Hard8s

Anyone have an electric bike that they are using for commuting? I am pondering this but would like some input from other users. There are a bunch of different ones out there on the market, and I was hoping for a little feedback on them. I have 22 mile commute, one way. It takes me 30-40 minutes in the morning and 50-60 minutes on the way home. There are enough back roads and frontage roads to not need the freeway, and they have a no interest loan program available. Any input on a bike that would make that distance would be appreciated.

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, then wipe this smile off my face!

MSD

I don't know enough about electric bikes to be helpful but you might get some good answers if you ask the same question in the motors forum. You could either post the question there, or I could move the thread for you.

Hard8s

I figured it was kind of a general topic but I can ask it there as well.

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, then wipe this smile off my face!

maleficent

I've seen some that look like electric 12 speed bikes, others that look like mo-peds and others that are more motorcycleish looking -- then there's the Vespa or scooters. Which are you looking at.

Would you just use this for the warmer weather, are you in an area that gets ice and snow? What about rainy days?

Is there a place to keep it safe while you are at work, and at home?
Do you carry a briefcase or anything for work, is there a place to out that?

My brother has a Vespa that he loves and uses it to go to and from work. It's a really neat little vehicle.

If it's electric is there a place to be able to charge it up? That'd kinda suck to run out of juice 1/2 way home.

__________________

iamnormal

I don't know anything about them. I've see this company on tv showing its new electric motor and they have a bike with the motor.
http://www.wavecrestlabs.com/applica...transport.html

DelayedReaction

There's always the Segway, for the ultimate in nerd-based transportation.

www.segway.com

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, you must be having an orgasm.

BigGov

Segway for 22 miles is far too far.

22 miles for a scooter is pushing it.

I think he's looking at the possiblity of an electric bike because the roads are crowded but the sidewalks or shoulders aren't, so a scooter is out of the question.

Sorry, but I have no clue.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

apeman

electric bikes

more electric bikes

you could probably go nearly as fast on a mountain bike as some of these... what's the terrain like? hilly or flat? I could cope with 20 miles flat each way I think...

have you seen those reclining bikes? they're pretty good e.g. easy bikes

__________________
pain is inevitable but misery is optional - stick a geranium in your hat and be happy

DelayedReaction

I would suggest against getting any kind of a bike for a 22 mile commute. One day of rain is guaranteed to ruin your day.

A motorcycle might be a decent alternative. They're more manueverable than cars, and more fuel efficient as well.

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, you must be having an orgasm.

Hard8s

I work in Santa Cruz, CA. The weather here is good about 9 months out of the year. I am really looking for electric bikes. As for the Easyracer. The factory is actually in town. I do not want a scooter, or vespa. I do have some place to charge it and to keep it. I work in a Power Plant.

I was thinking more along the lines of this
type of electric bike. And I was really hoping for a recommendation from someone who uses one, to see if they will make the distance.

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, then wipe this smile off my face!

Rodney

Hey dude, fellow Cruzado here. And it's true, e-bikes are very popular here. What the other TFPers don't know is that the weather's great around here most of the time, so bike commuting throughout the year isn't as much a problem as it would be elsewhere.

A couple of years back there was an e-bike expo over at Cabrillo College and I rode several different models. You have basically two types: power-assisted pedalling, where the motor actually moves the crank for you/with you, and the type where the motor applies power directly to the front or rear wheel with a roller, not through the crank.

Frankly, the problem with e-bikes is that, when you _don't_ have the power on, it's like riding the biggest, clunkiest cast-iron old Schwin you can imagine. The bikes weigh over 50 pounds. So they're not a joy to ride _as unpowered bikes._ But if you have a great many hills to climb or distance to travel, so that the ride wouldn't be practical otherwise for you without a power assist, I'd say go ahead. The bikes that apply power directly to the wheels let you set the amount of power assist you want, so you can do half or more of the work and let the battery do the rest, thus giving you a reasonable workout and also stretching the battery. I found that type of e-bike easier to use than the powered crank models, which were even bulkier and heavier.

I'm attending UC Santa Cruz these days, and I do bike up there sometimes on my unpowered bike; it's a huge climb from downtown, and I'm treated almost every weekday to the sight of several faculty members on e-bikes zipping blithely past me up the bike trail as I sweat bullets. So there's definitely something to be said for e-bikes!

Hard8s

Yeah, I live in Watsonville and work at the University. It is that last hill That I am really worried about. After going 20 miles is the bike going to have enough juice to go up that 800+ feet?

__________________
If ignorance is bliss, then wipe this smile off my face!

cj2112

taken from the ebikes website:
I'd take that as a probably not....perhaps there is a place that rents them, or will let you test ride one so you can see if it will meet your needs.

Rodney

I kind of agree with CJ112. 20 miles is probably pushing it, especially with the hill at the end. The people I've talked to who use them don't commute that far -- from Santa Cruz, maybe Live Oak, up to the University. They're not about long range, just about a power boost to get up that damn hill.

You should talk to some of the local dealers. There's also a place in Santa Cruz, Electric Sierra Cycles down near Beach Hill, that rents e-bikes, if you also wanted to try one out.

I do understand wanting to dodge that commute. I've been commuting in the opposite direction -- Santa Cruz to Watsonville -- and I've seen what it's like. Highway 1 sucks.