Anyone use an electric bike?

[Old timer]

I fancy one of the cheap electric bikes ( around £400) I`ve read some good reviews on them and realise that they won`t be state of the art( lead acid battery) but still, seem ok for a bit of casual fun.

I know that spending twice that would buy a much better bike all round but that sort of money could buy my wife an I a bit of fun used in conjunction with our push bikes.

We have to go into an adjacent village for the post office and occasional stores which is close to a 10 mile round trip (we do by car)which is a bit beyond me at my level and age and my wife wouldn`t consider it. So! with a bit of assistance on the hills I`m sure it will be a lot more inviting + our nearest town is a 12 mile round trip. the coast is around 17 miles round trip away.

any views?

Dave

 

[orienteer]

A to B magazine covers electric bikes extensively, probably worth investing in a sub if you're going to spend serious money: http://www.atob.org.uk/

 

[Hilldodger]

I wouldn't buy a cheap one with your money! We get loads of phone calls from people wanting us to fix them but no one wants to do it.

Buy a reasonable quality one and you'll have a good bike but they're not cheap

 

[very-near]

A chap I work with has a Wisper905, bought it this time last year and commutes about 25 miles a day on it. It cost him about £1k but it is substantially better than the £400 ones which another workmate uses (which looks like a noddy bike). It has a fair bit more go in it as well.

 

[GrahamNR17]

Why not convert a semi-decent bike? The kits are becoming fairly readily available. Then you'd have a better bike, and the electric assist when you need it? Plus lots more fun to make something yourself

 

[joolsybools]

What about a moped ? Have you had a look on Ebay/local papers? You might get one cheap and I've heard they're incredibly cheap to run. Just make sure it can take 2!

 

[Old timer]

Why not convert a semi-decent bike? The kits are becoming fairly readily available. Then you'd have a better bike, and the electric assist when you need it? Plus lots more fun to make something yourself

Well, I have a almost new £100 special that could be converted but it has disk brakes so might be a bit harder and it`s heavy to start with

My bestest bike is my 20 year old evans, nice and light, very responsive and comfy.

Perhaps I should look into converting that bike as it has centre pull brakes. I was thinking that I could go for a front electric hub on that?? Just looking around the net finds hundreds of electric bikes. I been given the nod to spend a bit more and again if i buy a bike I think a front hub version might be worth thinking about seeing as if things go wrong and you can`t get spares then you could always just change the front wheel.

then there is the choice between li-ion or polymer?? isn`t polymer more suspect?

I think that a 24V li-ion would probably meet the needs and maybe look into a second battery in the saddlebag (not for speed but for extended mileage)

I`m looking around the £700-750 price mark! any ideas? any things to watch for? any companies in the UK that build their own so spares might be available? any pref for rear hub or front hub?

Thanks

Dave

 

[Old timer]

There are soooo many electric bikes out in the big wide world, every one I fancy is sold out ( no change there then

forgot to mention! a study done at one of the universities has said that buying an electric bike doesn`t mean a drop in fitness for average Mr Jo because they are more likely to use it more and even pedalling on the flat gets your blood flowing.

 

[ufkacbln]

+1 to reading the A to reviews and deciding according to your budget.

I have bought three bikes over the years for my elderly Mother, MiL and my latebrotherwhen he was having mobility problems due to renal failure.

In each case the renewed lease of freedom was worth every penny

My only comments would be (if you are comfortable with it) is to buy an assisted rather than driven as this maintains your fitness levels as ou contribute. SEcondly if you are a fairly fit person then you may find the top speed restrivctive

 

[Crankarm]

Yeah my bike is electric. It goes so fast it's like lightning .

 

[Old timer]

Well! after ploughing through page after page of web pages and thinking about what I would be doing on an electric bike and taking advice to not go too low on price I read up on a few reviews and finally decided to buy a Powacycle Salisbury LPX 2009 model. It has what I want, front suspension, seat post suspension, mudguards, 6 speed, polymer battery, rear rack, propstand, ali frame, conventional brakes etc. Prices run from £749 + £40 delivery looking around the web I found prices £699, £649, £599 (some with free delivery) but finally settled on £569 + free delivery. I know the model is likely to be replaced with a later model 2010 but what the heck!
Generally reviews were very positive and only a couple of reviews found any problems like the welds are quite large (as they are with aluminium in general) and one person complained about some rust on nuts and bolts. I realise that at 22Kgm (inc battery) it won`t be light but I do have my evans if I feel the need for something a bit lighter.

I don`t intend to let the motor take the major roll but it will be handy to get to some places slightly further away that have a few steepish hills on route. I`m not saying that Norfolk is a hilly county but when you get up near North Norfolk where I live there are a few shocks along the road. People are often telling me just how flat Norfolk is but of course they are people that drive up the main A11 to Norwich and don`t venture any further.

Dave

 

[GrahamNR17]

Congrats Dave! Look forward to bumping into you when i explore more of north Norfolk next year. I'll be the one puffing and panting trying to hail you for a tow

Let's see some pics when you get the new bike

 

[Old timer]

Let's see some pics when you get the new bike [/QUOTE]


Will do Graham

 

[Old timer]

Not so fast

This is connected with the thread, just read on.

I stuck a screw driver through part of my hand today and it bled a lot, I did it up tight and finished the job. Came home, removed the dressing to wash my hands and as soon as "her who must be obeyed" saw it pump blood out she got me in the car and run me to the hospital where they confirmed I had damaged an artery. So now stitched up and home I thought I`d check my E mails to see if my new bike had dispatched to cheer myself up

I phoned yesterday morning at 9.15 and was told they had stocks and duly paid now at 17.30 today I get an e mail telling me it`s out of stock
I shall never use J E James cycles again for anything. Two complete days to discover that is very poor business practice.

Now I have to start all over. I wonder if I should go for something dearer.

Any suggestions???

 

[Old timer]

How about the Powertrek Dynamo 36V?Would I be easily able to fit full mudguards?