Thoughts and Notes on E-Bikes

I’m new to e-bikes, but I’ve gotten a number of questions so a few observations; make of them what you will:

 

• Everyone who bikes has an e-bike in their future, if for no other reason than age and infirmity is the wolf that hunts us all.
  
  
• There has been more innovation in bicycles in the last 10 years than in the previous 100. Whatever you “know” about bicycles is probably out of date. Read a lot, be skeptical of salespeople, and talk to riders. Focus on how and where you *actually* ride. Road bikes are quite different from mountain bikes, and both come in many flavors with different strengths and weaknesses. I ended up with two RadPower bikes (one a cargo bike) to go with my folding bikes, Surly Ogre gravel bike, and Trek road racer. Putting together the RadPower bikes took about two hours each, and everything went together without a hitch. I’m told Radpower sells more e-bikes in the US than anyone else. Might be true.
  
  
• The technology behind my Trek and Surly bikes is “old tech,” and will still work 20 years from now. That’s *not* true for e-bike technology. I expect the battery, hub motor, and controller on my e-bike will be good for about as long as any piece of electronics — 10 years would be a good run. Because RadPower sells more e-bikes in the US than any other company (allegedly), I expect battery, hub motor, and controller replacements or upgrades will be available in 10 years, but considering the speed of bike innovation, replacing the whole thing may be the way to go; we’ll see.
  
  
• The regular parts of an e-bike are regular bike shop maintenance: brake adjustment, new chain, etc. The electronic parts are about wire connections or fuses — simple fixes you do yourself. Batteries, controllers, and hub motors get replaced if defective; they are not “fixed” with a wrench, bolt, or grease.
  
  
• Almost all bikes are now made in Taiwan or China; there is no fighting it. There has been a massive backlog on all bikes, parts, accessories, and even bike carriers due to Covid increasing global bike demand while hammering bike production and shipping.
  
  
• E-bikes increase the chance you will ride and the distance you will roll. So far, every study finds e-bikes result in more exercise and more use. This may be due to selection bias; early adopters of e-bikes are probably not “average” bicyclists.
  
  
• E-bikes remove excuses by removing the sweat and humiliation of “THAT” hill. We all have “that hill,” and though you still may have to peddle, a 750-watt hub motor changes the sweat and humiliation game.
  
  
• E-bikes are bicycles. If you want to go 60 miles at 25 miles per hour without peddling, you don’t want an e-bike, you want a gas-motorized bike or moped. If you are nervous about driving a moped, you want a car. E-bikes are like anything: a specific thing with specific (and limited) abilities. What e-bikes bring to the table is peddle-assist and going about 15 mph for 30 miles or so without too much effort. If that’s not what you want and will be happy with, find another table. E-bikes are peddle assist, not a free ride for massive cross-country distances. They are not a truck or a taxi; they are an e-bike.
  
  
• E-bikes are heavy frame bikes with four additions: an electric motor, a controller, a battery, and a throttle interface. I don’t have enough experience to parse the subtleties, but I went with a 750-watt hub motor. The batteries are heavy and expensive. I strongly recommend getting a bike with multiple gears for peddling. Europe has limits on e-bike power and speed that can be set through the throttle interface. In the US, most (but not all) bike paths are OK with e-bikes up to 15 mph.
  
  
• E-bike batteries have keys to turn them on, and to lock and unlock the battery from the bike.
  
  
• Batteries slide off and can be carried inside for charging away from the bike, or to increase security. A battery alone can be over $500, depending on size.
  
  
• Bike security is the same as for any bike. I use multiple cable locks and a blue-tooth enabled electronic alarm, which is both low-cost and effective. New York City and major bike theft areas require what they require.
  
  
• A nylon rain cover for your e-bike will keep the electronics dry and, combined with an electronic alarm and cable locks, makes theft unattractive.
  
  
• How far you can go depends almost entirely on how much you peddle, how you peddle, and the terrain. A bike that says it will go 35 miles will go 25 if it’s all max-power on hills, and no-peddle with a big load. That same bike may go 100 miles if the ground is flat and there is 0 peddle assist with occasional throttle assist for hills or to get back up to speed.
  
  
• Power sipping for distance.  I find that once an e-bike bike is going 18 mph on flat ground, you can put peddle assist at 0 and peddle to keep it going. If your speed drops down to 12, you throttle back up to 18 and do it all over again; a kind of “power sipping” that will extend your distance considerably.
  
  
• Size matters. If you are a 5-foot 2-inch woman with a four year old and a six year old, who hopes to take both kids to school on the back of a cargo e-bike, you might want to reconsider. I’m NOT saying it can’t be done, but I am urging caution. Do you have the upper body strength to hold up the bike if it starts to tilt even a little bit? Genuine question. A bike with two kids and small adult is going to weigh 320 pounds, and not only can that bike tilt, it’s also going to have be propelled up a hill or two. If your neighborhood looks more like San Francisco than Omaha, you should talk to local e-bike commuters with kids to get the benefit of their experience.
  
  
• E-bikes weigh a LOT. Think 70 pounds. What that means is that lugging your e-bike up and down apartment stairs is not an option. It also means that the current bicycle carrier on your car will *not* work. You will need to add a tow hitch to your car ($280) and a heavy-duty bicycle carrier. My Hollywood rack to carry two e-bikes was $500, and comes with two clamp locks as well as a heavy-duty cable lock. It’s rock-solid. Whatever rack you get should easily carry two e-bikes (140 pounds) and say it is intended for e-bikes. Also, e-bike tires are fat — you carrier should be built to accommodate those tires.