Controversial Opinions on Ebikes
Growing market of electric bicycle industry leads people to have different opinions about them. Recently New York Mayor started cracking down ebikes and giving penalties up to $500 when they use them in city streets or employ e-trikes to carry people. On other hand Ohio Governor signed a law stating that electric bicycles be treated same as regular bikes and they will not be required an extra licensing. This was a very simple and noticeable different viewpoint of two different people. Now imagine how many people discussing their viewpoints on the whole internet? You can see websites declaring the “Best ebikes of 2017” nominee and you never heard some of their companies listed. You can see similar ebikes selling far more expensive on one website than on the other.
I will not relate this post to one particular topic so it won’t be a blog talking about one subject from beginning to the end. Let’s try to bring out some related myths and facts and go over them. A first thing first is their weight. Yes they a slightly heavy than traditional bicycles. Direct drive kits may add up ~12 lbs. and geared ones even less. It’s the person weight that is mostly heavy not ebike itself. On the other hand, there is a reason it is motorized you can easily control and maneuver the weight. If your ebike perfectly installed, had high center of gravity, had good mass centralization and good handling then you won’t have a chance to notice the weight. There are ebikes that made from carbon frames and very light. But the downside they might be a bit steep. Second thing their lifespan. Most of the customers are curious and at least once asked about the lifespan of kits. It’s again comes down to how bad you use it. You can use it for 5 years or break it down in 5 days. But in general mid drive tend to last longer than hub motors. The reason is in hubs, motor installed inside the wheel and it feels every motion and affected by every hit that wheel encounters.
Other thing people discuss is does people who use ebikes are cheating on exercising? Imagine someone going to ride his ebike for exercising but using only full throttle. At most battery will last 40 minutes and this guy needs to pedal his heavy ebike back home. Most of the time people charge their battery once and use it for couple days or even weeks by using pedal assist. You can keep up with stronger guys by riding ebike and ride for longer distance than with your regular bike. Also come home not much drained. Ebikes are more important to those who injured and for elderly people. And I will mention people who ride not just for leisure but in order to get from point A to point B.
Last matter I want to mention is the price of ebikes. Everybody wants to get best ebike for best price. Prices range from $500 up to $30K. Believe for regular commuter around $1.5K is a good price. Up to 4K is best. Above 4K is something that stays far and not intended for mass production. Price mostly depends on the materials they used, brand name, technology used and design. Someone can buy an ebike considering these parameters.
If we miss some points on this blog, please comment and send us your feedbacks. We will be happy to revise them.
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Ebike Conversion Kits - Ebike Batteries - Ebike Accessories - Ebike Cables and Spare Parts
