Electric bike recommendations

M

Mitchyd

Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Posts
64
Likes collected
22
Location
Norfolk
Funster No
67,810
MH
Burstner Solano T725
Exp
Dont own yet
Afternoon all hope your all safe and well, I am looking at getting my better half an electric bike she can ride a bike but she has trouble stepping though the frame on most ladies bikes so I am thinking of getting a folding type for to reasons? One they seem lower and it can fold and go in the garage because I'm being told it might be to heavy for the bike rack.
Any info would be great, pros and cons, min battery size, best place to buy, best type anything really our budget will be in the £1.500 range.
Cheers
 
I’m rubbish on a bike, and was forever falling off! I’ve had two folding electric bikes, which were lighter and easy to get on and off, but had small wheels, so they were quite unstable! I’ve now got a Dutch frame step through with normal wheels, and although it’s heavier, it’s much more stable and I don’t fall off! Mine is a Kalkoff Agutti, but there are lots of other makes. Hope that helps! I am 5’ 2” by the way, with short legs!!
 
Another vote for a step through Kalkoff Agutti with 45cm wheels (smaller than a real mans bike but still normal size) smaller wheels of folding bikes are less stable on slightly bumpier surfaces, personal opinion.
 
Hi, my wife is only 5ft tall and had the same problem. After a lot of research (We had time on our hands during lockdown !) we have bought this. It is just right for my wife but can also extend up to accommodate a person of 6ft such as myself. Its called a Corratec AP4. The one difference between an AP4 and AP5 is the size of the battery (w/h) the AP4 being 400w/h and the ap 5 you guessed it 500w/h. They are a fantastic fun bike with big tyres so it soaks up the bumps and is a lot steadier. It has the Bosch active plus crank motor fitted with a Puritan display. Its a little over budget at 2295 but well worth it.
YSlEGRfHSlW2GTFFblVxiA.jpg
+EGdlfgYSZyc5ECFARnwZg.jpg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
Quite a few bikes in that price range and if you are paying around £1500 you should be able to get one with a crank motor which makes the bike steadier. We have the Spanish Orbea ones which are very good.
 
Would highly recommend anything you purchase should have a Bosch motor. I have two Kalkhoff e bikes, they are well built which is reflected in the price. Major downside is they have Kalkhoff‘s own motors. Unfortunately both have been replaced, one at 4000miles the other at 3000 miles. Appears to be their weak point.
 
We bought the Freego Wren, it is the smaller version of there range.. been a great bike, has pedal assist and twist throttle ( think that's not allowed now).

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
In addition to ‘Orridge’s’ post above re the Raleigh, you can get a discount of Raleigh bikes if you are a member of the Caravan & Motorhome Club.
 
For general use, including "off road" on cycle paths including Sustrans, you definitely need thicker tyres than Brompton provide. We have Bromptons which are great for smooth surfaces but for all round use I also vote for Kalkhoff with a Bosch motor.
Like Motorhomes, in the electric bike market, you get what you pay for!
 
We have a pair of Wisper's mine is a folding version with 20" wheels, the wives is fixed frame with 26" wheels. the wife struggled with the smaller wheels and to be honest if I were to change I'd go for 26" wheels, the larger wheels feel a lot more stable.
Otherwise very happy with them.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
orridge said:
Dutch style step through frame would be our recommendation something like this <Broken link removed>
Click to expand...

We can certainly recommend Rutland Cycling. Got our 2 Cube Hybrids from the shop near Ferry Meadows, Peterborough. Superb bikes, Bosch motors, not cheap but worth the money.
Rutland also offer a very generous money back points scheme redeemable against accessories etc in the shop. We got £500 back to spend.
 
With bikes you really need to go and try loads to find out what suits you. We ended up with Scott's with Bosch crank drives but you do need a full size garage to get them in. All the latest decent brand bikes have at least 28" wheels which makes them quite tall.
Bought ours from Germany and saved £500 a bike.
 
The motor on one of our Kalkhoffs failed just outside the warranty (their own brand motor made by Panasonic I think), the pedals wouldn't disengage, it was like riding a fixed wheel jobbie. I phoned 50 Cycles who said I would need a replacement motor at around £500. I explained that I had stripped down the motor and that the fault lay with the 2 small freewheel pawls that transmit the drive from the pedals, a £2 item at best. The guy changed his tune immediately and offered to send me two pawls, gratis.
The fault was due to insufficient lubrication on assembly.
I stripped the motor out of our second bike and found they were heading the same way.
We have had the bikes just over 7 years and I have had to replace both sets of pedals, the Magura hydraulic brakes on one (£70 a pop) and the other bike's brakes have failed in the same way (plastic hydraulic cylinder wears out and need replacing but I will fit cable brakes), and a battery that failed within 2 years.
I love the electric bike option, I wouldn't have done half the cycling I have on a normal push bike, but for what they cost, they are well overpriced in my opinion.
 
Okay find a conventional bike that suits the Mrs one that she is happy with seating controls etc, Look at the wheel size, as previous posts but start at 26 inch. do not get a front wheel drive system rear wheel only, look on e bay I got a 27 inch rear wheel drive kit battey and all the gubbins ( Chargers and the rest ) for under £400 from China, arrived no problem and a doddle to fit if you are ok at at undoing bolts!. Just had it 5 years and done 11,100 miles on it and the battery is only just starting to lose charge now only 37 miles instead of 40 miles range and I am over 18 stone ( Big lad not fat but rather large!) NEW BATTERY .£230 They are very easy to fit and use would do it again, with a Bosch motor you get perhaps and extra 10 miles , with mine I turn if off and its a conventional bicycle
 
I'm five foot tall, and have a step through Rayleigh Motus. I love it, and I use it all the time. I went to a couple of different bike shops and they let me test ride some, which is a great way to see what you like (or not!)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
AC/DC said:
Okay find a conventional bike that suits the Mrs one that she is happy with seating controls etc, Look at the wheel size, as previous posts but start at 26 inch. do not get a front wheel drive system rear wheel only, look on e bay I got a 27 inch rear wheel drive kit battey and all the gubbins ( Chargers and the rest ) for under £400 from China, arrived no problem and a doddle to fit if you are ok at at undoing bolts!. Just had it 5 years and done 11,100 miles on it and the battery is only just starting to lose charge now only 37 miles instead of 40 miles range and I am over 18 stone ( Big lad not fat but rather large!) NEW BATTERY .£230 They are very easy to fit and use would do it again, with a Bosch motor you get perhaps and extra 10 miles , with mine I turn if off and its a conventional bicycle
Click to expand...
I`ve been looking into this I dont use the bike very much. but its useful at times when SWMBO` takes her Big scooter out. I get out of "puff" long before her battery runs down!. I have this old Trail bike which belonged to the granddaughter. And wondered about putting a Motorising kit on it. The easy ones look like the front wheel jobs Crank pedal kits won`t fit as this bike has a Rear suspension. The rear units seen to need more faffing with the Chain and Gears?.
 
As people have said you would have a job to beat a step through Rayleigh Motus with a Bosch motor.
 
Wife hopefully picking up her new Cube Kathmandu v soon with a step through frame and the 625 battery , it’s replacing her step through Wisper, if the OP is interested in the Wisper drop me a line before I put it on EBay .
 
A Wisper 805 Torque £1400 a 805SE is £1250 If you get it through the ride to work schema you will save 30 to 40 % Non folding get the 705 step through.
 
Over the last 7 years we have used our 2 AS Bikes. No new motors ever needed, 1 battery (mine) failed after 3 years. The support from AS Bikes cannot be faulted.
We use our bikes almost every day on bridleways, cycle tracks and roads. At a minimum of five miles a day at home and up to 20 miles a day when touring. They are great although not in the expensive league.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Simon Meadwell said:
At that money you may get a Brompton
Click to expand...
I have a new Brompton and fitted a nano electric kit. Both are the biggest disappointmen I could think of. The brompton is a wonder of bendinessbut as a bike is awful to ride ,uncomfortable , heavy and unstable on the road. I bought it with wonderful ideas about folding and storing it in the van, it is not necessary to fold it for the van and the advantage it has must be only to those that need transport to an office where they cannot safely store it at work so need to have it with them. The nano kit depends on a bosch battery of which I have had 7 in the past six months, these £240 monsters fail soon after being used, for the first time as there is a charging fault with the thermistors that stop the charging current going into the actual battery.
I returned two to to one supplier immediately and they were replaced only for the two replacements to fail straight off after the second charging. They refused to change them saying it was me using them on a bike not a drill. I bought one more battery from another supplier and that Failed the same before gong onto the bike. It was returned and another one given to me which seems to be fine, however I sent the other two back to Bosch along with the new charger. They sent two new batteries and returned the charger as fine. Thes two new batteries have also failed to charge the second time of use, and are going back today. Bosch have been on shutdown for months and are open again with the service department Working from home.
Bosch have also dropped the entire 36 volt tool range but will not say why they have done so, but I suspect those batteries are the problem.
The nano kit is a hub fitting one and is woefully underpowered and will reach only 11mph when it feels like the brakes go on and regardless how hard I pedal it is very difficult to get a decent speed out of it, I managed a lot better without the motor kit just by pedalling but to pat £600 odd for a kit I expected more.
I have tried out other bikes and they seem to fly up to the limits allowed but not mine.
Beware what you get as it is a BIG investment and might be better used on another bike system.
 
PeteH said:
I`ve been looking into this I dont use the bike very much. but its useful at times when SWMBO` takes her Big scooter out. I get out of "puff" long before her battery runs down!. I have this old Trail bike which belonged to the granddaughter. And wondered about putting a Motorising kit on it. The easy ones look like the front wheel jobs Crank pedal kits won`t fit as this bike has a Rear suspension. The rear units seen to need more faffing with the Chain and Gears?.
Click to expand...
It all depends on what gears you have already and what the set is i.e freewheel or fixed, you can change the gear ratios for about £8 for a 7 speed set, from about £15 for a 8 or 9 speed, measure between the rear forks for width and make sure the derailleur can swing freely, You get a lot better traction with rear wheel drive, Battery mounting is down to choice either on the downtubes or via a rear carrier most supplied with the kit. Its not as daunting as you think and worth doing even with one of the chinese kits Ali Baba website or flea bay should be able to source the goods
 
We’ve got (and are very happy with) Wisper 805SEs. We got them because they fold, but rarely fold them in practice, because they fit in the garage as they are. So we have the weight and complication of the folding mechanism without needing them. Maybe worth checking if your garage will take a normal step through?
 
PaddyM said:
Wife hopefully picking up her new Cube Kathmandu v soon with a step through frame and the 625 battery , it’s replacing her step through Wisper, if the OP is interested in the Wisper drop me a line before I put it on EBay .
Click to expand...
We’ve got a couple of these, fantastic bikes! Ours have got the CX motor with the 75Nm of torque makes climbing the very steep hills we have here in SE Cornwall a breeze, enjoy 😊
 
I am chipping in here as this a subject of interest to me.........

When we got our Devon Aztec long wheel base PVC 7 years ago I didn't want a rear rack on the back doors so got myself a Brompton to carry inside. I agree with some of GWAYGWAY's comments above. In particular about the lack of stability and the small thin tyres not being suitable for use other than on city streets and some campsites (e.g. Kelling Heath). I do think the Brompton is a brilliant well designed bike for it's commuter market but I really prefer country lanes (And pothole avoidance tactics!) or/and forest trails. I am 72 in good general health but do now enjoy the assistance from a motor on my bike........... but though I looked at Nano conversion for a Brompton for the reasons above didn't go that route. The comments on the Nano motor and battery (lack of) life is a surprise but another reason I am glad not to have gone that route.

In February I added a front wheel motor kit to my old but still in good well serviced Trek mountain bike. I was recommended to look at the Cytronex c1 kit (www.cytronex.com) by a cyclist friend and after very helpful discussions with Cytonex I got a kit from them without the lighting option. In fairness they don't guarentee it for off road use but it is cerainly ok in my experience on forest trails. It was very easy to install following their very comprehensive guidance and a quick discussion to solve a problem caused by the specific suspension geometry on the Rock Shox forks. In the 4 months I have had the convrsion the bike has now taken me over 1200 miles on an average ride of 20 to 30 miles of mixed/hilly roads . If you look at their site you will see the design goes for the simple is best approach to control and the water bottle style battery easy to remove for security and charging (in the cafe or pub if we ever get the chance again. I would like more battery range than the 180 watt hours. But on the hilly routes here in NE Scotland here I live I rarely need more than the lowest (green) assist and only then go up to the 50% blue level. The resistance of the motor when the power is off is non existent or possibly negligible but I do use the 27 years provided............

Cytronex have recently released kit for the Brompton that also gets a good review in issue 127 ofAtoB magazine ( www.atob.org.uk ) and an earlier issue covered the c1 kit for road bikes.

So I am very pleased with my conversion (Cytronex also sell conventional bikes -usually Canodales with or without the C1 option fitted.

Please note I have no connection with Cytronex other than as a happy customer.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top