Would I be dumb to buy an leccy bike?

Hi everyone. Newby - please be kind. Thank you

 

I've been looking at buying an electric bike to replace my much loved 1997 Specialized Rockhopper. I bought it new, and I haven't had anything else since, so I've no clue whatsoever about current bikes. I commute into work on it and it's about 19 miles - which takes me about an hour and 10 mins - so I average about 17ish mph and it's mostly flat as I follow the coastline.

 

The bike which takes my fancy is the Haibike sduro Cross but, as you know, they all stop doing their thing at 15mph so if I wanted to maintain my 'normal' speed I'd have to put in a lot more effort than I currently do due to the extra weight.

 

The reason for purchase is 95% to make my commute easier and 5% to play a bit on the trails at the weekend but I'm concerned I might be wasting my money as I'd have to ride it slower to gain the benefit of the motor when I could just ride my normal bike slower to gain a similar benefit. Would I be better spending the £2k on a normal bike or am I missing something?

 

Or.......dare I say it....should I get it derestricted? I'm not interested in going any faster than I currently do, but I would like it to be easier on my aging body, especially when it gets a bit breezy - which it does quite a lot along the east coast.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Steven

https://www.badassebikes.com/

Dumb not to buy one

https://www.badassebikes.com/

Naughty naughty soundwave, I'm sure our new member doesn't want to go whizzing round like his arse is on fire

Hi Steven, new on here myself. Have owned a pedelec for 10 months now.

I to was a bit hesitant when I purchased my Haibike, thinking "it's a lot of money" and "will I use it and when". Well I'll say it's the best thing I have ever brought, it was expensive but I use it so much that actually it's cheap.

Regards to the motor cutting out at just over 15mph I find with my Bosch motor that If you spin it at about 80rpm you have no effect of weight/resistance when the motor stops assisting you.

I live at the coast to and on the flat easily reach and sustain speeds of 18mph just like my normally aspirated mtb.

Will say this though, if you choose to buy a e-mtb you will change your route to work to include a lot more off road cycling and use it so much more that commuting.

There's a couple of things to think about. With a present average speed of 17 mph, that Haibike will be slower unless you fit a dongle. With a dongle to derestrict it, it would be an excellent commuter, but it doesn't seem to be the right bike for trails unless they're pretty smooth. I would have thought that something like the Hard Seven would be better.

 

Then there's the range. If you can average 17 mph already, then with a dongle in eco mode, your journey time would be similar with the same effort and you should be able to make the return journey. If you used turbo mode, you'll only be able to go one way at most, so you'd need at least a spare charger. When derestricted and travelling at 20 mph, the battery can go down very quickly.

There's a couple of things to think about. With a present average speed of 17 mph, that Haibike will be slower unless you fit a dongle. With a dongle to derestrict it, it would be an excellent commuter, but it doesn't seem to be the right bike for trails unless they're pretty smooth. I would have thought that something like the Hard Seven would be better.

 

Then there's the range. If you can average 17 mph already, then with a dongle in eco mode, your journey time would be similar with the same effort and you should be able to make the return journey. If you used turbo mode, you'll only be able to go one way at most, so you'd need at least a spare charger. When derestricted and travelling at 20 mph, the battery can go down very quickly.

If you are strong enough to average 17 mph without power assistance, then you will have no difficulty in at least getting the same average speed with power assist. The extra weight of the bike is irrelevant. if there are hills on the route, then turbo boost will make hill climbing at 15.5mph feasible, and increase your average speed.downhill, the extra weight is of minor effect. Non modified ebikes will cut off at this speed, so you would not be consuming anything above say 16.3mph. I can concur that the Bosch motor does not contribute drag, when it is not contributing power

I can concur that the Bosch motor does not contribute drag, when it is not contributing power

There's no extra drag when you're free-wheeling, but you suffer an efficiency loss with Bosch motors because you have to go through the motor's reduction system rather than driving the chain directly. Take your chain off and turn the pedals by hand! Try and spin the pedals, like you can on a normal bike.

There's no extra drag when you're free-wheeling, but you suffer an efficiency loss with Bosch motors because you have to go through the motor's reduction system rather than driving the chain directly. Take your chain off and turn the pedals by hand! Try and spin the pedals, like you can on a normal bike.

There well may be, and of course logically there must be this efficiency loss , but my experience is that it is minimal, be is probably equivalent to the loss in hub gears as compared to dereilliur... Taking the chain off is actually difficult because it fits so neatly over the smaller cog.

Another option, get an Oxygen MTB, easily derestricted and it will do 22mph on the straight and should be fine on light trails, in frame battery, good hydraulic brakes and it looks good too and you will save £500.

 

You may even be able to cycle it, with the right gears, at a higher speed, take the battery out and recharge it at work and use full power both ways.

Another option, get an Oxygen MTB, easily derestricted and it will do 22mph on the straight and should be fine on light trails, in frame battery, good hydraulic brakes and it looks good too and you will save £500.

 

You may even be able to cycle it, with the right gears, at a higher speed, take the battery out and recharge it at work and use full power both ways.

and spare charger is only £18 if you need one, and it doesn't cost a penny to derestrict, compared with over £120 for the Haibike, so that's a £700 saving in total.

Hi everyone. Newby - please be kind. Thank you

 

I've been looking at buying an electric bike to replace my much loved 1997 Specialized Rockhopper. I bought it new, and I haven't had anything else since, so I've no clue whatsoever about current bikes. I commute into work on it and it's about 19 miles - which takes me about an hour and 10 mins - so I average about 17ish mph and it's mostly flat as I follow the coastline.

 

The bike which takes my fancy is the Haibike sduro Cross but, as you know, they all stop doing their thing at 15mph so if I wanted to maintain my 'normal' speed I'd have to put in a lot more effort than I currently do due to the extra weight.

 

The reason for purchase is 95% to make my commute easier and 5% to play a bit on the trails at the weekend but I'm concerned I might be wasting my money as I'd have to ride it slower to gain the benefit of the motor when I could just ride my normal bike slower to gain a similar benefit. Would I be better spending the £2k on a normal bike or am I missing something?

 

Or.......dare I say it....should I get it derestricted? I'm not interested in going any faster than I currently do, but I would like it to be easier on my aging body, especially when it gets a bit breezy - which it does quite a lot along the east coast.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Steven

A number of points .. if you can do 19 miles in a hour plus you are pretty fit already. So taking the question posed yeah maybe an ebike is not yet the way to go. Many of the posters here are 20 plus years up on our current age. If you don't need it yet, the bikes next year and the year after will be better...

If your journey is dead flat , and windless , and you go faster than the legal limit, then the motor will be in play only very rarely. And the battery will last multiple trips. But the ebike will save you energy, in the acceleration phase up to 16 mph. If there are hills, the motor will ensure that your lowest speed is 15.5mph, so the bike will save you some energy, and possibly increase your average speed.

I'm pretty sure that OP will hate riding it when it's limited to 25km/h. He'll hardly get any advantage from it, but he'll get all the disadvantages. To me, the decision is simple: Either use an unrestriced e-bike or get a road bike. A road bike wouod be much faster than a Rockhopper and would take a lot less effort to go at the same speed.

. But the ebike will save you energy, in the acceleration phase up to 16 mph. If there are hills, the motor will ensure that your lowest speed is 15.5mph, so the bike will save you some energy, and possibly increase your average speed.

 

That is exactly how I ride mine. I tend to travel at around 18mph on the flat, with the motor just kicking in occasionally as my speed drops due to terrain or headwind. Where it comes into its own is when I have to go up a hill or stop at a junction - the motor gets me back up to speed very quickly (or pulls me up the hill), allowing me to carry on at my normal rate without putting in lots of energy.

 

Riding like that allows me to get a huge increase in range (at least double) compared to using my non-electric bike, and without overexerting myself. I'm over 40, over 100kg and not very fit - but I'm finding I can now do what I could 25 years ago when I was much fitter.

Hey folks,

 

Thanks for all your responses. All I'm hearing is good things!

 

Just to clarify - I'm 48 and 11.5 stone.

 

I don't consider myself particularly fit, but I do/did go to gym a couple of days a week. I just started commuting in on the bicycle about 2-3 months ago to get some exercise as I wasn't getting the time to get to the gym at lunchtimes due to work - and I liked it! I do a few track days on my motocross bike too to get my offroad thrills so maybe that helps with the fitness too.

 

I'm thinking a dongle may be the way to go but a little worried about range if I fit one. I try to get to work pretty sharpish normally (the roads are empty at 05:30 but tend to dawdle home as there's lots of traffic in the evening. Do you think the Haibike would cope with that on 1 charge?

You sound quite fit if you are doing an average 17mph and slightly over two hours per day journeying to work and back again, I am not convinced you will see any benefit at all from buying an E-Bike as your journey is mostly flat with no hills.

 

If you arrive at work and are sweaty then the benefit of an E-Bike is that you will arrive less sweaty but unless going derestricted your journey time is likely to be the same due to the speed limit of the bike.

 

You have to ask yourself another question, is this for commuting to work or is it for play too, I ask because I think if it's for commuting to work 95% of the time then there are better alternatives out there, why spend so much, the CB Cross from Oxygen that I have is perfect for commuting as one example due to having the pannier rack and decent lights fitted as standard, I mentioned the MTB version of that too because it's got slightly better specifications, there are other makes too, why spend more?

 

Even a Carrera from Halfords would do the job well just for cycling to work.

 

It all boils down to what you want it for, if you can already do an average of 17mph you might be better off looking at normal bikes with road tyres.

 

Haibike without battery.

 

https://www.cyclerepublic.com/haibike-seet-hardseven-3-0-650b-mens-mountain-bike-2017.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6eXAq_Sm1QIVTr7tCh0ecAq8EAQYBSABEgIO9_D_BwE

Edited July 26, 20178 yr by Mal69

11.5 stone. And fit. He will fly on a deresticted oxygen.

11.5 stone. And fit. He will fly on a deresticted oxygen.

Same weight as me but he is much fitter.

You sound quite fit if you are doing an average 17mph and slightly over two hours per day journeying to work and back again, I am not convinced you will see any benefit at all from buying an E-Bike as your journey is mostly flat with no hills.

 

If you arrive at work and are sweaty then the benefit of an E-Bike is that you will arrive less sweaty but unless going derestricted your journey time is likely to be the same due to the speed limit of the bike.

 

You have to ask yourself another question, is this for commuting to work or is it for play too, I ask because I think if it's for commuting to work 95% of the time then there are better alternatives out there, why spend so much, the CB Cross from Oxygen that I have is perfect for commuting as one example due to having the pannier rack and decent lights fitted as standard, I mentioned the MTB version of that too because it's got slightly better specifications, there are other makes too, why spend more?

 

Even a Carrera from Halfords would do the job well just for cycling to work.

 

It all boils down to what you want it for, if you can already do an average of 17mph you might be better off looking at normal bikes with road tyres.

 

Haibike without battery.

 

https://www.cyclerepublic.com/haibike-seet-hardseven-3-0-650b-mens-mountain-bike-2017.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6eXAq_Sm1QIVTr7tCh0ecAq8EAQYBSABEgIO9_D_BwE

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for offering a different perspective.

 

What you're saying is exactly what I'm worried about (no benefit) but to answer your question...

 

I'm dripping with sweat and gasping for dear life in both directions. More so on the way home as I'm 6 miles inland and it's a slight incline the whole way after I leave the coastline. I use the commute as a bit of a workout but headwinds just kill me. I don't tend to make it without a 10 minute breather and a Snickers somewhere along the route if it's breezy.

 

Saving a bit of money doesn't really bother me. I haven't bought a bike in 20 years so I'm due myself a treat. And without sounding morbid, at 48 I don't expect to buy another so I want to get it right.

Hi,

 

Thanks for offering a different perspective.

 

What you're saying is exactly what I'm worried about (no benefit) but to answer your question...

 

I'm dripping with sweat and gasping for dear life in both directions. More so on the way home as I'm 6 miles inland and it's a slight incline the whole way after I leave the coastline. I use the commute as a bit of a workout but headwinds just kill me. I don't tend to make it without a 10 minute breather and a Snickers somewhere along the route if it's breezy.

 

Saving a bit of money doesn't really bother me. I haven't bought a bike in 20 years so I'm due myself a treat. And without sounding morbid, at 48 I don't expect to buy another so I want to get it right.

 

Well the good news is you sweat a lot less on an E-Bike, headwinds might run the battery down faster, I don't know yet as I have not had my bike long enough but an e-bike really makes you sweat less, having said that you can put as much or as little effort in as you like, well with my hub drive you can, I think the Haibike is crank drive, with hub drive just pedalling on a straight means I can do 22.6mph, not sure about the crank drives.

 

It's hard to say how long the battery will last, it will depend on power setting, you might not need full power so it could last the journey there and home.

I think you will love it. I'm 17 stone on an oxygen hub drive and I'm no cyclist. But I've done 20 miles poncing about here and there and never took the battery to half way. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't do your commute on a single charge . But you could always take the charger with you to start with.

 

Had mine 6 months and look for an excuse to ride it every day. Even out in the winter in the mud. Living by the coast and enjoying cycling anyway , plus commuting, you have perfect reasons.

Try and test out a few.

Don't forget that you can alter the amount of assistance the motor's giving you. So when you encounter a headwind or hill, turn it up a bit to counteract it then turn it back down when you don't need it any more or want a bit more exercise. By doing that the battery will last longer too. I did just under 40 miles on Sunday morning and there was still a bit left in my 10Ah battery - that's with a 250W front hub motor kit on a cheap old mountain bike, total cost was under £500 including the bike.

 

For commuting some people prefer high assistance on the way to work (arriving non-sweaty), then low or no assistance on the way home (to get exercise).

I'm thinking a dongle may be the way to go but a little worried about range if I fit one. I try to get to work pretty sharpish normally (the roads are empty at 05:30 but tend to dawdle home as there's lots of traffic in the evening. Do you think the Haibike would cope with that on 1 charge?

I have an unrestricted hardseven, I can get over 60Km with 2000m of climbing on one battery. It depends how much power you use, stick it in eco, get an extra 100-150 watts and you will go a long way. Be aware that Haibikes are generally heavy things, I'm not sure I would use one for that journey.

I think I would go for d8veh's favourite q128 kit on your existing bike with slicks (I used to have a second set of wheels to swap between commuting and weekend riding)

Hi,

 

Thanks for offering a different perspective.

 

What you're saying is exactly what I'm worried about (no benefit) but to answer your question...

 

I'm dripping with sweat and gasping for dear life in both directions. More so on the way home as I'm 6 miles inland and it's a slight incline the whole way after I leave the coastline. I use the commute as a bit of a workout but headwinds just kill me. I don't tend to make it without a 10 minute breather and a Snickers somewhere along the route if it's breezy.

 

Saving a bit of money doesn't really bother me. I haven't bought a bike in 20 years so I'm due myself a treat. And without sounding morbid, at 48 I don't expect to buy another so I want to get it right.

.. not morbid, just unrealistic.. at 48 you could anticipate another 20 plus years and if you don't expect ebikes to get better and more desirable then! !!!

What you might like to think about is the style of cycling you want to do. I don't know the shape of your current bike but it's name suggests MTB. For road commuting there are other shapes, and these might be more comfortable. In particular the Dutch style has endured for a reason,

When I got my current bike I wanted to explore was it feasible to cycle at 25km HR for an hour , in full commuting gear eg anorak, etc not Lycra, and it is with turbo assist on,. Hard work but not knee destroying or uncontrollable sweating and it is...