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electric bikes
Does anyone have experience of buying, using electric bikes.
My wife would like one and they start around £290 (like Powacycle Milan) up to several thousand pounds. Advice much appreciated. Regards Pete |
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#2
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electric bikes
On Mon, 15 May 2006 09:20:37 +0100, "Pete" wrote:
Does anyone have experience of buying, using electric bikes. My wife would like one and they start around £290 (like Powacycle Milan) up to several thousand pounds. Advice much appreciated. The best place to start for advice on electric bicycles is AtoB magazine. Website he http://www.atob.org.uk/ They have a buyers guide there, and the mag itself always has plenty of solid comment and opinion on the best electric options. "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
#3
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electric bikes
in message , Pete ')
wrote: Does anyone have experience of buying, using electric bikes. My wife would like one and they start around £290 (like Powacycle Milan) up to several thousand pounds. Advice much appreciated. I'm a bit of a bore on this, I'm afraid. I seriously suggest she decides how much money she'd be prepared to spend on an electric-assist bike, and then test rides a conventional (not electric assist) bike costing the same amount of money. I'd be hugely surprised if she did not find the conventional bike more satisfactory, and less work. If you compare a £1,000 electric bike to a £200 conventional bike, it isn't surprising the electric bike seems quite good. But if you compare a £1,000 electric bike to a £1,000 conventional bike, you'll be surprised. Something like this: http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=60344 I've worked on and ridden electric assist bikes. They seem to me to create far more problems than they solve. -- (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/ ;; in faecibus sapiens rheum propagabit |
#4
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electric bikes
On Mon, 15 May 2006 12:43:13 +0100, Simon Brooke
wrote: Something like this: http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=60344 Wow, had no idea CD had models like that in their range. Looks quite handsome. "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
#5
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electric bikes
Simon Brooke wrote:
I seriously suggest she decides how much money she'd be prepared to spend on an electric-assist bike, and then test rides a conventional (not electric assist) bike costing the same amount of money. This is good advice because all it will cost you is some time, and following it doesn't in any way require you to find the same thing that Simon does. I've ridden a few electrics at Kinetics (http://kinetics.org.uk/) out of curiosity. Ben is in the upper end of the business, and at that level I can certainly see a lot of good points /for a limited subset of cyclists/. I'm not one of those, and even if I had the cash spare I wouldn't buy one. From what I've seen, if you do want to go down this route and can afford the better stuff it will come out as money better spent than the bargain basement stuff. But for most cyclists I think Simon is on the money. Unless you are quite physically limited (for whatever reason) a good quality human powered bike isn't that hard to get about on and doesn't need batteries charging or nearly as much spent to start with. Do start with a test. If you're anywhere close to Glasgow then call in at Kinetics for a play, and could well be worth dropping a line to for a blether with Ben. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
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electric bikes
Round where I live (which is a hillyish area of Italy) these bikes are
used a lot by pensioners. The type generally favoured is just a normal bike with a small insertable motor assist (centrifugal clutch) which is powered by a torque controlled motor (DC motor with I limit). On the flat they pedal normally (and here the weight of the battery is a non issue). Going up hills they get extra push from the battery. Basicly we are talking about casual bike riding that allows you to go up hills without losing puff. |
#7
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electric bikes
On Mon, 15 May 2006 09:20:37 +0100 someone who may be "Pete"
wrote this:- My wife would like one Any particular reason why she would like one? -- David Hansen, Edinburgh I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54 |
#8
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electric bikes
Don't be put off by all these "real" cyclists. I also cycle a fair bit and I do not have an electric bike but my father in law does. When we got it I rode it a fair bit, so did my wife and daughter, both non cyclists. Without doubt both thought it was "cool" and wanted to use it. FIL uses it regularly and has done for a couple of years. He thinks it's great and can do 25 miles plus just for fun, and he's 80 !
Ours is a Giant Lafree (basic model) which cost 100 new and about 500-600 S/H. Check out the classified ads in A to B mag. Unfortunately the Lafree is now discontinued but there is a new model called the Suede http://www.giant-bicycles.com/uk/030...sp?model=10420 and it's cheaper! Get a test ride and make a decision. Good luck. "Pete" wrote in message ... Does anyone have experience of buying, using electric bikes. My wife would like one and they start around £290 (like Powacycle Milan) up to several thousand pounds. Advice much appreciated. Regards Pete |
#9
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electric bikes
Sorry---cost 1000 new, not 100.
SW "Steve Watkin" wrote in message ... Don't be put off by all these "real" cyclists. I also cycle a fair bit and I do not have an electric bike but my father in law does. When we got it I rode it a fair bit, so did my wife and daughter, both non cyclists. Without doubt both thought it was "cool" and wanted to use it. FIL uses it regularly and has done for a couple of years. He thinks it's great and can do 25 miles plus just for fun, and he's 80 ! Ours is a Giant Lafree (basic model) which cost 100 new and about 500-600 S/H. Check out the classified ads in A to B mag. Unfortunately the Lafree is now discontinued but there is a new model called the Suede http://www.giant-bicycles.com/uk/030...sp?model=10420 and it's cheaper! Get a test ride and make a decision. Good luck. "Pete" wrote in message ... Does anyone have experience of buying, using electric bikes. My wife would like one and they start around £290 (like Powacycle Milan) up to several thousand pounds. Advice much appreciated. Regards Pete |
#10
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electric bikes
Steve Watkin wrote:
Sorry---cost 1000 new, not 100. Ah! thought that sounded a bit too good to be true! Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
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