Will Electric Bikes Overtake Standard Bike Sales?
11-12-18, 12:29 PM
#126
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I'm 69, live in upstate rural NY, can't afford a car and my life would be miserable without my ebike.
11-12-18, 12:34 PM
#127
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This concern of durable repair is accurate.
While tubes, tires, chain, seat, pedals, stem, & handlebars are standard, my Specialized frame, motor, & battery are proprietary to Specialized. I think ebikes might need replacement in 7 years if spare parts can't be 3d-printed. Like digital cameras and smartphones versus the old SLR's and land-line phones. Still I love my Turbo Vado!
11-12-18, 01:26 PM
#128
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I've been a bike rider for 60 years and do find the idea of not just an E-bike but a retro-fit for current rides. As a field service engineer(retired), I will wait until the quality and dependability meet my criteria. The retro-fit is if most interest for conversion of tri-cycle units for handicap and disabled riders.
11-12-18, 01:26 PM
#129
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I notice that ebikes draw high interest from old bikers like myself. The ability to keep riding with groups makes the ebike a strong contender for riders who can no longer hold the pace of younger stronger riders. A couple years back I had a health issue that knocked my daily ride distance from 20 some miles to about 5. I put an ebike kit on one of my fat tire bikes and put about 4000 miles on it that year, riding most of them with my biker buddies. I sold that kit but have since bought another to play with and greatly enjoy tinkering with it.
A big plus...I’ve not yet seen an ebike being sold with pedals as an OPTION.
A big plus...I’ve not yet seen an ebike being sold with pedals as an OPTION.
11-12-18, 01:48 PM
#130
☢
The adolescent e-bike hack
Well, let's say I hack my bike. My current range is about 20 miles if I go all out on the maximum assist. I have to go 20 miles, and to prolong battery life i want to have at least 20% of battery left after I arrive to my work. So I have to play nice, and reduce the assist, pedal more so battery does not get taxed as bad. If I hack my bike for $200 and try to go at 30MPH to my work, the battery will hit 0% after 10 miles. If I want to preserve my battery life (that sucker cost $1,000 to replace), even with the hack I have to play nice and do the exact same speed I do now.
That didn't take long now, did it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik6poNLzswM
Go to 8:00 for summary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik6poNLzswM
Go to 8:00 for summary.
11-12-18, 05:34 PM
#132
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$760 electric bike: 350 watt hours (20 to 25 miles range), mechanical disc brakes, front suspension, headlight, kickstand, 6 speed drive train, throttle, fenders, 20 mph top speed. I could see this appealing to casual riders who don't need a lot of range.
https://www.sears.com/goplus-26inch-...e/p-A013219277
https://www.sears.com/goplus-26inch-...e/p-A013219277
11-12-18, 06:21 PM
#134
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11-12-18, 07:08 PM
#135
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I don't think I would ever purchase an electric bike... If the battery got discharged you end up pedaling a 50-60 pound bike. Those batteries are also very expensive to replace.
11-12-18, 07:53 PM
#136
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The primary reason why mopeds fell out of favor once their engine failed. Electric motors however, do have the advantage of being less complex, cleaner, more reliable, and significantly more efficient. You can also transport them on trains and buses. A convenience that was unavailable during the moped boom.
11-12-18, 08:21 PM
#137
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My take is the future is all e-bike. In the future, almost all bikes will be e-powered. Pedal bikes will be as common as fixies are now.
E-bike with limited to low speed will be dominating. E-power provide electrical advanage; while derailleirs provide mechanical advantage that made riding hills so much easier. People said derailleirs were a fad and a cheat. People's opinion change.
The key is cost. When the price of e-bike is about the same as a pedal bike.
I'd luv to have an e-bike. But I would only use the e-motor for hill climb or fighting head wind. It'll make the riding experience more enjoyable. And I bet I'll ride more often because it becomes more fun to ride instead of gruelling and painful. So many times, I decided not to ride because too windy or too hilly...but if I had e-bike, I would have done it.
E-bike with limited to low speed will be dominating. E-power provide electrical advanage; while derailleirs provide mechanical advantage that made riding hills so much easier. People said derailleirs were a fad and a cheat. People's opinion change.
The key is cost. When the price of e-bike is about the same as a pedal bike.
I'd luv to have an e-bike. But I would only use the e-motor for hill climb or fighting head wind. It'll make the riding experience more enjoyable. And I bet I'll ride more often because it becomes more fun to ride instead of gruelling and painful. So many times, I decided not to ride because too windy or too hilly...but if I had e-bike, I would have done it.
I enjoy the challenge of the wind or the hills. I am 55, commute to work 30 miles in a day....often three days a week. I also do physical, outside work most of the day, so the going home can be a bigger challenge. I ride on a relatively cheap 29er mountain bike (SE Big Mountain), and it is a good workout. I commute all winter and have commuted that first 15 miles at 4:00am in well below zero temps.
Part of the "fun" is the idea of taking on the obstacles. If I always rode with the wind at my back, warm weather, and flat roads all the time, it wouldn't be as satisfying as pushing myself to see what I can endure. It also helps you appreciate those times when it is a little easier....instead of just expecting it to be that way as a condition for making the decision to ride.
11-12-18, 09:13 PM
#139
Georgia Traveler
It was a short lived craze. You can read more about it at this link: https://vintagemopeds.net/page-4/
Last edited by richart; 11-12-18 at 09:13 PM. Reason: corrected link
11-12-18, 09:15 PM
#140
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People use that general range argument against electric vehicles too, that doesn't stop their popularity from continuing to increase. As with EVs,the overwhelming majority of the population's needs are already taken care of by current range limitations.
11-13-18, 12:06 PM
#142
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Personally I'm more interested in howe e-bikes might display car sales & usage. The more zero emission vehicles on the street the better.
Likes For Mogens:
11-13-18, 06:34 PM
#144
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Perhaps displace an insignificant/negligible amount of local automobile trip mileage in good weather.
11-13-18, 07:03 PM
#145
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At least where I lived, it was more a media craze than a reality. I knew someone who owned one, but as I recall it never worked very well. You saw a few on the road, but they were never beyond the level of an oddity. I suspect there may have been a few metro areas where they were more popular. I think E-bikes will at least eclipse that 'craze' as the technology and thus the reliability is a lot better, but I don't think they'll become a major transportation alternative.
11-13-18, 07:11 PM
#146
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Probably not displace car sales in the slightest as they are not suitable as replacements for anybody who actually owns or uses a car or truck for something besides local errands and commuting only in good weather and carrying cargo or passengers is never a concern.
Perhaps displace an insignificant/negligible amount of local automobile trip mileage in good weather.
Perhaps displace an insignificant/negligible amount of local automobile trip mileage in good weather.
11-13-18, 09:15 PM
#147
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I think that's a tad pessimistic, but I guess we'll see. It's obviously going to depend a great deal on what type of environment someone lives in and their circumstances. Here's what I'm thinking for example. I have two daughters (10 and 12 years old) and a wife, as a family we have two cars. In a few years we will begin to need to reevaluate our transportation needs. We don't really want to have more than two cars, so an e-bike or two might make that more viable. So it wouldn't be about getting rid of our cars so much as not adding a third and generally using our cars less. We'd like to get to a point where we're at zero emissions, so this would be part of the solution.
I certainly wouldn't discourage doing the same with e-bikes. We let the kids have some choice in the matter. My daughter got a decrepit old single-speed from a work colleague of mine, and rebuilt it herself. My son turned a bike boom ten speed into a hipster bike. Getting the kids up to speed on maintenance has paid off for us.
11-14-18, 02:09 AM
#148
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Riding a bike to school would be like giving it away. Even a beater bike wouldn't stand much of a chance of not being stolen with all those idol minds of the adolescent.
11-14-18, 08:03 AM
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Depends on where you live. My kids haven't had any problems. A huge number of kids ride their bikes. Very few kids drive -- there's nowhere for them to park.
11-14-18, 08:18 AM
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I dunno where you all live, but it must suck never being able to take your bike anywhere without fear of it being stolen.