How I Got Into Ebikes - 2020 In-depth Analysis from Joe

It all started one day when I realized that I was not getting much exercise. I would be at home eating food and doing not enough moving and grooving to stay healthy! I was commuting to work and school in a car.

I lived close enough to walk, but I still drove halfway there, found a parking spot, and walked the other half. What was the point? Getting stuck in traffic, spending my hard-earned dollars on gas, insurance and maintenance.

There had to be a better way!

So with a mind full of ideas, and a computer full of knowledge, I went to work learning everything I possibly could about electric bikes. How do I build them? What should I look for when buying one? How do they work? What’s the overall cost?

Weeks and weeks of research left me hungry for an ebike. And I knew that I wanted to build my own.

But to get a taste of the electric bike feel, I (drove) two minutes down the road to my nearest electric bike shop. I went to try an ebike for the very first time.

And boy, I was blown away with how fast you can ride with so little effort. The speed at which you can bike up a very steep hill. It was such a surreal feeling.

Riding ebikes just puts a smile on most people’s faces!

Needless to say, I was hooked even more than I thought was possible.

After talking with the owner of the electric bike shop for a while, he understood that I was probably not going to be a customer. I was dead set on building my own ebike. He told me about a friend of his who had built his own ebike, and gave me his contact.

That evening, I was messaging this friend and asking everything I could about building an ebike.

“What’s the best motor?”

“What chainring would be good for getting up my steep hill?”

“How much did your build cost?”

It wasn’t long until he offered to let me try his ebike for a day or two.

“Yes! That would be great.”

The next day I had it in my hands (and beneath my feet!), riding around town and keeping up with the cars with the biggest grin you’ve ever seen on my face.

A whole new world of possibilities and experiences had just opened up.

This bike was a 750 W mid-drive, with only a throttle control to use the motor. It takes a little bit of getting used to. Accelerating uphill on a bike without pedaling? A completely foreign concept until just a few days ago.

I think I managed to go through the entire battery 3 or 4 times each day with how much I was riding it!

How I Ride Today

From my humble beginnings of trying a few bikes, I quickly ordered a BBSHD motor and battery for my mountain bike.

While I was at it, I also ordered new disc brake rotors, brake cables, brake pads, handlebar grips and seat cover. May as well go all out, right?

I installed my 1000 W motor and realized I am a poor mechanic. Because I messed up my brake replacement.

No seriously. Out of all the parts I could fail with, it just HAD to be the brakes.

Let’s just say I had to stop my bike by using a solid wooden fence. Not a fun time.

Oh, and did I mention I was going downhill at this point when the brakes let me know they didn’t want to work?

Yeah.

But, you learn very quickly when things go wrong (luckily not too wrong for my health’s sake).

After that, uh, insightful moment, my bike quickly became the easiest, fastest, healthiest and most fun mode of transportation I’ve ever had to work and school.

On a sunny summer’s day, I would often bike to work, taking me slightly less time than if I were to drive (thanks to the lack of traffic in bike lanes!)

If you live in a city with awesome cycling infrastructure, boy, are you in for a treat. This is where ebikes shine. A fantastic, dedicated lane for bikes does wonders for the enjoyment of your travel. Let alone your personal safety!

But even if your city doesn’t have the infrastructure for bikes, it’s still a fantastic means to get around. Just be careful on those roads, you hear!

In my evenings, a quick blast through the forests would be enough to leave me grinning for the rest of the night.

Combining road cycling and off-road biking, my ebike can handle it all!

Luckily I replaced my tires with a cross between road and off-road tires. A smooth centre with normal tread, and knobblies on the edges to get some serious off-road grip!

Why You Should Ride an Ebike Too!

If you’re concerned about a lack of exercise like I was, an ebike is a fantastic way to get low impact exercise into your life.

Maybe you’re just sick of all the traffic on your morning commute? Guess what, ebikes can eliminate all of that sitting in traffic! As an added bonus, you won’t show up for work sweaty, as the ebike will help you out.

Even if you’re just looking for a hobby, there’s a huge community of ebike enthusiasts who just love to sit around and talk about everything electric bike. But not only that, they love to get out there and ride too, so you’ll surely find a way to ride and make friends. Just look on an app like Meetup for a group you can join. If you prefer road cycling, or off track fun, somewhere there is a group of people just as excited about it as you.

Enjoy going fast? The wind through your hair? This is probably one of my favourite parts of my ebike. Being out in nature. No roar of an engine, no honking or tooting. No smelly exhaust fumes. Getting back to your roots has never been easier, or more fun!