Catbiscuits
Member
that sounds perfect and what I want my ebike to get me to...
Who's ebike riding could ALL be done on a regular bike?
- Thread starter The duke
- Start date
Actually, I have a single speed and I still use it quite a lot. The simplicity and directness brings a joy to biking that messing with gears, shifting, interferes with and there's just about no maintenance. To each his own, but at some point why even bike, just use an electric scooter.
ChezCheese:)
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Kitsap Co, WA
If by electric scooter you mean those electrified skateboards, no thanks, I want some actual exercise. I look at millenials and etc going along like a Jetson and I think, Jeez, you need more exercise, kiddos, not less.
If by electric scooter you mean something like an electricified Vespa-type scooter (if there is such a thing), again, I want some exercise. Moreover, I did used to have a gas scooter, which while a savings over driving a car, it had a very limited range of weather when it was actually comfortable to ride. (Not too hot, not too cold, no rain or snow...) And the small wheels were much less stable than riding a bike, electric or acoustic. Also, on a scooter, as a motor vehicle, one is expected to go the speed limit, which was kind of nerve-wracking on those little 14 inch wheels on 45-50mph roads that we have out in the country. I feel far safer on a bicycle, where I am not expected to go the speed limit and can keep to the shoulder on such roads.
One speeders must not have the hills we do.
If by electric scooter you mean something like an electricified Vespa-type scooter (if there is such a thing), again, I want some exercise. Moreover, I did used to have a gas scooter, which while a savings over driving a car, it had a very limited range of weather when it was actually comfortable to ride. (Not too hot, not too cold, no rain or snow...) And the small wheels were much less stable than riding a bike, electric or acoustic. Also, on a scooter, as a motor vehicle, one is expected to go the speed limit, which was kind of nerve-wracking on those little 14 inch wheels on 45-50mph roads that we have out in the country. I feel far safer on a bicycle, where I am not expected to go the speed limit and can keep to the shoulder on such roads.
One speeders must not have the hills we do.
bob armani
Well-Known Member
My fat tired Haibike Full FatSix effectively replaced my Specialized Fatboy. Same riding areas for the ebike which I did on the analog 4.6 inch tired Fatboy; anything from riding the canal towpaths along the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, to South Jersey and the sugar sand roads of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, up to the near-daily rides from Homebase to the local towns 10 or 20 miles away and back, all on asphalt.
Doing it by ebike is an eye-opening revelation, like night and day. An 80 mile run on the towpaths one weekend a few years ago on the Fatboy left me completely drained for several days while recovering. Doing it on the FatSix, I'm ready for a local 20 mile ride the next day. Both are fun, mind you. But the Full FatSix is some how.....more funner!
I equate the Full FatSix as that Enduro Dual-Purpose motorcycle I never had. Except this bike does not require a license to operate, insurance to cover an accident, a riding permit and riding test. It allows me access to trails which are off-limits to motorized vehicles. It's the same as my analog bike, but completely different at the same time. Hard to quantify that in typed words, one has to get out there on an autumn day with the leaves in full color, nobody else around for miles, to get where I'm coming from. A game changer for bicycling for folks who thought they could never go long distance again....
Here's a shot of the bike that got me off-roading again, the Fatboy. And the bike that effectively replaced it, on the same D&R canal trail, 24 hours apart from each other.
Thanks go to Court for bringing these bikes to our attention and to his site here, for igniting that passion!
Well said Mike! Those are some cool bike comparison shots from acoustic to electric. Probably more difficult now to even climb onto the Specialized, even though it is a well built machine at that. I myself have been scratching my head as to what I will do with my non=electrics hidden in my basement.
Probably just donate all of them!
Mike TowpathTraveler
Well-Known Member
Well said Mike! Those are some cool bike comparison shots from acoustic to electric. Probably more difficult now to even climb onto the Specialized, even though it is a well built machine at that. I myself have been scratching my head as to what I will do with my non=electrics hidden in my basement.
Probably just donate all of them!
Many thanks, Bob.
Yep, at this point, the Fatboy is just my standby bike in case the Haibike is down for whatever reason; like when I was installing the dyno lighting system on the Haibike, requiring the front rim be re-laced for the dyno hub a month and a half ago. I'm in the same predicament you are, having a newish Trek Soho DLX, Bike E recumbent and Trek 9000 collecting dust. I simply hate to part with them while also knowing I'm not likely to ride them anytime soon cause the Yamaha drive Haibike is just too, too much fun to lay off of for any length of time.When I first got the Haibike, the plan was to shift back and forth from Fatboy to Full FatSix......those plans got scuttled real quick the moment I pedaled the Haibike!
ChezCheese, I'm in SW Coastal Florida, flat as the proverbial board. I wouldn't imagine using a single speed unless I was in a relatively flat area and in fairly good shape. Yes, I was talking more along the lines of a Vespa type unit - and there are lots of them such as the Genzie. I guess my point is that if you're biking because you like the feel of a bike and want some exercise something like an Orbea Gain where you have to work hard but have some limited help makes sense. If on the other hand one has a 50-60 pound machine with panniers and tons of weighty options tacked on and are basically looking for a motorized transportation system why not just get an electric scooter that has been designed for it and be done with it? To each his own and I'm sure they have their reasons but unlike the poster who called the Gain a "self-loathing" ebike I look at the 65 pound R&M "bikes" with multiple batteries and think that those are self-loathing "bikes". Anyone who thinks that those tanks feel or handle anything like a real bike needs to try a light bike. They'll immediately feel the difference. Again, not saying there aren't folks who need those types of bikes if they're heavy and out of shape or have health problems, but for those who don't a little bit of exercise and sweat won't kill them and may, in fact, make them feel better.
indianajo
Well-Known Member
You can't bring home a week's groceries on an Orbea. And if you have to drive a car 1/2 the time why buy an e-bike?
I don't find pushing 125 lb of bike & supplies around unpowered troublesome. It is less than the weight of me.
What I do find troublesome is 25 mph headwinds like we had Sunday. That can double my time to get home and raise my pulse to 144 all the way. So I used the electricity all the way Sunday, and made it in 3.2 hours, my normal time. Normally I pedal unpowered 70% of the way. Can't do that on a 14" tire scooter. My heart "has nothing wrong with it", hows yours @ age 69? Unpowered riding causes heart health.
Watching those lycra guys wiggle all over the road on the 30 lb bikes is hilarious. I'd be dizzy as a drunk if my bike was wiggling like that. One reason I gave up cars, the short subcompacts make me dizzy. My cargo bike is 75 lb unloaded, lighter than the MTB's with baskets I rode for the last 11 years.
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bob armani
Well-Known Member
I actually get depressed when I cannot ride my Haibike due to weather etc!Many thanks, Bob.
When I first got the Haibike, the plan was to shift back and forth from Fatboy to Full FatSix......those plans got scuttled real quick the moment I pedaled the Haibike!
No just kidding! I had the same feeling after purchasing my E-bikes. I also have an older Trek 7000 acoustic bike collecting dust (made in Waterloo, Wisc.) that is very hard to part with. I logged many miles on it before going electric. An extremely dependable and fun bike to ride (all aluminum and lightweight for standards from the 1990s). Ride safe!
