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Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: April 7 21, 12:14 pm
by ghostrunner
Starting another thread since "people in cars" is mostly a lot of fussing about cars and bikes.

Just ordered an e-bike after thinking about it for about 2 years and can't wait. Tried the model I'm buying out on Saturday and ordered right after. Plan right now is to make it my default work ride, as I'm heading back to the office 2 days a week starting in June. The ebike ought to cut my bike commute roughly in half, and end up only being about 10-15 minutes longer than the car commute. Also hoping to avoid changing clothes or worrying about sweating, which was a minor concern before when I biked in.

Got one of these -

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/ ... -step-thru

There's a throttle which lets you move without pedaling. Tops out at 20mph which is roughly as fast as I get going down a steep hill. Or there's a pedal assist function that has 5 levels. When I tried it out I was doing almost nothing at level 3, but that would change depending on rider weight, hills, etc...

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: April 7 21, 1:48 pm
by GeddyWrox
Pretty cool! If I were in an urban setting closer to my office, I'd definitely consider one of these for getting around town.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: May 20 21, 7:32 am
by ghostrunner
Just rode in to work for the first time yesterday and it was pretty nice. Wouldn't say it cut my time in half but about 35%. Lots of stopping and it doesn't feel safe to go over 17mph with other people around or if the path isn't straight and smooth, but I got up there a few times. Apart from that the big improvement is not having to change clothes. Still pedaled the whole way there but didn't break a sweat.

Also found out that you can mess with the settings and get it to go up to 25mph, but not sure if I'll ever do that unless I'm using the road.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: May 20 21, 7:49 am
by thrill
I messed around on one that my coworker brought to the office. Super fun! A little disorienting at first if you hadn't ridden a real bike in a few years (like your boy) because of weight/balance, but super fun to cruise around on.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: May 20 21, 8:32 am
by ghostrunner
Yeah the weight is tricky. Ended up looking a little foolish a couple times yesterday trying to walk it down a couple curbs.

There’s a tax credit that’s been proposed to cover 1/3 the cost up to $3000. Hoping it’s retroactive if they pass it this year, but it may not be and they may not pass it. Not sure if there’s likely to be resistance or not. Seems harmless enough but you never know what gets turned into a culture war.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: May 20 21, 4:06 pm
by New Pagodi
Is there any chance of these catching on?


Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: May 20 21, 6:12 pm
by BottenFieldofDreams
Very cool. And even cooler because it's actually practical. When I clicked the link I said to myself, 'he didn't pay $8 grand for one of these, did he?' The e mountain bikes can cost the price of two new Honda dirt bikes.

This is something I may end up looking into myself eventually to partner with lightrail.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: August 12 21, 9:57 pm
by G. Keenan
ghostrunner wrote:
April 7 21, 12:14 pm
Starting another thread since "people in cars" is mostly a lot of fussing about cars and bikes.

Just ordered an e-bike after thinking about it for about 2 years and can't wait. Tried the model I'm buying out on Saturday and ordered right after. Plan right now is to make it my default work ride, as I'm heading back to the office 2 days a week starting in June. The ebike ought to cut my bike commute roughly in half, and end up only being about 10-15 minutes longer than the car commute. Also hoping to avoid changing clothes or worrying about sweating, which was a minor concern before when I biked in.

Got one of these -

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/ ... -step-thru

There's a throttle which lets you move without pedaling. Tops out at 20mph which is roughly as fast as I get going down a steep hill. Or there's a pedal assist function that has 5 levels. When I tried it out I was doing almost nothing at level 3, but that would change depending on rider weight, hills, etc...
How are you liking this ebike after a few months?

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: August 13 21, 9:18 am
by ghostrunner
G. Keenan wrote:
August 12 21, 9:57 pm
ghostrunner wrote:
April 7 21, 12:14 pm
Starting another thread since "people in cars" is mostly a lot of fussing about cars and bikes.

Just ordered an e-bike after thinking about it for about 2 years and can't wait. Tried the model I'm buying out on Saturday and ordered right after. Plan right now is to make it my default work ride, as I'm heading back to the office 2 days a week starting in June. The ebike ought to cut my bike commute roughly in half, and end up only being about 10-15 minutes longer than the car commute. Also hoping to avoid changing clothes or worrying about sweating, which was a minor concern before when I biked in.

Got one of these -

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/ ... -step-thru

There's a throttle which lets you move without pedaling. Tops out at 20mph which is roughly as fast as I get going down a steep hill. Or there's a pedal assist function that has 5 levels. When I tried it out I was doing almost nothing at level 3, but that would change depending on rider weight, hills, etc...
How are you liking this ebike after a few months?
It's great. Don't get to ride it every day I go to work due to the occasional errand where I need to pick up a kid or have Dr appt after work or if there's heavy rain and thunder predicted, but it's been the bulk of my commutes since I got it.

Works pretty much as expected with the benefits I expected. Little to no sweating on the way in. I ride to work in normal clothes - fenders are a must for that to work. In my case it's 90% trails. Slower than a car, but I'm not stuck in traffic. I see wildlife all the time now. It's a nice commute.

I got a basket for the back to carry my stuff. Backpack with the laptop in it, rain jacket, coffee thermos, bike lock.

Commute to work is about 50 minutes, vs 30 in the car and 75 minutes on the normal bike. I get off at 3, so for me it works out fine. Seems long to some people, but I look at it as a time to get some exercise and it's also a nice way to unwind.


If I had to come up with downsides -

It not as much exercise as the regular bike, so that benefit is diminished. It's more like a long, leisurely walk. Lately I've been knocking the pedal assist function down a notch on the way home, even though it's hot.

I'm a little self-conscious about riding so fast. I'm at or below the trail speed limit, but I worry about surprising people. Or their dogs. I'm using the bell more often than I used to. Most people wear headphones though and there's only so much you can do. I figure one day a walker is going to U-turn in front of me and won't know I'm coming.

It's heavier than a normal bike, and with the basket and my stuff you feel it and hear it going over bumps.

Had to buy a huge bike lock because the frame on this one is thicker than a normal bike. Sometimes it's a bit tricky to lock up, but I always manage.

Re: Bikes and e-bikes

Posted: August 13 21, 9:51 am
by G. Keenan
ghostrunner wrote:
August 13 21, 9:18 am
G. Keenan wrote:
August 12 21, 9:57 pm
ghostrunner wrote:
April 7 21, 12:14 pm
Starting another thread since "people in cars" is mostly a lot of fussing about cars and bikes.

Just ordered an e-bike after thinking about it for about 2 years and can't wait. Tried the model I'm buying out on Saturday and ordered right after. Plan right now is to make it my default work ride, as I'm heading back to the office 2 days a week starting in June. The ebike ought to cut my bike commute roughly in half, and end up only being about 10-15 minutes longer than the car commute. Also hoping to avoid changing clothes or worrying about sweating, which was a minor concern before when I biked in.

Got one of these -

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/ ... -step-thru

There's a throttle which lets you move without pedaling. Tops out at 20mph which is roughly as fast as I get going down a steep hill. Or there's a pedal assist function that has 5 levels. When I tried it out I was doing almost nothing at level 3, but that would change depending on rider weight, hills, etc...
How are you liking this ebike after a few months?
It's great. Don't get to ride it every day I go to work due to the occasional errand where I need to pick up a kid or have Dr appt after work or if there's heavy rain and thunder predicted, but it's been the bulk of my commutes since I got it.

Works pretty much as expected with the benefits I expected. Little to no sweating on the way in. I ride to work in normal clothes - fenders are a must for that to work. In my case it's 90% trails. Slower than a car, but I'm not stuck in traffic. I see wildlife all the time now. It's a nice commute.

I got a basket for the back to carry my stuff. Backpack with the laptop in it, rain jacket, coffee thermos, bike lock.

Commute to work is about 50 minutes, vs 30 in the car and 75 minutes on the normal bike. I get off at 3, so for me it works out fine. Seems long to some people, but I look at it as a time to get some exercise and it's also a nice way to unwind.


If I had to come up with downsides -

It not as much exercise as the regular bike, so that benefit is diminished. It's more like a long, leisurely walk. Lately I've been knocking the pedal assist function down a notch on the way home, even though it's hot.

I'm a little self-conscious about riding so fast. I'm at or below the trail speed limit, but I worry about surprising people. Or their dogs. I'm using the bell more often than I used to. Most people wear headphones though and there's only so much you can do. I figure one day a walker is going to U-turn in front of me and won't know I'm coming.

It's heavier than a normal bike, and with the basket and my stuff you feel it and hear it going over bumps.

Had to buy a huge bike lock because the frame on this one is thicker than a normal bike. Sometimes it's a bit tricky to lock up, but I always manage.
Thanks. I currently ride my regular bike to work as much as possible and will probably keep using that for my commute so I can get the exercise. But I was thinking about getting an e-bike that both my wife and I could share and use just for fun, or if I don't want to be drenched in sweat when I get to the office. I currently do show up completely drenched in sweat but since my office is so small and nobody cares if I wear shorts or show up sweaty it's not a problem for me. But there will likely be days where I want to be more put together and could use the e-bike instead.

My main concern about the e-bikes is the weight. If you turn off the pedal assist is it super heavy to pedal? I have a bike room in my building's basement but have to go down about 6 steps to get in there. Looks like this weighs in about 65 lbs, which might be kinda heavy for that. Have you ever had to get it up and down stairs?

By the way, the video review on the rad bikes website where you linked to that model is insanely detailed. Whoever that guy is an an absolute e-bike nerd.