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Nowhere near me, but I think one of the Phils on here is in West Yorkshire.

A hub gear makes a lot of sense for a commuter, not least because of longer chain life. The Rohloff is a lot of pennies, so I would look at a Shimano Alfine bike, probably with a Bosch motor. I think the eight speed Alfine is more reliable than the 11 I have. This KTM should do it, give or...

Where are you? Perhaps an experienced member could call and give the bike a quick test. I've ridden a couple of NuVincis and am not keen on them, but leaving that aside, it should provide a good level of assistance.

The less desirable and more oddball the bike is less likely it is to attract thieves. The bike parts on a Big Bear are cheap and cheerful, but not worth nicking. It's an electric bike which will put off some thieves because they grasp the difficulty of using it after they've stolen it. It...

Spa Cycles in Harrogate has an old-fashioned attitude to repairs. "If you bought it here, we fix it here. "Repairs to quality lightweight or touring bikes and repairs to bikes belonging to good customers are likely to be accepted. "We don't deal with BMX, full suspension or cheap poor...

I recently had a go on the Ebco in the link and was impressed. It seemed pokey, but I don't know how it would do in a shoot out with the Bear. Slightly nicer and better made bicycle than the woosh, not sure if it's £300 nicer. Ebcos are now in bike shops as well as Halfords, if you can avoid...

That might be the white one which has a smaller battery and a weaker motor. Curiously, there is now no price for that one on the Oxygen website: http://www.oxygenbicycles.com/e-bikes/e-mate-mtb-11ah I would be wary of a seller who claims to be able to offer the higher spec one for £999. It's...

The Oxygen is a nice bike, but is some way over your budget, even with a cash discount. It appears the controller on the Stealth is bolted to the underside of the down tube, which is not a very elegant solution and could leave it vulnerable to damage. I'm not a fan of enormous pancake motors...

The KTM has a usefully bigger battery, or it would have if you will make use of the extra range. Having said that, you could buy a second battery for the Kudos for a lot less than the price difference.

I'm not sure about the Yamaha motor, but the chain ring on the Bosch motor is a standard bicycle part. If the Yamaha is also standard, a competent bike shop should be able to sort it.

As an old roadman once said to me: "You can cycle a long way on a banana and a Mars bar."

I bought a ring from Martin for my Rose/Bosch bike. Blackspire is a top make, excellent quality and the ring is light as a feather. The lightness is a bit wasted on an ebike, but the quality isn't.

Never too late to lurn, I've found.

That paints an inaccurately pro-EU picture of the case. Steve Thoburn was convicted by Sunderland Magistrates' Court in 2001. His appeals in this country were denied, as was his petition to the European Court of Human Rights. He died in 2004. The matter was dealt with by an EU directive in...

The traditional cycle companies have tiny - if any - research and development budgets, and they certainly won't spend it on the small niche market of ebikes. We need to look elsewhere if we want genuine technological development and innovation. Ford is a possibility, and it matters not if...

I tried samples of energy drinks which were on offer at the bike show at the NEC. Must have over done it - I felt a bit squiffy for half an hour.

Presumably you commute from west to east.

Agreed. But as your comments about efficiency and importance of tension demonstrate, the belt isn't quite the gold-plated win-win solution it first appears. The only belt drive bike I've tried popped the belt off one of the rings after about half a mile. That was the end of that, because you...

My contribution is always belt life - Gates give it as 'about twice that of a chain'. Doesn't seem much given the expense of the belt and the cheapness of a chain. Against that, I suppose, is the fact that most users don't use their bikes very much, so if you are changing a chain only every...

You wouldn't think it would make difference if a belt or a chain was turning the sprocket on a hub gear, but it seems it does. Peculiar things, bicycles.