It would be a great help if anyone could kindly share your experiences with regular bikes vs ebikes here in Tokyo! I’m having a hard time deciding which one to get.
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I am relatively young (28) and reasonably fit (mostly yoga nowadays). I used to ride a regular bike for leisure in my home country, but now that I’m living in Japan the purpose of riding is a bit different. I’ll need to use the bike for daily grocery shopping (5-10 minute ride away, but there are slopes) plus occasional commutes of maybe 20 minutes.
Please tell me if I’m being too idealistic but: I like how a regular bike would give me a bit of a cardio workout every time I use it. Plus it’s more affordable, so I’m leaning towards it.
HOWEVER, I rented a e-bike recently just to try- and loved how I can start and stop with ease. Felt like a luxury, but seemed useful to have that battery assist for acceleration when I’m constantly slowing down/stopping to navigate safely around cars and pedestrians. I also imagine that in the summer time I’ll sweat a lot less with an ebike.
Any insights are appreciated!!!
29 comments
Would say the best use case for the mamachari you see around Tokyo is when you have kids you need to shuttle around. For a single person without any issues you should just get a bike with a basket, is vastly cheaper (replacement batteries can be 25,000¥ and internal work will need to be done by a shop)
My area is pretty flat but my regular Trek crossy bike works just fine for getting around.
Electric assist would be a nice luxury though
I’ve done both and the sweat difference is very, very, very real. I’ve just got a pedal assist, not a full on electrically driven bike, but even that can get me to work (@7km) with much less sweating even than walking. Back when I was riding a non-assist road bike, no matter how easy I took it, I’d be pouring sweat by the time I got to work.
When I first arrived as a student, I walked everywhere that was within a reasonable (up to 40 mins) walking distance.
Later, I bought a used bicycle, and it got me to the same places in about half the time. It was a pretty good purchase, and I was quite happy with it.
Used it for about 2 years or so, when I hurt my knee playing sports. I could still ride my bike on level ground, but couldn’t manage going uphill, and my area has a number of slopes.
I picked up the cheapest power assist bike (*), and feel that it’s been one of my best purchases thus far. The main purpose of a bicycle, for me, is to commute, and while it seemed like a really expensive purchase at that time, I feel it’s paid for itself several times over through the years. Commuting on one is easy and effortless, regardless of gradient, and when the weather is good, I even use it to commute further distances saving on the two way train fare, and just pay about 100Y to park my bike instead.
My main use has been short commutes (up to 20 mins away), but I’ve also used it for occasional trips that were up to an hour each way. I’ve not yet have to replace my battery yet, and it’s been quite a number of years old already.
My knee is all better now, but I do sometimes still think I wish I bought a power assist bike since day 1. My only regret has been that I didn’t get one sooner.
(*) In view of battery safety, I decided it was important to get a bike with locally produced batteries. This pretty much limited my options (at that time) to Panasonic, Yamaha, or Bridgestone (who, I hear, sources their batteries from Panasonic)
If you are young and fit go with the regular bike.
E-bikes are great, but it’s extra cost and maintenance.
Also Tokyo is pretty flat….
If you are reasonably fit and your bike has gears you should have no issue with it. Sure, there are some killer hills in Tokyo but if you have a regular route you take you will find out the easiest roads to take. Been cycling in Tokyo for 5+ years.
What I would say is please ride on the road with cars, stick to the shoulder, wear a helmet, get bike insurance, and if you do not know rules of the road learn them.
Summer – Is so hot here you will be sweating either way so just have a change of clothes at work if you are planning to commute for that.
Now that its starting to cool off it is slowly becoming the best season for cycling – autumn through to spring so you will have tonnes of time to get bike fit for next summer and see how you are then.
Yes, I regretted it without a doubt.
Years ago I bought a decent hybrid urban bike after considering getting an electric Yamaha YPJ. I would do 5-10km regularly and it was fine, but I felt too lazy to go much further, despite my love for exploring the city.
Fast forward to today and I have an electric mamachari to take my kid around. I can do 5-10k easily on this thing and can only imagine how much more frequently I would have gone riding and how much further I would have explored had I opted for the e-bike.
An e-bike may be less of a workout than a normal bike, but if it gets you moving on more days that you might otherwise stay home then it’s a win. You could also adjust the decrease the assist power to increase your workout.
This doesn’t answer the question but the batteries from some e-bikes are stolen in my prefecture to the extent that when I go to the supermarket I have to remove it and take it with me and it’s becoming a pain. They’re expensive to replace and can be removed swiftly even when locked in.
>HOWEVER, I rented a e-bike recently just to try- and loved how I can start and stop with ease. Felt like a luxury, but seemed useful to have that battery assist for acceleration when I’m constantly slowing down/stopping to navigate safely around cars and pedestrians.
Japan ain’t the Netherlands, where infrastructure is designed with cyclists in mind. Traffic light phases in Japan are completely designed for managing car traffic – let a certain number of cars through, and then turn on red to control the flow. This makes riding a bicycle next to major roads a constant start-stop sequence, because if you want to go through at least 2-3 main traffic lights without stopping, then you have to pedal like crazy and keep up with leading cars. Since you do not wanna lose that precious momentum that you have built up with your own muscles.
In the case of electric bikes – whatever, I am fine stopping at every traffic light because the electric motor will help me regain momentum easily. And I am living in Shitamachi, where slopes aren’t even a problem. I would not live somewhere hilly without an e-bike.
I bought my electric mamachari used from Yahoo auctions for 35000 yen. It is old, but the battery was in decent condition, so still gives me a 20-25km range in standard mode. Plus I spent another 2k to replace the saddle and grips and 3k to order additional keys since it came with only 1 key. I also have a Yamaha YPJ-TC, but I prefer mamachari for running errands in my neighborhood. I have attached a big-ass collapsible 業務 box to the rear rack, so I can haul 30-35 kg in total(front+rear).
And cardio-wise, the e-bike increased my travel range and willingness to ride a bicycle, so overall it is net zero compared to my road bike.
Before this I lived in a relatively flat area & my regular bike was fine to get around the neighbourhood to do grocery or dinner. But then I moved to a hilly area & my gym etc is farther too so now I’m looking to sell my bike and get an electric bicycle.
So I guess it depends on the area you live and where you want to go with it.
Are the areas you ride in flat or hilly ? Depending on where in Tokyo, the experience can be quite different.
Maybe it depends where you are.
In Akasaka there are streets I’m really not sure I could climb on a normal bike without struggling… a lot!
I bought a regular bike when I was living in Kobe. I lived closer to the mountain and had to commute basically down to the waterside so while my morning commute was no problem, my evening commute home was hell (hills) especially in the summer.
First thing I did when moving to Tokyo was buy an assist bike.
When we had a child we got a bicycle with a child seat in the back: it was pretty heavy, but we opted to not get any electric/battery assistance. Our child was heavy, too, but the bicycle has three gears, and it was good enough for getting around our part of Tokyo, which, admittedly is not an extremely hilly part of the city. However, we have ridden down to the Tama River and back up with no problems.
I’m in my mid-60s and not in particularly good shape, but I’ve never felt the need for an electric bicycle. Once my wife got an electrically assisted bicycle for a few days when her regular bicycle was being repaired. She reported it was easier to ride, but not enough so that she wanted to buy one.
I’m a 55 year old dude and I see electric assist bikes as two-wheeled wheelchairs for old and feeble people. Get a real bike for the exercise even if you primarily use it to run errands. And don’t get a mama-chari. Get a “city bike” which is a lighter version of a mountain bike. Tires too thick to get stuck in grates and grooves in the road but not as thick as mountain bikes.
I actually went from electric to regular
Pros
– lighter bike (carrying, weight, braking, etc)
– easier to maintain less likely to break
– I can go faster (once you reach a certain speed you have to fight the motor resistance and weight of the bike)
– no range anxiety
– just feels better to pedal, no lag or feeling of disconnect, jolt
– I like riding it more, just more fun
– buying a new battery/spare just not worth (30-50000 yen easily)
– some shops won’t touch electric
Cons
– sucks when I buy my week worth of groceries and have 15+ kg to carry
– long hills make me sweaty
– I end up not biking if I need to look nice at my destination and it’s really hot/cold
– stop and go sucks
– gotta change gear more for the same effort when going from 0
– resale value isn’t as good
I’d say either get a light regular bike or get a proper electric bike, just don’t compromise on either.
The dream for me is an electric bike for daily, and a fun bike on the side.
If it’s for carrying back a lot of shopping, and if there are slopes I would 100000% get the battery assisted one. You can always turn it off if you do want more of an exercise (although they’re very heavy bicycles so it is harder to pedal than a normal non assist bicycle)
Slopes with heavy baggage would be awful. Even flat ground with heavy baggage isn’t fun.
If it were mainly for fun or exercise the normal
Bike would be fine but if it’s for shopping and commuting an electric assist one is what I would recommend.
My wife opted for like the cheapest bike she could find, it’s such a shit bag trying to ride it not easy to do so either. Steering is so bad
If I didn’t have a car, I’d get one of these bikes. I’ve got a hybrid bike (road bike meant for city) which gets me around really quick, but relies 100% on me.
The downside to these electric assist bikes are their cost. I wouldn’t buy a cheap one for quality sake, though.
GET THE ELECTRIC ASSIST!
I got a regular bike using your exact reasoning and regret it! I work from home and wanted to get some cardio in. I was debating between (a) a higher end non-electric mamachari and (b) a lower end electric assist. I went for option (a), and while I wasn‘t the worst decision ever, I really wish I had gotten an assist.
Tokyo (at least where I live/want to bike to) is SO hilly. To the point that while a bike ride to Shibuya takes less than 20 minutes, I need to bike uphill on LONG hills both ways (since there is a valley of sorts with a stupid stoplight right at the bottom, so I can’t even use momentum). Not only is this exhausting, but except for winter, it means arriving to your destination sweaty and gross.
Getting a non-electric bike is fine for just local rides to the supermarket etc. However, I really imagined myself biking to more distinctions within the 20-30 minute range. This rarely happens. I ultimately get less cardio overall because I end up taking public transport to avoid the sweaty hills. If I could go back in time, I would have gotten an electric assist, and perhaps set a “rule” for myself to not use the assist except for when I’m going uphill.
Regular bike (with gears) owner, I don’t regret it, it is my main source of exercise. Amount of sweat in summer is real though
You can just buy an e-bike and put it on the lowest setting or turn it off for more workout. You’ll want the assistance for hills and such, so it’s better to have the option for that.
One thing I didn’t expect about e-bikes is that they sometimes make me drive like I’m a car. I’m normally a very risk-averse person, but when I rent an e-bike, I have to be really, really careful not to get reckless. Not sure if I’m alone in feeling this way or if it’s the poor bike infrastructure in my area of Tokyo being exacerbated by the extra speed or what.
It depends on what areas you will be riding in. I live near riversides, so slopes aren’t a major part of my life unless I’m going over a train line. The only time I really wish I had a pedal assist is when I’m cycling back for CostCo with many kilograms of meat.
ETA: In the summer, I’m sweating hard no matter what. I like to pretend it is from exercise and not just being in the totally wrong climate.
If you’re not doing any exercise other than yoga I’d just tough it out and get a bike without assist. You’re investing in staying healthy. When you’re older(or if you have kids you have to cycle around etc) you can upgrade to an assist.
I’m 40 and still riding around on an unpowered mamachari hills and all
I originally bought a used 1-speed bike, cheapest I could get. I wanted to use it for my 20-25 minute walk to work at the time but there was one big hill at the end. I was stand-pedaling up the hill in the summer sweating my ass off with my shitty bike and a grandma flew by me up the hill on an electric bike. I eventually gave up using the bike, either because of that hill or because of the shitty bike, and just reverted to walking back and forth everyday, rain or shine.
If you have no major hills on your regular commute or don’t have much money or don’t plan to stay in Japan very long, I’d stick with a simple bike. But if you have any major hills or children to haul and have some money and plan to stay in Japan for a few years, I’d get the electric.
I have a cherubim road bike and my wife has an electric Bridgestone assist bike that I use also.
I use mine when I want to get somewhere quickly, 9 months of the year the weather isn’t a problem, I can cycle fast on roads etc, and a backpack carries what I need, the big difference is the top speed!
If I’m going a short distance, speed isn’t important and I’ve got stuff to carry (groceries etc), a brutal hill or it’s summer, I’ll use my wife’s bike. I’m lucky that I can choose from both, but if I only had one I think I’d still pick my road bike, but that’s not a practical choice c it’s an emotional one.
Oh I am a fan of the one gear very normal bikes here. I love just going around looking at new places. But my wife loves ebikes and just got two weeks ago.
Differrance I would say is ebikes are so much better at places with a lot of crosswalk lights. So easy and smooth to get back into speed especially with the boy on the back to add weight.
But at higher speeds its very heavy. My one gear flies through highspeeds and goes faster the more I put fire to my legs. E bikes feels like it actually pulls back and not because of weight.
Tbh even when writing this I dont know which one I prefer.
Excuse my grammar had a few sapporo tallboys tonight.
I like my ten speed mountain bike a lot, my legs are also so toned now.