Finally got to ride the Ebikes

[JudyJB]

We also have these things called hills here, in fact, there really isn't much flat anything, so any bike ride is a huff. A motor would be nice to ah..help flatten some of that out.

I switched to an e-bike in 2013 because my right knee would swell up trying to ride my regular bike. I was also getting to the point where I had to get off and push my old bike up even small inclines, which gets tiring, especially at high elevations. Now I can ride all the way up inclines as long as they are not too steep. Nice to just ride up places you used to have to push a bike up!!

When I stopped at the bike shop to buy my original e-bike, there was a young man there who loved to ride his bike, but his wife had arthritis in her hips and knees, so could not ride a regular bike. He got her an e-bike so she could ride with him.

Also, in one campground, way back then, a man in one of those powered handicap scooters stopped and asked to look at my bike. He got out of the motorized scooter and walked over to ask questions. He said he could walk, but just not long distances, and wondered if the bike would help. I told him that I had mine because my knee would swell up too much because I had caught my foot while going down a museum ship's ladder. Don't know if it will help, but a rental or substantial trial ride somewhere would let you know if one would work for you.

By the way, they do have electric-powered two-wheeled scooters that have a seat on them and a basket up front. You need one that is made for adults and can handle weight, but it is a solution if you are afraid of falling off a regular bike. They look a little like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Beston-Sport...-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=ADRRLUF4D7OYT&th=1

This one holds 300 pounds: https://www.amazon.com/Folding-Elec...x=electric+scooter+for+ad,sporting,160&sr=1-7

 

[Onyrlef]

With a scar on the side of my foot that took several months to heal!! Amazing what scraping on concrete can do to skin and muscle.

Oh, and the other big danger is other e-bike riders. Some think that if it can go 25-30 MPH, they need to ride it that fast. The bike trail at Zion is becoming a serious hazard because there are two bike stores renting e-bikes!!!

We have mostly paved trails here in the dfw, which are for walkers, runners and bikes. The e bikes however aren't as hazardous as the weekend warriors on conventional bikes who ride like idiots around families with kids. A four year old on a bike w/training wheels doesn't know to keep to the right. The speed limit is 15 mph but is often ignored and when riding up on kids it's better to go slow. A child could easily be seriously injured or killed in a collision with an adult moving at 20 mph. I would really like to take some of them to the side and hook them up with one of the literally hundreds of weekend and even weekday rides in the area where if they want to ride fast they'll get all they can stand of it. Racing is for the roads not the sidewalks and not the trails.

 

[xrated]

Here is the one that I bought early last year and I'm enjoying it a lot. 26" x 4" tires, front suspension, available in step through or step over versions, and comes as a Class II, but can be switched to Class III via menu. Color display, 5 pedal assist levels plus off, throttle and a fairly large battery capacity...15 AH? Warning though, it is fairly heavy and comes in at about 73 lb with the battery on. They claim a 45 mile range, but I see 60+....depending on how much assist I use or not. I always try to pedal for exercise, so my use of the assist feature might be less than some would use. The throttle feature is very helpful because some off the greenways that we ride cross vehicle traffic roads and the stop signs for the greenway are at the top of a hill. So taking off from there (after the vehicles have either stopped for us in the cross walk, or the road is clear to cross), I use the throttle to take off because it's uphill. I also tow a small cart behind mine with our dog in it. It's similar to the child carrier carts you see all the time, except it is made for 4 legged animals. The company is Aventon, and this model is called the Aventure......NOT ADVENTURE....there is no "D" in the name. Here is a pic of one exactly like I have...

 

[Onyrlef]

My first (alleged) encounter with an e-bike was a humerous event. I was on the way home from the Tuesday Night World Championship Ride ( called that because every town in America has a Tuesday night after work ride which rolls out at 6pm and is ~35 miles [ A or B group] of pure anaerobic effort). They're fast because they need to get back in before dark. Anyway on the way home on my bike I stop for a light just as it's beginning to get dark and some guy on a recreational granny bike pulls up beside me. When the light turns we both get underway and he starts pulling away from me. If you've ever raced, you know that's like red meat to a wolf, so I kick her into high and start grinding it out, only he is still pulling away. To make a long story short I last saw his tailight when he went over the horizon. It only occurred to me later as I back then could easily ride @ 30 mph for a bit and 25 mph sustained that that must have been an ebike or it was an alien encounter. That's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it.

 

[SMR]

We also have the Sena helmets, we can talk back and forth so we don't have to ride side-by-side. They don't require a cell phone and work really well.

The Best Motorcycle & Action Sport Bluetooth Devices | Sena

Sena's motorcycle Bluetooth communication devices and video imaging systems are designed to inspire your pursuit of adventure. Find out how here.

www.sena.com

Also make sure to get a good bike rack rated for the ebike. We have the Hollywood Racks RV Rider and has been great on the back of the trailer. I always remove the batteries for travel as suggested by our bike dealer.

Since we fulltime the best we can do is cover the bikes so it is nice to be able to remove the batteries and put them in the camper when it's cold or really hot out.

At Driftwood Beach on Jeckyl Island last November

 

[Rene T]

Here’s a couple of pictures of mama ready to go and his and her trikes. I put on a couple of baskets in the rear over the battery. the dog rides in mine. I have a short (3”) leash attached to the basket to keep him from jumping out in case he gets scared. I’m looking for a wire mesh dome I can put over the basket to keep him in.

You can see she is wearing sandals. I convinced her to only wear sneakers because her feet could slide out of the sandals and that wouldn’t be pretty

 

[JudyJB]

. It only occurred to me later as I back then could easily ride @ 30 mph for a bit and 25 mph sustained that that must have been an ebike or it was an alien encounter.

That reminds me that when my first e-bike was new about 10 years ago, a lot of people had never seen one, so I used to get a lot of compliments about my ability to ride uphill and what good shape I was in! I was passing 12 year olds!

One day, I was at Picacho Peak near Tucson and riding my bike. The road is not steep, but is has a bit of a slope. There was no one around, but somehow I fell off my bike. Behind me came an older man (actually probably younger than me) on a bike. He was completely out of breath and huffing and puffing so heavily, I was afraid he was going to have a heart attack. As he came up to help me pick up my bike, he said he had really been trying to catch up with me but couldn't. At that point, I had to inform him that my bike had a motor!! I still laugh at that poor guy working so hard to catch up with a motor.

 

[ConDan]

Here’s a couple of pictures of mama ready to go and his and her trikes. I put on a couple of baskets in the rear over the battery. the dog rides in mine. I have a short (3”) leash attached to the basket to keep him from jumping out in case he gets scared. I’m looking for a wire mesh dome I can put over the basket to keep him in.

You can see she is wearing sandals. I convinced her to only wear sneakers because her feet could slide out of the sandals and that wouldn’t be pretty

I got stitches on my sheen once, never going sandals or flip flops anymore

Here is the one that I bought early last year and I'm enjoying it a lot. 26" x 4" tires, front suspension, available in step through or step over versions, and comes as a Class II, but can be switched to Class III via menu. Color display, 5 pedal assist levels plus off, throttle and a fairly large battery capacity...15 AH? Warning though, it is fairly heavy and comes in at about 73 lb with the battery on. They claim a 45 mile range, but I see 60+....depending on how much assist I use or not. I always try to pedal for exercise, so my use of the assist feature might be less than some would use. The throttle feature is very helpful because some off the greenways that we ride cross vehicle traffic roads and the stop signs for the greenway are at the top of a hill. So taking off from there (after the vehicles have either stopped for us in the cross walk, or the road is clear to cross), I use the throttle to take off because it's uphill. I also tow a small cart behind mine with our dog in it. It's similar to the child carrier carts you see all the time, except it is made for 4 legged animals. The company is Aventon, and this model is called the Aventure......NOT ADVENTURE....there is no "D" in the name. Here is a pic of one exactly like I have...
Damn, nice one. I'm currently kinda limiting my bike riding(prepping for a half marathon, even got myself proper runners(Topo Athletic shoes) since my old one got completely demolished.

Daym, 73lbs is definitely on heavier side, I think one I was borrowing from my brother was around 40(? maybe 45). But it was pretty old and didn't hold charge for long sadly. Still made me want to buy my own one

 

[xrated]

I got stitches on my sheen once, never going sandals or flip flops anymore

Daym, 73lbs is definitely on heavier side, I think one I was borrowing from my brother was around 40(? maybe 45). But it was pretty old and didn't hold charge for long sadly. Still made me want to buy my own one

Just so you know, that 73 lbs DOES include the battery, which is a 15AH battery, and which I remove before transport. So loading the bike on a carrier is obviously easier when it is down to approx. 60/61 lbs. Plus it's a fat tire bike which means that not only are the tires/wheels bigger and heavier, the frame is heavier to accommodate those larger tires/wheels. I like the look of the fat tire bike, plus, zero issues if you encounter gravel/sand/soft dirt vs. the skinnier tire models. Some companies really skimp on the battery to help save weight, and that's OK I guess, just realize that it also affects the ability to travel distance if you have less battery capacity....given the same approx. weight of the bike, rider, etc.

 

[Onyrlef]

Just so you know, that 73 lbs DOES include the battery, which is a 15AH battery, and which I remove before transport. So loading the bike on a carrier is obviously easier when it is down to approx. 60/61 lbs. Plus it's a fat tire bike which means that not only are the tires/wheels bigger and heavier, the frame is heavier to accommodate those larger tires/wheels. I like the look of the fat tire bike, plus, zero issues if you encounter gravel/sand/soft dirt vs. the skinnier tire models. Some companies really skimp on the battery to help save weight, and that's OK I guess, just realize that it also affects the ability to travel distance if you have less battery capacity....given the same approx. weight of the bike, rider, etc.

One detail many fatbike owners don't anticipate is fixing flats or in the case where you're tubeless seating a tire on a tubeless rim. Unlike ordinary bike tires a fatbike tire bead is a beast to get off the rim and ordinary tire levers will just break off. Furthermore a fatbike tire requires a large volume of air and would need multiple CO2 cartridges just to get to a rideable 10 psi or a decent portable hand pump and a lot of pumping. I've found however I have fewer flats if I run at 20-22psi. I've run as high as 30psi but the tires are more prone to puncturing.

 

[SMR]

This is what I carry.

 

[Onyrlef]

This is what I carry.
View attachment 165163

Yeah man, it’ll do the job for punctures as long as the hole isn’t too big. We carried something similar when riding on sew-ups back in the day.

 

[Sabata12]

Has anyone tried to store a folding E-bike in a motorhome? I see that many people use racks for standard e-bikes, but I'm considering one that folds.

 

[SMR]

Our friends folding ebikes fit in large storage bins, they can put them in the basement or back of the jeep.
The size of the bike will determine where you can store it.
See if you can test ride the bike your looking at, we rode several different types and decided to get full size bikes.