on yer bike!

There was a piece on electric bikes on BBC Scotland news a few weeks ago. People were impressed by their machines, especially the people fed up cycling up Edinburgh braes

Never ridden one myself, but I've been overtaken by quite a few people riding them while I've been on my traditional pushbike.

I can't even balance on a normal bike let alone an electric one ..........

Thats probably because you're at the end of the cable................

The way they work is they assist you pedaling, you still have to pedal but they make it a damm site easier!
I bought a broken one for a tenner just never got round to fixing it.

The cleaner at school has one, he loves it (no road tax either). It cost £600 but I think he got some kind of grant.
He never pedals it, just sits there and coasts along. (He still can't overtake me though )

The one I've got, you've got to turn the pedals with your feet when you go up hill................... it just feels like you're on the flat!

I have some friends who have them and they love them.

Hi Lindy

I have sold over 400 from a shop that I own, so have a good experience of the good and bad sides of them.

By law they can all do 15mph, you do not need a helmet, insurance or a driving licence.

Some have a throttle to help you pull away and not have to pedal on the flat; you always have to pedal uphill. The effort needed going up a hill would be like riding on the flat on a normal bike. Very steep hills require more effort, but none of my customers have not made it up the hills, and some of my customers are over 70. By law, a throttle now can only propel you to about 5 mph, but it is easy to bypass this by cutting a wire, which most people do.
Some bikes have no throttle and do not need them as they have a different system, which is based on rider effort.

The cheaper bikes will do about 20 miles on a charge, the others can do up to 50 miles in economy mode.

The cheap £500 bikes have very heavy lead acid batteries, but only cost about £150 to replace and last about 2 years. Basically, the older they are the less miles they will do, so if you do only short distances, they will be able to be used longer. The light batteries cost about £300 to £400, but will last 4 years at least.

The cheap bikes are made in China and can be unreliable, so do not buy one unless you have a dealer close by. Saying that, some of the cheap Powabykes that I have sold have given no trouble, and it is not always easy to find an electrical fault. It's like everything in life, you get what you pay for.

I have just started selling the Raleigh Dover, £1800 - fantastic bike, built in Germany, with panasonic battery and German motor. It will do up to 50 miles and is one of the best bikes around, but Kalihoff is similar.

Powabyke euro, made in China, heavy lead acid battery, about £600. Heavy and robost and good dealer back up.

Wisper bikes are made in China but are excellent, and start at around £900 for the model that does about 30 miles with a light battery.

There are of course many other brands, a lot of owners use this forum. Its amazing for advice, which is mainly given by owners not dealers. Although, some importers do use it and give good advice.

Most of my customers say that it is the best thing that they have bought, they never worry about hills, or windy conditions and never arrive at work in a sweat.

My main advice is not to buy a cheap one online with no back up. Should you want any advice about any brand, please ask.

Mr TK