Kokaneesilver
1 µW
I cycle, but do not currently own an E-bike, but have been doing some research into this topic for quite a while now (gonna go rent an e-bike to try one out however in the near future). I am a tradesman for a school district up in Canada (we have an in house maintenance staff of various trades persons that do service work at the various schools & facilities in our district). I am developing a proposal to present for a pilot e-bike program where some of us would ride e-bikes towing smallish trailers (around 75-125 pounds including trailer weight) or cargo e-bikes (the former would probably end up being the preferred option due to versatility of what a trailer can carry, plus I think a 2 wheel trailer would end up being more stable at the end of the day). The purpose being to reduce transportation/logistics costs over our current model, and contribute to a reduction of our carbon foot print of our operations. We have everything going for us to make this work - a school district in a very cycling friendly city with a very complete (and constantly improving) cycling infrastructure, a relatively flat terrain (a few hills here and there but nothing major for the most part), relatively temperate climate, lots of bike shops, strong emerging bike culture, etc. we would also always have some cars/trucks for obvious reasons as not everyone would want to ride a bike, and we need cargo support for larger parts/pipe/lumber, etc. for any jobs that require that.
Since these would be employees riding bikes, there are various reasons why I am keen on e-bikes over conventional bikes in towing trailers, and why so far, in my limited discussions to date, I feel a mid drive bike would probably be preferable:
1) Take the strain off Tradesmens bodies day in/out cycling while towing a trailer between sites (as we put enough wear/tear on our bodies while on site, especially our knees)
2) Slightly Increase average effective speed over a conventional bike - effective smoothing out the landscape
3) Reduce the "body odour factor" when a trades person shows up to a site and has to work
4) The e-bike would "mitigate" for the weight/resistance of the trailer in your average speed
My limited research suggests that mid drive bikes would be the most preferable for our application as they are the most user friendly for a variety of reasons. I don't intend to turn this into a mid drive versus hub motor debate, however (just remember that I am looking for something that is user friendly, safe, and rides the most like a regular bike). What I am looking for is your input on how much of a "dent" the e-bike will make in your average effective speed?
I actually feel that the top speed of these bikes should be limited to some degree. We are currently governed to 20 MPH (32 km/h) by law and up to 500 watts without having to get insurance. I would think our top speed, because we are towing a trailer where things can go south fast in a hurry at higher speeds, should probably be lower, perhaps to the European standard (which is 15 MPH/25 km/h if I'm not mistaken), where the e-bike mitigates for the weight of the trailer and the land scape in maintaining a higher average speed to that of a conventional bike throughout the terrain (hills, etc.).
The digging that I have done to date suggests that top speeds conventional bike vs e-bike is a wash, but average speeds in most studies/reports shows the e-bikes generally have an advantage of around 2 km/h or more in average speed, but considering the variance in where these studies take place, there are so many variables to contend with that an effective comparison is probably impossible as you must also factor in the very demographics of the persons riding the bikes, not just the land scape, cycling infrastructure, etc. Just going between cities I'm sure has an impact, let alone the various differences in laws which limit speeds/wattages in some cases, etc. What I'd like to hear is for you personally, is any anecdotes you have on this topic, including perhaps personal case studies where you used to drive a car and now ride an e-bike, or used to ride a conventional bike and now ride an e-bike and what some of your differences in speed/times were? Also do you have any links to relevant studies that may help shed some light? All the studies I've found quoted in blogs online on this topic seem to end up in dead links.
Since these would be employees riding bikes, there are various reasons why I am keen on e-bikes over conventional bikes in towing trailers, and why so far, in my limited discussions to date, I feel a mid drive bike would probably be preferable:
1) Take the strain off Tradesmens bodies day in/out cycling while towing a trailer between sites (as we put enough wear/tear on our bodies while on site, especially our knees)
2) Slightly Increase average effective speed over a conventional bike - effective smoothing out the landscape
3) Reduce the "body odour factor" when a trades person shows up to a site and has to work
4) The e-bike would "mitigate" for the weight/resistance of the trailer in your average speed
My limited research suggests that mid drive bikes would be the most preferable for our application as they are the most user friendly for a variety of reasons. I don't intend to turn this into a mid drive versus hub motor debate, however (just remember that I am looking for something that is user friendly, safe, and rides the most like a regular bike). What I am looking for is your input on how much of a "dent" the e-bike will make in your average effective speed?
I actually feel that the top speed of these bikes should be limited to some degree. We are currently governed to 20 MPH (32 km/h) by law and up to 500 watts without having to get insurance. I would think our top speed, because we are towing a trailer where things can go south fast in a hurry at higher speeds, should probably be lower, perhaps to the European standard (which is 15 MPH/25 km/h if I'm not mistaken), where the e-bike mitigates for the weight of the trailer and the land scape in maintaining a higher average speed to that of a conventional bike throughout the terrain (hills, etc.).
The digging that I have done to date suggests that top speeds conventional bike vs e-bike is a wash, but average speeds in most studies/reports shows the e-bikes generally have an advantage of around 2 km/h or more in average speed, but considering the variance in where these studies take place, there are so many variables to contend with that an effective comparison is probably impossible as you must also factor in the very demographics of the persons riding the bikes, not just the land scape, cycling infrastructure, etc. Just going between cities I'm sure has an impact, let alone the various differences in laws which limit speeds/wattages in some cases, etc. What I'd like to hear is for you personally, is any anecdotes you have on this topic, including perhaps personal case studies where you used to drive a car and now ride an e-bike, or used to ride a conventional bike and now ride an e-bike and what some of your differences in speed/times were? Also do you have any links to relevant studies that may help shed some light? All the studies I've found quoted in blogs online on this topic seem to end up in dead links.