Bicyclist thread

[Rich B]

A guy who rode with us bought this, did about 90 miles on it & then died from cancer.



I really want it, but don't want to haggle with his wife over the price as I'd feel a right cunt.

do you struggle to keep up with the ride?

[Carlos]

I've read the comments about ebikes being the cancer of the trail's but I've never heard of anyone actually catching it

[Rich B]

I was at Rogate the other day and I saw a fantastic use for an ebike. A woman was there with her kid and at the end of each run she (on an ebike) pushed the kid back up the to the top of the trail. They did loads of runs and it was great to see.

But for normal riding though, I’m not sure what the point is unless you physically can’t keep up with your riding group for some reason?

[JLv3.0]

I've heard a rumour that you can become more physically fit via the use of practice and exercise. Is this true?

[Gwaredd]

A guy who rode with us bought this, did about 90 miles on it & then died from cancer.



I really want it, but don't want to haggle with his wife over the price as I'd feel a right cunt.

do you struggle to keep up with the ride?

You ridden one?

[Rich B]

A guy who rode with us bought this, did about 90 miles on it & then died from cancer.



I really want it, but don't want to haggle with his wife over the price as I'd feel a right cunt.

do you struggle to keep up with the ride?

You ridden one?

no, my brother has and he said it was good fun. I’m not against them, I’ll probably have one when I’m too old to keep up with my boy - but it seems like a slippery slope to removing any fitness benefits of cycling!

[Simon]

Does it do that though? Or does it mean for that you can simply go further on a ride, and reach places you won't have normally been able to ride to before, whilst expending the same effort in total?

[Rich B]

Does it do that though? Or does it mean for that you can simply go further on a ride, and reach places you won't have normally been able to ride to before, whilst expending the same effort in total?

Yep, that’s the argument. I'm a social rider though, we go out as a group. Unless the whole group has ebikes then there’s not much benefit being able to go twice as far!

[Gwaredd]

You can have both Rich. I borrowed my mates ebike a few months back and did 30+ miles, all through the woods and trails. I was absolutely rinsed at the end of it. No way I could have ridden the same route on my normal bike without taking the best part of the day. The most fun part was going up hills. Hills you'd normally slog up turned into a riot.

I love a group ride and would never take an ebike on one as you'd leave them for dead everywhere. On a Sunday, or when I'm out on my own though, an ebike means I can go further and explore more in less time. They're a game changer. In 10 years, everyone will have one.

Hire one, take it go Cwymcarn and enjoy the ups. They're also incredibly good fun and planted on the way down too.

And for the record, I'm up at the front of the group.

[NotoriousREV]

The way Munki uses his eBike is a perfect use case to me: he can commute a distance and time that would otherwise be impractical. He’s still getting a good workout and he gets to avoid traffic etc.

[Gwaredd]

See, I don't see the point on a road bike. It's a piece of piss to maintain a good speed on the road. 16mph through the trees is a different story though.

[NotoriousREV]

See, I don't see the point on a road bike. It's a piece of piss to maintain a good speed on the road. 16mph through the trees is a different story though.

Don’t forget he’s commuting between the Peak District and Sheffield. Flat it ain’t...

[speedingfine]

Out of interest,what ebike has he got and how far does he go?

[simon_g]

Was at BPW earlier this month and there was a guy having a great time on a Kenevo. Prosthetic legs below both knees and reckoned it gave him enough assistance to let him ride pretty normally. Fair play to him.

Apparently there's quite a draw to them from the offroad motorbike world - cheap (both to buy and run) compared to an enduro motorbike and you can get away with riding wherever you like without annoying landowners or the public.

Currently getting very tempted by an Urban Arrow cargo ebike for doing the nursery (and soon school) run for the next few years. Bit far to walk, and car just gets stuck in traffic.

[NotoriousREV]

Out of interest,what ebike has he got and how far does he go?

<shrug>

[ste]

e-MTBs are ace, but as well as not instead of a normal MTB. I have friends that have both, lots of them super fit racers. They go out on the e-bikes as well as the normal bikes. Means in the same time you can get twice the amount of runs in.

For the road they make loads of sense for the commute. I have a friend who commutes over the South Downs on one. Sometimes he takes a normal bike and has a shower when he arrives, other days he takes the e-bike and arrives fresh and doesn't need a shower.

[drcarlos]

e-bikes will get banned in areas like Swinley the moment one irresponsible rider hits someone with one. This is especially likely with the modders de-restricting them and such.

On the road they can be regulated (probably requiring insurance) off road it's harder so they'll just get banned.

I think instead of being a long term thing they'll be a short term fad.

Carl.

[NotoriousREV]

e-bikes will get banned in areas like Swinley the moment one irresponsible rider hits someone with one. This is especially likely with the modders de-restricting them and such.

On the road they can be regulated (probably requiring insurance) off road it's harder so they'll just get banned.

I think instead of being a long term thing they'll be a short term fad.

Carl.

I reckon you’re 100% wrong.

[IanF]

My parents just bought two. They don’t cycle currently (but used to), so will hopefully this will lead to an increase in the amount of exercise they do. And if not, I’ll get two “hardly used bikes” in a few weeks!

[unzippy]

I commute on one. It's a Halfords Carrera Crossfire-E that I brought with me.
No throttle, just pedal assist that tops out at 26km/h (15.5mph). So far no one has worked out how to chip them.
I'm happy with it, I like that it means there are no hills any more and you can commute without requiring a change of clothes a the other end.

Current UK EAPC rules:
You need to be 14 or older.
Max output of 250w
Motor cuts out over 15.5mph

If it meets all the above it can be used anywhere pedal bikes are allowed.

If it doesn't meet the above, it's classed as a motorbike or moped - needs licence/insurance/tax/helmet. If you get nicked on one they can do you for IN10 which is a particularly nasty endorsement code to have.

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules