Big fat riders.

[allen-uk]

Weight. (i.e. MY weight, not the bike's). Hadn't realized it would be an issue. I walk, I cycle, I'm vastly overweight (18 stone).

But when I got to the Electric Transport Shop's website, it
(a) has a category for 'heavier riders' and
(b) says that electric bikes are designed for sub-100kg riders (i.e. less than 16 stone).

So: any other fat electric bike riders hereabouts? I might be able to shift a stone, but much more than that is not realistic. I don't want to pay out £1K-plus and find the bugger won't take me up hills!

Allen.

 

[eddieo]

Errr.....there are one or two of us robust riders about

Obviously a decent quality bike will handle more weight, and when you hit a hill you ain't going to climb as well or as fast as someone lighter. By example: our local hill I get up it using all the gears more or less and a bit puffed at the top.....My wife just sails up hardly needing to change gear. (different model wisper bikes but same motors and batteries)

My fitness has improved 10 fold over the 18 months I have been e biking, but at the end of the day weight is weight and will hold you back on hills unless very strong legs of course.

you really need to get out there and demo some bikes

 

[flecc]

I'm under 11 stones Allen, but we have a very large number of members from 16 to over 20 stones, so you wouldn't be alone in e-biking. Most e-bikes will cope with a bit over 100 kilos, I remember David Miall of Wisper remarking how his bikes always coped easily when he was way over that weight.

Some bikes are actually made for the bigger and/or heavier rider, the Panasonic powered Kalkhoff on this link is reinforced for riders up to 170 kilos (27 stones) and comes in crossbar or step-through versions in four different frame sizes to cope with almost any human born yet.

However, the three largest factors for hill climbing are weight, speed and gradient, the larger any of those is, the greater the power needed. For example:

Rider 70 kilos, e-bike 24 kilos, 1 in 10 hill, total power needed at 7 mph = 310 watts

Rider 130 kilos, same bike, hill and speed, power needed = 490 watts

At 10 mph climb speed, the respective powers needed for those two are 440 watts and 720 watts.

Anything the motor can't provide you are left to do.
.

 

[Tim]

Kalkhoff's Agattu XXL is rated up to 170kg/27 stone! It just won an award from ExtraEnergy as the best 'Tour Pedelec' and ADAC (the German AA) also gave it top marks last month.

50cycles Electric Bikes - Kalkhoff Agattu XXL Pedelec Electric Bike is Best Electric Bicycle Ever

Ah, missed that link, thanks flecc!

 

[flecc]

Ah, missed that link, thanks flecc!

Pleasure Tim, I've already suggested on this link that Allen contacts you in due course for a test ride on a Kalkhoff at the South London location to see what the Panasonic unit is like.
.

 

[allen-uk]

Wow, that Kalkhoff looks like the one for me.

There is a big problem in road-testing, which is why I'm not scooting around London getting test rides, and I don't think there is a way round it, hence my constant questioning instead.

Problem is that I can scarcely ride a normal bike, due to the prosthetic leg that I use. The saddle is either far too high (alright, easily adjusted, but then the back of my plastic leg bangs into my thigh, painful for more than a few yards), and/or the pedal (left) is too far away (foot comes off pedal at the bottom of each rotation).

I have solved these problems with my own bike using a Gravitydropper and a crank-shortener, but I can't really expect to arrive at a demo and then start making alterations to the bike's geometry just to suit me!

My problem, and I'm not asking for solutions, just your continued patience as my quest for knowledge has to be theoretical, and not as practical as I'd prefer.


(Half-hour later: Slight alteration to above - just been round the block without the Gravitydropper, and it IS possible, although not v. comfortable. Where there's a will...)

Allen.

 

[flecc]

My problem, and I'm not asking for solutions, just your continued patience as my quest for knowledge has to be theoretical, and not as practical as I'd prefer.

No problem Allen, helping solve problems is what we are about. We have other e-bike riding members who have major leg problems including Stumpi, who has just one leg as you might guess from his forum name.

Here's his member page, have a look at his "signature".
.

 

[Lloyd]

I am 16stone and tried my hardest to break the non-XXL version for nearly 2 years with no problems whatsoever. I even took it off road down mountain bike Downhill Tracks.

Crank drive systems are better suited to the heavier rider, as hills have less an effect on your overall range and strain on the battery.

I also rode Pro Connects with no issues at the same weight.

 

[allen-uk]

Flecc: thanks for the Stumpi link - I've PMed him.

Lloyd: also thanks. What's the non-XXL version? Is that the Pro Connect? (I'm getting information overload!)

Allen.

 

[flecc]

Flecc: thanks for the Stumpi link - I've PMed him.

Lloyd: also thanks. What's the non-XXL version? Is that the Pro Connect? (I'm getting information overload!)

Allen.

The non-XXL version is the normal strength Kalkhoff Agattu, but there are other models like the Pro Connect. I agree with Lloyd that all of them will easily cope with a 16 stone rider.

You can see all Kalkhoff models on this link.
.

 

[Conal]

17- 18 stone and no problems

Allen

I am around your weight and find no problems riding my electric bike.

You may have to allow for less range.

I know that there are more variables; mainly the energy the rider puts in, but I would have thought that my seven six to seven stone more than Flecc would translate into quiet a big loss of range. However the range I obtain from the new 14Amp and 10Amp batteries is similar to other, lighter riders. My bike does not have a throttle only option and I put work in, so this may be why.

David probably has the stats at his fingertips as he, like us, is "slightly overweight".

Conal

 

[Stumpi]

Been away for while but I'm back now and have answered Allens PM.

Its great to have another uniped on the board if you want to share a pair of socks let me know

 

[Old Timer]

Just been reading the reviews of the Kalkhoff range of bikes. Well! not sure I`ve ever seen such a collection of happy reviews. The bikes must obviously have something going for them. I notice that most people were saying how well they dealt with hills and one guy reckons he rode up a 1 in 4 in 3rd gear

There is quite a gap between the base model and the higher priced ones but apart from a few obvious things like later gears etc I wonder just why they are around £1k apart. Also I note that the battery is around 26V? is that enough or does the crank motor work differently.

Dave

 

[flecc]

There is quite a gap between the base model and the higher priced ones but apart from a few obvious things like later gears etc I wonder just why they are around £1k apart. Also I note that the battery is around 26V? is that enough or does the crank motor work differently.

Dave

Works very differently Dave. Because it drives through the bike gears one can change down to some degree for hills just as on a car, keeping the motor relationship at an optimum. Also the power is directly linked to the pedal action, each trust of the pedals through the torque sensor causes the motor to join in with pulses, adding to the muscle power, a bionic action. In other words, it acts like a servo motor rather than continuously running at steady power. Also the maximum power is applied at lower pedal cadences up to 40 per minute, so climbing in a higher gear than normal is often possible. 26 volts is plenty in these circumstances.

It's these major differences that prompts me to always advise trying both systems, crank and hub motor. The crank motor is best when the hills are very steep where hub motors run out of steam at lower speeds.

In essence, riding the Panasonic or Yamaha systems is still cycling, but with added leg muscle power on each pedal stroke. A hub motor system by contrast is a very low powered motor cycle with pedal assistance.
.

 

[simonbarnett]

My svelte figure weighs in at anything between 16 and 18 stone. I found both the standard Kalkhoff Agattu and my current ProConnect S are fine for fatties.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Fat? Me?

I ride the Wisper XC tourer every day and can climb all the hills in the Sevenoaks area without dismounting. Our new Alpino range is also built for those riders that also like pie!



Proof!

Incidentally my 22 stone (shown here!) is now down to 19 simply by getting on my bike!

Our 900 series frames are designed to take the heavier rider, and the power from the massive 504Wh battery will drive you up many hills for many miles!

All the best

David

 

[Stumpi]

I ride the Wisper XC tourer every day and can climb all the hills in the Sevenoaks area without dismounting. Incidentally my 22 stone is now down to 19 simply by getting on my bike!

Our 900 series frames are designed to take the heavier rider, and the power from the massive 504Wh battery will drive you up many hills for many miles!

All the best

David

Being a larger gentleman myself My recent Wisper purchase(City S) is very comfortable and sturdy. Like David the weight is slowly dropping off without slogging my guts out hillclimbing

 

[allen-uk]

Thanks for all the most helpful and encouraging replies.

I really thought I was going to be the token fatty around here, but I can see that I shall fit in very nicely (although maybe with a bit of a squeeze).

Allen

PS A technical (web) point - I don't get email notifications of replies! No harm as I come and look in anyway.

 

[Stumpi]

Is that Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Blown

Oh no....... my cover has been blown! (so to speak!)

Best regards

David (Ron) Miall