Hi from Cyprus

[Geoff W]

61 years old and realising I need to try to get back to cycling and get fit at the same time!
E bikes are very much a rarity here, but I have managed to hire an unknown Chinese made bike ( rear hub drive) and realise this is the way back into cycling for me. I really enjoyed the experience but very quickly knew that the bike was not for me, being assembled with poor quality components and not being very comfortable. My nearest dealer is 3 hours away and emailing him he advises that the way to go is crank drive ( Bosch). I live in a hilly part above the coast, so while going downhill is great, coming back up is where the bike will be tested. The dealer can import KTM and Moustache bikes. I will need to take a trip to test ride the very limited choice of test bikes. What are crank bikes like on hills? Any advice for a total newbie will be very welcome!

 

[Benjahmin]

Hi Geoff, welcome from west Wales.
I had a hybrid bike that I really liked. So, last year, I did a conversion on it. I used a kit from Cyclezee. It was supplied with a hub motor built into the front wheel and a 14Ah battery with rear rack. All other gubbins was supplied c/w instructions. The conversion took me about three hours and is fairly straight forward to anyone who is DIY competent. The motor amazed me from the off and continues to. It helps pull me up the steepest hills here in Wales. The bike was originally 21 gears but the front changer was disabled as part of the conversion. 7 gears has proved to be plenty. The motor will not pull you up a hill unassisted, non will. But I am now getting up hills I have difficulty walking up, I'm the same age as you. Sure heart and breathing rate is up but it's doable
Cyclezee was very helpful and Has a good rep here on the site.
Good hunting
Ben

 

[Cyclezee]

The eZee kits are available with front or rear motors.
There is a choice of batteries, 36v 11 and 15Ah FP rear mounted, 48v 11Ah rear mounted, 36v 11 and 14.5Ah DT downtube mounted as show in the example below with a rear motor.