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Could e bikes mean faster commutes for regular cyclists?

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  • April 10, 2018 at 3:37 pm #28355
    Shades

    I know they’re the proverbial ‘Beelzebub’s 2 wheeler’ to a lot of cyclists and, unless I got pretty decrepid, wouldn’t use one to cycle for the sheer fun of it, but when it comes to commuting, the bike is ‘another mode of transport’ and, for long commutes, could e bikes cut times?  You can’t get away from e bikes at the moment; either in the bike shops, or having one catching up with you on a hill after you overtook it earlier!  There’s some pretty smart looking road e bikes and I was reading an article about continental riders who use them for commuting, but then are avid club riders (not on e bikes) at the weekend.

    I reckon I can average (commuting) on or above the 25km/h e bike limiter, so by my reckoning an e bike would give you a ‘helping hand’ on climbs but then the extra weight would be a hindrance on the flat above 25km/h.  Apart from perhaps ‘taking the heat’ out of climbs, I can’t see an e bike reducing commute times significantly unless there was a lot of hills….although you can (illegally) de-limit them!  Of my cycling friends, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to see an e bike appearing in their stable in the near future,  but if, under the ‘n+1’ mantra, e bikes offered the opportunity to cut cycle commute times, it could be a bonus to the manufacturers as regular cyclists head to buy one.

    Sounds like a good Road.cc test/trial to me.

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Viewing 14 replies - 16 through 29 (of 29 total)
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  • April 11, 2018 at 4:13 pm #916761
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    johnstol

    I ride a recumbent trike and

    I ride a recumbent trike and an upright tandem. They weighed in at around 20 kg each. Now they are motorised that figure has risen to 28 kg. The motors certainly make a difference to my speed up hills and even gentle slopes (Iam moderately fit and in my 70s.) A good average speed for me without a motor used to be 20 k/h. Now I can average a little over 25 k/h if I provide moderate effort on the pedals. Each system – one is Shimano Steps crank motor and the other a Heinzmann front wheel motor -has different charcteristics. I find the limitation is range, not speed/comfort. For long distance touring (say 100 km daily) I would need a spare battery. I have run out of battery power several times, usually up that last hill, and then I really feel the difference! But sometimes  I do a 15 to 20 km ride without e-power, to give me a bit of exercise.

    April 11, 2018 at 3:49 pm #916759
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    alansmurphy

    Some of the really nice ones

    Some of the really nice ones – GCN had Matt Stephens versus Si in the alps (I think and he caned him) don’t even need to be n+1 depending on your leisure riding. With the battery part of the tube you could either just remove (save a lot of the weight) or push round a heavier bike (if Strava isn’t your reason for riding).

     

    I love riding and am ‘only’ 40 but have diabetic neuropathy – spinning certainly helps but some days my feet are numb, some days they’re on fire. There will be a day where i probably have an e hybrid and an e racing bike – my n+1 may then be a trusty steel/ti/carbon racer for the day I can thrash an hour in the sunshine…

    April 11, 2018 at 12:50 pm #916757
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    Dicklexic

    An e-bike might not be any

    An e-bike might not be any faster, but you could potentially arrive at work fresher and a lot less sweaty. If I could avoid having to get changed at the end of my ride to work (where I must do my best to get clean in the confines of a small toilet with handwash sink!) then an ebike could actually save me a good ten minutes on my overall bed-to-desk time!

    April 11, 2018 at 12:35 pm #916755
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    Anonymous

    Worth saying that ebikes are

    Worth saying that ebikes are not limited to 15mph, it’s just that they cannot provide assistance above that speed.

    I really want one, for all those little journeys where I can’t be bothered to walk or it would take slightly longer than really sensible, but also for exploring more than I would otherwise.  Yes, I can grind and walk my way to the top of any hill, and sometimes I do, but why not get a little help and go and explore five times as many places?

    April 11, 2018 at 10:54 am #916753
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    Kendalred
    RPK wrote:
    I think it depends on your commute profile and distance.

    I’m considering an e-bike for my 25km commute simply because bashing out 50km/day is a bit much for my body. I’ve tried it but only managed three days before I just had to rest. I also have two considerable hills to climb and a window of 1 hour door-to-door to complete the journey. An e-bike would obliterate the hills and take the strain off my legs. I believe I could commute 5 days a week with an e-bike.

    Yes, I think if there are hills, then it would make the commute easier. Not sure if the weight would be a factor on the flats would it?

    I do a commute that is around 35-40km each way, so if I do three in a row I am pretty bushed – I tend to do three in a week and stick a rest (car) day in there a couple of days. I think if I had that assistance uphill then it could potentially increase my commutes – my route is through the southern areas of the Lake District, so we don’t really have any flat roads!

    Also, if they keep putting the retirement age up, I’ll need one to keep me cycle-commuting until I retire!

    April 11, 2018 at 10:44 am #916751
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    fenix

    If you’re currently averaging

    If you’re currently averaging more than the legal e bike limit now then I don’t see the point in the e bike for you.

     

    Plenty of people won’t be doing 15mph average though – either through lack of fitness or not wanting to arrive at work sweaty.  The e bikes will be perfect for them. 

    April 11, 2018 at 8:38 am #916749
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    Sedis

    Living in the Fens, where it

    Living in the Fens, where it is mostly flat but extremely windy, I can see myself benefiting from an electric bike as I get older, but the 15 m.p.h. cut off means there would currently be no point.

    To make them a genuine prospect for faster commutes and reduction in car use, the limit needs to be at least slightly higher or work on a system where it adds a percentage of what the rider is putting in.

    April 11, 2018 at 8:03 am #916747
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    Canyon48

    I’d love an ebike for

    I’d love an ebike for commuting, but the 15 mph limit is useless for me I commute 18 miles and it takes me about an hour.

    There’s only one hill, about a 5 min climb at the end. Essentially I’d have extra assistance on the 5min climb but just have a heavier bike for the other 55 mins of commuting.

    April 11, 2018 at 6:58 am #916745
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    oldstrath
    mike the bike wrote:
     

    Although my lady’s knees still look shapely they hide a dark secret, rheumatism makes hard pedalling very painful.  So we got her a leccy bike to ease the strain and she loves it.  Being a proper cyclist with a stable of proper bikes I viewed the thing with distrust and disdain but slowly, ever so slowly, I have come to respect its place in the scheme of things.

    Take last Sunday for example, when I needed to pop two miles to the shop.  Without the bother of changing into proper clothing and cleated shoes I jumped aboard the Emu and cranked it up to Assistance Level 6.  Ten minutes later, my shopping stashed in the huge pannier, I was on my way home.  No time wasted, no drama, no sweating.  I think we shall soon be seeing more of these.  

    My wife’s issue is OA rather than rheumatism, but other than that I’ve had exactly this experience.

    April 11, 2018 at 12:24 am #916743
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    rogermerriman
    srchar wrote:
    It depends how quick you are.  eBikes are limited to 15mph, although I’ve seen some definitely going faster than that on the flat.  If your average moving speed on your commute is lower than that, an eBike would be quicker. Mine isn’t, so it’s not 🙂

    I think 25km each way should be do-able once you’re used to it.  Six months ago, I changed jobs and went from 50km days to 30km. I’m definitely less fit for it, but haven’t noticed that I’m any less fatigued – the body adapts.

    Unless you have a commute that you never have to stop or slow? A E bike is going to be under 15mph average, as stopping for lights/what not. I see a few on my commute which is 12/19 miles/Km some are tweaked and are fair bit faster than 15mph most though are not.

    The only ones that would be much faster are the “off road only” ones, ie moped in all but name. With generally terrifying looking brakes in my experience!

    April 10, 2018 at 10:37 pm #916741
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    srchar

    It depends how quick you are.

    It depends how quick you are.  eBikes are limited to 15mph, although I’ve seen some definitely going faster than that on the flat.  If your average moving speed on your commute is lower than that, an eBike would be quicker. Mine isn’t, so it’s not 🙂

    I think 25km each way should be do-able once you’re used to it.  Six months ago, I changed jobs and went from 50km days to 30km. I’m definitely less fit for it, but haven’t noticed that I’m any less fatigued – the body adapts.

    April 10, 2018 at 10:08 pm #916739
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    RPK

    I think it depends on your

    I think it depends on your commute profile and distance.

    I’m considering an e-bike for my 25km commute simply because bashing out 50km/day is a bit much for my body. I’ve tried it but only managed three days before I just had to rest. I also have two considerable hills to climb and a window of 1 hour door-to-door to complete the journey. An e-bike would obliterate the hills and take the strain off my legs. I believe I could commute 5 days a week with an e-bike.

    April 10, 2018 at 9:15 pm #916737
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    rogermerriman

    I can’t see how it could

    I can’t see how it could unless, it was say up a continuous hill, with other traffic and junction and what not. This also is what I have noted both from using different bikes to commute and watching others, that unless you’ve got a some open road for a significant amount of your commute that fast bikes don’t make much difference, equally that your not loosing much by using a slow bike.

    April 10, 2018 at 5:09 pm #916735
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    mike the bike

     

     

    Although my lady’s knees still look shapely they hide a dark secret, rheumatism makes hard pedalling very painful.  So we got her a leccy bike to ease the strain and she loves it.  Being a proper cyclist with a stable of proper bikes I viewed the thing with distrust and disdain but slowly, ever so slowly, I have come to respect its place in the scheme of things.

    Take last Sunday for example, when I needed to pop two miles to the shop.  Without the bother of changing into proper clothing and cleated shoes I jumped aboard the Emu and cranked it up to Assistance Level 6.  Ten minutes later, my shopping stashed in the huge pannier, I was on my way home.  No time wasted, no drama, no sweating.  I think we shall soon be seeing more of these.  

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