Obviously an electric bike could not keep up with the pace of the tour de france riders,whoever was riding it at what fitness level does an electric bike become impracticable or would it still win out on hillclimbs.

It depends on the terrain. My wife and I regularly ride with her on a Wisper and me on non-electric. I'm quite a bit stronger, fitter and heavier than her. I go significantly faster on the flat, downhill and up modest slopes, but on long and/or steep climbs, she is faster.

 

It also depends on the bike. I go to work on my non-electric. I do the route faster than I used to on my wife's old Powacycle, about the same speed as my old Powabyke, but normally a minute or two slower than I have done in on the Wisper.

 

Frank

I dont feel that electric bikes are a just about being unfit/getting fit but more about personal choice and requirements.

 

I consider myself reasonably fit - i have a choice of transportation to work (car,motorbike,electric assisted bike,pedal bike or walk.

 

I prefer to use my electric assisted (with gears) but with one small modification - i have an isolation switch from the pedal sensor so that i can choose whether i want the power or not - i can still apply power from the handle bar grip. The range increases greatly and so does fitness and still have power assistance when required. The best of both worlds i think.

 

My commute is 5 miles or so with mixed terrain and i also like to use the bikes as much as possible for leisure and shopping etc.

Strange though this seems, it's a question that's not entirely relevant to the Panasonic system bikes.

 

That's because the motor contributes in a ratio of the rider's pedalling strength, so rider weakness is matched by equally weak assistance.

 

Sound perverse, but not as daft as it sounds in practice, and it makes assessment of a point where it becomes useful almost impossible.

 

The most powerful hub motor bikes can win on moderate hill climbs over top class riders with a fairly strong e-biker, and I've made many sweat over miles of 5 to 7% climbs in trying to catch me when riding the T bike. Even the slower Q bike can see most of them off on very long climbs.

 

On steep climbs over 1 in 6, top class riders win over any legal e-bike, hub or Panasonic motored, but the Panasonic motored rider can chat on the way up, while the top class rider can't speak at all until a minute or two after such a steep climb over a mile or more!

.

Edited April 23, 200818 yr by flecc

agree with the others. Lets use your example.

 

Lets say someone spends tour de france money on engineering a light motor and battery then fits it to a 5.7kg tour de france bike. Who'd win the all importamt hill stages?

 

All of the ebikes on the market are aimed at commuter work horses. Even the ones that pretend not to be are really (look at the weights and frame angles). A modern budget road bike comes in at less than 10kg. It will be soooo fast. But fitted with a light road motor it could really change what it can do.

 

The nano brompton is probably the closest to this model. Its a light bike, with a light motor and mini battery and it seems to genuinely outperform the conventional, with the exception of carrying mode.

http://www.kraeuterbutter.at/Bilder2/sonstiges/Elektro_Rennrad_1.jpeg

nevertheless: compared to the weight of a real roadbike still heavy...

 

there are no "cool" electric bikes around...

even in the high-price sequment (Swiss Flyer, Swizzbee,...) they look not the way that young people would attract.

they have the image of "retiree-bikes" and most of them look also like this..

 

maybe there is one exception: the Optibike - High Performance Electric Bikes, Finest Electrical Motorized Bike, Fastest Electric Powered Bicycle

http://www.optibike.com/images/stories/OB12008.JPG

price is very high, power is far more than legal and weight:

i think i remember something about 22kg

 

so to me this sound not like a bike for me, but a very light motorcycle (with all the power)

 

then there is the Gruber-Assist:

http://www.gruberassist.com/wp-content/grubermtb.JPG

maybe the only bike-driveline around, that looks cool

(on the picture the drivelinen is already installed !)

 

it does add very few weight to the bike:

without battery only 750g

so when you use a light bike (9-10kg mountainbike) you still have a lightweight bike with installed motor/controller (10-11kg)

with battery it should be possible to manage to build a bike with only 11kg complete weight

 

with 11kg its light enough to compete with normal motor-less mountainbikes...

you can drive it often without motorpower because it is so light, safeing energy

and if you need some extra 100Watt power, you have it there

(i don´t think that you wana drive a 22kg heavy e-bike without motorpower at all..)

 

for me the most sporty, most cool version of an electric bike

with ~1600Euro for the drive-unit too expensive for me...

Edited April 23, 200818 yr by kraeuterbutter

An e-bike is always going to help in hilly terrain (unless the battery is exhausted) because it will be able to pull more than it's own weight.

 

Legal e-bikes will not help above 15.5 mph. For a moderately fit person in a flattish area who can easily maintain this speed, they don't hold much appeal.

Having returned to cycling after many years away, I found it difficult to manage the steep, long North Cornwall hills. An electric bike has been my saviour. With hills like mine, even cycling on an electric bike is a challenge. In the 14 months or so of ownership my fitness has increased (much to my pleasure) but at 44, living with heart failure and knackered knees, I can’t see me ever getting to a point where I trade my electric bike in for an ordinary one.

Just point me at them hills and let me go

 

Present Bike:

Cougar Mountain Electric Bike fitted with LiFePO4 battery.

.

I agree with you on that. I know that I would not be able to handle the hills near my home without the Aggatu and as a result, I have been using the bike for commuting for the past week that I have owned it. I don't think I would have become such a committed cyclist with a non-powered bike. Even with the power, I feel a lot fitter and stronger even after this short period.