E-bike and conventional bike combined

Hi,

I ride the Kudos Tourer and I am happy with it.

However.....

Is there an electric bike like the Tourer that is relatively light that can also be cycled comfortably with no assistance or battery power? If I switch off the power on the Tourer, it is just too heavy to ride as a conventional bike.

So essentially I am looking for a bike where I can get the best of both worlds. A bike which runs out of battery power but can still be cycled comfortably like a non-electric touring bike.

This would allow me to do serious long-distance riding without being concerned about the battery running out or having to find a place to charge the battery.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Will

As you have found, what you seek is not easy to achieve because motors and batteries are made from heavy metal.

And most systems give some resistance when switched off.

There was member on here who converted his road bike using a light-assist seatpost motor and bottle battery.

Someone might be able to find the link, but I believe his budget was in the thousands.

Bosch bikes give good mileage on the lowest eco setting, which is barely enough to overcome the weight of the bike.

Other bikes may do the same.

I think your most realistic option is careful battery management, and/or carrying a spare battery.

Link to a light weight bike thread http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/very-lightweight-e-bikes.16923/page-6#post-209432

Your best option maybe to fit a kit to a light weight bike that you like, a q100 motor weighs about 3kg plus batteries on top of the bike weight, try bmsbattery.com to get an idea of weights and pricing.

Probably even better for a hilly area would be a mid drive such as the BBS01 but unless you like DIY you will only keep a single front ring which could be a problem when using human power only.

sport models with crank motor, smallish battery on the down tube can keep nearly all the feel of normal bikes.

As soon as you move the battery behind the seat post, the rear wheel is moved back by about 10cm, killing the feel of normal push bike.

Bikes with rear hub motor and rack batteries are the worst, the weight in the back make the frame 'waggle' when you ride.

Maybe gearing is the answer.

I have 27 gears (15/17 if you don't want to cross the chain and cause excessive wear) and the extra weight isn't a problem without power on the flat or slight inclines, I often do the first few miles with leg power only.

It's as important to me how my bike rides without power as with.