Article in Sunday Times, ingear, cycledguy

[10mph]

The Cycle Guy column in the Sunday Times today has an article by Robert Penn about his experience with a Spencer Ivy electric bike costing £1900. It is predictable: enjoys the assist, but heavy to carry up steps and load on and off trains. Heavy on the wallet.

 

[Andys]

I never understand why testing of Ebykes is always done by the least suitable cyclist; usually young, certainly fit and unlikely to enjoy any of the benefits of an Ebyke. Get them tested by people like me; my bike got me back into cycling to work and up a hill I couldn't make on my "manual" machine. The downside is that, though I am doing more "real" cycling at the weekends; for commuting, it would take a crowbar to get me off the electric.

Andy

 

[RoadieRoger]

Should have put Clarkson on it and disconnected the brakes .

 

[Marchant]

Yeah likewise, Andy. Nothing beats 'proper' cycling for sheer joy & exhileration, but for the mundanity of commuting ebiking is little short of a godsend. There is NO WAY I would want to shower and change every morning when I arrive at the office, I simply couldn't be arsed. Therefore I might cycle to work occasionally, maybe on Fridays or something, whereas ebiking conveys me cool, calm and collected to work with the benefit of fresh air and exercise (not to mention removing a car from crowded roads) every day. It seems the print media just aren't getting it...

 

[amigafan2003]

It seems the print media just aren't getting it...

Fine with me as obscurity leads to less regulation, policing and enforcement - which suits my ebiking use down to the ground

 

[JuicyBike]

...and when you suggest they let the air out of their tyres they accuse you of sarcasm...

 

[steveindenmark]

Andys..I disagree with you...a bit.

There are no unsuitable riders for electric bikes, young or older.

What they need to do is test them with a broad range of riders to get a true idea of what they are like.

I don`t need an electric bike and I ride 22km to work each day. I have mine for fun. But other riders on here have them out of necessity. We all have different ideas about them.

Steve