What happened to the bicycle industry (UK)?

[Mr_Flibble]

You could also have a look at refurbished second-hand (E-)bikes if those are available in your area. If you're looking to save a bit of money.

 

[John King]

What I’ve read and been told.

Preferably keep the battery charged between 30% and 80%.
Temperature while discharging/cycling is not that important.
Temperature while charging however is; preferably at room temperature.
Then, when necessary, depending on the distance you plan to cycle charge to 100%.
In general, avoid to drain the battery completely.
Make sure the battery is not dropped, or damaged. If you buy a second hand ebike, check the battery on dents/damage.
Get an ebike with bigger tires, and do not inflate the tires to hard. 2.5 to 3 bar is enough (also depending on your weight). Better for you, and the battery.

So preferably get an ebike with a removable battery, to charge in a warm place.
When you charge, be present AND awake.
Use the original charger.

All agreed.

Have a bucket with sand available (do not use water). Or the option to quickly throw the battery out of your house.

The outgassing can render a person unconscious or dead after a few breaths! There was a death in Australia about a week ago from a burning Li-Ion battery in an upstairs room. The man who tried to contain the fire died, almost certainly from toxic gas inhalation.

The battery should not become hot, just lukewarm. If it gets hot when charging, disconnect it, and replace it.

I use the touchstone of hotter than our kitchen hot water, 50°C.
My experience has been that defective {camera} batteries throw an error before charging starts, but that's not definitive.

I did see some news about battery fires in American/UK press. But I haven’t read story’s about battery fires being an issue here within the Netherlands/EU. I’m obviously not a good all knowing source on that. But I do suspect that EU regulations have also something to do with this.

The main worry about ebikes and more recently ‘fat bikes’, are the high speeds and related accidents.

Even a slight car park bump is apparently sufficient to damage an EV battery to the point of causing thermal runaway up to months later ...

That is a serious issue. The municipality of Amsterdam is working on legislation to get fat bikes out of use. Amsterdam did something like that in the past with scooters, which are mostly gone now. If A’dam is successful, other municipalities will follow, just like it happened with scooters.

In general, buy quality. An ebike with a Bosch, Shimano, Panasonic electric system in it. And preferably with a removable battery, and bigger 50mm tires.

Banned in France now, IIRC?

I’m afraid the ‘Sam Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness’ does apply to this subject: Boots theory - Wikipedia

Quite right.

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Are we talking about electric fat bikes or all fat bikes (non motorised). I can see how the electric ones basically look like a scooter, saw them last night on Amazon and I'm surprised they sell them in UK.

 

[mumu]

Good quality ebikes will be relatively expensive. Associated costs will also be higher. The average speed and weight of an ebike is just higher, which will also put higher strain on the chain/belt drive, brakes (!) wheels and so on.

You made some good points and I'd just like to add a couple of things: the more budget-friendly ebikes typically use in-hub motors so they shouldn't add any strain to the chain. But if it's an ebike with the motor integrated into the cranks (ie: mid-drive) then yes it will definitely add stress to the chain (which is why a decent mid-drive bike will have a bigger chain).

And the battery will start to wear down as well. An eBike is nice, it will expand your reach, but its definitely not cheap. And it won‘t add much if anything if you want to work out.

Research into the health benefits of riding ebikes have shown that their riders actually do get a good workout because they tend to ride more often and longer. My and my wife's experience match that result, too: despite having had bicycles for years, we rode maybe a handful of times per year. But since getting ebikes a couple of years ago, we ride several times per months. Based on the OP's situation, I could definitely see him benefitting from an ebike even though a regular bicycle would burn more calories.

https://www.rei.com/blog/cycle/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike

 

[AmritR]

You made some good points and I'd just like to add a couple of things: the more budget-friendly ebikes typically use in-hub motors so they shouldn't add any strain to the chain. But if it's an ebike with the motor integrated into the cranks (ie: mid-drive) then yes it will definitely add stress to the chain (which is why a decent mid-drive bike will have a bigger chain).



Research into the health benefits of riding ebikes have shown that their riders actually do get a good workout because they tend to ride more often and longer. My and my wife's experience match that result, too: despite having had bicycles for years, we rode maybe a handful of times per year. But since getting ebikes a couple of years ago, we ride several times per months. Based on the OP's situation, I could definitely see him benefitting from an ebike even though a regular bicycle would burn more calories.

https://www.rei.com/blog/cycle/can-you-get-exercise-riding-an-e-bike

Good too know about the health benefits! Valuable info. Thnx.

Also, I have to keep in mind that where I live is, well, rather flat. Unlike most other places, not to mention the UK. We did make a bicycle tour last weekend in another part of the Netherlands climbing a hill of a whopping 40 meters.

One of the main reasons I bought the Trek, was it’s low weight and it has the engine in the rear wheel. It’s without electric support basically as light to cycle as with a normal bicycle.
So no hills over here except for some dunes. We can have a lot of wind though, and I hate having to work against it. Very frustrating, also because no matter which direction I go, it’s usually in my face
Then it’s very nice to be able to switch on the e-drive.

 

[AmritR]

All agreed.

The outgassing can render a person unconscious or dead after a few breaths! There was a death in Australia about a week ago from a burning Li-Ion battery in an upstairs room. The man who tried to contain the fire died, almost certainly from toxic gas inhalation.

I use the touchstone of hotter than our kitchen hot water, 50°C.
My experience has been that defective {camera} batteries throw an error before charging starts, but that's not definitive.

Even a slight car park bump is apparently sufficient to damage an EV battery to the point of causing thermal runaway up to months later ...

Banned in France now, IIRC?

Quite right.

The toxicity is scary, not to mention the temperatures when burning. Better to keep these batteries out of the house then

I don’t know about France. I did read something about harsh penaltys about tuning ebikes.

One of the remarkable thing about Europe/EU is that though there is a lot of integration going on, one currency, no borders etc. The language barriers are real and substantial.

 

[Bobs Your Uncle]

Want some style, Ovi?
Appears to have a foot-deck like a skateboard.

 

[John King]

...

Rental e-scooters ...

Banned in France now, IIRC?

Why Paris is one of the few cities in the world banning rental e-scooters

Paris made headlines this month by banning its 15,000 rental e-scooters. Other cities are taking a very different approach to the popular devices.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[wt21]

I did not read all the posts, but I am an avid cyclist (though just an amateur). Bike prices exploded in the pandemic due to demand and supply chain issues. eBikes are an area manufacturers especially wanted to make a lot of money on. I would not recommend an eBike in the US cheaper than $2K and the better ones are up around $3K. The cheaper ones have been notorious for starting those lithium-ion fires that burn your house down. Even good bikes with bad replacement batteries have done the same.

That's the bad news. The good news is no one's buying bikes at the moment, so incentives are appearing and prices are dropping, though overall inflation is still pushing things up. If you do get a good bike brand used, I'd recommend making sure you don't have a 3rd party battery in there and if you do, look into the price of a manufacturers OEM battery.

 

[CatsAreGods]

e-step from urbmob?
e-step kick & go, 600 euro, you got to 'kick' every 8 seconds.
www.urbmob.eu
info@

"Er heeft zich een kritische fout voorgedaan op je website." 🙀

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Want some style, Ovi?
Appears to have a foot-deck like a skateboard. View attachment 412165

I always found those modes of transportation funny, like cars for me I don't want to get too dependent on one of those and end up being lazy. I want a peddling bike to put some effort into it. That one is on the wrong side of a bell efficiency curve.

 

[Herman]

UrbMob Kick&Go - Elektrische step

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

UrbMob Kick&Go - Elektrische step

I appreciate the link, I checked the weight limit and I'm about 43% over it's limit with a backpack and some water. Look nice if I lived in a big city like Bristol or Taunton but I live in a 60K peeps town and you can walk it's entire length in any direction in less then 30 minutes.

 

[Panolyman]

Hi Ovi,
we'll disregard your original query about the British bike industry going downhill as that's a separate and contentious issue.
So lets get down to getting you out on a bike.

I've been cycling seriously now for around 30 years, including long distance, touring and simply pleasurable pootling around.
My first thought is for you to check if there's a local club near you affiliated to what is now Cycling UK (formerly the CTC, Cyclists Touring Club, or as roadies would have it, the Cafe to Cafe club).
A local club like that will have members of all ages and abilities and usually offer starter rides of a few miles with friendly support.
Our local club has had members way, way over your current weight riding with them, so there's nothing to fear on that account.
They will have knowledgable people who have experience of using local bike shops and will no doubt know of friends who will have a suitable bike for sale for only a few hundred pounds.

There's a great bike shop near you in Bridgwater, called St.John Street cycles, selling bikes under the Thorn brand.
OK, a new one will cost a fair packet, but their range is great and most are built to handle anything, and they may have some second hand bikes available.

But first of all, I urge you to get in touch with a local club, who will do all they can to enable you to get out and about enjoying cycling in the fresh air and the health benefits.

 

[mumu]

Good too know about the health benefits! Valuable info. Thnx.

Also, I have to keep in mind that where I live is, well, rather flat. Unlike most other places, not to mention the UK. We did make a bicycle tour last weekend in another part of the Netherlands climbing a hill of a whopping 40 meters.

Ah, yeah, if I lived somewhere flat I'd be more likely to ride a non-e bike. I'm in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. Lots of hills unless you're riding along the water.

One of the main reasons I bought the Trek, was it’s low weight and it has the engine in the rear wheel. It’s without electric support basically as light to cycle as with a normal bicycle.

That's nice. Our e-bikes weigh about 65 lbs w/o the battery attached. Hmm...that just gave me a thought: e-bikes will work you even harder than a regular bicycle, just don't turn on the power.

So no hills over here except for some dunes. We can have a lot of wind though, and I hate having to work against it. Very frustrating, also because no matter which direction I go, it’s usually in my face

Whew, I thought it was just me that has that problem with headwinds. ;-)