Toying with the thought of an E Bike

[Amac]

Hey guys, thanks for getting back to me, I will have a slow read through and look at all the links, for some reason I didn’t think of 2nd hand, I will have a look around.

 

[ColinJ]

Ribble Hybrid ALe Step Through 13.75Kg?


View attachment 650629
ALe - available with guards, rack etc, Mahle X35 system. Motor in rear hub.

I like those. A friend of mine would love one but she can't afford it.

 

[cougie uk]

Weight really isn't much of an issue unless you're carrying the bike places. Uphill you have the motor to help you and on the flat it's negligible and you have the motor too.

 

[ColinJ]

Weight really isn't much of an issue unless you're carrying the bike places. Uphill you have the motor to help you and on the flat it's negligible and you have the motor too.

You need to read all of the original post!

Not too heavy, as I have to lift it onto a roof rack

 

[CXRAndy]

Or make her one of these with a motor kit

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ebike-conversion.251127/

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I would make sure you look at ones where the battery is easy to remove - it is a lot of the extra weight

Someone mentioned send hand - just be aware that the battery has a limited life and need to be stored and charged properly. Clearly a used ebike has a used battery so you don't know how well it has been looked after.
This may be overcome to some extent with some where a dealer can link the bike to a computer system that will produce a report of the status including, possibly, charge cycles. I know Bosch dealers (includign Raleigh dealers) can do this but I can't remember exactly what is on the report.

Oh - and another vote for the Raleigh Motus - mine has been fine and the battery is easy to detatch

 

[wiggydiggy]

You need to read all of the original post!

Ah in that case I am correcting myself - the Raleigh Motus range could too be heavy to put on and off a roof all the time. The battery is only a maximum of 5kg so that's still nearly 20kg of bike to be lifting.

 

[youngoldbloke]

The latest Motus range appear to have integrated batteries https://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/brands/raleigh/raleigh-motus-tour-hub-low-700c

 

[Espresso vecchio]

Yes, this year's Motus batteries are integrated, ie situated inside the frame tubing, but easily and quickly removable for charging off the bike or for reducing the weight quickly if you need to lift the bike.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Yes, this year's Motus batteries are integrated, ie situated inside the frame tubing, but easily and quickly removable for charging off the bike or for reducing the weight quickly if you need to lift the bike.

How heavy is the battery - 3kg? - so the bike without the battery is still 20 - 25Kg. Too heavy for me.

 

[bonzobanana]

If she already has a bike she likes why not fit a ebike kit to that. It can be relatively cheap and many kits use standard non-proprietary components so you can upgrade and customise later as you desire plus of course it makes repair easy. If her existing bike is a perfect fit then you know it will fit her perfectly with an ebike kit.

Ebike kits can actually be more reliable and save money in use. A hub motor based ebike kit means massively extended drivetrain life because the motor works independently of the drivetrain and hub motors are quite simple engineering compared to mid-drive, a geared hub motor provides decent torque and zero drag when unpowered due to its freewheeling clutch mechanism.

Yosepower do some good kits with batteries for less than £450 plus if she ever gets bored of her current bike just move the kit to a new bike and sell on the old bike, less waste, less cost. Pretty easy to fit and if you aren't competent yourself maybe the wife can do it or a more technical friend or relative. It's really not hard to fit.

https://yosepower.com/collections/uk-shipping

I'm not a fan of pre-built big brand ebikes myself, they are full of proprietary components that are both unreliable and expensive to replace and the bikes are so proprietary they are often destined for landfill and become uneconomic to repair, its just seems hugely damaging to the environment and consumer's pockets. Some of the Bosch batteries self-brick if left too long without charging because they don't want people re-celling batteries or re-using the BMS so they are designed to self-brick if the charge level gets too low. That is horrible anti-consumer and anti-environment behaviour. Specialized use Brose motors which have been known to self-destruct and can only be replaced not repaired which could be £1000 or more. Specialized had to extend motor warranties I think to 4 years because of the huge failure rate. Bike shops love them because of huge margins and lots of servicing and repairs to make money on, either from the manufacturer during warranty or you after warranty. Yes they are a convenient pre-built solution and while they work can be very nice to ride with a bit of extra torque for hills on some models but its a very expensive high maintenance solution.

 

[BoldonLad]

Hi guys,
I was looking for a bit of advice and thoughts if possible please.
I am thinking of starting the "approval" process with my wife to get her an E Bike.

I do a fair bit more cycling than see does, she is busy doing most the looking after our 3 year grandson.
I ride with the local cycling club in the week, and we go out at the weekend together.
She is good for 30-35 miles at a very steady av 8-10mph, but the hills take out any enjoyment after a while.

We have had a good weeks cycling in Norfolk, which I picked for obvious reasons
We would like to try some more cycling holidays, of course I want her to enjoy it and not dread the hills or head winds.
She currently rides a Ridgeback hybrid.

Sorry that's a lot of background.

I was going to try and persuade her on to an E Bike, for her the following criteria:

Hybrid
Ladies step through
Not too wacky looking
Nice colour
Comfortable
Mud guards - rack - stand
Be able to ride in very low assistance mode, until hills or head wind
We dont need to go fast av 12-14mph (so I can keep up)
Not too heavy, as I have to lift it onto a roof rack

Looking around only on the internet at this stage this looks to fit the bill, just a bit more money than I had in mind:
https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/s...-electric-hybrid-bike-706387#colcode=70638769

Is there any points that I may have missed, that you think I should have in mind?
I would like to buy from a local bike shop at that sort of money, to try an make sure we get the right bike.

Well I have drivelled on for long enough
Thanks for any comments, tips or advice,
Alex

I have recently bought a Specialized Turbo Vado 4 SL, Step thru, for my wife.

We did consider the Ribble Hybrid, but, were put off by uncertainty over delivery lead times, and, the distance we would have to travel to actually try one (IMHO, if spending £2,000+, I would want to actually see and try what I was buying).

She wanted the EQ model, which comes complete with mudguards, rack, and kickstand. Unfortunately, I could not find anyone with that model in stock (size S), so, I bought the "base" model, as you showed, and, added the Mudguards, kickstand and rack (yet to come) myself.

In summary, my wife is very, very pleased with her new bike.

Background... we are 75yo, my wife previously rode a Liv Alight City. Typical rides were 15-25 miles.

The Specialized has 3 levels of assist, plus, "no-assist". There is no noticeable “drag” with the assist “off”, indeed, my wife says it is easier riding the Vado with assist off, than riding her Liv.

Thus far, my wife uses the bike on "no-assist" unless:
- there is a significant hill
- there is a significant headwind

The weight even with the mudguards, kickstand, is approx 15kg. My wife can "manhandle" it around obstacles (eg gates etc) no problem. We take the bikes with us in our motorhome, and, I can quite readily life them (did I mention, I bought one too?), into the garage storage area of the motorhome.

Since we are not using the assist all of the time, I cannot definitively comment on the range, except to say I have every reason to think it will more than adequate for our typical rides.

Finally, I would shop around, I obtained £300 discount, per bike, when I bought two of them.

 

[mustang1]

That one weighs 24.5 kg, which would be a real lump to hoist up onto the roof of the car!

Also OP should check weight that the roof rack can hold.

 

[mustang1]

I know a couple with the same his/hers. They are heavier sure but the batteries are detacheable to lighten it for lifting, they also use a low loader towbar mounted carrier so no lifting onto roof.

I might be stuck with my kind of roof rack: if I detach the battery (which forms part of the structure of the downtube), then th roof rack which grips onto the downtube may damage it. So just double check your roof rack is compatible.

 

[BoldonLad]

Also OP should check weight that the roof rack can hold.

Good point, cycle carriers are limited in the weight they can take. Two 25kg eBikes would come close on many. This is also potentially a challenge for those planning to transport eBike on a Motorhome/campervan/caravan, the all up weight, including battery, needs to be taken into account for payload purposes.