MTB or Hybrid with full throttle, up to £1500 ish, for short commute

[JohnCade]

Indeed. And I test rode a couple of Ezee bikes the other day. The Torq and Forza are on the shortlist but I'd like to test a few others bikes before making a decision. MK is only 30mins by train from London so there are a number of London dealerships which are within fairly easy reach.

Also, I've just discovered that my employer offers CycleScheme with no upper limit on purchase price. I'd be foolish not to take advantage of this so any dealership I buy from needs to be registered with CycleScheme which, of course, might limit my choices somewhat.

A broken bike can be a hassle to take on a train though, and like all things e bikes can need repair sometimes. That’s why I thought you might be better of with someone close by.

 

[trex]

you need LBS essentially for mechanical maintenance, electrical parts do not need maintenance. If you can maintain the bike mechanically yourself, then there is no real need to buy from a local shop. If your battery or the LCD dies, calling directly support at the manufacturers is the quickest way to resolve the problem. If you buy from a shop, you add an extra link to the chain.

 

[2Lazy]

Be careful, you often get a false impression of bikes on short test rides. Bikes that feel immediately comfortable are often not comfortable for long rides, and bikes with speed-control controllers often feel more powerful than they are because they feed in high power at start up. Crank drives can also feel more powerful than they are because the torque increases in the low gears. Then you have to figure outthe settings and controls work, which can take a while to figure out. I bet some dealers don't even know how the 18 different power levels on the new Oxygens work because I haven't seen that on any other bike. It has current control as well as speed control. Riding on the flat doesn't give much for comparison either. You need a very steep hill to sort out the men from the boys.

I'm not saying that test-riding is a waste of time. You just have to be careful of drawing the correct conclusions.

Thanks d8veh, useful advice.

I think I'm now beginning to draw up a more modest shortlist which will hopefully allow me a bit more time on each bike for testing. The Oxygen EMate, F4WD Peak, Wisper 905, Volt Alpine/Pulse and Cyclotricity bikes are looking like the front runners.

 

[JohnCade]

you need LBS essentially for mechanical maintenance, electrical parts do not need maintenance. If you can maintain the bike mechanically yourself, then there is no real need to buy from a local shop. If your battery or the LCD dies, calling directly support at the manufacturers is the quickest way to resolve the problem. If you buy from a shop, you add an extra link to the chain.

Not sure about that. Your warranty is with the shop you bought it from and isn’t Cyclezee an importer rather than just a shop?

When I bought a Woosh as my first e bike I had to send the whole bike back after a couple of weeks. Woosh paid but if it had been after the first month I would have had to.

 

[trex]

Having Cyclezee on your doorstep is a bonus, if it were me, I wouldn't want to buy from anywhere else.
This said, nowadays, electrical parts are modular, most parts are easily removeable. Sending the bike back for repair is rare, but as with everything else, when you add an extra link to the chain, the cost goes to the consumer.

 

[mountainsport]

Good point; however, that's where many of us started. Once you have the bike, you realise what else you can do with it.

I've definitely been there and still there going on strong.

MS.

 

[lendmeyourear]

Hi 2Lazy. I've owned/own 4 electric bikes, one front hub, one crank drive and two rear hub drives. If you want a good straightforward hub drive, I think the Oxygen Emate City takes some beating. The twistgrip deraileur gearchange is excellent and so is the left handside throttle. Especially as you can easily set it above 15.5mph .And the cable disc brakes are very good.

I bought a secondhand Kalkhoff Aggatu, a quality German crankdrive, and hated it. Compared to the motion sensor hub drives it felt really hard work, I kept thinking it was on the middle power setting instead of the highest. Into a headwind and up a gentle slope I found it tiring. It was better on steep slopes but only when you're down to almost walking pace. With the motion sensor hub drives you can put in a lot of effort if you want or virtually none if you are tired.

I prefer the rear drive because the front drive can be a bit hard to control if you're in traffic and traction can also be a bit iffy up steep slopes or loose surfaces. Can be fun but also a bit of a handful. I tried a Freego Eagle but it had no LED display and felt a bit dull. I liked the Wooosh Big Bear but I thought the gearing was a bit low and the motor was slightly noisy and vibrated a bit.

 

[2Lazy]

Hi 2Lazy. I've owned/own 4 electric bikes, one front hub, one crank drive and two rear hub drives. If you want a good straightforward hub drive, I think the Oxygen Emate City takes some beating. The twistgrip deraileur gearchange is excellent and so is the left handside throttle. Especially as you can easily set it above 15.5mph .And the cable disc brakes are very good.

I bought a secondhand Kalkhoff Aggatu, a quality German crankdrive, and hated it. Compared to the motion sensor hub drives it felt really hard work, I kept thinking it was on the middle power setting instead of the highest. Into a headwind and up a gentle slope I found it tiring. It was better on steep slopes but only when you're down to almost walking pace. With the motion sensor hub drives you can put in a lot of effort if you want or virtually none if you are tired.

I prefer the rear drive because the front drive can be a bit hard to control if you're in traffic and traction can also be a bit iffy up steep slopes or loose surfaces. Can be fun but also a bit of a handful. I tried a Freego Eagle but it had no LED display and felt a bit dull. I liked the Wooosh Big Bear but I thought the gearing was a bit low and the motor was slightly noisy and vibrated a bit.

Thanks for sharing your experience. That's useful info and it's interesting that you didn't like the crank drive bike. I have dismissed all the crank drive bikes for much the same reason. I have to say I've never ridden a crank drive so it is perhaps a bit presumptuous of me but just the concept of a crank drive doesn't seem as refined and elegant as a hub motor. And there is no throttle on the crank drives of course which pretty much rules them out of contention for me anyway.

Also interesting that you favour the rear hub drive. I have always assumed that a rear hub would be better and logically it would seem to be the natural place for a motor. Although I have to say the front drive Ezee Torq which I tested the other day surprised me as it had a really nice balanced feel to it. Which I presume is a result of more even weight distribution and power coming from both wheels.

I have more or less dismissed the Freego bikes that were on my shortlist. The styling doesn't appeal - as you say they do seem a bit dull - and there are other bikes on my shortlist at a similar price point which seem to be more highly regarded.

I'm test riding the Oxygen EMate City (amongst others) this weekend so I look forward to seeing how it performs. Just out of curiosity, have you derestricted your EMate City and if so what is the top speed and how does it perform on hills?

 

[rippedupno1]

I have a throttle on my BBS 02 750w crank drive Mosso

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm test riding the Oxygen EMate City (amongst others) this weekend so I look forward to seeing how it performs. Just out of curiosity, have you derestricted your EMate City and if so what is the top speed and how does it perform on hills?

Have a go on the Oxygen MTB as well if you can.

 

[Nealh]

Throttle on all BBS models I have bbs01 350w.

 

[trex]

throttle is also fitted on all the woosh crank drive models.

 

[2Lazy]

I have a throttle on my BBS 02 750w crank drive Mosso

I stand corrected.

 

[trex]

2Lazy, you should try a BBS02 bike - they are crank drives but very different from the Bosch and Kalkhoff bikes.

 

[2Lazy]

Have a go on the Oxygen MTB as well if you can.

Yep I should be testing that one at the weekend too, the 11ah and 13ah version. Quite looking forward to giving the 13ah version a spin. It is by all accounts an exceptional bike.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Make sure it's set to "sport" for maximum power.

 

[hoppy]

I stand corrected.

Tonaro crank drives have full throttle. Mine has been excellent for four years.

 

[2Lazy]

So after several weeks, a few hundred miles of driving visiting eight different ebike dealerships, and test riding sixteen different Ebikes, and after much umming and erring, I finally decided to go with the Ezee Forza.

In the end it came down to a three way tussle between the Volt Pulse X, Oxygen MTB 13ah and the Ezee Forza. It was a really tough decision as there is unfortunately no 'perfect' bike and while all three are excellent bikes they all had their pros and cons. Part of me is still gutted that I didn't go for the Volt Pulse X because it's such a pretty bike but I was blown away by the power and performance of the Ezee bikes. I know it's subjective but the Ezee bikes just seemed to have much more 'umph' than the other bikes. The power combined with the choice of battery capacity, other configuration options, and the fact that I live locally to Cyclezee sealed the deal. I'm now really looking forward to taking delivery of the bike and taking it out for a spin.

In the meantime I've been bitten by the cycling bug again and now that the weather is improving I've been getting out more on my Giant Roam 3 hybrid bike. When summer finally arrives I'd like to start exploring more of the local area surrounding Milton Keynes on the ebike. Aside from the all cycle paths in MK there's lots of good riding opportunities slightly further afield which I've never explored e.g. Grand Union Canal towpath, bridleways, Salcey Forest, Woburn, Rushmere County Park etc.

 

[2Lazy]

After now owning the bike for two years I've posted a review of the Ezee Forza here http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/ezee-forza-review.27322/

 

[Danidl]

I'm looking to buy an MTB or hybrid style ebike. Details, requirements and a list of bikes I have shortlist can be found below. I'm planning on test riding all of them if I can and I already have some test rides booked but I'm hoping you guys might be able to provide some guidance and help me whittle the list down to something more manageable.

I should mention that I visited Cyclezee yesterday who kindly let me test ride the Ezee Torq and Ezee Sprint. These were the first ebikes I had ridden and I have to say I was really impressed with them. They were a lot more powerful than I was expecting.

Type of bike

Must be a step over frame, hub motor, full twist and go throttle (to 15mph), ideally bottle cage mount battery, would consider seat tube mount, but definitely don't want pannier rack mount. I would like something as 'normal' looking, quiet and discreet as possible. I'm undecided on whether I want the pannier rack and full mudguards 'commuter' look. I think my preference would probably be an MTB style bike to which MTB mudguards could be fitted, with a bottle cage mount battery. The option to derestrict the bike would be a definite bonus - not saying I need it or would do it - but nice to have the option.

Budget

Under £1000 would be nice, £1000 to £1500 would be ok, anything above £1500ish would have to be something really special. I would rather pay more for something with better quality components and something that is going to stand the test of time but equally I don't want to overspend given that my commute on the bike is relatively short.

Me

39 year old bloke, 5ft 10.5", 13.5 stone, healthy and relatively fit

Use

I'll be using the bike for a 7 mile round trip commute (3.5 miles each way) which is all on cycle paths (no roads). There is only one hill on the return journey which is quite small by most people's standards, I think it's 6 to 10% for about 300 meters. Otherwise the terrain is pretty flat except for short inclines for overpasses and underpasses. I do have a good quality hybrid bike which I enjoy riding occasionally in the summer time on weekends but I'm not doing this for any kind of enjoyment or fitness. It is purely because parking is becoming problematic (not enough spaces) and with fuel it is costing me £7 to £9 a day. I have a fairly long onward commute (3 hour round trip on a good day, 4 hours on a bad one) so I need this to be as painless as possible. After a 12 hour day when I get to the train station of an evening all I want to do is get home asap. As such I'm looking for the bike to do the vast majority of the work. At a moderate pace I can get to the train station in 20 minutes on my push bike so on an ebike I would hope to reduce that to 15 minutes or less. I might also use the bike occasionally for leisure riding locally at weekends but I wouldn't do any more than 15 miles in a day so range isn't massively important.

Shortlisted bikes (in no particular order)


Fast4Ward Peak
Oxygen E-Mate City
Oxygen E-Mate MTB 11Ah and 13Ah
3E Sport / Urban
Volt Pulse / Pulse X
Volt Alpine / Alpine X
Cyclotricity Stealth 1000w
Cyclotricity Revolver 500w
Wisper 905 Classic
Ezee Forza
Ezee Torq
Freego Eagle
Freego Martin Sport
Ecobike Adventure / City Ride
Roodog Avatar

Of those the ones that appeal the most (style wise) are the Oxygen E-Mate MTB, Volt Alpine / Alpine X, Fast4Ward Peak, Cyclotricity Stealth, Cyclotricity Revolver, Roodog Avatar and the 3E Sport.

... What is the level of security at your train station?. None of the other responses have picked up on this. Would not be pleasant to arrive back at station after 12 HR day and having 1 hr walk ahead of you.