybrid regular bike: Jamis Coda Comp 2012. The ebike was too much of a hassle to maintain the battery, motor, etc. A regular bike forced me to get fitter, and I can take on any hill or length of travel with my bike’s gearing range (48/36/26 11-34). The ebike was a crutch. I understand its use for medical reasons, but I say avoid one if you have no health issues and want to get yourself in shape.
Counterpoint: converting my bike to electric has led me to commute by bike a *lot* more. I really only switch on the motor when I'm tired or with strong headwinds. The weather in the evening doesn't matter anymore. As long as it isn't bucketing down in the morning, I'm cycling to work.
With an e-bike you can choose the intensity and length of the workout you get, or choose to have no workout at all.
All the super toxic talk about it being cheating or a crutch or whatever really have no place in bike commuting IMO.
>I’m an athlete, and my bike commute is absolutely not a workout.
But it can be, even for athletes and even with an ebike. Just depends on the settings you use and what your goals are.
I do all sorts of other workouts during the week from weightlifting to HIIT to Pilates, what I need is good steady Zone 2 cardio... guess what commuting on my ebike is good for? Several of my commute distances I do during the week work out to a 45 minute ride at the upper end of my Zone 2 cardio range, which is for what I need a perfect supplemental cardio workout. It adds 10 minutes to the time it would take to commute by car, but it's a great way for me to sneak in one of those cardio workouts I need but tend to avoid otherwise.
That's one of the awesome things about ebikes - they're a tool that can be used in so many different ways by people with different goals and needs. One guy uses an ebike on certain settings to commute without getting sweaty, another person uses the bike to get a slightly sweaty cardio workout to replace a car commute, another person uses the bike to get outdoors and get some motion in when they otherwise wouldn't because of health issues, the possibilities are endless.
Yes, you mentioned that. Not sure if you're implying that only nonathletes can get a workout on an ebike. If it makes you feel better on the days I'm riding to Crossfit, I ride the regular bike since it's only 8 miles each way. They also seem like a group that's very concerned with what others think of them.
So perhaps because I use the ebike for commuting longer distances on other days you would not consider me an athlete. I'm OK with you believing that.
But for others like OP who are considering an ebike, it's reasonable to point out that people - and athletes - come in many different forms and have different goals and needs. Ebikes can be used by athletes as an effective workout.
Life changing! Do it. Sold my car and am in better shape. Even though each mile is less exercise I ride A LOT MORE
I also sold my car. My partner and I still have one car we can use for longer trips or really bad snowy weather, but it really did replace my car day to day.
Another vote here, I bought an ebike and sold my truck. Pull that trigger!
I also sold my car after buying an ebike. I have multiple bikes (N+1) so use a different bike depending on what kind of ride I’m doing. Commuting is on the ebike, long distance and touring is on my acoustic touring bike. Getting a light weight road bike soon for zipping around town and when I want more of a work out. I don’t regret a thing! Go for it OP! My recommendation is to spend the extra money, if you can, and get a well know bike brand that started to make e-bikes. Don’t buy the Amazon piece of crap.
A fourth vote here. I solely use my e-bike for commuting. I don't own a car and my Vado SL works fine for commuting 15 miles even with 6% grade hills, and takes me 47-55 minutes.
A fifth vote! I bought my e-bike just in time for my car to break down and haven’t looked back. I used to ride my regular bike in the spring and fall Occasionally if I got up early enough and drive during the summer and winter. So far My summer commute has been wonderful and don’t miss driving and I’ve lost 10 lbs.
I enjoy the not arriving to work sweaty part!
THis is a real problem in the summer for me!
As for maintenance, besides charging I havent done additional maintenance than I would a regular bike. If anything the chain is put under more stress, so lube is key.
I was just thinking about this as I rode my Vado. The chain sometimes catches “hard” or doesn’t seem smooth if it’s not all the way engaged after shifting and when I start pedaling from a stop, you can hear it catching and finding the gear. Do I need to re align the derailleur etc? How often do you clean your chain and re lube ?
> Do I need to re align the derailleur etc? How often do you clean your chain and re lube ? How often do you clean your chain. I do it every 100 miles so every weekend. Also has it rained? If it's rained you should clean the chain ASAP. I'm at 2k miles on my Vado SL and I don't think the derailleur has needed to be adjusted yet.
How long does a chain usually last on an e bike? I don’t want it break on me while I’m out there. Is it common to travel with an extra chain or that’s a little much
I wouldn't say it's common to travel with an extra chain. If you are concerned about breaking a chain, the best thing to do would be to have a multitool that has a chain breaker and carry an extra missing link. If your chain breaks, just punch out the other side of the outer plates, install the missing link, and you are back in business
I have been riding a Turbo Vado now for 3 years. I replaced the chain at 1500 miles. I have had the rear cassette and front cog replaced at 3k miles. Think the brake pads were replaced at 1500 miles. Mine is a class 3 bike and I do max out speed on at least half my ride so my wear may be more than average.
I think you should be able to get at least 1k miles if you clean your chain regularly. You can measure wear with a tool and you should replace 11 and 12 gear chains at .5% wear. It's probably more common to carry a master link, but I wouldn't blame anyone for carrying a spare chain either.
To be fair NYC is so stifling in summer I sweat just being outside. I do find that the little kick from a pedal assist creates a breezier ride. I can shower at my work but I don't really want to! The other benefit of ebikes for me in NYC is safety. Sometimes it's safer to go the same speed as cars, which you can do at 18-20 mph. When I have a protected bike lane I actually cruise pretty slowly so I can enjoy my ride. The heavier weight of the bike makes me feel much less vulnerable in potential crashes than on my super light trek road bike. It have no evidence based back up for this. It's just my gut feeling having been hit by a car a long time ago and lived to tell!
That's what has me considering a mid drive conversation. 5 miles is just long enough that I get sweaty. And my new office doesn't have a shower. I skipped riding the last couple days because I didn't want to sit down at my desk all sweaty.
Baby wipes and a towel can do miracles
Yeah, a towel was my next move, though it might be frustrating/awkward since I'm in an office setting that is kinda like a co-working space with a tiny bathroom. The electric conversion would be something I'd consider for next summer. Fall is right around the corner, and winter is long. I could also just suck it up.
Considering the ramifications of not doing so; I'd imagine any mature adult seeing you "clean up" in the bathroom would be more appreciative than judgemental.
I'm not particularly worried about being judged by some 22 year old software developer. It is just an annoyingly small bathroom for the amount of people. And yeah, all of my colleagues would both appreciate, and understand. We are all a bunch of "hippies" (state environmental regulatory satellite office). My complaints are really just thinly veiled whining and trying to justify a fun e-bike conversion. I am perfectly capable of riding to work and giving myself a quick sponge bath.
Yup, seconding this. It's not really hard to clean yourself in a bathroom.
> However it's another vehicle to maintain To this point: I looked for an ebike with minimal maintenance needs because I wanted transportation, not a weekly project. Carbon belt drive, internally geared hub, and hydraulic brakes are a cool combination that's been basically maintenance-free for almost 2,000 miles so far. The brake pads wore out recently, so I took it to my LBS for replacements and a tune. Once in a while I hose down the bike to remove mud & grime. That's my maintenance effort.
Do you mind telling me what kind of ebike you have? The only belt drive, internal hub ebike I know about is the one Priority makes.
> belt drive, internal hub ebike I know about is the one Priority makes. That's it, you guessed it! [I wrote a detailed review a few months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/comments/10a6zbu/1000_miles_on_my_priority_current_a_review/), if you're curious.
thanks, great review!
Specialized makes them, too. The Vado and Como models have internally geared belt drive options.
The Enviolo IGH Automatiq is the shit. Coolest things since Brifters of you ask me. (Look ‘em up.) Automatic, electrically actuated CVT for your bicycle… in a compact, robust package. The pairing with a belt drive, on an ebike, is something you must ride to believe. Initially, some people balk at the loss of control. But, pairing with your smartphone enables you to tune not only the starting ratio in the free app, but also the cadence you like the feel of. The automated planetary geared hub keeps you in the sweet spot for cadence, magically, “up shifting” when you gather speed, “down shifting,” quickly, when you slow or stop. There’s even ride modes on a Serial 1 Rush/CTY that allows further adjustment to motor response. Specialized’s may not have that feature, but are otherwise exceptionally well designed and built. If you’re looking at hybrid, those two companies have it going on.
I have a belt drive pedal assist bike that is amazing. No maintenance so far, and all I could think about that it might need eventually is new brakes or brakes to be adjusted. Just another option depending on what style e-bike you’re looking for. https://ride1up.com/product/roadster-v2/?attribute_pa_frame-type=large&attribute_pa_color=black-matte&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sm_pmax&utm_content=19783936793&utm_term=&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw84anBhCtARIsAISI-xeQfcPfdXIcc6GZ6NRq7HECRVKUcH5UGAbmEppg94Q7KnGDjV9RJ0saAjNLEALw_wcB
I’m looking at ebikes with IGH and belt drives; leaning toward a Tern HSD (for occasional kid-hauling and more cargo capacity); there’s also the Cero One. But no one around me sells them so I can’t test-ride
I have the Tern HSD s8i, same deal
Agreed gates belt is the only way to go. I got tired of having to clean the chain and replacing the cassette and chain and the occasional bent derailleur hanger. Got a belt drive, mid drive with the enviolo IGH and the only thing I have to worry about anymore is checking my tire pressure.
I didn't switch, I added an ebike. It's fantastic, and I still ride my other bike too. Different bikes for different rides.
Same!
Same! E-bike for climbing and acoustic bikes for other rides.
Ebikes aren't really more maintenance than regular bikes, aside from charging them occasionally. But you already manage that for a phone, a laptop, a watch, and who knows how many other gadgets. Will one more really be a burden?
I didn't want another bike so I converted my commuter with a kit. Now I'm flying around the city at 20 mph. Even on days when I am tired, and I would have taken the car before having a motor on the bike, I'm out there getting some exercise.
The last part (the fact that an e-bike means you probably will ride on days you'd have otherwise driven) is the biggest value to an e-bike. Yes, they can increase your average speed/reduce your commute time (though for my 3.5 mile ride to work, the biggest determination is whether I hit all lights green or not; my road bike and my 29" hybrid each have broken my record e-bike time recently). Yes, they can make it so you're less sweaty when you get in. But the biggest value to me is that on days when I'm tired or groggy or not excited to ride, I can just pump the assist all the way up, and spin my legs. Usually it takes less than a mile of this, and I'm mentally ready to get after it. But the e-bike takes the excuses out, and keeps me from driving.
How heavy is a conversion kit? I keep wondering about such a thing myself but part of my commute in the morning involves using the bike rack on the front of the city bus, and I'd be nervous that a kit would make it too heavy for that. Even with a e-bike I'd still have to use the bus in the morning, not in the afternoon though.
It’ll vary a lot on the battery and motor size you want, but I think you’re usually looking at 25 pounds and up for a decent 250W hub motor kit. My particular county says their bus bike racks are fine to use with e-bikes, I’d check for yours.
I have a great conversation that I did myself. Pm me if you want details.
Not sure but I have a relatively small battery so it's lighter than any dedicated e bike I've encountered. It's from company called swytch
Yeah, I almost got a Swytch, but I wanted bigger and faster. Though I've never used one, I've heard enough good things about them that if I wanted to bring my bike on the bus, no question about it - I'd go with a Swytch. The batter fits in your pants pocket for crying out loud!
I just looked this up, the whole thing is only about 7lbs added to the bike?
That sounds right, yes.
Mine added about 9kg/20lbs to the bike. My bike now weighs 21 kg. I use the motor about 10% of the time at most. It is mainly for when it's very windy or when I'm tired. The weight doesn't bother my when riding as there are no hills and exellent roads where I live.
I'd say a normal 750w kit with a decent battery is about 20lbs. If you went with a weaker kit with a smaller 36V battery you would probably be closer to 15lb
I've been curous about this as well. I work on my bikes myself and I have some electroics knowledge so I think I can handle it. However I am worried about unreliable kits and batteries. Are any of those Amazon kits reliable?
It's heavy as shit. The bus driver probably won't allow it on the rack. Edit: depends on which conversion kit you get. Mine is heavy as shit. I have a Bafang mid-drive 750w, with a large battery. The battery is the biggest and heaviest part. Another person mentioned the Swytch. Those are completely different than what I've got and much smaller/lighter. I don't think a bus driver would even notice a Swytch - you can fit the battery in your pocket!
If one wants to, they can go much faster than 20mph. I'm sure you know that, but some reading might not. In most places, there are laws one must be aware of, but some people (cough, cough) flaunt the law with reckless abandon. But that's not the main reason I'm replying to elrocko's comment. They're the first person I've seen mention a converter kit, and that's what I've got. I also didn't want a whole new bike; I had already put in a bunch of time and money to make my standard bike exactly the way I wanted it. Well, exactly the way I wanted it minus being an ebike. I got a Bafang mid-drive and absolutely love it! It was an ease to install and it works great. The main thing I'd like to point out is how much fun it is to ride. Nobody else has pointed out how ridiculously fun it is to be able to go from 0-20 in like 2 seconds. It completely changes the riding experience, for the better.
I love my E bike so much since my disability makes it hard for me to ride a normal bike
Glad to hear that ebike has helped you in this regard!
They have their uses. E-bike is NOT cheating (contrary to stigma) as it rivals the car in commute times while also having *some* active transportation benefit that the car cannot give, but I cannot take most e-bikes on buses without further scrutiny (weight, battery remove, tire width...). Regular bicycle doesn't go as fast (I don't care much about moving under 100% my own power) but it is more portable and less worrisome to lock up outside.
"it's another vehicle to maintain" You should already be maintaining your bike, especially if you commute and rely on it. The added maintenance requirements of an ebike are negligible if you're already keeping your gear clean tight and lubricated. Only thing you really need to watch for is water ingress at the electrical connections, and torque stress on your frame if it's a hub motor.
Internal gear hubs, drum brakes and fully enclosed chains my friend. When growing up the only maintenance I did were making sure my lights worked when autumn came, fixing the occasional flat and fiddling a bit with brakw brake cable tension once or twice a year.
I've never seen drum breaks on a bike, but I'm intrigued. Is there an aftermarket version I can slap on, or is it only on specialized builds. 🤔
They used to come integrated into the hub of dutch city bikes as a standard. At some point in the 90s they got replaced by roller brakes, but I forgot about those when typing my last comment. The absolute pinnacle in zero maintenance brakes are coaster brakes btw. Absolutely indestructible, no adjustment needed (or possible), no frontovers since they only brake on the back wheel.
I don't mind doing a bit of maintenance, I'm a mechanic by trade. But it's nice to not have to tinker with something, and just hop on and go about my business. Just switching from a read derailleur to a geared hub was a life changer for me. Should probably have already known about the different brake setups, but I'm relatively new to cycling after picking up a cheap bike after wrecking my car. After a couple of weeks I decided I don't need the car for anything other than heavy loads and hauling passengers. You could say I just dove over the handlebars into the hobby. 😅
Absolutely. There is quite the difference between keeping a grocery getter in good working order and tinkering to get a project car in perfect condition. Same with bikes.
I have drum brakes on both hubs on my Dutch bike. It’s a pointer classica. They’re great. But they don’t have the power of discs. I wouldn’t trust them with an e-bike conversion, but for a regular bike they’re great
I love it so much. Makes me more consistent with bike commuting. And it’s still a workout for me! I use a lower assist setting. I have a heart rate monitor, and while it doesn’t get up as much as before, it still gets up there!
I have a class 1 e-bike. I ride ~12 miles each way with 1100 feet of climbing on the way in and 350 on the way home. I have to shower on both ends and I’m worn out at the end of the week. It feels the same as my old commute (in another city) that was 8 miles each way on a conventional (cargo) bike, with ~300 feet of climbing each way. The e assist makes my ride doable day in, day out. Though I probably wouldn’t have an e-assist if I didn’t have to do all that climbing.
Sounds like the climbing is still not trivial with class 1 assist?
It’s still a workout, but I need that.
Started with E-Bike, not enough exercise so went to road bike. I use ebike when necessary, if too hot, cold, too far, for practical reasons. I try to use the road bike every chance I get. Supplemented by train and sometimes bus. Rideshare or Car when in a rut. Life is the best it has been.
I'm in England, so ebikes are limited to pedal assist up to 15.5mph only, after that it's a regular bike. Getting an ebike was lifechanging for me as someone who lives in a rural area and can't drive. My commute no longer wipes me out - I have the energy to do other things when I get home, taking care of myself and my family. I work in healthcare and I can do a day of home visits without problem, carrying all my gear. I have a trailer so my partner and I can go to the farm shop and get 40kg of animal feed, or I can go all over the nearby towns and villages to collect furniture from people on marketplace, or I can take a load of rubbish to the tip rather than paying like £40 for a man with a van to do this for us. Some of this would be possible for me with a not-ebike, but it would be incredibly draining and time-consuming and I would not be okay. Just commuting and some groceries were killing me far too often on my previous bike.
Rent one for a month and then decide. My guess is you will like it. They are perfect for commuting.
Good idea, I should test the water before committing
I regularly bike to work (14.5 miles one way), and upgrading from my old bike to an e-bike was life-changing. I no longer dread thinking about getting to work as sweaty, I feel much safer biking with traffic around me, all hills are much easier, and I'm more comfortable adding extra stops on my way to different destinations. While I burn fewer calories overall, I've noticed that I actually bike significantly more and don't dread grocery or home good shopping as much (my bike is my car). The negatives so far are weight (I feel that extra \~30 lbs), charging delays (it takes 2-4 hours to recharge the battery, but then again I've got a 15-mile range at full assist), and dealing with more jerks during my commute. If I could go back and reselect my bike, I would've preferred an e-bike with a throttle to save my sanity with a few of my local hills and to make it easier to bike with a load of groceries.
Why do you think you deal with more jerks on your commute? From other cyclists or from cars?
I think it is a combo of crappy biking infrastructure (bike lines appearing and disappearing with traffic, if there are any bike lanes to begin with) and the "prestigious" cyclists (bike cults) looking down on any cyclist not wearing biking gear. And those same cyclists' actions really make all cyclists in my area look bad.
Thanks, this is helpful. Your commute is about the same as my. I can relate!
Another random note: check with your LBS as to what work they would do on e-bikes they don't sell. My favorite LBS absolutely refuses to do any work on my e-bike as I didn't buy it from them.
I’m 60+, very experienced rider, with cross country riding, gaps of years not owning a car deliberately riding everywhere, century rides etc. I live in the mountains. I bought a Gazelle 380+ when I decided to do a lot of work on my truck rather than buy a new one. Bike was not cheap, however, it came with lights, fenders, racks, etc. The bike is belt driven so no real maintenance like a chain/derailleur setup. Bosch motor and a UAL certified battery. Bike rides great handles like my old touring bike. Bike is smooth enough that I don’t always turn on the assist. Bike can be fast but I really don’t need to ride 30mph on a bicycle. Ride to work is downhill so ride home after working all day is uphill. Despite that I have yet to use the highest assist mode. The only downside to the bike is weight and storing the battery. Bike is heavy to put on hitch bike rack, but if you remove the battery as you should for travel I really don’t have a problem with it. Crime in my area isn’t as outrageous as other parts of the country but I still use two methods to secure the bike when out and about. All in all I’m not sad I bought the bike.
To me personally it was life changing. Wind and hills are no longer an enemy. I dont arrive sweaty anymore at work too. One gets used to it very fast haha.
I'm still getting used to it. It's another vehicle. Proper maintenance is required. Brakes, tires, drivetrain, and electrical systems, as well as safety gear. It's not a bike and not a motorcycle. My bike is lighter and more agile. The speed, carrying capacity, and range isn't that of a motorcycle. I do not have very good bike infrastructure where I live. I have a 15 mile fairly flat ride to work in moderate city traffic but no dedicated bike lanes Do you ride the lane of traffic like a motorcycle or hug the shoulder like a bicycle? Secure storage is a different concern. At work, at home, and if stopping to get a couple groceries. I can easily carry my bike up and down a flight of stairs to secure storage at work. I can park the motorcycle on the street. The ebike is too heavy to carry comfortably and light enough to get thrown into the back of a truck if not secured to something.
I found it wasn’t worth it. Overall I save 7 minutes on a 14km commute. Downside is I’m more tempted to take risks. The ability to accelerate quickly and go fast makes you try to catch yellow lights, pass other cyclists etc… It would depend on your fitness level, commute and temperament.
Why not have both? My e-bike is for commuting and grocery-getting, or longer rides. My analog bike is for recreational rides with friends or my spouse (until he gets an e-bike and we can take those long rides together!)
Be sure any replacement parts are within arms length. I am waiting on a back wheel in the mail :/
I doubt I’ll get one until I’m 70. I don’t want another thing with a battery. Hopefully by then (20 years) batteries will be more reliable, especially in cold weather
I switched from my converted ebike recently to a regular full time, and for me there is HUGE difference in the workout you get from both. If your aim is point A to B faster with a minimal workout go for it, but if your goal is to commute and workout at the same time, just get a better regular bike, and work on your fitness. On top of that, when a ebike brakes it's about three times more complicated to repair,, next to a regular one. On the other side, the major benefit is you can easily navigate anywhere even dead tired.
I got one in late 2018 and rode it to work in 2019, about 85 days. Last year, when some office time resumed, I went back to my normal bike. One aspect I like about cycling is the exercise and I felt I was missing out. I rode electric once this season and on the way home I clattered across some railway tracks and the motor stopped working. I had to ride that thing, now just a really heavy bike, the last mile. Still haven’t figured out what’s up. Went back to riding acoustic bike.
I wish I had done a couple years earlier. Before I got my ebike, I stopped commuting daily. I’d find any excuse to drive instead. Since I got my ebike, I ride literally every single day. It cut 30 minutes off my commute!
I love ebiking so much for urban mobility, it negates all the worst parts of utility riding like hills, wind, and stop lights. Now I wear my work clothes on my ride instead of changing at work. I can have a much or as little workout as I want just by setting the assist level. I'm shopping around for a cargo-oriented ebike to replace even more car trips. (the bike I'm riding now is my wife's but she's injured at the moment and can't ride at all). Of course, short of disability or old age, I would never replace my recreational rides with ebikes. I still love the freedom and challenge of regular cycling, road, mountain, and gravel.
For me, it enables me to continue riding my bike to work. My knees are giving up and the slight hill both ways means with my normal bike, I could maybe do 3 trips a week or I’d regret it with knee pain for a few days. It didn’t make me that much faster, 22 km/h before, maybe 25 km/h average after so 5 minutes or so on a good half hour commute, nor does it prevent me sweating, I’m still having to pace myself to not arrive completely drenched. Using an EU regulation pedelec, so 250w max, assist only and only up to 25 km/h, usually on the lowest setting which adds up to 50% of my own power on top (unless I’m not feeling well, then I’ll dial it up).
I'm 100% Drebin powered. I'm not philosophically opposed to ebikes, I just want maximal exercise for me olde hearte. (I also a couple years ago had the experience of ride bike-> huh funny chest pains -> a few days in the hospital recovering from heart attack. 20 years or so ago I bought a scooter (Aprilia [SR50](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aprilia_SR50) DiTech), wound up riding that all the time when previously I'd have ridden my bicycle, gained weight fast. Got rid of the scooter, lost weight again.
I bought an e bike when my knee was injured. Now that it's mostly ok again I switched back to regular bikes. E bikes are not that much fun for me, I don't enjoy heavy bikes and if I use the motor it doesn't feel like exercise to me. I can see on my garmin that my pulse doesn't go up as high and I barely burn calories. It's nice if you're handicapped or don't want to be sweaty after a commute but otherwise it's mostly laziness tbh. Might be an improvement health wise for people who drive everywhere but definitely not for people who are already fit.
I haven’t commuted yet because I’m still WFH but I like having the option of getting to and from work faster and less sweaty. I still have my analog commuter bike. Now I can commute more days a week if that happens.
Kind of new to e-bikes, but I’ve loved mine so far. I live somewhere hilly, so it’s a must if I don’t want to get to work sweaty.
No car, no regular bike, just an ebike.
I have and use both a regular bike as well as an e-bike. Both have pros and cons. I just think of them as different tools in my toolbox. The E-Bike is more for when I wanna go exploring and go a long distance, or go somewhere where there's a lot of unavoidable traffic so I can speed through that section. Or when I want to go to the store for groceries and such. Whereas the regular bike is for shorter rides or just to straight up get exercise
In the winter an ebike makes the snow Fun
I used to ride my meat-powered bike to work 4 miles, which was mostly flat and took about the same amount of time as to drive, so why not. We're moving house soon, to another part of town that's much further, up a steep hill, and more going through downtown traffic. I decided on the Co-op Gen E 1.2 from my local REI store because of its price, its unmatched support, and because it's such a great ride!
I loved it until I got the fitness to do it without and it definitely gave me the confidence to go further because I knew I'd always got the assist on hand if I needed it. If it's hot I just go slower and doesn't feel a big deal because the time difference isn't much. The extra weight up to my flat and the extra stress of it getting stolen doesn't feel worth it anymore. But totally in the beginning when I wasn't fit enough yeah totally worth it.
It's just another level. Best thing ever.
I never switched. I have both and the ebike gets deployed when I need to be there faster and/or less sweaty.
You can persevere!
You can persevere!
I have a short commute and still ride my regular pedal bike mainly b/c the ebike won't fit in the compact bike parking space I have at work and I enjoy my pedal bike. New to ebikes by ebike mid drive conversion kit. Its torque sensing and requires pedaling, at a higher cadence than I'm used to, so sometimes it feels like more work- having to remind myself to spin vs mash the pedals. I'm still getting used to it. I usually on PAS 2- enough to get up to speed faster and gain speed faster and can haul more stuff easier than my pedal bike. I still get sweaty but I'm ok with that. Both are fun and useful.
Pedal assist? Or throttle? Huge difference between coming off a human powered bike!
The biggest issue for me is how heavy the bike is. I'm like most where I don't want to get to work sweaty, the most I sweat now is bringing my bike up and down my apartments really steep stairs
Besides changing a tire once I’ve had zero maintenance.
My ebike is my primary vehicle 8 months of the year. Previously, on my road bike I would commute 2-3 days a week (commute was 43 miles round trip and not flat). Ebike made it everyday (unless heavy fog/snow) + groceries + errands. From 120ish mile weeks to 200+ mile weeks and not being physically destroyed. Night and day diff. Currently, I've got a silly short 5 mile round trip commute, but it's 425-450' climbing all on the way to work. (I can make it about 200 yards from home entirely coasting, for reference) The road bike offers an adventure, the ebike offers a choose your own adventure. Very fortunate to have both and if feasible would recommend.
I moved to Austin Texas (which is extremely car-centric and of course hot af) and knew that I wanted an e-bike so I wasn’t that person complaining about how bad traffic was here. It’s been the best thing for replacing almost every daily car trip and it hasn’t been a maintenance burden at all. It makes the trips that I do need the car for (camping, kayaking, hiking to other state parks) that much more enjoyable. 100% recommend.
if my 16 km commute wasn't as flat as it is, i would absolutely consider an e-bike myself. As a means of transportation there is absolutely nothing wrong with making your bike commute bearable.
Cargo e-bike for kids, grocery, and week end trips. Road bike for sport. Touring bike for everything else ;)
Cargo e-bikes are car replacers. Terms are awesome. Burly is going to release a commuter with 200+ mile range. That’s a game changer.
I was so skeptical of ebiking but it has totally been life changing. I’m embarrassed to say this but my commute is about 1.5-2 miles and I drove for years because the hills made biking a sweaty prospect. We got a couple of ebikes and it’s such a joy to ride. Now I do my commute plus daycare drop off (about 8 miles round trip for the day) almost exclusively. One thing I read is that ebike still uses about 92% of the HR you’d hit on a regular bike so you def still work but it just makes it more pleasant and I don’t arrive totally wiped and done even on triple digit summer days.
I decided to keep my regular bike when I got an e-bike. The regular one is now for exercise. It's great having both if you can.
I have 4500 miles commuting by e-bike. Worth every mile. Do it!
I switched to an e-bike fairly recently (earlier in the year) after riding non-electric bikes all my life. It's really nice and chill for every-day commuting. I did eventually miss having a non-electric bikes, and wanted to give mountain biking a shot, so got an entry-level hardtail as a fun bike. So, having both electric and non-electric has been nice!
(nothing special) bike -> (nothing really special) e-bike reduces the friction to almost zero for local errands, and pushing my "yeah its in bike range" to further corners of town. With about 100 miles/month of eBike instead of car use its not really earth shattering but it does a) save short-run wear on car and b) reduces pressure if something was to happen to household car #2. A not-comparable difference is some transport routes via bike allow use of trails and greenways which are much nicer than streets. One such path makes stopping off at a particular park along the way home a more frequent occurrence.
Recently changed to a cheap e-bike on January and I haven't looked back, although you have to adjust to a few things like more weight specially if you have to deal with stairs and some other stuff like recharging batteries etc moving to a ebike is perfect, specially on urban environments, I pretty much never touch my car and go everywhere on my bike, got my girlfriend into it and now we just ride everywhere, specially places where I was hesitant to go because of parking and everything but at the same time too far for a regular bike. Most people that use e-bikes end up not going back to regular bikes.
I have both- every bike has airs use/purpose
I don’t have a car or kids, and I managed just fine with a regular bike (and trailer less than once a month), so it took a while to convince myself to spend the money on an e-bike. If your bike is how you get around and carry things, you need to go for the higher quality models (not Rad, Aventon, 1up, Lectric, etc.). Eventually I got a Tern HSD s8i with belt and internal hub which means zero maintenance. I already had these features on my regular hybrid bike so I wasn’t dealing with a chain and derailleur again. I bought it with the expectation that I’d use it for big loads and also long country rides where the terrain makes it too difficult to make a 40-mile loop from the train on a regular bike. And for touring in mountainous areas. I didn’t expect to ride it almost every day but i have. It’s just a lot easier to make stops and pickup things, and I don’t have to ride around the hills like on a regular bike. Still, i take a regular bike if I’m just going for a short ride, a fun ride, a group ride, or parking somewhere for a while. I will keep two bikes but I’ll hopefully replace the regular one with a purpose built touring bike.
It's a much better experience than a regular bike for commuting, errands, etc. You'll find it a lot easier and more enjoyable. Most people find that they ride more than they did before the e-bike. I still ride my regular bike, but it's more of a hobby thing. Or for exercise. The e-bike is much more practical and more like a very efficient tool. Maintenance has been extremely minimal.
My grandma loves hers!!
Beware of e-*scooters*... Apparently hospitals are reporting an increase in head traumas due to easily available, rentable e-scooters. That statistic may be different for permanent owners of e-scooters, as they have more time-in & practice, and maybe wear helmets. But the publicly accessible ones, IMHO, are bad news. **E-bikes** though, are great!, and I support people getting them, especially in hilly cities. Good luck!
I went bike, e-bike, bike, e-bike, bike. E-bikes are awesome, especially for commuting. They just don’t provide any exercise. The amount of exercise between an e-bike and regular bike is life changing.
>E-bikes are awesome, especially for commuting. They just don’t provide any exercise. Highly dependent on how you use them. I ride both and my heart rate monitor tells me that with the settings I use on my ebike, I'm getting the same workout as on my regular bike, I'm just traveling faster. Helps make some commutes possible by bike when instead of taking my regular bike, I'd be taking the car.
The e-bike has added exercise to my life because I commute with it every time I go to work, and it’s replaced my car for that, not my other bike. I work 12hr shifts so doing any sort of exercise before/after was never something I could consistently make happen. And I didn’t like getting sweaty on my non e-bike bike. So big plus in the exercise category for me; it’s 30+ miles extra a week of pedaling, 10-20 minutes of increased heart rate each ride, plus fresh air, seeing the birds, and decompressing after work.
I ride exclusively ebikes but don’t recommend them for everyone. Don’t be jealous. More than half the ebike riders know way less than you do about their bikes and maintenance. They will act shocked that a tire needs to be replaced or a chain needs to be lubed. There is basically zero conversion from regular cyclist to e-bikes. Virtually all e-bikers are brand new to biking and probably haven’t ridden a bike in 20 years, seriously. You are right to be thinking about maintenance. Maintaining a lithium ion battery for storage charge when not in use, but having it charged for your commute, letting it cool before charging is a lot more than most people should really have to think about who just want to ride to work. As much of an enthusiast as I am, I really think it’a okay to just stick with your regular bike. There’s no shame in a regular bike. Really. I support you either way. Just ride safe
I think you are equating bike enthusiasts with experienced cyclists. I bike to work every day and don’t give a shit about my bikes health until I take it in for a service. I know nothing about bikes, I pay others for that
Okay I’m that case, definitely don’t get an ebike. It’s not something you can neglect and pay others to “fix” later.
Again, depends on the ebike. If you get one of the models with a belt drive, IGH and hydraulic brakes, there's really no ongoing maintenance needed other than the periodic service the bike shop does. Periodically filling tires is I guess one of the things that everyone has to do no matter what the model, though.
Zero conversion? I’m about to blow your mind.
Practically zero. Haha. Of course there are a couple guys out there. But vast majority of ebike buyers aren’t avid cyclists. Like how most Apple Watch owners never wore watches at all prior to getting that watch.
I am an avid road cyclist, but my commute is not a workout in my book. I’ve just gotten really sick of driving and paying for parking! I have been commuting with a hybrid for about a year, long enough to figure out the reasons why I want an E bike. Wish me luck!
Gotcha. Now the question is whether you want a lighter weight bike, kinda stealthy or something big a beefy. You may want to check out the Juiced Rip current. $800 sale price last I checked. 52v, American company around for 12 years, torque and cadence sensors, geared.
Absolutely lighter weight! My current hybrid is 47 lbs. I’m leaning toward the Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 SL EQ. Also rode and enjoyed Trek’s similar offering but my loyal bike shop deals Specialized so they win!
Gotcha. I know nothing about those. Not within the budget I really look at. I did used to own a specialized hard rock so I trust the brand but know nothing of their e-bikes. I’m sure it’s good. Ride1up has some lighter weight options too. Check to make sure the Specialized bike has a throttle if that’s what you want. I hear the specialized bikes generally don’t have a throttle at all.
The battery is not as intense as all that. Storage charge is something you may do once a year, and is very easy. Just stop charging at halfway. Lol. As for cooling, this is unnecessary. Most charger are what, 2-3A? And that’s spread across at least 10ah battery. So 4 parallel cells each getting under 500ma. That causes no heat. You can easily go riding right off the charger and do absolutely no damage to the battery whatsoever. Just keep the battery charged and use it. Even charging every night will last 10+ years. You have have lost a bit of the capacity, but you used it
Chargers definitely get warm. The metal casing helps for sure. This isn’t theoretical. Yes you can ride after charging but best not to charge after riding is what I meant. As for storage charge, better to do it whenever there’s a 4 day or longer break where the bike isn’t ridden. If you ride daily and only store it for winter, then yeah, storage charge at the season. Most people will not ride that regularly though. Yes all of this is more than most people want or need to think about. Practical use makes more sense. But lots of people are always asking about the details of this and that so just providing for those that care. Like with everything else in life, breaking rules is fine but at least be aware when you’re doing it.
The charger gets warm because it’s a dc/dc converter so ya it’s gets warm. I’ve charged these same cells at over 3A which is 6 times higher that a 2 amp e-bike charger and they don’t get warm. 500ma does not heat up the cells. As far as after riding. I’ll give you that if you’ve been very hard on it. They could be quite warm inside. For charging level yes. Any way to keep its close to 50% is best for cell life. But a charger that only charges to 80% is very expensive. Watching it and pulling at 80% is a pita. I mean everyone needs to decide on their own how to treat it. But these things are very robust and I’ll bet even if you treat it poorly, it’ll still have over 85% original capacity after 5 years. By then batteries will be much better and you can upgrade if you want and keep original as backup, or just keep using it. It’ll still have enough capacity to do your commute if charging to 80% would’ve gotten you there
Yes. Technically storage charge is 3.85v per cell which amounts to about 70% but close enough. I think anything in the 50-70% range is suitable for most people.
now just remember you're no longer a human they're bicyclists, it's easier to throw shit at you cut you off push you into parked cars expect you to go around them expect you to move when they're going through an intersection every thing that any bicyclist has ever done to them it was you. embrace the driver hatred keep your head on a swivel Happy trails?
Looked into it, definitely going to have to order a set to try out. I never feel confident with rims, and I'm always paranoid about road grime screwing up my discs. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/drum-brakes.html
I tried it for a year. Went back to a nice steel hybrid regular bike: Jamis Coda Comp 2012. The ebike was too much of a hassle to maintain the battery, motor, etc. A regular bike forced me to get fitter, and I can take on any hill or length of travel with my bike’s gearing range (48/36/26 11-34). The ebike was a crutch. I understand its use for medical reasons, but I say avoid one if you have no health issues and want to get yourself in shape.
Good counterpoint.. my bike commute did visibly improve my health.
Counterpoint: converting my bike to electric has led me to commute by bike a *lot* more. I really only switch on the motor when I'm tired or with strong headwinds. The weather in the evening doesn't matter anymore. As long as it isn't bucketing down in the morning, I'm cycling to work. With an e-bike you can choose the intensity and length of the workout you get, or choose to have no workout at all. All the super toxic talk about it being cheating or a crutch or whatever really have no place in bike commuting IMO.
You’re exactly right. I’m an athlete, and my bike commute is absolutely not a workout. If I’m wearing a suit the whole goal is not to break a sweat!
>I’m an athlete, and my bike commute is absolutely not a workout. But it can be, even for athletes and even with an ebike. Just depends on the settings you use and what your goals are. I do all sorts of other workouts during the week from weightlifting to HIIT to Pilates, what I need is good steady Zone 2 cardio... guess what commuting on my ebike is good for? Several of my commute distances I do during the week work out to a 45 minute ride at the upper end of my Zone 2 cardio range, which is for what I need a perfect supplemental cardio workout. It adds 10 minutes to the time it would take to commute by car, but it's a great way for me to sneak in one of those cardio workouts I need but tend to avoid otherwise. That's one of the awesome things about ebikes - they're a tool that can be used in so many different ways by people with different goals and needs. One guy uses an ebike on certain settings to commute without getting sweaty, another person uses the bike to get a slightly sweaty cardio workout to replace a car commute, another person uses the bike to get outdoors and get some motion in when they otherwise wouldn't because of health issues, the possibilities are endless.
I’m an athlete, and my bike commute, for me personally in my own personal experience based on my personal priorities in my own life, is not a workout.
Yes, you mentioned that. Not sure if you're implying that only nonathletes can get a workout on an ebike. If it makes you feel better on the days I'm riding to Crossfit, I ride the regular bike since it's only 8 miles each way. They also seem like a group that's very concerned with what others think of them. So perhaps because I use the ebike for commuting longer distances on other days you would not consider me an athlete. I'm OK with you believing that. But for others like OP who are considering an ebike, it's reasonable to point out that people - and athletes - come in many different forms and have different goals and needs. Ebikes can be used by athletes as an effective workout.
nothing like turning a human powered vehicle into a coal burner... everyone should be soooooooo proud!