The E-commuter

[mythste]

Hello!

I have a 14 mile commute each way that I can comfortably do 3 times a week, sort of get away with 4 times a week, and kill myself on 5 times a week. And this is summer.

i would love to save the ~£200 a month travel card and invest instead in an e-bike for the days when I’m not feeling so fresh. I’m fit as I’ve ever been and I’m not yet 30 so this is more of a defiance against an unnecessary fossil fuel vehicle than a “physical” decision.

ive looked at the Ribble AL E but I’m not convinced the hub motor is as future proof as I would like. I need pannier rock mounts and theres about 1000 feet of climbing on my commute so an urban pootler won’t cut the mustard either.

what do you recommend?

 

[Specialeyes]

Out of curiosity, what do you see as the issue with the Ebikemotion hub motor in the Ribble? It's in Wilier, Cannondale, Pinarello, Bianchi, Orbea, BH and Lapierre bikes amongst others as well as the Ribbles. Although the battery is built-in, it can be replaced via the bottom bracket.

 

[mythste]

Out of curiosity, what do you see as the issue with the Ebikemotion hub motor in the Ribble? It's in Wilier, Cannondale, Pinarello, Bianchi, Orbea, BH and Lapierre bikes amongst others as well as the Ribbles. Although the battery is built-in, it can be replaced via the bottom bracket.

really good question. I ride MTB a lot these days and the trend seems to be that all the decent quality e-bikes have moved to BB mounted motors. Admittedly this is anecdotal and based on the e-mtbers I ride with. Is this different on road bikes?

 

[steve292]

What about the Whyte bikes. Expensive , but they have a BB mounted drive - Whyte Hoxton

 

[mythste]

What about the Whyte bikes. Expensive , but they have a BB mounted drive - Whyte Hoxton

looks beautiful doesn’t it! It’s the marketing that puts me off, it’s all “city commuter" which I understand to a degree but I’m commuting for littleborough (Lancashire/Yorkshire pennine border) to Manchester City centre and it’s a lumpy commute. the point is that I don’t want to bust a gut up the 10+% climbs en route.

 

[CXRAndy]

You could go aftermarket kit, Bafang or TSDZ2 are crank drive. You require a bike with 68/73mm threaded BB. A gravel bike with rack mounts allows battery fitment either on rack or on bottle mounts.

I fitted a TSDZ2 kit to my wife's shopper, I added extra bottle riv-nuts, batteries are heavy.

Bafang are pedal assist, considered stronger built than torque sensing TSDZ2

 

[Zanelad]

I can only recommend the Giant Fastroad E+. I commute 22 miles a day and it'll do four days comfortably between charges, 5 if you fancy a bit of a gamble on the last day. For leisure rides i do a regular 30 mile loop with around 1200 feet of climbing and it manages 2 trips with around 25-30% of the battery left. It's a comfortable bike, fast for a flat bar version. Ive fitted a rack, not too sure about mudguards. Front is ok but the rear might need a bit of ingenuity. I got round it by not riding in the rain

 

[richtea]

I have an Orbea with the same eBikeMotion setup as a Ribble, and I generally only use it up hills, and even then, only on the harsh ones.
However, you're after a sweat-free commute, which is slightly different. Even though you have to put in say 30-50% of the effort, it is a cushy number - I think you'll find it relatively easy, since you already cycle regularly.
And if you really want to take it easy, 28 miles is short enough that you can have assistance on all the time if you wanted.

I have a theory (totally unproven) that it's only non-cyclists that complain about these 'small battery' designs because they expect a completely free ride. I think they're a good compromise between weight and assistance, but as ever, it's horses for courses.

Lastly, in terms of hub motor (eBikeMotion) versus BB motor (Fazua) the Fazua seems better engineered, but is likely to cost you more. We have both in the family, and to all intents and purposes they both do a good job, but I can't yet comment on the lifetime of either.

Have a look at Boardman ADV 8.9E and Orbea D30 for examples of both hub and BB motors with reasonable pricing.
Both have mudguard and pannier rack mounting points.

 

[fossyant]

Hello!

I have a 14 mile commute each way that I can comfortably do 3 times a week, sort of get away with 4 times a week, and kill myself on 5 times a week. And this is summer.

i would love to save the ~£200 a month travel card and invest instead in an e-bike for the days when I’m not feeling so fresh. I’m fit as I’ve ever been and I’m not yet 30 so this is more of a defiance against an unnecessary fossil fuel vehicle than a “physical” decision.

ive looked at the Ribble AL E but I’m not convinced the hub motor is as future proof as I would like. I need pannier rock mounts and theres about 1000 feet of climbing on my commute so an urban pootler won’t cut the mustard either.

what do you recommend?

Normal bike you lazy bugger. Just think how quick you will be uphill on the MTB.

 

[mythste]

Normal bike you lazy bugger. Just think how quick you will be uphill on the MTB.

I don’t see this as a replacement for the commuting I’m currently doing, but an addition to.

Either way, I’d rather be happy than first.

 

[mythste]

I have an Orbea with the same eBikeMotion setup as a Ribble, and I generally only use it up hills, and even then, only on the harsh ones.
However, you're after a sweat-free commute, which is slightly different. Even though you have to put in say 30-50% of the effort, it is a cushy number - I think you'll find it relatively easy, since you already cycle regularly.
And if you really want to take it easy, 28 miles is short enough that you can have assistance on all the time if you wanted.

I have a theory (totally unproven) that it's only non-cyclists that complain about these 'small battery' designs because they expect a completely free ride. I think they're a good compromise between weight and assistance, but as ever, it's horses for courses.

Lastly, in terms of hub motor (eBikeMotion) versus BB motor (Fazua) the Fazua seems better engineered, but is likely to cost you more. We have both in the family, and to all intents and purposes they both do a good job, but I can't yet comment on the lifetime of either.

Have a look at Boardman ADV 8.9E and Orbea D30 for examples of both hub and BB motors with reasonable pricing.
Both have mudguard and pannier rack mounting points.

Thanks for the insight!

im looking at this as a serious utility option for long term shopping, visiting friends and family who are usually a car/train distance away, commuting, days after the night before re-alignment of chakras, etc. to just generally cut down my reliance on motorised vehicles and do something I enjoy in the process.

I haven’t seen any for or against arguments about this kind of approach before but I’ve had to seriously re-consider my budget. Something like the specialized turbo vado or the cannondale Canvas neo. Expensive!

 

[richtea]

For a car replacement I think it certainly works for some journeys, but it depends on where you live, and what you want to do. But every little helps is the way I see it.

In terms of budget, I really wanted a Fazua-based bike (that's what my wife has), but the Orbea came up secondhand, a much less scary outlay, and I thought I'd give it a go. At worst, I thought I'd just sell it again. Turns out it's great fun - much better than expected! You might be able to take the same approach. Just make sure you get a well-looked after one, regardless of engine type/position. If you like it, you can always go for a fancier one in a year's time, and sell the first one.

 

[mark2rally]

Hi, I have the Ribble SLe. Broadly I'm happy with it BUT I have broken 4 spokes in the rear wheel in 10 weeks/1500 miles so theres an issue. Ribble say they want to send the wheel back to Mavic in France. Bearing in mind I ordered some spare spokes from Mavic through Condor cycles in London on the 1st june and they aint here yet (was told 2 weeks), the idea of my wheel going back to them is not one I'm up for.....bottom line, great bike, after sales support flaky.

 

[Ananda]

Hello!

I have a 14 mile commute each way that I can comfortably do 3 times a week, sort of get away with 4 times a week, and kill myself on 5 times a week. And this is summer.

i would love to save the ~£200 a month travel card and invest instead in an e-bike for the days when I’m not feeling so fresh. I’m fit as I’ve ever been and I’m not yet 30 so this is more of a defiance against an unnecessary fossil fuel vehicle than a “physical” decision.

ive looked at the Ribble AL E but I’m not convinced the hub motor is as future proof as I would like. I need pannier rock mounts and theres about 1000 feet of climbing on my commute so an urban pootler won’t cut the mustard either.

what do you recommend?

For commuting chores I strongly recommend a mid drive kit fitted on an analogue bike. Bafang and tsdz2 are both more reliable than the fancy motors of the ready from factory ebikes and also with cheaper parts. Ideally fitted on a steel frame but by no means necessary. Commuting cost on an ebike is just ridiculous, for me it works out to a couple of € per 1000kms. My daily commutes are about the same as yours but on a very hilly area, basically there is not a single stretch of level road, its either up or down and I do use the ebike every single day of the week, weekends included.

 

[Pale Rider]

Nothing wrong with a hub motor, although the bottom bracket motors such as the Bosch tend to give a better rendition of 'proper' cycling due to their more sophisticated control systems.

Some riders couldn't give a stuff about that provided the bike helps them up hills, although experienced cyclists tend to prefer the more natural cycling feel of the Bosch and similar motors.

The Ebikemotion motor is light assist, so you need to test one to be satisfied it gives you the amount of assist you are after for the steeper banks.

The bottom bracket motors will give you more grunt, but even they are no balls of fire so will require some effort to get up 10 per cent and steeper climbs.