Which bike will completely replace my car

[Ross Outhwaite]

Hello all.
I am a looking to completely replace my car with an electric bike. I commute 9 miles to work up and down pretty large hills which car zoom along at 60( the Grane rd). I am a good cyclist and have completed a half iron man so don't mind peddling, I just want to spend as little time on the busy hill as possible so I don't get hit and cut my commute down. I'm looking for a bike that is reliable enough to cycle to work each day without without draping myself in lycra it takes 45mins on my bike plus the 15 mins changing each end. I can charge it whilst at work and whilst at home but I think reliability is the key. I can do 20 mph on the flat so with the 15 up hill I am hopeful to complete the 9 miles in 30 mins.
Am I being too optimistic in completely swapping my car for one and if not which would you recommend.
Massively appreciate your advice.

 

[soundwave]

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cube-reaction-hybrid-race-500.23367/

 

[flecc]

I am a looking to completely replace my car with an electric bike.

To completely replace your car you'd need something like this with an added motor.

Seriously, what you are proposing is entirely realistic for 9 fairly hilly miles each way. Do you have a budget in mind?
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[Ross Outhwaite]

I thought you were serious for a minute! The reasons for getting one is for economical, environmental and health reasons. Seems daft to drive my 5 seater estate to work everyday. Id like to get it on the bike to work but don't mind spending more if it offers the value and reliability. Seem to be a few that just hit the 1000 mark but how much better do they become is you spend another 600-700? I would always use my normal bike for a day trip so it literally needs to do 9 miles and back on country roads each day.

 

[Warwick]

I do a similar length commute - without the main road stretch - on my unrestricted Oxygen eMate in just under 30 minutes on setting 5 of 18. Were I to up the power, I'd do it a little quicker. It has seen me through a winter commuting season, although there was a water ingress problem, now fixed.

There is a lengthy thread, mainly with my contributions, about my experiences of the bike on the review board. The eMate has been replaced by another model now which is about £1500. Good value, I'd say. If you're staying on-road, the 700c version is cheaper and possibly a little quicker, with the added factor of a wider choice of tyres. I like the off-road capabilities of my 27.5" version. Yesterday I took the long way home and was treated to a carpet of bluebells at the side of a bridleway I took.

 

[Trevormonty]

For commuting hub drives are cheaper to maintain than crank drives. Crank drives are hard on chains and cassettes as all power goes though drive train.

The are two sensing options cadence and torque, they feel quite different. I suggest you try both and see which you prefer.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Oxygen S-cross City or MTB are both very fast commuter bikes. they're my favourite in that sort of range. They're pretty reliable and durable, and they ride very well. Other than that, Kudos and Woosh have some nice bikes.

 

[Ross Outhwaite]

Thank you all for your advice, think I might rent one for a week and see if it's workable. The oxygen x cross looks a goer.

 

[D8ve]

To avoid Lycra and stay dry, one of these with assist and you will do more than 20 on the flat too.

 

[anotherkiwi]

To avoid Lycra and stay dry, one of these with assist and you will do more than 20 on the flat too.View attachment 19136

Is that your new paint job?

I was going to say velomobile too, Two or three bags of shopping, dry and fast.

 

[Woosh]

I'm looking for a bike that is reliable enough to cycle to work each day without without draping myself in lycra it takes 45mins on my bike plus the 15 mins changing each end. I can charge it whilst at work and whilst at home but I think reliability is the key. I can do 20 mph on the flat so with the 15 up hill I am hopeful to complete the 9 miles in 30 mins.

I would suggest you look at the Woosh Karoo or Rio MTB. The Karoo has a rigid fork while the Rio MTB has a nice and lightweight fork with quick lockout and preload adjust.
Both are lightweight and fitted with a nice GXP crankset, stiff framed, can be cycled hard and fast without power. Very little maintenance is needed.

For more details on the Karoo:
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?karoo

The Rio MTB:
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rio-mtb

 

[D8ve]

Is that your new paint job?

I was going to say velomobile too, Two or three bags of shopping, dry and fast.

No bikey mcbikeface was trashed by a van. I was invisible in a 3 meter banana. This is the replacement I have bought. Pending insurance etc.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Were you speeding again?

 

[Ross Outhwaite]

Thanks for the advice on the bikes and the banana bike which is probably a step too far! I watched some review videos and they don't seem to be going 15,5 mph up hills. Is this achievable or aspirational? I'm afraid I'm a slave to the work clock. The kids I teach don't wait patiently for my arrival, if I'm late lord of the flies ensues.

 

[Woosh]

Ross,

Going uphill is where you sort out suitable bikes from the rest.

To ride at 15mph on flat road, the required energy is about 200W.
To ride at the same speed but on 5% gradient, you need 500W if bike + rider = 100kgs. If you increase the rider weight by 50kgs, the required energy is 720W. on 10% gradient, you need 800W and 1200W respectively.

The motor has to be capable of those outputs - let us know your city, weight and your desired uphill speed.

 

[Ross Outhwaite]

I weight 85 kg, I live in rural Lancashire and would be traveling 4 miles up a hill to work and an additional 5 miles down and flat. I had hoped to average 20 mph for the entire journey. On the return leg on my normal bike I travel at 30 mph for the majority of the down hill. I am used to peddling it is the speed up hill I had hoped to improve.

 

[Woosh]

Most of your journey are not very demanding, the required output at your weight + bike = 110kgs is around 400W for 20mph on flat roads, up to 750W for 5% gradient.
Bafang BBS01 kit can do 400W-500W, BBS02 can do 400W-750W.
I have bikes that have the required output but I can't recommend them to you because we don't support derestriction.

 

[Ross Outhwaite]

Thank you for this, I'm coming to the end of my questions! Please could you tell me the power that an average fit cyclist will add to the power of a bike. If it needs to be 750W for a 5% hill but my legs give 500 watts of power then I will be able to maintain the 15.5 mph. It does sound like there needs to be a law change to allow bikes on roads to go a little faster.

 

[Woosh]

Please could you tell me the power that an average fit cyclist will add to the power of a bike.

I would say between 100W (leisure pedaling) to 250W.
The require energy figures I gave assuming without headwinds and motor efficiency at 85% which is typical for high speed riding.
You can roughly guess the output from other data given by suppliers such as how many Amps the controller can give. 36V * 20A for example = 720W.

 

[flecc]

Please could you tell me the power that an average fit cyclist will add to the power of a bike.

NASA's experiments on fitness give these cycling figures for fit males from 25 years to 45 years old:

300 watts for about 10 minutes continuous.
200 watts for about 1 hour continuous.
100 watts for about 5 hours continuous.

Your 500 watts is substantial overestimate. An example from the world of top cycling is that of the legendary Miguel Indurain on a climb of La Plage during the 1995 Tour de France, who expended a calculated continuous 450 watts for exactly 1 hour, putting we mere mortals firmly in our places.
.