Best kit for mostly off road commute

[Nealh]

This is my bike at Chelwood /Ashdown forest area at the Vachery.
Kit is a friction drive tucked in between the frame seat tube and the rear tyre, I bought this as part of the kick starter 4 years ago at a reduced backers rate, one of the first mk1 versions. . Otherwise the kit is fairly dear at £600 with one battery and is now on the mk3 version
Battery power is 2 x 208wh 24v, one on the bike and one in the rear seat pack.
Kit adds approx. 2.4 -2.5kg to the bike with one battery, batteries are 1.33kg each.
I get approx 50 mies range with both.

With the bike in minimilist form and just the drive and one battery <15kg, fully loaded probably and 3.5 - 4kg.

No display & no assist levels,so I use simple < £10 wired BC for speed and miles.
One back peddles 1/2 turn to disengage and the same again to engage power.
Very pokey up to the 15.5mph limit then rides quite easily on flat terrain beyond.
I'm not a fast cadence rider but 24 mph I can do for a bit if conditons allow.

I was running TL here but have since gone back to tubes for less faff and hassle.
I may think about looking at the Tannus armour inserts as I have some coming for my CF trailer as I keep picking up thorns due to the wide wheel base.

 

[Sivy]

That's very interesting and I like the minimalist look, especially considering the weight. My only gripe is the cost it's priced over 600 now and where I live in Shropshire there's some quite long steep inclines, one on the commute is 2 miles! I have the arkose X with fatter tyres as I try to ride as much trail as the journey allows so Im not sure if this would be enough, incidentally looking at this has bought up the Aston rider which is cheaper and more powerful with more control but it's getting one shipped from America that's the problem. May have to go middrive?

 

[guerney]

Yikes! £299.99 for a 200wh Revos battery? What do those cell packs contain? Gold?

200Wh Additional Revos eBike Battery

Get an additional Revos 200Wh eBike battery if you need a spare one with you on the trip. Free & fast delivery in the UK & EU. Buy Today!

revolutionworks.com

 

[Nealh]

£229 is the price which isn't too bad though for a bespoke kit, it is expected but not outrageous.
The cells in mine are Panny PF so 7s 3p (21 cells) 10a rated, at the time I queried why they didn't opt for something like the GA for a bit more 10.2ah rather then 8.7ah but they said the PF was £4£ better priced which is true but they are half the price of the GA or Moli M35.

In the future if I need to I will recell them using the M35 or the GA, the gain is approx. 18% more capacity/range.

 

[guerney]

£229 is the price which isn't too bad though for a bespoke kit, it is expected but not outrageous.

Repair and diagnostics could be based in the UK, even if a cheaper Revos products were manufactured in China. I saw this episode of Dragon's Den, they should have taken the deal.

Dragons' Den: company praised after refusing to manufacture in China

Mark and Hugo Palmer, the co-founders of e-bike gadget firm RevolutionWorks, failed to secure investment on the BBC show

www.business-live.co.uk

 

[Nealh]

Without a doubt manufactured in China they certainly wouldn't have a business to go forward on, a clone would be on the market quite soon.
Thus far looks like they have got away with it, nice though that a product is entirely designed, made and produced in the UK albeit using some foreign component made parts.