Wondering if an e-bike is for me...

[Claymore]

Hi, new to the forum here and I've been wondering whether an e-bike could be the right thing for me and I'd be grateful for a little advice from some regular users.

My current commute is a 16 mile round trip with plenty of elevation. I've been doing this daily for a few years now using normal bicycles whatever the weather, it takes around 35 minutes each way. In November my back started to give me some serious issues when riding and I haven't ridden since, during recovery my thoughts turned to e-bikes, but I was fortunately loaned a car and that was that. Or so I thought...

...I'm now feeling considerably better and plan on returning to my daily commute in the next week or so, but my thoughts keep on drifting back to the little bit of research I did on e-bikes and I'm wondering if one would enable me to reduce my commute times and allow me to spend a little more time with the family whilst costing me very little to run.

I like the concept of the Bosch drive bikes and very much like the look of the Cube SUV Hybrid Pro, it's got a very neat look to it with an Alfine 8 and should make for easy maintenance. I've heard the Alfine gears can feel a little draggy on a non-assisted bike, but I'm thinking the motor will counteract that. I currently ride with large volume tyres for the increased comfort and ability to hit other terrain should I want to - the price of a smidge under £2k seems pretty reasonable too. I'm not a fan of the fork, but the rest of the bike looks sound to me.



Ignoring the legalities for one moment, if the bike were to be de-restricted with a dongle, would there be difficulties in maintaining pedal cadence for speeds of 25 to 30mph on the flat? I note the Bosch motors don't have chain rings - can the crank pinion gear be changed for a larger one if needed?

Any advice appeciated.

 

[D8ve]

An ilegal bike would do what you want. But a recumbent might also help.
If you are doing circa 14 mph on a diamond frame then 16 is easy on a bent(after a few months). Put a electric motor on it for uphill and 20 on the flat is easy. It would be a legal bike with serious comfort and speed potential.
I have done 110+ miles at 15 mph on mine over in one day aged 50 and 100kg with no motor!!

 

[trex]

with this bike? 25mph is doable, 30mph unlikely.
You need 700W at the wheels (500W from motor + 200W from human) for 25mph, 1,100W for 30mph. That's before taking into account gradient and headwind.

 

[RobF]

As Trex says, you will get nowhere near 30mph on the flat from a Bosch bike.

You could dongle a Bosch bike, but all that does is let the motor whirr on above 15mph.

At these speeds, the motor is not giving much power.

You can change the gearing at either end, sprocket or chain ring.

Simplest and cheapest way to up the gearing would be a smaller rear sprocket on the Alfine hub.

 

[Artstu]

Hmm, I'd say you need a hybrid and better rolling tyres, also pay careful attention to the rear drop-outs, you'll really need a chain tensioner.
A Bosch with Nexus 8 going above 30 mph on the flat, who'd have believed that.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Here we have mature men talking about hotrodding e-bikes and making them illegal. The same ones who complain about the restless youth and their noisy mopeds with illegal exauhst pipes!

what is the world coming too...

Tony

(who prefers the restless youth into hotroding mopeds more than those who binge drink. Unless...)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I think an average of 20 mph could be achievable on a derestricted Bosch bike or similar provided that the hills aren't very steep and it's not to windy. 25 mph isn't going to happen except down hills or with a very good following wind.

 

[trex]

the running cost of a £2k commuting bike is not very low. For the first year (16 miles * 250 = 4,000 miles), you'll need to add dongle (£100), lock, mudguards, lights and bell (£100), puncture proof tyres and maintenance (£200) and depreciation (£1,200). Total £1,600.
If you want low cost commuting, buy a cheap bike with all these things, a big motor and a big battery.

 

[Claymore]

Artstu - Are you running a Bosch bike with Nexus gears?

Running costs aren't too much of a concern, coming from non-assisted cycling I already have all of the gear required. I have a couple of bikes that would be suitable to convert if I were so inclined, but I'd rather go take the easier route of buying off the peg.

I suppose the real question is, would a Bosch e-bike make a real world difference to my commuting times to be worth the £2k investment? I average around the 13mph mark currently non-assisted, but with some big hills I'm wondering just how much time I could potentially save?

 

[Artstu]

Artstu - Are you running a Bosch bike with Nexus gears?

Yes

I suppose the real question is, would a Bosch e-bike make a real world difference to my commuting times to be worth the £2k investment? I average around the 13mph mark currently non-assisted, but with some big hills I'm wondering just how much time I could potentially save?

I'd say you'll be around 5 to 6 mph faster overall. I've averaged 25 mph over 14 miles with a drop in elevation and 21.5 mph going back the other way. That required two batteries though. A 400 w/h battery should cope with your 16 mile commute though.

 

[Kenny]

For a cheaper option you could get a second hand Panasonic powered Kalkhoff Pro Connect.

The're bullet proof, an excellent ride and can average 20mph in sports version or with a simple cog change.

I recently bought one for less than £600 and it's in great condition.

 

[RobF]

You will save a few minutes at most.

And you might not if you cop a red light or some traffic.

I can't see the practical difference between a 30 minute and a 35 minute journey to work, and trying to hit targets all the time is not good from a safety point of view.

Each to his own view, of course.

 

[mfj197]

I tried an ebike last year for my 44 mile round trip commute. Great experience. You can read my musings on the matter here. I'm now just finishing off a conversion of a flat bar road bike (Cube as well) with a BBS01 crank drive - I'll put up a thread on it when it's done.

I did consider a Bosch crank drive and in fact ordered one but then cancelled it due to a change in circumstance. That got me thinking, and I thought by doing a conversion I could create a bike that is better for my needs whilst being significantly cheaper. Long term costs are high on the bosch too - replacement batteries cost an arm and a leg, motors are not user serviceable etc.

Michael

 

[JohnCade]

Well, if he's happy to be illegal why not buy a Kalkhoff S pedelec? That would do the job all right and is in the right price range.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Claymore,the Kudos Rapide would do your job fine,or if you want to dispense with mudguards the Kudos Arriba or Kudos Escape,all around £1300 average,Samsung replacement batteries average £250.
It always intrigues me the cost of Bosch replacement batteries,the overall cost of the bike at £1600,seems reasonable but those replacement battery costs seem poor value.
The Rapide/Arriba/Escape models all have Tektro hydraulic brakes,Suntour forks,Shimano Deore gears,the frames are made by the largest frame manufacturer in the world,supplier to a lot of the top German manufacturers.
KudosDave

 

[SteveRuss]

Nearly £2k for a bike with an 11Ah battery? Maybe i' missing something but that seems a bit yesteryear these days.

11Ah battery and a Dongle isn't going to get you soo far if you're managing to maintain 22-25mph. I don't know what the actual figures would be as it's nearly impossible to really gauge these things without knowing all the details as in, rider weight, wind resistance, hills etc etc etc..

I know that Kalkhoff told me that one of their unrestricted bikes with their 17Ah battery would net you up to 30 miles at approx 25mph. That's probably generous. So I think you'd be doing well to have anything other than an empty battery past 20miles or so.

Other will know better on this stuff as i'm relatively fresh but I suspect i'm in the ball park..

Nice looking bike though.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I would say that your estimates are spot on.

 

[SteveRuss]

Here we have mature men talking about hotrodding e-bikes and making them illegal. The same ones who complain about the restless youth and their noisy mopeds with illegal exauhst pipes!

what is the world coming too...

Tony

(who prefers the restless youth into hotroding mopeds more than those who binge drink. Unless...)

Heh. I get your point in a way. Though, 15.5mph is a little laborious considering it's quite easy to be passed by a moderate cyclist on a light weight hybrid or drop bar. I personally think that a 20mph limit would be better and if I could achieve that without feeling that I am actually "Hot Rodding" then i'd almost be up for it.

My Kalkhoff seems to give up around 17mph which is close so i'm kind of living with it at the moment.

 

[SteveRuss]

I would say that your estimates are spot on.

Thanks. Coming from you i'll take it that my thinking on these things is generally on the right track

 

[JohnCade]

Heh.

My Kalkhoff seems to give up around 17mph which is close so i'm kind of living with it at the moment.

Yes so does mine. They use the ten percent leeway to cut out at 17.3 mph. You can still pedal past that on the flat though, and when it's rolling it's not so different from a hybrid or even a road bike if the tyres are pumped up to a good pressure.