A few years ago I tried the e-bike of a friend, and it was so much fun, I can’t even explain why. Ever since then I’ve been looking for a good reason to buy an e-bike. Recent changes in office location convinced me that now is the time.
At first glance my requirements seem simple, but I’m completely overwhelmed by choices. I’m happy to research and there are many bike shops around, but I was hoping I could get some basic pointers here.
My commute is a short (< 6km / 4 miles) inner city commute with many stops, and I would like good brakes and spend little energy on constantly restarting. Much of the road is shared with cars, and visibility and safety is important to me. I frequently wear skirts and high heels, and I would like a step-through and ideally a bike where I can easily touch the ground without becoming too unbalanced. I have lower back problems, so the battery should be easy to take out and not too heavy. There is no extreme weather here and the way to the office is flat with no hills. I’m average height and average weight, reasonably fit. I often work from home and have several other transportation options to get to the office, so the e-bike is purely for fun.
A good quality regular bike is an option as well. My main motivation for the e-bike is:
My questions are:
I appreciate any advice you could give.
At first glance my requirements seem simple, but I’m completely overwhelmed by choices. I’m happy to research and there are many bike shops around, but I was hoping I could get some basic pointers here.
My commute is a short (< 6km / 4 miles) inner city commute with many stops, and I would like good brakes and spend little energy on constantly restarting. Much of the road is shared with cars, and visibility and safety is important to me. I frequently wear skirts and high heels, and I would like a step-through and ideally a bike where I can easily touch the ground without becoming too unbalanced. I have lower back problems, so the battery should be easy to take out and not too heavy. There is no extreme weather here and the way to the office is flat with no hills. I’m average height and average weight, reasonably fit. I often work from home and have several other transportation options to get to the office, so the e-bike is purely for fun.
A good quality regular bike is an option as well. My main motivation for the e-bike is:
- More fun to ride than a regular bike
- I don’t want to sweat too much in my office clothes and I don’t want to breathe too deeply from exertion because this city is very polluted
- I have to enter/exit a very steep underground garage at home and at the office. There’s no way I could get my bike out in heels without some kind of walk assist or enough extra power to bike uphill out of the garage. With a regular bike I would need to maneuver through some doors and take an elevator.
My questions are:
- Does an e-bike make sense in the above scenario or would I be better off with a good quality regular bike?
- Are there big quality differences between expensive bikes and cheaper bikes that would be relevant in my case? I don’t really have an upper limit on budget, but I also don’t want to spend thousands unnecessarily. I get a EUR 600 subsidy for an e-bike but not for a regular bike.
- Any advice on specific features / functions that the bike should have based on what I outlined above? Any specific brand recommendations that I should further research? I’m based in France, and many of the brands listed on this website don’t seem to be available here.
I appreciate any advice you could give.
