I have been thinking about an eMTB for a few months now.
At close to 55 and carrying too much weight (17St) I was struggling last year to keep up with my son on the odd road and canal tow path ride last year. No problem on the tow path but as we live in Yorkshire you are never far from a steep hill.
My thinking was that if I could get some assistance from a bike on the hardest inclines, then it would actually encourage me to get fitter by making cycling trips out less arduous.
I've spent a lot of time reading about various bike types and searching the dealers to get an understanding of pricing.
I had narrowed my choice down to something with the Bosch Performance Line crank motor and a 500Wh battery.
That still left a lot of choice, so a few weeks ago I wandered into Evan's Cycles in Leeds. They had nothing to show me but suggested a Cube Reaction HPA Pro 500 Hardtail.
Today I went into All Terrain Cycles in Saltaire with my son. What a helpful team. No hard sell. Their Saltaire store stocks mainly Cube for their electric range, but they had a wide choice of Cube models on display.
They then wheeled out a demo bike and insisted I took it for a spin. Firstly around the carpark and then up a modest incline on the road out of Saltaire over the railway line bridge.
Wow!! I had no idea how much assistance these bikes would give. On the Eco setting it took the hard work out of the road incline. On turbo it was effortless.
Even my son wanted a go and he too was amazed.
When we were back in the shop, one of the team showed me a 2016 Cube full suspension model that was discounted. A Stereo Hybrid 120 HPA Race 500.
I had set a budget at £2k. The hardtail that I had tried and liked was £2.2k. The full sus was £2.5k.
After pondering for a while I said we would go away and think about it. Firstly I wanted some time to check out the pricing, and secondly I couldn't make up my mind. The full sus was more than I wanted to spend, but it was very well specified and I could see some logic in having more flexibility.
After chewing over it for an hour or so we headed back to the shop as I had decided on the full sus, subject to a test ride.
It was definitely the right decision. Just riding over the cobbles and speed bumps around the mill at Saltaire convinced me that rear suspension was a good thing with my weight!
The guys took time to set up the front & rear shock air pressures correctly for my weight and spent more time making sure the geometry was right for me.
So I ended up spending more than I had planned. But their discounted price was as competitive as could be found elsewhere AND they were really helpful & knowledgeable. I could have ended up buying a different bike through mail order and then finding it was a poor fit. Only down side was no interest free credit on the discounted bikes.
I took the bike for a quick trip down the farm track where we live and back up. A hill where normally I have to stop cycling half way up and push. But just on the ECO setting I was able to stay in the saddle and pedal all the way back to the house. Very impressive.
10/10 to the team at All Terrain and I now can't wait to get out on a longer ride to test the bike further.
At close to 55 and carrying too much weight (17St) I was struggling last year to keep up with my son on the odd road and canal tow path ride last year. No problem on the tow path but as we live in Yorkshire you are never far from a steep hill.
My thinking was that if I could get some assistance from a bike on the hardest inclines, then it would actually encourage me to get fitter by making cycling trips out less arduous.
I've spent a lot of time reading about various bike types and searching the dealers to get an understanding of pricing.
I had narrowed my choice down to something with the Bosch Performance Line crank motor and a 500Wh battery.
That still left a lot of choice, so a few weeks ago I wandered into Evan's Cycles in Leeds. They had nothing to show me but suggested a Cube Reaction HPA Pro 500 Hardtail.
Today I went into All Terrain Cycles in Saltaire with my son. What a helpful team. No hard sell. Their Saltaire store stocks mainly Cube for their electric range, but they had a wide choice of Cube models on display.
- Had I ridden one before? No.
- What would I be using one for? Road, canal paths, gravel tracks. Nothing too serious.
- How tall was I? 6'1"
- Had I considered full suspension as it would extend the use if I got more adventurous? No, because I didn't see myself attacking any really hard trails and they were above my budget.
They then wheeled out a demo bike and insisted I took it for a spin. Firstly around the carpark and then up a modest incline on the road out of Saltaire over the railway line bridge.
Wow!! I had no idea how much assistance these bikes would give. On the Eco setting it took the hard work out of the road incline. On turbo it was effortless.
Even my son wanted a go and he too was amazed.
When we were back in the shop, one of the team showed me a 2016 Cube full suspension model that was discounted. A Stereo Hybrid 120 HPA Race 500.
I had set a budget at £2k. The hardtail that I had tried and liked was £2.2k. The full sus was £2.5k.
After pondering for a while I said we would go away and think about it. Firstly I wanted some time to check out the pricing, and secondly I couldn't make up my mind. The full sus was more than I wanted to spend, but it was very well specified and I could see some logic in having more flexibility.
After chewing over it for an hour or so we headed back to the shop as I had decided on the full sus, subject to a test ride.
It was definitely the right decision. Just riding over the cobbles and speed bumps around the mill at Saltaire convinced me that rear suspension was a good thing with my weight!
The guys took time to set up the front & rear shock air pressures correctly for my weight and spent more time making sure the geometry was right for me.
So I ended up spending more than I had planned. But their discounted price was as competitive as could be found elsewhere AND they were really helpful & knowledgeable. I could have ended up buying a different bike through mail order and then finding it was a poor fit. Only down side was no interest free credit on the discounted bikes.
I took the bike for a quick trip down the farm track where we live and back up. A hill where normally I have to stop cycling half way up and push. But just on the ECO setting I was able to stay in the saddle and pedal all the way back to the house. Very impressive.
10/10 to the team at All Terrain and I now can't wait to get out on a longer ride to test the bike further.
