How I Get Into Ebikes

[IanPeterson]

Very glad to be a part of here!

To be honest at first I thought the ebikes were just for lazy people who didn't want to ride a bike. However, I have learned that that can be further from the truth.

A lot of my friends are generally in their 40s and up. They try to get into nature instead of riding a stationary bike indoors, but they sometimes don't like to go bike riding because there's some pretty steep hills around here and they don't want to have to get off their bike and walk up the hill and I was thinking to myself, what a great excuse to have an ebike! You could still have an enjoyable ride and when you get to that big hill, your ebike will get you up it!

I have found that true for myself, and I've ridden 25 miles on my bike that's just a regular bike before I own an ebike, but there are times where there's hills where I had to get off my bike and walk it and felt really embarrassed. So I think that deters a lot of people from bike riding especially as they get older.

From my years of fitness training I found me and a lot of friends we have knee problems. Our instructor told us that bike riding is the ultimate way to start strengthening the knees however, when you're having pain in your knee and you're trying to pedal up hill or you start peddling against the wind and you get tired, you no longer want to bike ride anymore and it's not enjoyable because now you had to try to force yourself to get back to your car or your original destination. But if you had an ebike that would no longer be a problem.

 

[raylo32]

The easiest way is to go buy a ready to ride e-bike. Or rent one and see how you like it first. If you are any kind of serious pedal bike rider look for one with a torque sensor as this will duplicate your normal riding experience, only easier and faster. If you are at all mechanical you might be able to convert your existing bike to an e-bike. I would recommend the TSDZ2 and CYC Photon since both have torque sensor. If you don't care so much about having a natural pedaling experience you can get one of the BBS motors that have cadence sensing instead of torque sensing. Those are also very popular here. Another way to go is with a wheel hub motor kit. For any of these all you need is battery and a couple of hours to install the motor. There are long threads on all of these here with how to guides and other critical information.

 

[amberwolf]

They try to get into nature instead of riding a stationary bike indoors, but they sometimes don't like to go bike riding because there's some pretty steep hills around here and they don't want to have to get off their bike and walk up the hill and I was thinking to myself, what a great excuse to have an ebike! You could still have an enjoyable ride and when you get to that big hill, your ebike will get you up it!

Which Hovsco ebike do you have?
(that's the brand you posted over in this identical thread here:
Reddit - Dive into anything
though you don't mention the brand in your thread on bikeforums.net)

And whereabouts are you, so we can get an idea of what worst-case hills you are overcoming with it, so we can know how good it is at doing that?

From my years of fitness training I found me and a lot of friends we have knee problems. Our instructor told us that bike riding is the ultimate way to start strengthening the knees however, when you're having pain in your knee and you're trying to pedal up hill or you start peddling against the wind and you get tired, you no longer want to bike ride anymore and it's not enjoyable because now you had to try to force yourself to get back to your car or your original destination. But if you had an ebike that would no longer be a problem.

Knee issues are the main reason I began figuring out how to add a DIY motor to DayGlo Avenger a decade and a half ago...it's been quite an adventure since then.

 

[nicobie]

Yes, ebikes can be good for your health. Be sure you have the correct sized bike or you might mess up your knees even more. Don't get carried away the first few times you ride one. The traffic can kill you, so beware.

 

[999zip999]

You live in diamond bar there's a place called Cali bikes.
I it's near you and the good thing about that you can drive over and pick up your parts and if you have any trouble at least you could punch them in the nose you go try and punch someone in the nose in China.
How fast you want to go what kind of mountains or hills trails or bike pathways in Street what's the distance you want to go on one charge.
But the best place is in Canada e-bikes.ca the owner is our leader.
A lot of info on his website plus he's quite the inventor an electric unicycle he made in his garage. Justin.
They're also is a excess of e-bikes on the market so look at all your options.

 

[calab]

But the best place is in Canada e-bikes.ca the owner is our leader.

Humble

 

[neptronix]

Just to clear things up, i'm technically the leader here and ebikes.ca pays for upkeep.

Very glad to be a part of here!

Welcome, hope you enjoy the forum

From my years of fitness training I found me and a lot of friends we have knee problems. Our instructor told us that bike riding is the ultimate way to start strengthening the knees however, when you're having pain in your knee and you're trying to pedal up hill or you start peddling against the wind and you get tired, you no longer want to bike ride anymore and it's not enjoyable because now you had to try to force yourself to get back to your car or your original destination. But if you had an ebike that would no longer be a problem.

This is correct and i've read research papers on cartilage growth/repair galore and have knee problems myself.
Light to moderate motion can prompt a weak yet useable repair response in practically any joint, but heavy motion on a joint that is damaged/worn can flip that regenerative response into a degenerative response in the joint.

As someone with leg bone angle deformities i am naturally out of alignment all the time and grinding on one area of cartilage more than another in my knees. The only thing that makes my legs feel good is stationary or on road biking on flat ground. But where i live, the elevation is like a rollercoaster. With poor biomechanics, i tend to be a very poor climber and this can also hurt my knees, leaving them inflamed for up to a day.

All of my ebikes are designed to mix human and electric power so that i am getting healthy motion and transportation at the same time. What they do for me is reduce the high load on my knees during hill climbing and acceleration. It's exercise without the punishment, and very healthy ( a lot more fun than a stationary bike ).

 

[999zip999]

Agree.
I went to rehab my knee and they mainly had us do biking with low resistance. I forget 20 minutes this 15 minutes that 10 minutes that plus calf push-ups toes to heal up and stretching. Then ice.
Then again the best walking is barefoot in the wet sand.

 

[IanPeterson]

Which Hovsco ebike do you have?
(that's the brand you posted over in this identical thread here:
Reddit - Dive into anything
though you don't mention the brand in your thread on bikeforums.net)

And whereabouts are you, so we can get an idea of what worst-case hills you are overcoming with it, so we can know how good it is at doing that?




Knee issues are the main reason I began figuring out how to add a DIY motor to DayGlo Avenger a decade and a half ago...it's been quite an adventure since then.

Hey thanks for the attention! This is my initiate thought on ebikes before I purchased so I thought it would be a great intro
I live in Diamond Bar, CA but I often travel around statewide. That's when I realized the need for an ebike.
Two months ago I took my bike to Peter's Canyon in Orange County, and an electric boost really came in handy at those hills. There were some not very steep but long slopes.

I got the fat tire ebike from Hovsco. I don't have a clue on electronics and whatsoever so I did go to a local bike store. My initial thought is to get a Lectric one because I'm a sucker for color blue, but Scott at Pacific Ebikes talked me into getting one that's a little priceyer but well worth the money.
That's what I always recommend others to do too, make sure to go to a local bike store before any purchase. Not only getting a first-hand experience but also making sure they'll be able to provide after service(as I think I'm a very clumsy person and reluctant to do maintainance).