Hello from Gloucester!

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Hi!

As the thread title suggests i'm in Gloucester, I've decided to get an ebike as my family wagon, gas guzzling car is now only used for the commute (wife does 90% of the driving that involves kids). My commute isn't overly far by car, 9 or so miles, but anyone that has gone via the A4173 from Gloucester to Stroud will know that hill is not fuel efficiency friendly, then throw in the basically two miles of pot hole hell which results in a wheel alignment every 6 weeks or so then yeah.... not a happy wallet.

In all I worked out that with finance payments (which are quite low really), fuel, tax, insurance and maintenance my car is costing us around £300 a month to run - I know some people spend this and more on just car payments per month, but as a household with just one earner this kind of outgoing is one we could do without.

So.... I'm handing my car back to the finance company and making the move to the ebike! My commute is 14 or so miles one way, so 28 mile round trip from Gloucester to Stroud - it's a pretty nice commute, mainly along the canal tow paths and only goes onto an A road for about 1.5 miles and I come off the Stroud Waterways tow path right by my place of work (Over the road from Merrywalks Shopping centre in Stroud if anyone knows it).

The bike I'm looking at getting is the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 400 29er -
https://tinyurl.com/y893ceav

Also going to be getting the Cubeguard mudguards, although as we move into the dryer months may not use this a huge amount.

I'm hoping my commute will take an 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. I'm not massively fit so perhaps as I get fitter I'll get there a bit quicker. I'm going to do a couple of trial runs before I go full time, and also to see if I would benefit from a suspension seat post for a more comfortable commute.

I'm a little apprehensive (if that's the correct word), it's very easy to just jump in the car and go but I'm hoping using an ebike will still mean I retain some of the freedom and flexibility I would lose if I just got the bus.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
some parts are a tad bumpy so a sus seat post would be a good idea or a fs bike.

with the 400w batt you will struggle to get there on 1 charge and back so id charge the batt at work or a 500w batt could do it if you can use the lower power assist modes to save power tho if it was me id charge at work with both just in case as then you can use a dongle to remove the speed limit and get there faster.

 

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Cheers Soundwave, charging at work isn't a problem. Does getting a dongle and removing the limit have any adverse effects on the motor etc? Or are they designed to work at those higher speeds anyway?
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
motor will be fine but the batt will take a hammering but my 2014 400w batt can still do about 20 miles so they do last.

if you can charge at work then it wont be a problem but ecycle is in stroud and sell bosch bikes, not sure about cube but they sell haibikes as got my new 500w batt from them last year.
 

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Cheers Soundwave,

I took a stroll up there last week during my Lunch break. I went on Monday though not realising they aren't open on a Monday! woops!

Do you have any suggestions on a Suspension Seatpost?
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
i got a fs bike so never looked at them but others here have them so can advise on that or ecycle should have some to look at.

if you got the cash then a fs bike would be a better option but cost alot more esp for haibikes.
 

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Ok, yeah FS bikes are a bit out my budget. £2500 is my budget really but that includes pedals, mudguards, decent lock for home (going in the shed which has a cemented in bike post), lights, helmet and a good waterproof backpack as i'm carrying laptop, tablet and other stuff for work.

I'll take a walk up to ecycle in the week and have a chat with them.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
1k over isn't something I can stretch to. I was looking at the 500w Reaction.. maybe I can call in some early birthday money from relatives :))
 
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Reactions: soundwave

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
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Deleted member 4366

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You don't need to spend thousands on a bike to commute 14 miles to work and back. I did it for four years and none of my bikes cost more than £1100. There's perfectly good bikes from Kudos, Woosh, Halfords and others, that will do it reliably for £1000.

If you stick with 15 mph max assist speed, you can do it with a 10Ah (360wh) battery. When I started, my battery was only 8Ah, my journey was quite hilly and I weighed 100kg. Obviously, I was quite unfit too. Later on, I wanted to go faster, so I increased my speed to around 18mph average, which needed around 12Ah (430wh). You soon learn how to adjust your pedal power to suit your battery capacity. After a few months, I could do the return journey on 2Ah (72wh) - just using the battery for the steeper climbs.

You don't get any extra enjoyment or reliability from a more expensive bike, so only get one if you have money to waste. If you're going to borrow the money, get a cheap one.
 

Rich_uk

Pedelecer
Feb 3, 2018
134
49
57
West Midlands
P.s I found a guy selling one on Facebook when I was looking, it’s a 2017 Pro 500 in grey with red bits, he said he bought it on a whim and he’s only ridden it a handful of times. He’s based in Hereford and he wants £1200 for it, I have a contact number for him if anyone wants it PM me.
 

Wisper Bikes

Trade Member
Apr 11, 2007
6,211
2,174
68
Sevenoaks Kent
Hi Marti, We have a few ex demos bikes for sale at the moment, Torque Bikes £150.00 off retail and SE bikes £100.00 off retail, they have only done a few miles at exhibitions.

You can see out bikes locally at...

eCycle UK 10 John Street Stroud Gloucestershire GL5 2HA
Phone: 01453 299171 Email: stroud@ecycleuk.com

All the best, David
 

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Hi Marti, We have a few ex demos bikes for sale at the moment, Torque Bikes £150.00 off retail and SE bikes £100.00 off retail, they have only done a few miles at exhibitions.

You can see out bikes locally at...

eCycle UK 10 John Street Stroud Gloucestershire GL5 2HA
Phone: 01453 299171 Email: stroud@ecycleuk.com

All the best, David

Hi David,

My name is actually Nick, my username is in reference to Mad Martigan - a Character from the 1988 film Willow starring Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer (Val Kilmer played Mad Martigan) - it's my favourite film.

I'm going to pop in to eCycle later this week to take a look at what they have and chat about what I may benefit from for a smoother commute.

Thanks!
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292

SwiggyG

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 3, 2016
7
0
61
Stroud
Hi!

As the thread title suggests i'm in Gloucester, I've decided to get an ebike as my family wagon, gas guzzling car is now only used for the commute (wife does 90% of the driving that involves kids). My commute isn't overly far by car, 9 or so miles, but anyone that has gone via the A4173 from Gloucester to Stroud will know that hill is not fuel efficiency friendly, then throw in the basically two miles of pot hole hell which results in a wheel alignment every 6 weeks or so then yeah.... not a happy wallet.

In all I worked out that with finance payments (which are quite low really), fuel, tax, insurance and maintenance my car is costing us around £300 a month to run - I know some people spend this and more on just car payments per month, but as a household with just one earner this kind of outgoing is one we could do without.

So.... I'm handing my car back to the finance company and making the move to the ebike! My commute is 14 or so miles one way, so 28 mile round trip from Gloucester to Stroud - it's a pretty nice commute, mainly along the canal tow paths and only goes onto an A road for about 1.5 miles and I come off the Stroud Waterways tow path right by my place of work (Over the road from Merrywalks Shopping centre in Stroud if anyone knows it).

The bike I'm looking at getting is the Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro 400 29er -
https://tinyurl.com/y893ceav

Also going to be getting the Cubeguard mudguards, although as we move into the dryer months may not use this a huge amount.

I'm hoping my commute will take an 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. I'm not massively fit so perhaps as I get fitter I'll get there a bit quicker. I'm going to do a couple of trial runs before I go full time, and also to see if I would benefit from a suspension seat post for a more comfortable commute.

I'm a little apprehensive (if that's the correct word), it's very easy to just jump in the car and go but I'm hoping using an ebike will still mean I retain some of the freedom and flexibility I would lose if I just got the bus.
Hi, I've got a Cube reaction hybrid pro 400 and commute the other way round to you, Stroud to Glos. I bought mine from Evans in Cheltenham for £1800.
I take my charger to work and love the commute via Slad, Sheepscombe, and Cranham. I keep off the main roads as much as possible and tend to go on small road or tracks. I often go up Portway and Painswick beacon.
The CX motor is brilliant on hills and it's always puts a smile on my face.
 

madmartiganshair

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 11, 2018
9
1
35
UK
Hi, I've got a Cube reaction hybrid pro 400 and commute the other way round to you, Stroud to Glos. I bought mine from Evans in Cheltenham for £1800.
I take my charger to work and love the commute via Slad, Sheepscombe, and Cranham. I keep off the main roads as much as possible and tend to go on small road or tracks. I often go up Portway and Painswick beacon.
The CX motor is brilliant on hills and it's always puts a smile on my face.

Hi SwiggG!

Do you have a Google maps route of the way you go?