Germanladen

[drsolly]

I'm thinking of buying some stuff from "Germanladen" via Ebay, they're based in Portsmouth, so I avoid long delays, expensive shipping and customs.

Has anyone anything good or bad to report about them?

Likewise "mateen233", based in Hayes, Middlesex

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It might help if you provide links.

 

[tillson]

It might help if you provide links.

Allow me to Google this for you:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/germanladen/m.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/mateen233/m.html

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Why should we have to do all the searching, when OP, knows where the stuff is.

I just wasted my time scrolling through the first page of your first link. There's not a single Ebike item. How many more pages do I have to search through to find what he's talking about? The seller has 19 pages of items!

 

[tillson]

Why should we have to do all the searching, when OP, knows where the stuff is.

Because it might be helpful?

I think that drolly's question was directed toward consumers' experience of dealing with the company, rather than the specifics of the merchandise.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's easy then. Here's what people think about his service and his stuff:
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=germanladen&&_trksid=p2047675.l2560&rt=nc&iid=181287372347&sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

 

[HarryB]

Why should we have to do all the searching, when OP, knows where the stuff is.

I just wasted my time scrolling through the first page of your first link. There's not a single Ebike item. How many more pages do I have to search through to find what he's talking about? The seller has 19 pages of items!

I am sure it is not intended but your post sounds really bad tempered. Nobody is asking you to look through 19 pages if you don't want to

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You're very observant. I am indeed very bad tempered due to the comments posted on the Bristol show thread. I cant understand why people don't trust me when I say that both those Oxygen bikes were operating within the rules. One bad loser, who's totally full of crap, as shown by his previous posts, has accused them of cheating without a shred of justification. I know the Oxygen guys, and I know they didn't cheat. If you would rather listen to a bad loser than me, good luck you all.

 

[jackhandy]

. One bad loser, who's totally full of crap, as shown by his previous posts, has accused them of cheating without a shred of justification.

And didn't raise the issue until well after the event, when it was too late to have the bike checked.
It stinks IMHO.

 

[drsolly]

I haven't read the Bristol thread, I'll do that soon.

I do know what Germanladen offer, and I do know about the Ebay reputation system. I was asking if anyone on this forum had any experience with their ebike products.

I guess the answer is that no-one has.

 

[oldtom]

Why people choose to race EAPCs is beyond me; it kind of misses the point.....big time!

If people want to race bikes, they can do that using identical pushbikes with nothing but their own strength/fitness/ability to propel them along. Surely the whole raison d'ȇtre of these EAPCs is to provide a touch of help so that the act of cycling is made a little easier?

Electric motors, as used in EAPCs, are pretty simple devices and within the legal parameters specified in most of Europe, are considerably limited in their output. Provided that the bikes which took part in the ride-off at Bristol were in compliance with the regulations, then the difference in motor output would have been marginal rather than substantial therefore a number of other factors would have been more likely to influence the result.

The Bristol 'race' can only be viewed as a bit of fun as no scientific testing took place nor was there any handicapping system in place as in, for example, horse-racing. The guy who came second knows a thing or two about EAPCs so either, he knows the winning machine was providing assistance beyond the legal maximum or he is simply a really bad loser. Frankly, I don't give a Friar! All I know is that I can cycle much easier on all of my EAPCs than I can on a relatively light pushbike with only my own efforts to propel me. If roadies race past me, I really don't mind; I just wish I had their energy.

Those EAPC riders who brag about speeding past 'roadies', usually uphill, are really pretty sad as they just don't seem to 'get' what electrically-assisted cycling is about.

Tom

 

[Jimod]

Those EAPC riders who brag about speeding past 'roadies', usually uphill, are really pretty sad as they just don't seem to 'get' what electrically-assisted cycling is about.

Tom

The real problem with passing a Lycra clad skelf on a light bike is, you just know that at the top of the hill, when it flattens out, he or she is going to flying passed you. One Lycra clad racing snake went flying passed me just before the top of a long hill. Once onto the flat he was soon out of sight. If I meet him again, I might invite him down to Bristol next year.

 

[Gubbins]

Why people choose to race EAPCs is beyond me; it kind of misses the point.....big time!

If people want to race bikes, they can do that using identical pushbikes with nothing but their own strength/fitness/ability to propel them along. Surely the whole raison d'ȇtre of these EAPCs is to provide a touch of help so that the act of cycling is made a little easier?

Electric motors, as used in EAPCs, are pretty simple devices and within the legal parameters specified in most of Europe, are considerably limited in their output. Provided that the bikes which took part in the ride-off at Bristol were in compliance with the regulations, then the difference in motor output would have been marginal rather than substantial therefore a number of other factors would have been more likely to influence the result.

The Bristol 'race' can only be viewed as a bit of fun as no scientific testing took place nor was there any handicapping system in place as in, for example, horse-racing. The guy who came second knows a thing or two about EAPCs so either, he knows the winning machine was providing assistance beyond the legal maximum or he is simply a really bad loser. Frankly, I don't give a Friar! All I know is that I can cycle much easier on all of my EAPCs than I can on a relatively light pushbike with only my own efforts to propel me. If roadies race past me, I really don't mind; I just wish I had their energy.

Those EAPC riders who brag about speeding past 'roadies', usually uphill, are really pretty sad as they just don't seem to 'get' what electrically-assisted cycling is about.

Tom

I must confess to feeling some exhilaration when overtaking roadies on a hill, but I don't consider myself as sad, so perhaps I one of those who don't "get" what e-biking is all all about! My view is that riding e-bikes is just the same as riding any other bike, or riding anything for that matter, its totally up to you what you do with it. There is no "about" about it, and they are definitely not reserved for any niche of riders who frown on a bit of tom foolery here and there! (no pun or offence intended)
Electrically-assisted cycling isn't just for us old farts who cant get about without the help, its there for anyone to do with just as they please (as long as its legal) . .. As an example. I personally cant see the point in a hub drive with a throttle, but good look to those that can and want to go that way, its not for me but i wouldn't criticize anyone that uses one.
Thank god for spell checkers..... shame it dont do grammar as well!!

 

[drsolly]

OK, no-one has reported any bad experience with Germanladen, so I'm going to buy one of their kits. It's a 48 volt one, £179, free postage. Includes motor laced into 26" rim, tube and tire (which I'll be changing for my more robust ones), controller, disc brake mounts (and, I think, disc brake, but that's not entirely clear from the Ebay page), thumb throttle, ebrakes, pedelec sensor and various minor bits and bobs. I'll report back on how I get on.

 

[drsolly]

The 48v wheel arrived today, which is a *very* quick response (ordered Friday June 27, delivered Tuesday July 1, so that's impressive) . All the components were there, including a pedelec, thumb throttle/switch, controller (max 22 amps), ebrakes and a disk with disk brake. There was even quite a good manual. The spokes are thicker than ordinary bike spokes, and the rim is double-walled. I've installed all the bits necessary, and I ran it on a 14s lipo, and I'm a happy bunny. There's a connector that's labelled as "for headlights", and it gives a feed of the full voltage of the batteries. I'm using that for my handlebar-mounted voltmeter. There's also a connector "speed limiter", but I can't see what it does; when I tested the bike, it seemed to have no effect whether open or closed.

Based on my experience, I'd recommend this vendor.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Excellent result. Can we have some photos and performance data please.

Did you think about a wattmeter? The GT something or other one is pretyy good and cheap. They give a much better idea of how much battery you've used and got left, which is pretty useful when using lipos.

 

[drsolly]

I do use a wattmeter; that's in the pannier with the batteries. The voltmeter is good enough for handlebsr use and really cheap and really easy to install.

Performance data: it's giving about 37 kph on level terrain, if the speedo is correct (I doubt if it's really accurate). But I very rarely go anything like that speed; 15 kph is about my usual. Remember, I'm not road-biking, I'm geocaching, which means mostly bridleways and suchlike.

The thicker spokes meant that I couldn't attach the usual magnetic sensor. So I just stuck a couple of strong magnets to a spoke, and that seems to do the trick.

 

[Chainring]

Have you any sort of update on your motor, please? I notice the sort I want are now on EBay at £133, which seems very cheap, and I wonder about their reliability. Cheers.

Germanladen 26 inch front motor kit

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Those kits are really only suitable if you're on a very tight budget and want some basic assistance. There's no pedal assistance power adjustment, so compared with others with 5 or 6 levels, it'll be pretty useless. 250w direct drive motors don't normally have enough torque for normal riding up any sort of hill, plus, they're very heavy.

There's much better kits on the market for nearly the same price. A couple of weeks ago, you could have got an Oxydrive CST kit for £450, including a 11Ah Samsung battery, nice LCD and full UK support. If you ring Oxydrive, you might still be able to get a good discount.

You can also get nice kits from Cyclotricity and Woosh for not much more, and there's lots of other kits on Ebay that have nice Pedal assist systems and lighter torquier motors.

 

[Chainring]

Thanks for that D8veh. I did wonder about the PAS, as there is nothing showing in the pictures. I have been watching the Woosh site, but the kits are still pending, by the look of it. The Panda Man has been very helpful. I have bought my frame from China, so I can build the 3-speed machine I want. I hope to swap parts over from my Woosh machine to save money. As luck would have it, a whole load of Smarta bikes appeared on EBay just after I had ordered the frame, so I missed out there. They are still there.