Some thoughts about e-bikes
This article is part of the series “2018-05: Gotland”.
It was interesting to try out e-bikes for two days. Even though they have advantages I have to admit that I didn’t become a fan of riding e-bike, at least not on the model we used.
The e-bikes we rented have three gears and a motor, that supports cycling in three levels. The motor has a range of 50 km and the supported speed is limited to 24 km/h. The motor switches off as soon one stops pedalling. An e-bike is not a moped that moves by its own.
Pros and cons of our e-bikes:
Pros:
- the feeling of freedom. We chose many side paths just to have a look. If we would be tired we could use the motor.
- you get good support when you cycle against the wind
- you get very good support when the road goes up
- you can accelerate faster in many cases
- the range is larger than 50 km since you don’t use the motor the whole time
Cons:
- Our bikes only had three gears. Too little for the terrain on Gotland when cycling without motor
- The bikes are heavy and hard to carry over obstacles. One is bound to good ways
- Each “motor gear” is made for a certain speed. It’s hard to vary that speed
- For this reason it’s hard to drive next to each other
- It’s hard to find a rhythm. The harder you pedal the less support you get
- It feels strange however to pedal without using any strength
- When you’re speed is round 24 km/h, the motor will switch on and off due to the speed limit
- And last not least: the training effect of course is almost zero
I played a lot with the different combinations of gear and motor support and sometimes my lazy self was glad about the motor. My bicycle self however was glad when I switched off the motor and used the e-bike just as an ordinary bicycle, even though three gears were too few.
Next week I want to start cycling to work. That’s 2×19 kilometres a day. I guess I will curse when cycling against the wind. But hey, that’s part of the story when you use a bicycle.