Road commuter

I remember years ago commuting to work, when this mom blows by me on a bike pulling a children's trailer with two young kids in it. I am not overly competitive but I thought what???? Told my commuting friends at work and they just laughed and said I was getting old. Then a couple weeks later an old guy blows by me, barely pedaling, so I draft him, (I am old too) Wow, he's got a big rear hub I was thinking. lol That was when e bikes first came out. Never saw one before.

Awesome invention. There should be almost no cars on the road. Just sayin...

edwong3

Just a few years back, whenever I came to this website and scrolled down to my then favorite section (Folding Bikes), I would see the "Electric bikes" header and say to myself, why would anyone other than very physically incompetent people spend money on an e-bike? But life happens and in 2016, I get very ill and land in a hospital with several symptoms related to my diabetes.

Now fast forward a few years later and I am riding an e-bike, however, mine is anything but "stealth". It very much looks like it is an "electric something" (See my avatar).

I suspect more manufactures will probably offer models that would fool almost anyone so that they don't notice, at least right away that they have been smoked by an e-biker while barely breaking a sweat. And the neat thing is that they don't have to cost an arm and a leg with entries like the Ride 1 Up "Roadster" and the Rad Cycles "Rad Mission". Both hover very near $1,000 so they won't break the bank.

Yes, the future is bright.

skookum

I converted an old 1983 Stumpjumper to an ebike. I love it, but the massive battery pack gives away the game. Also all the wires everywhere.

spinnanz

Mines not often spotted as elec. The rear hub is a small 36v 250w unit, which I've run at 48v 620w for over 2000km now.

Full speed it touches 40kph with a range of about 30km at that speed. Cruising at 25kph it's got a range of 80km.

All up it owes me £290, including the cost of the bike.

skookum

You've posted that before, I love that bike, its a classic.
I especially like the chainguard. What a cool bike!
If I see a classy old bike like that, I will buy it and do a conversion.

linberl

I think mine is pretty stealthy, although I really don't care about that at all. I just wanted the least possible added weight and my OM system is only 4.5lbs. I need to carry the bike up multiple flights of stairs and the 19lbs of the bike is about all I'm good for (I'm 71, and a tiny female and a wuss, too). So I pop off
the electric system and put it in my sling bag to take the weight off my arm. Works well for me, anyway. But I do love everything being wireless pretty much!

Battery in the revelate feed bag.

KPREN

This reminds me that my brother has one of those old industrial bikes that came out of Cleveland Engine Plant leaning up against his garage. I might take a look at it. Pretty heavy duty for an e bike.

spinnanz

I was actually a little surprised in the weight seeing its steel. Its 3kg lighter than my partners factory made alloy ebike.