enceladus

Ebikes are still an unknown quantity in general. I've only seen one in the flesh (and that was in halfords!), and I cycle every day and see a fair view cyclists. If it wasn't for this forum I would know diddly squat about them too and probably be expressing some ignorance! Its only when you fall into the niche market you realise the value of these machines.

"But guess who is going to pay for all these - the gasoline consumers, and eventually works it way to affect everyone one way or the other" I dont think this is necessarily true in this case. BP will obivously be held to account for this disaster, but they will not be in a position to increase oil and gas prices to recoup losses as prices are set by OPEC and BP's competitors certainly aren't going to be agreeing to prop up BP by all increasing their prices. This just would not be acceptable. Even if the costs run into billions, BP made about 10bn proift last year, nae bother for them to cover it.

Hi Peter, Have you tried your commute with a normal upowered bike. I say this because I have been seriously considering an ebike for my 7 mile each way commute which is fairly hilly and I tried out the run on my mtb and found to my surprise that I can get to work barely breaking sweat at all. We don't have showers at my office so I had the same issue as you, but now I cycle in every day and just hang my work clothes in the office, quick change in the toilets and away I go. Just a thought as it could save you a few bob!! Also my 7 mile commute takes 32 minutes, which is only 10 minutes slower than driving which is far better than I had expected.

Same with me flecc, I get into work take my jacket off and I'm ready to go. Althought its not quite an alternative to walking as there's no way I would walk 7.5 miles to work and back each day! It's an alternative to driving and I love it, so glad I made the change. My car hasn't been driven for 2 weeks now. Sadly I need it for family travels and the like or I would get rid.

Lemmy, I agree with you regarding the look at me factor. I look a complete tosser on my way to work each day in dayglo yellow - trust me I'm not bothered what people think! The only step I wouldn't take is to dress in tights - that is an absolute no-no even if I must get disrespected by the lycra boys as a results. There are a few mtb commuters in aberdeen who dress as normally as possible. I never got the need to dress for the tour de france just to get to work and back!

I would like an iphone believe me if I got one for christmas I would be delighted! My nokia free upgrade does all I want it to, ie make and recieve calls! If I wanted to listen to tunes etc I'm sure I may think differently but the only time I want to listen to music is at home when it would not be required. I can't get my head around cycling with earphones in, I need the sound of traffic etcso I know whats going on. My nokias got satnav, and a radio and good internet access which is handy enough for me. At £15 a month I can't complain. I think the nub of it is I'm not that into phones, I don't want to spend much of my income on a phone, my vices are mtb'ing, playing the piano and looking after the kids, spending money on a fancy phone is not something I'm interested in. But when it comes to a beautiful looking offroad capable ebike, I'd be more than willing to shell out! The iphone is an amazing design and people also love using it, this is the combination I look for in a bike.

Mudguards are a definite necessity on a commuter bike no doubt. I was saved today by mine. I was seriously considering the cytronex option and would have fitted the optional mud guards. Thos bikes look so elegant and retain the beauty of the bicycle so well, but obviously that is down to the hub motor which barely affects the aesthetics. I'm a bit of a sucker for design so it really is important to me when I'm buying anything that I love the aesthetics as much as the practical/performance side too, which I'm sure is true of most people (especially when buying cars etc, I'm sure not many buy a car they find ugly just because of fuel consumption or comfort). Although, saying that, I'm not at all in the style over substance brigade and would never buy something like an iphone when I can get an equivalent product for half the price. As it happens an ebike, sadfly, was not the best option for me a the moment because of some pretty severe offroad terrain on my commute and the fact that most bikes are over the 20 kg mark and I wouldn't want to have to push the bike up a 40deg gravel track when I can't get traction. I'm waiting for the lightweight offroad ebike to come along. Fortunately this time of year I can do the commute unpowered so not a prob.

I own a vw so I'm not against european for sure! I meant in a bikes way, not generally. No offence meant! I think the detail which puts me off the kalkhoff is the swooshy thing on the chain cover!! I'm 34 so I'm certainly beyond the vauxhall corsa league by now I hope! In fact, if I cover up the chain guard area, it looks a real nice bike!

The Pro Connect is obviously a great bike which gets great write-ups on here. Its just a shame it looks so dated, its clearly not designed to appeal to the younger section of the market. Lets just say they look very 'european'!

Cadence Flecc, I was comfortable at about 60rpm today, seems to be my natural pace. Hamish

Did it unpowered! Guys, I cycled to work for the first time today! 39 minutes for 7.5 mile one way (route shorted than expected 8.5 miles due to offroad section), I was earlier than I've ever been as I'd allowed for an hour! My kona was great for the offroad and ok for the road (bit rough with the knobblies on, but I'd pumped them up hard last night so pretty quick). I arrived not in need of medical attention with only a sweaty back due to rucksack. I've not ruled out the ebike yet as conditions were perfect today and nice and cool. I'm just pumped that I got there in good time and really enjoyed the ride. I'm thinking of the e-motion cross deluxe, gepida smirnium (spelling??) or similar which should handle the offroad sections without falling apart. It seems from the replies I've been getting the cytronex hub motor would not cope with the terrain. My main priorities now for an ebike, offroad capability, lightweight, hillclimbing. Thanks for all your invaluable advice so far!

Are you saying if the power was off, there would not be a problem with the freewheel during offroading? Is this just a case of powering off using a button during cycling as I come to the offroad section? I certainly don't need assistance on the really rough section, but some power on the gravel (compacted) would be good as there is a fairly long uphill drag.

Had a Test-Run! Hi guys, I had a test run of my new commute today on my kona firemountain mtb (not electric), got there (8.5 miles) in just under 1 hour, but the weather was beautiful and not a breath of wind so really ideal conditions. The hills were hard work but I was not absultely knackered as I had expected, althoug with a head wind and hammering rain this may not be so! Anyway this has led me to believe even more the cytronex will be the bike for me as I managed most of the journey fine and would like to only use assistance on the long hills which only feature a few times, so I think I should easily manage on 1 charge per day. Also, the weight of the bike is important here as a heavier bike would probable force me into using assistance more often. How is the freewheel on the cytronex bikes? Also, a 1.5 mile portion of my commute is rough gravel with some really rough patches so I think the tyres supplied with the cytronex would have to be changed out for more offroad suitable tyres. Will the power system suffer on rough terrain? Most of the journey is on road, but this section is a good short cut which I would me mad not to make use of as it avoids a fairly busy and fast twisty section of main road. Thanks for your advice so far everyone - my trip today has encouraged me alot as I was worried about my stamina and strength, but it seems this is not so much of an issue! I'm hoping with assistance the commute will be not more than 45 minutes tops. Hamish

Hi Ian, Let me know how it goes on the wisper - I'd be interested to hear. Are you using it for the daily commute? I fell for the cubans if they have to deal with roads as bad as we have in aberdeen. Is this your first electric bike? Did you test ride before?

I really appreciate all the advice given and I can see how passionate you guys are about the subject matter! I'm thinking about everything thats been said, and hopefully I'll make the best decision for my needs. I realise my personal fitness is a big part of it and none of you can know how fit I am, hell I don't even really know what I'll be like cycling to work every day! I see the Wisper as the option for those days when I maybe don't have the energy and this bike could carry me more. It seems the cytronex and trek bikes would demand a lot more of my energy, but they would still be more than capable of transporting me with not too much effort both ways as although hilly the slopes don't go much more than 5% max. Now its really down to me to decide arrggh. On a budget basis it would have to be the Wisper as it comes with all the trimmings I need (mudguards) which I'd have to pay extra for on the cytronex. On the dealer/customer service front it'b be the trek as it seems the only bike I can buy in Aberdeen. For power/capacity it would be the wisper again. For elegance, ride/looks like a normal bike, lightness it would have to be the cytronex.