E Bikes or "proper" scooter?

[arto stu]

I am thinking of getting a scooter to stick on the back... then I thought maybe a pair of the new fangled e bikes would be better?... No experience of them though... anyone got one?

How much is a good one?
How far will they go on a charge?
Will they cope with proper hills?
How long will they take to recharge... dont want to open up the genny can of worms, but id wild camping I am gonna need to get some charge back in..

Or just get a normal scooter / small motor cycle???

Any thoughts

Stu

 

[Lenny HB]

Two totally different beasts e-bikes will never replace a scooter if you don't like exercise. Yes e-bikes do make hills a lot easier but you still have to put a fair amount of effort in. We find with e-bikes compared to ordinary bikes is we go further, go up much steeper hills and do it all a lot faster but still end up just as knackered.
Charging not a problem with 200 watts of solar and decent leisure batteries & obviously you need an inverter we use a 1000 watt pure sine one. A flat 400 watt battery takes about 3 hours to charge but it is best to charge them before there are flat so you don't hammer the leisure batteries too much and give the solar some time to recharge them.

 

[Puddleduck]

Best thing with ebikes is to try one and see which, if any, suits you.

However they do need to be charged and if you are wilding that might not be so easy.

We have a couple of ASBikes which at at the cheaper end of the market. They are the standard single battery bikes (one battery each - we don't share a single battery!). The range depends on how much you pedal and the terrain but using the battery a lot and with steep hills we get a minimum of 20 miles, our bikes are a few years old and still on the original batteries. In Ireland we did 40 miles of moderate cycling and still had charge left. In Norfolk we could have cycled for much further and still had charge.

You do have to pedal to get up the hills but the battery gives you a bit of a boost, how steep the hill you manage depends on your own fitness and how much momentum you have to start out.

Our batteries tale around 8 hours to recharge from flat.

Hope this helps.

 

[Gaston aires]

I have both. Scooter wins hands down for me. My opinion only but it's cheaper than 2 bikes as well.
Phil

 

[The Nomad]

We live in Spain but travel all over the rest of mainland Europe extensively every year, for a total of maybe 5 to 6 months now annually.
We've tried to get a balance of the two things:

We've got a 125cc Honda Innova (think son of the old Honda C90 to get the idea) which is only 100kgs, carries both of us plus dog, costs virtually zero in petrol as it drinks so little.
Done well over 40,000kms on it now all over mainland Europe, and utterly bulletproof Honda reliability.
Brilliant as we can use the MH as base camp, and then explore/visit things/sights/go shopping etc easily up to maybe 50kms in any direction - and even big hills/mountains are clime-able easily.
For 2 people I wouldn't want anything less than a 125cc; certainly not less than a 110cc, and i'd want a big wheeled model as they really are so much more stable to ride.

But there was the original capital cost of about 2,000 euros, plus there would be cost of a scooter rack (as it happens the Benimar MH we bought used came with a built in rack as original equipment from the factory), and then cost of 2 yearly ITV (MOT equivalent) at 20 euros, insurance at 80 euros inc breakdown cover, and annual local townhall vehicle tax of 9 euros. Servicing costs zero as I do it myself - it really is so simple on the Innova.


Then we've also got a pair of 20 inch wheel folding bicycles ( not electric) which we use for local bimbling about/canal towpaths/bike lanes etc. Cost was only a couple of hundred euros each - I didn't want to pay any more only to have them nicked as being attractive to thieves.
They actually work really really well. When not in use they just live up in the overcab storage area of the MH - they'd fit into a MH garage easily too, as once folded are quite small dimensions.
I did change the tyres for good Schwalbe puncture resistant ones, and in the 3 years we've had them we've not had a single puncture yet, despite a lot of use on quite rough paths/tracks.

For us this combination works really well.


I've toyed with electric bikes, but worry about the well over 2,000 to 3,000 initial cost for even quite basic ones; theft risk; and also, as we don't hardly ever use campsites/electric hookup, I worry that even though we've got about 200 watts of solar panel and two big leisure batteries, we may still struggle to recharge two ebike hefty batteries.

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[Popeye]

I too have gone for both options, I ride a 300cc Piaggio MP3 and have this year changed our old folding electric bikes for two full size bikes.

We travel 40-50 miles to the next large town and further on the scooter and 5 - 25 mile trips on the bikes but mostly down to the beach or into the next village for fresh bread or croissant.

 

[Southdowners]

We have E bikes as we trail our dog in a Tail Wagon. We both have different models but both are by Kalkhoff. We are very pleased with them in terms of battery life and the assistance they give.

If you decide to go down the e bike route I'd suggest trying a few different makes and models. I think there is a big difference between a cheap and cheerful make and a 'good' make.

As others have said, you still have to use pedal power. I always think its a bit like using a travelator at the airport, you're still walking but going three times as quick!

 

[Richard n Ann]

We use a Honda Vision 110cc.

Cost £1000 at 6 months old.
103kg
8bhp
140mpg
60mph
£17 road tax
£75 insurance

 

[arto stu]

Thanks for all the replies... got to say the more I look at it the more a scooter seems a "no brainer"...looks like at least £3K for a pair of e bikes.. I can get a nice scoot for a lot less carry two people and a bit of shopping as well... I need to look at a rack... I have a fair sized garage so maybe u can get a rack to fit in there?

 

[Wagoneer]

We have a 125 scooter + a normal mountain bike for off-road use.

Using a mountain bike or e-bike you only really need a crash hat. Whereas, with a scooter you need a crash helmet, gloves and ideally, crash resistant motorbike clothing. We wear jeans and jacket whenever we go out. The wind-chill on a bike travelling at +30mph really needs the wearing of a jacket. A top-box is quite useful to store all the clobber once you reach your destination.

So, to sum up. An e-bike is good for only having to wear normal cycling gear but charging and distance restrictions could be a problem. A scooter requires more substantial clothing (my wife hates wearing a crash helmet and gloves) but is not restricted by distance or terrain.

If you decide to carry a scooter on the back of the van, suggest you check you don't exceed your rear axle permitted capacity.

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[tacr2man]

I find that it depends a bit on what MoHo you have , the bigger the more you need a decent size scooter , as you find that you cant always get real close in to where you want to go . If you need to travel at all on larger roads the scooter is the safer option . I have bikes (not E at the moment) if we are able to get in close and just need to go a few k's . If going scooter try and go as big a capacity as your payload allows with as big a diameter wheels as you can for stability . 4 stroke , twist and go , handles the traffic two up easier.
I have a Burgman 400 which if you can handle 210kg I would recommend as quick reliable and very comfy .

You can get a variety of racks for in the garage , including a sort of self loading type, usual limitation apart from weight in garage is height of door , so makes having a screen and Mirrors tricky .

 

[Nirvanauk]

The beauty of e bikes we find is that you can go on cycle routes with them. And if you go to the south of France in summer and cycle between st tropez and st maxime you can wave to all the Ferrari owners sat in park for hours on end!

 

[The Dudess]

We use a Honda Vision 110cc.

Cost £1000 at 6 months old.
103kg
8bhp
140mpg
60mph
£17 road tax
£75 insurance

Same as us. We transport it on a Easylift non-lift scooter rack. We have had this scooter on our last van and now on our current van - can't fault it.

 

[Stewart J]

Have had E bikes for almost 5 years now, OH has had a couple of accidents (not to serious mainly cuts and bruising) on hers latest while in Spain in October which has destroyed her confidence somewhat (she is in her 70's) So now we have purchased a small lightweight scooter in almost new condition a Peugeot Kisbee 102cc mainly as a runabout for shopping and sightseeing. We are lucky in having a 450kg loading in our Hymer garage so at 90kg dry weight the scooter fits a treat, we purchased a folding loading ramp on eBay to assist loading, so looking forward to our next continental jaunt in the New Year, (only had the scooter 10 days so its a big learning curve)

 

[Tibbo]

I went with both, I have a folding e-bike which I will use for just enjoyment and gentle rides along trails. I have also just purchased a new Suzuki Address 113cc. This weighs in at 97kgs with fluids and full tank. The scooter I will use to go places too far for me to pedal (even with an electric motor to help) and for trips into town for vital supplies like beer, beer and maybe even a couple of cans of beer . TOWtal in Stoke on Trent will be fitting the scooter rack in the next 2 weeks. The rack is rated at 150 kgs so I'm well under that.

I have an Autostratus CK and the guy at TOWtal asked if it had the pull out bicycle rack fitted. What rack? I replied, is that what all them pieces are underneath? (don't forget I'm a newbie). Anyway it was decided I didn't need it as the e-bike goes inside and I took the whole cycle rack unit off. That thing, with all the bits must weigh 35-40 kgs so a good weight saving there.

That's my two penny worth, I just like the idea of having both because if I know the campsite is local to town and I'm not planning side trips I will just take the e-bike.

Happy Trails!

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[WillH]

I can see the attraction of the scooter but it is really what you wish to do. For our purposes e-bikes are perfect, we rarely go more than 30 or 40 miles on a run, with lots of stops. They are great fun as well.

 

[Chris51]

I have both as well-folding cycle (£40 s/hand) and Innova that fits on towbar.Folding bike fits behind p/seat and nice for exercise/short journeys on tracks/lanes.The Innova OK for longer (wearing a m/cycle jacket/trousers/walking boots and leather gloves.When I get at destination helmet gets locked to something secure with chain along with Honda and m/c trousers slipped off (shorts underneath) and jacket/gloves in topbox (used to tour Europe on big BEM"s with wife like this for years), very comfortable.Best of both worlds -cant tell Honda is on back but wouldnt carry anything bigger!Agree on proper m/c clothing as 5 mph fall can make a mess of you! (have experience) thats why I wont ride cycles on main roads. Just my opinion !

 

[tinkerbell]

I had a really bad accident just getting on my mountain bike, was only getting on but back wheel slid in gravel and threw me off, very nasty, nearly 7 months ago and just walking again, Nasty fractures in delicate area and fractured arm. Hubby wants me to get an electric bike, not sure yet. He stills rides racing bike so I have to keep up with him some how. May have to hire one first to see how I get on. No dog at moment to stop me.

 

[busby]

I am thinking of getting a scooter to stick on the back... then I thought maybe a pair of the new fangled e bikes would be better?... No experience of them though... anyone got one?

How much is a good one?
How far will they go on a charge?
Will they cope with proper hills?
How long will they take to recharge... dont want to open up the genny can of worms, but id wild camping I am gonna need to get some charge back in..

Or just get a normal scooter / small motor cycle???

Any thoughts

Stu

Buy a couple of quality cycles,,Good for the planet,,good for you and not as expensive as either of your alternatives,,BUSBY,,

 

[PaulW2]

I have a Honda scooter on the back. As a means of getting from A to B I think it's on balance "better" than the electric bikes: it goes farther, it's faster, it's probably no more expensive than 2 of the bikes; it's able to deal with busier roads and so on.

If your goals are wider than this, e.g. health benefits or environmental friendliness; or if you have practical constraints, such as payload or whether you have the correct licence, then I guess the electric bikes may be more suitable.

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[Lanerboy]

We have 2 e bikes I built myself just bought the kits here http://www.oxydrive.co.uk/ fitted them to our 2 normal mountain bikes for around £1200 we can do about 40 miles on them and they are great for making you feel alive again plus take them down the canal towpaths, through parks on cycle tracks into town centres they are great much more fun and get you to places a scooter can not. We have been to places we would never have been if we didn'y have them like all the way down the Llangollen canal just superb.