dendawg

vivax Assist, Gruber Assist E-Bikes (Fahrradantriebe, Elektrorad )

dmanthree

I'd rather walk.

Dave Cutter

I certainly hope I am not the first!

But.... the other day was talking with friends about [the new] self-driving cars. And as an older driver with a spouse I see possibilities of driverless cars keeping older adults safely mobile.

I see the same with ebikes. What a great opportunity for mature adults to remain mobile without the concern of exhalation while cycling.

DaveQ24

I have two ebikes. I bought a Prodeco Outlaw in 2013, which is a full-throttle bike, and I bought a Haibike pedal assist bike last October. Nothing to do with health or ability, I bought them with the concept of being able to bike commute to an office job where I can't be dirty or disheveled but I don't have full facilities to clean up. Haven't done it yet, but I really plan to this year.

I think they are a great concept to help people stay active. Like anything, a tool, not a crutch, and it's fine.

FlashBazbo

I have nothing against e-bikes, but if it comes to that for me, I'd rather have something with a lot more power and an internal combustion engine. Make mine a real motorcycle!

mpath

^ This. There is the social aspect of group rides, and I can see as we get older and those same hills start to get steeper/longer than it was the year before, we'd like to keep up and not get dropped. And it benefits the younger/stronger riders too to not have to wait at the top of the hill.

E-bikes are certainly not meant to "cheat" in any way, although I suppose that some will/have. If there's one in my future, it'll be something like this @ 240 watts!

DiabloScott

When I can no longer do this ride because of wattage limitations... I will absolutely accept an assist.

The alternative would be to limit myself to flat rides... yeah, no.

winston63 

While I'm more than content being the motor right now, I have thought about buying an electric or e-assist utility bike & trailer for hauling things that I'd normally use a car for.

As for an e-assist recreational bike, I don't want one now, but I'll not hesitate to consider it if things should change and it keeps me riding.

indyfabz

+1.


An e-assist bike is a mo-ped, we all know what mo-peds and large woman have in common.

FBinNY 

I see a real reason to like e-bikes because they can bridge the gap making bicycling more accessible. However I'm concerned that overly liberal laws and bikes built to beat them will create a new category of low power motorcycles as opposed to electric assist pedal bicycles. This will lead to regulation, which may filter down and kill the category the same way it killed of mopeds some decades back.

true ASSIST motors like this are, IMO, the best answer, in that they keep the bicycle a bicycle, yet offer that extra bit of help that many people will want for hilly terrain.

I'm hoping that when states and the feds revisit regulation, they'll preserve the category with rules that restrict motor assist to when the bike is moving at less than 17 mph. Anyone who can ride at that speed doesn't need an assist anymore.

If there's a desire to create a low powered MC category, that can be done too, though it' rules shouldn't affect the assist category.

Joe Minton

I am 75 & Nancy is 66. We have two new Raleigh Misceo IEs with the Shimano STEPS system, including the 8-speed Alfine hub. They are very much bicycles in looks, ride and handling qualities. They allow us to go on rides we seldom took on our other bikes; we live in a hilly area and most rides are uphill from our house.
We actually get more exercise with these bikes than we did with the others. Why, you might ask? -- Because they are so much more fun to ride: The hills are shallower. We get to go 17+ mph for the same personal output that previously delivered 11. We go more places and farther away than before. It is easier and safer to ride in traffic because of our greater speed and, more importantly, we can accelerate from a light more quickly. Nancy can now keep up and that makes riding more fun for both of us.

We considered these e-bikes to be complimentary to our other bikes when we bought them. However neither of us rides anything else these days; they are remarkably capable and enjoyable.

Joe

Biker395 

I am encountering more and more of them on my commute.

I think they serve a legitimate purpose. There are people out there who would like to commute by bike, but can't get in the kind of physical condition to go the distance they need to go in the time allotted.

My objections to them?

1. Although they are legally governed to a maximum speed, they can be modified to exceed that speed, and I see more than a few doing exactly that. That's going to make the bike paths and MUPs that much more dangerous.

2. One of the truly wonderful things about bicycles is that they are elegantly simple machines that are solely human powered. E-bikes? Not elegantly simple, and not human powered. Adding a motor is no small change to the essence of a bicycle. It makes it something entirely different.

dbg

I'm just not warming up to the idea. I (and my biking friends) prefer long rides and tours. Besides the two good points above from Biker395 (don't need more speed on MUPs, and don't need to add complications to a beautifully simple machine), ...the whole notion of "assistance only when needed" bothers me a bit. I don't like the idea of dragging around a motor and heavy battery when I don't need it. It starts to feel like I'm adding propulsion assistance just to drag around its mechanisms. And for all day rides the battery has zero chance of lasting as long as I want to ride. My wife has considered it --but I think she'd also see problems with it after several hours of dragging a depleted battery up the afternoon hills. But that's just my view, and I have been wrong before

tsurr

full blown chopper for me

CrankyOne

E-bikes are extremely popular among older folks in The Netherlands and Sweden. They allow people to continue to get around safely and get some exercise when they otherwise wouldn't be able to.

We're getting to the age where some of our friends are starting to get them. The good ones are really a joy to ride. I'm guessing that my bakfiets will likely be the first. There are already days when I've a load in it and think about how nice a bit of assist would be. Not sure between my wife and I which of us will be first. I'll hold out as long as I can but won't hesitate when the time is right. I'd much rather have a bit of assist than not be able to ride at all or ride a lot less.

350htrr

Misconceptions on E-Assist bikes, as I see it...

1; E-Assist bikes are all mopeds, well some can be with the lax US definitions/laws, but EU definition/law makes sure you HAVE to pedal to get anywhere...

2; E-Assist bikes will reduce your fitness, it could, but most people end up riding more, and as long as they have an EU legal E-Assist they usually end up more fit than when they rode a non-assisted bicycle.

3; E-Assist bikes are too complicated. They are getting more reliable all the time, my wife's E-Assist hasn't failed yet in the 3 years she had it, Mine failed once in the 5 years I had it.

Phloom

E-Assist defeats the purpose of a bicycle. Getting around under your own power. And E-Assist will neutralize the main benefit of a bicycle, fitness. On my new bike, I did include a bit of E-Assist. Electronic Power Shift Derailleurs. Save a bit of energy from my dainty and delicate fingers when I am shifting.

350htrr

It can if used with a throttle, or it can enhance your riding where you ride more, to the point where like my wife she went from about 100Km per year to about 1,200Km per year...

Hey, I have too have an ORYX 500.

RonH

I'm 72 and still love riding my road bikes. For me, electric assist is something they'll use to lower the coffin in the ground.

Phloom

Cool. It is my daily commuter. A friend was going to toss it out, I mentioned I would be interested and I got a free bike. Replace the front shocks with a carbon fibre fork and added fenders and a Brooks B-17.
Last year, I replaced the drive train with a Deore XT and upgraded the brakes to BB7's. It is a tough aluminium mountain bike.

I have nothing against E-Assist except it isn't for me for the reasons I indicated. Maybe when I get older, I will change my mind.

dbg

So I'd be interested in looking (for the wife, of course). Besides the brand listed by the OP, what other brands of E-Assist have people been happy with?

FBinNY 

Years ago, when I first started in design and manufacturing, I was given this bit of good advice which can apply to the question of E-assist bikes.

Never sacrifice the good on the altar of perfection.

I reference this whenever I think about e-bikes.While I'm not in the market (yet?), I think of all those people who are not riding because they live in hilly areas and find riding too difficult or frustrating. So, while we all agree that one would be fitter if they rode a regular bike, they won'[t be fitter if they don't. If e-assist can flatten those hills and open bicycling to the now non-riding, then those people will benefit, and end up fitter by virtue of hatever extent they turn the pedals themselves.

ZIPP2001

Won't ever get an electric assist bike, that would take all the fun out of doing my hill repeats.

InTheRain

I have an ebike with a bionx conversion kit. I certainly would have no clue how to modify the hardware and software to defeat the 20 mph 0assist limit. However, I regularly have people on road bikes fly by me on the MUP in excess of 35 mph. It will be more difficult to solve that problem before you have to worry about illegally modified ebikes.

InTheRain

The purpose of my ebike is to get me to work and back... fitness has nothing to do with it. I have a carbon fiber road bike for fitness activities.

I'm sure I was not the first to get an ebike for commuting... I wish I could say I was first. However, I wish I would have got an ebike for commuting many years ago (I've had mine for 2 years.)