Carrera Sram Sparc Vs Urbanmover

[SeanG]

Hi,

Just joined the forum and 'am looking to buy an electric bike. The market in Ireland is quite small and choice is limited.
I have narrowed it down to
Carrera Sram Sparc from Halfords (€1,040)
Urbanmover 36 or 44 Nimh battery(€1,100).

I'm going to use it for an 11 mile each way commute.

Any advise most welcome.

Thanks,
SeanG

 

[flecc]

Hi Sean, welcome to the forum.

The Urban Mover is the more powerful and faster, but they have a poor record for patchy and very slow support and that could be important to you at a distance. Even their dealers have been very frustrated with them at times.

I don't know what Halfords support would be like for you on the Carrera Sparc, but that SRAM motor system is good quality and normally very reliable. It's a good hill climber, but if you are a reasonable cyclist you can find yourself riding beyond it's assist speed since it's not a speed machine.
.

 

[SeanG]

Thanks flecc.

When you say the urbanmover is faster, does that mean acceleration?

When you say "riding beyond it's assist speed", is this not the 15mph, that would apply to any electric bike?

My commute route is flat but exposed to a strong head wind in the morning.

Cheers,
SeanG

 

[flecc]

Yes, the UM faster mainly in acceleration, but also in adverse circumstances like hills and headwinds, basically a function of it's higher power motor.

The SRAM's two internal motors add up to a little less power, but that's not to say the Carrera would be weak in those circumstances since it has plenty of torque for climbing and headwinds, but it would probably be a little slower then. I hadn't mentioned it before, but it's a little noisier too, though not seriously so.

These things are relative of course, and we aren't speaking of large differences. As always, I advise trying them out if at all possible, since what you feel most happy with is very important for regular riding.

P.S. There's some owner reviews of the Carrera Sparc on this forum link
and an Urban Mover 36 review on this link.
.

 

[SeanG]

Many thanks flecc.

SeanG

 

[bluevalentine]

I looked at both these. I thought the UM36 was quite 'sticky' and fairly uncomfortable to ride - maybe better on trails. My main quibble with the Carerra - did they quote you e1039 + é80 voucher? - was the total disinterest and lack of knowledge shown by the staff of Halfords (Carrickmines).

My quibble with both of these and almost all the electric-assist bikes I've seen in Ireland was the crap quality of the original equipment - in particular handlebars, brakes, gears and lousy cheap crank sets. Why don't manufacturers cop on? - for about another e150 they could put really decent gear on a bike and I don't think most would mind paying. It costs less to kit out a bike at the initial stage than buying the add-ons later.

Most helpful dealer I found was the guy with the bike shop in Trees Road, Stillorgan, who sells the Pedelectrics imported by Greenmachines - keen prices too. Unfortunately he didn't have any bikes in stock!

 

[alex]

carrera

Hi.
I bought a Carrera Sparc in October & have been very happy with it. It gives gentle assistance & takes the sweat out of riding around Edinburgh. I get about 14 miles per charge, if I run out of power the bike is easy to ride unassisted. Replacement batteries, cables, etc.. are available online or through your l.b.s via Fisher Outdoor Sports. If you put some effort into pedalling you quickly reach 15 m.p.h. when the motor almost imperceptibly cutsout, if you are feeling lazy merely turn the chainwheel & let the motor do most of the work. The steepest hills defeat it / me but overall it takes the pain out of cycling & allows you to enjoy the ride.

Alex

 

[b4bob]

Sparc at Halfords

Hi, had my Sparc since June -but have had 5 spokes break in the rear wheel. all in town/tarmac. Halfords been pleasant but not actually fixed the problem which I suspect is a quality issue, so the wheel is with the local bike shop. Otherwise it's been fine but it does make you wonder about the cost savings look at the price of a bare sparc hub and then look at the price of the bike.