4345 Cycling (with an electric bike!!)

[QUOTE=Jennie]We are soon to occupy our new home in Abruzzo, are only 7km from the beach, but there are hills around us...need some help when cycling...does anyone have any good ideas as to where to buy reasonably priced electric bikes, preferably folding, so we can either ride to the beach, up and down the hills, or cheat and put the bike in the car. Husband is a purist when it comes to cycling and would not dream of using anything but a REAL bike but I am afraid the hills will do me in. I have looked at UK rules for electric bikes, no tax, insurance etc, and assume it is the same in Italy?
Jennie[/QUOTE]

Hey Jennie
Didn't know you could get electic bikes.:eek: We could do with a couple where our house is. Where do you get them from? Do they look like a proper bike or more like a moped?
Lorraine

Carrefour are currently doing a 'leccy bike on special offer - €299. I believe similar regs to the UK.

[QUOTE=Lorraine]Hey Jennie
Didn't know you could get electic bikes.:eek: We could do with a couple where our house is. Where do you get them from? Do they look like a proper bike or more like a moped?
Lorraine[/QUOTE]
Hello, I have been investigating electric bikes for about a week now and am amazed at how many different ones there are...there are tons of sites on the internet with them....I am being a bit specific in wanting a folding one as well, just throw it in the car and take a 10 minute drive to the beach, then cycle it. Only want to use the electric bit (which you can turn on and off) for the hills...cant cope too well with those yet. UK rules are that you just have to be over 14 and they dont do much more than about 12-15 miles per hour...no tax, no insurance etc... For a standard bike, which looks like a normal bike, just has this little box on the back, the prices seem to start at about £300 up to £1000 if you want the top name...whatever that is. The folding ones, again just look like a normal folding bike, some with reasonable size wheels for normal cycling, and some with minute wheels, dont think that is as good for normal unpowered cycling. Most of them also have gears. Powacycle.co.uk is one site....just do a google search for electric bikes and you will find loads. I am sure they will be cheaper in Italy though....will do some homework when we are there at the beginning of September. Just joined yesterday, thanks for a speedy reply....Jennie

More on the Carrefour one if that's of interest: €299 as I said, max speed 20k, motor 180W, battery 12 ah, range 85k (that seems optimistic to me), net weight 38kg, wheels 24cm.

Not folding but that's what bike racks, folding seats and removable wheels are for. If I can get a bike in the back of a Fiesta.....

Call me daft if ya want.. but am I missing something here?

You say you want to buy an electric bike that folds up so you can put it in the back of the car.

I don't get it! I cant work out why you would want to put a bike in the back of a car. If you want to drive.. why take the bike.. and if you want to ride the bike.. why take the car?? :confused:

If you take the car to get there.. and ride the bike to get back.. who will drive the car back?

See what I mean? :D :D

[quote=Jennie]..... Husband is a purist when it comes to cycling and would not dream of using anything but a REAL bike but I am afraid the hills will do me in. .......
[/quote]
Sounds like you want a tandem, then hubby can pull you up hills and down the dales
[IMG]http://www.kinetics.org.uk/assets/images/Humber_electric_tandem.jpg[/IMG]

Hello, its just that if we want a bike ride locally, we can go off JUST on the bikes... If we feel lazy, or want to explore in another area, then we can drive to another area, park up the car, then go investigate on the bikes. The best cycling areas might turn out to be far from home, so it would be good to be able to go further afeild than we can physically cycle. jennie

Ah, I see. Like I said.. call me daft if ya want! :D :D

I'm a bit doubtful that these electric bikes will be powerful enough to cope with any sort of incline, let alone a hill which would be challenging! It would be good to try one out before committing yourself. I would also be surprised if they are any cheaper in Italy - not a lot is!

[QUOTE=Relaxed]I'm a bit doubtful that these electric bikes will be powerful enough to cope with any sort of incline, let alone a hill which would be challenging![/QUOTE]
I think you're right. Looking at the websites of UK companies selling these bikes, it appears that the electric motors are limited by law to being no more powerful than 200 watts. I think that works out at something like a quarter of one horsepower.

Most bikes have a mode where you can pedal with power assist, so you can get [I]some[/I] help going uphill. But you can't expect performance from one of these things similar to what you'd get with a conventional petrol-powered motorscooter. Maybe more like the effect you'd get if you tied a sled dog to the front of the bike. :D

Al

My own preference would be a lightweight bike with plenty of gears. If you are used to a bog-standard heavy bike, the ease with which you can propel a lightweight one would be a revelation.

With the battery powered one the thought of having a flat takes on an extra dimension, and pushing 38 kilos worth (in the example I gave from Carrefour) would be really hard work.

You should check out the eZee Torq. In their review, AtoB magazine found it easy to climb a 12% gradient (1:8) at 12mph. On 18% (1:6) it was 10 mph. I managed a 1:10 yesterday at 22mph!

The bike is 19kg and looks like a traditional commuter bike. The motor is rated approx 250w but will peak at 570w.

I've had mine about 2 weeks now and am averaging about 23.5 mph on my 22-mile commute although this is flat terrain. Also bear in mind, my bike has been de-restricted, so is technically illegal here in the UK. UK bikes are supplied restricted but just unclipping one wire (2 min job) raises the top speed (unassisted) from 15mph to 22mph.

You can order those from Amazon, there are a lot of electric bikes not that expensive. Also, there are a lot of reviews of the best cheap electric bikes so you have something to pick from!