UKH

Anyone got experience of E road bikes?

I've been considering it as a possibility...

Basically where I live means that the last number of miles home are very hilly, steep or long with no alternatives. I've been putting the bike in the car recently and driving for between 3 and 5 miles to avoid the struggle of getting back home after a ride.

I've ridden for a long time but have been disinclined a bit lately with the car option or the gruelling end to my rides so have thought about an E bike to assist in the last bit of the ride....any advice greatly received...

In reply to abr1966: haven’t got one but, as the power cuts out around 16mph then it’s probably a good option for you. You’ll spend most of your time above that threshold on a road bike so will still get a reasonable workout, but will have that boost to get you home at the end.

In reply to abr1966:

You'll need to be disciplined and make sure you save the battery for the last leg....

Some of them do look like a blessing for tired legs - the number of times I've crawled up my local hill on the way home from a vigorous club ride....

In reply to abr1966:

I'm not clear on all ebike tech as I'm looking at retrofitting a BB mounting one (possibly, not sure I'm old/decrepid enough to justify).

I have only 7 miles but 600ft ascent on my way home.

Big question for me is whether there loads of extra resistance to overcome when you're not running the motor? That seems that case for the BB mounted ones, but not I'm not clear for a dedicated e-bike?

In reply to Removed User:

I 've got a dedicated e-bike .

It really drags when switched off. Not sure if this is the case with all e bikes. Surely the better ones dont have this design flaw .

In reply to Rick Graham:

I seem remarkable that the mid-drive versions don't have some clutch based system to disconnect the motor when not in use.

It's the one thing putting me off converting my MTB.

In reply to Rick Graham:

I have friends who use ebikes on the road and  only resort to a boost on hills and generally seem to return home after 80 km or so with at least 75% battery left. One uses a Specialized hybrid  and another the Boardman gravel ebike. I think that on the latter, you can take the battery out if you are going to ride somewhere flatter and dont want the boost or extra weight. When I had some health issues, I looked at the Ribble and Orbea offerings... both looked good but I have managed to postpone a purchase for the moment!

In reply to Rick Graham:

No doubt the extra weight of an e-bike doesn't help. But then not all e-bikes are the same, but they really are a godsend on the hills, that is when the gradient isn't too great. My battery is good for nearly 100km.

In reply to Rick Graham:

Haven’t kept up to date, but Fazura used to (some 6-8 years ago so could well be discontinued now) do a battery and motor setup that could be completely removed from the bike if not required to lighten the weight. Its motor by design had little or no resistance when switched off apparently, and pedalling was normal except for the extra few kgs and slight handling differences, iirc.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Road.cc did a review

https://road.cc/buyers-guide/best-electric-bikes

At the better end of road e-bikes I think the extra weight doesn't matter that much. TT bikes are heavy - but once you're up to speed it's aero and rolling resistance that matters. Weight will help on the downhills - and only be a hinderance on the uphills (but that's why you've got the motor!).

Of course, in the neck of the woods, you could cycle east and avoid the 'end of day hill' effect by having hills all day!

In reply to abr1966:

I'm getting on a bit so decided to splash out and bought a Trek Domane LT+ carbon bike 2 years ago. Shimano Ultegra gearset, Fazua Evation battery, 250 Wh, 32 with tyres. Great bike! Fazua system disengages when not pedalling so no extra drag. I can do about 50 miles with one or two 1-in-4 hills in Yorkshire Dales or Moors and a bit of battery left. Still an effort to get up these hills but no way I could do them without battery power! Lovely ride. Bikes noticeably heavier lifting etc but on the level can hardly notice.  But pricey, £5k+ and on the flat averaging >16 mph battery not in use and unnecessary, so only get such a bike if you're doing less than this speed i.e. hilly routes. HTH 

In reply to Removed User:

I’m sure mine does have a clutch or similar to disengage the motor. I frequently turn the motor off on longer rides with no discernible drag.

In reply to abr1966:

I've got a Ribble E bike. And find it essential when cycling in some of the dales near me in Masham. Battery life not that great if I cycle on full support. But its not particularly heavy and looks in many ways like a normal bike. Ribble bikes are well known and came out to me in North Yorkshire to sort out some problems I had when still under warranty.

In reply to abr1966:

I have a specialised e-gravel bike, which is virtually the same as the road model other than the tyres.  Have to say for me it's a game changer as I have poorly knees. I have lots of hills near me and this is really the only time I get any real assist. On the flat and downhill I am going faster than the 15.6 mph kick-in point, but the motor still stops any drag, so battery life is good.  I can easily get 40-50 miles out of one charge.  I have a full carbon version and although it weighs 12kg it is not too bad given it is an e-bike.  I love my e-bike