07-22-2017, 07:05 AM
There are a couple of different classes of eBikes on paper, but in practice there are so many different combinations of drivetrains and controllers, it gets a bit fuzzy.
Cort from EBR does a great job of breaking it down, so I'll just provide a link here: https://electricbikereview.com/guides/el...e-classes/
The "Scooter-looking" eBikes have throttles, but I don't know if the motor is activated as well when you pedal. I think that in practice, nobody riding the scooter-ones ever use them - unless the battery is completely dead. In that case though, I'd bet you're far more likely to see them walking the scooter than trying to use the pedals; the geometry looks horrible to try and use them to ride it like a bike. They have big, heavy SLA batteries. London has actually prohibited them on their trails, but pedal-assist bicycles are just fine.
http://www.london.ca/residents/Parks/Exp...oters.aspx
I like the term "eScooter" and "eBike" to differentiate between the two.
I'm a huge fan of eBikes. My second bike is actually a Trek with Shimano's STePS system, and I absolutely love it. I had test ridden one at the the Shimano booth at the Bike show earlier this year in Toronto in passing, not really thinking much of it, but could instantly see the merits right away and knew it would be what could get my husband into cycling. Later in the spring we bought him a Pedego, and now we can ride together every weekend! A few months later, when I decided to finally try and start riding to work (25 km one way), I decided I'd get one, too. I can show up at the office not too sweaty and exhausted, even on a super hot day. While I was just in Europe I was thrilled to see that up in the Lubeck area, virtually every single bike I saw was an eBike, almost exclusively everyone there with Bosch's system.
Cort from EBR does a great job of breaking it down, so I'll just provide a link here: https://electricbikereview.com/guides/el...e-classes/
The "Scooter-looking" eBikes have throttles, but I don't know if the motor is activated as well when you pedal. I think that in practice, nobody riding the scooter-ones ever use them - unless the battery is completely dead. In that case though, I'd bet you're far more likely to see them walking the scooter than trying to use the pedals; the geometry looks horrible to try and use them to ride it like a bike. They have big, heavy SLA batteries. London has actually prohibited them on their trails, but pedal-assist bicycles are just fine.
http://www.london.ca/residents/Parks/Exp...oters.aspx
I like the term "eScooter" and "eBike" to differentiate between the two.
I'm a huge fan of eBikes. My second bike is actually a Trek with Shimano's STePS system, and I absolutely love it. I had test ridden one at the the Shimano booth at the Bike show earlier this year in Toronto in passing, not really thinking much of it, but could instantly see the merits right away and knew it would be what could get my husband into cycling. Later in the spring we bought him a Pedego, and now we can ride together every weekend! A few months later, when I decided to finally try and start riding to work (25 km one way), I decided I'd get one, too. I can show up at the office not too sweaty and exhausted, even on a super hot day. While I was just in Europe I was thrilled to see that up in the Lubeck area, virtually every single bike I saw was an eBike, almost exclusively everyone there with Bosch's system.