From Motorcycle to an Electric Cycle...

[w1lliam]

Hi,

I am looking to replace my motorcycle with a electric bike partly because i am afraid of losing my license.

I am looking at a few bikes and do the conversion to electric myself.

I have narrowed it down to 4 bikes from Halfords:

1) Carrera Subway
2) Carrera Crossfire 2
3) Carrera Gryphon
4) Voodoo Marasa

Most of my cycling will be commuting to and from work using the main A roads. What bike do you think would suite me?

Thanks

William

 

[Oldie]

Hi William

I haven't seen the Halfords bikes but I noticed a recommendation on here the other day for this....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MFX-Pure-Breed-Outlaw-Mountain/dp/B00AM82BFW/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1365611184&sr=1-1&keywords=bikes+mfx

 

[timidtom]

Interesting to read your post. I'm toying with the thought of moving in the opposite direction. No intention of giving up the ebike but with a new interest - Gladstone's Library, a 50+ mile round trip - I'm thinking of a moped or small (125cc scooter) to make the trip viable. A little family opposition to the idea of near octogenarian Dad venturing back onto powered wheels after a 2 year break. Encourage me, all you 70+ bikers! Three hours plus at 15mph honestly doesn't appeal ...
Best wishes with your ebiking,
Tom

 

[Oldie]

A nice Suzuki Burgman 125 would be a smart purchase. There are, of course, dozens of alternatives but you wouldn't be making a mistake with this one.

Ebay usually has plenty.

If I had known, I could have let you have my recently-sold FJR 1300 and the round trip could have been accomplished fairly quickly

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi,

I am looking to replace my motorcycle with a electric bike partly because i am afraid of losing my license.

I am looking at a few bikes and do the conversion to electric myself.

I have narrowed it down to 4 bikes from Halfords:

1) Carrera Subway
2) Carrera Crossfire 2
3) Carrera Gryphon
4) Voodoo Marasa

Most of my cycling will be commuting to and from work using the main A roads. What bike do you think would suite me?

Thanks

William

Any of those bikes might be suitable, but it would be better to tell us what sort of conversion you had in mind.
How far do you want to go?
How fast?
How heavy are you?
Are you on a limited budget?

As a general rule, you should choose a bike with a large triangle frame and the best suspension forks that you can afford. It should have disc brakes, and cable ones are easier to deal with than hydraulic ones, although hydraulic ones stop you better. Another thing to try and avoid is gear changers in the same housing as the brake levers. You can get much better value by buying a used bike. Facebook adverts and Ebay are good sources. You should be able to get a good bike for around £150 comppared with £300 to £400 new, or you can get a much better bike for the same money as a new one. Bikes don't really wear out, and you can often find one that's hardly been used.

 

[D8ve]

The quick list of points that would assist in the reply could be,
your size height and wieght.
fitness (age)
on road Max 15mph or on your private estate upto lots mph
range,
environment. road citycommute?
hills or flat.
bling factor.
other options recumbent, traditional road, hybrid
price/ avalable funds
fear/thrill factor
why halfords? you can get an excelent frame from ebay/local ads really cheap? then build up.
(took so long to type d8veh beat me to it)

 

[Artstu]

I wouldn't have realised you were two different people had you not just posted, must look out for the H.

 

[D8ve]

And the Capital D.
although i bow my head to d8veh superior cycle knowlege

 

[Cyclezee]

I wouldn't have realised you were two different people had you not just posted, must look out for the H.

Thinking about changing my ID to D8ezee to gain some street cred

Regards,

 

[w1lliam]

Hi William

I haven't seen the Halfords bikes but I noticed a recommendation on here the other day for this....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MFX-Pure-Breed-Outlaw-Mountain/dp/B00AM82BFW/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1365611184&sr=1-1&keywords=bikes+mfx

It looks good but one of the reasons of going to Halfords was the cycle to work scheme.

Interesting to read your post. I'm toying with the thought of moving in the opposite direction. No intention of giving up the ebike but with a new interest - Gladstone's Library, a 50+ mile round trip - I'm thinking of a moped or small (125cc scooter) to make the trip viable. A little family opposition to the idea of near octogenarian Dad venturing back onto powered wheels after a 2 year break. Encourage me, all you 70+ bikers! Three hours plus at 15mph honestly doesn't appeal ...
Best wishes with your ebiking,
Tom

Get a 125, its not as dangerous but on the other hand a bigger bike would get you there in no time at all.

Any of those bikes might be suitable, but it would be better to tell us what sort of conversion you had in mind.
How far do you want to go? A 18 mile round trip would be the maximum i would do with 12 miles being the norm.
How fast? As fast as possible
How heavy are you? 77Kg
Are you on a limited budget? If buying with my own funds then yes, but using the cycle to work scheme would be easier to manage.

As a general rule, you should choose a bike with a large triangle frame and the best suspension forks that you can afford. It should have disc brakes, and cable ones are easier to deal with than hydraulic ones, although hydraulic ones stop you better. Another thing to try and avoid is gear changers in the same housing as the brake levers. You can get much better value by buying a used bike. Facebook adverts and Ebay are good sources. You should be able to get a good bike for around £150 comppared with £300 to £400 new, or you can get a much better bike for the same money as a new one. Bikes don't really wear out, and you can often find one that's hardly been used.

The bikes i mentioned are all hybrids, and all have disc brakes except the voodo which has hydraulic brakes. I would rather not use Halfords given the chance but it makes financial sense to do so.

The quick list of points that would assist in the reply could be,
your size height and wieght. 5'10 & 78 kg
fitness (age) 28
on road Max 15mph or on your private estate upto lots mph Very fast
range, 25ish miles
environment. road citycommute? mainly small towns around Manchester
hills or flat. more flat than hill
bling factor. dont really care about bling, care more about how practical it is
other options recumbent, traditional road, hybrid
price/ avalable funds have money but would rather use savings for a deposit on a house
fear/thrill factor something to help me get fitter, am not a professional thrill seeker
why halfords? you can get an excelent frame from ebay/local ads really cheap? then build up. cycle to work scheme, though i could be easily convinced to build from scratch if i had the neccesary information
(took so long to type d8veh beat me to it)

Thanks for all the replies, it has given me something to think about, and confused me even further.

William

 

[103Alex1]

age 28 - blooming 'eck, wish I was 28 again.