Best electric bike for 38 y.o. female with heart disease

[pennylane]

Hello!

I'm very new to electric bikes, and most of the posts here are so technical that I have no idea what they're talking about. I hope someone can help me
I used to be a professional athlete but 10 years ago I developed a heart disease that has stopped me from doing any kind of exercise more strenuous than walking. I live in Norway, so hilly and windy, and therefore resigned myself to no longer being able to bike. Until I recently read an article regarding electric bikes!

I would very much appreciate some advice on the type of bikes recommended for someone like me. Perhaps if I jot down some important points and wishes, it might be easier:

1) I can't push my heartrate much above 120 bpm - in other words, I need a bike that can always give me quite a bit of power

2) I have no need to go very fast, but snailspace does get boring.

3) I won't need it to last more than about 60-90 minutes per trip.

4) I have absolutely no technical talent, so the kits people write about are out of the question (I'm the type of person who will describe my car in terms of size and colour...) It needs to be simple and easy to use, and no assembly needed on my part.

5) I love biking on paths and gravel etc, but won't need for very off road terrain.

6) Budget is flexible - max 2500 pounds(ish)

7) Weight is an important factor - I would prefer as light as possible as there will occasionally be necessary to lift it, and if it's too heavy...well...I'd have to leave it...and I assume I might sometimes have to push it uphill if too steep?

Am I being too optimistic that I will once again be able to move from A to B without having to take my car?

I would most appreciate feedback

Penny

 

[lowranger]

Hello!

Hi. You will Definatly find a bike that will do what you need in your price range, just vist the links from this site alone will give a massive choi e

From what you state about your lack of technical ability then perhaps the most important factor will be what brands of bike are available to you locally.

Almost all bikes that are delivered by courier will need some element of assembly and again if any aftercare or servicing is needed you would have difficulty unless you have good local bike shop who are happy to work with an electric bike.

So Your best route to an e bike is maybe finding a dealer and trying out what models they have available, they will have demonstration bikes available to try?

Good luck.

 

[pennylane]

Thank you for your reply. It won't be too much of a problem for me to travel to Germany/Holland etc to buy a bike - choices in Norway are very limited - I saw one at a shop locally that weighed almost 34 kg, and was told that no bikes under 30 kg existed...

 

[cwah]

2500£ is a good budget for an ebike.

You can even choose first the bike you like, then ask someone to electrify it for you. Find the normal bike you like most, and add about 3-5 kg for the electric kit (motor + controller + wiring...) and 1 kg / 10 km required for the battery.

For example:
- If you find a bike you like at 12 kg
- You'd like a moderate assit motor (ex: cute100 motor kit at 4kg)
- You need no more than 30km (3kg battery).

You'll then have a good assist bike at around 19kg.


This set up is for a bike able to run without pedaling at all on hills. If you're able to do a little bit of exercise, you can go much lower in term of weight. Some members managed to have their ebike under 13 kg. See JerrySimon thread for more info



Then you just have to ask someone to assemble the kit for you. I believe that for your budget you should be able to find someone happy to do either locally or most probably a bit more far away

 

[flecc]

I know that in Norway you have the EU type e-bike law, despite not being in the Union, so it has to be a pedelec, i.e. pedalling all the time for power.

There are three main kinds of bike motors:

Those with a drive unit by the bottom bracket with share the bicycle's chain drive and have the advantage of good very steep hill climbing. The most powerful of those use the Bosch power unit and can be as little as around 20 kilos. This has three power levels and on High mode can put in around twice what you do, in other words providing two thirds of the needed effort. Over 20 manufacturers make those, mostly in Germany.

Then there are the internally geared wheel hub motor types with the motor in either the front or rear wheel. The most powerful of these can demand less of you than the crank ones on the flat especially, but they are not always very capable on steep hills. Therefore it's important to get a very powerful one, some of the Dutch and German ones are a bit on the weak side for steep hills.

The third type have direct drive hub motors which are usually in the back wheel and characterised by being rather larger diameter. The best known of these is the BionX motor and that has four switched power levels. In the highest level it leaves you very little to do, but the range can be short then. However, by using level three most of the time and level four just to climb awkward hills, you wouldn't have to exert beyond your heart limits and would have a reasonable range. Several manufacturers use this motor system, suggestions being Germany's Kalkhoff and Austria's KTM, the latter also sold in Germany.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hello!

I'm very new to electric bikes, and most of the posts here are so technical that I have no idea what they're talking about. I hope someone can help me
I used to be a professional athlete but 10 years ago I developed a heart disease that has stopped me from doing any kind of exercise more strenuous than walking. I live in Norway, so hilly and windy, and therefore resigned myself to no longer being able to bike. Until I recently read an article regarding electric bikes!

I would very much appreciate some advice on the type of bikes recommended for someone like me. Perhaps if I jot down some important points and wishes, it might be easier:

1) I can't push my heartrate much above 120 bpm - in other words, I need a bike that can always give me quite a bit of power

2) I have no need to go very fast, but snailspace does get boring.

3) I won't need it to last more than about 60-90 minutes per trip.

4) I have absolutely no technical talent, so the kits people write about are out of the question (I'm the type of person who will describe my car in terms of size and colour...) It needs to be simple and easy to use, and no assembly needed on my part.

5) I love biking on paths and gravel etc, but won't need for very off road terrain.

6) Budget is flexible - max 2500 pounds(ish)

7) Weight is an important factor - I would prefer as light as possible as there will occasionally be necessary to lift it, and if it's too heavy...well...I'd have to leave it...and I assume I might sometimes have to push it uphill if too steep?

Am I being too optimistic that I will once again be able to move from A to B without having to take my car?

I would most appreciate feedback

Penny

Penny,you don't have to spend so much money to achieve your specification.
You don't say your preferred wheel size and whether you need a folding bike?
I would have thought that a throttle would be useful so that you can take a rest when your heart condition requires it,but a throttle may not be legal in Norway,you need to check.
Sorry to push my own product but it is a good starting place and I have many competitors that offer similar bikes.
Please look on my website.
The Kudos Eco bike with 26' wheels is a good hill climber,has the simplicity of the Shimano Nexus hub system,it has a style,colour and frame shape that is often preferred by ladies of your age,price £1055 plus about £120 for shipping,I think we zero rate for Norway shipments so 20pc may be able to be discounted,need to check direct with Kudos.
Another bike to consider is the Kudos Secret bike,it only weighs 18kg,it climbs hills very well,is a nicely balanced bike and very nippy. Price,£725 plus about £70 for shipping.
Hope that helps
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[flecc]

I would have thought that a throttle would be useful so that you can take a rest when your heart condition requires it,but a throttle may not be legal in Norway,you need to check.

A throttle is not legal in Norway, they retained the EU pedelec rules after leaving the EU.

 

[PennyFarthing]

Hello!

I'm very new to electric bikes, and most of the posts here are so technical that I have no idea what they're talking about. I hope someone can help me
I used to be a professional athlete but 10 years ago I developed a heart disease that has stopped me from doing any kind of exercise more strenuous than walking. I live in Norway, so hilly and windy, and therefore resigned myself to no longer being able to bike. Until I recently read an article regarding electric bikes!

I
Penny

Hi Penny - I'm Penny too!

I bought an electric bike because I used to cycle everywhere but age, bad knee, very bad back and one dodgy lung later I hadn't cycled for years. Am also overweight and live in a hilly area. I decided for my needs I did not want a throttle, but I did try a bike out with a throttle. I see from the threads above a throttle is illegal in your country.

So what I did was buy one that was best for hill cycling. I am totally non technical like you - so I fully understand. You definitely need to buy one that you can drive to somewhere to get fixed at some point. That is your priority.

I tried out many bikes. With throttle and without. Bikes I thought I'd like I wasnt so keen on when I rode it. I do like an upright ride (sitting up almost straight - like a dutch bike) for my bad back though. So in the end I bought a Gepida. (see my tag line - it says which make). For me its perfect. Its the older model as now they have different type of battery. You might need a battery that lasts longer though as I only travel max of 6 miles a day. Though the more overweight a person is the more the battery is used, so I'm not a good indicator. My bike is crank driven and they are BEST type for climbing hills without breaking into a sweat or a lot of effort.

I was hoping for a brilliant summer this year so I could cycle lots but we had so much sunshine. Then I returned from my holiday with a very bad knee so haven't been able to make use of the sunshine. So annoyed. Knee almost okay now....

I can tell you that its the best thing ever and I will never ever go back to a normal bike. Its given me so much freedom and reminded me why I loved cycling in the first place.

Whereever you go, you need to try the bike out first.

Have a look on the Gepida website - it is hungarian but you can select english or Norwegian too. The batteries are meant to be improved now.

Here is the website:

http://www.gepida.hu/index.php?country=NOR


Penny

 

[PennyFarthing]

ps: Here is one like mine but with more modern batteries. I expect there are far better batteries on the market (probably) but linking this so you can discuss with the techie people on here how suitable this would be for you - or not!

2012 Gepida Reptila 990 GPDS - Gepida

 

[flecc]

Your one is crank drive using the Yamaha power unit Pennyfarthing, but the later Gepida you linked to has a moderate power front hub motor. That's not as good for the steepest hills as yours is, so may not meet Pennylane's requirement of strong motor support for her heart condition.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Penny,

We can supply eZee bikes to Norway that are EU compliant and therefore meet Norwegian regulations.
They still have a throttle, but assistance is limited to 6 Km/h or walking pace.

Distributors can programme the control console to comply with worldwide regulations.

eZee have been manufacturing electric bikes and conversion kits for over 12 year and their powerful hub motors are great for climbing hills.

eZee batteries are available in a variety of capacities to suit your requirements.

You can see the full range of models here electric bikes and conversion kits - Home

Regards,