Fastest electric bike for long commute?

[asbury]

Hi All,

I am a reasonably fit cyclist with a long 37km each way commute. There are a few smallish hills and it takes about 1h 40 mins to get to work which means early starts and consequently I don't do it anywhere near as often as I would like to.

Is there an electric bike that could significantly cut this journey time or would the 25kph cut-off mean that any gains are small? Being around 30 minutes quicker each way would make the trip a lot more feasible.

I've had a look at the Cannondale Capo Cytronex and the BH e-motion sport deluxe but it is hard to tell just how much difference they would make.

Or do I just have to get fitter?

 

[flecc]

I can't see a substantial cut in that time is possible over that 23 miles which you are covering at an average of 13.8 mph which is quite good. A few models like the Wisper 905se might up the average to around 15 mph cutting 10 minutes from the time which is hardly worthwhile. The Kalkhoff Pro Connect S high speed bike can just cover that range and run at up to 20 mph assisted which could give an average of about 18 mph cutting the time to perhaps 1 hr 20 minutes, but although some here own them they are illegal on UK roads and are expensive, currently costing £2295 and due to rise to £2495.
.

 

[Caph]

There are certainly 36V bikes out there that can do up to 20mph though as Flecc says they are not legal when operated at these speeds and the battery drain is considerably more than the standard 15mph cutoff.

I recently acquired the Alien Ocean Gents Special as a temporary bike while my other is being repaired. On the road it can do up to about 19mph (mild to moderate assistance with a slight tailwind on the flat) if tweaked and it will spin the wheel at 20mph on full throttle with the front wheel lifted off the ground. When testing purely for research purposes with it tweaked I can easily average 16/17 mph without much effort. However I can only get 16 miles on a charge when it is maxed out like this so it wouldn't be much good for you. Two batteries perhaps with a charge at either end? It's only £600 and I guess a spare battery would be around £300. I believe you can buy a DIY kit for even less and fit it to your current bike.

The down side with the Gents Special (or at least the model I got) is that it doesn't have a freewheel so you really are restricted to pedalling within the power assisted speed range which I'm not sure you would like being such a good cyclist. It feels kind of mopedy, like the bike is in charge of the ride rather than you. I would guess this is going to be the case with any bike powerful enough to get speed gains over your already impressive average speed unless maybe the power assistance was torque controlled via the pedal rather than twist throttle controlled by hand as most are.

 

[cirrus18]

Hi All,

I am a reasonably fit cyclist with a long 37km each way commute. T

Riding 23 miles to work, winter and summer, doing a day's work and then ride all the way home again sounds to me like too much punishment.
I don't think electric bikes are really up to the task (getting on for 1000 miles a month) and you will experience lots of breakdowns which would perhaps mean you have to do a lot of peddling. Not very easy on an electric bike which are usually very heavy clonking beasts, big fat knobbly tires, suspension all round and designed for those who just want to sit and go in maximum comfort with minimum effort.

I would have thought that a car or motorbike would be the best option but perhaps that's not something you can do, or even want to.

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[themutiny]

It would be possible on a derestricted Torq 1 with either two batteries or a recharge at work, provivding the terrain was moderate. I can get 22+ miles out of my phylion, and I can average 18mph +

I'm not sure on battery life if you did this day in, day out though.

A bog standard(175) Cytronex would certainly make it easier, but not necessarily that much faster. A 190 equipped one might though.

 

[john c]

fastest bike

Just a small point Cirrus 18 but what do you mean when you said that you would have lots of breakdowns with an electric bike? I have now owned my Kalkoff Pro Connect for 18 months and used it daily for a 22 mile commute with not a hint of a failure. john c.

 

[tillson]

Just a small point Cirrus 18 but what do you mean when you said that you would have lots of breakdowns with an electric bike? I have now owned my Kalkoff Pro Connect for 18 months and used it daily for a 22 mile commute with not a hint of a failure. john c.

I've had my Pro C a similar lenght of time and it has been ultra reliable too.

 

[WALKERMAN]

I've had my Pro C a similar lenght of time and it has been ultra reliable too.

I've had my Pro C for 14 months and it has also been very reliable and in all weathers, used it 5 days a week and averaged 12 mph without trying too hard.

 

[Dynamic Position]

Hi All,

I am a reasonably fit cyclist with a long 37km each way commute. There are a few smallish hills and it takes about 1h 40 mins to get to work which means early starts and consequently I don't do it anywhere near as often as I would like to.

Is there an electric bike that could significantly cut this journey time or would the 25kph cut-off mean that any gains are small? Being around 30 minutes quicker each way would make the trip a lot more feasible.

I've had a look at the Cannondale Capo Cytronex and the BH e-motion sport deluxe but it is hard to tell just how much difference they would make.

Or do I just have to get fitter?

Asbury,

I found a 35% improvement in time with the ProConnect S compared to a standard push bike, but my commute route is only 4.2 miles, 75% off road and 25% on road hill climbing. If I make a comparison with taking the car there are further substantial savings. The ProConnect S bike computer indicates that I average 14 mph. The bike without power is very easy to ride up to 16 mph fully laden on gentle slopes. On the hills I notice a big difference, but the speed with assist is within the range 6 - 12 mph with a reasonable amount of input from me! The biggest advantages for me is being able to arrive at work without having to sweat to get there, as well as the savings made compared to taking the car. It also gives me some exercise. Recently it has been useful to have the assistance to fight the headwind.

It was interesting to read that Walkerman averaged 12 mph on his ProC. I often wondered how much difference there would be between the ProConnect S and the ProConnect on their performance on the steeper hills?

 

[OneWayTraffic]

A Wisper 905 derestricted (simple operation) will do about 19mph.

An Ezee kit from ebikes.ca will do 22mph.

Neither legal.

I guess it comes down to how much you want to bend the law. I personally think a 25km limit is too slow and the requirement to pedal is stupid. What if you have an accident that trashes your dérailleur? With a throttle you don't need to worry about it.

Much prefer the American and NZ laws. Fortunately I'm a NZer.

 

[Mussels]

My commute isn't quite that far and does have some steep hills, I usually ride it on a Wisper 905 but on occasions I've done it on an old unpowered bike. I find that when I avoid the steep uphills then there's not much difference in times, where I have a couple of steep hills the Wisper can shave off 20% of the journey time. I have worked out that through London I achieve an average speed of 15mph but there are loads of junctions and lots of traffic slowing me down.
What the Wisper does well is let me commute every day, sometimes seven day a week where I can only manage 2 or three days on the unelectric bike (not a great comparson as the non electric bike gives me backache after 2 days). That's good for me as I save a lot on trainfares but it's an expensive toy just to save 10 minutes a day.
It does make the trip much more enjoyable, if I feel tired I just don't put as much effort in and fortunately I have a choice of nice routes to take.

 

[cirrus18]

Just a small point Cirrus 18 but what do you mean when you said that you would have lots of breakdowns with an electric bike? I have now owned my Kalkoff Pro Connect for 18 months and used it daily for a 22 mile commute with not a hint of a failure. john c.

I thought that the original poster was intending to commute every day but I have just noticed he said this "consequently I don't do it anywhere near as often as I would like to."
With his very good average speeds he is obviously a very fit cyclist with no doubt a nice lightweight bike designed for PEDDLING.

I personally think he would be much better off saving + - £2000 on what would be a retrograde electric bike and to occasionally undertake such a journey in fine weather on a nice day, it would then be very enjoyable and achievable.

As far as getting an idea of the unreliability of electric bikes is concerned it's what I have gleaned from this forum which is full of tales of woe about motors/controllers breaking down after a very short mileage.
The fact that that after 18 months and around 8000 miles you haven't had a hint of failure I find truly remarkable and you are doing a lot better than what one would expect from a normal pedal bike.

8000 miles is a lot of miles on a bike roughly equivalent to riding from Lands End to John O'Groats about nine times. Which is not bad going for such a little electric motor. Most people would be over the moon to have done that journey only once on an electric bike without breakdown.

From my experience, and I have cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats, made several thousand mile plus trips across Europe, once down as far as the Algarve and a continental crossing of the United States from Washington D. C. to San Francisco.
So in 8000 miles I would have expected to have had to replace the chain about three or four times, cassette at lease once maybe twice, crank once, tires once maybe twice, pedals perhaps once, suffered broken spokes and have to have a wheel realigned etc and I was using first grade Shimano components.

Your Kalkoff is a true winner john c and you must be very very happy with it.

 

[asbury]

Thanks everybody.

It seems it might be unrealistic to expect much of a speed gain without bending the law a bit. I do like the idea of the ride being that bit easier though which in itself makes it more feasible.

Perhaps I am just trying to justify the purchase. I'm always temped by something shiny and new.

 

[Caph]

I think Mussels sums it up best. With an electric bike, even with a low level of assistance, you are far more likely to use it than use a pushbike, even if you don't increase your average speed.

Without my electric bike I would definitely have bought a car for my commute. With the electric bike I don't miss the car at all. If anything I prefer cycling on the electric bike to driving a car.

 

[Sir_Bob]

Hi

You can try the Aggatu for comfort with a big saddle, i am very over weight and took over a pro the other day my journey pass through edge of peak district i think he was on his way out. The hill climbing is like being 40 years younger.

thx

Bob

 

[joanna]

longish communte

I thought I would just add a bit in here. I have a commute of 19 miles each way. I ride a wisper, and do it in 1 hour 20 (going slowly, I love the ride, and stop to watch deer, buzzards, kites etc), with no problem. I always pedal, but get lots of help going up the hills (there are plenty of them).

My wisper ran out of power one day. It took me 2 hours to cycle in.

I am not particularly fast/fit a cyclist and would never consider an ordinary bike for my journey, but I do love my wisper, and can now do the journey up to six (out of ten) times a week.

I am not sure if that is of help, but it might be leverage for persuation (if you are looking for some).

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Joana

I think you must hold the record for the longest regular Wisper commute, congratulations!!

Or does anyone know better?

All the best David

 

[Mussels]

I think you must hold the record for the longest regular Wisper commute, congratulations!!

Or does anyone know better?

All the best David

There are a few people lurking on here that do about 20 miles each way on a 905 but not much over that.

 

[pageal]

Melbourne ebiker

I have a Shogun 21 spd hybrid (frnt susp forks) with 36v 10Ah Li ion battery, which I've used for 16 mo. I ride 34.4. km to Melbourne's CBD for work once a week these days, with an av time around 1'15". I'm 58y old. Bike was $A2000 new 16 mo ago, and they're about $2,700 now.

There's a 14Ah Li polymer battery avail here now for $A900, which weighs slightly less than my 10Ah li ion ($700); and would increase range in flat/calm conditions from 50 to 80 kms. Extreme discharge of battery takes life down from 600 charge cycles to nearer 300. My original battery still works fine on the 34 km trip, @ 16 mo age.

I went from 38mm hybrid slick tyres (knobby on the corners) to 32mm Bontrager race lite hardcase slicks 5 weeks ago. These are kevlar belted. I'm up a gear in most situations, and get in 7th gear occassionally, which I previously avoided after straining my knee a year ago trying to go fast. Bike accellerates more freely now. Back tyre can slip out around corners in wet easier (3 times in 4 trips to work), but has been manageable.

With wind below 15kn I do about 32kmh cruising speed (pedal assisted). With 15-25kn headwind I do about 26kmh. The new tyres let me get further up RR bridges before having to downshift. With a 14kn tailwind yesterday, I hit 38 and 41 kmh at times. 32 kmh is fair to call an average cruisng speed.

I got a second charger for $A100 when I bought the bike, and charge at work to get home. Charge time is 3 hrs normally, and 4 hrs if been into a gale headwind. I was told a charge is worth $0.30.

Your 1'45 min trip time for 37 km sounds 25 mins slow compared with my trip. I do have 16 and 5 km dedicated paved bike paths, and the rest is on-road. I get over one rise of 65m alt. We have a 200w motor limit, but no speed limiting paraphernalia.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

24 miles

There are a few people lurking on here that do about 20 miles each way on a 905 but not much over that.

I had the pleasure to speak to a wisper owner in Suffolk today who needed a new charger fuse. He commutes 48 miles a day into Ipswich and back on his 905se Sport. Single charge.

All the best David