When, Where, Why, What

[Cyclezee]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

 

[dmcgoldrick]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

1. 10 years ago or more
2. cant remember (years ago in london.....thought it was a moped had a good laugh at it !!!!)
3. fell off mountain bike, bad injury (hospital), not doing mountain bikes anymore...getting too old for the perthshire hills without assistance on an e bike.
4. bought an e bike at great expense......much more than i ever paid for any other bike..... !!!!!!

 

[morphix]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
   
   First became aware of electric bikes probably about two years ago (2009) but only started to take a serious interest in 2010.
   
   
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
   
   Other than my own, I've still yet to see one in use locally!.. I first saw one either on eBay or on a general bicycle store website, and first saw one in use on YouTube.
   
   
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
   
   Looked like a fun thing to own more than anything else.
   
   
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

I did a lot of research, talked to owners, then purchased an electric bike. After trying it out, I decided to have a go at a self-build, and am thoroughly enjoying it.

My purchasing decision/selection journey was difficult and somewhat confusing...initially I was set on getting one of those moped style bikes, then I came around to the idea of getting a conventional bike, and narrowed my choice down to Wisper 905 v Ezee Torque II.

Then, on a whim I purchased a Wisper 905 copy costing £1k. There was nothing really wrong with it, but I decided I could build something better, more to my needs, for much less money.

It took me about 2 months to research what I needed and source the bike and parts but the conversion itself took about 2-3 weeks, working on it at weekends.

Would just like to add...if I hadn't of found this forum I would of been completely lost and wouldn't of had a clue about self-building or indeed what bike to buy..I probably would of ended up with a moped style bike.

 

[flecc]

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?

Either late 1970s or early 1980s with primitive English machines appearing spasmodically. I was well aware of powered bikes before though, since I'd been involved with petrol assist motors from 1950 on in the trade.

Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?

Colchester, Essex, cant remember the name of the company.

Why did you become interested in electric bikes?

Two part answer. My interest in the idea always existed due to the earlier involvement with petrol assist, but my interest in actually using one was in 2003 to make towing a large goods trailer easier in the hilly North Downs.

What did you do about this interest?

Bought a Giant Lafree Twist Lite for £850 from my local Giant dealer. I continued with normal cycling as well, but with advancing years and the Lafree making me less fit I added two eZee e-bikes in 2006. When the eZee Quando proved up to the towing job I sold the Lafree.
.

 

[eddieo]

Blimey....

1. I guess all my interest came from a Google search for e bike forums which brought me here

2. probably on here? in the flesh, I cant remember......

3. I became interested approx 3 years ago when I decided I wanted one for the motorhome

4. bought a used wisper to see how I got on from classified on here. next year bought a new one for wife and shortly after upgraded to a new one for myself

 

[10mph]

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
Not sure. The one date I can pin point is 1 Feb 2009, when I posted on another forum about course measuring asking if anyone had tried an electric bike in order to more easily cope with measuring hilly courses. I had been doing a bit of research before that - probably saw something about an electric bike on the web sometime before that.

Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
I went to a nearby city and asked in a bike shop. They directed to me to a shop which specialised in electric bikes. This must have been January 2009 I should think.

Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
Fitness fall off with increasing years. It was getting very hard to ride smoothly up hills without wobbling/getting off/getting exhausted.

What did you do about this interest?
After my posting to my peers got no response, and after some really tough rides in the winter of 2009/10, on 17 Nov 2010 I got an invite to ride with two fit and younger measurers during the measurement of the London Marathon in April 2011. I knew from my performance 10 years ago when riding with them that I would never keep up for 30+miles, even though the target speed is not really more than 10 m.p.h. So more googling. Discovered pedelecs.co.uk in November 2010. Bike ordered and due this month.

 

[tillson]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

1) 2004

2) A friend's Giant at his home address.

3) Wanted to commute to work. Although I am reasonably fit and regularly run in low level competitions, there are just some days when the effort would be too much on top of a days work. With an electric bike, I can turn the assist right down if feeling energetic or put it on high if I just want to get home with light effort.

4) I didn't think electric bikes were fully viable in 2004, so waited for them to develop further and took the plunge in 2008! (I never fly in a Mk1 anything. That philosophy has kept me safe so far, so I have applied it to bikes too.)

 

[andrewgardner]

1/ 2009

2/ On this forum

3/ 2009

4/ Bought a Alien kit a 36v road legal and fitted it to my 700c ridgeback.

Still going strong 2000 miles later although the battery might be getting a little tired or it might be the cold weather.

Thanks
Andy..

 

[lectureral]

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
In China in 2005 (my honeymoon)

Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
In China in 2005

Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
I lived by the Tyne and worked in the Toon - a steep hill climb too early in the morning for me (Dean St, Gray St for those that know it), but I loved the ride home (like urban skiing it was)

What did you do about this interest?
I bought a horrible Chinese moped-like thing off eBay which lasted about 3 months even with heavy maintenance (£350ish). Then went with the chain-driven ezee kit on a MTB - it started destroying rear wheels after about a year (also about £350ish but then another £150 or so on a new motor and batteries). Around that time I found this forum and was turned on to Kalkhoff, which I bought (3200 CHF - about £1,600 at the time) and have been running trouble free for nearly 3 years (nowadays with 2 children in a trailer behind). I recently just added a Bionx-powered bike (1,160 Eur - about £1,000) for Mrs Lectureral.

I went to the Geneva Motor Show today and realised how much my lust for expensive, pretty and fast cars has diminished over the past few years when I found a display of electric bikes far more interesting even than the new Alfa 4C.

 

[funkylyn]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
What did you do about this interest?Thank you for reading thisQUOTE]

1. 2004
2. when my electric trike arrived in spain from UK, bought unseen from a company on the internet (But it arrived quickly and did exactly what it said on the box....so no complaints )
3.To get fit and lose some weight
4. After the demise of the trike bought a Powacycle Windsor for cycling mainly traffic free paths and to carry on my motorhome when travelling.
Best thing I have ever bought and am about to upgrade to a newer model with more power/range, once I can make my mind up , and am very excited about it.
My bike ranks close to my passion for my motorhome...and believe me, that says a lot

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the freedom of cycling which with my level of fitness rolleyes: ) would not have been possible on a non electric bike.

 

[theskip1]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

1.when i had my boat moored by the towpath about 15years ago and an old geezer came along the towpath on a recumbent and i realized that he wasn't pedaling.
2. see 1.
3. when i lost my licence for eating to many wine gums and had to get to work each day.
4. since then i would not do without my e bike, not even when i got my licence back, to the extent that i now build my own bikes from the ground up and curently have 4 e bikes and one half built.

 

[thingaby]

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?

probably through one of the technology prog.s on tv. Tomorrows world or something similar. I bought a Clive Sinclair kit. Was it called a zike? I bet I didn't go 2 miles with it fitted

Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?

In a shop called gosports near calais. It was a Yamaha

Why did you become interested in electric bikes?

I like novelty. And I became seriously interested through this forum.


What did you do about this interest?

Hung around the forum. Bought an Alien Cruiser to get me going (my son now uses the electrics from that bike on a Raleigh Rudge folder) and then through the forum was pointed towards a Technium - I also like a bargain.

 

[Bikealot]

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this[/QUOTE]

1. I have had a general interest for some years.

2. About 4 years ago when a mature rider seemed to effortlessly overtake me while battling a headwind on my bike.

3. In the last year I moved offices to the limit of my cycle commute range and there are no shower facilities. This focussed my mind onto actually owning a e-bike as a viable alternative to car or public transport and to allow me to arrive in a reasonable condition.

4. I have ordered a Kalkhoff B27 E-bike due for delivery around the end of this month. It took me several months of research and plucking up the courage to spend the cash.

 

[Cyclezee]

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles? Difficult to say, probably about 10 years ago, I do recall seeing some on the web that looked rather moped like and did not think very much more about them.
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time? May 2007, the first one I saw in the flesh was being wheeled around a car boot sale at Milton Keynes Bowl one Sunday morning, it was a stepthru Giant Lafree. I stoped to chat with the owner, for while.
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes? It was really my first encounter with the Giant Lafree that started my interest, that same day I surfed the net and came across Flecc's site. This lead me to the Pedelec Forum and A to B, and then started to search for a La Free.
4. What did you do about this interest? Within 2 weeks, of my first encounter, 9th June to be precise, I was the proud owner of a medium frame stepthru Lafree bought by private sale for £450 from a man in Lincoln. The rest is history as they say.

 

[eTim]

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

1. About 2007, looking for electric motorbikes at first, but then...

2. ... saw electric bikes on youtube, mainly homebuilt USA jobs and the Optibike. I'm sure I remember seeing the granny shoppers years ago but always dismissed them.

3. Fascination for gadgetry and a desire to get fit on a 40mile round commute.

4. I looked at UK suppliers for the Optibike at first but was put off by the lack of support and warranty in the UK. Ended up visiting No-Hills and came away with a Cytronex Synapse. Then I saw the SuperSix on Ebay (owner had won the Gadget show bike) and had to have it (at a v.good price ). Now my wife can join me on pleasure rides and I'm sure she loves riding an electric bike more than I do.

 

[stevebills]

Right, you are reading the Pedelec Forum, hopefully you don't need me to tell you that. So it is to be assumed you have an electric bike, or are interested in them, or got here quite by accident.

I would be grateful if you would take a minute, or as long as you want to answer a few questions. Your answer can be as brief or as long as you like. Indeed, you do not have to answer at all if you don't feel like it.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4. What did you do about this interest?

Thank you for reading this

1 = Christmas 2010
2 = I found this website and an Optibike on youtube blew me away!
3 = wanted to go faster and arrive there quicker
4 = bought an Optibike 600T about a month ago and it rides very well and can do 30 mph on the flat

 

[averhamdave]

Already interesting feedback. Good questionairre John;
My answers:

.

1. When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
   About 8 years ago
2. Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
   About 6 years ago - a friend bought a Powabyke Shopper
3. Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
   I struggled with a normal bicycle in hilly areas because of lack of fitness. I carry bikes on my motorhome and go away quite a lot. The electric bikes have given us so much freedom. Some weeks when away I'll maybe do several 30+ mile trips in the week. Would never have done more than a few miles on a conventional bike
4. What did you do about this interest?
   Bought a Powabyke Euro, secondhand about 6 years ago. (I still have it because I can't bring myself to sell it! - been a cracking good bike) Today I use an Ezee Torq1 and my wife uses an Ezee Sprint. I have had others in between and have been involved in helping friends selecting bikes etc.

Thank you for reading this

 

[carpetbagger]

1. About 5 years ago
2. I saw a Powabyke somewhere.
3. After i saw the Powabyke i found their website on line. Due to the hills around here i decided i could do with a little help to ride a bit further.
4. I bought a Powabyke 6sp Euro which i still have and then a Kalkhoff Agattu 7sp which i now ride everywhere. 30 mile rides are no problem any more. 18a battery due to arrive shortly...then there wil be 70+ mile rides...

 

[Marchant]

1.When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
2.Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
3.Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
4.What did you do about this interest?

A company that does business with my employer was doing the PR for (I think) Powabyke about 10 years ago.
So I saw one in their reception area.
I became seriously interested when my employer moved premises to a new-build out of town site 7 miles from my home over very hilly terrain to the south of Bath. I've always enjoyed cycling but was not prepared to arrive at work all sweaty.
I found a (barely) 2nd hand Oxygen in the classifieds of this very forum next door in Bristol. It's a new dawn...

 

[allen-uk]

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles?
My physio told me about them, some time last year.

Where did you see an electric bike for the first time?
In the flesh, it was Roger's Kalkhoff, over in Greenford, when he was good enough to let me have a go on it.

Why did you become interested in electric bikes?
Because although I liked cycling, I was getting old, and the absence of my left leg (different story) meant that a conventional bike was getting a bit too much, particularly up hills.

What did you do about this interest?
Joined this site, spent a month or two gaining (a little) knowledge, bought a Wisper 905.

Why the mini-questionnaire, Aldby?


Allen.