Electric Cycling to Work, Experience Anybody?

pvr

Hi,
Does anybody have experience of cycling to work on an electric bike?
I am thinking of doing this but would like some views. My journey will be about 20 miles in total to and from work and I would say it is half is uphill and half downhill.

Car journey is about 30 minutes one way, time of bike journey?
Recommended clothing
Recommended equipment
Will I need to take a shower or will I be relatively sweat free?
How do I stay dry in the rain? Is this possible?
Battery issues/comments
Anything else?

bigjl

They sell some nice looking electric scooters at bestbuy, or at least they do at the lakeside store.

They may be a better bet than an electric bike, though they also sell those so you can compare them onsite.

If you are doing this to save time then using a good quality bike throught the gettowork scheme is a better bet in all ways, as you will have the advantage of getting fitter.

johnfarquhar74

Big question, how fit are you?
Stock electric bikes are pretty good at flattening hills but you still need to pedal, plus the bikes are restricted so don't think pedalling like billy-o with the motor on makes you go any faster, generally the motor cuts out after a certain speed, from memory it's around 15mph. Regular cyclists should be able to maintain this average without an electric motor.
I'd personally spend the money you want to spend on an electric bike on a half decent hybrid, tri-cross or roubaix bike. You might not be fit now but you soon will be.
Kit, get some panniers for all your clothes, save your back, take a mini pump/tools/spare inner tubes. Also a good lock/chain?
Clothes, get decent cycling gear that wicks away sweat and will keep you from over heating, cycle helmet IMHO is a must for commutes, everyone trying to get to work an hour ago just means cyclists drop to the bottom of the food chain.
Showers, not everyone does but I would, I used to cycle a commute similar to yours, 10-12 miles each way across Edinburgh(so there were hills). I sweat like the proverbial pig so a shower was a must but I just missed out the shower at my home in the morning, had one at work then had one back home on my return.

Right, 2 things you don't want are rain & wind, the electric bike would help with the wind but if you throw rain in the mix, you are pretty much gonna get wet. I used a weatherproof high-viz upper with wind proof shorts. Trust me, it's not comfortable when your nethers get wet then the wind starts to blow through them. You also get waterproof bootees that go over your cyling shoes but I've never used them.

Hope some of this helps.