The great Electric bike comparison

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As one imagines oneself to be, so one is. In this video, I was tricked into imagining myself differently, and with good results for my self image.

Also, I've had an interesting reaction to the film from a friend in Holland, a real bike expert, who sees E bikes as a niche market product of not much interest to the general rider.

"What does your video prove?" he asks. " It's no surprise that a bike with a motor can go up hills faster than one without. .... However over a 50km ride, the E bike will have a flat battery and become a heavy and inefficient bicycle, while the road bike you compared it with, will remain as efficient as it was at the start,"

My friend goes onto say."If you don't mind me saying so, Mike, you are exactly the demographic for these bikes, someone returning to cycling at an older age." (I'm 70)

But the point is that when I bought my E bike, I wasn't "returning" to unassisted cycling. Indeed, I never would have returned to cycling without the E bike.

Where I live, there are hills like the one in the film, though not so long, and virtually no one, midst the several hundred thousand people who who live in the area, rides a bike as transport , and it's mainly because of the hills.

My friend can't come here and convince my neighbors to ride bikes. They wont listen to him. Not only the oldies like me wont listen, neither will those between 30 and 70. Maybe they should listen , but they wont and they don't.

The whole challenge for folks to cycle as a way to curb our obesity epidemic and to cut green house gasses, falls on deaf ears round here.

Bottom line, no one's riding and no one will ride to work or to the shops, and my friend can say, "they should" till he's blue in the face, but they wont.

Enter the E bike, not to do 50 kms. not to race, not for touring, but to help the rider so that hills and headwinds are not so painful.

Of course, it's not sure that even this inducement will convince many here, so wedded to the car are we Aussies, but there is a chance, that the E bike might tip the scales, at least get a hearing as to it's merits.

And for the older rider, like me, it's the gift of cycling given back to me long after I thought it had been taken away.

Anyway, what do you think? leave a comment on the clip. Is the E bike a quaint niche product, or does it have mainstream potential?

Scott Dickason, who runs EVs which makes and sells my bike, is sure they have wide appeal and applications. He insists he's not just selling to geriatrics like me

What did I personally get out of this experience, climbing the 7 km hill on my E bike? I felt empowered, enlivened (in the sense of life being put back in me)

I also felt a bit of a hero, having done something hard but clever. Just look at the face of Tony (in another of my clips) after he's ridden to work on my bike, all 17 Kms. The title of that clip is, Commuting on an electric bike, yes you can! Mike Rubbo

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• the helpful eye
• electric bicycles
• mike rubbo
• scott dickason
• the dandenongs
• electric bikes
• comparing electric bikes

[MikeRubbo]

To continue.

The experience, riding up that hill, jibed with reading a great article by a Harvard prof found people can live counter clockwise, take off years by imagining themselves younger and then doing things which are appropriate to their earlier age.

I realized later that this applied to me on the day of the shoot. With this bike, which does certainly help, it helped throw me back into a more youthful mode and i just acted accordingly. it's a great discovery. Mike

[MikeRubbo]

Thanks, Violeta. Yes, I was feeling good. Am,azing how energizing a challenge is. I had no idea Scott and Steve were going to spring that on me.Scott sells the bikes i have and Steve does R and D. He's working on a regenerating bike.

The whole thing was Scott Dickason's idea.

[m9078jk3]

Excellent video.I am quite out of shape at my age and have recently ridden an ordinary bike to get into shape.I have been looking at ebikes lately because our economy in the U.S. isn't doing so well.I fear bad times and also fear our subsidized public transportation will become overwhelmed.Where I live our hills are quite a bit steeper so I am looking at more powerful higher torque ebikes.I was considering a 49 cc gasoline powered scooter as alternative but I need some exercise too.

[fairyheli2]

@BraidedBranches I think commercials are waterproof, i am hoping to waterproof my homebuit

[RevelationWarriors]

One Day, I Will Ride That Hill

[BraidedBranches]

I love assisted electric bikes! I can go anywhere on one. Only problem, what to do in the rain?

[AlexandraHaag]

@AlexandraHaag

Update:

Got my bike and I'm loving the hills!! Speed isn't my goal, though -- just looking for the smile and finding it :-)

[AlexandraHaag]

I am very excited to receive my first e-bike in three days, for exactly the reasons stated here. I'm a boomer with a back issue, an adventurous spirit, and a desire to get off of the mesa I'm living on and out on the road! My hope is to pedal the coast and take on the hills with a smile on my face and a bit of a sweat on my brow (without seizing up!).

[twilwel]

@kauaikit hmm, I would say that a stronger motor will increase speed, but will give less miles unless you add more batteries.

[kauaikit]

Good job....now keep going with a 500, then a 1000 watt motor which will increase your range that you want to ride.

These ebikes are amazing, when consider that the patent in the USA for a rear electric hub was 1896! Thank you oil companies.....you compare to religions in suppressing advancements .

[404jared404]

Nice video Mike. Take it easy. No need to bust a boiler. I found it's best when you just ride at an easy cadence. As you my have guessed, I've been converted to electric assisted commuting. I swapped my carbon fibre for lithium iron and I'm not going back.

[nitramluap]

Excellent... BUT...

...I'd like to see a formal comparison of an e-bike & a standard bike with a normal person cycling - not an athlete.

A few tests cycling on the same route (hilly, etc):

1 - with each bike as fast as possible

2 - with each bike to ensure maximum comfort

...and record times & subjective opinions.

The normal bikes could be standard 'hybrid' bikes with 24 gears or one of these new (to Australia) 'dutch' bikes with 7/8 hub gears.

What do you think? I could help organise this.