Discussion
Can anyone recommend an electric bike which must be capable of 40 miles or more and powerful enough to carry a normal sized guy up quite a few steep hills. A throttle option would be good too. There's a lot of info about but it would be nice to hear from people who've actually had or own one.
I’ve got a KTM machine cross 9 that goes 50 miles on a charge if not kept in too high an assistance level. It has the Bosh active line system. Throttles are not legal on new bikes now.
Best to find a shop near you that specialises and test various out. Where the motor is located is one of the biggest considerations. Crank tend to have higher range and I found to be best for me, although you have to put a bit more in yourself.
Don’t forget to budget for insurance as house cover isn’t likely to be suitable for an ebike costing north of £1500.
Best to find a shop near you that specialises and test various out. Where the motor is located is one of the biggest considerations. Crank tend to have higher range and I found to be best for me, although you have to put a bit more in yourself.
Don’t forget to budget for insurance as house cover isn’t likely to be suitable for an ebike costing north of £1500.
colin79666 said:
I’ve got a KTM machine cross 9 that goes 50 miles on a charge if not kept in too high an assistance level. It has the Bosh active line system. Throttles are not legal on new bikes now.
Best to find a shop near you that specialises and test various out. Where the motor is located is one of the biggest considerations. Crank tend to have higher range and I found to be best for me, although you have to put a bit more in yourself.
Don’t forget to budget for insurance as house cover isn’t likely to be suitable for an ebike costing north of £1500.
Thanks. Best to find a shop near you that specialises and test various out. Where the motor is located is one of the biggest considerations. Crank tend to have higher range and I found to be best for me, although you have to put a bit more in yourself.
Don’t forget to budget for insurance as house cover isn’t likely to be suitable for an ebike costing north of £1500.
Have you ridden a rear hub motored bike? I can imagine a front hub is probably the worst, but would think a rear is fairly good due to the weight being sat over it. There's a big price difference, but as you say, the crank motors get the better reviews.
Will these power you up really steep hills?
Well my crank motored bike gets me up hills at 10mph past guys in Lycra barely managing walking pace. Mine isn’t the most powerful either. Basically it turns a steep hill into something that feels like being on a slight incline on a normal bike. I live in a hilly area and average 14mph on trips.
I have tried front hub, rear hub and crank. I found front felt like it pulled you along but it also lost traction easily. Rear was better but put all the weight over the back wheel so wasn’t as well balanced as crank. I worried a bit about how the back wheel would manage with 100kg of bike and me over it. It also depends on battery position as they are several kilos alone.
As said above you really need to try for yourself as a lot is down to personal preference. My biggest piece of advice is find a local dealer and strike up a good relationship. Don’t buy a cheap thing online, the electrics from Bosh, Panasonic and Yamaha tend to be more reliable and come with a decent warranty if you follow the servicing guidance - which needs to be done at the authorised dealer. Got mine from the Electric Cycle Company in Edinburgh.
I have tried front hub, rear hub and crank. I found front felt like it pulled you along but it also lost traction easily. Rear was better but put all the weight over the back wheel so wasn’t as well balanced as crank. I worried a bit about how the back wheel would manage with 100kg of bike and me over it. It also depends on battery position as they are several kilos alone.
As said above you really need to try for yourself as a lot is down to personal preference. My biggest piece of advice is find a local dealer and strike up a good relationship. Don’t buy a cheap thing online, the electrics from Bosh, Panasonic and Yamaha tend to be more reliable and come with a decent warranty if you follow the servicing guidance - which needs to be done at the authorised dealer. Got mine from the Electric Cycle Company in Edinburgh.
Edited by colin79666 on Sunday 1st October 18:05
colin79666 said:
Well my crank motored bike gets me up hills at 10mph past guys in Lycra barely managing walking pace. Mine isn’t the most powerful either. Basically it turns a steep hill into something that feels like being on a slight incline on a normal bike. I live in a hilly area and average 14mph on trips.
I have tried front hub, rear hub and crank. I found front felt like it pulled you along but it also lost traction easily. Rear was better but put all the weight over the back wheel so wasn’t as well balanced as crank. I worried a bit about how the back wheel would manage with 100kg of bike and me over it. It also depends on battery position as they are several kilos alone.
As said above you really need to try for yourself as a lot is down to personal preference. My biggest piece of advice is find a local dealer and strike up a good relationship. Don’t buy a cheap thing online, the electrics from Bosh, Panasonic and Yamaha tend to be more reliable and come with a decent warranty if you follow the servicing guidance - which needs to be done at the authorised dealer. Got mine from the Electric Cycle Company in Edinburgh.
Thanks, I'm going to view a few tomorrow in a couple of local shops and will hopefully get to try a few out.I have tried front hub, rear hub and crank. I found front felt like it pulled you along but it also lost traction easily. Rear was better but put all the weight over the back wheel so wasn’t as well balanced as crank. I worried a bit about how the back wheel would manage with 100kg of bike and me over it. It also depends on battery position as they are several kilos alone.
As said above you really need to try for yourself as a lot is down to personal preference. My biggest piece of advice is find a local dealer and strike up a good relationship. Don’t buy a cheap thing online, the electrics from Bosh, Panasonic and Yamaha tend to be more reliable and come with a decent warranty if you follow the servicing guidance - which needs to be done at the authorised dealer. Got mine from the Electric Cycle Company in Edinburgh.
Edited by colin79666 on Sunday 1st October 18:05
Try and find out if any of your local bike shops are putting on any Cycle Fests. Ive attended one recently where they let you spend the day trying out loads of different ebikes. They had all the main manufacturers there with their bikes. I tried loads of them including Haibike, Focus Cube etc, including different types from road bikes to mountain bikes. Most of the current main brand ebikes will cover the distance you require, but upping the assistance to Max can reduce the battery range, depending on terrain etc.
I initially wanted a Haibike, but having attended this event I'm now about to purchase a 2018 Cube Reaction Hybrid Race 500
I initially wanted a Haibike, but having attended this event I'm now about to purchase a 2018 Cube Reaction Hybrid Race 500
RowntreesCabana said:
Can anyone recommend an electric bike which must be capable of 40 miles or more and powerful enough to carry a normal sized guy up quite a few steep hills. A throttle option would be good too. There's a lot of info about but it would be nice to hear from people who've actually had or own one.
I've ridden a variety of Haibikes, Scotts and LaPierre, all with mid mounted motors, Bosch or Yamaha. 40 miles would be no problem. I've gone further than that offroad over mountains. No need for a throttle, they are all pedal assist which is a very efficient method of powering these bikes. I've also got my own "BMW" hybrid style ebike wih Bosch - lots of fun. Highly recommended. Thanks for all of you who've offered some advice. I've been reading the links supplied and we've been to view a few again today in Bristol.
I'm nearing towards a Cube or a Haibike, but a friend knows someone whose looking to sell his right now and is bringing it around this evening so I can have a look, no idea what make it is, but he only wants £650 for it.
Thanks again for the advice.
I'm nearing towards a Cube or a Haibike, but a friend knows someone whose looking to sell his right now and is bringing it around this evening so I can have a look, no idea what make it is, but he only wants £650 for it.
Thanks again for the advice.
LeadFarmer said:
I bought the 2018 Cube Reaction Hybrid Race 500 ebike yesterday. No stocks of the red until Feb 2018 so went with the black...
Very niceLet us know what you think of it
I've got a conventional hard tail Cube but have been looking at their e-bikes. Lot of £ though. Would like to hear some real experiences if anyone would care to share.
Shilvers said:
Very nice
Let us know what you think of it
I've got a conventional hard tail Cube but have been looking at their e-bikes. Lot of £ though. Would like to hear some real experiences if anyone would care to share.
I pick it up next week hopefully. I test rode a few ebikes at a local Bike Fest event and they were amazing, especially when overtaking normal bikes going up steep hills. It was enough to make me go out and buy one.Let us know what you think of it
I've got a conventional hard tail Cube but have been looking at their e-bikes. Lot of £ though. Would like to hear some real experiences if anyone would care to share.
As for fitting a dongle (to de-restrict the 15mph assistance limit), theres talk of them invalidating the motor warranty, but plenty of people do fit them. But bear in mind, due to the small front sprocket on most ebikes your legs will be going ten to the dozen when cycling above 20 mph. Maybe when the 2 yr warranty on my Bosch motor has expired I will fit one. Bosch do make a derestricted motor with assistance up to 30mph, although illegal on public roads in UK. Haibike sell Pedelec bikes with these faster motors...
https://www.haibike.com/en/INT/home/eperformance/x...
LeadFarmer said:
I pick it up next week hopefully. I test rode a few ebikes at a local Bike Fest event and they were amazing, especially when overtaking normal bikes going up steep hills. It was enough to make me go out and buy one.
As for fitting a dongle (to de-restrict the 15mph assistance limit), theres talk of them invalidating the motor warranty, but plenty of people do fit them. But bear in mind, due to the small front sprocket on most ebikes your legs will be going ten to the dozen when cycling above 20 mph. Maybe when the 2 yr warranty on my Bosch motor has expired I will fit one. Bosch do make a derestricted motor with assistance up to 30mph, although illegal on public roads in UK. Haibike sell Speed-Pedelec bikes with these faster motors...
https://www.haibike.com/en/INT/home/eperformance/x...
As for fitting a dongle (to de-restrict the 15mph assistance limit), theres talk of them invalidating the motor warranty, but plenty of people do fit them. But bear in mind, due to the small front sprocket on most ebikes your legs will be going ten to the dozen when cycling above 20 mph. Maybe when the 2 yr warranty on my Bosch motor has expired I will fit one. Bosch do make a derestricted motor with assistance up to 30mph, although illegal on public roads in UK. Haibike sell Speed-Pedelec bikes with these faster motors...
https://www.haibike.com/en/INT/home/eperformance/x...
Edited by LeadFarmer on Thursday 5th October 17:29
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