Page 3 of 4

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:56 am
by Gari
That^^ is boss, would be great for the Pugs for the rest of the year once the snow has gone :grin:

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:09 pm
by Richard G
Related to the topic in general... an open letter to ebike brands: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open-let ... l-williams

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:32 pm
by YetiTony
This has now moved onto STW, it would appear for them though it is concerns about people modifying them so they are now exceeding 16mph and breaking the law.
http://singletrackworld.com/2015/10/ebi ... stributor/

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:19 pm
by Single Speed George
i did notace on strava there is now a catagory for e bikes ( in the more sports part after you have upladed it) , so now i dont care aslong as people put it on that i have no objections any more hahahaha

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:31 pm
by Zippy
If I end up with an e-bike, you can bet that I'll be shoe-horning the most powerful motor I possibly can in there Image

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:55 pm
by Trail-rat
why not save the hassle and just buy a motorbike/mobility scooter - delete as applicable.

seems a bit useless once you start needing to mot tax insure and license them as per mopeds.....

how ever - if the government here adopted a dutch approach there would be no issues as we would be on segregated paths with the 49cc mopeds anyway.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:56 pm
by mountainbaker
If I end up with an e-bike, please shoot me.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:59 pm
by benp1
I'm sort of in two minds on this - though to be clear I'm fully supportive of e-bikes

I was thinking that I would unrestrict it, if I had one, as that would be more fun. But I hate seeing evidence of motorbikes in the woods, it just ruins the trails. So a dongle'd e-bike, or one that has been modified in some way, is crossing over into motorbike territory

I can just imagine scumbags doing this round the woods and ruining the trails on BSOs with monster electric assists

(I own and ride motorbikes as well as bicycles)

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:06 pm
by Zippy
Trail-rat wrote:why not save the hassle and just buy a motorbike/mobility scooter - delete as applicable.
Certain electric motor characteristics - flat torque curve, superior power control to ICE, far more advanced control strategies, packaging constraints and energy density when making something bespoke etc. etc.

ICE is all well and good, but I'm actually starting to get interested in electricity powered moving things...


Anyway - I doubt I'll be fiddling with one in all reality - it's just if say I got given one or something. More likely to build a jet engine out of an old turbo and attaching that to a bicycle first to be honest.... Image

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:18 pm
by Trail-rat
likewise dont get me wrong im supportive of Ebikes - hell i was selling them when they still had lead acid batterys and had a max range of 20miles - and were almost unridable once flat due to weighing 60lbs +

But i see no reason for them to be assisted over 15mph due to the areas they are using and toally agree once they can go above that pace under their own power that they should be classed as a road going vehicle.

Image

the year was 2002. it was a great vintage.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:22 pm
by Bearbonesnorm
I don't have much E-bike experience but my dis-joined thoughts are:

I sometimes meet an old boy in Hafren who rides one, if he didn't have the assist he wouldn't be able to ride - +1 for the E-bike.

I coached a woman last week who brought one with her. It had decent suspension, brakes, etc but weighed an awful lot - I thought, there's no way you're pedalling that home if it runs out of juice. She told me it was over £2.5k which leads me to think that it won't be kids / nobs buying them. They might as well keep buying cheap / stolen motorbikes which are faster and lets be honest - much cooler.

Everyone tells me they're going to be the next big thing. One day they might be but not until the price drops and the battery life increases.

If I'm out riding round Nant Y Moch or wherever and there's an E-bike riding there too, will it have a negitive impact on my enjoyment? No. What if the thing's 'dongled'? Still No. I think I'm failing to see what all the fuss is about.

Sorry for the rambling nature - feel free to ignore it.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:28 pm
by ton
any able bodied person wanting to use a ebike is not right. I used on for 3 years through ill health. I got rid as soon as I was able.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 3:54 pm
by Richard G
ton wrote:any able bodied person wanting to use a ebike is not right
My missus is "not right" then. I want us to be able to go out on rides together, and she's not into type 2 fun... so an ebike is really the only option in Wales. That's before you consider the fact that I train 8 hours a week on the bike and really struggle to go as slow as average Joe any more.

Frankly I can't wait to get her one, but I'm struggling to find out the full specs on most of the ones I've looked at (run time is going to be really important, as I'd like us to ride for a couple of hours, grab a bite to eat, and then ride back for a couple of hours).

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:12 pm
by jameso
That open letter makes a good point, valid concern.

Last week I was looking at some high-power e-mountain bikes with a buyer I work with. No-one seemed sure about where in the UK you could use it since it's not road legal, thf classed as a moped/motorbike, so it's only allowed where a green-lane crosser can go - ie not on 95% of the places we'd ride. Even then you couldn't ride on road to the places you can ride off-road w/o plates and a road-legal motorbike lid. OK there's the footpath cheeky trail argument with normal bikes but it's not really the same as selling a bike that the customer may not realise is risking points if used on-road and the general displeasure of most if used as an average MTB. Maybe I've missed something in the legistaltion since I'm only interested in road-legal e-bike kit but it seems like a flawed product if the regs are as I think they are.


Richard G, same here, my OH loves her Shimano E-bike demo and what it's done for our cycling is great. There's a lot of regular/relatively quick riders finding the same thing, seems that side of the e-bike market is being recognised at last. It just evens things up. Shimano STEPs does around 4-6 hours or 80-90km under a 50-60kg rider, goes well on min power mode with max only being needed to ride up hills at a quicker pace than I can match once it's over 7% or so. As an example we've used it for 80+ mile mixed on/off road bikepacking trips over a weekend, ~6kg on her e-bike inc the charger, stopped for 2 top ups, one each day. It's been impressive, has 1000km on it now and Evans have committed to the bike so orders are going in.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:24 pm
by Richard G
Cheers jameso. Interesting.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:32 pm
by benp1
jameso wrote: so it's only allowed where a green-lane crosser can go - ie not on 95% of the places we'd ride. Even then you couldn't ride on road to the places you can ride off-road w/o plates and a road-legal motorbike lid.
Actually, it needs an MOT, tax and insurance as well...

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:38 pm
by ton
}My missus is "not right" then.]
sorry, that sounded wrong from me. I was meaning coming from a cycling/sporting background.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 4:47 pm
by jameso
benp1, yup, you need all that with plates but it's worth saying. Could put people off the idea of a 500W e-mtb pretty fast.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 6:22 pm
by benp1
jameso wrote:benp1, yup, you need all that with plates but it's worth saying. Could put people off the idea of a 500W e-mtb pretty fast.
Yep, it'll just be a slow motocross bike :grin:

I guess you'd need a CBT as well, or not if you're old enough to have the right driving licence...?

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 7:11 pm
by Richard G
ton wrote:sorry, that sounded wrong from me. I was meaning coming from a cycling/sporting background.
It's alright, I wasn't particularly offended. :P

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:19 pm
by DrMekon

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:52 pm
by Scattamah
At some point in the future, I'd love to get my missus on a Powerfly full susser. Then she'd be able to come out and play rather than Spot stalk me. Problem is I'd probably want to nick it or get lazy and ask for a tow!

Greetz

S.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 2:03 pm
by Richard G
Scattamah wrote:At some point in the future, I'd love to get my missus on a Powerfly full susser. Then she'd be able to come out and play rather than Spot stalk me. Problem is I'd probably want to nick it or get lazy and ask for a tow!
That's not nearly as expensive as I was expecting.

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:04 am
by Ian
"Lost" my first KOM to some bloke on an ebike yesterday :roll:

Re: E-Bike Threat

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:06 am
by voodoo_simon
Ian wrote:"Lost" my first KOM to some bloke on an ebike yesterday :roll:
I got a lot of podiums last week whilst testing a E-bike :lol: