I love riding my bicycle but I don't have the stamina to ride far or up steep hills. So I have been considering a e-bike. Here is one person's experience with one:
I have seen on Cake the posts on electric mountain bikes and various other vehicles but I am wondering about just regular e-bikes for non-hardcore bicyclists. Does anyone commute to work on one? Maybe ride alongside hardcore bicyclists who would otherwise be way out ahead? Would they make family bike rides easier?
An electric bike sounds like an excellent fit for you. It will be life-changing.
On a mid-priced e-bike, you will beat even world-class cyclists. Here's a perspective on power output to bike wheels:
400 watts - is what Lance Armstrong averaged in peak hours of the Tour d'France 750 watts - what most e-bikes output because this is the max street-legal allowed in the US 2000 watts - peak few second bursts for cyclists in a sprint 3000 watts - what many mountain bike and even some street bikes output
Maybe ride alongside hardcore bicyclists who would otherwise be way out ahead?
At 750 watts you'll beat all of them by leaps and bounds. You'd win the Tour d'France.
Would they make family bike rides easier?
Absolutely.
I'd suggest getting a pedal-assist bike instead of one with a throttle like a motorcycle has because it makes you feel like superman when pedaling. Pedal-assist bikes have torque sensors to match you pedaling power to motor output. Higher priced bikes usually have much better torque sensors, and it makes the ride more pleasant.
Topic of conversation around here too. I don't want one - I ride my bikes partly because of the effort needed to burn some Kilojoules and riding is by far the most enjoyable form of exercise I can find. And that I'm a two-wheel junkie with zero interest in cars, gyms or running. :-)
My Mrs OTOH has a busted knee and has given up riding because of the discomfort. Why hers is right over the back in the pic below. Electric assist could get her back out with us. I like this UrbanX idea for her situation. She's already got a nice Electra Brand cruiser:
Wow, I am not familiar with the UrbanX but that sounds pretty cool! Thanks for sharing.
I got an e-bike last year. I love it.
Ten years ago, I rode a bicycle about ten miles a day as a way to give myself time and space to work through some painful experiences. It was excellent therapy.
Ten years later, I live in a much more hilly area and I can’t trust that I’ll be able to do ten miles a day and get home OK. I still want to get exercise while I feel the wind on my face and steer the bike through challenging terrain, though. So a pedal-assist e-bike is the perfect thing. I turn on the assist only when I feel the need for whatever reason.
I think you’d like it!
e-Bikes are life-changing for people with spinal cord injuries. When you watch a heartbreaking, inspirational story of Paul Basagoitia (nicknamed "The Bas"), it changes you. Paul was one of my heroes and, arguably, the best mountain biker in the world. In 2015, while competing at Red Bull Rampage, he crashed and became paralized:
Doctors said he'll never walk and definitely will never ride again. But after months and years of perseverance through physical therapy, he slowly regained some feeling in his legs:
This fall, a documentary Any One of Us by Red Bull is coming. I can't wait to see it:
Love my e-bike. I used to ride a beautiful TREK street bike, but with all of the hills around me I have traded it in for the joy of riding and the pleasant surprise of the pedal assist. It is a blast and one can still get as much exercise as one would like, but not have any residual back, knee or difficulty with terrain.
This looks like a cool bike:
BMW has been selling e-bikes in North America for three years already.
I love my e-bike as well.
