Researching for leccie bike

[vidtek]

Hi all-
Just returned from a stint of 33 years in the colonies where helmet wearing was mandatory. I will not put a helmet on to ride a bike, it's just wrong, so am a bit rusty on bikes and riding. We live on a hill in sunny Bournemouth, so standard push-bike not an option.
During the course of my couch-based research I came across a local dealer, Cycleworks in Pokesdown. I called in yesterday and explained I was in the market for an electric bike, preferably no more than £1000. A very young chap with no chin hair clearly out of his comfort zone valiantly tried to do his best to answer my queries, but it soon became painfully obvious I knew more than he did. There was an older chap hanging on the 'phone obviously on hold, who pointed in the vague direction of the front of the shop and said "we have one over there it's £1800 plus". That was it. I've never entered a shop before prepared to spend up to £1000 of my hard-earned cash, and walked out within half a minute, disappointed.
Is customer service a lost art in this industry? Is that the sort of response I will get everywhere? Or did I just catch one shop on a bad day?
There is no dedicated electric bike shop within 20 miles of me, so how do I try before I buy? Why is this all so hard?
My requirements:

2 electric bikes, one for me, one for the wife.
Comfy saddles - not these new-fangled torture devices.
Suspension on front and saddle post
36volt 10ah at least
Shimano gears
Disc brakes
Foldable step-through chassis
no more than 24kg
Comfy saddles
Displays I can read in direct sunlight without glasses-10pt. print doesn't cut it.
Tyres that are not too likely to puncture.
Wife's bike must be usable by semi-moron - she is technologically challenged with an IQ of 110 -you work it out.
did I mention comfy saddles?
Basket on front for wife's cat... yeah I know......

Usage- Local rides around shops and sea front, further afield in New Forest with tow-bar attachment to car.

Help.........

 

[earwig]

It is highly unlikely you will get a suitable saddle as standard, but a good dealer should swap it for you.

You don't get much for £1000 in ebikes, or even non-bikes. Good folding ebikes are rare - many of the popular folding non-e bikes have weak frames and failures are common.

If you search the web you will find an enthusiastic guy who builds ebikes and travels around to customers when needed. You can have a day trip to his place and he will demo. He does some conversions of a Montague folding paratrooper bike which could be what you need. He is very helpful and enthusiastic - if you phone him an hour long phone call without obligation is not unusual.

He also handles franchises for some ready made bikes, but I decided in the end to go for an expensive non-folding Haibike.

 

[RobF]

Woosh and Kudos are two value brands who both offer folders.

The owners of both businesses post on here and customer service from both is good.

To coin a phrase, the bikes are what they are - excellent value, but you are not going to get anywhere top quality for under £1,000.

Why do you want the bikes to fold?

Dave, who owns Kudos, will confirm the folded package is heavy and unwieldy.

Suitable for lifting in and out of the car, but you wouldn't want to carry it more than a few metres.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/

http://kudoscycles.com/

 

[trex]

you don't have to spend much.
The foldable Gale from woosh has all the specs, £579: 7-speed, 36V 10AH battery, optional 15AH, 23 kgs. Perfect for your wife.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?gale
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?gale
The more powerful Zephyr-B has hydraulic brakes and BPM motor will do the job better for you:

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-b

 

[vidtek]

Earwig-
nice moniker mate!
Thanks for reply, I don't suppose you've got a name for him?

Tony.

 

[vidtek]

Woosh and Kudos are two value brands who both offer folders.

The owners of both businesses post on here and customer service from both is good.

To coin a phrase, the bikes are what they are - excellent value, but you are not going to get anywhere top quality for under £1,000.

Why do you want the bikes to fold?

Dave, who owns Kudos, will confirm the folded package is heavy and unwieldy.

Suitable for lifting in and out of the car, but you wouldn't want to carry it more than a few metres.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/

http://kudoscycles.com/

Thanks Robf,
The reason I wanted folding bikes was I can save the cost of a towbar on my Peugeot 3008, if I can get them to both fit in the back of the car at the same time. On the other hand, cost isn't the prime consideration and if I can get a towbar fitted with racks to take non-folding versions, then perhaps that's the way to go.
Tony.

 

[vidtek]

you don't have to spend much.
The foldable Gale from woosh has all the specs, £579: 7-speed, 36V 10AH battery, optional 15AH, 23 kgs. Perfect for your wife.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?gale
The more powerful Zephyr-B has hydraulic brakes and BPM motor will do the job better for you:

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-b

Trex-
These are very interesting, at these sort of prices I can get a towbar and not worry about folding bikes.
Tony

 

[RobF]

Thanks Robf,
The reason I wanted folding bikes was I can save the cost of a towbar on my Peugeot 3008, if I can get them to both fit in the back of the car at the same time. On the other hand, cost isn't the prime consideration and if I can get a towbar fitted with racks to take non-folding versions, then perhaps that's the way to go.
Tony.

The 20" bikes ride surprisingly well, but the big wheel bikes roll better and are more comfortable.

You could do a lot worse than a pair of woosh Big Bears, possibly a step through for the wife.

They have 15ah batteries and a nice, grunty motor.

The bigger batteries mean extra weight, so it might make sense to stow them in the back of the car when you put the bikes on the carrier.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You'll struggle to get two folding bikes in the boot of a car. One in the boot and one on a rack is OK. Two on a rack works if it's a strong one.

The one thing you didn't mention is you and your wife's weights. Rider weight is an important factor.

 

[trex]

you can easily put two folders into a mid size 5-door estate like a Ford Mondeo with the rear seats folded down.

 

[vidtek]

You'll struggle to get two folding bikes in the boot of a car. One in the boot and one on a rack is OK. Two on a rack works if it's a strong one.

The one thing you didn't mention is you and your wife's weights. Rider weight is an important factor.

d8veh-
Thanks for this, my wife is exactly the same weight and size as when I first met her in 1965. She's 5'6" and weighs 7 1/2 stone. Just wish I could say the same, it's just not fair, she's always eaten ravenously and never puts on an oz, chocolate, cream cakes 2 cartons of cream in her coffees a week-I just look sideways at that sort of stuff and my waistline explodes. I'm about 12 1/2 stone and used to say I was 6', but I reckon I've shrunk some now.
I forgot to say the Peugeot 3008 is a mini SUV so plenty of room in back, in fact it's the most beautifully engineered vehicle I've ever had, the split-folding tailgate will support my sitting weight easily, makes it a breeze to load stuff.

Tony.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Neither of you are heavy-weights then, which means that you have a much wider choice. Perhaps avoid the ones with big motors and batteries to save weight.

 

[vidtek]

I've been looking (online only) at the Kudos Safari £695 and the Whoosh Sundowner £725 both with integral gear hub and enclosed drive, they look easy to maintain and simple to operate why are these sort of bikes so few and far between?
Does anyone have experience of these or any comments?
The inherent complication of derailler gears is not something the wife would find easy, and their adjustment has always been troublesome (or is this just an old-timer's fading memories?) perhaps they have sorted out the problems since I was a lad.....
Tony

 

[trex]

the Sundowner has a big frame, you need to be 5ft 10 plus to be comfortable on it.
It appeals to tall (and heavy) riders and should really be fitted with a BPM motor and 15AH battery. My source says that's under way.

 

[vidtek]

the Sundowner has a big frame, you need to be 5ft 10 plus to be comfortable on it.
It appeals to tall (and heavy) riders and should really be fitted with a BPM motor and 15AH battery. My source says that's under way.

Trex- Sounds interesting with bigger motor/batt combination, you make no comment about the gearing/drive train, what about that?
When I say I've shrunk, that's just spine compression with older people-unfortunately your leg length doesn't change which makes long-haul flights very tedious.
Tony

 

[trex]

the Sundowner is a big Dutch bike, front motor, rear Nexus 7 hub gear, so 7-gears, I can't remember how many teeth the chainring has, it was a about 3 years ago when I rode it. You have to ask Andy @ woosh.

 

[JohnCade]

Modern derailleur systems are robust and keep their adjustment for the most part. But as in all things the price point matters. IMO the cut off for a good mech with Shimano is the Deore. Much below that they aren’t so good.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You shouldn't let something as insignificant as the type of gears influence your choice of bike. All types work perfectly otherwise the manufacturers wouldn't fit them or people wouldn't buy their bikes. There's nothing difficult about adjusting derailleur type gears. Once set, they don't need any further adjustment from normal use. 95% of bikes use them for a reason.

 

[trex]

the problem with derailleur gears that need constant adjustment usually comes down to soft, low quality outer cables.

 

[Cyclezee]

My solution to bike transportation without taking the van route.
Renault Grand Espace, 4 full size bikes inside and 2 on the carrier.