Thoughts Of An Experienced E-Biker

[BEC111]

Haha! Rich, I still cannot understand how it come the Specialized Bridge Sport, the stock saddle for Vado SL 4 has turned out to be the most comfortable of my bike seats despite of being narrow, long and hard

I’ve made the same discovery. Took lots of adjusting of bars, grips, seat and so forth

 

[Robspace1]

You are tougher than I am. No outdoor winter riding for me. Now using an indoor spin bike, and virtual reality cycling apps, and enjoying doing virtual group rides or solo rides, all from the comfort of indoors.

Treadmill for me till' Springtime.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

As I have just recovered my reconstructed and upgraded full-power Vado 6.0 from Specialized, I had to go for several rides and "optimize" the e-bike again The major change was dropping the handlebars as low as technically possible with the existing stem for a more forward riding position. The "new" Vado is insanely comfortable now. Still, I dream of installing a really long stem so I could lean on the bars very much. And then I wake up from the dream and think if I really should spoil that meticulously created setup of the e-bike I have just recovered! (It is all down to my modified Vado SL, in which I could really lower and extend the bars forward, which makes me so happy!)

Another thing I got by consistent pedalling my low power Vado SL when the big brother was in the repair (3 months) is now I put more effort into pedalling. I decided to complete the "big" Vado ride of yesterday on a single battery. Half of kilometre before the finish I lost the assistance because the battery got discharged to 5%. I just downshifted and happily pedalled until my ride was complete. Why worry? It is still a bike!

It is possible to get a copy of data from Strava and open the Activities.csv in Excel. The 2022 ride data turned out to be pretty interesting:

The roles of my two e-bikes seem to be clearly defined. The big Vado is not my daily ride. Vado SL is not a real performer for demanding rides. At least for me!

 

[pmcdonald]

Why worry? It is still a bike!

Yes! An easy fact to forget in our preoccupation with all things motorised and electronic. I get surprised (and a little relieved) anew every time I switch the assist off riding with non-motorised friends and family - it's still a pushbike! With some optional assist. I'll always value an ebike that can ride well switched off.

 

[Jason Knight]

With some optional assist. I'll always value an ebike that can ride well switched off.

Which is another thing some of the obtuse effete elitist jerks 'round the web seem to lose their huffing minds. I mean I start playing with the gear ratios to dial in the bike to be useful both motorized and not, and I get some people -- even those who liked your comment -- screaming "It's an e-bike why would you ride it unpowered? What's wrong with you?!?"

When dialing mine in to a 53t front with an 11-36 cart makes the bottom three gears useful unpowered, and the top three gears actually do something when powered instead of the bike racing out ahead of how fast I can pedal.

But how DARE I do that instead of "turning the motor controller down" or "Switch to your regular bike to ride unpowered" as some folks seem to suggest. As if adding a motor magically makes it not a bicycle anymore. Or changing the gearing to fit me is somehow wrong because the "one size fits all" from the factory is magically going to actually be useful.

OMFG, you use your e-bike like a bicycle? The horrors

 

[mschwett]

Which is another thing some of the obtuse effete elitist jerks 'round the web seem to lose their huffing minds. I mean I start playing with the gear ratios to dial in the bike to be useful both motorized and not, and I get some people -- even those who liked your comment -- screaming "It's an e-bike why would you ride it unpowered? What's wrong with you?!?"

When dialing mine in to a 53t front with an 11-36 cart makes the bottom three gears useful unpowered, and the top three gears actually do something when powered instead of the bike racing out ahead of how fast I can pedal.

But how DARE I do that instead of "turning the motor controller down" or "Switch to your regular bike to ride unpowered" as some folks seem to suggest. As if adding a motor magically makes it not a bicycle anymore. Or changing the gearing to fit me is somehow wrong because the "one size fits all" from the factory is magically going to actually be useful.

OMFG, you use your e-bike like a bicycle? The horrors

your points would be much more interesting if they weren’t always preceded and/or followed up by windmill-tilting scarecrowing and name calling. i’ve been around here a while and never seen any “obtuse effete elitist jerks” screaming that you shouldn’t ride an e-bike unpowered or on low power. that’s the beauty of them being e-BIKEs, not mopeds.

i’ve had a few people ASK me that, in my search for an e-bike light enough to happily ride uphill unpowered, but no screaming, no jerks, no elitists.

completely agree with your point. the gearing on most ebikes is shitty for a bicycle. my UNPOWERED bike goes from 36:34 to 52:11 (1:1.06 -> 1:4.72) and i use both ends on every single ride. my e-bike goes from 42:42 to 42:10 (1:1.00 -> 1:4.20) and i use both ends on every single ride! i customized both of them to get what i needed, which is a piece of cake on most well designed bikes, e or otherwise.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And I could have sworn Stefan threw a conniption fit in my thread about regearing my Aventure, but now I can't find it. Maybe it was another thread, or did he get mods to remove it?

Some Aventure riders seem to be better people than you are.
For instance, once a well known EBR Forum member "The Longest Nickname" Lee who left this forum is an Aventure rider, remains my friend, and we communicate on Strava.

Lee owns as many as four bikes, of which the Aventure is the least expensive of all of them. For some reason he likes the Aventon very much. Why not? He's as an experienced rider as I am, and he is free to make his own choices.

 

[TrevorB]

I started with FS eMTB then discovered needed commuter/trekking bike. Bought quality HT MTB and fitted lights, mudguards, rack , kickstand and dongle as 25kmhr is to slow for commuter. Was awesome commuter, fast, powerful and excellent handling unfortunately my knees didn't like it so trekking never happen. Swapped to Moustache Xroad which is trekking bike and couldn't be happier. Perfect commuter, trekking bike also capable of some offroad exploring.

Still have FS eMTB with dongle and 2 sets of wheels (road and offroad tires). Use occasional for commute and offroad exploring. MTBing seems to have gone by wayside. Awesome faster commuter with dongle, powerful brakes and FS.

See lot of older couples riding quality FS eMTBs and using them for trekking ie railtrails. While these are awesome bikes the riding position is compromise for long rides. For most FS of HT trekking bike would be better option especially as most of these eMTBs would never see a MTB park and single track riding.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I just really don’t get all the ridicule, anger, and negativity. Well actually I do, but I guess I wish I didn’t. How hard is it to take what is useful and leave the rest without all the invective? What does all that angst really do for you? And for that matter why do you even have that need?
...
There are more important things to focus on and worry about.

Well put, and couldn't agree more. Happened to see this at the doctor's office just this morning and thought about this forum:

Being kind is better for all concerned, both mentally and physically, and especially for yourself. The medical research is clear.

Remember, nothing — I repeat nothing — that we discuss here warrants zealotry, snobbery, or hard-line stances. Life's just too short.

To be clear, the vast majority of the posts I see here are respectful and helpful. Kudos to the many members who consistently handle themselves that way.

 

[tomjasz]

Here s the thing. A while back we asked help translating a site with a part that someone in the EU was looking for. “Richard” was asked to help to translate the Polish but since it wasn’t something “Richard “ found interesting the response was just that. “I’m not interested”, we were trying to help a new poster but the fella refused to help. It’s what we do here. And assist regardless of different choices. At least the good guys, are all in to help. Instead of demeaning anyone with a different path. Not everyone has 3-4k to spend and we all aren’t interested in blowing our own horn.

 

[Horace71]

Well put, and couldn't agree more. Happened to see this at the doctor's office just this morning and thought about this forum:
View attachment 147061

Being kind is better for all concerned, both mentally and physically, and especially for yourself. The medical research is clear.

Remember, nothing — I repeat nothing — that we discuss here warrants zealotry, snobbery, or hard-line stances. Life's just too short.

To be clear, the vast majority of the posts I see here are respectful and helpful. Kudos to the many members who consistently handle themselves that way.

 

[Robspace1]

So basically you're ignoring the post that started this thread? Particularly since:

Flies completely in the face of 90% of Stefan's points as he lords his "expertise" over us, whilst regurgitating the same nonsensical propaganda driven BS and bike culture elitism?

You KNOW he's one of these clowns when he starts kvetching about the weight of a kickstand. Sure, just throw it down in the mud. HIS ENTIRE FLIPPING POINT is to attack those who dare to make modifications for comfort, sizing to the individual, etc, etm.

His entire "use it as designed by the maker" section is precisely the type of effete pedantic BS I'm talking about.

And I could have sworn Stefan threw a conniption fit in my thread about regearing my Aventure, but now I can't find it. Maybe it was another thread, or did he get mods to remove it?

I made all kinds of nice changes to my bike to add more comfort for longer rides. I could care less what anyone say's about doing it. It's natural to improve on anything you buy if possible. Most ebikes can easily be upgraded with better tires, lights, handlebars, seats, suspension, fenders, etc. Unless you have a custom made machine that you designed from the ground up, then you can and should improve on it all you can. It's only gotta please you, nobody else.

 

[kevinmccune]

It’s quotes like this,

that reveal my ignorance. I had no idea Strava could report wiring continuity, help me test cutout switches, or confirm battery condition/function while in a fault. That’s just amazing.

Sadly and with remorse I’ve been hard on budget eBike buyers. But have resolved myself to being more like HarryS and help ANYONE ON ANY PURCHASE LEVEL sort their bikes. Little Big Man makes a good point. That sub $2000 generic bike price was a stretch and struggle for some of us.

I’m going on to say I’m wrong to be critical of the BSO owners just trying to have fun, lower their footprint, and use eBikes as alternative transportation. My only reservation is the sustainability of those generic blends and their parts and repair stream

My take is, if I cannot fix it I get another one, OTH you can get a real bargain on a used high-end bike from time to time.

 

[tomjasz]

My take is, if I cannot fix it I get another one

That’s not an option for many. And the shameful aspect of budget rides. The eBike ends up as scrap and a waste of resources, time, and energy.

 

[tomjasz]

you can get a real bargain on a used high-end bike from time to time.

I went through a phase where I convinced myself I needed to own a ride from the upper tier, until I realized I’d lose the right to repair. Making an eBike just as dealer dependent as our newest, and last 10 cages.

 

[kevinmccune]

That’s not an option for many. And the shameful aspect of budget rides. The eBike ends up as scrap and a waste of resources, time, and energy.

Who sez it has to be expensive? a sub $1000 bike will suit some especially if you stretch the payments out( do not spend more upgrading a clunker than what a new bike costs) The recycler beckons.

 

[m@Robertson]

My first ebike was $700 and I think that included shipping. It was just cheap enough I was willing to potentially throw that money away on a new concept (the 'e' in ebike was a total unknown to me at the time). But I put 4000 miles on it my first year, and it got me back into daily commute cycling. I think I cracked the frame after about 2 years, and it was partly my fault it happened. So I was more than happy and got my money's worth.

Cheap, DSO/DTC bikes have a very important place in the market, especially if they are light-use and thus unlikely to be run too hard. They are the perfect gateway drug to an upgrade and a life that has a lot more cycling in it as a result of having that in-reach option versus one that is more technically solid, but you may as well price it at a million dollars cuz its not affordable at $4k+ ... or whatever.

 

[tomjasz]

Who sez it has to be expensive? a sub $1000 bike will suit some especially if you stretch the payments out( do not spend more upgrading a clunker than what a new bike costs) The recycler beckons.

In my experience there’s no way to have a well built repairable mainstream ebike with components I’m happy with for under $2000. I’ll come back to the thread and elucidate. But bottom line sustainability, reliability, and the freedom from the denial of the right to repair costs.

Many that come here could well be happy with $1000 OEM direct eBikes. But when we’re talking alternative reliable daily transportation the rules change. This isn’t a hobby for me anymore. It’s my primary transportation.

Stay tuned.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Back On The Topic, or How Did I Get Into E-Biking?

An avid cyclist since my childhood (born in 1961), I bought the first brand new car in my life in 1997. Stopped cycling for 16 years. In 2013 (age 52), I felt I had to examine my cardiac condition. After all the tests, the doctor actually yelled at me:
-- You are cardiologically a healthy person! However, how come you got HR of 220 after just 30 seconds of walking the treadmill?! Don't you move at all?!
-- Well Doc, everybody drives their car in my neighbourhood...
-- WHAT?! Man, you're gonna MOVE! Walk! Run! Whatever! MOVE!
-- Can I ride a bicycle?
-- Yes, you can.

My wife asked me then: 'What is you really enjoy doing?' -- 'Riding a bike' -- 'Buy a bike then'. I bought a bike and started riding it until my atherosclerosis developed. Unable to cycle or walk, two surgeries, endangered left leg. After the last and final surgery, I was trying to practice walking. It was painful because of intermittent claudication and so boring...

On July 31st 2019, I wrote the following post on my FB:

"FB hivemind!
If I will live up the next cycling season then I'm interested in buying an e-bike. As I can see, some e-bikes cost like $1,100 (plus a surcharge for a BIG battery) but others are well over three grands. Of course I'm not spending three grands on an e-bike. How come there is such huge price range between different e-bikes? Anyone knows and wants to share their knowledge?"

No friend of mine had a clue. My close friend wrote this comment:
'You will be the first among friends of yours to discover it'.
He was right, and I was so wrong!

I tried to order a traditional bike conversion to discover that the shop to offer the service was clueless, too. My manager said: "I don't think it is wise to create a contraption. Buy the real thing: An e-bike that has been designed as an e-bike. You can afford it. You can thank me later".

I got my first e-bike on August 21st 2019 for some US$2,000. Next three e-bikes I bought were well over three grands each

I have ridden for 2,315 km on the traditional bike since May 10th, 2013.
It is 28,895 km on all seven e-bikes I had the chance to ride (all since August 21st, 2019).

 

[McApple]

I bought my ebike in 2016, I was 67, and fighting the hills and the wind had taken away my joy of cycling. I had to drive to New Hampshire in the U.S. to pick it up, as ebikes weren't readily available in Canada. This website, and other online reviews helped me greatly in choosing a bike. I wound up buying a 2015 Haibike XDuro Trekking Pro for about $3k US.

This year I have been looking at new models, but haven't found anything that excites me. My current plan is to continue enjoying the Haibike until a major failure puts me back in the market.

Cycling has become a big part of our lives, we enjoy riding the local rail-trails, and plan our vacations based on cycling opportunities.