Any one tried an electric bike

pepi1967

pepi1967

Messages
4,856
Name
scott
Edit My Images
Yes
Thinking about a new bike. Havnt ridden for ages and very unfit. Looked at an electric jobby. They look great but are they worth the price tag? The one i looked at was £1,200 made by claude butler. Any one got or used a leccy bike and are they worth the wonga.
 
pepi1967 said:
Havnt ridden for ages and very unfit.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if this sounds blunt but why on earth would you want a bike that does the work for you?
You don't mention how old you are or whether you have any physical impairment but if you're just unfit then an electric bike is not the answer.
Leisurely cycling is easy and gearing on bikes covers such a massive range there's no real reason why pretty much anyone who's able-bodied can't have a go, ok granted, hills can knock the wind from your sails but plot routes avoiding them until you get to a reasonable level of fitness and you'll be fine. (y)
 
Hi Scott,

An electric bike can be a good way to get back into cycling and a healthy lifestyle. You still get to pedal some if you want to, but depending on your fitness level you can at least be sure to get home if you are worried!

There are a number of different electric bikes which range from simple lower cost with a few gears to the sleeker Claude Butler type.

If you just want a simple whizz around the block and don't want to spend much have a look the next time a motorhome show is near you. A guy sells them at the shows for about £450. I have a couple which we use for fun when on site.

However, if you think you are going to get more serious then definitely look at the Claude Butler versions.

Sorry that is as much as my experience goes, but hope it helps.

Best regards

Chris
 
Wozzaaah said:
I'm sorry if this sounds blunt but why on earth would you want a bike that does the work for you?
You don't mention how old you are or whether you have any physical impairment but if you're just unfit then an electric bike is not the answer.
Leisurely cycling is easy and gearing on bikes covers such a massive range there's no real reason why pretty much anyone who's able-bodied can't have a go, ok granted, hills can knock the wind from your sails but plot routes avoiding them until you get to a reasonable level of fitness and you'll be fine. (y)
Click to expand...

My problem wozzah is not only am i a little on the more "ahem" comfortable size i live on the top of a hill. Not a massive hill but big enough to make me wheeze walking up it. The leccy bike is just to help me out when im buggerd. Dont want to use the leccy part all the time. if that was the case i would get a 50cc scooter :D just to help take the sting out the hard bits until im fit enought to do it on my todd.
 
Fair point though as I said, gearing on hybrids and mtbs is very good and tbh there's not much you couldn't climb on the granny ring. ;)
Never having ridden an electric bike and probably never likely to, I suppose that is the way they're designed to be used rather than just get on it, sit there and let it take you where you want to go.
I think I'd probably look to be spending a bit less though, £1200 is an awful lot of money for something you may not use for too long.
If you find your weight drops and your fitness improves you may decide to get a normal bike.
Cycling is great, it takes you places you'd ordinarily never go and the miles rack up so quickly it's unreal.
Took my wife out along the towpath the other day, she's not particularly big but other than horse riding she doesn't really do any proper exercise, we averaged a snail-like 8.5 mph over 25 miles! :eek:
As much as it was great for us to get out together as we don't do it very often, I'm a competitive runner and cyclist so I always see 'training' rather than 'recreation' and felt like I was going to fall off if I went any slower. :LOL:
Good luck with it, keep us posted. (y)
 
Girl I work with uses one to get to work every day and swears by it, she has a hill to climb both ways and although she lives in town it's a bit to far to walk and she doesn't really want to use her car
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top