How useful is an ebike really? (1 Viewer)

[ianp]

I know this is a bit of an 'how long is a piece of string ' question, but in reality how large a radius are you really comfortable in touring on your bikes and it still be 'pleasurable'? I ask as when the world opens up again we are to equip our motorhome with either a scooter or a pair of ebikes. The choice is ease of touring to those little off the beaten track places that you could never take the MH too, such as little hillside villages in Italy which with a scooter would be a doddle as it would easily give us a 25mile radius around the MH. where on the other hand the ebikes would give us a radius but as to how comfortable that might be I don't really know but it would also provide a good and hopefully pleasurable amount of needed exercise that would be lacking with the scooter...!

 

[Richard n Ann]

I always think if the journey is about getting somewhere rather than the enjoyment of the ride, you're better off with an engine. Peddling soon becomes tedious if you're going shopping etc.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Since an accident a few years ago, my range on a normal bike is limited to around 1/2 what it used to be.

A pedlec would allow me to o further.

I am considering A BMW version. But not just yet.

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[Mr Chrysalis]

With an ebike, you do have the option to pedal manually if the battery fails of course. You don't have this option on a scooter. So ideally head to places with a higher altitude, so its downhill on the way back! With our folding electric tricycle you get about 30 mile range on continuous battery and 50-60 miles if you use the pedals with battery support when needed. I guess that will drop off a bit as it ages

 

[Mr porky]

We have a Suzuki 110 cc scooter and it does give us a wide area to cover from the motorhome but to have this we need a 9m motorhome (we like a fixed bed system) whereas we would prefer a smaller 7m motorhome To make travelling on smaller roads easier. I suppose the advantage of a Ebike is it will probably take up less space in the moho But maybe you also have the issue of recharging the bike ? Good luck with your choice as there is no right or wrong answer.

 

[Compactliner]

I always think if the journey is about getting somewhere rather than the enjoyment of the ride, you're better off with an engine. Peddling soon becomes tedious if you're going shopping etc.

sorry, but im going to have to disagree there....its ebikes all the way..
for us, its all about being outside, taking in the air, the view, just stopping anywhere to scrump an orange lr a few grapes...
yes, we use them for destinations, to pop to villages, shops etc, but we have them for enjoyment and to leave engines behind.
OH has just changed hers a year ago, after 8 yrs on her Panasonic, and ive had my Bosch for nearly 7 yrs now.
weve done about 35k km on ebikes...they are with us all the time when away and we even shop on them when at home.
scooters ar for when youre old....

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[Jimbohorlicks]

If we didn't have our e bikes we wouldn't journey out as far. It's great to pedal out with the e assistance, and if you do get tired you can just cruise along. Wouldn't go back to ordinary bikes now and certainly gives you a better range than just walking. When we were in Benidorm we would regularly e cycle to Albir or Finistrat, very enjoyable and far better than the bus, lol. Plus there are lots of cycle ways to try out.

 

[pete4x4]

e-bikes are pedal assist, mine gives around a 90 mile range, very few are electric only and I believe they are illegal in this country, not sure about europe.

 

[Compactliner]

We have a Suzuki 110 cc scooter and it does give us a wide area to cover from the motorhome but to have this we need a 9m motorhome (we like a fixed bed system) whereas we would prefer a smaller 7m motorhome To make travelling on smaller roads easier. I suppose the advantage of a Ebike is it will probably take up less space in the moho But maybe you also have the issue of recharging the bike ? Good luck with your choice as there is no right or wrong answer.

we have a large fixed bed over a scooter garage, a huge drop down bed over the cab yet our A-class is only 6.4m x 2.12m...
a doddle to drive, all the storage we need...
you dont have to drive a 9m van inorder to have a (large) fixed bed and decent storage.

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[funflair]

We have a 125 scooter and pedal bikes, given the choice electric mountain bikes or scooter, I would go electric MTB but happy with our choice for us as its not either or.

Martin

 

[busby]

sorry, but im going to have to disagree there....its ebikes all the way..
for us, its all about being outside, taking in the air, the view, just stopping anywhere to scrump an orange lr a few grapes...
yes, we use them for destinations, to pop to villages, shops etc, but we have them for enjoyment and to leave engines behind.
OH has just changed hers a year ago, after 8 yrs on her Panasonic, and ive had my Bosch for nearly 7 yrs now.
weve done about 35k km on ebikes...they are with us all the time when away and we even shop on them when at home.
scooters ar for when youre old....

Thought e bikes were for the elderly,,BUSBY

 

[Waveski]

E-bikes can use cycle tracks to get to places other vehicles can’t. I did 70 kms on the Ille de Rei (France) on one day last year. Ok the island is flat but the ride was almost all on cycle track and was not something I could have done previously on a normal bike or by Moho. Wherever I visit I search out off road cycle tracks; it’s a new world for those off us who are not as fit as we used to be.

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[Riverbankannie]

On any bike, change the saddle to one that suits you, we are all different! And buy some of those padded shorts, I got mine when at LIDL cycling event week.

 

[WillinFrance]

Interesting question, and hope to be able to give an honest answer soon.
We have just bought two ebikes at the weekend, and so far after a short test at home yesterday, they are great. Yes you still have to pedal, but feels like someone is just gently pushing you up the hills, and living in the Pyrénées its not really flat around here!! They are a little heavier, but you don't feel it, and can comfortably cycle without the battery power, as tried that yesterday for a few km.
We used for many years the normal bikes when away in the Motorhome, both for shopping and pleasure rides. But really looking forward to trying the ebikes out on some longer journey once France, Spain and Portugal get back to normal so we can travel.
So far really impressed with the eBikes. So far 5* from me.

 

[LesW]

E-bikes can use cycle tracks to get to places other vehicles can’t. I did 70 kms on the Ille de Rei (France) on one day last year. Ok the island is flat but the ride was almost all on cycle track and was not something I could have done previously on a normal bike or by Moho. Wherever I visit I search out off road cycle tracks; it’s a new world for those off us who are not as fit as we used to be.

Very much this.. scooters are way to constricting, we've cycled (none electric) to places where a scooter wouldn't get a look in.. and then there's the maintaince, road tax, insurance etc..

We may consider converting to electric at some point, but at the moment we're ok pedaling.

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[Abacist]

sorry, but im going to have to disagree there....its ebikes all the way..
for us, its all about being outside, taking in the air, the view, just stopping anywhere to scrump an orange lr a few grapes...
yes, we use them for destinations, to pop to villages, shops etc, but we have them for enjoyment and to leave engines behind.
OH has just changed hers a year ago, after 8 yrs on her Panasonic, and ive had my Bosch for nearly 7 yrs now.
weve done about 35k km on ebikes...they are with us all the time when away and we even shop on them when at home.
scooters ar for when youre old....

What greater advert could you have for e-bikes! I bought my wife a Kalkoff Agattu i7 Move last year at the South West Motorhome show and she left me for dead on a few hills in Portugal in the Autumn. I think she thought I was going to have a heart attack trying to get up the hills! Anyway I have just bought a Dillenger e-kit for my hybrid Ridgeback pedal bike and its fantastic. Switch off the motor on the flat and only engage when you need it on the hills. Done about 40 kilometres so far and never been above 3 on the motor which goes up to 9! The battery indicator has not gone down one bar on either ride so far so the range is way more than I expected and so easy to fit. It also has both a pedal sensor on the crank to give pedal assist or there is a thumb throttle control if you can't be bothered to pedal although I imagine that this will eat into the battery.

As to scooters and little motorbikes I can remember having a go on a mate's Gilera 50cc in his garden when I was 16 . I must have weighed about 14 stone at the time and the poor thing would not move so I don't have a lot of faith in a bike light enough to fit in the Motorhome that will carry Margaret and I around on our travels. She says she wouldn't trust me on a motorbike anyway unless I passed my test and got a couple of years experience under my belt and then she says she'd still have to think about it!

E-bikes are hard to come by at the moment as the decent ones have sold out during lockdown but my kit was £720 kit for the battery, new front wheel with built in motor at the hub, handlebar computer control, and all the wiring and bits and pieces. I only used a few personal cable ties extra to those supplied. Delivered within 3 days of internet order!

 

[Pikeman]

We have a 7.5 mtr fixed bed with garage. We considered a scooter, but the weight and space taken up would not permit taking mountain bikes as well. We went for electric mountain bikes, decent one's. We can still pursue mountain biking in any country we visit and my bike is capable of any technical stuff I might want to attempt. But they also give us a huge range on relatively flat ground. We regularly cycle over 40 miles in a round trip and still come back fairly fresh. Certainly fresh enough to repeat it day after day. We also use them for local trips to shops. We do not spend much time in cities or towns, unless there is something specific to see. On these occasions we opt for public transport, as you have to consider the security of the bikes.

Keith

 

[Pikeman]

I forgot to inform about charging.
We have an inverter in the van and significant solar power. We charge the batteries during high solar energy periods and whilst driving. Never had a problem with battery capacity in the two years we have had the bikes.

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[mushy]

We have had our e bikes for six months and are over the moon with them. Bought 2 trail bikes as no need for mountain bikes and they handle all the trails that we have been on. It makes cycling enjoyable because although you have to pedal with the 3 stage electric modes you just click it into a higher mode and magically it powers you along. We would never be able to cover the distances or terrain with a normal bike. I am so taken by them that I now do a 10 mile ride every morning for fun.

 

[WillinFrance]

I forgot to inform about charging.
We have an inverter in the van and significant solar power. We charge the batteries during high solar energy periods and whilst driving. Never had a problem with battery capacity in the two years we have had the bikes.

That's the next investment an inverter to charge whilst driving and off the solar..

 

[Richard n Ann]

Another thing about ebikes, they are very desirable by thieves. My bike is peddle power only but it's quite a nice one and I don't leave that anywhere so certainly wouldn't leave an electric one anywhere. They even get nicked of the back of vans

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[jezport]

I tried a few and realised that first of all you need to find a good one. I wanted assistance at different speeds, in different gears and the assistance levels were important to me. Some were all or nothing! We use ours at home and away and due to my slipped discs I cant walk far without pain, the bike I chose suited my sitting position , others were uncomfortable. Ours are folders with 20" wheels so gearing and assist levels are more important than on bigger wheel bikes with more gears. We can climb pretty much all hills within reason using the assist and generally don't need to use the electric much except on hills and when we are tired.
Wouldn't be without electric bikes as we use them regularly.

 

[Spriddler]

The most use I've had from mine is for propping open the shed door when I get the wife's mower out.

 

[WonkyBass]

We have e-biked from our MH and from home for 6 years. Around 4,000 km so far. Our longest trip was 38 miles. Our typical trip is around 20-25 miles. We average around 9-10 mph on a trip. Having bikes with the same power characteristics we naturally end up travelling together at the same speed, but tend to separate when unpowered.

You mention a 25 mile radius, giving a 50 mile trip, which would take us around 5 hours in the saddle. For us that may be doable but, as a couple, would be be classed as challenging rather than pleasurable, unless the terrain were dead flat. We each use different amounts of battery power and would have to swap over battery packs (from one bike to the other) half way to maximise our reserves (although we have never flattened a battery yet). Use minimum power on the way out so you can cruise home is my mantra.

I have to adapt to sitting on any bike for 5 hours, no matter how good the saddle. Experienced cyclists may laugh now.

After two punctures within the first month I fitted bomb proof Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. Fixing flats on the road with a hub motor is extra hassle, although I still carry the kit.

Some of the most genuinely enjoyable things we’ve every bought (we now have two each) and yet another experience that we fell into because through motorhoming.

So the answer from us would be 40 miles with our big, comfy BH bikes (suspension, sprung saddle, panniers) and half that on Bromptons.

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[Compactliner]

a couple of other points....
large capacity batteries help you manage if struggling for charging..the latest Kalkhoff's have 17ah over giving over 200km range.
however, even lithium batteries lose a bit of top end over time....
for comparison OH 'new' Bosch 400w motor show just over 100 miles (160km) in Eco when fully charged, fairly realistic if kept at that level of assistance.
my nr 8 yr old Bosch bike is around 65-70 miles, so perhaps a 30% fall off....mind you, its done 16k km, so a fair number of charges.
secondly, for the Lycra lads, moving to an ebike neednt be a move to heavy, slow (apart from hills) affair....
check out Orbea bikes which adopt a 'just enough' power philosophy...the rear hub motor is small and light as is the half capacity battery, meaning the bike is much like a normal lightweight bike and can be ridden, for the most part, as a normal bike, just adding assistance where required for those hilly bits....
certainly worth a look for those who dont want to leave sweat behind...

 

[Kannon Fodda]

You'll need to identify what type of e-bike would suit. For me, I really enjoy the ability to get out on my mountain e-bike around lots of forest type gravelled paths and can lose myself for hours, pottering along - so much so that I now carry a spare battery as the range off road is nowhere near the same as tarmac. As said above the right saddle (the supplied one will be wrong), and padded shorts are a must. But the mountain bike's wide knobbly tyres ideal for the gravel, are so inefficient on tarmac. If I was simply looking to go around quiet lanes to a suitable hostelry then a hybrid type touring bike would be much better.

No choice but to put it on a rear rack on the MH, but am wary of security. Always keep it covered, a couple of good locks and wouldn't be without the vanbitz alarm's external loop.

 

[sallylillian]

Having towed a car for 3 years, we had a tow bar fitted from the options list on our new Flair in 2015. Delivery coincided with use replacing our ordinary bikes with e-bikes. On our first trip in the Flair we decided to not take the car and see how the e-bikes went. We never towed a car again. Total waste of €2000 for the tow bar.
Fast forward when we ordered the Morelo a tow hitch was not even on the consider list.
The e-bikes have proven invaluable, with panniers we can do a large shop with ease and for touring they are just right for us, exercise and enjoyment.
We are now on our 3rd set of e-bikes, R&M this time, with bosch motors, great build quality and more comfortable than our Kalkoff's.

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[Puddleduck]

With an ebike, you do have the option to pedal manually if the battery fails of course. You don't have this option on a scooter. So ideally head to places with a higher altitude, so its downhill on the way back! With our folding electric tricycle you get about 30 mile range on continuous battery and 50-60 miles if you use the pedals with battery support when needed. I guess that will drop off a bit as it ages

That sort of range is our experience as well. We love to do traffic free routes such as the railway tracks that have been opened up for cyclists and walkers. Once the current situation is resolved we hope to get out and do more.

If you do run out of battery you can go full manual but our bikes are heavy and manual is hard work. I know some bikes now have a second battery.

We do use them for shopping trip when we are away but the real reason for them is to explore places that are not accessible by any other means.

When we went to Italy we didn't take the bikes because we had a full load and thought we wouldn't use them, As it happened we left Italy before we had planned to and came back along the Rhine Valley and at every stop wished we had our bikes with us.

One plan is to go back and do at least one of the long cycle routes using the train as a shuttle and the van as a base.

If we didn't have our e bikes we wouldn't journey out as far.

If it wasn't for our ebikes we would not cycle at all - and my walking is so poor and slow we probably wouldn't walk much either.

We have the AS bikes which have a very low step though which I need. I'm afraid I was unable to step across the Bosch drive bikes I have looked at even though I know they are supposed to be superior.

 

[Puddleduck]

As said above the right saddle (the supplied one will be wrong), and padded shorts are a must. But the mountain bike's wide knobbly tyres ideal for the gravel, are so inefficient on tarmac.

See if any local bike shops have a saddle fitting service

I think tyres might always be a compromise for people who want a "bike of all trades".

 

[buntyb]

Just Picked up a new Ebike two days ago. Two trips out so far. Yesterday, I did 17k on it. Mainly manual but used the battery for some uphill climbs. Makes a difference and particularly useful when cycling on a road, keeping up with OH rather than create a large gap, which I’m sure would annoy car drivers. I’ve ordered up a new seat as the one that comes with the bike is not comfy. However, whilst waiting for the seat, OH added some pipe insulation to it which is covered by my old gel seat cover

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