Road cyclist and climber looking for advice on an electric bike

errecaldia

I'm a committed road cyclist, typically doing 60km with 800m climb several times a week with a Canyon CF SL 8.0 Disc.

I'm considering an electric bike. Diagnosed with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis and two prolapsed lumbar discs, I don't know how much longer i'll be able to keep on going with the Canyon, but it is very clear that the best thing I can do for my health is keep cycling. I live in the mountains and they are my inspiration and motivation, so I'm thinking having an e bike may be a way to keep going.

Being in the mountains makes it hard to browse bike shops, and in France, bike shops are a bit special,being very reluctant to let customers upset the tenor of their lives. That's why i have a canyon: the bike shops, all of them, refused to let me try the bikes I was interested in, saying they'd have to order my size in, and if they did, i'd have to buy it. The size? Medium.... Canyon sent me one to try for a month, telling me they didn't care if I did a bit of mileage on it before sending it back. They got the sale.

So, I'm kind of choosing by theory alone, and will be looking for a second-hand machine. I'd really appreciate any recommendations of which bikes might suit me.

More detail: i ride in a semi-sportive position, the Canyon is an endurance model, and i'm reluctant to change this position s it seems to be good for my back. Uphills here can reach 20%, with 10 to 15% fairly normal. I'd be looking for a range of perhaps 100km with 1000m of climb, to get a bit further than i do now, a bit of incentive.

Many thanks,

Louise

janwal

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/
Drop them a line with your specific needs.

errecaldia

janwal wrote:

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/
Drop them a line with your specific needs.

Wow! Those Endurance SLs look fantastic. But, sadly, having recently bought the Canyon, out of my price range

arlowood

Is this more in your price bracket?

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Orbea-Gain-D50 ... MQAvD_BwE#

£1500. 2 x 8 Claris gears and mechanical discs so fairly basic but most other e-bikes are north of £2K

amrushton

That new specialized looks good but is big money. Depends what your budget is and remember, technology/batteries are getting better every year.

errecaldia

OK, you are making me think logically about this!

I chose the Canyon SL because I needed a smooth ride to protect my back. Having got it, I've got used to the good handling. It's unrealistic to go backwards on the handling and stupid to go backwards on the ride quality. As the Canyon cost 2.5k, and I need motor, batteries and all the gubbins on top, realistically, i'm looking at a 3k bike minimum.

I guess I knew this when I asked about second-hand bikes, but I can't see that those who have bought a bike at this level will be selling them again very often, so it's probably a hopeless quest. Which leaves finding 3k or doing without....

Some thinking to do! Thank you, guys, for helping me clarify my thoughts.

thistle_

Could you convert your Canyon?

If you're reasonably fit, you're not going to need a massive battery pack and hugely powerful motor.

By the time your back gets bad enough that you do, the Canyon will be a bit long in the tooth and you'll want a new bike anyway, and by then tech will have evolved that you can ride all day with something the size of a D cell battery and a motor from a scalextrix car...

errecaldia

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

Could you convert your Canyon?

If you're reasonably fit, you're not going to need a massive battery pack and hugely powerful motor.

By the time your back gets bad enough that you do, the Canyon will be a bit long in the tooth and you'll want a new bike anyway, and by then tech will have evolved that you can ride all day with something the size of a D cell battery and a motor from a scalextrix car...

I like your thinking. Have you converted a bike? Has anyone else done it?

First issue are the disc brakes, it would seem: most bolt-on packs are for rim brakes.

OnTheRopes

There are lots of choices out there now on road E bikes so don't rush in too fast.

Orbea make some nice looking road e bikes and start from well within your budget https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/road

Giants Road E bikes are very nice https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/bikes ... ctric-bike

As you are probably aware, depending on which country you are in there is a legal limit to what speed you can get assist to. In the UK that is 15mph, get above that and you are on your own and have the full weight of the battery and motor to haul along.
As you sound like an experienced Cyclist you may find this limitation a bit boring but if you do your research you will find some of the bikes can be *cough* hacked to take that limit up to around 25mph. I have seen this done by an experienced female rider who had had time out for childbirth and raising a baby and it allowed her to ride with the chain gang.
This would not be advisable for inexperienced riders and of course I would not suggest it if its illegal in your country but could make it a better ride for you and still requires effort to ride.

Matthewfalle

gruber assist is your boy. doesn't matter about caliper or discs - its just an electric motor inside the frame.

https://road.cc/tags/gruber-assist

#swiftandsilent

PhilipPirrip

Another thing to consider re; second hand electric road bikes, as you live in the mountains in France you might not be too far from bike hire shops that hire road bikes for the mountains, including electric road bikes. It might be worth finding out what stock they have for hire now and when they might be selling it in the future.

As for something to meet your requirements for distance and elevation gain, I'd look for a bike with a 4-500Wh battery capacity, whether that be in one large battery or two smaller batteries (one internal and a secondary bottle battery).

errecaldia

OnTheRopes wrote:

As you are probably aware, depending on which country you are in there is a legal limit to what speed you can get assist to. In the UK that is 15mph, get above that and you are on your own and have the full weight of the battery and motor to haul along.
As you sound like an experienced Cyclist you may find this limitation a bit boring but if you do your research you will find some of the bikes can be *cough* hacked to take that limit up to around 25mph. I have seen this done by an experienced female rider who had had time out for childbirth and raising a baby and it allowed her to ride with the chain gang.
This would not be advisable for inexperienced riders and of course I would not suggest it if its illegal in your country but could make it a better ride for you and still requires effort to ride.

You have raised a serious issue here. I've just checked: in France, the limit is also 15mph. As I regularly hit between 30 and 40mph, 15 is going to be a massive limitation.

There's a way of going up to a bit shy of 30mph by registering the bike, provided it has a certificate of conformity but this also requires lot of paperwork, an insurance policy and the mandatory wearing of a helmet.

This might kill the idea

PhilipPirrip

15.5mph limit only applies to the maximum speed the motor can assist you to. You're free to ride at any speed above that under your own effort.

errecaldia

PhilipPirrip wrote:

15.5mph limit only applies to the maximum speed the motor can assist you to. You're free to ride at any speed above that under your own effort.

Does the motor disengage? Or do you have to turn the motor too? Think I'd better hire a bike and have a go. This means I'm still on course identifying which bike or which retro-fit.

Thanks for all the help and advice, it's really useful. I was a bit lost with it all, partly down to the panic-stricken thinking that a screwed-up back tends to bring.

cougie

Read the reviews of the Ribble. Past the speed limit there's no resistance from the motor.

errecaldia

Matthewfalle wrote:

gruber assist is your boy. doesn't matter about caliper or discs - its just an electric motor inside the frame.

https://road.cc/tags/gruber-assist

#swiftandsilent

Nice idea, not suitable for carbon frames, though. I'll look through the other bolt-ons that are available.

ilovegrace

I am now 57 . in the past I have had 3 episodes of prollapsed/herniated discs .
Although I feel sometime in the future I may need to consider an e bike but not yet.
To me you should be doing everything you can to manage the situation you are in .but prolapsed disc .unless the disc has compresed beyond repair .will heal and can be managed.
Do not give in yet.
Regards
ILG

cougie

Good point and e bikes will get more popular and cheaper.

mercia_man

I would echo the advice to try out an electric bike - a decent one from a recognised brand, not a cheap Chinese import. Huge strides have been made recently in their performance.

Everyone I know who has test ridden a quality e-bike has been bowled over. They are fantastic fun to ride. Yes, in Britain and Europe the assisted power cuts out above 15.5 mph but you can still pedal without resistance above that speed, although it is harder work than a regular bike because of the extra weight. You will fly up those mountain passes with an e-bike - far quicker than you ever could on the lightest carbon road bike. And nothing will stop you hitting 30-40 mph plus on descents.

Bear in mind that bikes like the Ribble and Orbea achieve their light weight and stealth looks by having small motors and batteries. The amount of boost will appear feeble compared with heavier “full fat” e-bikes fitted with big crank-mounted motors such as those by Bosch. And the range will be considerably less. Think of them more as bikes that provide just an occasional mild boost to get you up the hills.

Personally I find the constant boost of a full power e-bike addictive. But a female friend who tried out and loved my wife’s full power model went off and bought an Orbea Gain -largely because she wanted an e-bike that looked as much like her Cannondale road bike as possible. She adores her Orbea and enjoys riding it with her stronger roadie friends in the mountains of Wales.

errecaldia

ilovegrace wrote:

I am now 57 . in the past I have had 3 episodes of prollapsed/herniated discs .
Although I feel sometime in the future I may need to consider an e bike but not yet.
To me you should be doing everything you can to manage the situation you are in .but prolapsed disc .unless the disc has compresed beyond repair .will heal and can be managed.
Do not give in yet.
Regards
ILG

Thank you all for your advice and support. My conclusions are that I should plan for some future need to invest in electric bike kit, preferably a retro fit to the Canyon but if my postural needs change, then maybe an e bike. Looks like I need to budget 5k to fulfil all my needs.

Meanwhile, i'll look for opportunity to try out a good e bike, and wait for technology to take a step or two.

arlowood

If you're anywhere near Leeds, Ribble are having Demo Days this weekend (27/28 July) at the Brownlee Centre in Leeds

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/blog/eve ... ing%20List

E-bikes will be available as well as their Endurance range

Matthewfalle

Errecaldia wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

gruber assist is your boy. doesn't matter about caliper or discs - its just an electric motor inside the frame.

https://road.cc/tags/gruber-assist

#swiftandsilent

Nice idea, not suitable for carbon frames, though. I'll look through the other bolt-ons that are available.

do you have to have a carbon frame? sell carbon frame, get CAAD12, fit Gruber.

#sorted

kernel_gadaffi

Some of the bikes can be *cough* hacked to take that limit up to around 25mph.

I was talking to a guy last week, who claimed he had modified his MTB to get over 35mph, by slipping in a magnet somewhere and fiddling with the electronics. From what I can gather from his mate, he's not a guy to exagerrate.

Like the OP, my physical issues are causing me issues, back problems, sciatica, lack of right leg and fibromyalgia, so, I'm in the market for something on the same line. I do want a road bike as I already have an MTB with very low gearing.

cougie

Yes you can hack the bike but God forbid you injure someone on an illegal bike. It's not worth the risk.

kernel_gadaffi

Yes Cougie, I agree with you, there are a few who find ways to get around the restrictions ans ruin cycling for the majority.

Matthewfalle

law re ebikes is explained in this mnths Cyclist magazine special promotion section on ebikes

#learnings