Bike for newbie

[Jennykins]

Hi all,

my partner is about to be able to work from home full time.

This means that what was a 20+ mile journey for me, including giving them a lift to work in the opposite direction from where I work is now only 13.5 miles (27 mile round trip).

Its fairly flat with just one lowish but longish hill to negotiate.

Looking to start biking into work to

a: save the planet
b: save money on petrol, car parking (but don't mind if I spend what I save on the bike)
c: get fit

I'm not that fit and am looking at the electric bike options.

Also would prefer a bike I can get on the train for those days when the weather is awful and need something I can cycle the 3 miles to the train station and the 3 miles from the station to where I work.

Would prefer to buy British if possible so have been interested in the new Nano Brompton (have a Pashley Princess and an old Raleigh).

Only thing that puts me off the Brompton (and quite a lot of othe Electric Bike brands) is the single dealer thing.

How do you guys cope if you have a problem on a Powacycle, Ezee etc. and need to get the bike/motor repaired? How much does it cost to get the bike to the dealer?

Anyone have any other options they think I should consider.

Cheers,

Jen.

 

[coops]

Hi Jen & welcome

On your last question, I have an Ezee Torq from 50Cycles who, I believe, collect & return the bike, when necessary for repair etc. (and while under warranty?), on scheduled trips i.e. often when they are "in your area" anyway, so while there may be a short wait for pickup & return its hassle free . If you want a more rapid repair & return service, you could ask them if there are alternatives.

I'm sorry but I don't know what other dealers repair policies are, but both powacycle and wisper bikes for instance are reputed to provide excellent customer service .

Regarding bike choice, I'd best leave that to others who have more experience of taking bikes on trains: I suppose a folder makes train or car transport much easier, but it does rather narrow the available bike choices.

Despite your lack of hills, I'd still consider a bike with good motor power for at least moderate hills - you never know where you might want to go with it once you get the "bug", especially if it folds up! (Folding electric bikes vary in weight but bear in mind for transporting them that they are still much heavier than standard folders - the electrics, motor & battery in particular, add a lot of weight & some bulk too).

Other things to consider are the range - 27miles is near the limit for most bikes, with moderate pedalling assistance at 15mph, so its best if you can recharge at work and essential if you have a Lithium battery, for long life (less so if you have a NiMH battery, but that could introduce other issues relating to battery life...)

I appreciate what you say about preferring buying British, and I can't really comment on the Brompton nano except to say that its top motor speed of ~13mph, as tested/reviewed, looks on the low side next to some other bikes, though it may be possible to up that at the expense of torque for hills and the range, which will be closer to "average" with moderate pedalling, and there are questions about motor reliability: I believe most if not all the electric parts on the nano will be imported from abroad, China most likely .

One other folder, other than the ezee Quando, is a Currie Izip folder which had a good review here some time ago, relatively cheap too I think, though the weight, quality & lead-acid battery are possible issues - I'd definitely recommend a test-ride especially for the currie: I tried a non-folding currie izip and found a high resistance when pedalling, so more a motor only bike if thats the case.

Hope thats helpful & gives food for thought, sorry for the long answer, I'm sure others will give better & more concise help .

Stuart.

 

[MaryinScotland]

Jen, another thought on train travel: some train companies say on their literature that they won't carry powered bikes. Which is not to say you can't do it, but be prepared to disguise the bike a bit. If you meet a real letter-of-the-law staff member who objects, whip the battery off and stick it in your bag. The bike is no longer powered.
Mary

 

[flecc]

I think the Nano Brompton is the only viable choice if it's to be folded and carried Jen, though still quite heavy, around 18 to 21 kilos depending on the battery chosen, so you wouldn't want to carry it very far. It's also probably the only one that could handle your round trip. It's long range comes from it's low 14 mph maximum assisted speed, permitting quite a lot of cycling above that, therefore not using current then. If you don't do that and depend on the motor all the time, it's range will slump to a much lower figure and it wouldn't complete your round trip.

Other models like the Quando are often good but won't do the round trip so a charger would need to be taken so that a charge could be done at both ends. Of course that adds further weight, bringing the Quando to about 26/27 kilos.

If you can take a full size bike in the train on your route, it's best not to bother with a folder. One bike that springs to mind then is the Powacycle Windsor Step through, or it's parallel crossbar model, the Salisbury. These are light by e-bike standards so not too bad to manhandle onto a train. They would need a charge at both ends, so either battery type would do the job.

They can be had with NiMh battery at £499 or Li-ion battery at £599. The Li-ion battery version is the lighter. The other reason why I mention Powacycle is that they have some local dealers so you might have an accessible one.
.

 

[Jennykins]

Thanks for the replies.

Thinking about it, I could get a £500ish electric bike AND a Brompton (if I need to take the train because of the weather, I don't really need the electric power, I can ride a bike 3 miles at each end of the journey).

This opens up my options I guess (allows me to buy British for at least some of it if not all of it)

maryinoxford, I'm hoping I'll be OK so long as I can at least get the Brompton covered up or in a bag.

Re: range I guess I'll have to see how much a second charger is (the Uni I work in should be fine about re-charging batteries)

Flecc, interesting what you say about Powacycle dealers, I didn't see anything on their website to mention this, but doing a search turned up ELECTRIC BIKES AND SCOOTERS NORTH WEST - Valley Scooters Bolton in Bolton who appear to be a dealer for powacycle, powabyke and urban mover so looks like I might be off to see them at the weekend.

I like the look of the Windsor step through and the range certainly seems pretty good (for the Li-on version).

 

[flecc]

That's definitely a better option Jen, the Brompton unpowered, light and ideal for travelling with, and the Powacycle for other use.

I'm glad you have a Powacycle dealer within reach, helps to reassure about maintenance, but that make does seem very reliable, as I haven't seen a single query about a fault on one in here.

As you won't be taking it on the train, another e-bike to consider is the eZee Liv, more powerful and a bit higher priced at £695 and a bit heavier. No local dealers, but main centre at Loughborough.
.

 

[coops]

I saw a Giant Suede for £599 in Edinburgh Bicycles in Manchester today, if you're interested jen? Not sure how it compares to the others mentioned here though. (Suede is a hub motor bike, unlike the GiantTwist).

It appears not to be listed on their website, but I saw one in the Rusholme, Manchester store today, if that's not too far from you? Its a great shop with a wide selection of accessories, parts etc. (no, I don't work for them! ).

Don't be put off by their motto: "the revolution shall not be motorised"!

Stuart.

 

[Jennykins]

Stuart,

I've been sort of interested in Giant as they have dealers local to me. (though they cost a fair bit).

I've also seen a Giant 'something' in my localist bike shop (its not a new twist but not sure if its a suede or an old lafree).

so I'm off there this weekend as well.

Cheers,

Jen.

 

[coops]

Good luck with your search Jen I can't exactly recall the specs of the Giant Suede Jen, to know if its suitable for your needs, but it has been mentioned on this forum and I'm sure others will know more to advise you if you're interested. Its well worth doing a search for more information here, but if I recall correctly its a sort of low to middle powered hub motor ebike. I'll edit this post to append any useful threads I find if you like .

One thing I've thought of that I'd definitely look at, given your journey distance, is the battery capacity & range, plus cost/ease of battery replacement as & when, because its likely a 24V motor so range per charge may be rather less than 36V bikes.

EDIT: Was wrong, its 36V, the bike I saw looked like this one, a men's model...

I do recall though that the new, hub motor Giant "Twist" was considered rather poor in some important areas, so I wouldn't go for one of those though.

EDIT: AtoB don't exactly rave about either, but I don't always agree with their views. Flecc also seems to be saying that they both have the same motor which isn't great news because I recall the new Twist hub motor was disappointing as I said...

I don't know how far Edinburgh bikes are from you, or who would deal with repair under warranty if you should buy there, but they are a helpful & friendly new store in my experience and have a conveniently accessible instore bike maintainance & repair service, bikes wheeling in & out all the time whenever I've been there: they had a Giant Twist (not bought from them, I think) in for some attention last week apparently, though not for motor repair - could that have been yours, JohninStockie?

Stuart.

 

[coops]

Just to add to the above, Jen, several members here own Suede E's, but I just read the pedelecs Suede owner review (only one, but it is a long term review) and it does appear to suffer the same drag from the motor which the new hub Twist does (not surprising if it is indeed the same motor...) which makes it rather harder work to pedal without motor assist on. There also seem to be other issues like chain prone to fall off, etc.

If you want to pedal the bike at all without motor assist, which it sounds like you may well do, other bikes can do a better job. Also bear in mind that with a big name like Giant come big prices for "official" replacement parts, like batteries etc.

I'd go with flecc's recommendations . Good luck in your search!

P.S. If you're still inclined towards Giant though, get a test ride (recommended for any bike!) & resist the temptation to ride only with motor on, so you can also feel how the bike is to pedal without power: the best hub bikes have minimal resistance from the hub motor when power is off . The Liv has a brushed motor and has a slight but noticeable drag on downhills, but even so it may be less than the Giant bikes: Liv also comes with throttle as opposed to Suede's pedelec only (unless you modify it for throttle yourself) and a simple but quite effective & easy to use 3-gear hub (the pedals, not the motor!).

Stuart.

 

[Jennykins]

Thanks, Stuart & Flecc.

Been out to test ride some bikes today and written it up in this thread - http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/738-newbie-test-rides-giant-twist-2-0-powacycle-windsor.html

Looks a Windsor is the bike for me.

Jen.