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

[Bikes4two]

My Story:

• I'm a life-time casual cyclist (1st picture taken on a trike aged 3 yrs - hah!)
• In the last 15 years I've toured thousands of miles with camping kit on my Dawes Super Galaxy
• Two years ago saw the first debilitating episode of Atrial Fibrillation followed by 3 months of only housebound activity before cardioversion allowed cycling again.
• 9 months later, rinse and repeat - another few months of zero cycling.
• I've seen the light (aided by my cardiologist's prognosis of repeat AF and intense cycling - I just loved big hills - ) and have recognised that although the mind is willing, the body is not.
• So as I ease into my 70th birthday, my beloved Dawes Super Galaxy and I are again reunited thanks to Mr Tong Sheng and a mid drive motor.
• Happy days

 

[AndyBike]

Hills, especially the long long slightly inclining ones are no longer the source of pain and annoyance.
I sometimes even use TURBO to raise a smile.
Plus it fills a couple of boxes in being a 29er full suss, which is my first 29er after decades of riding a 26" hardtail

Headwind slogs - Consigned to the past.

 

[Foffer]

1'm 69 and 18st (115Kg) and have an arthritic right knee that stops me walking too far, the pain prevents me from doing enough walking to keep the joint mobile. However, on my electric bike the knee is fine, maybe because its not supporting my weight. I ride up to ten miles a day which give my knee plenty of excersise and its also very good fun! I bought the bike because of my knee and its been a great success.

 

[Jon Matthews]

I'm not sure if I've already posted in this thread. I started e-biking in 2018 aged 57. My local council loaned me a Raleigh e bike for two months and I'd not ridden a cycle since I was 15. I was instantly hooked and did my 14 mile round trip commute every day. Once the loan was over I got a Cycle to work grant from my company and bought a £2K Cube cyclocross ebike. Big mistake that was, the bike was good but the advice in the shop was bad and I ended up with a frame too big for me. After breaking my collarbone from a mountain bike accident and the Bosch motor (Gen 3) bearings collapsing, I got a new motor installed under warranty and sold it on. My son at the time had a nearly new hardtail EMTB with a Shimano E6000 motor which he sold me for a good price and it had a dropper post which gives you a level of safety when you're bombing down a trail. You can set the saddle down and easily touch the ground with your feet. I turned 60 last year and decided the Shimano E6000 was a bit of a feeble motor and the battery life was poor even though it was 504 Wh. My son kindly bought it back from me for around £200 less than I paid for it as a spare bike for himself. I bought my first really decent EMTB last January. Orbea Wild full suspension, Gen 4 Bosch motor 625 Wh battery, it's been brilliant, I don't think I'll ever be without an ebike. It took me 2 years to persuade my son to get one as he used to be a downhill racer. He is now totally addicted like me. I am way fitter than I used to be, I walk my dog further than I used to do as I now enjoy exercise. It's taken an ebike and 50 years to get me to the level I am now. The only problem now is that some high end parts like Shimano 12 speed cassettes are nearly impossible to buy due to labour shortages. I'm just going to change the whole transmission to 10 or 11 speed which is much cheaper and available.

 

[Charliefox]

I'm not sure if I've already posted in this thread. I started e-biking in 2018 aged 57. My local council loaned me a Raleigh e bike for two months and I'd not ridden a cycle since I was 15. I was instantly hooked and did my 14 mile round trip commute every day. Once the loan was over I got a Cycle to work grant from my company and bought a £2K Cube cyclocross ebike. Big mistake that was, the bike was good but the advice in the shop was bad and I ended up with a frame too big for me. After breaking my collarbone from a mountain bike accident and the Bosch motor (Gen 3) bearings collapsing, I got a new motor installed under warranty and sold it on. My son at the time had a nearly new hardtail EMTB with a Shimano E6000 motor which he sold me for a good price and it had a dropper post which gives you a level of safety when you're bombing down a trail. You can set the saddle down and easily touch the ground with your feet. I turned 60 last year and decided the Shimano E6000 was a bit of a feeble motor and the battery life was poor even though it was 504 Wh. My son kindly bought it back from me for around £200 less than I paid for it as a spare bike for himself. I bought my first really decent EMTB last January. Orbea Wild full suspension, Gen 4 Bosch motor 625 Wh battery, it's been brilliant, I don't think I'll ever be without an ebike. It took me 2 years to persuade my son to get one as he used to be a downhill racer. He is now totally addicted like me. I am way fitter than I used to be, I walk my dog further than I used to do as I now enjoy exercise. It's taken an ebike and 50 years to get me to the level I am now. The only problem now is that some high end parts like Shimano 12 speed cassettes are nearly impossible to buy due to labour shortages. I'm just going to change the whole transmission to 10 or 11 speed which is much cheaper and available.

A good idea! I was lucky to get a 10 speed Giant Trance E+3 before they upped it to 11 speed. I have never felt the need for more gears than I have, even on very steep Alpine hillsides. And that's with dodgy knees too. Chains and cassettes are reasonably priced to 10 speed. After that they shoot up AND the chains need replacing earlier too.

 

[AndyBike]

I get to own such a lovely bike as this
And from my signature you can see i've had a lot of bikes both good and bad. The ebike is about the best bike(and most expensive) I've ever owned

 

[Robert Chappell]

Nice post, ebike is really good for all age. Anyone can ride it without spending lots of energy on riding bike.

 

[Godzy89]

Like many others i am finding inclines, particularly the long long ones with not much %, much easier
The one on my local quick scoot just seems to go on and on when im on my hybrid or road bike and wasnt getting any easier
I now no longer have to have a breather half way along it

Godzy

 

[portals]

and some old geezer on a mountain bike with panniers on leaves you behind!

Guilty as charged too...!

Most delivery guys on bikes don't really care however the serious guys on racers are not happy ;-)

 

[vantage]

I'm not sure my ebike 'changed' my life, but it allowed me to carry on a life I previously had.
5 years ago I suffered a stroke at the age of 41. A result of lifelong poor diabetes management and smoking for 10 years.
I'd been a lifetime cyclist and even spent some years racing them and the stroke took that away from me. Lost my balance, strength and endurance. Didn't ride for 6 or 7 months and when I did it was with a council run social group and even then I was struggling to keep up.
Jan last year I decided that cycling was no longer the fun activity I loved as I was throwing up at the top of easy hills and having constant diabetes complications and vowed to sell the bike I'd built from scratch.
Earlier this year I visited my dad and he had me try out his ebike. I loved it!
Got gome and started making plans to buy one myself. Nothing caught my eye then I heard about conversion kits. Knowing nothing, I just bought a bafang bbs01b as it seemed to be what most people recommended and I haven't looked back. My Spa Wayfarer tourer that was almost in danger of being sold has been transformed into a new bike and whilst I'm not exactly doing the mileage I used to (60-70+ miles) due to battery range more than anything, I'm getting out and slowly getting fitter. I'm happier too.
Dad and I are eTouring Anglesey in Sept too

 

[Nealh]

One say's not a changer but it is, it is allowing you to tour with Dad and both on equal terms.

 

[pschamberger]

For me, eBike makes cycling less strenuous. But my body still gets the benefits of exercise; has better aerobic fitness, better blood sugar control, a tendency to lose body fat, and importantly, a desire to continue riding for improved health over other types of fitness.

 

[pschamberger]

For me, eBike makes cycling less strenuous. But my body still gets the benefits of exercise; has better aerobic fitness, better blood sugar control, a tendency to lose body fat, and importantly, a desire to continue riding for improved health over other types of fitness.

 

[Glaikit Loon]

I used to do quite a lot of recreational cycling, but a combination of time pressure, work, home life, lack of motivation meant that pretty much stopped maybe about 8 years ago.

A few years ago my mother started saying that she was finding the weight of her old (non assisted) bike a struggle. I did mention ebikes but she wasn't too keen initially, doesn't like change, had the old bike a long time etc. But I would bring it up again from time to time and eventually she relented and asked me to have a look at what was available for a fairly small budget and was suited for her. So after a bit of research I ordered her a Battribike Perdu. Needless to say she absolutely loves it and she now has rekindled her love and enjoyment of cycling.

That got me thinking about ebikes too though and wondering if the assist would give me the motivation and incentive to get back out cycling. Fast forward to this January and with my 50th birthday having just passed I decided to have a proper look online for something suitable at a price I could live with. Ended up buying an NCM Milano Plus (the 'Plus' having a bigger battery) because it was on special offer with a third off the RRP at the time (£1119 rather than £1599). Really enjoying it and while I'm not going out with it as much as I feel I should (especially at this time of year), it is still way more than the previous several years!. Where I live I have a lot of rural roads around me so I have quite a few circuits I can take of varying lengths depending on how much time I have and how much power is in the battery.

So the main enjoyments are just the simple act of getting out in the fresh air. And having various close encounters with local wildlife including Deer and birds of prey!. Also, even more than 10 months in, cycling up a steep hill on the bike never fails to make me smile!.

Note to self: get out more!, even in the dark nights (bought a fairly decent front light specifically for that)

 

[vidtek]

After spending 33 years in Australia where helmets are compulsory for all cyclists, I did no cycling over there. It is no fun in 38deg having to wear a helmet even on dedicated cycle paths, so I didn't bother.
I had a motorbike instead and loved it (wearing a helmet all the time-it's totally different on a motorbike when doing 100km down the freeway to pootling around at 15km on a cycle), but on return to the UK in 2014 I sold my beloved Virago and was absolutely forbidden by the lovey Jane to restart my motorcling days on the more heavy traffic roads here in Bournemouth/Poole. I had to content myself by driving a taxi part-time.
I decided after fully retiring in 2016 to try an e-bike and bought a front hub bike. I found it skittish on gravel hills and unnatural as a ride. I swapped it for an underpowered rear hub bike and that was a definite improvement on the front hub as far as riding feel goes, but it had very little grunt and at that stage I was not as fit as at present. I therefore decided to build my own mid-drive from a Tongsheng mid-drive motor with a 48v 17ah battery from a kit supplied by Whoosh. I went to my local charity cycle shop (hope to cycle) and told them I was looking for a lightweight donor bike for an e-bike conversion. The guys there gave me a key and said to find one in the shed out the back. I went through every likely candidate bike amist the hunderds of bikes that had been donated to this charity and picked a 1980/90's vintage Specialized Crossroads weighing in at 17kg. They cleaned it up, replaced all cables, chain, v-brakes, tyres and cassette and it was ready for collection in a couple of weeks. £250.00. The Whoosh kit (£680.00) fitted beautifully and I have now been riding it for over 2 years, with complete satisfaction. It rides beautifully, and is so comfortable with a decent saddle and pneumatic seat post, as I have a spinal injury from a car write-off (that's another tale of woe...) in 2016.
I cannot recommend Whoosh highly enough, their service is second to none.

 

[isohaibmalik]

It saves my money as I used to travel on public transport before having my own e bike. Moreover riding an electric bike keeps me healthy and fit.

 

[Mehedi286]

My electric bike has completely changed my life. It has opened up so many new opportunities for me to explore and enjoy the outdoors. I love being able to go out on a bike ride and explore new places without having to worry about the physical strain of pedaling. I also enjoy being able to cover longer distances with much less effort. Additionally, my electric bike has allowed me to save time on my daily commutes and errands, as I can now make them much faster. I am so grateful for the freedom and convenience my electric bike has provided me!

 

[Jo Bian]

My Ebike has changed how I think about cycling..I used to dread big hills..not now
I can go much further with my Ebike..non Ebike cyclists all scowl at me as I whizz past them! I'm going to IOW in June, going to to take train and not car, as having my Ebike with panniers means I can travel the island without getting knackered! In the bad old days cycling could be a chore..esp on way back, with hills to climb etc..not now! Ebikes rock...

 

[mark sutton]

In keeping with the thread, I think you early pioneers of the e-bike movement have lit the touchpaper for a longer-term cycling revolution. I just wrote a piece explaining why the e-bike is the future of cycling with plenty of research to back the opinion.
https://www.cyclingelectric.com/in-depth/electric-bike-market-data-and-cycling-for-transport-trends

 

[Bikes4two]

That's a nice article @mark sutton and it comes as no surprise that ebike sales are in some places outstripping non-ebike sales. There are of course millions of non-ebikes in circulation already so it'd be interesting no know or get a feel for how many of each genre are in circulation.