Halfords

denwyn

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 17, 2013
414
41
In market for a couple of folding e bikes, don't want to buy online. Looking at Halfords who seem to sell a good range of e bikes. They used to be OK to deal with when I had pedal bikes,anyone know if there OK on ebike sales and servicing. Local e bike shops not very good
 

anda1961

Pedelecer
Aug 28, 2016
40
4
63
north yorkshire
Hi
Had a folding bike from them a month ago to be truthful wasn't the best experience. Ordered online at local Halfords only to be told wasn't in stock had to wait a week to get the bike.
Unfortunately when I got it it wasn't set up properly lads where great just not very good at setting up bikes lol.
Also was looking at the Carrera Crossssfire e bike, didn't have in stock anywhere near me. Emailed them to be told back in stock this month just looked and the price has shot up by £100 they are now £1100.
So maybe it is still good value I don't know that much about ebikes to tell. Seems a bit odd not been in stock for a while then a nice £100 price increase.
 

Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,537
In market for a couple of folding e bikes, don't want to buy online. Looking at Halfords who seem to sell a good range of e bikes. They used to be OK to deal with when I had pedal bikes,anyone know if there OK on ebike sales and servicing. Local e bike shops not very good
Forum peeps might disagree with me, but I think electric bikes need more specialist sales assistants and mechanics, than Halfords usually has.

You might get the odd electric bike enthusiast, who just happens to work for them, but I doubt anyone gets specially trained up.
 

denwyn

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 17, 2013
414
41
Forum peeps might disagree with me, but I think electric bikes need more specialist sales assistants and mechanics, than Halfords usually has.

You might get the odd electric bike enthusiast, who just happens to work for them, but I doubt anyone gets specially trained up.
In a way i suppose your right with this, but we have one e bike shop were i live, did try them, wasn't impressed with what they had in stock. There is a Chain Reaction shop, which does sell e bikes but there not very helpful.i have used Halfords many times for car related stuff, and pedal cycle repairs and spares. just wasn't sure if they were OK with E bikes. They have more than they used to. Lots more choice online, but i made a mistake with my first e bike bought online and don't want to do that again, this time i want to see it before i buy it.think i may try a few Halford stores near me and see what they have in stock.
 

Yamdude

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 20, 2013
842
639
Somerset
Halfords are ok.....
Even when some of their staff aren't clued up enough fix stuff, they just replace it instead.

Although i wouldn't buy anything from them at their full RRP...... i only buy from them when they have discounts. But their discounts do come round regular as clockwork.
 
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StewC

Pedelecer
Feb 20, 2016
55
45
52
Lancing, on the South Downs.
If your choice of local ebike retailers is poor I would use Halfords as a last resort, however I have seen any mid motor drive bike in Halfords, and personally I would prefer to spend a bit more money and get a mid drive rather than a front or rear wheel hub motor.
All the bike I have ever seen coming from Halfords have never had the brakes and gears set up 100% correctly, so expect to do some tinkering.
Halfords often have sales/offers nearly as often a DFS..........
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
The Halfords discounts are nearly always over bank holiday weekends, so the next one might not be until Xmas.

Nothing wrong with hub-motors. I wouldn't use a bike with a crank-drive, even though I have a couple. Hub motors give a much better ride and are especially good on bikes with small wheels, and they have the advantage that they make your drive train (gears, chain, etc.) last forever.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
[QUOTE="d8veh, post: 327878, member: 4366"
Nothing wrong with hub-motors. I wouldn't use a bike with a crank-drive, even though I have a couple. Hub motors give a much better ride and are especially good on bikes with small wheels, and they have the advantage that they make your drive train (gears, chain, etc.) last forever.[/QUOTE]


Nothing wrong with crank drives. I wouldn't use a bike with a hub drive, even though I've ridden a couple for a decent distance. Crank drives give a much better cycling feel and are especially good on bikes with small wheels, and they have the advantage of not wearing the drivetrain any faster.
 
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Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,130
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West Sx RH
Slightly off topic but the last two quotes from experienced members are at opposites to each other which goes to show we each have personnel preferences and no one type of drive motor suits all, but at the end of the day will do the same thing though will give a differing ride experience.
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
maybe it's time to have another crank v hub fight?
Bewo, who makes Denwyn's first ebike's motor, has now released their own hidden wire shift sensor and controller. I'll get a sample to see how good it is.
 

lozw

Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2016
47
44
70
RG45
Neither of the large out of town Halfords stores around me have any eBikes on show whenever I have popped in.

Even if they occasionally do at times I haven't visited, I can't imagine they have much of a choice on the showroom floor. So you are still going to have to order it unseen so to speak.
 
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the_killjoy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 26, 2008
822
226
If you order unseen to collect in store I assume distance selling regs still apply if you take it home for final assembly?
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Slightly off topic but the last two quotes from experienced members are at opposites to each other which goes to show we each have personnel preferences and no one type of drive motor suits all, but at the end of the day will do the same thing though will give a differing ride experience.
Which one do you prefer and why? I'll start a new thread so you can reply there.
 

denwyn

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 17, 2013
414
41
Went into Halfords, only folder I could see was Batribike, they showed a couple of cheaper models they sell in catalogue. Cant say either of us were that keen on the Batribike. It looks like we may have to travel out to Bristol or Exeter for more choice. I did see Brompton are going to put out a e bike themselves fairly soon, did get me thinking as we both like the pedal version, but on looking at prices for converted ones its a no go.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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denwyn

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 17, 2013
414
41
May be worth a visit. but while there are lots of bikes on the catalogue pages, the 'shop online' page lists only six, which I suspect may be their stock.


The Kuo bikes could be of interest to Den.

http://www.ecycleuk.com/shop
This looks promising, I had the Kuo bikes on my list, especially the Kuo 2+. Not to far away. Will give them a call and hopefully go up in a week or so. Thanks
 

Lord Luton

Just Joined
May 21, 2016
3
3
57
Dorset
I had to use Halfords because of my employer's bike to work scheme. I managed to cajole them into getting me a Wisper 905SE via Ebikes Direct. (That's what they are supposed to do, after all.)

The bike's great but Halfords were totally useless throughout the process.

Support your local Ebike shop if you can.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
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