Dolan e-bike - any experience?

[kingrollo]

After a recent HA , I've decided an e bike might best suit my needs.

Been thinking of this

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/road-e-...nHDGFpEnkEwifmvsVmOQqieFzWyJtKejgwlRZPzID8dgA

Any experience of this or comparable bikes ?

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

While I’ve no experience with Dolan bikes, but if I were dropping serious coin on an e-bike it would be from a major maker and have a driveline from a major player in it. Bosch, Yamaha etcetera. If you need service down the road you need a maker who has a brick and mortar dealer network and who deals in e-bikes in a big way. Too many small makers do e-bikes as a sideline or over the internet which means you can’t just take it to any dealer if you have an issue as most dealers won’t be able to interface with the electrics to troubleshoot them should an issue arise.

 

[albion]

18kg.
Start with something proven and cheap, a gravel bike maybe?
The Fiido C21 gravel is lighter, fairly proven, and currently on offer for £1000.
Engwe have also released a carbon bike, the MapFour N1 Air, starting at £1400.
Both are lighter, the N1 2.4KG lighter.

 

[Drago]

Italian electrics. What could possibly go wrong?

Mind you, its not as if Bosch have all that great a rep.

 

[kingrollo]

While I’ve no experience with Dolan bikes, but if I were dropping serious coin on an e-bike it would be from a major maker and have a driveline from a major player in it. Bosch, Yamaha etcetera. If you need service down the road you need a maker who has a brick and mortar dealer network and who deals in e-bikes in a big way. Too many small makers do e-bikes as a sideline or over the internet which means you can’t just take it to any dealer if you have an issue as most dealers won’t be able to interface with the electrics to troubleshoot them should an issue arise.

I get that in theory. But I think a lemon is a lemon. A brought a kouta from a shop which was never right from day one. The shop royally f-d me over. Every time it went back it was six weeks up a kouta HQ .

Eventually it went out of warranty - the shop totally washed their hands of the bike - pretty much telling me to "do one" or take them to court.

At the time I really didn't want the stress - so cut my losses. The shop and the kouta brand disappeared shortly afterwards.

Surprisingly they are very few crank motor road e bikes out there. Canyon do one , as do specialized - which would certainly tick the support boxes - but the road version is getting for 50% more than the Dolan.

 

[kingrollo]

18kg.
Start with something proven and cheap, a gravel bike maybe?
The Fiido C21 gravel is lighter, fairly proven, and currently on offer for £1000.
Engwe have also released a carbon bike, the MapFour N1 Air, starting at £1400.
Both are lighter, the N1 2.4KG lighter.

Sorry but it has to be a road bike. I may not have the years to experiment with a budget option - with a view to splashing the cash later.

 

[kingrollo]

Italian electrics. What could possibly go wrong?

Mind you, its not as if Bosch have all that great a rep.

Agreed.

But tbf that polini motor does get good independent reviews...and reliability seems to be it's strong point .

 

[albion]

Sorry but it has to be a road bike. I may not have the years to experiment with a budget option - with a view to splashing the cash later.

I moved off a road bike when I went electric, comfort also being part of the reason.

 

[Sharky]

Don't know much about Dolan bikes, except they have a good reputation. But I do remember, as a novice "roadie", being about one bike length behind Terry Dolan on the last climbs of the 1969 one lapper bike race on the IOM AND being dropped!

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Do you have any idea of your cycling stamina after the heart attack?

That Dolan is 3Kg+ heavier than my GT eGrade Bolt bargain (no idea if anywhere still has them left at ~£1250 now), despite being a carbon frame and a higher groupset (Bolt is GRX 400). All that extra weight is in the 500Wh battery, which is twice the size of the one on my Bolt.

With ~25mins of maximum turbo (250W) on hills, doing threshold+ on the hills, ~37 miles and ~2250 feet of climbing used 85% of the Bolt's 250Wh battery over 2hrs19mins.

There's some good deals at https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes and https://www.tredz.co.uk/electric-bikes?s=priceasc at the mo (that Momentum hybrid is a steal for £1100), as is https://www.merlincycles.com/metroneer-london-eu700-plus-hybrid-e-bike-279235.html for someone tall, can't see anything amazing at PaulsCycles now where my Bolt came from.
https://www.rmcycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/gt-egrade-bolt-deep-teal__22360 has some larger sizes left at £1249.

That Dolan does look very sexy for an electric road bike, but I'd hope so at nearly £5k!

 

[Jameshow]

What about ribble electric bikes?

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/

 

[Gwylan]

After a recent HA , I've decided an e bike might best suit my needs.

Been thinking of this

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/road-e-...nHDGFpEnkEwifmvsVmOQqieFzWyJtKejgwlRZPzID8dgA

Any experience of this or comparable bikes ?

Based on bitter experience over the last 5 years and 2 different bikes.
Get one from a named manufacturer that supports product through LBS
Take all claims regarding range with a pinch of salt.
Seriously consider belt drive with in hub gears.

Or consider buying the cheapest possible and treat it as disposable.

Enjoy it, whatever.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

Why carbon? The main reason most people get carbon is light weight. You are giving that up by putting a mid drive in it so why not consider an aluminium bike? That would open the selection of makes up somewhat. At the price they are asking I wouldn’t expect a high end carbon frame, it’s far more likely to be an off shore frame and the resulting bike is likely to weight as much as a good aluminium ride. Better aluminium bikes often come off better than lower end carbon bikes in the road tests as well. It’s worth a look.

you could test drive a rear drive aluminium bike, it cost nothing and you might like it. I’ve ridden Trek Domane AL+ a few times and it’s a lot of fun ( perks of working for Trek )

 

[Drago]

Do you have any idea of your cycling stamina after the heart attack?

That Dolan is 3Kg+ heavier than my GT eGrade Bolt bargain

Take the figures with a pinch of salt. There is no universal industry standard for such claims. Some quote ready to ride, so quote without pedals, some even without tyres or saddle (yes, honestly), and others such as Giant refuse to quote at all because this lack of standard makes it meaningless.

What a manufafturer claims, and what a bike weighs at the moment you cock your leg over it to go for a ride, are two entirely unrelated numbers.

 

[Drago]

Or consider buying the cheapest possible and treat it as disposable.

I bought (almost) the cheapest as possible during Covid and the lock downs and it's been faultless for almost 10k miles, although I've been very careful about how its treated.