Case studies - how has your electric bike changed your life?

Bus biker55

Pedelecer
Dec 29, 2019
37
57
56
Tyne and Wear
I am
I am currently using my ebike as a delivery vehicle for the local old folk during this uncertain time. They give me shopping orders, and I go and collect them. I have even taken a couple to medical appointments on the back. It looks as though the whole country is about to grind to a shuddering halt, my bike and my bus will probably be the only vehicles on the road soon!
 

HelenJ

Administrator
Staff member
May 19, 2011
215
373
I am

I am currently using my ebike as a delivery vehicle for the local old folk during this uncertain time. They give me shopping orders, and I go and collect them. I have even taken a couple to medical appointments on the back. It looks as though the whole country is about to grind to a shuddering halt, my bike and my bus will probably be the only vehicles on the road soon!
Good morning Bus biker, thanks for sharing this - the perfect example of combining the flexibility of an e-bike and putting it to the best possible use at the moment. I'll message you for more information shortly but keep up the sterling efforts in the meantime :) Hopefully one or two more examples out there?
 

Emanresu

Pedelecer
Dec 28, 2019
41
17
An ebike hasn't changed my life - yet. Have had 2 failed attempts to get an ebike from internet retailers.

The first one I played ping-pong with the courier who clearly didn't want to deliver on the day I was available so it was going back and forward to the depot. I even offered to pay for Saturday delivery so they said they'd call for payment details and never did. So it went back.

The second one from another large internet retailer arrived but not on the day promised. Luckily due to CV someone was in. When the box was opened, the front tyre was damaged - on a new bike. The retailer helpfully suggested that if I whip of the wheel and take it to an approved cycle mechanic, and order the specific tyre model, spend no more than £30 they would refund me. Very generous of them to make me do all the work. So that's going back too.

If I ever get round to getting one, I'll stick to the bricks and mortar ones, if they are still open.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
I swapped jobs in 2015 to one 9 undulating miles away from home. I used to be only 4 miles away. It's a pretty physical job, so I didn't relish the thought of riding in under my own steam and then having to do the return journey knackered at the end of the day. I considered a moped/scooter, but didn't want the extra complication of tax, insurance, etc.

A Woosh e-bike came up on eBay not too far away and I bought it cheaply. Although it didn't last me long, it convinced me of the merits of electric power. I converted a couple of bikes I had at home with cheap Chinese kits. Again, these weren't exactly overwhelming, but better than nothing. In 2016, someone OTP put an Oxygen eMate up for sale & I bought it. An off-the-shelf bike was so much better than the previous ones and I did a lot of miles on it. I tweaked it in little ways - a Suntour NCX seatpost being the best of the tweaks - and it served me well, despite some fairly major electrical issues.

The Oxygen finally conked out on me in late-2018, just after I'd bought an Ortler Wien with 7-speed Shimano Nexus hub. That bike was a revelation. Instant power delivery and torque sensing made me realise how good the Bosch Active Line system was. I've now just sold it and bought a Cube Kathmandu Pro from someone OTP. That bike is a further step up the power and sophistication ladder and is extremely competent.

I now have half a dozen routes that I can take to work & back; some short and purposeful, others longer and more scenic. In the frost this morning, I ventured out onto bridleways to see what the conditions were like. The ground was hard with the frost and not too slippery. In the summer, there's a route I can take that includes a stretch round the back of Kenilworth Castle across farmland, then another bridleway past a WW2 AA emplacement, a quiet tarmaced bridleway and a canal towpath stretch. A kind soul has placed a bench outside their house and I sometimes stop to have a swig of water. The car alternative is a busy A road and, inevitably, a lot of traffic.

When I drive into work I always find myself cursing at having to do so. On the ride in I often have a smile on my face. Better for me, better for the environment and cheaper, what's not to like?
 
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Alyrpal

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 22, 2020
5
5
I am quite a keen touring cyclist in my late 70's. A year ago I moved from the Chilterns to Mid Devon, I wont bore you with the reason why. I set off on my very low geared Salsa Vaya tourer into the local hinterland and immediately hit a wall of 1 in 4s and 1 in 5s. I had to walk, never had to walk up hills for years. So, I thought if I am going to enjoy the countryside here I had better go electric. Knowing a bit about the effects of electric bikes the fact that you can select the level of assistance you need and still get decent aerobic exercise appealed to me.
I didnt do a huge amount of research but I knew I wanted an ebike I could tour on. Thus, a German Trekking style bike was what I was looking for. These bikes are load carriers, upright, they always come fully equipped with mudguards, strong rack, lights and stand, at least they do in Germany. I spotted a post from someone who hired an ebike in Austria made by Ortler. That was a good enough recommendation for me. Hire companies look for well made reliable strong bikes. I am a fan of Bosch as a company and the bottom bracket mounted motor seems to me as an engineer the best option for a bike. Low centre of gravity permitting the use of gears. So, I chose this Ortler Bozen Performance Trapeze black matt https://m.bikester.co.uk/ortler-bozen-performance-trapeze-women-black-matt-1113173.html and managed to buy it on a summer offer for £1500, a bargain! It has a ladies frame and so its a partial step through. On arrival I was well impressed with the construction and finish of the bike. I have 4 other bikes so I am aware of what is good and bad.
The Ortler exceeded my expectations. It tackled the 1 in 4s with aplomb and even with the motor off it was a pleasure to pedal even with its 24kg weight.
For the last couple of years I havent been able to ride much because of family circumstances but I have ridden the Ortler for practically a year now with no serious problems. The only fault was a loose crank bolt which untightened itself and fell out, easily solved.
I have gradually kept extending my range in this hilly place riding to all the local rural population centres using cycle.travel and Osmand+ on my stem mounted phone to guide me. My longest ride has been a 40 mile round trip to Sidmouth and back, that left me 1 bar on the Purion display. I want to do Lyme Regis but its 56 miles round trip which is quite a hilly ride and beyond the capability of the Ortlers 500Whr battery.
How has an ebike changed my life?... Its enabled me to get out and do long day rides in a very hilly place that would have been beyond my capability on my tourer. And, in the present lockdown that has been good for my sanity. My next step is to get a second battery so that I will be able to do all day ebike rides and in the future go on tour on the bike.
A word on Ortler, a brand I had never heard of...excellent, quality, durability, attention to detail. And the Bosch, great motor and electronics a real pleasure to ride.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
I'll echo your verdict on the Ortler. My Wien 7-speed was a superbly put together machine. I'd still be using it if the Cube I now have hadn't come available. It's a shame the brand isn't more widely available in shops over here.
 
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Misteron

Just Joined
May 16, 2019
3
3
Hi Helen,

Back in the day I was an avid rider, road and track, but my carrear in the Hospitality Industry didn't give me much time to go riding so it was put on the back burner for many years. I'm now 67 and retired with far too much time on my hands and find it difficult to walk very far so I decided to start riding again, only problem was that now I have to take into consideration the Arthritis I have in my shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Undetered I considered the options and eventualy purchased a Carrera Crossfire E. Initialy I found the stress on my shoulders and hips very uncomfortable and painful so I decided to fit a stem extension to raise the handle bars and change my riding posture, hey presto, all pain gone and I can ride for hours lol. Fitting the stem extension completly altered the dynamics of the bike taking the starin off of all the joints making it a pleasure to ride. My daughter commented that I was like a teenager that couldn't stay still lol. Only thing to watch out for is if you have this fitted by Halfords, which I did, they only tighten to 5nt which isn't enough to secure the extension and they don't do a handle bar test, so on my first trip out I ended up going over the handle bars as the handle bars went one way and the front wheel went the other lol, just as well I bounce well!!!
 

maidyju

Just Joined
Feb 13, 2020
2
8
I've lurked on Pedelecs for about a year, whilst researching ebikes (and which one to get!), and have only just started posting.
Why did I get an ebike? A combination of:
-adult-onset asthma annihilating my previous fitness levels (I used to do lots of running and cycling was my main way to get from A to B).
-sitting in traffic getting hacked off at the length of time it takes to go maybe 4 miles.
-figuring that cycling would be a damned sight quicker (were it not for the hills and the fact that I need to watch the asthma!).

So after about 12-18months of figuring out which ebike to get, reading up on the different ones etc, I took the plunge and went for a Carrera Crossfuse (which I got just under two weeks ago). I love it (understatement!). I'm nearly 40 but I feel like I'm 18 again. Hills are a piece of cake (like they were two decades ago), I've cut my commuting time down massively. I've done over 80 miles on it...and that isn't even with me taking it out everyday, as I now need to figure out a good child seat for my 6yr old, so that I can drop her to school/childminder and then go on to work). I plan to use it for commuting (4.8miles each way), school run (2 miles each way) and any trip around town. I'm a nurse on a very busy resp/HDU ward. I'm also a single parent, so using the bike is a way for me to get a decent bit of exercise in, whilst juggling everything else :)
 

Andycap

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 29, 2008
10
7
Cannock, Staffordshire. WS11
I have had an e-bike since 2008 and would not be able to get out and about without it. I have calcification of the achillies tendons which make it really painful for me to walk anywere. I also have knee damage to my right knee. I love going out riding and have always cycled from a young age. I built my bike in 2008 based on a Halfords Apollo FS26S mtn bike and at the time used a rear hub motor for the asistance. This year I changed the motor out for a bafang mid motor to give me more help with hills, and find it is great. Although my ankles are really painfull walking, i do not get much pain cycling with the assistance and am able to go on good rides. 20200706_195047.jpg
 

Trek

Pedelecer
Jun 22, 2013
32
28
I am in my mid 70’s in my younger, fitter days I used to enjoy days out leisure cycling and off road mountain biking. However as the years have caught up I can now only take my dog for a walk. As I now suffer from cardio vascular disease, I find walking any long distance without a rest problematic, and steepish hills a no go. That is until I purchased recently a Volt Axis Shimano Steps bike. WOW distance now no problem, hills, what hills and the icing on the cake my dog comes along and loves it also. Win Win for me
AD24D925-D4A8-4E4F-AE61-016F5D23F77C.jpeg
 

stevelo333

Finding my (electric) wheels
Dec 16, 2019
13
3
As a kid I went everywhere on my bike and loved it - the cycling and the bike, even though it was a very basic six-geared road bike, with added cowhorns and knobblies, but then moved to London for uni and found buses and tubes so handy I got out of the habit of riding. After uni and no idea what I wanted to do, I bought a small motorbike, and loved that too, and then needing work I became a motorbike courier, and went through a few bikes - a couple of accidents, one was stolen, then cash problems forced me to get a cheap bike to keep me working and as it ground to a halt 50 yards from my front door having spent most of the weekend fettling it for the week ahead, I decided enough was enough and started looking for office work. Then a friend dropped by, who I'd met at one of the courier companies - he'd loved 'Guzzies, so I was surprised to see him on a push bike. He'd swapped petrol for leg power, and though the money was less, so were his costs and he was getting fit again into the bargain, and he persuaded me to give it a go, too. I'll get to the point - I did that for a few years, and after deciding I'd had a good run with no serious injuries I decided to get an office job, cycling in to the west end but arriving sweaty - after being a cycle courier, it's nigh impossible not go really go for it and as I progressed up the greasy pole the sweaty cyclist look didn't really fit and so stopped that and then gradually got out of the habit of riding at all.
Then, some 20 years later, having moved to Cornwall, got out of the rat race (though still working) and wishing I hadn't just dumped my Scott, I saw the Gtech ad on telly. I was 56, still smoking 15 a day (I'm trying the patches at the moment), hadn't done any exercise for 20 years, plus a heart attack (complete recovery) and thought that if I'm going to get back into cycling given those factors, I'd go electric. I did no research, but found a refurbished Gtech on eBay, and haven't looked back.
I then bought a Chinese rear hub wheel motor and popped it on a Specialzed mtb (and if the Bosch mid-motors are really so much better than hub motors, they must be amazing!). The Gtech was okay, except for the drag as soon as you go over 15.5mph, but I forced myself to do it and got quite fit quite quickly - and that led me to get a pushbike and now I use whatever happens to take my fancy. I still can't walk up long hills without getting puffed, but I can cycle on pedal power alone for miles - muscle memory, I guess.
My stable has grown - I've got six bikes, 3 pedal powered, three electric, and it's my all-consuming hobby, both in the shed changing bits for the sake of it as much as anything, and riding whenever commitments and weather (10 years working outside - I've done my bit in the rain!) allow. Anyone that dismisses ebikes as cheating is missing the point. They're enormous fun, and can lead to increased fitness, mobility and are simply fascinating too. Strength to all of us!
 
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Gemo

Just Joined
Jul 24, 2020
2
1
Just over a year ago I had just bought a brand new road bike as my fitness seemed good and likely to improve. About the same time as the bike arrived I started experiencing breathlessness and could not keep up with the guys I had been cycling with. There was no obvious cause, but my wife encouraged me to buy an electric bike as she knew how much the cycling mattered to me. I carefully chose a bike that I might be able to ride without assistance if my health improved - a Ribble CGRe AL. Shortly afterwards I collapsed with a pulmonary embolism, apparently fortunate to survive. The view was my cycling fitness helped me get through this. The e-bike has and still does make a massive difference to my life. I was quickly able to get out for rides again and in no time was able to ride on almost equal terms with friends over distance. Also, as predicted by another guy who has a similar bike, it has improved my fitness. It has been worth every penny and certainly made a massive difference.
 
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Woodmaster

Just Joined
Jun 21, 2020
4
5
Hi,
New here so hello to everyone.
had a bike on and off since I was about 9 years old and always appreciated the freedom they gave me. However I sold my last bike about 6years ago to make room for more woodwork machinery in my garage!
But I always missed cycling and so a year ago bought a used hybrid. Kept it for 4 months then upgraded to a better Specialized hybrid. But then COVID arrived.
I decided I wanted to ride more, including using the bike for practical reasons as well as fun. Shopping visits, visiting the kids/grandkids, and generally swapping the car for the bike.
So I spent endless hours on the web and finally decided to get an ebike. Initially I was attracted to the vanmoof but after more reading settled on an Ampler Stout from Germany.
Rear hub drive, hidden down tube battery, fully kitted out with lights, mudguards, pannier etc it looks fantastic, and since June I’ve ridden over 800 miles on it. My wife thinks I’ve lost interest in her!
I’m 64, retired and need to keep fit (ish), and tbh I don’t think I’ve ever been in a better shape since I got the bike. I ride more often, further, on more adventurous routes, and most of the time I’m above the 15.5mph cut off so feel quite purposeful.
a total gamechanger for me. F38E1D87-B76F-4709-B1B3-3BBAC782B190.jpeg
 
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