electric bikes

Johnnie Scott said:

Hope this is the correct group.
Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best
prices on line
Thanks

Giant Lafree/Twist is by all accounts the best one. You can find a
buyer's guide on most makes of electric bike at http://www.atob.org.uk

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

in message <[email hidden]>, Johnnie Scott

('[email protected]') said:

Hope this is the correct group.
Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best
prices on line

Ginat LaFree (may now be known as Giant Twist) is widely considered to
be the best (about £850). They do work, and are actually rideable.

However, I'm pretty sceptical of the benefits of electric-assist bikes.
Most are much too heavy to be at all easy or pleasant to ride once the
battery has run out, as sooner or later it will. I strongly suspect
that most users would find a light 700c wheeled hybrid with high
pressure slick tyres a lot less work overall than an electric assist.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Friends don't send friends HTML formatted emails.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Johnnie Scott

('[email protected]') said:

Hope this is the correct group.
Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best
prices on line

http://www.atob.org.uk/Electric_price_tag.html
atob.org.ukElectric Buyers' Guide.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Ginat LaFree (may now be known as Giant Twist) is widely considered to
be the best (about £850). They do work, and are actually rideable.

However, I'm pretty sceptical of the benefits of electric-assist bikes.
Most are much too heavy to be at all easy or pleasant to ride once the
battery has run out, as sooner or later it will. I strongly suspect
that most users would find a light 700c wheeled hybrid with high
pressure slick tyres a lot less work overall than an electric assist.

I'm vaguely considering one for (some) commuting. On a pleasant day,
it would be a waste of money since I can pedal faster than it could
provide any legal assistance. On a cold wet day with a strong headwind,
or a day when I'm recovering from a cold or something, it has more appeal,
and might pay for itself if it meant I was less likely to just take the
car on such a day.
Since the commute is the same distance every day, there's no reason the
battery should run out until it needs replacing (which it will one day,
but it shouldn't happen soon or often).

(I do see people pootling along gently on very heavy electric bikes
with limited range, and they seem quite happy with them. They might be
pointless for anyone who considers themself a cyclist, but if the users
would otherwise be driving the half-mile to the shops they have to be a
good thing.)

I've got a Lafree twist, the cheapest one with no suspension and it's mainly
used by my father in law who is 78 and he loves it. I'm a "proper" cyclist
and never the less I think it's a great machine and really enjoy riding it.
Do not take too much notice of those who say it's better to pedal as
"everyone to their own" is a much better point of view.
It's a good machine and if you want electric assistance it will not
disappoint you.

SW

"Johnnie Scott" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hope this is the correct group.
Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best
prices on line
Thanks

Johnnie Scott said:

Hope this is the correct group.
Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best prices on line

I have test ridden some of the cheaper electric bikes and they were
pretty shoddy chinese imports with clumsy engineering and heavy
components, so as expected were not great rides. Cheap low pressure
tyres and heavy lumps of metal giving a slow and difficult pedal.

But (as previously said) by all accounts the GIANT machines are in
different class. ie. they have the kind of engineering you would expect
from a 'GIANT' type bike.

And as previously mentioned AtoB have them all reviewed. And as with
any bike a test ride is a must really.

Johnnie Scott said:

Looking to buy an electric bike.
Any info on which one to get and best
prices on line

http://kinetics.org.uk/html/electric_bikes.shtml is a good place to
start. Ben may not be the cheapest place on the planet but he knows his
stuff and delivers value.

As suggested elsewhere here, test ride whatever you shortlist rather
than just buy it on the strength of good price and a few lines of text.

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 [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

I've got an electric mountain bike which has a claimed range of 20
miles (my commute is 10 each way so I can't verify this yet as I charge
the bike again at work before the return journey).

I can comfortably cruise at 20-25 mph on mine without breaking a sweat
- which is the reason I purchased it as we do not have showers at work.
It appears I can travel an extra approx 5-10mph faster than other
riders I come across on my commute who are riding hybrids for the same
effort.

My bike is more geared towards pedal assist rather than twist and go
and it is for this reason why it more resembles a normal bike in looks
and weight. If the motor is switched off I can still ride it normally
which I suspect maybe difficult on some of the more heavier and
powerful models.