Help with first e bike choice (1 Viewer)

[Sadie1970]

I am looking to buy an electric bike to help me get back to fitness after many years of ill health, ultimately to get around when we buy our motorhome in the spring.

I am 60, very unfit and haven't been on a bike since childhood so I want to start off with a very reasonably priced bike, easy to get used to and easy to repair/maintain.

I have been looking at the Greenedge CS2 step through;
£870 from Halfords, or £800 from Ebikes direct but no face to face assistance/advice.

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The things I like are;
Throttle for the times when I am not so good.
Front and rear suspension with big seat for comfort.
Ability to go off road as I will probably learn to use it on park tracks and old railway cycle routes.
Looks like a normal bike.

What do you all think of how I am making my choice, am I asking the right questions?

 

[hilldweller]

Looks good to me. Test at Halfords, buy on line.

Now wait for 2674 replies saying you can't get a decent electric bike unless it's German and top side of £2000.

 

[gloworm]

glowormFunster
Raleigh Velo XC bought from Halfords less than 2 years ago used 3 times brand new condition , cost £980,


£600

battery , charger , etc still boxed , all paperwork , pm please if interested
Sue

Full Spec details can be viewed here

http://www.silvereriders.co.uk/en/raleigh-velo-xc

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[Ranger]

Have a look at Woosh website. I tried everything available up 3k and liked the woosh best plus you can talk to Hattie the owner for advise and their backup service was superb when I wanted a new display after three years which I think cost around £12. We have a Sirocco and also a Zephyr folder which is not so nice to ride due to small wheels. If you are going to let the bike do most of the work choose a big battery and talk to them about throttles as the law has changed and I think the latest ones only work up to about 4mph whereas last years models went up to 15mph without pedal power.

 

[Tootles]

You just have to look around. I bought one last year, with a good lightweight battery and charger, 6 speed gears, off an old lady in Lancaster.

Powabyke Electric (Battery) Bicycle - 24" wheels £40.00

 

[Kevan]

glowormFunster
Raleigh Velo XC bought from Halfords less than 2 years ago used 3 times brand new condition , cost £980,


£600

battery , charger , etc still boxed , all paperwork , pm please if interested
Sue

Full Spec details can be viewed here

http://www.silvereriders.co.uk/en/raleigh-velo-xc

Raliegh bikes are made in Cloppenburg Germany in the same factory as Kalkhof bikes, Raliegh are owned by Kalkhof and Derby cycles, just a bit of useless info

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[musson]

I have a whoosh, 600 delivered and agree with other comment,mine is a mountain bike style 15amp hr battery li-on 36 volt ,250 watt motor.Wife has Freego cost about 1200 but i dont think the quality warrants twice the price, stiil good bike

 

[pappajohn]

Unless you buy a used ebike, or from an unscrupulous seller, you won't get a throttle drive, only pedal assist.
Throttle drive was made illegal earlier this year.
Walking throttle is permitted but as the name implies.....Walking speed, approx 4 mph

 

[manda3000gt]

Make sure it's German and costs well over £2000
Needs to be crank drive pedal assist not twist & not go hub drive

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[sewinlynne2]

Looks good to me. Test at Halfords, buy on line.

Now wait for 2674 replies saying you can't get a decent electric bike unless it's German and top side of £2000.

Only 2673 to go now and you can make your choice!

 

[pappajohn]

This is mine....£600....does the job and an easy upright riding position.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

I am looking to buy an electric bike to help me get back to fitness after many years of ill health, ultimately to get around when we buy our motorhome in the spring.

What do you all think of how I am making my choice, am I asking the right questions?

You will also need to review whether the bike will fit in the motorhome of your choice-will it have a bike rack -can you lift it onto the rack easily if you are not that fit? will the MH have a garage that will accommodate the bike? do you need a fold up bike?

sorry to throw in some spanners but you need to take account of your intended MH

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[Gizmouk]

We recently bought two e-bikes from Halfords. With accessories, bit & bobs, the total was around £2700
Offered them £2200 - which was immediately accepted.

Show your local Halfords store the ebike Direct price - maybe they'll price match ?

 

[Mikeco]

If you are happy with a hub motor then Decathlon do one for around £550, no throttle though.

 

[Neilfg]

If you are interested in a throttle that is legal, then have a look at the Wispa, they have a range of bikes all worth trying.

The Wispa throttle is the usual 4mph on it's own but if you pedal even slowly the throttle works up to 15mph.

I would highly recommend trying more than one type or brand they all differ slightly.

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[canopus]

Don't buy a GTEC - think he should stick to vacuum cleaners.


This place has a good selection and you can try them all.
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/1157/electric-e-bikes.aspx

 

[two]

Prefer a hub drive - the motor is less likely to stall.
Get as big a battery as possible. 35miles may sound good but you're unlikely to get that if you go above 'eco' (minimum support). The claimed range will be under best possible conditions. I suggest you assume no more than half of this in practice. Factors that will reduce the range will be hills, poor surfaces, flat tyres, heavy rider, and the amount of assistance demanded.
I wouldn't go for suspension.
Spend as much as you can if you plan to use it a lot and want to avoid disappointment.

 

[Sadie1970]

Great advice from you all, thank you for spending the time to answer.

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[Chris51]

This is mine....£600....does the job and an easy upright riding position.

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I have the folder version (wayfarer)- was older "throttle version (still a grey area over laws ) I bought a "thumb " throttle off E-bay and swopped old twist throttle and restricted it to about 4mph .So you can press thumb throttle to start you off and bike then works on pedal assist up to 15mph.Although not the prettiest of bikes the build quality is pretty good for the price and good after service.

 

[two]

Best of luck. I hope whatever you get does the trick!

 

[dabhand]

Keep your eye on 4433mount on EBay he sells ebikes that have been demoed/ damaged etc from the German factories, I bought a Scott off him at less that half price, a slighter older model (1year) with a couple of hardly noticeable scuffs/scratches on it. He has good feedback, sells a lot of bikes and is a nice chap. Hope this helps. Don't think he's got any at the moment though!

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[Puddleduck]

Love my ASBike..... they no longer do the throttle model (now illegal as previously stated). The range is stated to be 25 or 30 miles but I did over 50 miles on mine this autumn (on an old railway track so it was flat) and there was power left (2 lights of the three still lit so probably another 10 miles left) - but I do pedal quite a lot.

I think you need to try as many as you can and then decide

 

[138go]

Converted my Mountain bike to electric and boy does it go. SRam three speed hub with SRam 7 speed cassette giving 21 gears. Happily does in excess of 15mph .. Just have to remember to keep the speed down on the road . It's really good fun as it does not look to electric unless you get close and I can easily keep up with the youngsters then overtake them going like a train up the hills.