[MathanK]

I'm planning to buy a e-cycle for my 13 year old kid for his school ride, is there any age restriction for pedal assist e-cycle in India? I have noticed that minimum age limit for riding e-scooter & e-bike is 16yrs, is that applies to pedal assist e-cycle as well?

[rubberwagon]

I stand corrected. My stance was completely oblivious to all the varied use cases and user needs and/or wants.

Originally Posted by anku94

I'll repeat the example of my 50 year old relative who had a bypass surgery. They would've never spent 40k on an e-bike, but readily took to it and found themselves going on 50 km rides as opposed to 5 km walks around the same old neighbourhood park.

I survived (and had lots of fun, if I may say so) by having an e-bike as my primary means of transport in Bangalore. The only times I used cabs was for distances greater than 15 km, or when with a group of friends, or when it was pouring outside. I can confidently say that had I gone for a regular bike, it'd be lying unused in my apartment parking and I'd have gone back to cabs like most people of my age group.

Cost is the biggest factor in preventing e-bikes from taking off. It's a sector that's due for an explosion if we can produce a 20 km range commuter for less than 10k, with government incentives and subsidies.

If I may add, the same argument was given against derailleur-equipped bicycles when they were invented some 70-80 years back. Vehicles evolve and naysayers usually find themselves on the wrong side of history

PS: that tandem bike looks fun, I should try one of these sometime!

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by MathanK

I'm planning to buy a e-cycle for my 13 year old kid for his school ride, is there any age restriction for pedal assist e-cycle in India? I have noticed that minimum age limit for riding e-scooter & e-bike is 16yrs, is that applies to pedal assist e-cycle as well?

None as far as I know. They do not require registration with RTO (as long as speed is throttled to below 25kmph and motor rated less than a certain wattage(i don't recollect the number) ) nor is any qualification required of the rider (age or DL requirement).
This was the feedback from the shop during my recent purchase of a Merakai 27.5T .

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by skydiver

Folks in Bangalore,

Does anyone know of a reliable bicycle mechanic who undertakes conversion of existing bikes to e-bicycles?

T.I.A.

Late reply. Padmavathi Enterprises.
HSR Layout.
Owner is Bipin.
+91 96865 54438

Just try him. He said they can convert my fat bike into an e-fat-bike for some 25-30K

[Drivaholic@2727]

Originally Posted by MathanK

I'm planning to buy a e-cycle for my 13 year old kid for his school ride, is there any age restriction for pedal assist e-cycle in India? I have noticed that minimum age limit for riding e-scooter & e-bike is 16yrs, is that applies to pedal assist e-cycle as well?

Please go ahead and buy any e cycle which seems fit as the 16 year's old age limit doesn't apply to pedal assist cycles. That rule/law is only applicable for 2 wheelers having a speed of above 25 kmph or 30 kmph I don't remember exactly though. Just make sure that your son wears a helmet and reflective Vest when riding it. Rest assured all will be fine and no hassle regarding age limit. I recommend checking out the Hero lectro line up for your son but mind due, the bicycles are pretty tall and need a minimum Height. Well at least for my model. And please buy a bicycle with Key/RFID mechanism.

Cheers.
Drivaholic@2727.

[ads11]

Just thought I'd share some quick notes of using a Swytch Bike conversion kit to add electric pedal assist to my wife's hybrid city bike.

For context her grandparents have been early adopters of the earliest iteration of the Swytch conversion kit for their Bromptons. They live at the bottom of a hill and while very agile for octogenarians, they needed some help to get them over said hill. That's where the kit comes in. In essence it comes in 3 main parts (I'm a petrol head married into a cycling family so I'm still learning - forgive any incorrect terminology):

1. A new front wheel with the motor built in to the hub of it
2. A magnetic disc to put around the hub of the pedals with attached sensor to link to the motor
3. And a battery pack (of varying sizes) and mounting bracket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1D0VZrXHTc

Having moved from the flatter part of the Pennines to hilly Leeds, some help was needed with the commute to work for my wife. Thought I'd get her the Swytch kit. They had a pre-order system where they sell and deliver the kits in tranches. We got the extended range (30 km) pack vs the standard 15 km one, worked out to about £380ish all inclusive (basically what we liked is that it seemed a well regarded and reasonably priced way to electrify an existing bike compared to getting a bespoke e-bike). Took about 5-6 weeks to arrive. All we had to do was make sure we provided the exact front rim size as they clearly make the wheels to order.

Delivery by UPS was a bloody nightmare, we kept checking the website and sod's law, the one day neither of us was WFH, UPS just drop off the kit at a neighbours where we had to wait a few days to collect from as they were then away for the weekend as well. Annoyingly I think UPS must've handled it incorrectly because the rim was ever so slightly warped (we found out when we took it to a bike shop when the front brake kept catching at one point slightly).

Assembly using the provided instructions and kit was a bit of a faff - it wasn't quite as easy as the video makes it appear. A lot of the cabling and sensors etc are held to the frame with zip ties. Also we found it odd that the components came screwed together, so we had to unscrew them to attach and then screw them in, but that was probably just our frustration making sense of it all.

All that being said, it's been a few weeks and a few rides to work, weather permitting, and touchwood, my wife's found it's really making a difference getting up the big hill just in the centre of town. We're still likely to take it to a bike shop again to double check about the front wheel and contact Swytch in case it becomes a larger issue.


Here's a photo post assembly. Shiny new front rim, with hub motor and the big chunky battery pack on the front handle bars - they sell other products too that allow you to mount the battery pack elsewhere. One side effect of the big mounting bracket was needing to find a new mounting point for the front reflector. Also any phone mount would have to go on the stem. Thinking of getting a Loop Micro Mount