Well, I've had my E-bike for about 8 months now, 1500 miles on the odometer, and I think I know it well enough to describe it to others who might be considering the purchase of an E-bike. Parenthetically, I also have a non-powered bike, which I've probably put 500 miles or so on while riding the E-bike as my "primary." My bike is a Himiway "Cruiser," for which I paid about $1,500 new. The buying experience was fine, The bike took a month or so to get to me, and everything was fine. Assembling it and getting it ready for my first ride was easy, and took about an hour.
This is a heavy bike, weighing about 80 pounds. Because of its bulk and the 4" tires, it won't easily fit on a typical bike carrier, and I built a carrier out of Harbor Freight stuff. There is of course an owner's group on FB, and an invaluable resource is Tinkering Turtle or something like that, who makes YouTube videos of everything you might want to do with your bike, from recalibrating the power settings to replacing brakes, adding accessories, etc.
People use the motor on these bikes in a lot of different ways. Some people use them as electric mopeds, exerting as little effort as possible, and they work absolutely fine in this way. The "factory" top speed is 22mph, and that is plenty fast for commuting. It can be reprogrammed to 28, and some people even change sprockets to get more. I only use the motor on uphills that I can't easily handle on my own. Interestingly, I find that I can pull short hills fairly easily (standing on the pegs), but the ones that kill me are the long slight uphills. The combination of the weight of the bike and the high rolling resistance of the tires makes these very trying. Riding it the way I do, I use very little of the battery's capacity. (There is a "fuel gauge" on the dashboard, with five blocks, indicating how much charge you have remaining). The other day I took a typical 20-mile ride - 90 minutes approx. - and didn't use a single block on the fuel gauge. This may not be exactly accurate, but suffice it to say, I and my butt wear out long before the battery's charge does.
The motor can be accessed in two different ways, Pedal Assist ("PA") and throttle. The factory setting for PA is zero though five, with five corresponding to the 22mph I mentioned above. Level One results in the bike "wanting" to go about 10mph. THe PA does not activate until you crank the pedals; before you start pedaling, or if you stop pedaling during a ride, the PA shuts off. But you don't have to be putting any effort at all when you crank the pedals for the PA to kick in fully.
PEOPLE FREQUENTLY CRASH in their driveway because they are unfamiliar with what is happening with the PA. When you turn the bike on, it automatically sets at ONE (I immediately set it to ZERO). So as soon as you turn the crank, the BIKE WANTS TO GO 10MPH, and it will take off immediately, with enough torque to lift the front wheel off the ground. Obviously, if you are not prepared for this jolt, it can cause a problem. People turn on their bikes, then casually push down on the pedal, moving the bike to where they want to be, and they are unprepared for the bike taking off.
The second way to activate the motor is with the throttle, which is positioned at the rider's right thumb. With the PA set at zero, the throttle is inactive. But with the PA set at any other level, you can start the bike moving with the throttle, without turning the crank at all. I use the throttle when starting out on an uphill, or when I am stopped at a traffic light, and I want to get started into the intersection as soon as the light turns green. The throttle can access the full power of the motor, regardless of the PA setting. Some people (mainly kids from my observation), just set the PA at one, and use the throttle exclusively to propel the bike, without pedaling.
The Himiway Cruiser has a seven-speed derailleur in addition to the 5 "speed" motor. The motor "doesn't care" what gear you are in. It is propelling you at 10-22mph regardless of whether you are in first or seventh gear. You pick your gear according to what you are comfortable with. At 22mph, I can barely turn the pedals fast enough in 7th gear to accomplish anything at all with my power. It is by far the best derailleur I have ever used. You go immediately into the gear you dial up, no hesitation and no problem. Because the internal gears are plastic, it doesn't matter as much whether you are pedaling when changing gears. I understand that the internal gears are a wearing part, that will have to be replaced every so many miles. Parenthetically, at 1500 miles, my knobby fat tires barely show any wear at all. And they are good for any surface whatsoever. I just run them at 30psi when I'm going to be on pavement. (Factory setting is 20psi).
The intensity of your workout on an E-Bike can be nearly nothing, or extremely challenging, and observers probably won't be able to tell by looking, unless you are straining to go up a grade. I have had people make disparaging (joking) remarks to me when they pass me with their road bikes, like, "Hey, I don't even have a motor and I'm going faster than you!" On level pavement under my own power, I ride at about 10-12mph. Because of downhills, my average speed for a long ride is 15-17mph.
I know a few couples who ride, one with a regular bike and the wife with an E-Bike. It brings out the cruelty of the woman.
This is one of the best recreational/sports purchases of my life. At 72 years old, I was getting to the point where my bike ride routes were being determined almost entirely by where I had to go to avoid the worst of the hills. Now they are simply not a factor, and I get just as good a workout with the E-bike as my other bicycle.
A few parenthetical comments: A lot of people brag about how many miles they ride on their E-bike. I find this ridiculous. I know fat ladies who go out for 30 miles, and never break a sweat. So what? I can go out for a couple hundred miles on my MC, and come home fully refreshed.
Everybody asks, "What is the range of the battery?" THERE IS NO ANSWER to this question. It all depends on how you use it. On my bike, if I used the battery exclusively it would probably crap out at about 25 miles, but I really don't know. I've never used more than one "bar" out of five on the fuel gauge, but I provide 90% of the power when I ride, only using the battery on steep hills.
This is a heavy bike, weighing about 80 pounds. Because of its bulk and the 4" tires, it won't easily fit on a typical bike carrier, and I built a carrier out of Harbor Freight stuff. There is of course an owner's group on FB, and an invaluable resource is Tinkering Turtle or something like that, who makes YouTube videos of everything you might want to do with your bike, from recalibrating the power settings to replacing brakes, adding accessories, etc.
People use the motor on these bikes in a lot of different ways. Some people use them as electric mopeds, exerting as little effort as possible, and they work absolutely fine in this way. The "factory" top speed is 22mph, and that is plenty fast for commuting. It can be reprogrammed to 28, and some people even change sprockets to get more. I only use the motor on uphills that I can't easily handle on my own. Interestingly, I find that I can pull short hills fairly easily (standing on the pegs), but the ones that kill me are the long slight uphills. The combination of the weight of the bike and the high rolling resistance of the tires makes these very trying. Riding it the way I do, I use very little of the battery's capacity. (There is a "fuel gauge" on the dashboard, with five blocks, indicating how much charge you have remaining). The other day I took a typical 20-mile ride - 90 minutes approx. - and didn't use a single block on the fuel gauge. This may not be exactly accurate, but suffice it to say, I and my butt wear out long before the battery's charge does.
The motor can be accessed in two different ways, Pedal Assist ("PA") and throttle. The factory setting for PA is zero though five, with five corresponding to the 22mph I mentioned above. Level One results in the bike "wanting" to go about 10mph. THe PA does not activate until you crank the pedals; before you start pedaling, or if you stop pedaling during a ride, the PA shuts off. But you don't have to be putting any effort at all when you crank the pedals for the PA to kick in fully.
PEOPLE FREQUENTLY CRASH in their driveway because they are unfamiliar with what is happening with the PA. When you turn the bike on, it automatically sets at ONE (I immediately set it to ZERO). So as soon as you turn the crank, the BIKE WANTS TO GO 10MPH, and it will take off immediately, with enough torque to lift the front wheel off the ground. Obviously, if you are not prepared for this jolt, it can cause a problem. People turn on their bikes, then casually push down on the pedal, moving the bike to where they want to be, and they are unprepared for the bike taking off.
The second way to activate the motor is with the throttle, which is positioned at the rider's right thumb. With the PA set at zero, the throttle is inactive. But with the PA set at any other level, you can start the bike moving with the throttle, without turning the crank at all. I use the throttle when starting out on an uphill, or when I am stopped at a traffic light, and I want to get started into the intersection as soon as the light turns green. The throttle can access the full power of the motor, regardless of the PA setting. Some people (mainly kids from my observation), just set the PA at one, and use the throttle exclusively to propel the bike, without pedaling.
The Himiway Cruiser has a seven-speed derailleur in addition to the 5 "speed" motor. The motor "doesn't care" what gear you are in. It is propelling you at 10-22mph regardless of whether you are in first or seventh gear. You pick your gear according to what you are comfortable with. At 22mph, I can barely turn the pedals fast enough in 7th gear to accomplish anything at all with my power. It is by far the best derailleur I have ever used. You go immediately into the gear you dial up, no hesitation and no problem. Because the internal gears are plastic, it doesn't matter as much whether you are pedaling when changing gears. I understand that the internal gears are a wearing part, that will have to be replaced every so many miles. Parenthetically, at 1500 miles, my knobby fat tires barely show any wear at all. And they are good for any surface whatsoever. I just run them at 30psi when I'm going to be on pavement. (Factory setting is 20psi).
The intensity of your workout on an E-Bike can be nearly nothing, or extremely challenging, and observers probably won't be able to tell by looking, unless you are straining to go up a grade. I have had people make disparaging (joking) remarks to me when they pass me with their road bikes, like, "Hey, I don't even have a motor and I'm going faster than you!" On level pavement under my own power, I ride at about 10-12mph. Because of downhills, my average speed for a long ride is 15-17mph.
I know a few couples who ride, one with a regular bike and the wife with an E-Bike. It brings out the cruelty of the woman.
This is one of the best recreational/sports purchases of my life. At 72 years old, I was getting to the point where my bike ride routes were being determined almost entirely by where I had to go to avoid the worst of the hills. Now they are simply not a factor, and I get just as good a workout with the E-bike as my other bicycle.
A few parenthetical comments: A lot of people brag about how many miles they ride on their E-bike. I find this ridiculous. I know fat ladies who go out for 30 miles, and never break a sweat. So what? I can go out for a couple hundred miles on my MC, and come home fully refreshed.
Everybody asks, "What is the range of the battery?" THERE IS NO ANSWER to this question. It all depends on how you use it. On my bike, if I used the battery exclusively it would probably crap out at about 25 miles, but I really don't know. I've never used more than one "bar" out of five on the fuel gauge, but I provide 90% of the power when I ride, only using the battery on steep hills.
I had fishing wire run through my tail light and brake light fuses.
