electric bikes

Agusya

martindow said:

I wouldn't get obsessed over the weight of the bike.  Another 5kg is neither here nor there when you add the rider's weight - 90kg compared to 95kg for instance.

The general opinion is that the legal limit of 250W is quite sufficient to get you up hills.  

The higher-powered illegal bikes are used by drug dealers, etc., often ridden recklessly and far too fast, far over the 15.5mph limit, and so more at risk of getting stopped.  I wish the police were more active stopping and confiscating them in my area.

Ive been reading ppl reviews of bikes that are 250W and they struggle to get up the hill . Will this 250W get me up the hill in connection with something else like a powerful battery? 

Agusya

njkmr said:

100kg rider. Bike with motor etc is heavy but will do 25-30 mph, but I ride sensibly, but I do like overtaking lycra clad blokes on race bikes uphill, exclaiming "morning" as I go by them. Usually accompanied by my wife and we chuckle like holy hell.
To be fair the lycra boys normally laugh as well , at our cheek..

what bike do you have?

njkmr

Mine is a Cube mountain bike and my wifes is a Spezialized Rockhopper mountain bike.
Mine has crank driven motor and my wife's has a rear wheel motor.
Both with 48 volt battery.
Wife's rear wheel motor is 1500 watts and the bike is pretty powerful.

bouicca21

What sort of hill is so steep that a legal e-bike can’t cope?  OP, you do know you have to pedal an e-bike?  If you just want to sail up a hill you’ll need a moped or actual motorbike.

Has anyone checked out the law on e-bikes in Spain ?

Johnmcl7

Agusya said:

martindow said:

I wouldn't get obsessed over the weight of the bike.  Another 5kg is neither here nor there when you add the rider's weight - 90kg compared to 95kg for instance.

The general opinion is that the legal limit of 250W is quite sufficient to get you up hills.  

The higher-powered illegal bikes are used by drug dealers, etc., often ridden recklessly and far too fast, far over the 15.5mph limit, and so more at risk of getting stopped.  I wish the police were more active stopping and confiscating them in my area.

Ive been reading ppl reviews of bikes that are 250W and they struggle to get up the hill . Will this 250W get me up the hill in connection with something else like a powerful battery? 

I've never seen a legal e-bike struggling up a hill even heavier mountain e-bikes with bigger riders can climb faster than a good mountain biker on a normal bike.  As I understand it, the 250w limit is the continuous rating and the bikes can and do exceed that limit for short durations.  The most frequent reason I see for people claiming that legal e-bikes can't climb hills is to justify their illegal e-bikes.

E-bikes are pretty widespread now so it may be worth having a look and seeing if you can hire one for the day to get a feel for it yourself.

Agusya

bouicca21 said:

What sort of hill is so steep that a legal e-bike can’t cope?  OP, you do know you have to pedal an e-bike?  If you just want to sail up a hill you’ll need a moped or actual motorbike.

Has anyone checked out the law on e-bikes in Spain ?

no I didnt realise that <eye roll> I'm obviously looking for something that I dont need to pedal hard and sweat ,up the hill, the whole point. If I wanted to pedal hard and sweat and struggle up the hill I would just use a regular bike

martindow

Agusya said:

bouicca21 said:

What sort of hill is so steep that a legal e-bike can’t cope?  OP, you do know you have to pedal an e-bike?  If you just want to sail up a hill you’ll need a moped or actual motorbike.

Has anyone checked out the law on e-bikes in Spain ?

no I didnt realise that <eye roll> I'm obviously looking for something that I dont need to pedal hard and sweat ,up the hill, the whole point. If I wanted to pedal hard and sweat and struggle up the hill I would just use a regular bike

But you don't have to pedal hard, just pedal and then the electric motor does the hard work.  Hiring one locally seems to be the way to go to see how you find it.

The top speed (legally) of 15.5mph is 25km/h so I imagine the rules for ebikes are common across Europe and the same as ours.

Herzlos

I can get up pretty steep hills with a 50kg cargo bike and 150kg of passengers with a 250w motor. It's not fast but it's fine. 250w is about the peak cycling power of a fairly fit non-professional cyclist, so if a lycra warrior can get up a hill with it you'll be fine with 250w + your own legs.

If the aim is to get up a long steep hill without sweating, you probably want to look for an e-bike with lower gearing instead of more power. Especially on a budget.

I'd try and avoid any illegal imports because there's no quality control, warranty, etc.

I echo the suggestion of hiring one first, that'll give you a better idea of what you need and how much you like it.

lcc86

I have a Mycle folding e-bike, regularly go up hills with it and it's fine, yes you have to pedal but it's more about the gearing. It was just under 1k when I got it, not sure about prices now but it does the job for what I need and also isn't heavy. It's been great for me as I have arthritis but can also get exercise during my commute. There's no legal e-bike that'll get you uphill without you also putting effort in.