Buying advice

[Superseded]

I'm looking at purchasing an E-Bike.

I really am not a bike person, i can fix one, and i can pedal on one, but I dont know why one model is better than another, and why I should spend a little more / less to get the most suitable bike.

So far i've been climbing the cost ladder all the way from £800 up to £2,800 and I dont have any idea where I should get off... although I'd like to be spending less than £1,500, and if 0% finance is available, great (not the end of the world if not).

I tried an Oxygen S-Cross CB this weekend, which was great fun, and the guy at surf55 was very helpful. I'm just really trying to understand if I need to spend more than this, or if something less than this will be suitable?

I'll be using it a couple of times a week to commute about 15 miles each way. Country roads, pretty flat, some small hills. I'm 5'10, 88kg. Panniers would be great. I also take the kids to Thetford Forrest on their bikes, so i need to be able to use it a little on tracks (no jumps or anything silly).

I currently have a cube hybrid, which i'd considered converting, but that really does seem to be a minefield!

 

[Nev]

I currently have a cube hybrid, which i'd considered converting, but that really does seem to be a minefield!

I would probably spend a little more time looking at this option, there are some extremely knowledgeable people on this site who could give you a lot of help if you decide to go down the converting route.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The cheap bikes are perfectly adequate, though some of the cheapest ones have crappy control systems (only full power all the time).

It's generally a fallacy that the cheaper components fail, so I wouldn't worry about that.

There's no doubt that more expensive components are nicer to use. Hydraulic brakes are definitely worth having, though you can upgrade the brakes on any cheapo disc brake bike for less than £50.

Mudguards and racks can easily be fitted to just about any bike, so don't make that a decision factor.

If you're truly pragmatic, a bike like the Ancheer makes a good starter bike for £570:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancheer-Electric-Mountain-Removable-Waterproof/dp/B07CGFZ9YN/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525781904&sr=8-3&keywords=ancheer+e+bike

For £700 you get a better battery and a nice LCD plus more fashionable 27.5" wheels:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancheer-Electric-Waterproof-Removable-Lithium-Ion/dp/B07CL2XDVW/ref=pd_sbs_200_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07CL2XDVW&pd_rd_r=CBWCF2XEGPY2302T3G5M&pd_rd_w=ykTxo&pd_rd_wg=IgP0f&psc=1&refRID=CBWCF2XEGPY2302T3G5M

If you need dealer support, which it appears you don't, then the sensible thing would be to buy something from a local dealer or Halfords.

Expensive bikes have high depreciation. If you bought a £2000 bike, you'll most likely lose the cost of that Ancheer the moment you wheel the bike out of the showroom.

The Halfords bikes aren't bad as long as you don't ride in dirty conditions and are happy with the 25mph legal limit. The cheaper Vulcan would be more resillient, but it doesn't have as good a control system as the Vengeance and Crossfire, and it has a smaller battery.

The Oxygen is one of my favourite bikes. My local electric bike shop sells more of them than all their others put together, but I would get the MTB rather than the CB because it's more comfortable, has better handling and better brakes. At twice the price of the Ancheer, I can't say that it's twice as good.

Unless you have specific requirements, like you're very heavy, want to go a very long way, want a very light bike, etc, it's difficult to make an exact recommendation. All electric bikes do the job and they all go 15 mph (unless you adjust something).

Conversion makes sense if you have a bike that you really like, if you just like to be creative playing with mechanical/electrical things or if you want the converted bike to have specific performance characteristics that you don't get on an OEM bike. It's harder to justify from a financial point of view.

Today, we have too many choices, which can make life very difficult. Back in 2008, it was dead easy to recommend bikes.

A final thought. Cheap bikes like the Ancheer are basically standard bikes with kits fitted. If you didn't like it, you could probably transfer the electrical stuff to another bike.

 

[Woosh]

I'll be using it a couple of times a week to commute about 15 miles each way. Country roads, pretty flat, some small hills. I'm 5'10, 88kg. Panniers would be great. I also take the kids to Thetford Forrest on their bikes, so i need to be able to use it a little on tracks (no jumps or anything silly).

take a look at the Woosh Krieger.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?krieger