Electric Bicycles

[deemqueen.livejournal.com]

 Would anyone have recommendations on buying (and riding) electric bikes in the area?  My 3 mile commute just turned into a 10 miles commute, and I wondered if an electric powered bike could be the solution.

Comments

[inahandbasket]

10 really isn't that bad. I went from 3 to 8 this year, it's not much of a jump.
Go for it!

Go for it!

[deemqueen.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I do want to try. Wasn't sure how 20 miles round trip would feel!

Re: Go for it!

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

I switched from 3 to 11, and for a month or three I thought an e-bike would be a great idea. I don't mind it at all now.

Caveat: my commute is the minuteman, so a very easy 11 miles. i average at least 4 days a week. Studded tires in winter.

At that distance though, the quality/nature of the bike (and your body) becomes more important. It becomes more important to have efficiency and gears (preferably quite close ratios). SS/FG types will tell you otherwise, but they don't have my 40 year old knees. I used to commute SS 4 miles, and in hindsight, it was only the shortness of the distance kept my knees from falling apart. Spinning legs at a good speed helps your knees to have a long and happy life, compared to cranking at lower rpms.

Re: Go for it!

[dilllll.livejournal.com]

And make sure your seat is the correct height! I didn't notice when my seat had slipped down until a longer (20mi) ride.. You don't really notice on shorter (3mi) rides. Your knees should not hurt. If they do, your seat is the likely culprit.

See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html for height adjustment info.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Depends on how fast you are and how constrained your time is. I used to do 5-7 regularly, but I could not have done 10. (I'm not very fast, and I obey all the traffic lights & laws; 10 miles would take me an hour each way, not counting shower & change.)

But hey, if you are fast it is totally reasonable.

[mjrocks98.livejournal.com]

If you go with an electric bike def. test them out first. The college I work for bought several electric bikes last year (all the same make & model from Pietzo) for our police & facilities departments, & let's just say we couldn't get bikes small enough for anyone under 5'4". Also, for me as a woman the bike was too heavy. Because of the battery pack in the back the bike was weighted in the front which made it too difficult for me to steer. I felt very unsafe on it. Pietzo is nice because it's a local company out of Bedford, but I just couldn't handle their bikes, but maybe you would have better luck.

[deemqueen.livejournal.com]

Hmmm ... I knew there had to be a catch. I wonder how different the designs are across companies.

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

I don't know your commute destination, but you should definitely see if you can shorten it by taking your bike on the commuter rail. It's allowed in the reverse-commute direction (which you presumably are if you're starting near Davis...) and can be quite pleasant. Of course, that only works if your destination is within a few miles of a commuter rail stop. This is particularly convenient for destinations like Waltham.

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

And if it's not a reverse commute, consider a folding bike. Though while they're allowed (folded) on any T/Commuter Rail train at any time, it could of course be obnoxious and impractical. They're still a bit unwieldy.

I think "Downtube" bikes are popular, and there are Dahon models from around $300. I have one of the latter, and used it on the commuter rail from Porter to West Concord for a while. It was a nice, though expensive, way to commute.

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

there is a place that sells electric bikes near West Medford.

http://www.smoothscooters.com/index.html

I haven't been inside, but every time I ride by I want to stop in and try out the electric bikes.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

I recently dealt with this issue. My commute bumped up from 4.5 miles to 23 miles each way. I thought briefly about an electric bike but didn't like the idea of relying on a battery pack in the winter (the cold will kill them) and I also figured I would freeze in the winter if I wasn't pedaling hard. That said, I didn't do a lot of research on e-bikes.

Everybody's circumstances are different, but I think 10 miles each way is actually quite doable for most people. It's making the transition that is hard. Definitely check out options like the commuter rail, or even busses, to shorten the ride starting out. Google Maps biking directions is a great tool for researching options. I spent several weeks doing a bike/train commute before I committed to making the full ride to my new office.

One thing I've found is that there's a bit of a tipping point between 5 and 10 mile commutes. Five and under can be done on really any bike, in a regular clothes and with little regard for speed. Somewhere around 10, you'll very likely want a bike with gears (even the Minuteman can be a grind with one gear and a headwind) and you might start having to change clothes, in part because you'll be working harder to go fast because 10 miles can take a while, after all. If you do decide to bike all 10 miles on a regular bike, you'll likely need to make a few adjustments but I think it will be worth the effort.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

You're going to need a reeeeeaaallly long cord...

I'll be here all week. Tip your waitresses!

Thanks!

[deemqueen.livejournal.com]

These are great tips. The commute is to 133 Post Road, Weston. This is within 2-3 miles of 3 stops on the Fitchburg line ... so bike on the rails is a great idea.