Surgery recover/an ebike mainly for hill assist???

[PDoz]

Mike in Australia is fighting the silly 25 km/h speed restriction, not the power.
P.S. @tomjasz?

In oz we have the same euro restrictions AND FREEDOM as you do in europe. Nominal 250 whatever motors that pump out 90 nm of torque at 100 cadence...do the maths on how many whatevers these motors are capable of...and a 25 kph assist limit which is part of the reason legal ebikes are legally bikes here. So access to anywhere a bike has access - including mountain bike tracks, rail trails etc.

It's a pretty good deal

 

[Stefan Mikes]

In oz we have the same euro restrictions AND FREEDOM as you do in europe. Nominal 250 whatever motors that pump out 90 nm of torque at 100 cadence...do the maths on how many whatevers these motors are capable of...and a 25 kph assist limit which is part of the reason legal ebikes are legally bikes here. So access to anywhere a bike has access - including mountain bike tracks, rail trails etc.

It's a pretty good deal

25 km/h is good for off-road e-bikes. Would you buy a 25 km/h road e-bike? For AUD9500? (I wouldn't). Why can Canadian have it at reasonable 32 km/h?
How comes my group ride buddies can ride 36 km/h on their conventional bikes and I cannot unless I get me the 45 km/h thing that is disallowed for Australia?

 

[PedalUma]

25 km/h is good for off-road e-bikes. Would you buy a 25 km/h road e-bike? For AUD9500? (I wouldn't). Why can Canadian have it at reasonable 32 km/h?
How comes my group ride buddies can ride 36 km/h on their conventional bikes and I cannot unless I get me the 45 km/h thing that is disallowed for Australia?

If your bike in AU or EU has a wheel magnet try taking it off temporarily for a quick ride just to see what difference it makes. If you can re-set wheel diameter, put it at 100cm on a 700c bike and try it. I wonder what the Voodoo this will create on the Vado. Just mark the polarity before removal for the test ride so you can put it back.
Also the coaster brake bikes do not have walk assist - or you would get bashed in the calf by the rotating pedals.

 

[PDoz]

25 km/h is good for off-road e-bikes. Would you buy a 25 km/h road e-bike? For AUD9500? (I wouldn't). Why can Canadian have it at reasonable 32 km/h?
How comes my group ride buddies can ride 36 km/h on their conventional bikes and I cannot unless I get me the 45 km/h thing that is disallowed for Australia?

But you can ride at 36 km/h - exactly the same way they do. Pedal harder.

Lets face it, even with a 32 k assist limit you would still de restrict your bike

 

[Stefan Mikes]

But you can ride at 36 km/h - exactly the same way they do. Pedal harder.

Thank you for the suggestion.
(If I could pedal harder, I would have never bought an e-bike). Have you ever wondered why road e-bikes don't really sell in Europe? Ask @jodi2.

 

[Marci jo]

Coby,
Once you start test riding it will narrow your search. Trust your instinct.
Another thought, based on what you said about hip challenges, I would recommend a step-thru frame. They are easier to mount and dismount. There's basically 3 frame shapes: high step, mid step, and low step (or step thru). Low step is easiest and high step requires swinging your leg over the back of the bike.
Congrats, can't wait to see pic of what you find.

 

[Coby Black]

Thanks to all who have posted. So much to think about. I've gone to the first bike store and took a test ride on a Batch, step-through, mid-engine (Bosch), pedal assist only. It felt great. I rode 95% of the time with power off, and I was surprised at how easily I could go 12mph into a light breeze. I rode briefly with power assist on low level, couldn't really tell it was there. I still intend to ride power off, just going as far and fast as I can comfortably manage; the power assist is to manage the hills that are too much for Coby-power along the way. As long as this is the situation, throttle is unnecessary. However, I realize the advantage of having the throttle option as insurance should I develop a problem mid-ride. The bike shop I visited didn't have a good option with throttle. The only one that met all needs had the handlebars that curve back for a very upright ride, like the Dutch cycle photo posted by PedalUma. I think I prefer the straighter handlebars. I don't think the carpal tunnel worry would apply to the straight handlebar, not nearly the weight shift forward of dropped handlebars on a classic road bike. Heading for a second bike shop, with a larger selection, soon.

 

[PedalUma]

Thanks to all who have posted. So much to think about. I've gone to the first bike store and took a test ride on a Batch, step-through, mid-engine (Bosch), pedal assist only. It felt great. I rode 95% of the time with power off, and I was surprised at how easily I could go 12mph into a light breeze. I rode briefly with power assist on low level, couldn't really tell it was there. I still intend to ride power off, just going as far and fast as I can comfortably manage; the power assist is to manage the hills that are too much for Coby-power along the way. As long as this is the situation, throttle is unnecessary. However, I realize the advantage of having the throttle option as insurance should I develop a problem mid-ride. The bike shop I visited didn't have a good option with throttle. The only one that met all needs had the handlebars that curve back for a very upright ride, like the Dutch cycle photo posted by PedalUma. I think I prefer the straighter handlebars. I don't think the carpal tunnel worry would apply to the straight handlebar, not nearly the weight shift forward of dropped handlebars on a classic road bike. Heading for a second bike shop, with a larger selection, soon.

Sounds like you are on the road to getting a great bike for you! No bike is perfect and just getting into the game is wonderful whatever ebike you get. You are about to have many adventures and a lot of healthy fun.
Things like a handlebar are easy to swap out to customize your bike to fit your needs. I will install an articulating stem riser and a more comfortable handlebar tomorrow on a mountain bike, lengthening the cables for a more comfortable riding position.
Next is a photo of a bike with internal gears that I made today with a comfortable 'Poshterior' saddle and leather grips. These Public Bikes make good commuters. This one is a 2021 in Medium/Large.

 

[jodi2]

(If I could pedal harder, I would have never bought an e-bike). Have you ever wondered why road e-bikes don't really sell in Europe? Ask @jodi2.

The main reason in Germany is the Great Wall of prejudices of the race cyclist here...
I already know a few fit guys which use their Race E-bike with 25km/h limit only for road/asphalt. But it's still rare.

But back to Coby Black. Maybe I missed some details, there where too off topics things for me. If the search is still for a light e-bike for mostly "organic pedaling" and just some support eventually for longer/stromger hills, my recommendation would be Specialized Vado SL (for a flat handle bar) and Creo SL for a racing bike/dropbars.

 

[PedalUma]

This does not address Coby's needs this week directly but it sure is cool for those who like acoustic and acoustic/electric on the same bike platform https://fazua.com/en/drive-system/evation/. Cutting edge.

 

[jodi2]

What to you mean by "acoustic/electric"? Is this a kind of sarcasm? My english is not good enough to understand this always. :-(
Riding a bike with Fazua drive feels similiar as Specialized SL and both offer great and light e-bikes. The differences are in details, SL is a little bit more noisy and has less but still enough torque but offers more Wh/range in the main battery and battery can be charged in the bike, but only there/battery stays in the bike. Fazua the opposite, battery has to be removed for charging.
In Germany (or maybe already in Europe?) Fazua has become quite popluar over the last years, more than Specialized SL. But I don't know how popular it is in other continents and how many dealers and service points are there.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What to you mean by "acoustic/electric"?

There is the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar. As we ride electric bikes, the traditional ones are often described as "acoustic". (It is hard to describe a traditional bike by one word to make the difference with e-bike. Because e-bike is still a bike).

 

[jodi2]

Thank you Stefan! As quite a few e-bike motors are really "acoustic"/noisy and "oragnic" bikes quite apart from the gasps of their riders, I was misled here... ;-)

 

[Johnny]

What to you mean by "acoustic/electric"? Is this a kind of sarcasm?

I think what he meant was, you can completely take out battery and motor in the fazua system and left with a regular bike when you want to. Hence you can say these bikes can be both regular and e-bikes.

For Coby, in my opinion a mid drive with a wide range cassette will be best since he wants to climb hills with minimal effort due to surgery.

 

[jodi2]

I often read this opinion or this fear of "maybe motor support could be not enough once in a lifetime". And often it's wrong and I think also in this case. Coby clearly says, that he want's to pedal as much as possible with his own human power. He also said, that he was suprised by the support the Bosch motor gives already at low levels. So I don't see yet his wish for "minimal" effort for hills or throttle. He just want's a "hill insurance" and I guess he will not plan or encounter Mt. McKinley or 20% uphills in real life.

The "Fazua conversion" into a real bike exists more in theory. A lot of riders around me already own a Fazua bike and almost everyone talked before about this option. After riding it for a while no one ever rides without the drive inside. This time the "fear" of not having enough support when encountering unplaned hills or difficulities is much more real. If you had this once, you will never again leave the drive unit at home, especially in a case like Coby's.
And also without the drive unit, a Fazua bike still has at least three pounds extra weight and can't cope with a really light bike. Most riders will have more than one bike and someone who wants to ride a really light bike/race bike will still use an extra and weight-tuned bike for this.
Also the mounting of the Fazua drive unit is still far from perfect, most riders sooner or later will get in contact with the Fazua service here. Service is good and mounting has become better last year and if you need to charge outside the bike, there aren't many better assist drives. But with all this aspects I don't see the option for removing the drive unit as an advantage any longer, if you don't really need to remove it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I often read this opinion or this fear of "maybe motor support could be not enough once in a lifetime". And often it's wrong and I think also in this case. Coby clearly says, that he want's to pedal as much as possible with his own human power. He also said, that he was suprised by the support the Bosch motor gives already at low levels. So I don't see yet his wish for "minimal" effort for hills or throttle. He just want's a "hill insurance" and I guess he will not plan or encounter Mt. McKinley or 20% uphills in real life.

The "Fazua conversion" into a real bike exists more in theory. A lot of riders around me already own a Fazua bike and almost everyone talked before about this option. After riding it for a while no one ever rides without the drive inside. This time the "fear" of not having enough support when encountering unplaned hills or difficulities is much more real. If you had this once, you will never again leave the drive unit at home, especially in a case like Coby's.
And also without the drive unit, a Fazua bike still has at least three pounds extra weight and can't cope with a really light bike. Most riders will have more than one bike and someone who wants to ride a really light bike/race bike will still use an extra and weight-tuned bike for this.
Also the mounting of the Fazua drive unit is still far from perfect, most riders sooner or later will get in contact with the Fazua service here. Service is good and mounting has become better last year and if you need to charge outside the bike, there aren't many better assist drives. But with all this aspects I don't see the option for removing the drive unit as an advantage any longer, if you don't really need to remove it.

Jo: Fazua-based e-bikes such as the new Trek E-Caliber e-MTB can really kick in in the United States for one reason: e-bike access to many parks and trails is forbidden there while regular bikes are allowed. (But this is not related to road e-bikes).

 

[Elkman]

For largely flat ground and working to strengthen your body there is no advantage at all from an e-bike. You can buy a road bike for under $1,000 that weighs less than 22 lbs or an e-bike that weighs 40 to 60 lbs and so there is negligible gain with the electric motor, only more weight to lift onto a bike rack and a higher insurance premium to pay.

Where people go wrong with a road bike is in not learning to use the gears properly. With a two-gear front sprocket it takes only a second to go from the larger one to the smaller one before you start up the hill. That is one of the big advantages of a 2x drivetrain as compared to the 1x ones.

When I was doing long distance touring with a loaded road bike I would drop down to the smaller chainring and coast into the hill and start pedaling when I had slowed sufficiently. No need to change to a lower gear while pushing up the hill and it really did not matter if I was in a lower gear than was actually needed as I was not in a race where the elapsed time mattered.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

For largely flat ground and working to strengthen your body there is no advantage at all from an e-bike.

Not true. It is only true if you ride a powerful e-bike on a throttle.
Regarding the hills, the OP is concerned about his cardio, and a mid-drive e-bike is strongly recommended. Believe me, I was clearing both 12 and 19% hills on a 1x drivetrain.

 

[Elkman]

A 1x is fine for mountain bikes or electric assist bikes but for normal riding on mostly flat ground to improve physical fitness and e-bike is not a smart approach. I have a $1500 mountain bike that weighs 28 lbs and has a 1x drivetrain and 10-51T rear cassette but it is far less effective on paved roads or bike paths with rolling hills than my 18 lb road bike with its road tires and 2x12 gears. I have a $7,000 road e-bike that weighs 28 lbs and is a Class III bike so I can get some assist when there is a strong head wind and driving up the hills at over 18mph to have as much momentum as possible. If I was only going to keep one of these three bikes it would be the 24-speed road bike.

My 70-year old wife had a hip replacement operation 5 years ago and her use of her 24 speed road bike was very helpful with her fast recovery. She also benefited from the services of a skilled physical therapist to help with stretching out the leg and this made it easier for her to get her leg over the seat and top tube of the bike.

Cardio is a function of staying at a 70-80 percent of maximum heart rate for 30 minutes or more. An e-bike is not going to help at all in this regard. I can see an e-bike for those who wish to minimize their energy expenditure for whatever reason or commuters who think that reducing their home to work time by 10 minutes is critical. Otherwise it is OK to justify the toys one has bought if it makes them feel better - nothing new here.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm on blood pressure medications. My max HR allowed is 120 bpm.

Make this on a trad bike @Elkman not exceeding HR of 120. And show me your Strava.