Just bought an ebike, thought I got the right one from all the reviews, info here, and past cycling.
First of all, if your going anywhere near a trail, get full suspension. Forget the typical cycling blurb about full suspension wasting your effort, there is so much on tap from the assistance, it dosnt matter anymore.
The bike you buy will be exactly as capable as the components, the suspension front forks on the lesser bikes like my Cube Hybrid, I think are only there to take some of the shock out of smaller bumps for the sake of the mass.
All these Bosch ebikes are heavy. No issue at all riding due to the assistance, but the hardtail does thump a bit going down a trail.
The 15mph limit is about right on the trails and off road. But, what no one has really said is that on a paved cycle way or on the road, any ebike limited to 15mph is less enjoyable, borderline annoying. You sure notice that extra weight trying to push upwards of 18mph, which is easy on my pure road bike, but not here. The slightest rise and the mass comes into play, and you end up sitting at the limit of the 15mph assistance. I will be buying a dongle. If you are the type that are so much up the law, never never ever speed in a car, by accident or whatever, don’t bother with an ebike for the road, as 15mph just dosnt cut it for road riding. 20mph is needed, as a minimum.
The riding I have done so far is 90% trails. I didn’t think I would ride trails so much, but the assistance makes riding so much more enjoyable, I have done so much more than I ever expected, ridden up steep hills on trails I wouldn’t have even bothered pushing a normal bike up, as you certainly couldn’t ride up without assistance.
My recommendation would be to buy a full suspension, 45kph version, or full suspension plus dongle. Anything less is pointless for the trails.
For the road, anything with a dongle should be fine, but if you ever go near a trail, you will regret the lack of full suspension. Just spend a bit more!
To my bike. The Cube SUV pro is a good bike for what its designed to be. An urban bike. This is why I initially bought it, cycleways, light trails, tow paths etc.
Trouble is, the assistance has made heavy trails a breeze. Luckily, running the balloon tyres slightly softer, and the disk brakes make the going a bit easier. The forks are OK, think they are setup a bit hard, im not getting anywhere near full travel. Saddle is hard, but surprisingly comfortable. Think I may try and find something with some padding, just for the rougher trails. Seatpost is extremely long, I wear 36 inch long trousers, and the post is no where near maximum!
I love the gear hub. Nice clean lines, less maintenance, really suits the bike. Shifting stationary is great!
My only complaint is the cable routing, they are all far too long from the factory (I bought the largest frame size, so no excuse about commonality) these long cables make the bike look messy. I will maybe cut them down at some point when I find out how to deal with the re-termination of the hydraulic lines.
Enjoy!
First of all, if your going anywhere near a trail, get full suspension. Forget the typical cycling blurb about full suspension wasting your effort, there is so much on tap from the assistance, it dosnt matter anymore.
The bike you buy will be exactly as capable as the components, the suspension front forks on the lesser bikes like my Cube Hybrid, I think are only there to take some of the shock out of smaller bumps for the sake of the mass.
All these Bosch ebikes are heavy. No issue at all riding due to the assistance, but the hardtail does thump a bit going down a trail.
The 15mph limit is about right on the trails and off road. But, what no one has really said is that on a paved cycle way or on the road, any ebike limited to 15mph is less enjoyable, borderline annoying. You sure notice that extra weight trying to push upwards of 18mph, which is easy on my pure road bike, but not here. The slightest rise and the mass comes into play, and you end up sitting at the limit of the 15mph assistance. I will be buying a dongle. If you are the type that are so much up the law, never never ever speed in a car, by accident or whatever, don’t bother with an ebike for the road, as 15mph just dosnt cut it for road riding. 20mph is needed, as a minimum.
The riding I have done so far is 90% trails. I didn’t think I would ride trails so much, but the assistance makes riding so much more enjoyable, I have done so much more than I ever expected, ridden up steep hills on trails I wouldn’t have even bothered pushing a normal bike up, as you certainly couldn’t ride up without assistance.
My recommendation would be to buy a full suspension, 45kph version, or full suspension plus dongle. Anything less is pointless for the trails.
For the road, anything with a dongle should be fine, but if you ever go near a trail, you will regret the lack of full suspension. Just spend a bit more!
To my bike. The Cube SUV pro is a good bike for what its designed to be. An urban bike. This is why I initially bought it, cycleways, light trails, tow paths etc.
Trouble is, the assistance has made heavy trails a breeze. Luckily, running the balloon tyres slightly softer, and the disk brakes make the going a bit easier. The forks are OK, think they are setup a bit hard, im not getting anywhere near full travel. Saddle is hard, but surprisingly comfortable. Think I may try and find something with some padding, just for the rougher trails. Seatpost is extremely long, I wear 36 inch long trousers, and the post is no where near maximum!
I love the gear hub. Nice clean lines, less maintenance, really suits the bike. Shifting stationary is great!
My only complaint is the cable routing, they are all far too long from the factory (I bought the largest frame size, so no excuse about commonality) these long cables make the bike look messy. I will maybe cut them down at some point when I find out how to deal with the re-termination of the hydraulic lines.
Enjoy!