Can you ride an ebike in fully manual mode?

[tomchubb]

I'm looking to get an ebike to improve my fitness with the option of assisted pedalling on a return leg. I've had 4 knee operations so I like the fact that the bike will weight a little more but I need to know if it is possible to fully disengage the motor so that you can ride effectively like a normal bike and then switch back on again when needed. I can't seem to find this info on any websites.
I'm thinking of going for a Carrera Subway E Mens Electric Hybrid Bike 2.0 - 20" in case anyone has any advice for or against one of these?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ocsid]

Welcome.
With crank motors at least, internal clutches allow that but the extent of the gearing still involved, so the "drag" varies, design to design; I am not able to assist in the details model to model, others I know are.

 

[tomchubb]

Welcome.
With crank motors at least, internal clutches allow that but the extent of the gearing still involved, so the "drag" varies, design to design; I am not able to assist in the details model to model, others I know are.

Thanks for that - I know more than I did before, so that's still helpful.

 

[MichaelM]

I have a bike on order with a Bosch Active Line Plus Gen 3 which I have been told has ~zero resistance when pedalled without motor support. I hope that's true, but I believe some other mid-motors create material drag.

 

[Scorpio]

Electric bikes can have the motor in the front or back wheel, or as part of the pedal assembly. Almost all legal bikes with the motor in the wheel have a free-wheel system so when the power is turned off they act like a normal cycle (but with a bit of extra weight because of the battery and electric motor). To reduce the weight difference you can normally remove the battery if you just want to use the bike in non-electric mode (no reason why not but it's not something I've ever chosen to do).

I'm not sure how the electric pedal assembly units work so can't say if they have a similar freewheel system or some other arrangement.

Avoid big powerful "direct drive" motors as these have no freewheel so will always be engaged - and slow you down when not in use. They are very poor choice for normal cycling so are best avoided for several reasons.

 

[vfr400]

I'm looking to get an ebike to improve my fitness with the option of assisted pedalling on a return leg. I've had 4 knee operations so I like the fact that the bike will weight a little more but I need to know if it is possible to fully disengage the motor so that you can ride effectively like a normal bike and then switch back on again when needed. I can't seem to find this info on any websites.
I'm thinking of going for a Carrera Subway E Mens Electric Hybrid Bike 2.0 - 20" in case anyone has any advice for or against one of these?
Thanks in advance.

All electric bikes that you can buy online or in any shop are like that.

 

[tomchubb]

All electric bikes that you can buy online or in any shop are like that.

I read somewhere that it's like riding with the brakes on which is why I thought best to check.

 

[soundwave]

this is what is inside my bosch motor.


but you are still going to have a 20kg plus bike so either way it is going to take more effort with no power used.

 

[sjpt]

There are a few systems like the Fazua (https://fazua.com/en/) where you can fairly easily completely remove the battery and motor. They are expensive, don't give a huge amount of assist and the battery is fairly low capacity, but they are highly spoken of if you want a pretty light bike with option of assist. One of the cheapest is the Boardman https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/bikes/e-bikes/

 

[Ocsid]

Just come in form a ride where I explored your question.
With our 2016 Kalkhoff Agattu featuring an Impulse 2 crank drive*, on the flat it works okay with the motor switched off, considering its a 25 odd kgs bike. Very little fun, better get the exercise selecting a torque sensing drive system, and then contributing to climbing some hills.

* Not a drive with a good reliability record here or generally. Though IMO, functionally seemed to offer the best "ride" experience of the offerings available at time of purchase. We came to these things as aging, life time, cyclists so wanted a "cycling experience", but now with an element of assistance on hills.

 

[vfr400]

I read somewhere that it's like riding with the brakes on which is why I thought best to check.

That's complete rubbish. Ebikes are a bit heavier, which you might notice if you're a regular cyclist. Without electric help, each kilogram you add in weight either to yourself or the bike means that when you go uphill, you have to pedal approximately 1% harder to maintain the same speed as before. The average Ebike electrics add 6 - 8 kg to a bike. Downhill, the weight helps you, so you don't have to pedal as hard, and on a flat road, it makes no difference, except that acceleration won't be so fast.

When you switch on the motor, all that changes, obviously.

 

[Nealh]

Without assistance you are riding a heavy dead weight as extra ballast about 10 - 15 lbs or so for the battery and motor whether hub or mid motor. The affect feels like drag but is weight which one becomes conditioned to not feeling with assistance.
Without assistance as mentioned the acceleration is slow as it is like having 2 stone to your weight, low gearing is key to get up to speed and then once as speed it is easy to keep going.

 

[Amoto65]

No problem riding without assist on mine as it weighs less than 14kg and there is no motor drag at all. There are some really light e-bikes out there nowadays.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

No problem riding without assist on mine as it weighs less than 14kg and there is no motor drag at all. There are some really light e-bikes out there nowadays.

A 14kg ebike with no drag at all? That's impressive! What bike do you have?

There's a bit of drag on my Bafang 01b mid drive, but not enough to prevent me from (very slowly) limping home if I run out of power, which for me is the important bit. On my bike, the addition of the Bafang kit feels about the difference of a rear gear cog or two, depending on the incline.

 

[Amoto65]

A 14kg ebike with no drag at all? That's impressive! What bike do you have?

Specialized Creo comp carbon evo. I sold my soul to the devil to get it.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Specialized Creo comp carbon evo. I sold my soul to the devil to get it.

That's a devil of a bike! Are you recently divorced now? At that price, I would have chosen demonic guitar skills, fortune and fame!

 

[Amoto65]

That's a devil of a bike! Are you recently divorced now? At that price, I would have chosen devilish guitar skills and fame!

Lol not quite, got a good deal and a very understanding wife who rides bikes as well.

 

[RetiredAndRolling]

Hi. I have no problem cycling with motor off on the flat. I do this from time to time during lockdown to get a bit more exercise. As others have said, it’s like riding a heavy bike but not too bad. In there is an incline then you’ll want the motor on.