Best electric bike for hill climbing

[TwistNgo]

Hi I haven't been on this forum for a while so Hi again !

I used to own a Powabyke 24 speed electric bike but I had to sell it a while ago. I found the bike to be a good powerful hill climber.

My new route to a new job is uphill all the way so I now need a new electric bike and hill climbing ability is a top priority.

My local dealer does the following bikes in the price range I can afford ( I live in Guernsey, Channel Islands so I want to deal with a local dealer ) -

Izip Mountain Trailz

Powacycle Salisbury LPX

which is the best bike make out of these and which would have the more power for a hill climbing route to work ?.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[flecc]

It's the Izip, which has a peak power output of about 450 watts.

The Salisbury is a good bike but it's one of the lowest powered on the market with a peak output a little over 300 watts. That said it's a reasonable hill climber since the internal gearing of the motor is on the low side. I'd be happy to use it on gentle hills, but on anything steeper the Izip will do a bit better.
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[RedSkywalker]

I have a Salisbury and I would have to agree with flecc that while it's a great bike for the price it is a bit limited in its hill climbing ability.

It's not too bad if you can put in a reasonable amount of work on larger hills but otherwise it could be a bit of a struggle.

 

[fcurran]

Hi,

Who is your local dealer? Adventure cycles in Guernsey supply a range of electric bikes including Powabyke, give them a ring on 01481 232 855 and speak to Steve or Malcolm to arrange a test ride on the Powabyke XByke.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

 

[flecc]

Now I know the modern style Powabyke Xbyke is available there, that will beat both the others for hill climbing and perform very much like the old style Powabyke you used to have.
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[TwistNgo]

Thanks for the advice guys. I appreciate it.

I haven't considered the Powabyke X bike because of the price. But if its hill climbing ability is alot better I will consider it.

I can get the Izip mountain Trailz for £489

The Powabyke X bike 6 speed is £749

so the question i have is, is the Powabyke at £260 more, that much a better bike. If you get what I mean !


Oh I forgot to mention I know Steve at Adventure Cycles so I will give the bikes a test ride when I can afford to buy one.

 

[flecc]

It's really only worth it if you prefer it, the bike suiting you being as important as any other factor. Trying them out is the best possible thing, the one you feel happiest with usually being the right one. They all climb to some extent, and unless the hill is especially steep and/or long, each can do the job. The better climbers will do it faster and with less personal effort of course.
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[poppy]

It. The better climbers will do it faster and with less personal effort of course.
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Tony, you are such a diplomat! And which one would do those wonders?

 

[TwistNgo]

Hi,

Who is your local dealer? Adventure cycles in Guernsey supply a range of electric bikes including Powabyke, give them a ring on 01481 232 855 and speak to Steve or Malcolm to arrange a test ride on the Powabyke XByke.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd

Hi, can you answer me a few questions on the x bike please.

1. Is the battery locked onto the bike by key so it can't be stolen ?

2. I believe the water bottle shaped battery has been ditched, i'm sure you have been asked this countless times !, but why has this great feature of the bike been removed, and a baked bean can looking battery used instead ?

3. Will the X bike climb hills as easy as my old Powabyke speed commuter 24 ? ( My old Powabyke was an excellent hill climber, I could go up the steepest with only minimum effort, that bike had awesome power ! ).

4. What does a thumb throttle mean ? My last bike used to have a excellent full handle throttle. If I had to throttle with just a thumb that would put me off buying one.

Thanks.

 

[Patrick]

Hi, can you answer me a few questions on the x bike please.

1. Is the battery locked onto the bike by key so it can't be stolen ?

2. I believe the water bottle shaped battery has been ditched, i'm sure you have been asked this countless times !, but why has this great feature of the bike been removed, and a baked bean can looking battery used instead ?

3. Will the X bike climb hills as easy as my old Powabyke speed commuter 24 ? ( My old Powabyke was an excellent hill climber, I could go up the steepest with only minimum effort, that bike had awesome power ! ).

4. What does a thumb throttle mean ? My last bike used to have a excellent full handle throttle. If I had to throttle with just a thumb that would put me off buying one.

Thanks.

1: No the battery isn't locked on, but it's small enough to go into a lockable pannier. (I always take mine off at work to recharge it.)

2: The battery manufacture wasn't prepared to guarantee the cells if they were packed into the small water bottle case, so there was a late change to the current themos flasks.

3: It's the same motor as the older Powabykes so it should climb hills just as well, I've no experience of the older bykes so I can't compare but my X6 gets me up the big steep hill on my commute easily enough. However, it's got a smaller battery so it won't climb as many of them.

4: It's a half twist grip throttle. You'd really need to try one yourself to decide if you get along with it. (I didn't like it and I've now got a CrampBuster on mine, but it's a not an ideal solution.)

 

[flecc]

Some X models are used in Bath which has some brutal hills, and it seems the hill climb ability is very similar to the old models.
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