Yes, they were outlawed in NYC, I believe. Very unfair, imho. The bikes are NOT motorbikes, they are power-assisted. The bike, Class 1 like I ride, will not move if you don't pedal them, period. There are different levels of assist you can opt for. You can ride with no assist, slight assist, moderate, and boost. The real beauty is that you can tailor your level of effort very precisely between the gears and the power-assist levels. I can go farther now than I could before and expend the same amount of energy I would have going half the distance, which means I can explore more. On relatively level terrain, you should be able to go 30 or 35 miles, easily. On flat terrain, even further. On my 20 mile ride yesterday, I did around 2,500 ft of climbing and ended up using 75% of my battery.

@Condor5 With "no assist" do they require about the same amount of effort as a regular bike? What is the gear configuration? The ones I've seen look like 3-speed bikes. Also what is a typical recharge time?

@mordant the "no assist" mode is a bit more difficult than on a regular bike because ebikes, at least regularly configured ones like mine, are around 50 lbs in weight, so on level ground, or going uphill requires more effort. On most ebikes, you get either 1 or 2 chainrings, the cogs connected to the pedals. The gears in the rear, the cassette, is typically 8-10 rings giving you a fairly wide gear ratio. Recharge time on ebike batteries is nominally around 3 to 4 hours, depending on how much charge remains in the battery when connected to the charger.

@Condor5 Thanks for the info. I'm going to give this some significant consideration for the upcoming summer season. There's a dealer that I walk past all the time, I'll have to take a look at their wares.

@mordant also, if you go on Youtube you can get tons of info; not only on different kinds of bikes, but there are also many performance /test reviews.

You're braver than I am, I avoid the road like the plague, too dangerous for me. Go tubeless for the thorn problem if/when you go back offroad. It's the only way to go.

I was 42 when I started mountainbiking, and since then, I have been in the best shape of my life. I eat well, and I don't have a single prescription med. No aches and pains when I get up in the morning. Plus, I get to go up into the mountains and see cool things. It's a win all the way around. Well, except for the occasional crash.

Rugglesby, there are myriad types of ebikes now. I think you'd probably enjoy a fatbike to get back into biking. Fatbikes are very sturdily built bikes with huge tires, usually 4.0 inches or so wide; they can roll over damn near anything. You can get motorized, or non-motorized types. They will vary in price quite a bit, but for example, there's a brand that comes out of Washington state here called Rad Rover that is about $1,500, and is a pretty decent fat bike. You're in OZ, right?

There should be bike shops that could help you out with that there. There's a great series of YouTube videos called "Old man, fat bike" you may want to take a look at. Since I'm an old man, I love watching this guy. His vids aren't too long, and show him on all kinds of terrain sometimes doing some goofy stuff, he's kinda funny.

Fat bikes are very cool, I'm thinking about getting one in addition to the bike I have. The motors on the ebikes are usually around 500 or 750 watts, and you can go from 20-40 miles or so, typically, on a charge depending on the level of assist you use and the terrain you ride on. The bikes are heavy, around 50 lbs, but it doesn't matter since you can get power assist.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. You may want to use the message feature.

@Condor5 thanks for that, shll look into the fat bikes, and yell if I need help, ta again

@Rugglesby please do.

What do you mean by "popping"? Was it trying to shift gears by itself (ghost shift)? Or, does it feel like there is s tooth missing on the chainrings somewhere? The 1st thing I'd check is the shifting adjustment. Sorry, without seeing it, it's hard to diagnose.

It's like there is a tooth missing, yet they are all there.

@Holysocks have you looked to see if a tooth might be bent? That can happen, I've done it.

Thank you for the tip! I certainly will take a look.

Because they have a motor, some areas are still not sure how to classify the ebikes. In Ventura County, .CA, they have a temporary moratorium on them in the State Parks.

It is a perfect solution for us older folks who don't have quite the stamina we used to. I can actually go farther faster than I was able to on my regular bike. And the great thing about these bikes is that you can precisely regulate your level of exercise and effort by using the combination of gearing and levels of assist the bike provides. I'm 68, and accidents (or death) notwithstanding, I expect I'll be riding trails, at least fire or utility roads for many years to come.

@Condor5 I may have to check that bike out...

@Freedompath there are many, many types of ebikes for many, many uses. I would encourage you to go on YouTube and search ebike reviews; there are several of them.

I'm sorry, I'm so used to the nomenclature, I forget not everyone knows it.

An ebike is an electric-assist pedal powered bicycle. They come with a small motor and a battery, and give you different levels if assistsnce as you pedal. There are different classes of them for different uses; my mountain bike is a Class 1, meaning I can take it on multi-use trails and single track in some areas.

Wow, that's great @Condor5! I imagine that would come in handy for many different circumstances, including different levels of riders. Thanks!

@BeeHappy oh, absolutely. And for people recovering from injuries who don't want to remain inert. Yes, ebikes are great equaliser. Europe and Asia are way ahead of the USA insofar as common usage and regulation.