Buying An Electric Bike

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Ed Phelan

Ed Phelan

Active Member
Location
Brighton
Hi all,

I have been thinking about getting an electric bike for a while now and I am also there in terms of getting the cash together. Does anyone else on here own one? I have a budget of around a grand and a half so have a bit of room to play with but I am not 100% on what to get exactly.

I am based in sunny Brighton and there is a electric bikes shop down the road in Shoreham https://www.50cycles.com/ if anyone could give me some advice on a model worth taking a look at that would be good.

Cheers

Ed
 
mjr

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Location
mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I don't own one but I was impressed by a Kalkoff recently - not any of those pictured on 50cycles because its battery was over the downtube, not behind the seattube. I've not asked to ride it because I think its owner and I would both cry if I fell over! :laugh: An LBS I trust is a Powabyke dealer. That's about all I know so far. Good luck! :smile:
 
E

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
Yes I used to have one, it was a Wisper 905. IIRC it was £1400 but that was with a higher rated battery than most are selling (I used to get 70 odd miles easily with pedal assist). I had to upgrade the front brakes, as the stock ones were just cheapo mechanical discs, so I got some Avids fitted. However, my battery died precisely one week before the 1 year warranty ran out (phew) and new one would have been £500. Good aftersales support though.

I previously tried one of the cheaper ones (around £550) which was a MTB design with a smaller but better looking battery. However, it was essentially a supermarket BSO with electrical gubbins that felt flimsy. Upon delivery it didn't work so I sent it back.

I would buy a Wisper again if I had to do serious miles commuting. I got mine through e-bikes direct who were fairly helpful, and gave me a reduction on the price (they were offering an HP deal, so I asked how much they paid for the credit and they knocked that off for cash).

That was a few years ago now..not sure how/if the technology has moved on.

I'd be interested to know why you want one though. I sold my car and bought one, as I thought I could turn up for work without sweating and thus no need for a shower, but after a while I quickly learnt that this wasn't possible. I found my self pushing as hard as I would on a normal bike, never used the throttle only option. And if you go for a very long ride and end up with a flattening battery, it's very hard work pedaling a 25kg bike home whilst trudging that motor round as well. It's great if you are very unfit or just want an easy (slow) ride, but as a cyclist I would have probably been better off buying a 2nd hand roadie and a MTB, with spare cash, and been able to do just as much. Remember all UK electric bikes will cut off power at 14.5mph, so a lot of the time on the flat or downhill you are pedaling on your own anyway.

As for big up hills, the motor really isn't strong enough to get you up at any speed, and I always found myself stood up on the pedals!
 
Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Electric_Andy said:
Yes I used to have one, it was a Wisper 905. IIRC it was £1400 but that was with a higher rated battery than most are selling (I used to get 70 odd miles easily with pedal assist). I had to upgrade the front brakes, as the stock ones were just cheapo mechanical discs, so I got some Avids fitted. However, my battery died precisely one week before the 1 year warranty ran out (phew) and new one would have been £500. Good aftersales support though.

I previously tried one of the cheaper ones (around £550) which was a MTB design with a smaller but better looking battery. However, it was essentially a supermarket BSO with electrical gubbins that felt flimsy. Upon delivery it didn't work so I sent it back.

I would buy a Wisper again if I had to do serious miles commuting. I got mine through e-bikes direct who were fairly helpful, and gave me a reduction on the price (they were offering an HP deal, so I asked how much they paid for the credit and they knocked that off for cash).

That was a few years ago now..not sure how/if the technology has moved on.

I'd be interested to know why you want one though. I sold my car and bought one, as I thought I could turn up for work without sweating and thus no need for a shower, but after a while I quickly learnt that this wasn't possible. I found my self pushing as hard as I would on a normal bike, never used the throttle only option. And if you go for a very long ride and end up with a flattening battery, it's very hard work pedaling a 25kg bike home whilst trudging that motor round as well. It's great if you are very unfit or just want an easy (slow) ride, but as a cyclist I would have probably been better off buying a 2nd hand roadie and a MTB, with spare cash, and been able to do just as much. Remember all UK electric bikes will cut off power at 14.5mph, so a lot of the time on the flat or downhill you are pedaling on your own anyway.

As for big up hills, the motor really isn't strong enough to get you up at any speed, and I always found myself stood up on the pedals!
Click to expand...

A new (UK legal) ebike will have a bit more poke, but what @Electric_Andy says is still true.

The motors are not powerful enough to ride without pedalling, and in any case fewer and fewer ebikes have a throttle.

Ebike dealers are thin on the ground, so the OP is fortunate to have a shop nearby which sells decent ebikes at his budget.

Kalkhoffs are as good a brand as any, and better than quite a lot.

They are nearly all crank drive without a throttle.

The shop will offer test rides which should give the OP a good idea if an ebike will be suitable.
 
numbnuts

numbnuts

Squire
Location
Gone over the hill and far away
Have a look at this it is the New Law for 1st Januray 2016 concerning throttles
 
Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
tribanjules said:
No link ?
Click to expand...

Take it as a blessing, given the subject mater relates to EU harmonisation of already complex and confusing UK law.

The basic tale is that throttles are not fitted in Europe, which is a much bigger ebike market than here.

So it's not economical for the likes of Kalkhoff to produce a handful of throttle bikes for the UK.

Start assist throttles - which take the bike to 4/5kph - are legal in the UK, and I believe there is an 'easement' over full speed throttles provided certain conditions are met.
 
steveindenmark

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
[QUOTE 3896925, member: 259"]No offence, Steve, but that is one hideous looking bike.:whistle:[/QUOTE]

I sold it recently. But while I had it, it was excellent on any surface and had a range of over 30 miles. The look never bothered me, it was perfect for what I wanted it for.

My bike was bought from the UK and had a throttle, which is illegal over here. I never used the throttle, it was not necessarily and it ate battery power.
 
E

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
OP, I would advise trying any e-bike first, even if it is not the model you desire. You may find that they just don't offer the amount of boost you were hoping for, in which case you could spend £500 on a very good road/town bike. To me, the e-bike works very well if you do lots of short, hilly journeys. For longer riding you have the battery capacity issue, and the fact that many e-bikes are designed for comfort rather than efficiency. If you're in a flat area then (as I found) your average speed won't be any higher than if you were on a conventional bike with skinny tyres. Other little niggles are things like integrated lights than run off the battery; fine when they work but if they go wrong it's a warranty claim or finding someone with knowledge and a soldering iron.

Not trying to put you off, honest! But it is a huge outlay, and they don't hold their value well at all on the 2nd hand market either
 
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