What comfortable ebike for road and mild offroad use?
Discussion
I realise that there are multiple threads on what ebike to get, but they are either old or the OP has different requirements to me.
TL,DR; I'm a fatty and have problems with my hands so I'd like an ebike whicvh is compfy and won't put my weight on my hands. Mostly 50% road use and 50% off-road trails and tracks but no mountain stuff. What decent quality bikes should I look at?
I currently have a regular hybrid bike (B1 Aluma) which I bought perhaps 20+ years ago. I used to ride it about from time to time, but in recent years it's been sitting in the garage barely being used as I find it horribly uncomfortable. I can't really getb the seat far enough from the crank, and whnn I have the seat as high as it will go, the handlebars are too low for comfort. I also hate the twist-grip gearchange. I have a couple of friends who ride mountain bikes, and I have gone riding with them but struggle to keep up and some of the tracks they ride on feel too rough for my skinny-tyred bike. In recent years I've lost much of the feeling in my hands and with my weight on the bars, my hands get very numb and start hurting and buzzing. Meanwhile I lose the ability to hold onto the bars or use the brakes properly. I've had this numbness investigated as it affects both my hands and feet, but I'm not diabetic and it's not carpal tunnel. They even did a CT scan on my neck and spine to try to find the cause as I was in a bad car accident in 2018 and all the symptoms have appeared since then. No dice. Best guess by the doctors is something called small fibre neuropathy.
But anyway I want to try to find a way to join my friends on their cycling adventures both in England and abroad. They tend to rice 15-25 miles at a time but would go further with an ebike. One of them already has an e-bike, and thew other is on the verge of getting one. I was thinking that if I had a sit-up and beg grandma-style bike with a comfy saddle, then I might be able to cope and my hands won't turn to jelly as they do now when I try to ride.
I've lost about 17kg since last summer by totally eliminating all sugar from my diet and going low carb, but I'm still about 120kg and need something that won't buckle under my weight. And I think that even if it's less effort than riding without assistance, any pedaling I do with assistance will be better than doing none because I don't ride at all at the moment.
What ebike is there that has a comfy seat (perhaps one with springs) and where I won't have to lean on my hands an wrists too much or at all? I don't care at all if it looks totally unsexy as let's be frank - nothing will look sexy with me sitting on top of it. I understand that there's a legal power limit, but I also know that some bikes can have this overriden and I'm going to be at a huge disadvantage due to my weight being nearly double a normal adult weight. Having said that, I have no intention of riding around like a bat out of hell or needing to do silly speeds and I don't need it to go without pedalling as I'm not an uber eats rider. I'd like enough range that I can go 50 miles in total ideally with a bit left in the tank. Ideally it will be rideable without power assistance, although I'm not planning to make a habit of it. I don't really like the fat tyre look that I've seen on some bikes.
I don't really have a particular budget in mind. Once of the friends who already has an ebike is heavier than me and keeps breaking his cheap Chinese bike. I'd rather spend a bit more and have something solid that will last several years. I'm not a buy cheap buy twice kind of person. Is £1000 reasonable or do I need to spend more for quality?
Thanks!
TL,DR; I'm a fatty and have problems with my hands so I'd like an ebike whicvh is compfy and won't put my weight on my hands. Mostly 50% road use and 50% off-road trails and tracks but no mountain stuff. What decent quality bikes should I look at?
I currently have a regular hybrid bike (B1 Aluma) which I bought perhaps 20+ years ago. I used to ride it about from time to time, but in recent years it's been sitting in the garage barely being used as I find it horribly uncomfortable. I can't really getb the seat far enough from the crank, and whnn I have the seat as high as it will go, the handlebars are too low for comfort. I also hate the twist-grip gearchange. I have a couple of friends who ride mountain bikes, and I have gone riding with them but struggle to keep up and some of the tracks they ride on feel too rough for my skinny-tyred bike. In recent years I've lost much of the feeling in my hands and with my weight on the bars, my hands get very numb and start hurting and buzzing. Meanwhile I lose the ability to hold onto the bars or use the brakes properly. I've had this numbness investigated as it affects both my hands and feet, but I'm not diabetic and it's not carpal tunnel. They even did a CT scan on my neck and spine to try to find the cause as I was in a bad car accident in 2018 and all the symptoms have appeared since then. No dice. Best guess by the doctors is something called small fibre neuropathy.
But anyway I want to try to find a way to join my friends on their cycling adventures both in England and abroad. They tend to rice 15-25 miles at a time but would go further with an ebike. One of them already has an e-bike, and thew other is on the verge of getting one. I was thinking that if I had a sit-up and beg grandma-style bike with a comfy saddle, then I might be able to cope and my hands won't turn to jelly as they do now when I try to ride.
I've lost about 17kg since last summer by totally eliminating all sugar from my diet and going low carb, but I'm still about 120kg and need something that won't buckle under my weight. And I think that even if it's less effort than riding without assistance, any pedaling I do with assistance will be better than doing none because I don't ride at all at the moment.
What ebike is there that has a comfy seat (perhaps one with springs) and where I won't have to lean on my hands an wrists too much or at all? I don't care at all if it looks totally unsexy as let's be frank - nothing will look sexy with me sitting on top of it. I understand that there's a legal power limit, but I also know that some bikes can have this overriden and I'm going to be at a huge disadvantage due to my weight being nearly double a normal adult weight. Having said that, I have no intention of riding around like a bat out of hell or needing to do silly speeds and I don't need it to go without pedalling as I'm not an uber eats rider. I'd like enough range that I can go 50 miles in total ideally with a bit left in the tank. Ideally it will be rideable without power assistance, although I'm not planning to make a habit of it. I don't really like the fat tyre look that I've seen on some bikes.
I don't really have a particular budget in mind. Once of the friends who already has an ebike is heavier than me and keeps breaking his cheap Chinese bike. I'd rather spend a bit more and have something solid that will last several years. I'm not a buy cheap buy twice kind of person. Is £1000 reasonable or do I need to spend more for quality?
Thanks!
Long read and I was muttering all along…..what’s the budget.
Bad news imho, £1k really won’t get you anything I could comment or recommend second hand never mind new.
Sorry.
You need to double that at least IMHO
Outside of that well done in the weight loss, ambitions and I tentio s. It will change your life.
Bad news imho, £1k really won’t get you anything I could comment or recommend second hand never mind new.
Sorry.
You need to double that at least IMHO
Outside of that well done in the weight loss, ambitions and I tentio s. It will change your life.
Thanks Dover. It's not really bad news - as I said I don't ereally have a budget in mind because if I need to spend £2000 or £3000 then that's the way it is - but my friend was telling me to get something for £500 and that set alarm bells ringing. But at the same time I'm not so keen to ride a bicycle that I want to spend £5000 - especially on something so nickable.
So assuming I'm willing to spend up to £3000, what would you recommend then, and what will it get me that £2000 won't?
Thanks!
So assuming I'm willing to spend up to £3000, what would you recommend then, and what will it get me that £2000 won't?
Thanks!
Cube Reaction with air suspension forks up front.
They say they are good for 120kg and good all rounder such as:
https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/bikes/electric-b...
Or
https://www.cube.eu/uk-en/cube-reaction-hybrid-pro...
But see if you have a Bosch maintenance place nearby for ease of any issues.
Just one opinion, obviously, but go sit on some at the local bike shop that sells these types rather than Halfords
They say they are good for 120kg and good all rounder such as:
https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/bikes/electric-b...
Or
https://www.cube.eu/uk-en/cube-reaction-hybrid-pro...
But see if you have a Bosch maintenance place nearby for ease of any issues.
Just one opinion, obviously, but go sit on some at the local bike shop that sells these types rather than Halfords
Edited by PushedDover on Sunday 4th May 18:55
A mate of mine bought a dull-looking commuter e-bike, rear hub motor, 7 gears IIRC, for about £700 about 18 months ago.
It serves him fine for a trip that's hilly enough to put him off using a non-e bike.
He carries a few kg of stuff on the rack.
There is a lot of similar stuff on ebay.
It's easy to dismiss such things as generic chinese tat, but there are an awful lot of people in China using this kind of thing quite happily.
Another option is to buy a conversion kit and a basic hybrid or MTB.
For sure, my other mate's Whyte is nicer, at 10x the price.
It serves him fine for a trip that's hilly enough to put him off using a non-e bike.
He carries a few kg of stuff on the rack.
There is a lot of similar stuff on ebay.
It's easy to dismiss such things as generic chinese tat, but there are an awful lot of people in China using this kind of thing quite happily.
Another option is to buy a conversion kit and a basic hybrid or MTB.
For sure, my other mate's Whyte is nicer, at 10x the price.
Hi
I have a Giant....a few years older than this but essentially the same model.
https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes...
I use it for commuting mainly, and so comfort was a priority. The geometry is not too extreme and I find it pretty comfortable over my 26 miles commute. A different saddle might help thing too, but the larger tyres definitely absorb stuff nicely.
Only disadvantage for me is the 36T chainring....I find I max out quite often on my commute. But if you are mainly using for off road stuff it would not be an issue.
Mine has a 400Wh battery and it uses about 50% of that over my 26 mile commute. So the 500Wh battery should just stretch to 50 miles given the extra weight. Although, do it regularly and you will drop weight...I lost about a stone in six months.....
I have a Giant....a few years older than this but essentially the same model.
https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes...
I use it for commuting mainly, and so comfort was a priority. The geometry is not too extreme and I find it pretty comfortable over my 26 miles commute. A different saddle might help thing too, but the larger tyres definitely absorb stuff nicely.
Only disadvantage for me is the 36T chainring....I find I max out quite often on my commute. But if you are mainly using for off road stuff it would not be an issue.
Mine has a 400Wh battery and it uses about 50% of that over my 26 mile commute. So the 500Wh battery should just stretch to 50 miles given the extra weight. Although, do it regularly and you will drop weight...I lost about a stone in six months.....
Trash_panda said:
Isn't the 120kg including the bike, which will be circa 25kg?
No. From Specifications tab here for example: https://www.theelectricbikeshop.co.uk/shop/bikes/s...
Product Information
Weight 23.1kg
Maximum weight of rider plus bike 150kg
ps. X-Large I assume you need? - here from £2599 to £1999 - bargain esp. if with the 635 battery
However
More googling also say: https://www.freeborn.co.uk/cube-reaction-hybrid-pr...
Either way, wont be long to shift the beef and be well under the limit.
Max System Weight 140 kg – The maximum system weight is the maximum total weight of the bike, rider and any luggage combined
Click and Go !
ETA: Zee Germians have zee details as folows: https://file.cube.eu/azwesc1xfg346/media/1c/eb/04/...
Hybrid Hardtails (all I have shared to you) - max weight 120kg for the rider.
Edited by PushedDover on Sunday 4th May 19:03
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