New ebike general advice

[Pale Rider]

Food for thought! I want an improvement on my Kudos - mainly from a comfort aspect. How does the Camino stack up? https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?camino

That's the Woosh bike I would pick for your use.

Comfort is a tricky one.

The bike comes with a basic Suntour fork, but at least it's a decent brand at the budget end of the market.

A £3k eMTB will likely have a better fork which could be more comfortable, and the MTB tyres will likely give a more cushioned ride.

The trekking spec of the Woosh will make it easier to go a bit faster on the road.

How long does two miles take?

There doesn't seem to me to be enough time on the bike to get very uncomfortable, whatever you ride, but that's your preference.

Fairly new to the market are full suspension eMTBs from China.

Most use a Bafang hub motor of borderline UK legality, but they pull much better than what you have, further reducing the time for you to get those aches and pains.

Fair amount of choice from Cyrusher, but if you hit Google you will find lots of others.

Full suspension and the currently fashionable fat tyres really ought to give a smooth ride.

https://www.cyrusher.co.uk/collecti...lPoQiTABQxMTQBuIyWrv6Y1N0tw907HRoC1HEQAvD_BwE

 

[daverave]

More food for thought there!!!

I did think of the Gran Camino which comes in at £1500. Will also look at the other site recommended for Chinese imports.

One thing I did not mention, is that I will be buying through a cycle to scheme. So, for me, the difference between the Cube and the Woosh GC is £600. I’m debating whether £600 is worth the spec difference! If I like it, I might just get into a little off road eMTB-ing!

Another thing on my mind is that the Cube seems much more appealing to the local thieves, which seems to be abundant on my area! Will have to double lock, full insure and get a tracker just for it not to play on my mind!

Still debating!!!

 

[Pale Rider]

Another thing on my mind is that the Cube seems much more appealing to the local thieves,

What I suspect you mean is the Cube is much more appealing to you, as it would be to most prospective buyers.

Bicycle thieves do not make informed choices - they will steal literally anything.

Any ebike is not really a good choice because the battery is locked in place and the thief will need to steal a suitable charger for long term use - assuming they can drill the lock and bodge the catch to subsequently hold the battery in place.

Strictly, the Cube is the poorer choice because the Bosch system is notoriously difficult to jailbreak, and will probably only work with a Bosch branded charger and a Bosch branded battery, neither of which is cheap.

The Woosh is the easier of the two to keep going after the theft because more chargers will work with its battery and it would be fairly easy to wire the motor to any battery.

 

[Tom B]

Looks good. Slightly lower spec but still decent. 11 speed Deore groupset not 12 speed, which isn't a big issue. Still has air fork which is better than coil, i.e lighter and can be adjusted. Biggest difference I guess is the battery size which will be slightly lighter and quicker to charge up but will affect the max range a bit.

Have a look at replacement parts. Someone one the fettling / parts threads was thanking their lucky stars they had a lower number of gears because chains and cassettes are a fraction of the price.

Example 12 Speed Chain £28.99, 11 Speed £22.99, 10 Speed £16.99, 8 Speed £7.99

Cassettes have similar price "range". I find the higher gear parts more delicate too.

Its why I ride 8 Speed, until recently i could get a decent KMC chain for a fiver and a cassette for nine quid.


Without being unkind or rude, have you had a look at bike handling videos or courses? After a few years your body, sitbones etc should be used to riding the bike, though perhaps a few longer rides would help. But my point is have a think about how you are sitting or riding the bike so you are not taking the full hit of the imperfect surface through the bike, through your body. Lifting yourself out of the saddle momentarily or adjusting your grip will save your bones. My commute includes about 2.5miles of pretty rough holled, ravelled and stripped bitmac i know it well and can avoid the worst of it by anticipating it.

My Missus used to have the same issue and the problem was she was just smashing through the holes and what not without adjusting her position or weight to anticipate it, she blamed everything, bike, saddle, weather, usually me, but shifting weight and avoidance improved it massively.

I often find that people are disappointed by the "comfort" afforded by bike suspension and anything other than decent air forks arn't really worth it IMHO especially on a heavy Ebike. Remember they'll need the "sag" setting to your weight and also maintaining at least annually. I dont have suspension on my commuting bike, but I do on a clunker its an half decent (when new) Suntour Raidon X1 it seized up years ago and now is now just a heavy fixed fork.

 

[Dadam]

@Tom B not sure if you're replying to me directly or this is aimed at the OP, but I agree with most points.

Although the tarmac on my commute isn't the best I tend to use the e-road bike. I have the Cube mainly for fun on trails though it's fine for commuting with its rack and guards. I'll probably use it more for winter commuting and have the Gain for better weather.

As might be expected my Cube with 2.6" Smart Sam tyres at 35 psi on rough tarmac, even with the fork locked out, is a magic carpet ride compared to my Gain e-road bike with 28mm tyres at 90! And of course if you're mainly using the bike with the fork locked it questions the need for one.

The parts replacement cost is worth noting and isn't something that new buyers factor in, but is probably not a big factor unless you do starship mileage.

 

[Tom B]

@Tom B not sure if you're replying to me directly or this is aimed at the OP, but I agree with most points.

Me neither, more of a thinking aloud sort of post - especially at this time in a morning.

Although the tarmac on my commute isn't the best I tend to use the e-road bike. I have the Cube mainly for fun on trails though it's fine for commuting with its rack and guards. I'll probably use it more for winter commuting and have the Gain for better weather.

As might be expected my Cube with 2.6" Smart Sam tyres at 35 psi on rough tarmac, even with the fork locked out, is a magic carpet ride compared to my Gain e-road bike with 28mm tyres at 90! And of course if you're mainly using the bike with the fork locked it questions the need for one.

Agreed.... to a point. I have a FS MTB, when riding on the roads to get to the off road bit, its locked out, else it's just an energy thief, heating up the gas in the cans, i suppose that's less of a concern on an ebike.

The parts replacement cost is worth noting and isn't something that new buyers factor in, but is probably not a big factor unless you do starship mileage.

Depends how tight you are....

I'm tight and my savings will be over £150 a year, especially given some of the prices of cassettes.

 

[CXRAndy]

Several ways to go about it. Buy new UK, used UK or new abroad, China.

£3k should get you a half decent bike with front suspension, used from a local recreational hire centre (in-law ) got a full suspension Cube with gen 3 Bosch motor. He's fitted a de restrictor and it's super smooth

I bought full suspension Chinese ebike with spare battery for £3k

 

[Dadam]

Depends how tight you are....

I'm tight and my savings will be over £150 a year, especially given some of the prices of cassettes.

You must do a lot of miles I guess. I've only averaged 500 miles a year since I got back into cycling, but since getting the ebike it's gone up to 500 in 6 months and I do intend to ride more especially over summer. I can't imagine needing a new cassette every year though, but a few quid extra on a 12 speed chain per year is neither here nor there.

 

[Tom B]

You must do a lot of miles I guess. I've only averaged 500 miles a year since I got back into cycling, but since getting the ebike it's gone up to 500 in 6 months and I do intend to ride more especially over summer. I can't imagine needing a new cassette every year though, but a few quid extra on a 12 speed chain per year is neither here nor there.

I manage around 5000+ a year some of it in some grotty weather where I am not always able to clean the chain after rides, bike is in use most days. I live in a semi rural part of South Lancashire where the landscape is a lot of Millstone Grit which gets washed onto the roads making a very good grinding paste.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-have-you-fettled-today.87079/page-969#post-6984270

I remember buying my MTB a few years ago and being devastated (again I'm parsimonious) I destroyed a set of resin brake pads in a single 40mile off road ride, due to the grindy gritty conditions.