Good electric bike models/retailers?

Energize said:
I now have the Sirocco CD in my possession and it is so much easier cycling up those evil 30% hills, the throttle alone will take me up them, I think delimiting it will be a good idea though to avoid sudden changes in the difficulty of cycling when the motor turns off, if it provides a constant power output all the time then the ride will be a lot smoother.
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What is it like to cycle with no motor compared to your former bike?
When you say 'delimit' do you mean that you always keep the motor going say at 10mph and then add the rest with pedal power?

Videos, pictures and anything else you can link to will be appreciated.
 
It's certainly a bit more difficult to cycle with the battery on the bike at least.

By de-limit I mean remove the speed limitation for the motor cut off, so essentially the motor maintains the same output all the time according to what assistance level it's set to, even if you are going above 25/kph, otherwise you end up having to change the assistance level or gear frequently in order to stay under the speed limit in a hilly area to avoid the motor cut out. I can't understand why the speed limit is so slow when cyclists regularly reach double that, ignorant British government I guess.

I'll post some more info tomorrow.
 
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Energize said:
I can't understand why the speed limit is so slow when cyclists regularly reach double that, ignorant British government I guess.
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Does this mean with the motor on you can only ever do 15mph and it will cut out if you go above it?
Are you saying that you wouldn't be able to reach 30mph with added pedal power unless you had the motor off?
 
EU law mandates that e-bike motors must switch off at 25kph, that results in it becoming a lot more difficult to cycle when you get past that speed, as if you suddenly shifted gears. Bikes with a decent motor like the Sirocco CD are speed limited by the computer and are relatively easy to unrestrict.

Purely made up example, imagine you output 100W of power, on a flat and wind conditions/weight/whatever determines your max unrestricted speed as follows.

assist mode off = 0W + 100W = 100W Theoretical max = 8mph
assist mode 1 = 50W + 100W = 150W Theoretical max = 10mph
assist mode 2 = 100W + 100W = 200W Theoretical max = 12mph
assist mode 3 = 150W + 100W = 250W Theoretical max = 15mph
assist mode 4 = 200W + 100W = 300W Theoretical max = 17mph
assist mode 5 = 250W + 100W = 350W Theoretical max = 20mph

In mode 5, when you reach ~15.5mph you suddenly lose the 250W assistance and you drop from 350W to 100W of propelling power, you can only go 8mph with that amount of power, so your speed drops to 15mph and motor kicks in again bringing you to 16mph, rinse and repeat.
 
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amigafan2003 said:
Thanks. I love my ebike.

I use it to commute 9 miles each way to work - normally 4 times a week but I regulary use it every day for a couple of weeks if the weather allow - I think last May I used it every workday. I couldn't do that on a normal bike, especially with the winds we get round here. Before the ebike I'd occasionally commute on my mountain bike with slicks but I'd bottle it at the merest sight of wind or rain - not anymore - pretty much commute in anything - and I get to work feeling as fresh as a daisy :-) I still peddle but it's like riding the entire way at a relaxed 10 mph but I get there much faster - 10 mins quicker than I can drive it in fact. I've lost 15kg since I started commuting on the ebike.

I also calculate that I've saved £1700 in petrol costs alone since building it 18 months ago.
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That's the great post, made time and money while loosing fat, the rare treble win.
 
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