Cyclist age

[FatMog]

Comparing apples and pears...

E-biking is e-biking. It engages people who otherwise would not cycle AT ALL.

I have no green agenda other than that inspired by household economy (sorry everyone), I just rather like the feeling of being on a bike, enjoying the fresh air and marvelling at it's superior efficiency over walking. What was mother nature thinking? A bit more evolution and surely we'll all come pre-equipped with wheels and gears!

BUT - there's always a but - I am too unfit, too lazy and frankly too averse to ever making the sort of physical effort that a normal bike will always require in some scenarios, even for the lycra lovelies. Hence the ebike - it's simply great fun and allows me to make as much contribution as I feel like on any given day. Usually not a lot! So I get to enjoy all the aspects of being on a bike that attracted me in the first place without having any of the more boring and sweaty side effects.

Other 'proper' cyclists may sneer, but I reckon they're just jealous! And OK, maybe I don't get the physical workout they do, but at least I get some exercise that otherwise just wouldn't be happening. I dunno, do the 'real' cyclists get verbals from oooh, runners, maybe, and then feel they have to justify themselves elsewhere?

I have retained my pushbike (largely unridden since purchase) and I hope that ebiking may help me develop enough oomph to feel like using it for the same journey occasionally. But it's an entirely different experience. Even if I suddenly became superfit I'm sure I'd still rather use the ebike cos it's just FUN. Did I already mention that? After all, I'm 43. I haven't seriously ridden a bike since I was about 10 and I don't think I'm about to undergo a sudden conversion now. But I've just done over the ton on the mileometer on my ebike!

And when push came to shove this weekend when my car was written off, it was just a huge relief to know I could still make my essential daily journey with no fuss and no effort, cos I REALLY didn't feel like turning out after arriving back home in the tow truck. BUt the ebike still managed to make me smile, even on a grudge journey!

Ok, it would seem I have just joined the 'rant' thread. Sorry... Actually, I have never received any comment in my (short) ebiking career from either cyclists or pedestrians. I just don't think they notice me! Although I am thinking of fitting a klaxon and a cow-catcher to the front of my bike to gently encourage deaf pedestrians out of my path. That discreet Ezee ting-ting bell coupled with the discreet Ezee motor hum really doesn't cut it!

 

[flecc]

I fitted this Fisher Leisure horn to my Q bike which I got from Cyclesport.uk FatMog.

It's plenty loud enough to get jaywalkers to take notice. They say colour may change, and mine turned up as a discreet all over grey. Very neat and compact as seen below.

 

[rsscott]

.....Although I am thinking of fitting a klaxon and a cow-catcher to the front of my bike to gently encourage deaf pedestrians out of my path. That discreet Ezee ting-ting bell coupled with the discreet Ezee motor hum really doesn't cut it!

There is also the Air Zound which is seriously loud. I probably wouldn't use one for pedestrians but they are loud enough for vehicle occupants to hear!

cheers
Russ

Russell Scott
Pedelecs UK
​

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

I fitted this Fisher Leisure horn to my Q bike which I got from Cyclesport.uk FatMog.

It's plenty loud enough to get jaywalkers to take notice. They say colour may change, and mine turned up as a discreet all over grey. Very neat and compact as seen below.

that looks good Flecc, don't suppose you can upload a sound-bite of it ?

i rather fancied one of those big old car horns with the black rubber bulb on the end, sounds like a wheezy old gentleman until the 'parp' comes out... but the only place left on my handlebar to mount the monster would collide with my right knee at every stroke, eliciting a sound not unlike a demented goose honking his way down the street.

i think i prefer yours

 

[flecc]

I've got the Air-Zound on my Torq, but it's too loud for pedestrians not to have a heart attack, so a bell is needed as well as here. That's why the compact solution on the Q bike. I'll see what I can do on the sound bite, but am busy on something else at the moment.
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[coops]

Is that an angle grinder I can hear?...

 

[flecc]

Not yet Stuart, though I have put some more thought into the Torq Radical.

At present though I've just fitted a rather good electronic alarm on the Q bike. More later.
.

 

[coops]

Talking of what people see as radical/unusual, I must admit I was surprised at reactions of friends and family when I first told people I was thinking of getting an electric bike.

To me it seemed a good idea, a very practical & clever mix of technology & engineering, and a means of, if not quite reinventing the wheel, at least "extending" the bike! But say "electric bike" to someone and they may well look at you as if you've said "automatic potato" or something, and then they say (with the look still on their face) "how does that work then?" and the mystified look deepens when you say its a bike with an electric motor, as if they've never heard of either! (Don't people use washing machines, or see milk floats anymore?!)

I really wish I knew why that happens: I can only guess its because it is very innovative, and a lot of people don't think laterally/outside the "box" (?), it is quite a big benefit for what is in principle a quite simple concept (despite people's difficulties grasping it!) and people find that hard to conceive, but it seems mainly because, well, it just seems so ingrained that "people buy motor vehicles for serious transport, don't they??" that anything else is a novelty and strange.

When family/friends saw my bike, their reaction changed somewhat to "well, it looks almost like a normal bike! Not very different" but still viewed it with suspiscion and were asking probing questions I think the most honest, straightforward & observant comment I've had was from a young lad who said "hey, you're bike looks weird!" to which his mate replied "it's one of those electric bikes, innit!".

There's hope yet that they might catch on .

 

[flecc]

I think it's down to people feeling uncomfortable with things that don't fit preconceptions Stuart.

A bike is something that's pedalled, a motor bike has an engine. Older people who remember autocycles and petrol bike-motors might think in a more receptive manner.
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[Ian]

I think it's down to people feeling uncomfortable with things that don't fit preconceptions Stuart.

A bike is something that's pedalled, a motor bike has an engine. Older people who remember autocycles and petrol bike-motors might think in a more receptive manner.
.

And younger people who don't know what Flecc' is talking about look here

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

And younger people who don't know what Flecc' is talking about look here

thanks for that link Ian, what a marvelous site, beautiful old machines.

 

[flecc]

That brings back early memories Ian. That Cyclemaster is the 25 cc version but appears to have the 32 cc model's petrol tank, so perhaps the whole innards have been swapped.

However, that's not an Autocycle, its an add-on bike power unit, in this case a wheel.

Autocycles were designed as complete machines, much heavier and using 98 cc engines. The best known make was the Excelsior.
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[Ian]

thanks for that link Ian, what a marvelous site, beautiful old machines.

Many of which bear more than a passing resemblance to modern e-bikes.
Here's one for anyone who thinks scooters are a post war invention.

 

[electric.mike]

flecc

Autocycles were designed as complete machines, much heavier and using 98 cc engines. The best known make was the Excelsior.

its hands up time know i destroyed one of those riding on farmers fields in the late sixties

mike

 

[flecc]

I don't mind Mike, they were horrible things anyway. Pedalling to start their engines was the worst bit.

Wiskered plugs were another regular delight of small two strokes in those days, long gone and in no way missed by those with original experience of them.
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[alanterrill]

When family/friends saw my bike, their reaction changed somewhat to "well, it looks almost like a normal bike! Not very different" but still viewed it with suspiscion and were asking probing questions I think the most honest, straightforward & observant comment I've had was from a young lad who said "hey, you're bike looks weird!" to which his mate replied "it's one of those electric bikes, innit!".
.

I've had nothing but positive reactions from young people -from the envious look from a young man struggling to push his mountain bike up a hill while I pedalled past him , to a friend's rather sulky 13 year daughter who tried it out and returned with a huge grin saying "Mum, that's such a cool bike -my bike's so uncool!" Some expensive Christmas presents coming up, I suspect.

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Yes i seem to think that most people dont know of electric bikes i took my torq in to the local cycle shop today for a new cycle computer and i had to explain to the dealer how a electric bike worked he seemed quite intrested though so you never no maybe one day he might sell them

 

[flecc]

Like AlanTerrill, all the reactions I get are positive, the kids of all ages think my bikes are cool and adults always interested and asking copious questions.

Biggest interest is when I'm towing the big trailer though, that really intrigues everybody.

I think "hatchback world" is a boring world, especially for the young, and it's not surprising that they are pleased to see something different for a change. Kids who treat riding in a car as just routine are always delighted to get a short ride in the bike trailer.
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[Haku]

I'm 33 going on 13 cos I love gadgets, toys & having fun (this room is like a kid's aladdin's cave! 13 80s RC cars hanging on the walls, shelves full of retro handheld games, a wall of DVD & videos etc. etc.), I don't own a car even though I can drive & passed my test 1st time with no faults, but I prefer cycling to driving as that's been my main transport throughout my life and getting an electric bike has significantly reduced my car borrowing.

The hills here in Stroud are big and *everywhere*, they don't call it part of the Five Valleys for nothing, now with my Urban Mover UM36 I can get up them without having to resort to getting off and pushing the bike so I'm much more inclined to visit friend/go shopping etc. on the bike rather than borrowing a car if I can. Just a shame that the hills are so big and everywhere, I can get through most of an 8Ah battery on a 4 mile round trip ! (borrowing an 8Ah li-ion battery whilst waiting for a new charger for my 12Ah li-pol battery, they were swamped with lithium option orders and ran out of stock)

The main reaction of my friends when I told & eventually showed them my ebike was "how much?", but to me it's my transport instead of a car and doesn't have the running cost drawbacks so £900 wasn't excessive in the big picture, especially when my brother has a downhill mountain bike that cost over £2k (he's the adrenalin freak, I just want to get to places).

Looking at the poll results makes me realise why all but one of the people who have approaced me asking "is that an electric bike?" were all older than me , I wonder if ebikes will eventually shrug off the feeling that they're mainly used by people who aren't up to date on their mobile ringtones and don't know who's at number 1 in the charts.

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Hi haku
maybe it will take 1 clever design to get younger people intrested i think it must stay close to a normal push bike design and weigh under 20 kilos its needs to look smart or trendy and be simple to use look how well the chopper bike did in the 70s maybe something on the same lines will take of again one day.