How All of It Had Started For You...

[Stefan Mikes]

Fancy that:
2019 and I find out to be a widower, and a person plagued with several ailments. As I can hardly walk, I took some interest in e-scooters (I mean these funny mobility devices you can rent in big cities). The first e-scooter ride meant a big NO for me: uncomfortable and dangerous (but later I occasionally used to rent e-scooters on my travels because I was, for instance, not able to walk from my hotel to business meetings in Berlin).

My first thought was to convert my hybrid bike because I wanted to go cheap and was not aware what "e-bike" really was. I almost brought my bike to a company that used to "electrify" bikes (mind you, I was thinking of a 350 W hub motor that was illegal in Europe but I was so green I didn't even care). Fortunately, I had a phone call with my manager who said:

'Stefan, you are a valuable employee to me. I don't want risk losing you if your converted bike falls apart under you. I pay you handsomely: Why don't you just buy a production e-bike? I've heard Haibike was a good brand!'

First, I reached out to my Facebook friends for advice. I might be a fossil but certainly many Facebook friends had already ridden e-bikes?! Not. Not a single comment. Nobody heard of e-bikes! Aha. So I started studying e-bikes on the internet... As old Russian saying tells us, "the deeper you walk into a forest, the more trees you find". And I walked not that far into the e-bike forest. After having had eliminated Polish brands of 2019, I turned my attention to the Czech brand Lovelec. And yes, I bought my first e-bike (the model called Diadem), a classical hybrid e-bike with 250 W hub motor and a 576 Wh integrated battery. That was something at that time! A revelation!

I would not throw the Lovelec Diadem under the bus even today. Actually, it is a good e-bike, ideal for covering long distance at very reasonable average speed. (The Lovelec is getting at speed easily and remains there). After six weeks of ownership, a friend of mine broke the derailleur hanger in the Diadem. I needed to wait for more than a month for the replacement part from the Czech Republic.

I was restless. Truly infected with e-biking bacillus, I needed yet another ride. Watching the Electric Mountain Bike Network on YouTube made the words "Brose motor" and "Specialized" deeply imprinted in my mind. And I found the Electric Bike Review videos, too. Court was reviewing the 2017 Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0, a Speed-Pedelec/Class 3 e-bike. '45 km/h?' I thought. And I found exactly that Vado at heavily discounted price in Warsaw...

That way, my N+1 story begun...
-------------
Your stories? Have you ever started with a buyer's remorse e-bike? (Good my Lovelec is still a decent e-bike but I tasted better ones since...)

 

[Gordon71]

In my case it was spring of 2020 right in the middle of a pandemic and I was looking for something fun that would give me something of a workout that I could enjoy by myself outdoors. I'm 72 and in pretty good shape for my age. Many my age go for walks but that idea bored me just thinking about it. 25 years ago I did ride a bike. It was a pretty nice street/mountain combo with either 18 or 21 speeds. Unfortunately where I live has both poor roads and hills and I hated feeling every bump in the road from the 90lbs of pressure in the tires plus having to gear down so low going up hills that I could walk faster so that was short lived. While on line I heard about EBikes for the first time. I'd never seen one of them before and started researching. The only shop that sold them remotely close to where I live (45 miles away) was closed due to covid so that left on line. I didn't want to spend a fortune on something I had no idea whether I would like or not so settled on a Rad RoverST. It was the last one they had in stock and arrived a couple weeks later. The assembly was pretty easy due to the video and I was hooked after the very first ride. Over 3,000 miles later I'm still hooked. It may be an entry level bike but it does everything I want it to do better than I imagined and has never let me down. When I got mine it was the only one in my area but since then I've seen a lot more.

 

[6zfshdb]

First off Stefan, I am so very sorry to hear you are a widower. I've been biking with my wife and brother for over 30 years and to loose either would take away all my enjoyment of the sport.

For decades, the three of us rode our Trek MTB's on trails all over the northeastern US until my hips began to fail. After having both hips replaced, we resumed biking again but on a much more limited basis. That all changed in 2018 when we bought our e-bikes. We now ride longer and more frequently than we were ever able to do on our conventional bikes.

Although I've been working on bicycles my whole life, I knew nothing about e-bikes. I chose Pedego for their excellent customer service and the fact that they help me do my own work without having to go through a dealer. The nearest one is a 4 hour drive away. I bought 3 Platinum Interceptors, all of which are still in use with close to 6000 miles on them.

I can't say I have buyers remorse over my purchase but over time, I found things I didn't like about the bike. Rather than buy another, I started making modifications to suit my needs. Just about the only thing that remains of the original bike is the motor & frame. I found through experience that modification is the best way get what I want. With all the money I've spent, I could have easily bought a new bike. I probably would have if I could have found one with everything I want. Were I to buy another, I would likely start modifying it as well. I'm learning as I go and I find working on the bikes to be an enjoyable way to spend time when I can't get out and ride.

As technology improves, I may well get another bike in the future but for now, I'll keep working on the ones I have.

 

[reidjazz]

Christmas 2020, my wife and and pulled on the turkey wishbone...I wished for a new dining room table (what was I thinking), she wished for e-bikes. Guess who won?!

 

[Avg_Joe]

@Stefan Mikes this post finally got me to register here after lurking for some months. I am so terribly sorry to hear you are a widower - simply cannot imagine how awful that must be. I hope you have found peace and solace.
----
My ebike story is: I was doing a lot of research, thought it might be fun to have an ebike. I rode every single day as a child, the mobility and freedom (thanks Mom and Dad!) were amazing. Now as a mid-late 50's person, ebikes were appealing for exercise, fun, and just seemed to rekindle that sense of exploration I had as a child. I was not necessarily sold on ebikes due to cost, but...

One recent weekend, we had guests; when they left Sunday morning, figured I'd look at FB Marketplace to see what ebikes were fetching. A family nearby had a brand new in box Rad Rover Step Through for half the retail cost. I told my wife: I'm going to buy this, if I hate it, I'll resell it and either get my money back or make a few bucks. So I reached out, gave them what they were asking; came home, put the bike together, charged the battery, rode around our neighborhood, and I've been smiling ever since.

I've come to realize that this RR ST is not the perfect ebike for me - but it's awesome nonetheless and I love it! I ride it 8-10 miles practically every day for fun and exercise, take longer trips on weekends, and enjoy every single moment! I'm getting more exercise than I have since US Army basic training; I've seen more of our suburban area than ever; and it has become a passion. I'm now searching for a 2nd ebike so my wife can join in the fun / have a backup when I'm doing maintenance on my RR ST. This is huge for me: I really enjoy working on the bike, whether it's routine maintenance, small mods, or repair - so much better than working on my truck!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I ride it 8-10 miles practically every day for fun and exercise, take longer trips on weekends, and enjoy every single moment! I'm getting more exercise than I have since US Army basic training; I've seen more of our suburban area than ever; and it has become a passion.

If we come to think about it... I've been living in the same area (far suburbs of Warsaw) for 30 years. Commuting (and any other trip) to Warsaw has become so boring. Ride a car and you are stuck in the traffic jam. Or, walk for a kilometre to the next commuter train station then spend boring 38 minutes for the ride each way. A developing ailment of my legs made walking to the train station a torture! And Warsaw always felt so distant to me...

There was that first ride on my new Vado 5.0 that really changed my perspective. I took a local cab for a ride to the Warsaw LBS. Once I collected my Vado, I rode straight home on that cold and windy November day! It was a 27 km (16.8 mi) ride, and it opened my eyes: Warsaw felt actually so close now! (Now, on any long ride, 27 km left to go makes me sigh, smile, and say to myself: "It's as close as from Bielany to my old home!")

Having lived for 30 years in the same area didn't teach me anything about my larger neighbourhood. Now, 1400 km ridden in 2019, over 8000 km (5000 mi) in 2020, and expected 6223 mi (over 10,000 km) in 2021 actually means there are no local roads or paths that are unknown to me... So I expand my rides to adventurous areas far in Poland and abroad.

All of that would not be possible without e-bikes!

 

[dodgeman]

My story is kind of boring, we rented e bikes in Steamboat Springs Colorado and enjoyed them. When we got back home we drove to the nearest LBS and bought bikes that day.

I am also sorry the see you lost your wife.

 

[AHicks]

Wife and I rode conventional bikes for years. Nothing too serious, but we rode frequently, like several times a week. I ride because I enjoy it, she rides for exercise. Then life happens and along comes this second (winter) home and we are snowbirds all of a sudden. Second home was chosen (among several hundred other less relevant reasons) because of it's proximity to a bike trail that looked to lead everywhere. We were excited about our ability to continue riding down here (Florida Gulf Coast). Our first ride to this trail that goes everywhere, turns to huge disappointment when we discover the hills that don't look like much in a car, actually drained us to the point where when we did make the 6 miles to the trail, we figured we were pooped to the point where it was time to turn around and head back home. After that disappointment we rode close by the house a little, trilered them to a few nice trails a couple of times, but our bikes were getting dusty. Turns out we had purchased a home smack dab in the middle of an area of rolling coastal hills found only in just a few places in Florida. We have to ride through those hills in all directions to get anywhere.....

We're busy establishing a second home, so a year goes by. Bikes are getting really dusty. The wife had a friend that mentioned she enjoyed this expensive e-bike she had purchased, so she stops in this shop that sells a similar bike. Then she brings me to see it. I'm floored at the expense, as I didn't know they even existed, but clearly the e-bike plan was the answer to our "hill" issue. That was about the winter of '15. I did a lot of research, built a couple based on new analog bikes (very successful), and e-bikes became a regular part of our life. Today's bikes are much nicer than those first ones (money spent on them now very easy to justify as they are used so much), and we ride pretty much daily year round. Bonus is I love keeping them up. It's a great hobby! -Al

 

[ruffruff]

Same as some others, 2019-rented a Rad Rover for my wife and I for an afternoon ride.
Ordered a Biktrix shortly thereafter and picked up a nice Emojo cruiser for the wife at a State Fair sale.
Luckily we got in just before pandemic pricing hit.

My wife says best precovid purchase ever!

I now own three ebikes...one for every season in Mn. USA.
1. Fat tire
2. Emtb
3. Gravel/tar

 

[Cowlitz]

I lived in a very foresty, mountainous area. I was a serious huckleberry hunter/picker. Huckleberries are a wild growing blue berry that are part of the life of Pacific Northwesters--right up there with Salmon. Unfortunately, a big market was developed for the berries and van loads of pickers would head out and compete. They often pick the berries before the berries are at total ripeness. So, I thought an ebike would get me past some of the road washouts and up to where the commercial pickers could not go. I tried out an ebike on the beach that looked like a radmini. It was a blast. So, I traveled to the city to go to an RV show where Rad had a bike display, and talked to them. I went home and ordered one.

I started a bit of a local fad. It was a hard core logging community and those guys figured that a heavy duty ebike could get them up to their hunting areas. I got a few gift certificates for referrals.

Then I moved to the dry part of the state. The Rad seemed heavy and sluggish on the pavement. I drove to the Oregon Ebikes store--quite a long drive and tried out bikes, and ended up with my Gazelle. My truck broke down on the way home so after being rescued by a friend and returning home, the Gazelle was my only transportation for a couple of weeks.

I still have the mini. It is used for riding on rough woods trails. But so is the Gazelle. I wish I had the courage to ride on the snow packed roads that we have now. Oh well, it'll melt.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My truck broke down on the way home so after being rescued by a friend and returning home, the Gazelle was my only transportation for a couple of weeks.

This has made me recollect a funny story. It was 2013. A cardiologist examined me thoroughly; the treadmill test proved I lived totally stationary life! (It was true: people hardly walk in my neighbourhood only drive or ride). The doctor told me to engage in any activity such as walking; I asked him if I could cycle and he said yes. Important to mention my income was not too good at that time, and I was the only person working in my family (in Europe, it is common all grown up members of the family work). So I owned a van that was just a piece of junk.

My wife let me buy a bicycle, which I did. It was a traditional hybrid bike. As I was transporting the newly bought bike from the LBS, the van broke. So I just parked the car and merrily rode for 12 km home to think how to organize the repair...

 

[Cowlitz]

This has made me recollect a funny story. It was 2013. A cardiologist examined me thoroughly; the treadmill test proved I lived totally stationary life! (It was true: people hardly walk in my neighbourhood only drive or ride). The doctor told me to engage in any activity such as walking; I asked him it I could cycle and he said yes. Important to mention my income was not too good at that time, and I was the only person working in my family (in Europe, it is common all grown up members of the family work). So I owned a van that was just a piece of junk.

My wife let me buy a bicycle, which I did. It was a traditional hybrid bike. As I was transporting the newly bought bike from the LBS, the van broke. So I just parked the car and merrily rode for 12 km home to think how to organize the repair...

I was in a very sparsely populated (desert) part of Washington State. I had the bike and was also pulling my travel trailer. I limped into the only shady spot for miles past a few No Trespassing signs and knocked on the door of a house. It was an interesting afternoon. The adults spoke very little English and the children who were quite young were the translators--my Spanish has mostly been forgotten. I called a friend who was 3 hours away and waited. She was glad to get away from family and we were able to hitch my trailer up to their pickup and bring it home, leaving my pickup at the house for another trip with a tow truck when the holiday weekend was over. We really lucked out as my friend's Tacoma was wired correctly for the trailer lights and we would be traveling after sundown for the last bit.

It would have been around a 150 mile bike ride with limited charging available, although I would go by a couple of dams spewing out hydropower. My dog was along and does not ride. She is good for ten miles so the trip home would take 15 days, and mostly in the desert of Eastern Washington the State.

The Ford Ranger, RIP. I just didn't trust it after that trip and bought a Tacoma. I still have the trailer.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I called a friend who was 3 hours away

America: the region so big people measure the distance in time...

Space-Time Military Definition:
Sergeant: "Private, you'll be digging that trench from this very tree until the evening!"

 

[RabH]

I have been an avid cyclist since I was very young and always been very athletic, football (soccer) was my biggest passion but cycling was a very close second! When I gave up football due to knee problems, my cycling took over and my knee problems became a thing of the past! To cut a long story short I had two long illnesses (2014 and 2016) which curtailed my cycling to the point of losing interest but i was still getting out regularly, from doing 100+ mile rides almost every weekend I was now doing 20-30 mile rides and feeling empty after each ride!

In 2018 I was about to turn 60 and rather annoyed that my fitness wasn't what it used to be, that's when I became aware of e bikes! I started researching online but really didn't like the look of the bikes, they just didn't appeal to me as I was used to drop bar road bikes! Then I came across the Giant Road E+1 Pro and the second I saw it, I knew it was the one for me! I looked at the reviews and really liked everything about it, so I contacted my LBS to enquire about purchasing one! When they said it would be months before they could get one for me to test ride I just said thanks but no thanks!

So I searched online to see if any deals were available, everywhere I looked the prices were identical...so I weighed up the different options and ordered from a company in Wales! It was just after my 60th birthday so it was my present to myself! It was only a 3 day wait so I was very excited about the bike arriving on my doorstep! When it arrived I was totally shocked at the weight and thought I had made a big mistake, I was used to light carbon road bikes so it really was a big shock! It had arrived in midweek so I only had time for a very short trial ride to see if I had made the right choice, so I headed out with the bike in eco mode and made an attempt at climbing my local hill which is a 13% gradient! I dropped it into the lowest gear to make the climb and just shot up the hill like a bullet out of a gun!

I was instantly smitten and quickly returned to try the climb in the big ring and in turbo mode, the torque was just mind blowing! I was no longer worried about the weight of the bike, it was everything I had been looking for! I was now really looking forward to Sunday to really test it out on a longer ride, I had planned a route of around 40 miles as I was unsure about the longevity of the battery! The 40 mile ride soon became 50 and soon I was thinking why not 100km as the battery was doing so well and so was I! I ended up doing almost 67 miles and returned home with the biggest smile on my face ever! I couldn't believe how incredible the bike was and I had averaged 16mph on my first ever ride!

That ride was on April 1st 2018 and at the end of the month I managed my first 100 mile ride on it, my first since 2013!

I have now owned the bike for around 44 months and I'm closing in on 18,000 miles, e bikes changed my life for sure!

 

[ElevenAD]

I had just went through a nasty respiratory infection and decided i needed to add some type of cardio to help my lungs get back to normal. I wanted to get back into biking but my knee was causing a lot of pain at the time so i hesitated until i stumbled upon a video for a Juiced E-Bike!
My mind was blown, i thought this is the answer, i can now get my cardio in and if my knee or lungs become overwhelmed i can dial in the amount of help i need! The only issue was the style of the bike, it was a Scrambler type bike and i didn't feel like it was really made for comfortable pedaling so i started checking out Ebike reviews and thats what led me here!
After watching countless vids i quickly realized that The Juiced Scrambler would be a bad choice for me as i wanted to pedal so i purchased my beloved W-Class and i have been hooked since ride one!

....btw since i started E-biking 3 years ago i have lost weight, i can breath again, my knee rarely bothers me and i have a blast every ride!

 

[AZ Al]

My Story of e-bike riding and ownership. I used to ride a conventional bike to work every day here in Arizona. Life and a change of jobs came along, and the bike rides diminished. After several years, I was back swimming at the local pool for exercise and riding a cheap gas-powered scooter to the pool and back. What fun! It zipped around the roads, and I really liked it. The scooter was starting to fall apart - the whole side of the thing fell off one day and the tape I had on the other side of the scooter was drying out. So, I started to look for a replacement. I checked the more reliable dealers for small scooters and found they did not like to deal with me on those. One day I was at the local bike store with my son to change out a tire on his bike. I saw some really expensive bikes and stared at them. A salesman came by and asked what I knew about e-bikes. My reply was they were expensive but really not much else. So, we talked, and he finally let me try it. Well, that was fun! and the research of e-bikes began. After 6 months, I finally bought one. I bought a Specialized Turbo Vado. What fun! The cheap scooter was junked. I use the bike to ride to the pool every morning. I use the bike to ride to the library and to ride about town just to look. I do not ride very far. Something like 8 miles at a time. Just to store, maybe to the downtown area. Just having fun. So, my wife says maybe she would like to ride. Yep, she has one also. Those bikes still cost a lot. But they are fun, and I do feel much better after riding. By the way, we in the deserts ride during the colder months. You see we do not have snow. But it is hot in the summer and our riding must be done early in the morning or at night. It is fun to watch the stories of studded tires and snow conditions. It reminds me of the days I spent in Wisconsin. Here in Phoenix, Arizona it is hot and dry. And little cactus thorns stick those tires.

 

[LimboJim]

What follows is a timeline of my how my MTB/eMTB habits started, but I also have a converted gravel bike (TSDZ2), a converted recumbent trike (BBS02), and a fat bike (2015 iZip Sumo w/TranzX, still going, pic below)... I was never into road-riding until I began riding ebikes.

1991, Bridgestone City (rigid hybrid)
Fell in love with trail riding, but insufficient bike for purpose

1992 - Specialized Stumpjumper (hardtail)
Decade-long (but sporadic) trail exploration, blazing/building, maintenance and riding

2002 - Stumpjumper FSR
Another intermittent decade-plus of MTBing, until 3rd battle with Lyme Disease and turning 50 forced me off trail rides altogether (2012)

2015 - Sondors Indiegogo original (when ebike addiction began for me)
Fell in love with trail riding again, but insufficient bike again (mystory repeats)

2016 - eMTB deals were aplenty, so I bought new Haibike rx29 and FS RX (Bosch Gen2) for well under $2k each

2017 - Sold above Haibikes, bought Bulls E-Stream FS3 (Brose T), Haibike Allmtn+ (Yamaha PW), and Motobecane Eboost Pro (Shimano e8000)

2018 - Sold eBoost, FS3 and Allmtn+, bought 2017 models new for 60%+ off: Haibike Allmtn 8.0 and Raleigh Tokul iE (both with CX Gen3)

2019 - Bought 2018 Commencal MetaPower Race Fox (e8000), have not felt the need to buy an eMTB for myself since (2500+ miles)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is fun to watch the stories of studded tires and snow conditions. It reminds me of the days I spent in Wisconsin. Here in Phoenix, Arizona it is hot and dry. And little cactus thorns stick those tires.

A funny thing... I was zooming as fast as I could on my Vado SL in real winter conditions today. With Winter Schwalbe tyres I was not even concerned about snow & ice. And I was thinking to myself: "What potentially could go wrong?" The e-bike was in excellent shape. The batteries were fully charged, and I was wearing proper clothes. So - what could go wrong?

A chain snapping perhaps. Come on... a rare thing. A flat?! Then I smiled and said to myself: "I don't think so. My EBR friends might not believe how clean roads, bike paths or sidewalks in Poland were...". Fancy that: my trip lead through asphalt, gravel or paving blocks, mostly covered by snow and ice, and the last thing I could be afraid of was getting a flat

 

[DaveMatthews]

A long time ago when the earth was green (mid 2018) I was learning to live with a DVT blood clot and realizing my exercise routine was almost nil.
At 63 I knew I needed a change.
Always loved 2 wheel fun including motorcycle, dirt bike, mountain bike etc. I still had my 1998 Norco MTB but that felt out of my league at the time.
What to do...
Walking? Boring
Peloton? Extra boring
Go to the gym? Extra special boring
And then it hit me... I'd heard of ebikes, but knew absolutely nothing about them. So I spent a little over a month researching ebikes. I learned about hub drive, mid drive, various brands/types/styles.
I ended up choosing a 2019 Giant Fathom E+2 which at the time seemed like as much as I wanted to spend.
I was hooked immediately, even though not 2 minutes into my very first ride I got yelled at "That's cheating" by some random jerk!
In January 2021 I found a Stance E+2 at my LBS and pounced on it. I was missing the full suspension and this ride fills the bill wonderfully.

2019 Fathom



2021 Stance



I've since sold the Fathom to a friend who is over the moon with it.
Ebikes RAWK!!!