E bikes.

[m00rfarm]

I want an e bike that will take me up a fairly steep hill without having to actually cycle properly. Do I need an e bike or electric scooter? I’m reading lots about e bikes but no one can tell me whether me and my arthritic knees would be able to make it up this hill! All advice welcome in what model to buy without breaking the bank 🤗

I’ve only hired e-bikes so can’t recommend a particular model, but they certainly go up pretty steep hills with no problem. You still have to pedal them, so they are not scooters as such, but they do all the hard work! If you have trouble pedalling, even when power assisted, then maybe a scooter is better for you.

By scooter, I presume you mean more of a moped than the stand up variety?

I wouldn't buy an e-scooter, most in England are being ridden illegally and the police often take them off people in my county

An e-bike will definitely go up a hill with you putting in very little effort. Most have 3-4 settings

I hired one for the day at the Forest of Dean and it was brilliant fun

An e scooter won't get you up a proper hill.You need an e bike. They are great, can be quite heavy but good fun and fantastic for going up hills.

I was always advised to spend as much as you can afford and never to buy second hand. The costs vary enormously, one friend has a folding ebike which was £650 ish and not much heavier than an e scooter. Another friend spent upwards of 7k on an e bike.

Hills and ebikes = no effort, you can literally put your feet up.

If I were you I'd go to a number of bike shops and get some info, feel the weight etc.

I love my e-bike. It's heavy, but it gets me up the steep hills where I live without any bother, despite my creaky knees. It's brilliant.

If you don't want to pedal at all - I'd look at something like this electric scooter

I have an electric mountain bike that makes riding up steep hills easy, but that's probably not what you're looking for and was almost certainly 'breaking the bank' in cost terms but it was a great price for the bike and I'm paying for it on interest free credit.

But, assuming you want it for commuting, I'd agree that you want a bike not a scooter and to buy the best quality you can afford, and certainly see if your employer has a bike to work scheme that you can use as you'll save the cost of tax and NI and you'll be able to pay for it via salary sacrifice. Plus they may have an agreement with a local bike shop, where you'll be able to go and talk to them about your needs and recommend the most suitable bike within your budget.

To answer some questions - I live in Portugal at the top of a hill, and when we go down for supper or lunch to the village square, the walk up and down the hill is killing me as I have osteoarthritis in both knees and a meniscus issue in one knee as well. So I thought a bike could work, but although I can cycle on the level, I can no longer put pressure on my knees to cycle up a hill. Maybe one of the wide wheeled sit on electric scooters would work. Thanks for the info so far, and any other thoughts or recommendations much appreciated.

I think you should test drive one OP. Just take it up the hills and see if it works for you. You still have to pedal with e-bikes, but not with much pressure.

I just bought an electric cargo bike and it's brilliant, can't vouch for how it works on hills though as I live in the Netherlands

Sorry - when I referred to a scooter originally, I meant a sit on one with the wide wheels - not the stand on one.

E bikes add drive when you turn the pedals, so you would have to pedal gently to harness the power.

Like PP, I would recommend you try one. No one can tell you whether the amount of pressure you would have to apply to the pedals (not much) to make the power kick in would hurt your knees or not.

I have a Volt electric bike - cost about £2k. It's great but I agree they are very heavy which isn't a problem until you have to push them as I had to do when I had a puncture and didn't have the kit with me to repair it - my own stupid fault - it took me 3.5hrs to walk home! I was a runner for 25+ years and had 3 lots of knee surgery so I was also concerned about how well my knees would manage but I hired an electric bike for the week while on holiday on the Belgian/Netherlands border and cycled miles. without a problem. I now cycle for up to 2hrs - obviously I'm not getting the same amount of exercise but I'm getting some - I turn up the power to save my knees on up-hills but turn it down to save the battery so I can cycle for longer. I wish I'd spent a bit more money on my bike and gone for the Bosch system and a bigger capacity battery - similar to the one I had on holiday - maybe less than another £1k but I do like it - changing the rear wheel to repair a puncture is a bit harder as you have the wires to the motor on the back wheel to disconnect (pull apart connectors) - it's just that the bike is heavy to flip upside down when doing this - not big problem TBH. I have read recently that there are more severe injuries showing up in A&E from people who have had accidents on electric bikes not because they are going faster (I believe there is a speed limit imposed by the electric bike systems - I am sometimes frustrated that I can't make my bike go a bit faster - I have the power in my legs to push harder but the bike limits me - as I have knee problems this is probably a good thing TBH!) but because the bike frame is so much heavier and causes the rider a bit more damage in an accident. I was recently looking at a Brompton folding electric bike - small enough to stick inside my camper van - that was also around the £2k+ mark.

An e bike sounds perfect as you will get exercise at the same time, and cycling is brilliant for bad knees (as per DHs knee surgeon) in strengthening the muscles and supporting the stability around your knees.
I'm still waiting for my e road bike from Ribble to be delivered, and only test rode that type of bike as I wanted the assistance to keep up with others since my disability makes hills so much harder, but I was so impressed with how easy they make things when you want but can be turned off as you want as well

I'm not sure on how you'd get on with an e bike but, from the research I did about buying one, the biggest difference in price would probably if the battery is made by someone like Bosch or a brand you've never heard of. Personally I've worked with electric vehicles so would never go anywhere near a decent sized battery from a non-reputable brand on the basis that I've seen what happens when they spontaneously burst in to flames and it ain't pretty. We live at the top of a hill and most people seem to have the Raleigh ones which look great but are £2k +, less if you go ex display.

I love my e-bike and use it all the time. I like that I am still pedalling, still challenging myself by not over-using the power levels and then, when I want some help for a long hill, it kicks in. I have got fitter as a result of having it as I use it all the time, go further and am not using public transport.
Mine is heavy, they mostly are. I like the ones with the battery on the middle upright bar, not at the back - the weight is more evenly distributed. Think carefully about the distance you want to travel - I paid more for a battery life of 120 km and don’t regret it.

I love my ebike. Hills feel like I'm cycling on the flat. You have to still cycle though. I find the bike very heavy though so not easy to load on the car etc.

An ebike sounds ideal for you - lots of people with knee or hip problems use them for the same reason as you - that they can't put as much pressure on the pedals. Worth going into a shop to discuss and try out a few - there are different types - look at hub drive vs mid drive (where the engine is). I think mid drive (aka centre drive) is better for hills, but does take a bit of pedal pressure to get the motor to kick in so well worth test riding.

An electric scooter won't help you a lot. Many refuse to go on a steep hill or do it slowly with help. I would recommend you buy a powerful electrical bike for it. Some are petty and powerful and can take up such challenges easily. I use a Speedrid Fat Tire Electric Bike, which is perfect for my region. Fat tires help make any route I make on the country roads smoother. However, I'm not sure it is the best option for steep hills. You could check on Best Electric Bike under 1000 there.