electric mountain bike
Discussion
we bought a cpl of small folding E bikes to stuff under the bed of our campervan but thats now gone and are now hankering for a much small van , so the chances of needing the small bikes has gone...BUT she who must be obeyed has said in womens tongues that a E mountain bike might be a suitable replacement. Now then....we aint gonna spend £1000+ let alone £1.5k+. So its going to be a decent nice second hand bike. I see that halfords sell their model, a carrera vengeance that seems to fit what she wants. Whats your thoughts on them....buying thru Halfords etc. I have seen a cpl on fleabay etc going for around £500 ish.....worth it. or a better/differant model.... She is 5' 8 and quite strong and its also quite hilly around us, mostly country lanes stuff. No bombing thru forests etc.... advice welcome!
mikal83 said:
we bought a cpl of small folding E bikes to stuff under the bed of our campervan but thats now gone and are now hankering for a much small van , so the chances of needing the small bikes has gone...BUT she who must be obeyed has said in womens tongues that a E mountain bike might be a suitable replacement. Now then....we aint gonna spend £1000+ let alone £1.5k+. So its going to be a decent nice second hand bike. I see that halfords sell their model, a carrera vengeance that seems to fit what she wants. Whats your thoughts on them....buying thru Halfords etc. I have seen a cpl on fleabay etc going for around £500 ish.....worth it. or a better/differant model.... She is 5' 8 and quite strong and its also quite hilly around us, mostly country lanes stuff. No bombing thru forests etc.... advice welcome!
It depends if you want a hardtail or a full-suspension mountain bike.The trend with electric mountain bikes is now definitely mid-drive motors.
All full-suspension ebikes use mid-drive motors.
Hard tails can come with hub motors (usually in the rear)
Mid-drive bikes are better at hill climbing apparently.
Full-sus mid-drive mountain bikes start at about £3k
Hub-drive hard-tail mountain bikes start at about £1k.
The Halfords Carrera Vengeance is a hub-drive mountain bike at just under £1k and doesn't look too bad and comes with a warranty of course.
Alternatively, if you are a bit handy you can buy a used mountain bike from Gumtree etc and fit a kit, that's what I did, bike + kit (hub drive) cost me less than £700.
Buying a second-hand ebike could be a total minefield, be careful with that. A lot depends on the age of the battery. Batteries are very expensive
Senex said:
mikal83 said:
we bought a cpl of small folding E bikes to stuff under the bed of our campervan but thats now gone and are now hankering for a much small van , so the chances of needing the small bikes has gone...BUT she who must be obeyed has said in womens tongues that a E mountain bike might be a suitable replacement. Now then....we aint gonna spend £1000+ let alone £1.5k+. So its going to be a decent nice second hand bike. I see that halfords sell their model, a carrera vengeance that seems to fit what she wants. Whats your thoughts on them....buying thru Halfords etc. I have seen a cpl on fleabay etc going for around £500 ish.....worth it. or a better/differant model.... She is 5' 8 and quite strong and its also quite hilly around us, mostly country lanes stuff. No bombing thru forests etc.... advice welcome!
It depends if you want a hardtail or a full-suspension mountain bike.The trend with electric mountain bikes is now definitely mid-drive motors.
All full-suspension ebikes use mid-drive motors.
Hard tails can come with hub motors (usually in the rear)
Mid-drive bikes are better at hill climbing apparently.
Full-sus mid-drive mountain bikes start at about £3k
Hub-drive hard-tail mountain bikes start at about £1k.
The Halfords Carrera Vengeance is a hub-drive mountain bike at just under £1k and doesn't look too bad and comes with a warranty of course.
Alternatively, if you are a bit handy you can buy a used mountain bike from Gumtree etc and fit a kit, that's what I did, bike + kit (hub drive) cost me less than £700.
Buying a second-hand ebike could be a total minefield, be careful with that. A lot depends on the age of the battery. Batteries are very expensive
mikal83 said:
Kes Arevo said:
Don't bother with a full suspension mountain bike if it's just for roads. A hybrid will be a lot better for you.
£500 ish?Bear in mind this is at the absolute bottom end of the market
https://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/electric-bikes/ele...
You might want to revisit the budget you've set if you can.
You're in second hand territory, and given just how appallingly unreliable the tech is, unless you're good bike maintenence, could end up with a very expensive bill.
Budget new, the kit will be the cheapest of the cheap - which isn't the end of the world as it typically works but is heavier - but you're also looking at some quite small batteries too. They joy of eebs is their range and ability to drag you round when you're not feeling the love.
I'd also want hydraulic disc brakes on a beginner eeb rather than the v brakes on the one mentioned above.
Strong and consistent brakes help with confidence.
You're in second hand territory, and given just how appallingly unreliable the tech is, unless you're good bike maintenence, could end up with a very expensive bill.
Budget new, the kit will be the cheapest of the cheap - which isn't the end of the world as it typically works but is heavier - but you're also looking at some quite small batteries too. They joy of eebs is their range and ability to drag you round when you're not feeling the love.
I'd also want hydraulic disc brakes on a beginner eeb rather than the v brakes on the one mentioned above.
Strong and consistent brakes help with confidence.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
You might want to revisit the budget you've set if you can.
You're in second hand territory, and given just how appallingly unreliable the tech is, unless you're good bike maintenence, could end up with a very expensive bill.
Budget new, the kit will be the cheapest of the cheap - which isn't the end of the world as it typically works but is heavier - but you're also looking at some quite small batteries too. They joy of eebs is their range and ability to drag you round when you're not feeling the love.
I'd also want hydraulic disc brakes on a beginner eeb rather than the v brakes on the one mentioned above.
Strong and consistent brakes help with confidence.
Errrrr NoYou're in second hand territory, and given just how appallingly unreliable the tech is, unless you're good bike maintenence, could end up with a very expensive bill.
Budget new, the kit will be the cheapest of the cheap - which isn't the end of the world as it typically works but is heavier - but you're also looking at some quite small batteries too. They joy of eebs is their range and ability to drag you round when you're not feeling the love.
I'd also want hydraulic disc brakes on a beginner eeb rather than the v brakes on the one mentioned above.
Strong and consistent brakes help with confidence.
mikal83 said:
Errrrr No
Ok. Look, you *might* get lucky and score a half-decent used e-MTB for that budget, but it’s more likely that you’ll be looking at (ab)used second hand cheap e-bikes that were pretty crap to begin with. The great news is that you really do get what you pay for. Up the budget to anything with a mid-drive motor and you’ll (hopefully) have something rugged and reliable that’ll provide you pleasure for years to come.
This was €1100, about 1500 km if I remember correctly, and is now at 12000km after one main bearing rebuild (€200)
My commuter bike, with lights/rack/mudguards etc. €2800 new, I paid €1400 with it on 750km. I suppose you could do light trails and easy stuff on this. It has the bigger integrated battery.
Both are Bosch mid-drive and are really capable machines.
I know that you’re looking right at the bottom of the market, and you’ve explained the reasons why, but bear in mind that most of the e-bikers on here are pretty experienced and have disregarded the cheap stuff as it’s basically likely to be junk.
Best of luck with your search!!
Edited by Barchettaman on Friday 10th March 10:44
mikal83 said:
TY all. its just a basic bike thats needed for the Mrs to pootle around on. She wont be dashing around any forests! She has a bike that she likes and maybe the road to go down might be to buy a conversion kit! I can fit one quite easily, IF I made my mind up which one to get!!!!
Woosh Bikes in Southend are a well respected kit seller, I got mine from there for £549Alternatively, you can take your chances and try eBay.
Basic ladies mountain bikes go for peanuts on Gumtree or eBay.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/
Senex said:
Woosh Bikes in Southend are a well respected kit seller, I got mine from there for £549
Alternatively, you can take your chances and try eBay.
Basic ladies mountain bikes go for peanuts on Gumtree or eBay.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/
TY for the linky etc.Alternatively, you can take your chances and try eBay.
Basic ladies mountain bikes go for peanuts on Gumtree or eBay.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/
Hub drive motors are not all bad.
A mate of mine has one, I've ridden it.
On road and off.
It has the advantage that the motor is not using the expensive drive train, wearing out those narrow chains and cogs, which can happen quickly if there's any mud about.
The disadvantage is that the motor doesn't get the benefit of using the gears for hills.
A lot of kits get around this by having a motor which is capable of rather more than 250W, so the hub drive is still adequate up a hill where I'd struggle to just pedal.
The legal limit of 250W is 'average power' so there seems to be a grey scale here, from 'interpretation of average' through to 'taking the mick'.
Any conversion, I'd suggest understanding its legal status and making sure you're comfortable with that.
Disc brakes are way superior to anything else.
Cable discs can be OK, but hydraulic is not expensive.
A lot of people find a hub drive hard tail bike works well for them. I'd have one myself if it slotted into the kind of journeys I do.
A mate of mine has one, I've ridden it.
On road and off.
It has the advantage that the motor is not using the expensive drive train, wearing out those narrow chains and cogs, which can happen quickly if there's any mud about.
The disadvantage is that the motor doesn't get the benefit of using the gears for hills.
A lot of kits get around this by having a motor which is capable of rather more than 250W, so the hub drive is still adequate up a hill where I'd struggle to just pedal.
The legal limit of 250W is 'average power' so there seems to be a grey scale here, from 'interpretation of average' through to 'taking the mick'.
Any conversion, I'd suggest understanding its legal status and making sure you're comfortable with that.
Disc brakes are way superior to anything else.
Cable discs can be OK, but hydraulic is not expensive.
A lot of people find a hub drive hard tail bike works well for them. I'd have one myself if it slotted into the kind of journeys I do.
I've used a Whoosh Bike rear hub motor kit to build my commuter. I'd definitely recommend them as a company if you decide to go that way.
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the sensing type: pedal- or torque- sensing.
Torque-sensing adds more power the harder you push on the pedals (I believe the power curve it uses can be adjusted to taste/terrain/etc). Desribed as having bionic legs.
Pedal-sensing just activates when you're pedalling. At all. The power provided is set by your choice on the handlebar control. if you pedal, you get that power from the motor and when you stop pedaling, it stops.
Pedal-sensing tends to be considerably cheaper, however...
I've had to re-jig my brain for my commuter ebike from "a bike that I will ride to work" to "an electric sort-of equivalent/replacement for a moped". It's pedal sensing and I mostly just treat pedaling as the means of opening the throttle (usually set at 4 out of 5, so probably roughly 200w), rather than twisting a grip on a moped.
If it was a bike for riding, I'd want torque sensing all the way. I'd hate the pedal sensing. It's just not responsive enough to the ever-changing road to enjoy. But for easy-life pootling, it's ok. I cost downhill a lot to save battery and because I've gone over 15mph. It's a whole different world to my road bike.
So a good idea to really think about how you want to use the bike/s, as the control type could make or break your enjoyment.
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the sensing type: pedal- or torque- sensing.
Torque-sensing adds more power the harder you push on the pedals (I believe the power curve it uses can be adjusted to taste/terrain/etc). Desribed as having bionic legs.
Pedal-sensing just activates when you're pedalling. At all. The power provided is set by your choice on the handlebar control. if you pedal, you get that power from the motor and when you stop pedaling, it stops.
Pedal-sensing tends to be considerably cheaper, however...
I've had to re-jig my brain for my commuter ebike from "a bike that I will ride to work" to "an electric sort-of equivalent/replacement for a moped". It's pedal sensing and I mostly just treat pedaling as the means of opening the throttle (usually set at 4 out of 5, so probably roughly 200w), rather than twisting a grip on a moped.
If it was a bike for riding, I'd want torque sensing all the way. I'd hate the pedal sensing. It's just not responsive enough to the ever-changing road to enjoy. But for easy-life pootling, it's ok. I cost downhill a lot to save battery and because I've gone over 15mph. It's a whole different world to my road bike.
So a good idea to really think about how you want to use the bike/s, as the control type could make or break your enjoyment.
defblade said:
I've used a Whoosh Bike rear hub motor kit to build my commuter. I'd definitely recommend them as a company if you decide to go that way.
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the sensing type: pedal- or torque- sensing.
Torque-sensing adds more power the harder you push on the pedals (I believe the power curve it uses can be adjusted to taste/terrain/etc). Desribed as having bionic legs.
Pedal-sensing just activates when you're pedalling. At all. The power provided is set by your choice on the handlebar control. if you pedal, you get that power from the motor and when you stop pedaling, it stops.
Pedal-sensing tends to be considerably cheaper, however...
I've had to re-jig my brain for my commuter ebike from "a bike that I will ride to work" to "an electric sort-of equivalent/replacement for a moped". It's pedal sensing and I mostly just treat pedaling as the means of opening the throttle (usually set at 4 out of 5, so probably roughly 200w), rather than twisting a grip on a moped.
If it was a bike for riding, I'd want torque sensing all the way. I'd hate the pedal sensing. It's just not responsive enough to the ever-changing road to enjoy. But for easy-life pootling, it's ok. I cost downhill a lot to save battery and because I've gone over 15mph. It's a whole different world to my road bike.
So a good idea to really think about how you want to use the bike/s, as the control type could make or break your enjoyment.
To the last bit on your post, (TYBTW), she will just use the bike for cycling around our local lanes etc, quite hilly at times...there isnt one flat spot in East Cornwall, believe me!One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the sensing type: pedal- or torque- sensing.
Torque-sensing adds more power the harder you push on the pedals (I believe the power curve it uses can be adjusted to taste/terrain/etc). Desribed as having bionic legs.
Pedal-sensing just activates when you're pedalling. At all. The power provided is set by your choice on the handlebar control. if you pedal, you get that power from the motor and when you stop pedaling, it stops.
Pedal-sensing tends to be considerably cheaper, however...
I've had to re-jig my brain for my commuter ebike from "a bike that I will ride to work" to "an electric sort-of equivalent/replacement for a moped". It's pedal sensing and I mostly just treat pedaling as the means of opening the throttle (usually set at 4 out of 5, so probably roughly 200w), rather than twisting a grip on a moped.
If it was a bike for riding, I'd want torque sensing all the way. I'd hate the pedal sensing. It's just not responsive enough to the ever-changing road to enjoy. But for easy-life pootling, it's ok. I cost downhill a lot to save battery and because I've gone over 15mph. It's a whole different world to my road bike.
So a good idea to really think about how you want to use the bike/s, as the control type could make or break your enjoyment.
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