I think gembo's route has less than a miles on that road, from Eddleston up to the Shiplaw turn off
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"The electric bike is not a short-term trend"
(506 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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Hope the coffee at that cafe by Eddleston has improved from the CCE expedition many moons ago
Posted 5 years ago # -
Your route seems to go north out of Peebles. Instead go west to Lyne Station then north through the Meldon.
You can miss a bit of the A72 by going around thd backroad south of Cademuir Hill (or the wee lane over the top). If youre willing to go off toad along a path, there's a nice wee route over the Tweed to miss evrn more of the A72. Sorry not in a position to map this atm but have a look at the open cycle mapPosted 5 years ago # -
@amir/frenchy
Yes only a mile on the main road out of eddleston til the Shiplaw turn. That climb is harder than the Meldons but does have sight of the big silver caravan. At top of Shiplaw turning right you are on main road for a bit longer down to p'cuick
If I feel up to it will turn left and go back to Balerno via elsrickle but that road is heavy with poor driving.
Lyne Station features in another route we do that goes Kaimend side of Carnwath then biggar then broughton then Dreva climb then the brilliant long flat by Stobo onto the Meldons climb then it is as you were.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Thanks both, will investigate next time I head over the Granites.
Posted 5 years ago # -
“
Brompton has sold 750 of its electric bikes in the UK since launching in August and hopes to sell about 5,000 this year, starting with Benelux next month and then Spain, France, the US and Germany.
“
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/07/brompton-bike-parts-hard-brexit
Posted 5 years ago # -
I finally took delivery of my Vanmoof Electrified S2 just before Christmas. I've been using it (and Lady ARob and mini-Arob have been using it) in a variety of situations. I've a few observations. So far though I'm ridiculously pleased.
Stats:
250-500W front-wheel hub motor
504Wh capacity
4 power levels
Integrated battery (can't tell that it's an electric bike at first)
Anti theft lock + tracking
Theft protection insurance for 3 years (if it get's nicked they give me a new one if they can't get it back with GPS tracking)1) This bike is an unapologetically dutch bike - 2 gears, get started and one that kicks in at 20kmph. That's it. The big gear leads to a nice slow 60 RPM
2) For my wife, it cruises up hills nicely and there is a boost button which is aimed at anything steeper than your average dutch incline. For me I need to hold this when I head up the steeper hills but that's because I weigh over 100kg so put the motor under some strain, however at that level I can cruise up the mound if I wish.
3) Battery capacity lower than more "sports" focused bikes, especially as the lack of gearing means you tend to use a lot of battery on hills etc, however it's a town bike so not designed for long trips. I rode out to Polton via town from Colinton, around there for a while and back via town comfortably on about 60% of battery. I could have eeked it out for about 20% less for sure.
4) This is a town bike and a tool, I can go faster on my CX or road bikes, however I don't get sweaty on Moofy. Carries two panniers and Hamax with ease.
5) Wheel Lock and alarm system, plus kick stand are great for popping into shops around town. Don't feel the need to lock it with a chain etc.
6) super comfy and feel like I've been outside and had a ride, but still able to go out traiing and feel very energetic at other times in the day.
7) same bike fits wife and I without adjusting saddle - awesome.
Overall super pleased. It'll be interesting to see how the battery and motor last in Edinburgh, I'll be keeping a close eye on performance. I will again note that this is a bike that I wish to use like a car, normal clothes, shopping, social activities etc, and so far it's working very well. Now got to get rid of 2 other bikes/frames to keep the S-1 ratio ok...
Posted 5 years ago # -
Sounds super @arobcomp
Looks a bit lighter than my OH's as well (one concern I have for touring with her's is whether we'll be able to get them off the train quick enough with luggage, and without pulling muscles!)Posted 5 years ago # -
Imagine it's lighter because of the smaller battery. Certainly doesnt feel light with Mini Arob and a pannier of chain lock and groceries!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Sounds good. If you drop round sometime you can compare and contrast with our Steps Helios cargo with Di2. Autoshifts through 8 speed Alfine hub.
VanMoof looks nicely integrated though and gets away from oily bike perception. Very high tech looking at site. One of the ex Optima guys works for them. (Optima did recumbents like McCraws Baron but now does the UA).Posted 5 years ago # -
we did see that bike at Cult. It was lovely. I did not know it had a battery. I would lock it up with a chain myself though. THe thieves won't know about GPS so will nick it.
Posted 5 years ago # -
It says the price here in April was $3200 which is scooter territory.
How does that stack against a conversion job for £500-1000 which allows the speed restrictor to be disabled when you go "off-road" as a practical Just-get-from-A-to-B piece of kit?Posted 5 years ago # -
Quite a lot of the price (and weight!) of an e-bike is in the battery and motor. A 500Wh battery is really expensive!
BTW @arobcomp your bike has a larger battery than Mrs amir's. But your motor may be set up to provide more assistance (plus only 2 gears as you say).
These factors are worth taking into account when buying. Certainly for a town bike, I would go powerful over economical (with battery). Same with proper mountain biking. For a "touring" bike, I'd go for a motor that stretches the energy out.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@le_soigneur depends what you are looking for. (also they have 800 euro off the bike at the moment so I paid a lot less).
I guess I wanted a good looking, solid round town bike which was well made and had a warranty, that just worked and could take a hamax and panniers safely.
The "home made" version doesn't provide that for me.
@IWRATS - I do indeed chain it if left for more than a couple minutes outside and in sight.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Price/value for money is my major bugbear with ebikes. If you took away the battery/motor a £2000 e-bike is only about £3-400 worth of "bike" (Acera/Alivio components, basic aluminium frames, basic finishing kit) but for some reason adding a £200 battery and a £3-400 motor seems to increase the cost by well over a grand.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@mcairney I can understand this having gone through the process
To be fair though the battery and motor on a £2000 bike are worth a bit more - not sure about the motors but a 400 Wh battery is nearer to £400 than £200. Number of gears is less important on an e-bike. Even so, we nearly bought a 10 speed bike with a top end motor (CX) and battery (500) for £1650. Not cheap, but better value than indicated.
As mentioned above, a major issue is the bottleneck at Bosch.
Raw materials for batteries is the new oil. Hopefully though, there will be a jump in technology that brings us greener, cheaper, safer, smaller and lighter batteries. A lot to ask!Posted 5 years ago # -
@amir Indeed I've probably underestimated the costs of those components (especially if you're looking at Bosch motors).
There's also additional components I haven't factored in like displays/controls which will add to the price.
One of the main reasons more expensive bike components cost less is that they weigh less. This is less of an issue with ebikes- indeed going for cheaper, heavier but more robust components is the most sensible option.My wife had a shot of a Raleigh Motus at Crieff Hydro and it seemed well put together, was easy to use and the motor/battery life were well-specced for the price.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@mcairney bet she had a big smile while she was trying it out!
I could have done with a motor on tonight's commute
Posted 5 years ago # -
She certainly did, particularly when she was wafting up a 10% gradient with me behind struggling away out the saddle on my (non-electric) hire mountain bike!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Funny that! Vengeance?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Just found out that the Nissan Leaf has a 40kWh battery. 100 times bigger than my OH's
Posted 5 years ago # -
“
I am unfit. I have been for far too long. It’s a difficult cycle to get out of, pun intended! So what can I do about it? I live in North Queensferry in Fife, a significant 13 miles from my work. My usual form of travel, the good ol’ train commute… busy, unreliable, pretty expensive too
“
https://blog.sustainability.ed.ac.uk/2018/e-cycling-destination-health/
Posted 5 years ago # -
:-)
Posted 5 years ago # -
That's a really good news story!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Interesting to hear about the 1 month trial. I shall suggest it to She Who Must Be Obeyed for the spring/summer. I foresee 1 of 4 scenarios:
1. She gets grumpy at me because I'm still faster than her with the ebike (probably least likely)
2. I get grumpy at her because she's now faster than me with the ebike (fairly likely)
3. I get grumpy at her because I'm still faster and she's holding me up in my quest to get to work/home/wherever as fast as possible and impacting on my Strava times.
4. All is harmony and blissOn the subject I got overtaken by someone on an eMTB this morning going along the innocent just at the end of Magdalene. Not a huge surprise given I was starting to slow down at this point as the chicane/traffic lights were coming up but knowing that these things are designed to cut off the assistance at 15.5mph I figured I'd make up the gap and possibly bag an overtake on the flat/downhill sections. Nope, he continued to pull away overtaking everyone else too! Given I was going between 15-20mph according to Strava I reckon he must have been going around 30mph. Given this and that it looked like a rear hub it's been delimited?
On the plus side at least he doesn't appear to be Stravaing it!Posted 5 years ago # -
I had use of a friends CX bosch electric bike to commute with for a few months in 2017. I found it safer to pull out on as far faster better at round about and hills. Also the heavy weight meant more stable at speed downhill. One advantage of electric bike in somewhere hilly like Scotland When up hill 15.5 mpg is fast enough when down hill quicker. If lived in a flat area would be annoying going every where at 15.5 mph when know could go quicker normally.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I know someone at a different university in the same town who applied for and was given in perpetuity one of that body's e-bikes
Posted 5 years ago # -
Was in NZ until yesterday - brother in law and I took a walk up Eden hill the other day (29c, was a bit of a hoof).
It has been closed off to cars, so a few joggers / bikes up there.
Also saw an older lady arriving up there on an e-bike.
Arguably the only way she would have made the summit.
e.t.a also, a couple of supermarkets have free charging points
Posted 5 years ago # -
Mrs ECT is very smitten by the e-bike. Without help, she's restricted to about 10 miles before collapsing in a heap for days.
She's had a couple of shots on one, including a week's loan from the ScotGov/EnergySavingTrust scheme.
The style of the bike is important (step through's are difficult to transport on our bike carrier) weight of the bike is crucial however - she needs to lug it up a flight of stairs as we live in an upper villa.
After much deliberation she's got her heart set on one of Orbea's new gain range. Quite impressive spec for the money, and very pretty steeds. Cycle Republic are selling them, although I believe they are still a month or so away from being able to deliver any!
Posted 5 years ago #
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