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Anyone have or used an Electric Bike?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by timtim2008, Aug 8, 2011.

  1. timtim2008

    timtim2008 Member

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    [​IMG][​IMG]



    Anyone have one? (or rode one)?

    Is it worth the $2,200 price sticker?

    Ride+ - Trek Bicycle

    Trek's electric-assist system constantly adjusts power output based on your pedaling force and speed. Here you can see the handlebar console that you use to choose the level of assistance you want. It also displays important data like speed, distance and battery level. The list below tells what each button and display does. ​
    1) Odometer/Trip/Counter/Clock/Chronometer/Average Speed
    2) Current Speed
    3) Current Assistance (A) or Generation (G)
    4) Power-Assist or Generation Level
    5) Battery Level
    6) On/Off (cycles through screen elements #1)
    7) Increase Electric Assistance
    8) Decrease Electric Assistance/Increase Generation
    9) Reset Functions​
     
    #1 timtim2008, Aug 8, 2011
  2. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I've ridden several, and liked almost all of them. The extra kick is quite nice. The ones that amplify your pedal input, like the Trek model you've linked, are the best. Whether it's right for you depends how far you travel. They're great for around town and short hills, but the batteries are by necessity pretty small, so on a longer distance ride, especially up a big hill, the whole system becomes dead weight. Your muscles store power, and generally recharge overnight, so bicycles already are hybrids, even without electric motors.

    Check your local bylaws, too. If electric bikes are prohibited from using bike paths, or if the top speed is artificially low, either by legislation or integral speed-limiter, that would kill it for me.
     
    #2 hyo silver, Aug 8, 2011
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  3. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    I have one but it was only $900-ish if I remember correctly. It also adjusts to your pedal speed. It uses A123 LiFePO4 cells which was my #1 requirement and #2 was that it has gearing sufficient to traverse mountain terrain. It is by no means a "mountain bike" even though it is advertised as one, but I can get around ok on city streets and trails. But offroading down rockfaces and such is out of the question.

    I love it, but I would not pay $2200 for one.
     
    #3 2k1Toaster, Aug 8, 2011
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  4. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I have a Giant Twist Freedom DX and am happy with it. The li-ion packs only assist your pedaling but that is what I wanted. I don't want a bike where no effort is involved at all.

    It has 3 modes, kind of like eco, normal and power. In eco you pedal harder and the assist is a little and it assists more as you move up to normal and pwr. They did a GREAT job with the programming in that as you pedal there is no surge of assist on/off, it is very smooth. The assist can make me travel near 25mph if I pedal with a bit of push.

    If I had one complaint it's that the tires are a little thin. Not anything like those 70's bikes with the curled handlebars but not mountain bike tires either. They're great overall don't get me wrong but here in NYC I was riding at 5am once and went into a pothole and poof, air leakage. Luckily I had slime in the tires and it actually allowed me to make it home, nearly 3 miles.

    Oh, and in normal mode you can travel a great distance on one pack with this bike. As an average I'd say 25 miles per pack is quite doable, in eco it would definitely be more.

    I got it new and did not pay anywhere near what they say on their site, though I still paid a lot but I truly wanted one for a while. In the end it was $1650...

    Would I do it again and make the purchase? Yes, I enjoy riding long distance now because my legs would never have let me before. As I got more into riding, I tend to not use the hybrid going on a 12 mile or so ride, but use it in eco for the return trip.

    Here's the site for it: Twist Freedom DX (2011) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States
     
    #4 Paradox, Aug 8, 2011
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  5. timtim2008

    timtim2008 Member

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    what model did you buy?
     
    #5 timtim2008, Aug 10, 2011
  6. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Don't have. Haven't used one. Want one. :D

    But, if I get one it'd have to be so that I can commute on it once or twice per week outside of winter. The shortest route is 20.6 miles each way and it has multiple hills with a total altitude variation of around 200 feet. Oh, and before I do that again I need some good cycle shorts!

    The rest of my cycling is either errands around town, cycling across town to my carpool partner's house* or specifically riding for exercise, none of which need an e-bike.

    I've seen bikes with lithium batteries from around $900.

    Other owners have described using a pedal-assist e-bike as being like riding on a gentle downslope.

    * He lives on the better side of the city for going to where we work. It cuts from 2 to 5 miles (depending on choice of route) off his commute and gets me a bit of exercise.
     
    #6 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Aug 10, 2011
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  7. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    I will try to remember to look it up as I leave tomorrow morning. It is some crazy name that I never heard of before. But one reviewer on amazon said they were using A123 cells in the pack so I bought it and they actually do. The real ones, not rebanded Bin2/3's.
     
    #7 2k1Toaster, Aug 11, 2011
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