First Electric Bike - which one?

[MDJO]

Hi everyone

I've recently got a new job which requires a commute into the City Centre.

At present my commute is disjointed and costly. Typically I drive to a metro station (c.4 miles), park (£1), metro (£3.60) then 10 mins walk at the other end. Overall this can take anything between 40mins-1hr and over costs in the region of £5-£6.
Sometimes I need to have a vehicle with me, so on those days I drive and park which is 10 miles plus £6 per day parking and again can take anything from 35 mins to 50 mins depending on traffic.

I have been looking at alternative forms of transport and this weekend hired an electric bike to try out. The bike was a Raleigh Velo Trail Step Through. I'm not sure which model exactly but it had 7 gears and three levels of assistance. There wasn't a throttle and the assistance was relative to how much effort was put in.

I really enjoyed it and ended up doing 30km, mostly flat but the odd reasonable gradient as well. I did try a couple of short buyt really steep hills, at about 13% gradient, which I just about managed.

I haven't been on a bike for over 20 years and have no fitness level to speak of, yet was really surprised at how easy it was. I didn't even get warm never mind break a sweat and the only thing that was sore the day after was my seat bones.

I'm now looking to buy an electric bike with a view that I'll use it for leisure initially and build up fitness and confidence to eventually commute to work. I'm also considering an option of driving part-way into work with bike in back of van, then cycling the last 4-5 miles where the traffic is bad but the cycle lanes are good This will also save on parking.

Anyway enough waffle.. I'd really appreciate some help as to which bike would be best for my needs - here's the spec

The full commute is 10 miles each way. Mostly flat with maximum gradient of 6% - depending on which route in, there might be one or two stretches of a few hundred meters at 13% - happy to get off and push though
We have some nice off road riding close by - again mostly flat tracks etc and I would like to be able to leisure ride this too.
I'm female, weigh 75kg and am 5'6".
I definitely want a step through frame.
Need to be able to carry panniers.
Would like a removable battery
I liked the assistance the hire bike gave, i.e. assistance when pedalling in relation to how much effort I put in - not sure what this called.
I have a budet of £1,200 but ideally under £1,000
I'm based in the North East

All suggestions and advice gratefully received. It's a minefield

Many Thanks

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Do you have secure parking at work? If not, an electric bike might not be such a good idea for commuting. Electric bikes don't like being left out in the rain. If your parking is private, you can leave a bike cover there, and put it on the bike when rain threatens, or my preferred way of of staying dry in the rain is to use a cape, which can then also be used to cover your bike when you leave it in the rain.

At 75kg, virtually any ebike will have sufficient power. For under £1000, checkout the bikes from Woosh, Roodog, Kudos, Juicy, Cyclotricity by clicking the links on the left. They're all good bikes with good support.

If you want a really easy commute, look more closely at the Woosh Big Bear. It has a very strong motor and an independent throttle to give your legs a rest if they get tired. There's crossbar and stepthrough versions.

 

[hoppy]

Hi everyone

I've recently got a new job which requires a commute into the City Centre.

At present my commute is disjointed and costly. Typically I drive to a metro station (c.4 miles), park (£1), metro (£3.60) then 10 mins walk at the other end. Overall this can take anything between 40mins-1hr and over costs in the region of £5-£6.
Sometimes I need to have a vehicle with me, so on those days I drive and park which is 10 miles plus £6 per day parking and again can take anything from 35 mins to 50 mins depending on traffic.

I have been looking at alternative forms of transport and this weekend hired an electric bike to try out. The bike was a Raleigh Velo Trail Step Through. I'm not sure which model exactly but it had 7 gears and three levels of assistance. There wasn't a throttle and the assistance was relative to how much effort was put in.

I really enjoyed it and ended up doing 30km, mostly flat but the odd reasonable gradient as well. I did try a couple of short buyt really steep hills, at about 13% gradient, which I just about managed.

I haven't been on a bike for over 20 years and have no fitness level to speak of, yet was really surprised at how easy it was. I didn't even get warm never mind break a sweat and the only thing that was sore the day after was my seat bones.

I'm now looking to buy an electric bike with a view that I'll use it for leisure initially and build up fitness and confidence to eventually commute to work. I'm also considering an option of driving part-way into work with bike in back of van, then cycling the last 4-5 miles where the traffic is bad but the cycle lanes are good This will also save on parking.

Anyway enough waffle.. I'd really appreciate some help as to which bike would be best for my needs - here's the spec

The full commute is 10 miles each way. Mostly flat with maximum gradient of 6% - depending on which route in, there might be one or two stretches of a few hundred meters at 13% - happy to get off and push though
We have some nice off road riding close by - again mostly flat tracks etc and I would like to be able to leisure ride this too.
I'm female, weigh 75kg and am 5'6".
I definitely want a step through frame.
Need to be able to carry panniers.
Would like a removable battery
I liked the assistance the hire bike gave, i.e. assistance when pedalling in relation to how much effort I put in - not sure what this called.
I have a budet of £1,200 but ideally under £1,000
I'm based in the North East

All suggestions and advice gratefully received. It's a minefield

Many Thanks

If you liked the Raleigh Velo Trail you hired you could buy one of those for £1000, and there is a dealer in Sunderland according to their website.A to B magazine liked that bike when they tested it. The power control is by a torque sensor which gives power according to how hard you pedal. Not many bikes at that price have that system.

 

[MDJO]

Thank you D8veh and Hoppy - I did like the Raleigh, so that's definitely an option. I've seen 2 x Raleigh Velo Trails, once priced at £1,000 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=7609) and one a bit more at c.£1,350 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=9083). I can't seem to see the difference but will check with the Hire place to see which one it was I actually hired.
Looked at the Woosh too - I liked them and they seem to get rave reviews on here. Although I *think* the only one with a torque sensor is the Sirocco Sport not one of the step throughs I was looking for. I'll keep looking (now I know that I'm looking for 'torque sensor' it makes it so much easier - thank you)

 

[hoppy]

Thank you D8veh and Hoppy - I did like the Raleigh, so that's definitely an option. I've seen 2 x Raleigh Velo Trails, once priced at £1,000 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=7609) and one a bit more at c.£1,350 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=9083). I can't seem to see the difference but will check with the Hire place to see which one it was I actually hired.
Looked at the Woosh too - I liked them and they seem to get rave reviews on here. Although I *think* the only one with a torque sensor is the Sirocco Sport not one of the step throughs I was looking for. I'll keep looking (now I know that I'm looking for 'torque sensor' it makes it so much easier - thank you)

I agree it's not easy to see £350 worth between those two bikes.I think the dearer one has a slightly bigger and lighter battery and a fourth power setting. Doesn't seem worth the extra to me. The batteries and motors are made by Panasonic with a 2 year warranty which is very good.The best thing of course is to research and test as many bikes as you can, but it takes a lot of time and trouble! You could do a lot worse than that Raleigh at £1000. You might even get a discount! Best wishes.Electric bikes are great! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't get too excited about torque sensors. In practical terms, there's no advantage for you.

 

[D8ve]

d8veh
I disagree the torque sensor makes controlling the speed power subconscious. That is a boon for us hard of thinking types who need to concentrate on the road, newspaper or whatever.
Throttle verses sensor is a personal preference (and my choice)
It's just is it worth the money?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've ridden hundreds of different electric bikes with every type of control system. I've never ridden one that was bad. Whatever control system you prefer, it's not a deal-breaker to have a different one on a ride to work bike. Indeed, if you want a ride to work bike, IMHO, the speed control (non torque sensor) systems are better. There's some situations where I'd prefer a torque sensor, but not for ride to work.

Most people wouldn't even notice the difference unless it was specifically pointed out to them.

Most torque sensor systems don't have an independent throttle, which is a huge disadvantage.

OP says that she hasn't been on a bike for 20 years, so probably has weak legs, which means that a torque multiplication system would be unsuitable.

I have nine electric bikes. None of them have torque sensors, and I'm happy with them. I like them all, and I ride them all, though I have my favourites.

 

[1boris]

I have also tried many diffrent ebikes and I prefer non torque sensor.Imo the "cheap" torque sensors are not good enough yet.My neo cross is a very nice bike .but the torque system is not as presise as I would like it to be.It cuts on and of to much.I liked the new bosh motor system but thats much more advanced system than cheaper bikes.Anyway you can relax more with a speed sensor system IF you want or are tired.

 

[Jimod]

Anyway you can relax more with a speed sensor system IF you want or are tired.

Hello my new best friend, draw up a chair and I'll get you a glass of IRN BRU.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi MDJO,

A bike which suit you and is well within budget is the eZee Sprint Primo at £850.

It has pedelec and e-bike modes with plenty of assistance if required.

You can see more info here http://cyclezee.com/ezee-sprint-primo.html

 

[MDJO]

Hi everyone
Firstly thank you all for the advice you've kindly provided so far.
I've done lots more research and narrowed the 'spec' as follows

• Step through or low cross bar
• Front hub
• Pedal Assist plus throttle (not torque as I originally thought)
• Front suspension fork
• Min 36v/10ah battery
• Frame size c. 17"-18"
• Light as possible

and obviously best value for money (budget c.£600-£900)
So far I have narrowed down to
Ezee Sprint Primo (£850)
Woosh Sirocco (£585)
Cyclotricity Sahara (£699)

I've also considered converting a standard bike (Giant Rove being the bike of choice although UK seems to be short of supply at this time) Cost approx £400 bike + £conversion kit variable,

Obviously at first glance the Woosh seems the best value although the heaviest at 24kg. Is there any significant differences between these bikes that I should be aware of or I'm not spotting?
Thanks, again

 

[trex]

Ezee Sprint Primo is the best in your list, and well made.
The Sirocco and the Sahara are about same in terms of power, battery and equipment.
I wouldn't pay much attention to the quoted weight figure.

 

[MDJO]

Hi - just a quick update to let you know I bought a Ezee Sprint Primo (low step through) which arrived on Friday. Have taken it for a couple of rides already, 9 miles on Saturday and 20 miles today down to the coast and back, with a mix of roads, cycle paths and bridleways. Today's journey back included about 3 miles up a slight gradient into a strong headwind, and I'm delighted to say it made very light work of it. Overall it didn't use much battery at all - I had 3/5 left. So I'm really pleased and will post a proper review in a week or two.
Thank you for all your help and advice - And thank you for John at Ezee for answering all my queries.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi - just a quick update to let you know I bought a Ezee Sprint Primo (low step through) which arrived on Friday. Have taken it for a couple of rides already, 9 miles on Saturday and 20 miles today down to the coast and back, with a mix of roads, cycle paths and bridleways. Today's journey back included about 3 miles up a slight gradient into a strong headwind, and I'm delighted to say it made very light work of it. Overall it didn't use much battery at all - I had 3/5 left. So I'm really pleased and will post a proper review in a week or two.
Thank you for all your help and advice - And thank you for John at Ezee for answering all my queries.

Hi MDJO,
Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate that.

 

[RobF]

Sounds like the right bike for the right application for the right person which is always a happy combination.