Am interested why existing or potential customers bought an e-bike?

Just some thought starters-

Because you wanted an inexpensive transport to work

Because of the increasing high cost of fuel

Because you wanted some exercise but needed help up hills

Because you want a mini moped and don't want to pedal

Because you are green and this is a small planet saving contribution

Because you have a caravan or motorhome and need transport to the local town

Because you enjoy roaring past uphill the lycra clad sports cyclist

Because you want to cycle to work and arrive fresh and not sweaty

Because your partner needs help to keep up with a fitter rider

Because you want to leisure cycle without undue effort

.......any other reasons

 

In designing bikes or attending shows it is useful to me in knowing why you bought an e-bike or what you are looking to achieve from an e-bike purchase.

Dave

KudosCycles

For an easy way to travel from point A to B with the minimum amount of hassle.

 

EBikes have the advantages of:

- being able to go over traffic jam

- allow me to forget about the overpriced and slow london tube

- easy to park

- ability to bring it inside buildings

- ability to carry it home

- no need to peddle

- and with a mini bike such as a brompton I can also carry it when I'm shopping and fold it under my desk or restaurant table

 

Really really convenient way to travel

To arrive at work without being too tired, whilst maintaining some exercise

For the environmental benefits over the infernal combustion engine

To regulate the time of my journey to work, headwinds and fatigue aren't a problem

To transport the kids by bike without so much effort

And I suppose to be abit different!

We wanted 3 bikes with approx budget of £1,000 each. Our 'local' electric bike shop turned out to be Electric transport shop Cambridge which either 45 miles by car or 9 miles to the local railway station then by train. We all wanted hub gears for easy maintenance.

 

Reasons / Requirements

 

Me

 

To get some exercise and fresh air while commuting to work April - September

To avoid the hassle of parking when I get to work

30 mile round trip on forest paths / dirt tracks / C class roads and cycle paths so need some off road capability and long range

Hub gears

Diamond frame

Quiet battery charger in case I need to top up at work

 

 

Wife

 

To get some exercise and fresh air while commuting to work April - September

23 mile round trip on C class roads to work

Hub gears

Integrated lights connected to bike battery

Step through frame

 

 

Daughter

 

To get to college every day (No bus service)

22 mile round trip in summer on C class roads

8 mile round trip in winter to the nearest bus stop on C class roads

Hub gears

Step through frame

 

What we ended up with

 

Me - Smarta GT8

Wife - Ezee Sprint Eco

Daughter - Smarta LX3

 

I would have seriously considered Kudos had they been available at the time.

To help with pulling large trailer loads in a hilly area, then ridden in parallel with my unpowered bikes for a while. The e-bike made me lose fitness though, so it became all e-cycling then.

I bought a Izip Ezgo of e.bay for £250 as new condition to see if e.bikes are for me,yes they are,i shall keep the Izip for the rest of this year,its used for popping into town(3 miles) and liesure runabouts along tow paths and lanes.I shall be looking at the Kudos folding range when i do decide to change,they dont seem to charge an arm and a leg for their batteries.

> Because you wanted an inexpensive transport to work

Well that would have been nice but given my commute is 5 miles each way the pay back period is quite long. However, the money is invested now and I'm inflation proof given the ever increasing cost of the petrol alternative - so maybe it won't be quite as long. Of course, you do have to factor in a replacement battery at some time. So this can't be the major consideration for most people.

 

> Because you wanted some exercise but needed help up hills

Oh boy yes. I tried a conventional bike and I arrived at work with painful knee joints.

 

> Because you want to cycle to work and arrive fresh and not sweaty

I still get quite warm but not as much by a long chalk as on the conventional bike.

 

> Because you want to leisure cycle without undue effort

Certainly that's a consideration for me.

 

The major reason was I'm in my late 50's, a little overweight and diet alone isn't going to either get the weight off or get me any fitter. It gets hard to exercise as you start to wear out a bit and cycling is helping me in that regard.

 

I hope that helps Dave.

 

- Brian

Kudos Tourer

Main reason for me is help to get up the hills

To regain fitness.

To overcome hills and headwinds.

To regain the enjoyment of cycling.

To attract attention to the joys of cycling.

To have a stylish environmental-friendly vehicle.

To stop using the car for commuting and general 'running around', saving on fuel.

To regain fitness.

To be a bit 'Green'.

Cheapest way to do my 28 mile round trip to work and have some energy left to do actual work.

Now turned into a bit of hobby meddling also.

Had 4 operations on both my knees in the last 3 years and could not ride a normal bike without major suffering now i can enjoy cycling again without most of the pain.

I work in an oil refinery control room. I sit in front of 16 computer screens for 12 hours and it involves NO physical work at all. I get plenty of time off but I wasn't doing any exercise and was becoming REALLY unfit.

So, I bought an E-bike. I wanted an E-bike as I knew I'd never use a proper bike. I didn't buy it as an alternative/cheap form of transport. I didn't buy it to be green. I've never once used it to get to work.

 

I've had it 9 months now and I've done 770 miles. It has been the best 'toy' I've ever bought. I've cycled to loads of places up wee roads I'd not be taking a car.

 

It worked, I feel fitter and healthier than I was before the bike.

I wanted:

Inexpensive transport (or at least cheaper than the train).

Easy to park, in London motorbikes are not.

Exercise, but not so much I end up knackered.

A pleasant commute, the ebike is a much nicer ride than a motorbike and almost as exciting.

Reliable transport, it's great having something that works when it's icy and all other transport systems have failed.

When my work moved out of beautiful Bath to a soulless business park seven miles south I was utterly cast down as I apart from the inconvenience, I hadn't driven to work since the early '90's. I put up with it for a year or so and then found this site and advertised on it a barely-used 2nd hand Oxygen. That was August 2010, since when I have racked up 2700 miles cycling to work virtually every day and only driving between the end of November and end of Feb between which dates the commute is far too dark and frankly, scary.

I've always loved cycling but my 7 mile commute is VERY hilly and I just knew that I would need assistance if I were to do it every day. Also I just couldn't face the hassle of showering and changing every time I arrived. The ebike is a wonderful solution to green, fitness-improving commuting and I absolutely love it. When the time comes to change I will be having a good hard look at Kudos cycles...

several people inc .myself seem to be looking at the Kudos range of bikes,happy days are here again Dave if this trend continues.

Bit of a review so far-

Some exercise but not overdoing it.

Hub drives are liked

30 mile range seems ok for most

integrated lights are liked

low battery replacement price is important

good hillclimbing ability

being green

The latter is important because we are all exhibiting at green type shows but I was never certain that being green and e-biking were connected,I am relieved that to many e-biking is considered green.

Thanks

Dave

KudosCycles

I found that after a day working in a kitchen the 30min bus trip home while easy [ the bus stops outside my house] ,

caused me to seize up in the legs it was a bit scary and then my knee went, the meniscus needed an op so I tried

a commute on my road bike but it was a bit much every day the narrow tyres actually rattled a bridge loose and did bad things to my shoulders and hands its a 40km round trip and in any sort of wind its a no no so the answer to move the legs, get the fresh air in all weathers apart from ice is an e-bike and it works my Flyer s lets me speed along I can cruise

at 35kph If I want to, or chill at 25kph and smell the flowers at 20kph, I can hit 40 -45 with the wind behind me.

The high speed IS NOT COMPULSORY but its nice to have the choice.

I may try a fast road mountain type bike in the summer that does not have narrow tyres as I am not sure the E-bike is

such a good thing for my overall fitness.

 

wo

I had often romanticised about an electric bike to climb up the 2 mile hill to get back from the pub. The idea remained a fantasy until last September. A mate's son had just welded a bracket to hold a car starter motor on the downtube of a beat up old mountain bike. Whilst crude and rather dangerous, a five minute ride had me completely hooked and I bought an Ebike a week later after reading this forum.

 

It has influenced my life to a much greater extent than I would have imagined. It's just damn good fun. The sensation of contentment whilst cruising along the lanes is quite magical, it clears the mind, leaving me very satisfied. But then, I'm a sucker for two wheelers anyway.

 

I bought an Ebike because I rode one, and it was fantastic, and I had to have one.

I brought a kit.

I'm younger than most of the audience here but my reasons are also slightly different.

 

I wanted to commute by bike when I moved to the city and car spaces are a premium.

It was 9miles each way and I didn't think I could do it.

 

It helped me get over that and it became something more

 

I brought an off road bike to do trail riding no assit but it's helped me not be scared of distances.

 

 

 

Another reason is that I feel battery tech is a viable source of transport in private transport and the ebike is about the cheapest form of that. It's something I don't have in my knowledge and knowing more about it has improved my general understanding of how motors work.

 

I've rebuilt cars and know and understand how internal combustion engines work and how tomtune them. But electric was always a myth. A black science I didn't not understand. I now feel the cycling and electro

Knowledge has helped me in understanding this.

Because I am a life long cyclist. Most years I would cycle more than 10,000 miles. I love cycling. Then I became crippled by Rheumatoid arthritis. I was very depressed could no longer ride my bike. My father, also a lifelong cyclist, at 80 years of age decided to try an electric bike after bad experiences with 3 cheap Chinese bikes he bought a better one and fell in love with it. He could now do some of the rides he was no longer physically able to do. I thought that maybe O.K for me so borrowed his bike. It was fantastic, but I could not afford to buy one of the latest new bikes. However through reading this forum I decided on a secondhand Powabyke. Eventually found a shopper on Ebay for £180 modified it with bits I had in the garage. It runs like a dream and I am happy and back on 2 wheels.

I bought a second hand wisper 905SE from Classifieds on here in 2008. Had that 12 months and bought 2 new Wispers for me and the wife (sold first for £50 less then what I paid) They fitted into my motorhomes rear garage easily and were great bikes. I initially purchased for motorhome trips, but I found that I was using bike more and more in London were we live..So now my main transport. My wife used her 705 for commuting but no longer feels safe.

 

Last year down sized camper to a panel van sized vehicle, which means bikes have to be lifted and carried on rear rack. So this meant a rethink, so we upgraded to present bikes, much lighter and much nicer to ride to be honest.

 

I love reading and researching into e bikes it has turned into a real hobby. Serious cycling whether electric or not is expensive, that is if you want proper, light e bikes.......

Edited March 27, 201214 yr by eddieo

I bought the ebike for my wife in July intending for us to go riding together (me on my unpowered bike)now that I'm retired. However she has used it 3 times and I use it all the time. We live out in the sticks and it has halved the use of our second vehicle. It appeals to my green credentials and we are now thinking of getting a second bike (with better range) and selling one of the cars. It's great not being so dependant on the oil companies!

Hi A bit off Thread but i feel I should pass on to member Flash

 

Please look at http://www.pain123.com for your arthritis. It works I take it also we give the dog version to our 14 year old dog

 

Frank

Bit of a review so far-

Some exercise but not overdoing it.

Hub drives are liked

30 mile range seems ok for most

integrated lights are liked

low battery replacement price is important

good hillclimbing ability

being green

The latter is important because we are all exhibiting at green type shows but I was never certain that being green and e-biking were connected,I am relieved that to many e-biking is considered green.

Thanks

Dave

KudosCycles

I'd agree with all that.

Not sure about the importance of being green for most customers, they are green but that's not why people buy them. When I was looking for a commuting alternative I'd never have thought about going to a green transport exhibition, and I suspect those that do go to green shows are a bit extreme and would consider using a battery causes too much pollution.