"Alan Braggins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:Paul Murphy said:That weight penalty you talk about is minimal depending on the choice of
bike and its getting better all the time with advances in battery
technology. In a previous thread I pointed out to Simon Brook that the
weight of my Dutch Roadster style Giant Twist is only a kilogram or 2 more
than a similar non-power assisted Gazelle of similar styling and features.
Yes, but if you are looking for a lightweight bike to be fast on the flat,
you wouldn't buy a Gazelle of similar styling and features.
Agreed and if you only wanted something fast on the flat (above 15 mph),
theres little point in an electric bike at all here in the UK with our
current restrictions. Going back to sqare 1 wiuth the OP, we dont know how
Pete or his wife intends to use it this bike though so what is relevant.
Quoted message said:For the same price as a Twist, you could buy a non-assist bike which was
much faster on the flat.
Agreed but to be fair people also pay extra money for additional features
that make things more pleasant (eg electric windows on a car which seem
almost standard these days). There's no denying power assist is an extra
feature which makes things more pleasant.
Quoted message said:(And the Twist has been replaced by a less sophisticated model with a hub
motor.)
Yes It was sad to read of that in AtoB Mag but if you look around and are
quick enough, there are still some of the old stock yet to be sold
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:kg (mine is about 3.5 kg). Although there are lighter bikes the difference
on a like for like basis isn't much and the gap is reducing all the time.
Only if by "like for like" you mean similarly styled,
That was what I meant because its most effective at showing the additional
weight of the extra/replacement bits
<snip>
Quoted message said:While the gap is reducing, at
the moment any battery with reasonable range is not "minimal". (But then
nor is 200W the "insignificant" power that Simon has claimed.)
Lithium Polymer is significantly lighter than both Ni MH and Li Ion and does
give that range at "minimal" weight (in my view) but then its also about
twice the price currently. Bottom line just as with conventional bikes is if
you want the very best performance you have to spend large amounts.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:I
believe the increased flexibility of having that power available if
wanted,
more than makes up for any downsides, certainly for my commuting needs.
Quite possibly
There's no possibly about it for me, I'm sure.
Quoted message said:(and I'm considering one for commuting myself),
You've already concluded that whether the same benefits would apply to you
depends what use you intend to put such a bike to under what sort of
conditions.(something we don't know about for the OP despite my enquiries).
but its great to read you're considering such a step!
Paul
