E-Bikes

Just wondering if any members on here have had any experience of owning an e-bike and what they think of them?

I am due in three days time to go into hospital to have my second major foot surgery of the year done and after meeting up with friends yesterday and walking five miles round a local reservoir and then having a very sore foot afterwards for the rest of the evening,I realise that this recovery is going to be a long thing

Had an idea of one these e-bikes but having a look on the Halfords website at them I didn’t realise just how expensive they are to buy,the cheapest one at nearly £700 going up into the thousands so thinking might have to have a rethink and invest in a wheelchair instead so at least Mr Kandy will get some exercise while pushing me around some of the time

Any advise will be of help...Thanks

 

Sorry @Kandy can't offer much help with e-bikes but am definitely interested in seeing if anyone here has tried one.

I have a normal pushbike and have seen a few "hybrid" kind of bikes whilst out, where you cycle a bit but are also boosted by battery power should you need it! Are you looking for a bike which is solely battery powered (as in you wouldn't want to cycle at all) or something where you do cycle a bit and battery a bit?

 

Perhaps you could find a used one, that would keep the cost down Kandy?

 

Two of my friends have them. They are dandy. Never heard one complaint. Becausd they are quiet, you do need to be very visible to traffic. Perhaps a bright vest and gardening hat

 

Thanks for your replies @toppington @Sheal and @CanadianLori it was just a thought with regards to the e-bikes as a lot of the surfaces we do our walks on are hard tarmac surfaces as in old disused railway lines and round our local reservoirs which have been made up to be able to withstand,walkers,cyclists and wheelchair users.I have tried thicker socks and different types of walking shoe/boot but because my foot swells a bit at the moment and have been told this will happen anything up to eighteen months after the op then am restricted to what type of footwear I can wear. I really want to keep mobile and not have to turn into a couch potato so to speak

@toppington We have a couple of those Dayhon folding bikes that are easy to get into the back of our car but haven’t used them at all this year because of the op and another problem I have is that my eyes tend to leak something chronic when I go out into the wind and have to ride with one hand on the handlebars and the other hand wiping my eyes with a tissue so it makes riding a bit unsafe.As I wear glasses it is difficult finding a large enough pair of wind resistant glasses ie large enough to cover my own glasses to try and stop the problem

When I had my eyes tested last year and explained the problem they told me they could make me a custom pair to my eye prescription but I think they would cost an arm and a leg to buy

@Sheal one of these bikes wasjust a thoughtand as yet haven’t met anyone round near me selling one as I think they tend to keep them as they can be expensive to replace.I didn’t realise just how expensive they are and I am not sure if you even get a charger thrown in with them or have to buy them separately,then there would be a basket and lights to buy on top so it makes getting one even more of an expense

@CanadianLori I never thought about the quietness as my Dayhon ordinary cycle is quiet anyway to traffic and I think I read in the Daily Wail on line yesterday that from the start of the new year cyclists by law will have to wear a Hi Viz jacket to be seen by vehicles which is a good thing.When we were coming back from the big town last evening when it was getting dark there was a cyclist in front of us in black clothing,no lights,just reflective bits wedged into his spokes which showed up in car headlights.He was relying on the street lights to show him the road but I don’t know how he copes along country roads where there are no lights at all.

 

I get the same thing in the cold - even going for a walk leads to lots of tears for generally no reason other than it's windy! If you manage to find a solution to this please do let me know!

I had an Foot op a couple of years back too and whilst it was healing the kinds of shoes were very restricted! Also found that socks made the swelling worse so I ended up with leg warmers as they were a bit more baggy when swelling up happened. I also found the only things to reduce swelling were a combo of cold water/hot water plunges (two buckets in the bath!) and elevation so having it up above hip level.

Have you tried something shoe-wise like crocs? Although they aren't the most fashionable, They tend to be quite wide and roomy and even the larger sized ones will stay on feet well with the back strap, they are really comfy and supportive too.

Also it's very important to remember when you start doing things (e.g. Riding bike or going for walks) after injury or op, it takes a long time for the body to properly heal. Maybe a short bike ride combined with a short walk would be good rather than going for a long one of either and having swelling and pain. It took ages for me to properly get back into doing things (I didn't jog or walk fast for 2 years!) and the op site and pins give me a lot of arthritic type pain in winter, but you will get there with care slowly! Sending lots of healing thoughts!

 

Me too! Mr "M" suggested wind proof glasses (hoping Father Christmas might be kind to me )

 

@“M” I suffered with blocked tear ducts quiet a few years ago (I understand that babies sometimes suffer with the same problem?)and two of my siblings suffer with it as well.I have to carry tissues with me to keep dabbing them or else it looks like I am crying all the time.On the rare occasions I go to see my Dr I always forget to ask him if there are drops or something I could use to stop it.

As I wear glasses it is near impossible trying to find wind proof glasses to correct the problem

@toppington I am nearly nine months down the line after having my first foot surgery done and have been going on pretty as I had done lots of walking in the build up to it (We do lots of walking as part of our hobbies) so although I was a bit slow to begin with and could only manage a mile or so but now with breaks in between I can usually walk further.

I wear Cloggies,been wearing them since they first came on the market as they are nice and wide for my feet and when they get mucky I can take out the liners and chuck them in the washing machine with my gardening gloves.The only problem I have with them is that they make my feet sweat after a time because of the material they are made of.I tend to get rid of them when the tread starts to wear off of them I wear wide fitting walking shoes/boots but at the end of the day my feet have normally swolllen up a bit so have to rest them

I am going into hospital tomorrow lunch time for my second foot op which is going to be a fusion again so will have to elevate a lot and will be supervising from the sidelines Mr Kandy when he cooks the Christmas dinner this year

Hope you are improving day by day