do you go further on ebike or more on unpowered?

[footpump]

hello all
met some friends who had just returned from a 35miles cycle ride which included some hills .
I could not do that ride because I would not have the range.
some other m8s were going to do a 56 mile round trip ride but that again would exclude me on my ebike.

I am not talking about carring a spare battery just the 10.4 or 13ah which I have.

unpowered the most I have done is 40 miles on flat canal paths.

 

[flecc]

I used to ride much further unpowered than powered. There were a few later occasions when I e-biked with three batteries to what I'd routinely do unpowered, but that was a rarity.

In truth I always preferred unpowered. I only first switched to powered for heavy trailer pulling in my older years, then increasing my powered use as old age increasingly affected me.

But I've never enjoyed e-biking in the way I enjoyed unpowered riding, for me it's very inferior, whether riding crank drive or hub motor, throttle or pedelec control.
.

 

[Gaz]

I cycle much further now under power. 30 years ago I felt strong and that I could cycle indefinitely. Now, age is catching up with me. Before autumn last year when I got the Whyte, I was very selective about where and when I'd ride, and the commute was a bit of a chore. Now, I want to go out on my bike, and am doing much greater distances than on an unpowered bike. By experimenting, I've found there's hardly any difference in range between modes (for me), so I tend to leave it in High all the time.
Had a wobbly moment last week when I went up Beachy Head on the grass rather than tarmac. Coming back down it got gradually steeper, until the point my centre of gravity was over my front wheel, so I chickened out rather than go over the bars. Rode back up an extremely steep incline - something I'd never have achieved (or tried) without a motor.

Gaz

 

[kangooroo]

I usually ride about 35-50+ miles in a hilly region, the former on an 8.8Ah battery, the latter on a 15.6Ah battery with approx 40% power remaining.

On a non-powered bike, I could do about 30 miles on flat canal towpaths but only a few miles locally and would have to push my bike up hills, a struggle in itself, puffing all the way.

(Vital stats: body weight 52kg, unfit, hilly area with gradients up to 20%)

 

[anotherkiwi]

I have asthma... I tried a few times to ride to Hendaye before my bike got a motor, on the way there my record was one stop on the hill for a breather and two on the way back. Now I just go there and it takes about 25 minutes to do the 11 km.

If I didn't have a pedelec I would be stuck with public transport.

 

[Benjahmin]

I've always been a utility/leisure cyclist. In my mid to late 20's I lived without a car and commuted about 6 miles into work. Some nights I would go and see a mate near Warwick, a round journey of about 26 miles, on a 10 speed road bike. It used to kill me. Hills and wind have always been a killer for me, I just never seemed to be able to develop power and stamina beyond a basic level.

Now, in my 60's and living in west Wales, I'm cycling between 14 and 23 miles 2 or 3 times a week. Wouldn't be possible without the power, I've tried. I am starting to turn the power off more, on the flats etc., as muscle tone is improving. I use setting 2/5 almost exclusively and, round here, I get a range of about 30 miles - not that my legs or bum can handle that in one go.

 

[fatwomble]

Further on ebike, but longer duration and more technical and harder riding on my unassisted mountain bike

 

[Nealh]

Like AK asthma affects my non powered cycling so only now own e bikes. 90 miles is a good ride out for me with spare batteries, though 40 - 60 is my normal type of distance. Even offroad I sometimes have to walk up steeper inclines, luckily walk assist makes pushing easier.

 

[KentGuy]

I did a 100k very hilly charity cycle ride unpowered a few years ago. I nearly died - I had to walk all the hills in the last 40k at least. I should have trained far more beforehand, but the fact for me is that I've never got anywhere near that level since either. Unless I totally reorder and re-proirotise my life - work and leisure - I've concluded I'm just not a very good cyclist....

So in reality my unpowered rides all became between about 10-18 miles (again, hilly terrain). Currently, 2 months into eBike living, its typically between 20-30 miles on a ride, and I reckon its safe to take that to 40 on a single charge so I'm planning some longer routes when time allows. The other factor is time - my eBike rides are average 15-16mph, whereas my longer unpowered rides were more like 12 and down to 10 once my legs had really given out much over 20 hilly miles. So its possible to go considerably further in the same amount of time, which is a routine real-world limitation for me.

 

[Cliff-C]

If I understand correctly you are worried that your ebike won't have the range of an unassisted bike?

It depends on the ebike you have compared to an unassisted bike. Assuming similar bike types, an ebike may be 7-9kg heavier.

Many ebikes can be used as a normal bike with the assistance turned off so range is effectively limitless. If this applies to your bike then the only issue is how the extra weight affects you when peddling unassisted.

Only using the power for hills (if your bike allows) would give you a much longer range.

If you can ride 56 miles in hilly terrain with an unpowered bike, then you can probably do the same with an ebike with judicious use of power.

If not, then it's improved fitness or a bigger battery.

Sent from my Paris using Tapatalk

 

[footpump]

if I could do 56 hilly miles unpowered I would not need an ebike
the bike I would use is Carrera subway one with crank drive kit as it has a bit more grunt for hill climbing,
the electrics played up the other week so even on the flat it was hard work to do 10mph for me.
vendors often state ebikes are easy or pleasant to ride unassisted but trying to push 50lbs+ up a slight incline is too hard for me.
in any case the ride leaders frown on ebike use anyway.
cant do much regards fitness a bigger battery is always a good idea

 

[soundwave]

why has no one made a bottom bracket for a bosch bike? cant be that hard as just need two plates with the holes in the right place where the motor mounts to.

with the motor case on it will still look normal but be 8kg lighter

 

[anotherkiwi]

Because you can buy a brand new discounted Cube frame for 60€ ?

 

[footpump]

is there a link to said frame and what wheelsize would that be