Shame on Me

[mabsey]

Well, sorry everyone. I really really tried to get my head around an electric bike, but in the end I have gone with the option of a 125cc Auto Petrol Scooter. At the end of the day for £1400, I've got a Scooter, my CBT Course and Accessories. Insurance was only £247.

I really did want to go electric and commute to work on the cycle paths and had the Forza in my sites, but the more I thought about it a looked into the cost of a normal bike, the more I was swayed away from an e-bike.

Thanks everyone here for there advice over the past couple of months.

My Main Reasons for not picking an e-bike were:

Frame Sizes too small.

Cycle Lanes are a disgrace. I did a couple of test runs in my normal bike and the amount of rubbish in the lanes was quite worrying.

Security for when it gets dark when I'm on a £1400 e-bike.

The thought of punctures in the rain.

Price compared to what I could get in a normal bike for the same money.

Mabsey

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

The shame is not on you

The shame is NOT on you: it's on the limited choice of what you are looking for that won't come back to bite you.

Well, sorry everyone. I really really tried to get my head around an electric bike, but in the end I have gone with the option of a 125cc Auto Petrol Scooter. At the end of the day for £1400, I've got a Scooter, my CBT Course and Accessories. Insurance was only £247.
It will cost you that insurance premium every year

I really did want to go electric and commute to work on the cycle paths and had the Forza in my sites, but the more I thought about it a looked into the cost of a normal bike, the more I was swayed away from an e-bike.

Thanks everyone here for there advice over the past couple of months.

My Main Reasons for not picking an e-bike were:

Frame Sizes too small.
It's pretty much a 'one size fits all' market. You must have some very long dimensions about your body.

Cycle Lanes are a disgrace. I did a couple of test runs in my normal bike and the amount of rubbish in the lanes was quite worrying.
They are a disgrace. It's the culture of the present world's population to dump their junk the moment it becomes a burden. Of course on your scooter you will have to use the roads but at least you can keep up with the murdering traffic. But take great care here. You'll need plenty of High-Viz clothing (I suggest a suit). A motor cyclist travelling at 30 mph is virtually invisible to motorists in a hurry.

Security for when it gets dark when I'm on a £1400 e-bike.
It's a world of muggers, petty crooks, liars, con-artists and, worst of all, many who don't care one fig for the lives of others.

The thought of punctures in the rain.
Now that is the most serious impediment. E-bikes are not like ordinary bikes where to take out a wheel one releases the brake callipers, undoes the quick-release and the wheel drops free - literally as quickly as that. Even worse: you did not mention the flat battery scenario, not the ingress of rain into the sensitive electrics of the e-bike.

Price compared to what I could get in a normal bike for the same money.
Yes! £1400 and no annual charges will get you a 'normal bike' that will practically go by itself - as well as 'all of the sizes in all of the colours'. For that money you could almost get a bespoke frame and choose your components. What joy!

Mabsey

 

[flecc]

There's nothing wrong with your choice at all Mabsey, as you've chosen it to fit your circumstances.

When judged on a balance of prices, potential problems, support and facilities, e-bikes often don't stand up to the comparison with mopeds/scooters/light motorcycles.

Apart from the lack of red tape (registration, licencing, insurance etc), their main value is in the maintenence of fitness, and if that's not a factor they can be difficult to justify in some circumstances.

Enjoy your scooter, ride carefully, my best wishes for the future.
.

 

[mabsey]

Thanks,

I know pete said that insurance was a yearly premium, but then on a 16 mile commute ride everyday (8 Miles each way) how long before the battery of my e-bike starting to show signs of not holding its charge, and how long before I was back on the web looking at spending another £200 to £300 on a new battery so its swings and roundabouts there in terms on annual premiums.

And to answer about the frame size issue, unless you are riding a Torq, looking at pictures of a 6ft guy on a 17inch frame looks quite ridiculous. As I've already said, it looks like your riding a BMW bike with large wheels.

You have only got to take a look at this guy on a Wisper to know what I mean:

http://www.wisper-bikes.co.uk/Resources/bike3.jpeg

Yeah sure you can jack the seat right up like his done, but look where the frame is sitting, it just looks odd.

Mabsey

 

[coops]

As Pete said, Mabsey, the shames no on you but on the system & a society which is still far too oriented to speed & petrol engines and makes life not only unnecessarily disturbing for everyone, even the drivers!, but restricts freedom & safety of movement for others, so that a lack of provision almost forces you to ensure their monopoly continues, by following suit.

Frankly I would wholeheartedly support anyone who refused to travel full stop, even on foot, because of the nightmare world modern transport has shaped, and the way some people drive I'm keenly aware that its a lottery every time I venture out on the roads, so I just try hard to reduce it to necessity, and reduce the possibility of accident by careful choice of routes.

Good luck with your scooter & ride carefully!

Stuart.

 

[ITSPETEINIT]

Shame on batteries

Thanks,

I know pete said that insurance was a yearly premium, but then on a 16 mile commute ride everyday (8 Miles each way) how long before the battery of my e-bike starting to show signs of not holding its charge, and how long before I was back on the web looking at spending another £200 to £300 on a new battery so its swings and roundabouts there in terms on annual premiums.

And to answer about the frame size issue, unless you are riding a Torq, looking at pictures of a 6ft guy on a 17inch frame looks quite ridiculous. As I've already said, it looks like your riding a BMW bike with large wheels.

You have only got to take a look at this guy on a Wisper to know what I mean:
http://www.wisper-bikes.co.uk/Resources/bike3.jpeg
w
Yeah sure you can jack the seat right up like his done, but look where the frame is sitting, it just looks odd.

Mabsey

Hello Mabsey:
I must say that I had overlooked the "Annual Premium" of maintaining a battery. It's not the whole point, i know, but your 16 mile daily commute would wear a Lithium battery down in 2 years to (at best ?) 60% of 28 miles (17 miles declining in year 3). Perhaps the best that can be said of Lithium B's. is that for motive force they are an unknown quantity but lighter than SLA. So you are right about annual charges.

I am the 6ft guy on the 19 inch frame Torq! It looked all right - even when I preened myself in shop windows on the move. But I agree with you about the man on the Wisper - it don't look at all right. The bike looks like a fairy cycle. More to the point, it does the Wisper 905 no favours: that cannot be an efficient riding position and one must pedal to get best out of 'electrical assistance'.
I thought the Torq looked 'odd' when I first saw the pictures of it, but I put it down to a steep head angle or perhaps it is the long 'rear end'. The seat post can be raised to accommodate 6 ft plus folk but the adjustment of the distance between saddle and handlebars is very limited, especially with that tilting mechanism limiting backward adjustment. Making a bike 'one size fits all' must always be a compromise for some riders: even a little compromise for the majority. Perhaps they put up with it because:
a) There is limited choice of good e-cycles in the market place, at a sensible price, and
b) They are mostly pretty much the same one size.

Enjoy your gas-driven transport - at least there is always more fuel 'just around the corner'. By the way, My Torq cost me £1 per mile to run (including depreciation in an unappreciative second-hand market). But for the perspicacity of Mr. Ching of eZee Cycles it would have cost 50% more.

Peter

 

[mabsey]

Well I got some good news

My company just introduced a bikes for work scheme meaning I can get up to 40% off a new bike.

This sort of discount is now making me think about my options again.

Once question now, is the Forza Weather Proof meaning can I ride it in heavy rain without having to worry about Electrical failure?

Mabsey

 

[flecc]

It's vastly better than the earlier models Mabsey. A couple were at the Glastonbury festival this year being used all day every day in both rain and deep mud and didn't miss a beat throughout.

If you view this promotional video, towards the end you'll see some of the film from Glastonbury of an F series bike ploughing through deep very wet mud there:

video
.

 

[Nick]

Hi Mabsey

For what it's worth, I've had my Li-ion Bionx for just under a year and done about 2000 miles. My commute to work is about 6-7 miles each way and I've done it a few times in pouring rain and had no problems with water ingress, and the battery will easily do the day's journey on a single charge, although since reading Flecc's advice, I now charge the battery at work.

Personally, I feel safer on a bicycle than a restricted 125 as the latter is almost but not quite able to keep with the flow of traffic - I think you're best off either with the flow or a fair bit slower.

Good luck with whatever you go for.

Nick

 

[mabsey]

Thanks for the cool video link flecc, I've been looking for something like that for a long time and has dampened my fears about bike size.

Ok, so more questions time

On the Forza there is the easy assist mode where you can set it from 1 to 8. If I was really lazy and set it on 8, how much effort do I have to put in peddling? I'm thinking after a hard day at work, I may want to glide some of the journey home with as little effort as possible?

Mabsey

 

[flecc]

Virtually no effort at all on 8 setting in moderately hilly conditions Mabsey, and on the flat or gentle slopes it will do the whole job without fuss, leaving you to relax and watch the traffic. It's a very powerful bike.
.

 

[mabsey]

Virtually no effort at all on 8 setting in moderately hilly conditions Mabsey, and on the flat or gentle slopes it will do the whole job without fuss, leaving you to relax and watch the traffic. It's a very powerful bike.
.

So would I have to set it on 8 and then gently turn the pedal to make it go full speed, or is level 8 pretty much constant power on? On the forte they have a Tri setting and I want to know whether this cruise control 1 to 8 will do the job otherwise I will ask 50cycles to do a custom and fit the tri mode onto the Forza.

Mabsey