Which ebike?
Author
Discussion

fridaypassion

Original Poster:

10,903 posts

248 months

Just started looking at ebikes before any hardcore cyclists pile in my main motivation is trying to help a long standing knee injury I'm trying to get over. I have an indoor exercise bike thats been great making the first bit of progress along with physio for quite a while. It would be nice to get out and about in the fresh air to do the same thing but I'm not ready for pushing it with major weight bearing so an e-bike could be a great solution. I already have a half decent mountain bike that will hopefully be back in action in the summer.

Total minefield! Pedal assist only is ideal I don't want one with a throttle (are these illegal anyway?) I'm thinking of a used Cube at about a grand does that sound about right? I'm thinking used good make rather than Chinese rubbish new?

If anyone has one around the Yorkshire area they want rid of let me know (large frame)

gangzoom

7,828 posts

235 months

See the eBike thread....There is so much choice and options now, they range from foldables, to sub 10kg road bikes all the way through to 30kg+ bikes with motors that are almost moped level bhp/ton power outputs and all day batteries.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Essentially decide what kind of bike you want first and than find the electric version. Pretty much every bike category now offer electric versions, I have ridden about half a dozen eBikes, despite they all having the same/similar motor/battery specs the difference between them are massive depending on the bike category they are based on.

I personally prefer mid drive motors, they are a bit more expensive but plenty of people get one fine with rear wheel hub drive ones with no issues.

I currently own two eBike, ones a Halfords special commuter bike the other a Specialized gravel bike. The Specialized only gets ridden a dozen times a year where as the commuter bike is used every week rain/shine/snow.

I went out today on the Specialized, near zero degrees so like all EVs battery range takes a hammering in winter, still it's an equivalent range of nearly 70 miles or 4hrs+ of riding. In summer the range is close to 100 miles.

I'm almost certainly getting any eBike in 2026, probably something just road focused so I can put mudguards and possibly a pannier on the Specialized so I can use it for commuting and retire the Halfords special for times when I need to lock the bike out on public streets.






Edited by gangzoom on Friday 26th December 20:13


Edited by gangzoom on Friday 26th December 20:15

RizzoTheRat

27,571 posts

212 months

For starters there's generally 2 types. One type (usually hub motor) monitors that the crank is turning and applies power, meaning you can gently rotate the pedals with no effort and it will accelerate you up to 25kph. The other type (usually crank motor) monitors the torque you're applying with the pedals and adds an amount of power related to that (eg 25% of 50% of what you're putting in). is recommend the latter if you actually want it for sake exercise.

Then what kind of bike do you want, ie what kind of riding do you plan to do? Mountain, Road, City, etc. are all very different. Having had mountain bikes for years i now have an upright city bike that I use for commuting and general transport. Way more comfortable and can easily cope with 25kg of shopping in the panniers.

fridaypassion

Original Poster:

10,903 posts

248 months

Thanks for that mountain bike similar to my existing one would be ideal. If I commute on it I go through some woods and trails plus a bit of road. Other use would be similar

yakka

88 posts

124 months

Specialized SL Turbo Levo, fantastic bike and probably pick one up on Pinkbike that has done very little work.

fridaypassion

Original Poster:

10,903 posts

248 months

Yesterday (09:07)
quotequote all
Never heard of that site cheers there is a SL Turbo listed as well

yakka

88 posts

124 months

Yesterday (23:06)
quotequote all
I bought an Ally frame model in 2020, absolutely spot on, never any problems and it’s done some proper trails. Light enough to throw in a car and not so powerful that you don’t feel like a passenger.