I want an Electric Bike...

[KatherineTate]

But i dont know which bike to get and everything else... all your recommendations would be good. What I want is:

1) where i can manually change the gears myself, not the gears changing for me (my friend has a vanmoof and i dont like the way the gears change down or up, sometimes jolts and causes me wrist sprain)

2) Im looking for an electric bike which has heavy/good grip tyres (it will be 99% road bike)

3) boost feature

4) long range

5) electric bikes for people over 6'3 & 114kg in weight


price less than £3,000 id say


many thanks

It's all about range for me too. I can get in about 70 miles on my Blix Packa

 

[Drago]

I can get hundreds of miles out of mine by simply switching it off on the flar, downhill, etc. Similarly, I can make the food in my fridge last indefinitely by not eating it.

Quotes and claims about mileage are utterly meaningless.

 

[ExBromptonMan]

But i dont know which bike to get and everything else... all your recommendations would be good. What I want is:

1) where i can manually change the gears myself, not the gears changing for me (my friend has a vanmoof and i dont like the way the gears change down or up, sometimes jolts and causes me wrist sprain)

2) Im looking for an electric bike which has heavy/good grip tyres (it will be 99% road bike)

3) boost feature

4) long range

5) electric bikes for people over 6'3 & 114kg in weight


price less than £3,000 id say


many thanks

Reading your requirements I think the Cube Compact Hybrid 20 would fit the bill.
It has the new Bosch Active Line+ motor which has bags of power.
The tyres are bungy so the ride is very smooth.
I am 6’7” and even I don’t need the seatpost at full extension.

 

[KatherineTate]

I would say that your best bet is to find your local bike shops and go and look at which ebikes they sell. I find a lot of them a happy to let you have a short test ride.
The advantage of getting it from a LBS is that you will getting better access to advise - although remember that they may be biased towards the brands that they sell. They can also give you far better service than you would get if you buy something on-line.

Before anyone recommends actual makes and/or models you will have to say where you live as the rules for where you can use an ebike are vastly different in different countries.

Anyway - go out and have a look - and maybe some test rides - enjoy yourself!

Agreed ^^^^ getting the chance to ride before you buy is priceless. There are a lot of ebikes out there and everyone's priorities are different. Talking to an expert can never hurt. Good luck! I got a Blix and I love it

 

[vanmoofy]

My Giant bike on full charge (on ECO) is showing 54 miles... Now that I am cycling a little bit more, it seems those 54miles may not just be enough?!

What would be the options on how one can overturn this?

 

[ColinJ]

My Giant bike on full charge (on ECO) is showing 54 miles... Now that I am cycling a little bit more, it seems those 54miles may not just be enough?!

What would be the options on how one can overturn this?

There are 2 ways...

1. Get fitter and do more of the work yourself. As long as you don't have health issues, that actually isn't difficult. Just stick at it - the fitness will come along.
2. Carry a spare battery with you.

 

[Pale Rider]

My Giant bike on full charge (on ECO) is showing 54 miles... Now that I am cycling a little bit more, it seems those 54miles may not just be enough?!

What would be the options on how one can overturn this?

What motor does it have.

A range of 54 miles on Eco on a Bosch/bike battery would indicate a knackering battery.

Lots of Giant bikes have a rebadged Yamaha crank drive or a Chinese hub motor.

You need to specify the model to take this any further (so to speak).

 

[CXRAndy]

The Bike is a Giant road E2. with a piddly 375Wh battery. Im not surprised it never gets near 50miles.

If you want genuine 50 miles range you are going to need 600Wh for a road bike or 700Wh plus for situp town bike.

Bear in mind this time of year, range will be significantly less due to cold conditions

edit too add. If your motor efficiency is between 10 Watts per mile and 20W/mile.

Practically,
A 375W battery would get around 19miles range and 38 miles if you used a paltry 10W/mile

 

[Stul]

I've been getting a consistent 90 miles out of my Raleigh Centros with the 500W Bosch crank drive set up, (hub gears+belt drive).... BUT I mainly ride in eco mode (probably 95% of the time), and only go to the higher power settings up the longer / steeper hills.

The "quoted" range is 110+ miles but I new that would be unlikely in "real world". So much depends on your own fitness and the gradients you are riding on.

I originally wanted something that I could more or less guarantee would give me a comfortable 50 mile range as I find the seat is the limiting factor!

I checked out the online Bosch "bike range" calculator and when I entered all my own details it was pretty much bob on...

 

[vanmoofy]

The Bike is a Giant road E2. with a piddly 375Wh battery. Im not surprised it never gets near 50miles.

If you want genuine 50 miles range you are going to need 600Wh for a road bike or 700Wh plus for situp town bike.

Bear in mind this time of year, range will be significantly less due to cold conditions

edit too add. If your motor efficiency is between 10 Watts per mile and 20W/mile.

Practically,
A 375W battery would get around 19miles range and 38 miles if you used a paltry 10W/mile

wow, hearing all this is making me feel very sad. I thought I did an in depth research, but alas the display does show 54miles on a full charge on the giant e+2. I wouldnt say im trying to be carrying a battery with me but hey...... I think i might have to

 

[CXRAndy]

wow, hearing all this is making me feel very sad. I thought I did an in depth research, but alas the display does show 54miles on a full charge on the giant e+2. I wouldnt say im trying to be carrying a battery with me but hey...... I think i might have to

Dont be too despondent, once you can ride around 16mph without assistance, your bike will probably give around 50 miles. Like others have said keep riding and you will get fitter and faster

 

[cougie uk]

wow, hearing all this is making me feel very sad. I thought I did an in depth research, but alas the display does show 54miles on a full charge on the giant e+2. I wouldnt say im trying to be carrying a battery with me but hey...... I think i might have to

Why ? If the battery goes flat then just pedal the rest yourself. Sure you won't have the extra assistance from the motor but millions of people manage just fine ?

I'd expect the battery is quite pricey too ?

The fitter you get the better.

 

[vanmoofy]

Saying that, i cycled with the motor off for the first time on saturday (yeah i know its only taken me 9 weeks to even realise i can cycle with the motor off)... It felt like trying to go through a brick wall with someone pulling at both your legs

This will be an interesting fitness im looking forward to over the summer!

 

[ColinJ]

Saying that, i cycled with the motor off for the first time on saturday (yeah i know its only taken me 9 weeks to even realise i can cycle with the motor off)... It felt like trying to go through a brick wall with someone pulling at both your legs

If it really did feel like that (when riding fairly slowly on a level road) I would check that your brakes are not rubbing. I did a 200 km audax ride once which half killed me. When I got to the finish I discovered that my rear brake had been rubbing the whole time!

Lift the front wheel off the ground and give it a spin. It should spin lots of times before it stops. Repeat with the rear wheel.

When I tried spinning my rear wheel after my audax ride, it only rotated about 1/10th of a turn before stopping.

 

[cougie uk]

Saying that, i cycled with the motor off for the first time on saturday (yeah i know its only taken me 9 weeks to even realise i can cycle with the motor off)... It felt like trying to go through a brick wall with someone pulling at both your legs

This will be an interesting fitness im looking forward to over the summer!

This sounds very wrong. It really shouldn't be that hard.