Whether you see e-bikes as cheating or a revolution in cycling accessibility, they’re here to stay and have now even proliferated into proper, drop-bar road bikes. We wanted to know just how useful they can be for keeping up with naturally faster riders.
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An e-bike rides like a piece of shit without battery assistance. Wouldn’t go near it.
Great review. That flats problem isn’t one here in the States since we are limited at 28mph. It’s magnified when there’s a headwind. I fly past riders I have no business passing on the flats and hills. It must be how pro’s feel. I’ve been considering getting a rear plate that says, “It’s not you”. Cheers
unless I can get surgery on my knee in the coming years these bikes might save me from a life of no riding.
Hey, can you guys try out the Ghost Kato fs 7 full suspension mtb? It’s at REI. Thanks if you do, and please reply.
Why on earth is the motor limited to 15.5 mph. Surely they would make it safer for riders if it went to 28mph as they do in the states. On my normal pushbike I can reach 28 mph on the flat as can a lot of other cyclists. The speed limit on British roads is 70 mph but most cars are capable of 100 mph plus,and they allow spotty 17 year olds drive one of those,after a driving test of course. So why not have a test for ebikes. I believe that our government is too corrupted,and they are trying to keep people in their cars,as they get so much revenue from petrol and diesel. I would get an ebike over a motorcycle if they upped the speed of them,as I think would a lot of other people.
I hope that people dont think that you have to buy an expensive e-bike. If you need an e-bike then you can either buy a kit, buy an imported e-bike, buy a store brand bike, or if you have plenty of money buy from one of the major brands.
you can get the limiter off.
I am really considering one of these, since my knees don’t allow me to ride “normally”. Also a great commuter bike, so your are not that empty when you get to work but still have had a decent amount of exercise.
E bikes are great for training a bit like motor pacing
A total GCN copy
The 25 kph limit is absurd. I am 60 and I easily reach it on the flat. When I was 30 I used to average 32 and easily achieved 60 for short bursts. I would be happy with the US 32 kph limit.
I am looking forward to project Y type bikes with new battery technology with three times the density.
There is no need for so many gears. My current Merida has an 8 speed Alpine hub and I almost never get below third even climbing. I am usually on Eco mode. I would prefer a more robust 7 speed derailleur with wider ratios. You can maintain the ideal cadence by varying the power
So is the bike’s limited speed a hackable thing? I.E. is there a software hack available from someplace other than Giant to remove or raise the max speed?
Does it have a dedicated TOW point at the head tube
Great video, very helpful
That E-bike is insanely ugly
would love this bike to commute I don’t need it and am fit. but looks lots of fun.
Bikeradar: GCN, can I copy your homework? I forgot to do mine.
GCN: Alright sure but change it up abit just so no one will notice.
I really hate these things. I’ll keep it simple; the point of cycling is that you use human power and nothing else. Want a motor? Get a motorbike. But it’s not part of cycling. I know people will come back and say, ‘what about old people? What about disabled people?’ Fine. But that’s like saying joggers should use wheelchairs because they include more people in the sport. If an able bodied person uses these things, in my opinion they are not a cyclist. I also hate the way the likes of this channel and GCN are pushing ebikes.
I wish people would stop with the “Oh you copied GCN” nonsense. They are both cycling related channels, so inevitably they are going to cover similar topics occasionally, especially when manufacturers are handing out products to test.
Edit: Also, people seem to think that these videos are thrown together overnight once they’ve seen what GCN have put out, it doesn’t work like that. Videos such as this take planning and a while to put together.
You guys aren’t the first to say it, but the bringing out of those people who want nothing more than to drop others is interesting. I would hate to ride with the jerk on an ebike motoring up a climb.
Loving them on the trails??? Uhh
even if you dislike the bikes, there is no need to dislike the video, they are only making videos on the emerging trends and where cycling is going, its just childish to hate on them for doing their jobs.
a woman came out on one on our local chain. all hell broke loose….
you should have see the strava posts after
In some regions the Giant Road-E is limited to 28 mph – about 45 kph. Quite a bit faster than what I’m comfortable maintaining on my road bike, but it’s not something I can’t draft behind on flat terrain. It’s a reasonable limit for what could be considered a bike.
I use an ebike these days exclusively just because it allows you to control your workout and gives you options. If you want to have more of a workout, you can always just scale back the assistance. It’ll give you more range, if nothing else.
Excellent. GCN’s video was fun, but this was more informative (IMO). I love both channels and think they compliment each other very well!
second
867th!
Seriously? How about kicking it back mate. How often would you ride w/ your less experience friend? You can’t ease up up for an occasional ride? Does he need to spend the extra $ for the help to keep up? For a serious commuter I can see the advantage being a nice thing but come on. Wrong way to advertise the bike. Now if bloke A has all the money and doesn’t care about at all about the stigma, the cash, and just wants an easier ride, cheers to him. So maybe I looked at the video in a purely pessimistic way. Alright go ahead buy the damn thing-none of my business-jesus dumpy just pulled out of PARIS ACCORD and I am commenting on this video. what would Jens Voigt say! But I like your videos BR.
Install a Bad Ass Box 3.4 and the speed limit is gone!
the preliminary stage to a mobility scooter
Ugh.
ebikes are a mixed bag of good and bad. on the one hand they give unfit and undeserving people an advantage over fit and deserving people.. on the other it might get a few more clueless, lazy morons out of cars, which should have been banned decades ago, thus giving every living thing on earth a tad more chance of a future, even if incredibly remote with 3 degrees now guaranteed if lag, feedbacks, dimming and a 1800 base point are included in the calculations, and impossible carbon capture and mindless hopium are left out. basically, its swings and roundabouts.
If there was ever a time for government to want registration and insurance from cyclists, this is it.
The speed limit seems to be the major drawback (next to weight and price) but you can hack this… nonsense about “legality” – who will know?? and what law enforcement will be focusing on this “law”? Seems like a no brainer. Remove or hack the limiter- for Bosch and Yamaha systems, they both use a rear wheel speed sensor (magnet to a rear spoke and wired sensor to inside the left lower triangle of the back of the frame – opposite side of the chain stay)… you can “fool” the limiter by flipping the wired sensor to the outside part of the frame and relocating the magnet to your crank arm… you just won’t have an accurate speed measure on the display but your top speed will be much higher. I bet the estimates for trip distance left per your charge will be off as well… but you probably will sort this out with repetition once you use the bicycle over the same routes / distances…
You void your warranty… but if you put things back into it’s original positions, who is to know? Just assume the risk and consequences of injury or damaging your bike …
problem solved (unlocked speed assist) … the Giant E bike is cheaper than the top line Giant TCR … great fun…
No, they don’t mix. Pedal up that hill, boyyyyy!
First
I think e-bikes are cool. They are often hated by cyclists who are into the sports/performance side of cycling but a bike is also a great form of transport and a brilliant way of exploring your local area.
I have a Vivax system, which is great as the extra 2kgs of weight doesn’t kill the bike when you have the motor off. I’m only solo commuting and my Strava rides are all private on that bike. So who am I ‘cheating’? I’m just getting to and from work.
You are still pedalling and you can still work as hard as you like with the Vivax system. Switching it on is like having a tailwind helping you out. It’s great on really windy days or when you just feel dead tired (or my bad back flares up again). It’s also great to use the day after I’ve smashed it on my regular bike and I have sore legs the next day. I still have a hilly commute to do and my e-bike means I don’t bail out and get the train instead.
My bike completely feels like a regular bike when the motor isn’t running. I can still ride it around at 20mph on the flat and corner (and brake!) normally. So I don’t think they are just reserved for beginners. The chaps in this and the GCN video definitely enjoyed riding the e-bike.
Every form of cycling is great in my book, especially if it starts making inroads into our massive traffic, health and environment issues.
*Serious question*: Do Strava times on an e-bike count? If no, why do pro rider’s race Strava times count…when then they have closed roads for them. Or why do Strava times for someone in a full aero kit and on a time trial bike count, versus average Joe riding by himself on drop handlebars?
durability of the power pack and motor?
What is the fastest bicycle
Madonna already done it 20 years ago
gcn done this last week
Stolen from GCN lol 😉
Personally I think E-bikes are a great (upcoming) tool for those who may not be able to ride to a full/good standard and won’t ride regularly. Having a partner, or a parent (my Dad, for example) who isn’t able to keep up with me on normal terms would be fantastic on some rides. I say upcoming because they still need to work on some issues, money being a prime one.
Road ebikes…. so mopeds.
I’ve always thought that limiting of the top speed is dangerous on e-bikes – to hear the guy say he almost folded over the handlebars at the bottom of a descent hammers it home.
I’ve got a Bafang 750w mid-drive e-bike kit (48v 11.6 amp hour battery) on my boardman comp road hybrid and IT FLIES. 35mph top speed. It cuts through 1 in 4 gradients like butter and has a max range of 60miles. Build complete for £1500.
I’ve never once been stopped by police. Even when I’m obviously comfortably keeping up with traffic without breaking a sweat.
These 250watt ‘uk legal’ bikes are rubbish by comparison when considering them as a commuter.