• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

E bikes, what do you have and why? Thoughts?

I upgraded mine with hydraulic brakes, a suspension seat, smaller front tire, and half mud fenders.

I've used it for years though I did need to replace the motor about 1000 miles ago.
 
How do these bikes work. When you pedal is that just an indicator for the motor to kick in (vs a throttle)? Do they make going up hills "easy"?
 
When you pedal on mine, it kicks in. You set the assist between 0-1-2-3-4-5. 0 is basically unuseable unless flat as the bike weighs 70 lbs. I keep it at level 2 for "exercise" where I can sort of outpedal the assistance and provide extra torque and power offset. At higher levels 3-4-5 your pedalling is likely not providing torque as much as off-setting the power useage. Going up hills is a breeze.

I replaced my sprocket with a larger one and it provides more power per pedal before I found it was just spinning at higher speeds. Think of it like you set your pace and then how hard you pedal reduces how much electricity it needs.

Mine also has a throttle which is very useful when throttling through turns or being lazy.

2016-rad-power-bikes-radrover-electric-bike-review-1200x600-c-default.jpg
 
Last edited:
TylerW said:
I've always wondered this too. Big fat tires like that just seem a waste of energy.

I've always thought they were neat, but not for me. I'd rather just pedal my way around on a lighter bike, or have some real grunt on a proper motorcycle. I do miss the Jump rental bikes in SF with the electric assist pedaling when I realize I need to run across town and want to be able to get through traffic easy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for speaking up. I know that bikes run trends to sell products. My mtn bike was just fine then I HAD to have a 29" (I actually never did, being a short guy it just seemed stupid). Now I see these giant tires and my uneducated guess is that it's to sell products but since they are on even the little Humboldt ebikes, I couldn't figure it out.
 
Last edited:
The tires on my Trek Powerfly ar 2.7" wide which is wider than commonly standard. Not quite the big fattys you may be talking about. Some people don't like how mushy and unresponsive it makes the ride but I love it. It feels more like a dirtbike to me.
 
Bay Arean said:
Thanks for speaking up. I know that bikes run trends to sell products. My mtn bike was just fine then I HAD to have a 29" (I actually never did, being a short guy it just seemed stupid). Now I see these giant tires and my uneducated guess is that it's to sell products but since they are on even the little Humboldt ebikes, I couldn't figure it out.
Click to expand...

I've always like mountain bikes / hybrids, but one I realized how little rolling resistance street tires have, I started using the immediately, especially since I mostly use them for commuting.

I guess it makes sense that you can opt for a cushier ride, but it's just putting more work on the motor/battery
 
My sister just got a Vanmoof and my mom has a Electric cargo bike. I'm a big fan of them. When I was in the bike industry I would borrow the work Stromer occasionally. Its a nice vehicle in the middle of a motorcycle and a bicycle.
 
Killroy1999 said:
My sister just got a Vanmoof and my mom has a Electric cargo bike. I'm a big fan of them. When I was in the bike industry I would borrow the work Stromer occasionally. Its a nice vehicle in the middle of a motorcycle and a bicycle.
Click to expand...

VanMoofs look cool, I considered one for a while.
 
I picked up a Turbo Levo Carbon SL today. What a machine! My wife insisted
R E P E A T E D L Y today that Santa needed to provide this. Sheesh.

My son, who just bought a Stumpjumper comp rode it tonight, and stated the components are superior, and the ride is very similar.

My wife and I rode the Los Gatos Creek trail today, up the dam face and up the road a bit. Quite the difference comparing it to my Turbo Creo SL.

My son wants to drag me out to some trails similar to those my wife and I rode 30 years back. Hmm, it will be fun, him young (29) and fit on a non e-bike, and me cheating on the Turbo Levo SL. Should be fun! It will be fun actually. I will report back.
 
If you want exercise, why choose a bike with an assist motor? Not a dig, genuinely curious.

Edit: I may be misreading your post
 
I have both. I do real long rides on my road bike, and I do get additional exercise on the ebike. People who ride ebikes burn less calories but tend to get out on them more. THere's very little psychological barrier if I need to jump on and run an errand.
 
Numerous studies have shown that eBikes provide as much exercise as peddle only, due to more use and further rides.
 
My ebike is like the pickup truck while the regular bike is like the weekend Porsche.

Let's say I want to go buy a banh mi...it would be like a 30 minute round trip walk to the shop, but under 10 minutes on the ebike. It's also insured.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top