Recommendations please for ebike?

[lucklesspedestrian]

Hi

I'm seriously considering making the switch from conventional bikes to an ebike but don't really know where to start. I'm 56, overweight but I still hit the turbo trainer almost every day and get the road bike out from time to time so I'm reasonably fit and a pretty experienced cyclist. I live in rural Perthshire however and although it's very pretty, it's almost impossible to go anywhere without encountering a bloody big hill! I reckon that if I had an ebike I would actually go further/stay out longer and enjoy it more.
It would be purely for leisure (no commuting as I was lucky enough to retire at 55) and mainly roads or occasional gravel/sandy trails so no need for heavy suspension. The plan would be that I would only switch the power on for significant hills/headwinds but would want to cycle normally as much as possible. I would also ideally like it to look as much like a 'normal' bike as possible if that makes any sense.

Flexible on budget but I'm inherently tight so might well wait until the sales come round (probably £2.5K tops) Any suggestions would be very gratefully received!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Halfords seem to be doing a 48 trial on ebikes - so I would assume that other largeish bike shops will probably do something similar as well. I would suggest going to the nearest large bike shop and looking around and asking them what they recommend. Then ask for a test ride.
The main reason for suggesting this is that if you end up buying one it would help if there is a shop nearby that has experience of that specific make and model. I am confident that the little bike shop near me will be able to fix by ebike it I asked them - however it may take them a while because they have no experience of the make and model - they would be better with bikes that they actually sell themselves.

Personally I would suggest not going to Halfords - but then I have had several bad experience of them and just generally dislike large national brands. But I do like their Carrera bikes - I even bought one for my wife.

 

[Spiderweb]

Ribble CGR eBikes look good for both road and sandy gravel trails.
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/

 

[lucklesspedestrian]

Halfords seem to be doing a 48 trial on ebikes - so I would assume that other largeish bike shops will probably do something similar as well. I would suggest going to the nearest large bike shop and looking around and asking them what they recommend. Then ask for a test ride.
The main reason for suggesting this is that if you end up buying one it would help if there is a shop nearby that has experience of that specific make and model. I am confident that the little bike shop near me will be able to fix by ebike it I asked them - however it may take them a while because they have no experience of the make and model - they would be better with bikes that they actually sell themselves.

Personally I would suggest not going to Halfords - but then I have had several bad experience of them and just generally dislike large national brands. But I do like their Carrera bikes - I even bought one for my wife.

Yeah, I've got a Carrera Gryphon which has been a really great bike for just tooling around on over the years. There's a really good local bike shop in Auchterarder that also does terrific coffee and I might pop in there as you're right, whilst I can just about maintain/fix a normal bike, I would really have to rely on a good bike shop to sort an e-bike.

 

[lucklesspedestrian]

View attachment 471411

Ribble CGR eBikes look good for both road and sandy gravel trails.
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/

Now that looks nigh on perfect, thanks.

 

[Slick]

I'm not sure it would be wise to buy an ebike without giving this guy a shout first.

https://www.love-ebikes.co.uk/#

I also think that the make is less important than the motor and battery and I can't speak highly enough of the Bosch version.

Jump the train and come down for a look. He will hire you a bike if you fancy a day on the canal as a try before you buy. Enjoy

 

[youngoldbloke]

Orbea Gain D31 https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road/cat/gain-d31-19
The 'gravel' version of the Gain.

 

[kapelmuur]

I’m approaching my 72nd birthday and starting to struggle on climbs, so I’ve been thinking of an electric assist road bike.

Yesterday I had a look at an Orbea Gain and was surprised at how heavy it was. 17 kgs according to the assistant.

According to him for the money an e bike costs I could buy a carbon bike at half the weight and have no problem with climbing!

 

[T4tomo]

I thought the Gain was 11kg ish in carbon and 13kg in Ali form, that's the attraction of those semi assist types, if the battery gives up its still very rideable.

 

[jowwy]

Cannondale neo ......500wh battery, Bosch active line plus motor,

But it’s 3k....

 

[youngoldbloke]

I thought the Gain was 11kg ish in carbon and 13kg in Ali form, that's the attraction of those semi assist types, if the battery gives up its still very rideable.

- the lightest and most expensive versions. My alloy Gain, Tiagra equipped, so one of the heaviest, weighs in at 14.5 kg including bottle cages, pedals etc, small size frame. So 17 kg sounds a bit wrong to me.

 

[kapelmuur]

I thought the Gain was 11kg ish in carbon and 13kg in Ali form, that's the attraction of those semi assist types, if the battery gives up its still very rideable.

The one in the shop looked ali, I couldn't lift it properly because of security and the assistant wasn't for releasing it .

I lifted it as far as I could without setting off the alarm and it seemed heavy compared to my current bike which weighs 13.5kg. No weight info on the Orbea website.

 

[BucksCS]

I have the Orbea F40 which shares the frame with the aluminium road bikes and that is approximately 15kg. According to Orbea, the F20 (i.e. 105 spec) is 14.7kg; I would expect the road version to be similar or less. I'm very pleased with the F40 after the first 120 miles, just the right level of assistance and power levels infinitely adjustable using the app. I'm sure the Ribble is similarly good, but the absence of demo bikes from Ribble was a deal breaker for me - Orbea demonstrators are much more widely available.

 

[lucklesspedestrian]

I'm not sure it would be wise to buy an ebike without giving this guy a shout first.

https://www.love-ebikes.co.uk/#

I also think that the make is less important than the motor and battery and I can't speak highly enough of the Bosch version.

Jump the train and come down for a look. He will hire you a bike if you fancy a day on the canal as a try before you buy. Enjoy

Thanks, Glasgow's so easy to access from Perth, I'll definitely call in.

 

[lucklesspedestrian]

I’m approaching my 72nd birthday and starting to struggle on climbs, so I’ve been thinking of an electric assist road bike.

Yesterday I had a look at an Orbea Gain and was surprised at how heavy it was. 17 kgs according to the assistant.

According to him for the money an e bike costs I could buy a carbon bike at half the weight and have no problem with climbing!

The problem with me is that the extra Kilograms are not on the bike..........