Once upon a time we used to have just one bike each. Like most normal people. But as we started riding more it became apparent that certain situations called for different tools. We first got the folding bikes because we usually go away for the summer to get out of the heat. Traveling and living in our small travel trailer with "normal" bikes was a real pain! Ross had designed and built a small rack that allowed us to carry our comfort bikes in the back of our Xterra. We couldn't use a bike rack because the receiver was occupied with the trailer hitch. Getting the bikes into the Xterra and secured took at least 30 minutes and a lot of grunts, groans and a few choice words. And when we were at a campsite we'd have to store the bikes outside if we wanted to actually use them. The folding bikes solve that problem. They both fold up small enough that we can fit them in the back of the Xterra out of sight under the luggage cover. It only takes a few seconds to fold or unfold them. It was an ideal solution. And an added benefit was that they're really fun to ride!
The electric bikes were a purchase of economy. As regular readers (all 3 of them) of our blog know we like to hike. The nearest hiking trails are a 25 mile drive round trip. Ever the geek Ross created a spreadsheet and figured that the electric bikes would pay for themselves in well less than a year. Now that we've had the electric bikes for a few weeks we discovered an unexpected benefit; pedaling them, which we do about half the time, is REALLY GOOD exercise because they weigh 56 pounds each! That's about twice as much as a regular bike. Even when pedaling it's nice having the motor available. Not too long ago we were out on the electric bikes on a hot day. After pedaling them for 15 miles we were worn out and tired in the heat so we just turned on the motors and rode home under power.
More, including pictures, on both type of bikes later.
I would have only made it about 1/2 mile before switching to power!
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