I'm thinking about getting an electric bike. [View All]

Y'all have been with me from the beginning, since this group formed the same week I started riding. You've heard me complain about my hills. I'm making progress but I'd really like to commute the entire way to work -- 17 miles. My plan is to get a bike that will allow me to pedal but give me extra power when needed so that I can get to school in a reasonable amount of time. Right now, the one-way trip would take me about two hours! Then, as I get stronger, I could begin making the trip without the motor, at least on the days I don't have to be there so early. I read about a guy who did just that on www.bikeforums.net. He lost 70 pounds and now only rides the electric bike on days he needs to take it easy, such as after a long weekend ride.

If I don't do this, my commuting days will be limited this fall. I have a 7:45 a.m. class two days a week. I'm not a morning person and I know I won't make myself leave the house at 6 a.m. just to drive and park and ride 6.5 miles, as I'm doing now. However, I think I will get up early and go if I can ride from home as a true daily commuter. Does that make sense? It's all about motivation!

I can't even transition from the 6.5 miles to the 17 because it's all rural roads so there's no place for me to park in between -- no businesses or commercial or public parking -- nada. I thought about driving with my bike on the rack one day, riding home, riding back the next, then driving home, and repeating. However, my campus is an isolated ten-story building on top of a hill. I would not feel comfortable at all leaving my Saleen Mustang convertible there overnight as there is absolutely no one there and if someone wanted to steal it or vandalize it, he could mess with it all night long and no one would hear the alarm.

I'm not sure if I should go for the bike or get a kit. I have a mountain bike with 26-inch wheels that I could convert that would leave my Trek 7200 intact. Or there are kits for the 700c wheels, too. I can spend as little as $150 on a ZAP kit or as much as about $1500 on a Giant Lite bicyle. There are also some midpriced bikes ($800) to consider.

If I'm going to do it, I need to make sure it has the power to help me up the hills and last at least 17 miles. My ride to school ends with a killer hill and those bikes are heavy. It would be the absolute worst time to run out of juice as it would be very difficult to push up that hill. (I just got an inclinometer so I'm going to have an idea what the grade is on that hill soon!) I'm just trying to increase my average speed from the current 9.5 mph to something closer to 15 mph!

So what do y'all think?