Your Hopes & Goals in Buying an Ebike - How Has the Reality of It Worked Out?

[Alaskan]

After a heart attack and the installation of two stents into my left anterior descending coronary artery and getting an implanted defibrilator, I started cardiac rehab one year ago. Cardiac rehab is basically an EKG monitored exercise program at our hospital run by nurses who guide heart patients through an increasingly rigorous, three times weekly program designed to improve cardio vascular fitness. Early on they emphasize the importance of finding an ongoing exercise regimen that one can stick to after the 36 sessions of cardiac rehab are done.

A old friend, who has been a lifelong cyclist, had recently purchased a Bulls ebike. He encouraged me to look into an ebike as a strategy for keeping the fitness momentum going. After much research into the options, with @Court s terrific review site as a principal resource, I bought my first ebike last February.

My principal reason to get an ebike was to improve and maintain cardiac health.

I have done that and then some. I ride an average of 500 miles a month, something I never could have imagined. I have lost 30 pounds. The car I used to gas up once a week only needs more gas about every six weeks. There is a new spring in my step and my overall sense of vitality has not been this vigorous since 25 or 30 years ago. I wake up every morning hoping the weather will let me ride. I have explored my town and the surrounding county, finding new byways and routes where I have lived for 40 years, a process of discovery than has brought me back to a feeling of expanding my world that I had as a kid with my first 3-speed Humber in 1961. I have discovered a way through an ebike of controlling my exertion to balance vigor and strain in a way that makes hills and headwinds pleasantly manageable and still allows for sustained, controlled heart rate, all in the context of a ton of fun.

Ebiking has brought a whole new focus in my life on health, fitness, adventure and fun. In my semi-retirement it has restored my physical vitality in ways I could never have imagined. It has added immeasurably to the joy in my life.

I hope this thread can be a vehicle for those who want to share their personal stories of success or failure with their ebikes and perhaps be a way for us to learn from one another.

 

[Uphill Both Ways]

You are killing it Alaskan! I bought an ebike for around-town transportation, particularly commuting. I have a relatively short trip of 3 miles but it is hilly enough that I was often deterred from riding my mountain bike. Plus, when it rains or is really hot, the mountain bike is not optimal. Enter the Specialized Vado 3.0. I am never deterred from riding it in the mornings. The fenders make rain much less of an issue. I toyed with getting a moped but with the ebike, I can cut through the middle of campus which really shortens my commute time when intersections around campus get choked at class changeover periods and at evening rush hour. Finally, I can park right beside my building, I can run errands during the day and never worry about finding a parking spot when I return, I save on gas and wear and tear on my car, I have a smaller carbon footprint, and students think I am marginally less irrelevant than they did before.

 

[harryS]

We ride for fun. I retired 16 years ago. My wife thought an ebike would get her out riding more with me, so Crazy Lenny fixed us up with a lower cost ebike in 2015. I built my beater ebike a month later. I've converted a few others. All below.

She has ridden a lot more. We have over 200 miles in Florida this month. We went to Colorado two years ago. Future hopes are to get the fatbike on sand and to drive out to Pacific NW and ride the trails on the way there.

 

[christob]

My ebike has certainly met my hopes and goals. I suppose I only had "hopes" the day I bought it; no concrete goals then. Plus a real, nagging fear that it could easily turn into the equivalent of a "Nordictrak machine becomes a coat rack in 3 months" ... a buyer's-remorse purchase that I'd abandon out of laziness, old habits, etc...

I wanted -- needed -- enjoyable (ie, sustainable) exercise to facilitate weight loss efforts in conjunction with sensible, but long overdue diet modifications.
I'd not ridden a bike for ~25 years prior to this ebike, nor had any other recurring exercise at least for the last 8 years.
When the bike arrived 11 months ago I was 303 pounds (6'2" tall) and facing my 50th birthday in the summer.

4,000 miles biked in 2018 and I'm down 61 pounds now, feeling far more fit (shirts have gone from XXL to L in the process) and have more stamina in general (though still overweight -- I'm looking to drop another 25-35...) I can detect the increased stamina (and leg strength!) as I now use far, far less Assist than when I started last March. Nearly 100% of my rides now are dialed in at the lowest level of assist for the whole trip; while at the start I was mostly in Level 3, with bumps up to Level 4 and sometimes Level 5/max.) I also tend to ride far more miles per trip now, than when first I started; tracking against my own arbitrary daily/monthly mileage targets helps spur me on.

The ability for the bike to Assist me more in the early weeks and months was the key -- it got me over the otherwise painful hurdle of all that initial "biking while badly out of shape". I simply could not / would not have stuck with it on a conventional bike, where the early rides would've been quite miserable enough for me to toss in the towel after a few. (That is exactly what I did the last time I owned a bike, 25 years ago.) The ebike allowed the fun of the (assisted) rides to come through loud and clear, enough to cement the new biking habit into something I *wanted* to do, basically all the time.

While I had no set goals the day the bike arrived, I'd told myself that I should attempt work commutes as I got better at biking... That worked out pretty well too, with 109 office commutes during 2018, ultimately saving me about 1,160 car miles. I'm still biking to work and for leisure this winter (if the weather isn't wretched!) including today -- just before the polar vortex hits us here (tomorrow will be a car-commute, thankyouverymuch, as the morning will only be 7f... I've not attempted biking below 25f yet, and don't really plan to this winter.)

The fact that I'm still actively biking to work, let alone talking myself into it during January, 11 months after this "hopeful" purchase, is a startling indicator of just how much change the bike brought me -- it would have been (indeed, it was) simply inconceivable for me to entertain the idea of this level of biking, exercise, getting-off-the-couch... before this bike!

 

[dblhelix]

sense of vitality has not been this vigorous since 25 or 30 years ago.

Here’s to 30 more. Reading this makes me wish for “semi-retirement!”

 

[Deleted member 4210]

After a heart attack and the installation of two stents into my left anterior descending coronary artery and getting an implanted defibrilator, I started cardiac rehab one year ago. Cardiac rehab is basically an EKG monitored exercise program at our hospital run by nurses who guide heart patients through an increasingly rigorous, three times weekly program designed to improve cardio vascular fitness. Early on they emphasize the importance of finding an ongoing exercise regimen that one can stick to after the 36 sessions of cardiac rehab are done.

A old friend, who has been a lifelong cyclist, had recently purchased a Bulls ebike. He encouraged me to look into an ebike as a strategy for keeping the fitness momentum going. After much research into the options, with @Court s terrific review site as a principal resource, I bought my first ebike last February.

My principal reason to get an ebike was to improve and maintain cardiac health.

I have done that and then some. I ride an average of 500 miles a month, something I never could have imagined. I have lost 30 pounds. The car I used to gas up once a week only needs more gas about every six weeks. There is a new spring in my step and my overall sense of vitality has not been this vigorous since 25 or 30 years ago. I wake up every morning hoping the weather will let me ride. I have explored my town and the surrounding county, finding new byways and routes where I have lived for 40 years, a process of discovery than has brought me back to a feeling of expanding my world that I had as a kid with my first 3-speed Humber in 1961. I have discovered a way through an ebike of controlling my exertion to balance vigor and strain in a way that makes hills and headwinds pleasantly manageable and still allows for sustained, controlled heart rate, all in the context of a ton of fun.

Ebiking has brought a whole new focus in my life on health, fitness, adventure and fun. In my semi-retirement it has restored my physical vitality in ways I could never have imagined. It has added immeasurably to the joy in my life.

I hope this thread can be a vehicle for those who want to share their personal stories of success or failure with their ebikes and perhaps be a way for us to learn from one another.

Such an inspirational story ! Best wishes to you in keeping with it, and living a healthy lifestyle.

 

[Oldbkr]

These stories are so motivational. I just got my E bike last June and put on 100 miles a month till November. This year will be awesome I hope...better eating habits and more miles. Thanks guys?

 

[Bartleby]

Loving these stories!

I got my Supercommuter 8s about a month ago. Before that I bike commuted about 8 miles to work around half off the time. I had to wake up early to do so, which my wife did not love. I loved the ride, but also had some dread before each 45-minute trip. I also carried very little with me, so bought lunch most days.

Since I got the ebike I bike commute more than 90 percent of the time. The added speed lets me take a more direct 7 mile route, and my commute time (30 minutes each way with no need to change clothes or shower) is now very comparable to my car. That means I get up at the usual time, which my wife loves! The pannier bags make carrying lunch easier, so I'm starting to eat healthier. I also have a blast with the commute now! The various assist levels mean I can dial in how much effort I feel like putting in, so the dread on "lazy" days is gone. I am also riding to places I never considered with my old bike, including out to hiking trails with my daughter (though still working out some trailer hiccups). I have put around 300 miles on the bike in my first month alone.

I think this has been my best purchase in years. It is one of those rare items that changes my life for the better every day!

 

[ebikemom]

LOVE these stories! I bought an ebike so I could hopefully get my teen son (who has a disability) to be more active, mobile and independent. I never dreamed I'd be doing a 25 mile round-trip commute whenever weather permits. My son has 1600 miles on his bike and I have 2600 on mine. My commute is really beautiful. Like postcard beautiful. Bridges, water, mountains, trees .... an amazing way to start and to end a workday. And, the exercise is wonderful for me, of course. I didn't get much exercise before because (here's the shocking fact) I don't like to get tired and sweaty! (Oh, dear, yes, I admitted it!!!) With my ebike, I pedal the whole way, and even pedal hard when going up hills and get my heart rate going, but not for long enough periods to get "tired and sweaty." I happily recommend ebiking to anybody who will listen. I don't quibble with them over what sort of bike to buy--a cheap, unreliable bike is still a good gateway to ebiking, as we saw in @HashtagNYCbikeLyfe 's story earlier in this thread.

I thought my ebike would mean... something practical and good for my kid. And, it is that! It is also much, much more...

• practical
• good for my kid (and my other kid)
• good for my husband
• good for me
• car replacement
• errand runner
• recreational buddy
• smile maker
• wind and speed machine
• source of family fun
• personal trainer
• always a pleasure

xox to my ebike!

 

[6zfshdb]

Mine isn't an inspirational story but it's certainly a minor miracle for me. I've been an avid bicyclist for many years. I'm now in my early 70's and after two joint replacements, I found myself riding less frequently and for shorter distances. I could no longer reach some of my favorite trail locations and my enjoyment of the sport was waning. I had been looking at e-bikes for a couple of years but was skeptical that a 250 or 500 watt motor would be adequate for my 6' 2" / 260# size.

Last year I took the plunge and wow was I surprised! I'm amazed at how much assist that relatively small amount of power can deliver! I can now get back to my favorite haunts, ride farther & longer than ever before and get more exercise in the process! The fear I used to have of being stranded due to injury in a remote location is also reduced. If I do get hurt, I can rely on the e-bike to power me home with little or no pedaling. I can honestly say, it's one of the most rewarding purchases I've ever made.

 

[indianajo]

I've been committed to maintaining my cardio health since age 18, so the e-bike didn't cause a huge improvement in that. Dad ruined his brain with a recliner chair after 2 years of retirement, and his active brothers lived to 97 and 98. I'm following plan 2. I've been biking 99% for 11 years since the "gasoline" became unuseable by my car. Stopping work in age 58 made this lifestyle doable. But the wind is picking up, earlier in the year with this climate change thing, and I was getting TOO much cardio on my commutes to & from my summer camp. 5.6 hours at 4.5 mph and a pulse of 150+ the whole time is more cardio than anyone needs, due to the **** headwinds. One week in September the strong winds hit me both out of and into town. That's **** annoying.
I'd been fidding with diy e-bike kits out at the camp for a year plus, so no, the two junk batteries and the maybe the motor kit I bought and installed out there were complete failures. $340 for the battery I didn't get a refund on, and $320 for the motor kit that might work if I ever get a good battery out there.
So in October I dropped another $620 on a battery from a major supplier, and $180 on a DD hub kit just to prove the battery works. Yea, it works. No, I'm not getting the range I had hoped for; a 24 mile trip on a 57 deg day in November ran the 17.5 ah battery down most way. I'd fantasied about 70 mile round trips to concerts within range of my camp - pedaling one way, motoring home. That's not going to happen. So I'm a bit disappointed. But Tuesday when it was 15 deg with a 15-27 mph wind in my face commuting to my volunteer job here in town, electricity made the trip the normal length of time and quite bearable. So the experience is positive, if not quite as marvelous as I hoped it would be. Upgrades? This DD drive drags my human pedaling on the cargo bike down to 6 mph from my unpowered 8. A geared hub is in my future, after this trade war is over or I find out how to buy the $2100 swiss one without buying a whole bike from Europe. The sprockets on this DD hub are 26-14 7 speed threaded, which doesn't allow me to help the motor any over 11 mph and won't get me up 15% grades unpowered. The bike came with 11-34 8 speed. I've bought 4 different replacement sprockets, and none of them would fit or work. !@#$#$^$%&^ So life is not perfect, buy I'm not replacing this jewel with a motor vehicle in this decade or the next either.

 

[elliot friedman]

Simply put...... "A New Lease on Life!"

 

[SirJonathan]

Alaskan - Thank you for this post! I wish you the absolute best on continuing your journey.

My eBike has been phenomenal. I did not expect to have fun on a bike ever again. That's how I would describe riding an eBike. It's just fun. Biking to me has always been about speed, cadence, distance and physical exertion. It got to the point where I dreaded getting all of my gear together and heading out for a couple hours and really pushing myself. It got old.

Fast forward to my eBike and it's just plain old fun. I'm still spinning and exercising on it but I'm going way farther on way less effort. It's just a blast. I tell everybody that will listen to go buy one today.

I even have my wife considering it and if you knew my wife you'd know that was a Herculean task!

 

[rexel1]

Alaskan - always like your Posts. Keep on cycling!

I bought an electric bike after my usual cycle commute of 25 miles a day in and out of London got a bit too much to do 5 days a week on a normal bike (I’d been doing it for 4 years).
Tried a few ebikes, I’m in the UK so have quite a different selection here.
Found one I really liked and bought that.
Made the 5 day commute a lot easier and meant I could still cycle off-road at weekends in the forest next door to me

 

[tallpaul]

Alaskan, this is a wonderful thread you started. Each reply brought a smile to my face. Just like each time I get out for a ride, that big smile takes over.

My own story goes like this. I started riding fixed wheels in NYC in the sixties. Went from there to Norton Cafe Racers. Put on many many miles, usually at high speeds ( I was young and immortal....).
Moved to SoCal and started a family 40 years ago and gave up the motorcycles. Fast forward 30 or so years when both of my sons took up motorcycles. I now understood what my father was worrying about back then.
In an effort to neutralize my concerns over their safety I purchased a modern BMW R1200R, an amazing piece of machinery. After one short ride with them I realized that I'd be better off not riding with them as they were going, dare I say, way too fast like I used to when I was young! A couple of years ago I decided that at 70 years old my response time, my need for speed, and healing time at my age, no longer justified my getting on a motorcycle.
Since then I am happy to report that one son has pretty much given up on motorcycles and the other only rides occasionally on his antique Indians.

Getting back to ebikes, I purchased a pedal assist Haibike and feel like I have made a great decision. I enjoy the ebike more then I ever enjoyed my BMW. It is peaceful, quiet, mind and body enriching, and totally satisfying as a beautiful piece of engineering and manufacturing craftsmanship. Like the Alaskan I hardly ever use my car. In the 2 years since I have put on about 4000 miles, helped a dear friend here to get into bikes and is now my go to riding companion, made several new friends along the way, and look forward to many more years of riding!

Also a heartfelt thanks to Court who started this wonderful forum. His endearing enthusiasm and knowledgable and honest reports are a great example of what the internet hopes to achieve.
And to all those here who help one another and contribute to this fast growing new age of ebikes.

 

[elliot friedman]

How has the reality worked out?

Let's put it this way, sometimes there has just been a little bit too much reality. Especially when it comes to maintenance.

Maintenance is about a third of the fun. Don't know if it's possible, but I probably over maintain my bike. Enjoy doing it.

 

[glenmorenee]

Ever since I was young, I've wanted to explore each and every street in the entire city. What's up that street? What's that neighborhood like? The thoughts would come and go throughout my working career. I considered options on how to go about it, once the time came. By car? No, too insulated and you have to keep your eyes on the road, not daydreaming, gazing at people, houses and gardens. A motorcycle then! No, that's worse then a car! I can see the headline, "Recently retired dope killed on first motorcycle ride". Had a very brief dalliance with two stroke motors. Saw these guys buzzing around town with jury rigged bikes held together with bailing wire and getting over 100 mpg. Take that oil companies! But the noise!

The realization of dragging my old butt around on a regular bike started to dim my hopes of ever being able to do it. Enter the e-bike! Ask and ye shall receive! Just make sure the battery is topped off and just go! There is no place you can't go, no hill you can't climb. As often said, it's an e-bike or no bike for me. So far I have not ridden that much but a heck of lot more than zero. I studiously try to avoid heavy traffic areas and this makes trips on side streets and detours almost mandatory but who cares, I've got a battery!

 

[tallpaul]

glenmorenee, I can relate to your post. I'm into photography and thought by getting a motorcycle I could be out there and have immediate access to good shots. Wrong. When looking for shots I am not paying attention to the road. Plus if I see a shot I would need to unpack my gear which by that time the shot has probably moved on. Actually same goes for the ebike. So not getting a lot of photography in but I sure am enjoying the ebike everytiome I get on it!

 

[Roxlimn]

I bought a Dirt-E2, one of the lower specc'd bikes in the Giant line, for about $2000+. I cannot stress enough how important it has been for me to have a reliable bike and a reliable LBS to service and maintain it. Giant and Yamaha parts have been phenomenally reliable, and the LBS comes through, even when Giant doesn't always have the best customer support.

I've been commuting on this bike since about November of 2016. I've logged over 11000 km on it. The motor probably needs servicing, but I haven't brought the bike in for motor service, and it doesn't sound any worse than when I first rode it. The bottom bracket is getting a bit clunky - might be a bearing issue. I bought both a 400Wh battery and a 500 Wh battery, and I've followed recommendations for their maintenance. They retain nearly their entire capacity 3 years into my purchase. I do not believe I will need to purchase another one until 5 years in.

The bike and my uses for it have exceeded my expectations. It is nothing less than a bionic machine, amplifying my muscle power with engine power in a manner so responsive it might as well be bionic implants. In almost all cases for both commuting and light trail riding, the bike is 100% controllable and predictable, a truly next generation man-machine interface. In fact, some days I forget I have a motor. It just feels like I'm strong. Then I ride a push-bike and I realize that I'm no longer a fit 20-something amateur triathlete.

I ride it going to work. I ride it going for groceries. I ride it to meet with friends. I ride it just to ride it. I would not say the bike is rated to be trail-capable. I would not subject it to rough treatment on tough mountain trails, but it is fairly good for fireroads and mild, rolling, flowy singletrack. To be honest, I don't see myself riding Whistler anytime soon, because I just prefer these laid-back, sun-dappled rides these days.

The true winner is the safety and the cargo parts. I can stack things on it and not tell the difference. I just amp the assist up a notch. I have extra-wide grippy tires. Why? Because I can. It just takes more battery power, of which I have a lot to spare. I have 180mm disc brakes and beefy fork suspension. And despite this I can cruise at 25 kph without any issue. For my wife, the fact that the motor cuts out gradually beyond the limit is a plus, because it subtly discourages me from overspeeding, which I can be guilty of on a push bike. It's gotten so she won't let me any other kind of bike. Haha.

 

[Ebiker01]

n fact, some days I forget I have a motor. It just feels like I'm strong

A lot of drivers or people unfamilar with e bikes may think this also about those on ebikes... wow he climbs soo fast hehe...