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Are e-bikes bringing biking to the masses? At least here in the UK it seems that standard cycling is very common among ordinary people (and a basic bike can be

Are e-bikes bringing biking to the masses? At least here in the UK it seems that standard cycling is very common among ordinary people (and a basic bike can be bought for £50-£100). Whereas e-bikes are mainly owned by the relatively wealthy as they sell for upwards of £1000.

mft_ 5y ago
My observation is that ebikes broaden the group of cyclists to people who (for example) might otherwise consider themselves too unfit or elderly, or who would be put off cycling due to living in a hilly area, etc. They also broaden the times a bike is used vs. some other mode of transport - for example commuting for people who would not want to arrive at work wringing in sweat and in need of a shower, or carrying heavier loads, or towing a child to school in a trailer over a longer distance, etc.
- pjmlp 5y ago
  They don't do anything against rain and snow.
  - Fricken 5y ago
    Might I suggest clothing? There is clothing available now that can be used to protect our frail, naked bodies against the punishing elements.
    - pjmlp 5y ago
      Indeed, yet they are hopeless against proper rain and snow, but I guess some people are masochistic. I am used to Scandinavian, German and Swiss winter. Cycling with rain or snowstorm, only when no other option is available.
      - Fricken 5y ago
        I am used to Canadian prarie winters. You're doing it wrong.
      - thrashh 5y ago
        I ride in rain and the only part that I don’t like is my face getting pelted, but the rest of me stays dry with the right clothing. I admittedly do go camping in snow and whatnot but I find the biggest barrier people have to doing these things is not knowing the equipment that you can bring to make it nice. The worst part is actually probably mitigating rust IMO.
RegW 5y ago
Conversion kits start at around £150 and can be fitted to that £50 bike. The biggest issue I see for higher priced bikes is secure parking (as mentioned in the article). No one provides secure/supervised parking and its tricky to get insurance. You can't really lock any nice bike outside the supermarket and always expect it to be there when you get back.
- gambiting 5y ago
  Do they start that cheap? I'm looking at this website and there's nothing even close to that price: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-electric-bike-conversion-kits-give-your-current-bike-a-power-boost/ https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-electric-bike-conv...
  - RegW 5y ago
    You are right. My minimal research was inadequate. There are some shonky kits on EBay for £53 that don't include the battery. At least one on Amazon for £80, but looking more carefully its probably looking more like £350 to £400.
- dreamcompiler 5y ago
  If you want 250 watts or less for a bit of assistance with pedaling and ~20 miles of range, a conversion kit is fine. But if you have to deal with serious hills or want to use throttle-only, 250W won't be enough. IMO 750W is the bare minimum for that, and it requires a bigger motor, bigger battery, and disc brakes.* That costs a lot more and it's easier (and probably cheaper) to just buy the whole bike than convert what you have. *Disc brakes are essential for higher-powered e-bikes because such bikes move faster and are much heavier than regular bikes. They need more serious stopping power than rim brakes can provide.
  - RegW 5y ago
    Currently 250W and 15.5mph are the current legal limits in the UK. If want buy bigger and take it on the road without registering it as a motorbike, getting an MOT and insurance or paying your road tax, then you may find the rossers feeling your collar. I ride with a friend who has gone MTB electric. I leave him behind on the flat but he gets it back on the hills. He's fine for well in excess of 40 miles. Range is mainly an issue of battery size not the wattage.
duxup 5y ago
My experience is similar, mostly enthusiasts with e-bikes. It doesn't seem like the masses have adopted them yet as far as buying a bike goes. It's a very expensive risk / unknown result for most folks who don't alredy bike.
gambiting 5y ago
Living in the UK myself, I just wouldn't dare owning an e-bike and using it for anything outside of recreation, the theft of bicycles is crazy high, and the high purchase price is just not worth the risk. Yes you can get insurance but they usually have loads of exclusions so if you actually want to commute to work or to shops and leave the bike anywhere(even with a good lock) it's dodgy in terms of insurance. On the other hand my £50 scrappy looking bike deters theft by just looking too cheap to steal so I don't mind using it for commute.
verbify 5y ago
£1000 is relatively cheap for a one off transport cost. An annual tube fare is between £1480 and £2708 depending on how many zones you want to travel in.
TulliusCicero 5y ago
Yes, though it's taking a while, and you're not wrong that it's hitting more affluent demographics first (not unusual for new tech though).

mft_ 5y ago

My observation is that ebikes broaden the group of cyclists to people who (for example) might otherwise consider themselves too unfit or elderly, or who would be put off cycling due to living in a hilly area, etc. They also broaden the times a bike is used vs. some other mode of transport - for example commuting for people who would not want to arrive at work wringing in sweat and in need of a shower, or carrying heavier loads, or towing a child to school in a trailer over a longer distance, etc.

pjmlp 5y ago
They don't do anything against rain and snow.
- Fricken 5y ago
  Might I suggest clothing? There is clothing available now that can be used to protect our frail, naked bodies against the punishing elements.
  - pjmlp 5y ago
    Indeed, yet they are hopeless against proper rain and snow, but I guess some people are masochistic. I am used to Scandinavian, German and Swiss winter. Cycling with rain or snowstorm, only when no other option is available.
    - Fricken 5y ago
      I am used to Canadian prarie winters. You're doing it wrong.
    - thrashh 5y ago
      I ride in rain and the only part that I don’t like is my face getting pelted, but the rest of me stays dry with the right clothing. I admittedly do go camping in snow and whatnot but I find the biggest barrier people have to doing these things is not knowing the equipment that you can bring to make it nice. The worst part is actually probably mitigating rust IMO.

RegW 5y ago

Conversion kits start at around £150 and can be fitted to that £50 bike. The biggest issue I see for higher priced bikes is secure parking (as mentioned in the article). No one provides secure/supervised parking and its tricky to get insurance. You can't really lock any nice bike outside the supermarket and always expect it to be there when you get back.

gambiting 5y ago
Do they start that cheap? I'm looking at this website and there's nothing even close to that price: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-electric-bike-conversion-kits-give-your-current-bike-a-power-boost/ https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-electric-bike-conv...
- RegW 5y ago
  You are right. My minimal research was inadequate. There are some shonky kits on EBay for £53 that don't include the battery. At least one on Amazon for £80, but looking more carefully its probably looking more like £350 to £400.
dreamcompiler 5y ago
If you want 250 watts or less for a bit of assistance with pedaling and ~20 miles of range, a conversion kit is fine. But if you have to deal with serious hills or want to use throttle-only, 250W won't be enough. IMO 750W is the bare minimum for that, and it requires a bigger motor, bigger battery, and disc brakes.* That costs a lot more and it's easier (and probably cheaper) to just buy the whole bike than convert what you have. *Disc brakes are essential for higher-powered e-bikes because such bikes move faster and are much heavier than regular bikes. They need more serious stopping power than rim brakes can provide.
- RegW 5y ago
  Currently 250W and 15.5mph are the current legal limits in the UK. If want buy bigger and take it on the road without registering it as a motorbike, getting an MOT and insurance or paying your road tax, then you may find the rossers feeling your collar. I ride with a friend who has gone MTB electric. I leave him behind on the flat but he gets it back on the hills. He's fine for well in excess of 40 miles. Range is mainly an issue of battery size not the wattage.

duxup 5y ago

My experience is similar, mostly enthusiasts with e-bikes. It doesn't seem like the masses have adopted them yet as far as buying a bike goes. It's a very expensive risk / unknown result for most folks who don't alredy bike.

gambiting 5y ago

Living in the UK myself, I just wouldn't dare owning an e-bike and using it for anything outside of recreation, the theft of bicycles is crazy high, and the high purchase price is just not worth the risk. Yes you can get insurance but they usually have loads of exclusions so if you actually want to commute to work or to shops and leave the bike anywhere(even with a good lock) it's dodgy in terms of insurance. On the other hand my £50 scrappy looking bike deters theft by just looking too cheap to steal so I don't mind using it for commute.

verbify 5y ago

£1000 is relatively cheap for a one off transport cost. An annual tube fare is between £1480 and £2708 depending on how many zones you want to travel in.

TulliusCicero 5y ago

Yes, though it's taking a while, and you're not wrong that it's hitting more affluent demographics first (not unusual for new tech though).