Electric bicycle - pros and cons?

Hootie19

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am going to get the job I have applied for and am planning ahead! (I am currently employed as a temp and have applied for permanent.)

It is for a local authority and they take part in that hire/buy a cycle thingy, so I would be thinking about getting a new bike under that scheme and commuting the 2.5 - 3 miles to work on it.

As I have rheumatoid arthritis, I have slightly dodgy knees, so was wondering about an electric bike. I am also considering whether the folding ones are as good as the standard ones, as I'd like to be able to take it in the car and am not overly keen on a bike rack for the car (not even sure if an electric bike would be too heavy for a rack).

So - has anyone got any particular pros or cons they could tell me, as to whether to get a standard hybrid (Pashley or Dutch type, if I can find one small enough - only got short legs!) or go for an electric one. (I had a very quick look on the intranet, and electric bikes are included in the hire/buy thing - can't for the life of me remember the name of the scheme off the top of my head!)

ailuro2

It's the cycle to work scheme, well that's what it's called at my work.

The electric bikes I read about are £1500 each, that's a lot of money for a 20 minute bike ride.

I'd wait till I got the job then find someone who lives near me from work and lift share with them.;)

emmell

I have arthritis in both knees and found riding a standard bike almost impossible when it came to hills, but I had been advised to excersise
to keep them mobile. I am now (thanks to hubby) the proud owner and rider of two electric bikes. One is a city (hybrid type) that I keep at home and the other is a folder I keep at our holiday caravan. I can't believe the difference when riding, I can now ride (not get off and push) up steep hills with the electric assist. It's so liberating, I can keep up (and sometimes leave behind) with my hubby.
They are expensive, but in my mind, worth it. The city bike is a City Light mk 11 from 3E Ltd, Harrogate, N. Yorks, RRP £900 but I'm sure it can be got cheaper. Halfords do one, I thinks it's an Urban Mover, that's a nice bike too. The folder is a Powacycle Lynx, I paid £300 second hand but like new. I would recommend either but I wouldn't want to fold the Lynx on my own it's still a quite heavy bike.
I would recommend one especially with bad knees. Because I use mine for leisure and keep fit purposes I try to pedal without assistance as much as possible but being able to set off at junctions just by twisting the throttle, it gets me up to speed quicker than if I tried to pedal from standing still.
ML.

forgotmyname

Dont you need to pedal them for the motor to work? Or did they change the law on that?

Pedal assisted not fully electric, You cannot just press a button and go, You had to pedal for
the motor to kick in.

Fully electric with a decent speed and range would make them great for a lot of people, But they
bring out silly laws and they get banned or need insurance etc..

emmell

Pedal assist, pedal only or twist and go. Limited to a maximum 15mph depending on the terrain and weight of rider.
I use twist only to get going, pedal only on flat terrain and if I feel the pedals are getting too hard to push, I twist the throttle and pedal as well.
There is a pedelec forum which is quite interesting.
ML.

Hootie19

Thank you (sorry for late reply) for your replies - particularly emelle

I am still thinking of getting an electric bike, but now my friend has thrown a spanner in the works. She has a Giant electric bike and was saying that she can't go out when it's raining as the handbook says not to get the bike soaked.

OK, I can understand not getting the battery soaked, but surely they can be protected in some way - hers are stored in a pannier type bag. Can you get waterproof pannier bags? My intention is to cycle through all weathers, other than snow and gale force winds, so if I can't go out in the rain, then it's maybe not the right thing to be thinking of buying.

They're a lot of money to spend a good deal of the year tucked up in my cycle shed!

emmell

As I don't need my bike for commuting, purely for pleasure, I wouldn't tend to go out in the rain but I have been caught in drizzle and because of the electric assist I got back a lot quicker.

I just googled 'can I ride an electric bike in the rain' and there were lots of answers, most of the hardened bikers say yes but it's up to you to read the replys and make your own mind up. They are expensive but I have a very expensive non electric bike that I haven't been able to ride at all (not even in fine weather) because of the Arthritis in my knees. I'm hoping physiotherapy, weight loss and excersise (including cycling) will help.
ML.