Getting An Electric Bike Into Car

[jubileejane]

Hello, I am thinking of buying an e bike, mostly for local use. I have been told they are very heavy and I know I wouldn't be able to lift it in my car. Does anyone have experience of using an e bike? And any recommendations how to get it into a car.

[emmie]

i doubt you could lift it into a car, they are bulky and heavy, going on the ones i see around me.

[emmie]

i had no idea they were so expensive, still its your choice. unless you can lift it, which seems difficult, i can't see how it would fit in the back of any vehicle.

[ummmm]

My mums elec bike fold up.

[emmie]

does it, the ones i have seen don't. they are hulking great things.

[ummmm]

*folds

[emmie]

perhaps that's the answer a folding e bike, i confess i haven't seen any around. lots of them in use in London including the e scooter.

[joeski53]

The folding bike is the answer, the weights vary the more powerful/the more bulkier/the more expensive they are, its the battery/motor/frame material that adds up. On average they weigh about 25 kg.Which do a guide on the best folding bikes.

[davebro]

I have a Zipper Z4 folding ebike. It is quite heavy but not unduly so. I can manage to load it into the back of my SUV when necessary. It's quite ungainly (right word?) doing the folding/unfolding. It cost £620 new from ebay.

You can pay thousands for a top of the range model but I didn't want to lash out a lot of money for it just to be sat in the garage.

[joeski53]

Thet do vary, the turbo creo SL is £6000, I have read somewhere its one of the fastest they make (at that figure i suppose you would expect that as minimum requirement)

[davebro]

By law the speed is limited (25 kph?) but as with cars you can hack the control unit to make them faster - illegally.

[davebro]

and the motor only provides assistance when you are pedaling.

[davebro]

a guy I know just paid £13,000 for one.

[joeski53]

By law the speed is limited (25 kph?) but as with cars you can hack the control unit to make them faster -

Correct, but thats no different to cars, the limits 70 but they can go a hell of a lot faster than that, most if not all go faster than that.

[davebro]

yes, but cars don't come with a speed limiter already built in, bikes do.

[joeski53]

The Rutland carbon is about £13000, I believe its motor is 5,000 watts!!

[davebro]

of course many of the top models are out-and-out mountain bikes and if they are being used off-road then the rules for on-road use no longer apply.

[joeski53]

No,the limiter is a legislation, that can be got round, by registration and insured and taxed as such, if your paying £13000 plus then that is an option.

[barry1010]

If you have the right kind of car you can get an electric hoist - often used to get mobility scooters in and out of vehicles. This is one
https://www.autochair.co.uk/products/scooter-wheelchair-lifts/smart-lifter

[davebro]

If an ebike doesn't meet the EAPC rules it will be classed as a motorcycle & you will need a motorbike licence / tax & insurance to ride it legally on the road.