Electric bikes

Since I wrote the original blog about cycling for amputees, I've got older and my various 'other' ailments have got a bit worse (my 'good' leg, for example, isn't as good as it was).

Anyway, I tried an electric bike a few years ago, and was so impressed I bought one. It means that I can still cycle, but without the great effort of starting up on hills, getting up hills, coping with hills in general. My first bike was a Wisper 905, a fairly expensive ebike - but if you're overweight and not very fit, the cheaper ebikes might not cope. Since then, I've had one made-to-measure for me - the advantage is that you can take an existing non-electric bike, and get it 'electrified' just as you want it.

On the Wisper and on my current bike, you have a throttle (just like a motor-bike), and pedals that are assisted by the rear-wheel motor. So each time I start off, I use the throttle to get moving, then once I'm pedalling, I let go of the throttle. This is particularly handy on slopes, of course, where even 2-legged riders have to put in great effort to get moving. Really steep hills defeat me, but there aren't too many of those in my home town.

All the modifications I talked about for 'ordinary' bikes apply equally to ebikes.