Help to choose fairly small frame ebike for welsh hills and towpath.

[lizzy123]

I have been reading up about ebike and have looks at 3 so far.
1. Orbea Katu E30.
2. Raleigh modus Grand Tour
3. Specialized como 3 turbo

So Orbea was the first and it was so much fun to ride. Went to see the Raleigh at another shop and the salesman said the Bosch engine was an older version and wouldn't be suitable for the hills that I will be going up. Then I nipped next door to the Specialized store and the bike looks very swish, extra £300 but was told by salesman battery is £1000. I have looked online and from what I understand the battery life for specialized is 2 - 3 years. Bosch is about 10 years. I dont want to spend nearly £3k on a bike then another £1k to replace battery in couple of years if I can get by with a different battery.

I really dont know what I should be looking for now and getting bogged down with what I actually want. I am going to be a casual biker. Jaunt across the welsh hills, bit of canal tow path riding and maybe a quick ride up steep hill to visit elderly parents on a regular basis.

I would be grateful for any advice re battery life or recommendation of suitable ebike price range max £3k.

Thank you in advance

 

[GLJoe]

I have looked online and from what I understand the battery life for specialized is 2 - 3 years. Bosch is about 10 years.

Have you got links to where you've found this information?

I'm not 100% certain on this, but I'd suspect the life of the cells would be very similar with most of the mainstream brands. Certainly nowhere near the discrepancy you've quoted.

 

[lizzy123]

Have you got links to where you've found this information?

I'm not 100% certain on this, but I'd suspect the life of the cells would be very similar with most of the mainstream brands. Certainly nowhere near the discrepancy you've quoted.

I have been looking at so many sites lol I thin

 

[lizzy123]

I have been looking at so many sites lol I thin

)
sorry, got sent before I was finished. I have been googling lots of different sites so I really can’t remember where the info was from. If They are similar regarding battery replacement life are there any other makes that would be a better option?

 

[sjpt]

If They are similar regarding battery replacement life are there any other makes that would be a better option?

I think most good quality batteries are likely to have similar life. That includes almost all proprietary batteries (such as Bosch and Specialized), and other batteries using good quality cells. Life is heavily dependant on care with charging (+) and in use (and when not in use), and of course on number of recharge cycles.

The problem with proprietary batteries, which are needed for most proprietary systems, is that they are likely to be much more expensive than 'standard' batteries of similar capacity. Also with the smaller brands there is a risk of its becoming unavailable, either if the brand dies or just stops supporting older models (*). The biggest risk there is with brands that consider an ebike to be a fashion accessory rather than a means of transport.

(+) One problem there is that people have very different ideas about what constitutes good care.

(*) I believe from various complaints on this forum that Gtech has been guilty of that ; I'm not sure if that is correct

 

[Wizzelina]

We’ve boughtMoustache Samedi 28.5 bikes to take to France, however we are using them at home and they are fab! Several modes up to Turbo and have Bosch performance motors so zoom up hills. Love them

 

[DiggyGun]

What are the hills you are going up. I’ve got the Raleigh Motus GT, which I’m selling soon. It goes up every hill I’ve tried with no problems.

 

[helentdavies]

Hello. My Cube Kathmandu Pro 625 has handled the Yorkshire hills and towpaths with aplomb. Can only speak from experience but its not ever let me down.