Mulezen
Well-Known Member
I plunked down $3k for my first Trek in 2018 knowing nothing (hadn’t found EBR) but needing a new way of exercise after my weights suddenly got too heavy. My reasoning was the high dollars spent would embarrass me to ride it rather than let it gather dust in the barn like my rower.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).
The miles have certainly helped me physically even as other problems develop yet the greatest positive as been with my mental state…