Case studies - how has your electric bike changed your life?

Hi everyone

 

I’m looking to publish a few stories on the home page ‘news’ area to give examples of the various reasons people buy one and therefore the benefits of e-bikes.

 

We had this great example a few months back of getting heart-patient Nick back in the saddle. I’d really like a whole host more to show all the different reasons to spur others on in similar situations to try an e-bike.

 

Dodgy knees, cracking on a bit (it comes to us all!), wanting to get fit, commuting, other health issues.. I’d like to publish people’s experiences in their own words. How they chose their bike, what they do with it, how it’s changed their lives. It certainly doesn’t have to be expertly written and I’d like to show ‘every day’ people with ‘every day’ problems, as well as anything more unusual that their e-bike has overcome, hopefully with a picture of you and your bike too.

 

I have PMd a couple of members already discussing their experiences on here, so still hoping they’re not going to be shy..

 

Similarly if any businesses are using e-bikes I’d like to hear about that too.

 

Please PM me if you'd like to share your story.

 

Thanks everyone

Thanks to Mike for sharing his story here. This is the best bit for me, hearing of the benefits electric bikes bring to different people, just the freedom really.. We'd love to publish more so please do PM me if you'd like to tell us about you and your bike.

I had an incomplete quadriplegic spinal injury from a cycling accident in 1995. I was back home in 6 months with some very wobbly walking. My family and friends were great: anytime I needed a lift I just called but after a few months I really wanted my independence back.

 

I worked in IT and had Internet access so I 'discovered' electric cycling in 1997. Soon I tracked down Cresswell Engineering. who designed the Tri-1 (now made by Pashley). I bought the model with a fold and had it fitted with a motor system and before long I was able to go out on my own whenever I wanted.

 

After 12 months I could drive again and I chose a 5-door hatchback that would take the tricycle. I returned to work and as my confidence and health returned I got back to 2 wheels in 2000 so I could have a long holiday in America, buying a bike from Scott McGregor at EVDeals.

 

Since then I designed my own electric solutions and in 2006 I designed the nano Brompton. This became my 'legs' for any journey more than 50 yards but it became obvious that able cyclist wanted one too. I got it into manufacture and more than 500 have been shipped to date. I focus on building bikes to meet special needs and I get a real boost helping folks like me get independent again.

 

Tony Castles

Being a new member of this forum, and have just purchased my first eBike. How has it changed my life. First the question of age enters the scene and I am now having to consider how to get nearer to my subject when out on a Photography shoot. Second and most important my wife has just died and now have to tackle everything that a married couple had to do by myself. My wife and I had discussed getting bikes (bearing in mind that we (were fast approaching our 80's ) I have now given up the comforts of touring with a caravan and have bought a bike, I am now to buy a bike rack and a small tent and intend to get away by myself when the Spring comes along. Well how has buying a E-Bike changed me. The main thing it allows me to get nearer my subject and to keep on enjoying the outdoor life a while longer. Just as the Caravan mover helped to keep caravanning the bike will assist in my Landscape Photography - I will keep the reader informed.

Hi , i have not bought my bike yet but have a running dialog with 50cycles regarding the kalkhoff bs10 :-) i live in norway & have just recovered from cancer & have made up my mind to do the 12 kilometer trip to work from aporox march month i will use jan & feb for trying & info gathering , i would be more than willing to share my progress & thoughts with members , just feel so geared about getting started ...

What bike

 

Hi , i have not bought my bike yet but have a running dialog with 50cycles regarding the kalkhoff bs10 :-) i live in norway & have just recovered from cancer & have made up my mind to do the 12 kilometer trip to work from aporox march month i will use jan & feb for trying & info gathering , i would be more than willing to share my progress & thoughts with members , just feel so geared about getting started ...

 

Hey.

 

Thinking of buying my first Ebike too John, and i also live in Norway. What bike dis you buy?

 

Regards

 

Rune

Rather buying here in the UK, have you tried somewhere closer to home....EVO Bikes Electric Vehicle Oslo - Hjem

 

Also if you have access to Face Book, there appears to be a couple of other dealers when using links via the BH FB page. If you follow the links, the shops appear to sell other bikes besides the BH range bikes. From my experience, I certainly wouldn't recommend buying any BH bike though. https://www.facebook.com/BHEmotionNorge?ref=profile

Edited January 7, 201412 yr by EddiePJ

Hi, My electric bike really did change my life, it gave me my independence and freedom back. I have never owned a car, I simply cannot afford one. I wish I had discovered electric bikes years ago!! A year and a half ago I moved to a new city for a new job - I have M.E so this was a big move for me, getting back into work after years on benefits and living in a village. I struggled with a push bike until it suddenly dawned on me that electric bikes existed! I got a chinese scooter style bike for £260 off an elderly lady on ebay, absolute bargain and it changed my life. Having my electric bike meant I could come and go to work as I needed, I could go shopping by myself, I could travel to see friends easily, I could run around the park with the dog on my bike, I could pop out and do chores easily... the list goes on. I can't tell you how much I loved my bike!! It made all the things that I struggled with, fun again. And just riding it was so much fun, I'd be laughing while I'm riding around sometimes just because it makes me so happy Sadly... just before xmas, just as I'd got a new battery and lights fitted, It got stolen. My heart sank. I tried not to let it bother me but it made my life miserable and such hard work again. The 6 weeks without my bike have been horrible... no fresh food in the house, relying on other people to buy me things or take me out, no popping up the road to see my friends, waiting at bus stops in the freezing rain, having to walk all over town to get to the right places.... Luckily I have managed to get myself a new, folding bike, so I can now take it into work and not have to leave it out on the street to get stolen again. I haven't been out on it yet as I still need new lights etc, but I am so happy and lucky to have yet another amazing electric bike... once I get going again there will be no stopping me!!

 

I would recommend everyone has an electric bike, they're amazing!

After my first commute on my Cyclotricity Stealth I actually shed a tear because it is a life changer for me. I'm nearly 56 and too many marathons & half marathons have taken their toll on me and I now have advanced arthritis in my spine, hips & knees and I have to use a walking stick sometimes. I have continued cycle commuting every week day for 18 months even though some parts of my journey have killed me and then I decided on the Cyclotricity Stealth because it looks like a normal bike. I really can't exaggerate how happy I am and everybody has noticed I arrive at work & home sweating more than usual but this is because I can put the effort in where I want to and then have a push on the bits that kill me so overall I'm getting a more efficient workout. I only use my car once a week on a Friday or Saturday if I'm going out but all other times I will just get on my bike saving so much in fuel etc. For example my Mum lives two miles away which is a steep hill down for a mile and then a steep hill up for a mile but I just get on the Stealth now.

After my first commute on my Cyclotricity Stealth I actually shed a tear because it is a life changer for me. I'm nearly 56 and too many marathons & half marathons have taken their toll on me and I now have advanced arthritis in my spine, hips & knees and I have to use a walking stick sometimes. I have continued cycle commuting every week day for 18 months even though some parts of my journey have killed me and then I decided on the Cyclotricity Stealth because it looks like a normal bike. I really can't exaggerate how happy I am and everybody has noticed I arrive at work & home sweating more than usual but this is because I can put the effort in where I want to and then have a push on the bits that kill me so overall I'm getting a more efficient workout. I only use my car once a week on a Friday or Saturday if I'm going out but all other times I will just get on my bike saving so much in fuel etc. For example my Mum lives two miles away which is a steep hill down for a mile and then a steep hill up for a mile but I just get on the Stealth now.

What a sorry state this country is in - I read many opinions about e.bikes and what strikes me most is the shear lack of empathy many have been brought up with. To make it worse the beaurocrats actually take notice of these by implementing more rules against the use of them - three big cheers for Boris Johnson who battles on with campaign's for them. We are in our late sixties and very fit and active, towing our caravan around France. Alas the hot weather and hilly terrain around the Med got the better of my wife so this year I have fitted an 8Fun mid drive unit and it is fantastic and fun to ride. It has put a sparkle back into her cycling. We see people riding around in those small carts but we would feel like invalids in those things. The important thing is that converted bikes are light enough to be carried on the back of our caravan or car and we can get to places where only a bike can go - ours are mountain bikes so we do need helmets - the wife says they spoil her hair do but I think she looks very sexy in hers. The 8Fun motor its just under the crank - very neat and quiet too. It has the ability to accelerate easily uphill's by changing the normal pedal gears and with the 80nm power available with a 1 - 9 power variation we can really stretch out the battery range. Switching off when going downhill or on easy level ground. Best of all it only cost £500 including the battery - cheaper than our surf boards.

My problem was pretty minor - plantar fasciitis, caused by too much walking. The cure is A) wear a night splint for a week or so and B) walk a lot less for a while, and a bit less for a long while. But I wanted to still go out geocaching, so I started using the bike, because it doesn't aggravate the condition.

 

Now I'd much rather bike round a circuit that walk. Or park outside a town, bike into it and spend the day biking around the town.

 

I've been ebiking for six years now, and I still get the big grin when I'm zooming down a bridleway.

When we had Kids, I stopped running. I used to get up at 5am and run up the hill and back in the mountain bike park over the road from my house. I just have no time now! Two BUSY boys!

 

So my E-bike means I can ride to work and back, and only take 50 minutes per week longer than driving. Plus the time I used to spend driving is now "exercise" time - It's a win-win.

 

I don't think I'd have been fit enough to ride all the way to work and back without the assist (we have STEEP hills!). The time spent on my bike means I get MORE exercise each week, but less LESS of my family time to do it!

 

I leave home at 615AM, shower and dress at work, and am home my 4PM.

 

I've also lost 20KG since my "Christmas Peak". I could lose another 20 though!

 

(Also, paid parking is being introduced at work... not for bikes though:cool:)

 

I REALLY enjoy ebiking to work!

What a sorry state this country is in - I read many opinions about e.bikes and what strikes me most is the shear lack of empathy many have been brought up with. To make it worse the beaurocrats actually take notice of these by implementing more rules against the use of them - three big cheers for Boris Johnson who battles on with campaign's for them. We are in our late sixties and very fit and active, towing our caravan around France. Alas the hot weather and hilly terrain around the Med got the better of my wife so this year I have fitted an 8Fun mid drive unit and it is fantastic and fun to ride. It has put a sparkle back into her cycling. We see people riding around in those small carts but we would feel like invalids in those things. The important thing is that converted bikes are light enough to be carried on the back of our caravan or car and we can get to places where only a bike can go - ours are mountain bikes so we do need helmets - the wife says they spoil her hair do but I think she looks very sexy in hers. The 8Fun motor its just under the crank - very neat and quiet too. It has the ability to accelerate easily uphill's by changing the normal pedal gears and with the 80nm power available with a 1 - 9 power variation we can really stretch out the battery range. Switching off when going downhill or on easy level ground. Best of all it only cost £500 including the battery - cheaper than our surf boards.

The 8fun crank drive sounds great. I have been thinking about fitting one to my cargo bike for a while. Where did you buy the kit? I know Whoosh bikes sell the crank but with no battery. Because i'm not much of a mechanic i would feel much more confident buying a complete kit.

I have a few age related bits and bobs going on, but my e-bike has, or should I say is, helping me overcome the most serious which is the mental hurdle of being unable to cycle up hills! Only yesterday I came upon a fairly long hill, and had to think twice before making the attempt... As it happens getting up there was really easy so it would seem that the mental block is still a work in progress.

If I could rename my bike it would be "Liberator"

If I could rename my bike it would be "Liberator"

As in Blake's 7? And you know what happened to them!

theres nothing physically wrong with me (reasonably fit 43 yr old) so e biking is either cos I'm a lazy sod or because I enjoy the distance i can cover quickly - even at 15.5 mph, its amazing how soon your desination appears.

I also want to get to work without sweating like a pig, walking miles or sitting on a bus every day getting fatter.

With e bikes you still get the exercise and I will turn it off on the journey home from work.

It will get me out on the bike more readily than the push bike.

I now don't drive a car loosing my license to a very slight vision impairment. This beats sitting in traffic any day....might not be saying that come the winter months mind...

Edited April 10, 201412 yr by bonerp

[quote="bonerp, post: 214739, member: 11547"

With e bikes you still get the exercise and I will turn it off on the journey home from work.

.

Now where've I heard that before?...

Don't turn it off but hammer as if you had, absolutely brillant fun and makes for a fast trip

I often set off for a steady ride to see how far I can eek out the battery, but as soon as there is some competition its into turbo mode and ride as hard as I can. Surprisingly doing this doesn't use loads of juice as its so quickly up to 15.5mph and pedal on without the help! If anyone thinks this is an easy way of cycling my HR goes through the roof which means I am working hard.

Or, to put it into perspective..

When I am stopped at the lights or the local railway crossing, in Turbo mode I can easily leave the fittest young licralist behind on acceleration alone and it takes them a goodly while to catch me up,but if there's a hill or two, I can definitely stay in front much longer,(imagine this.. You are 25, pumped up, on your 3 ounce 5 grand racer, and some old geezer on a mountain bike with panniers on leaves you behind!) but last week I was at the lights with another pensioner on a road bike, and from his point of view I was gone in 60 seconds, never to be seen again!!

So my e-bike allows me to compete (even if its only in my head) and gives me a much better work out than plodding along on my lightweight roady which has become a bit boring, especially if there is a head wind...

I agree with Geebee... give it some stick and crack on .

i haven,t had my kit on my commuter bike for very long but already it,s enabled me to use my bike more often and for more things.

if it,s very windy i now use my bike when before i would have used my scooter.

i can carry a lot more items and my panniers are a permanent fixture.

i bought a trailer last year for various tasks amongst other things for carrying my dogs but it was too hard going and i was at the point of selling it , but not now.

as a regular commuter / leisure cyclist i found recently i was getting fed up with almost permanent windy conditions and although not impossible to ride in the phycological effect was very demoralising and i was starting to cycle less and less.

the kit has removed this feeling and i hope it continues and that it,s not just that the novelty hasn,t worn off.

it,s a pity that electric bike are sometimes viewed with distain and ridicule

to those who have this opinion i would say the following;

i have covered more miles recently and saved more money on transport costs than i ever have,

to the folk that say it,s cheating , i,d say how did you get to work? and the answer would invariably be by some fossil fueled method.

finally hybrid cars don,t seem to get as much bad press and in some cases are the in thing, well an electric bike is a hybrid vehicle also it,s just that the non electric part of the hybrid is human power.

surely that can,t be critisised.

Nothing sensational here, I'm afraid ... we have push-bikes and do all our local shopping on them. Plus some leisure and some work.

 

We wanted a folding cycle for some uses eg fetching the car after a night in the pub and a taxi home. My wife suggested a Brompton.

 

I got us an electric folding - and I use it quite a bit, both for its intended purpose and for general run-around. My wife has a back problem and will use it sometimes - or we'll go out together, she will cycle normally and I use the electric so she has a choice if needed.

I had an accident that left my feet & legs at less than optimum. I now suffer from advanced, chronic arthritis in my left foot. I walked into Decathlon to buy a low-end 'mountain' bike, and came out with their last e-bike, an elops hybrid, with front drive. It was the display model, & I managed to 'bully' them into a really great price. The pedelec system is superb, once the system is switched on, there's nothing else to do, just pedal. This machine is still giving sterling service, even though I've been using an ordinary 'manual' bike for this last year. The extra exercise I get keeps me going, as I'm an old git.

 

The feeling of being 'towed by a rope' is quite unique to e-bikes, and encouraged me to travel further & further afield, eventually doing so on my 'manual' Raleigh Pioneer. I have just (I think) fixed what might be a bad connection on my elops, and am just about to put it to the test... It's mad hot in Manchester at the mo, so if the electrics fall over, I might have a sweaty afternoon of getting home using leg power alone... Without electrons to assist, it's a bloody heavy beast, but only compared to the average machine, it's not stupidly heavy.

 

All in all, an e-bike got me back into cycling. Recommended to all those who are just thinking of buying one, possibly due to ill health, and are not wanting to use a buggy, yet. Just do it, you won't regret it.

I think the stories here are great, a real insight into the value of e-bikes. I wanted to add in an angle not expressed yet and that is the younger (ish) demographic starting to discover just how fun e-bikes are.

 

I'm in my early 30's and keep fit going to the gym and playing basketball. So when I decided to ditch my car I could have chosen a 'normal' bike to get myself to work and back, instead I went for an electric bike. Why? 1. because i'm a gadget freak and e-bikes satisfy my inner geek, and 2. because e-bikes are fun to ride. There isn't the same 'serious hobby' snobbery that seems to surround standard bikes - who cares what my cadence is, I just whupped you at the lights! Also if I have pushed myself too hard on the basketball court and want to sit back and let my bike get me home, I can.

 

Electric bikes are getting prettier every year and if the murmurs from my colleagues are anything to go by i'm sure will soon draw more e-cyclists to the roads.

Hi everyone

 

I’m looking to publish a few stories on the home page ‘news’ area to give examples of the various reasons people buy one and therefore the benefits of e-bikes.

 

We had this great example a few months back of getting heart-patient Nick back in the saddle. I’d really like a whole host more to show all the different reasons to spur others on in similar situations to try an e-bike.

 

Dodgy knees, cracking on a bit (it comes to us all!), wanting to get fit, commuting, other health issues.. I’d like to publish people’s experiences in their own words. How they chose their bike, what they do with it, how it’s changed their lives. It certainly doesn’t have to be expertly written and I’d like to show ‘every day’ people with ‘every day’ problems, as well as anything more unusual that their e-bike has overcome, hopefully with a picture of you and your bike too.

 

I have PMd a couple of members already discussing their experiences on here, so still hoping they’re not going to be shy..

 

Similarly if any businesses are using e-bikes I’d like to hear about that too.

 

Please PM me if you'd like to share your story.

 

Thanks everyone

 

Hi. I work as a bike mechanic in the Tirol, Austria. I took the plunge this year, ditched the car and have rocked up nearly 5000 km since easter riding to work on my Haibike. i've got last years motor with only a 300 KW hour battery ( so i need to keep an eye on the range if the wind is blowing the wrong way) but it goes like a rocket and as I ride with a pulse watch I keep it on the limit all the time.

 

The thing is I loose about 50 minutes a day on the travel time but I get home and feel..... good. Thats it. Good.

 

Blood preasure, resting pulse etc.. are amazing (pulse watch helps) and it is not a chore.

 

I use the motor about 30 % of the time but at the end of the day I do the 650 meter climb and get home to the family in a sensible time.

I run a BOSCH system and it just sits there in the background. Great.

It is a 2014 model and i have had to re grease the gears twice but that is due to a BOSCH defect in the manufacturing process and they pat the local bike shop (or me) to rectify the problem.

 

What is amazing is whe you do have time, and for many of us thats not often, you jump on, shoot up a mountain, kill loads of colories (according to SUNNTO) and have soooo much fun.

 

I do wish my bike would go faster but I have also been sat in enough traffic jams to know otherwise.

 

If you can afford it and watch your pulse, get one now (a good one)

 

It will change your life.