Help! Hi. I am brand new to the electric bike world.

[Mandyxxx]

After searching through websites and reviews, I thought I had found the perfect bike. However, Halfords Cycle to Work are financing my purchase and the max I can get from my employer is £1000.
I would love to buy the Eskute Voyager mountain bike, for a combination hill/road commute to work. I cannot find a supplier that sells this bike and accepts the Halfords vouchers.
I reluctantly found an alternative on ebikes.co.uk and so far the reviews are good.
Does anyone know a supplier of Eskute bikes, who take Halfords vouchers, or is the alternative worth buying?

Buy a Basis Beacon Electric Mountain Bike from e-BikesDirect

Featuring a frame downtube semi-integrated battery, twist grip gearing shifters and updated graphics throughout. Lightweight, alloy step over Electric Mountain Bike (20kg)

www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk

Any advice gratefully accepted.

 

[Nealh]

1k isn't nowhere enough for a cycle to work scheme, ideally it should be any amount up to 2k or 3k.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

The eskute seems to have a generic low end fork and a low end freewheel based drivetrain. It looks to be a bike with low end components. The Bafang motor and decent capacity battery are a positive part of the spec so it seems like good ebike components but pretty dire bike components in my opinion. Halfords vouchers I would assume are only taken by Halfords group companies which is basically Halfords and Tredz.

£1000 doesn't go hugely far with an ebike but the eskute isn't a mountain bike its mountain bike style, at best its as capable off-road as a gravel bike but with that low end drivetrain I'd say that is debatable.

Ebikes around £1000 at Halfords are the Carrera Subway (suntour hesc), Carrera Vengeance (Suntour Hesc), Carrera Crosscity (folding bike) and the Carrera Impela (single gear). Annoyingly Halfords don't offer a simpler cadence based ebike motor on a conventional frame with a decent freehub based drivetrain around that price of £1000. The Crosscity is closest but a folding bike with small 20" wheels not ideal for off-road use and the Impela is single gear so you are relying on the motor far more but still a decent option and it has a secure captive battery. The other two bikes have the Suntour HESC ebike system that is great when it works but has been known to be problematic and so hard to recommend if you are end up being one of the people who gets a problematic example.

I would strongly suggest making use of Halfords free ebike trial to try the ebike you feel is most likely to be suitable and give it a test for up to 6 hours. You have to leave a deposit but its returned when you return the bike.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Eskute are like Engwe or Fiido... they're Chinese companies who manufacture and sell direct to consumer rather than through retailers. It's all high-volume and minimal margin, so, no, you won't find a dealer who'll support any kind of cycle-to-work scheme because there isn't any profit in it.

The Basis range AFAIK is an ebikesdirect own-brand that's been discussed and reviewed by a member here on this forum before. Both the bike and the retailer are quite good by all accounts. Do a forum search on Basis Beacon.

 

[Mandyxxx]

I saw an amazing review on the basis beacon, on here I believe.
I wanted to know more about the motor used and have emailed ebikes. It is not mentioned, other than size, in specifications.
It is literally for my journey to work. Just need something that is reliable and easily patched up, should it go wrong.
I don't intend going off road : )

 

[Bonzo Banana]

How would you buy a ebike from ebikesdirect using a halfords cyclescheme voucher? Halfords don't seem to have as many third party bikes on their site anymore.

Also Tredz only seem to do the Pendleton bikes of Halfords with nothing else around £1000.

 

[sjpt]

It looks as if Woosh accepts Halford's vouchers.

Woosh Bikes

Woosh Bikes Ltd Electric bikes and kits assembled in Southend-On-Sea. Affordable and comfortable e-bikes to suit every pocket.

wooshbikes.co.uk

Cycle to work vouchers:
We work with: Cycleplus, Bike2work, Salary Exchange, Salary Extra, Cycle Solutions, Halfords, Green Commute Initiative etc..
If you want to use their vouchers, please call.

If so, their Camino is worth a look. Over your base budget though (£1229). You'll probably get a better bike for the money and better customer service it it does suit.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

I saw an amazing review on the basis beacon, on here I believe.
I wanted to know more about the motor used and have emailed ebikes. It is not mentioned, other than size, in specifications.
It is literally for my journey to work. Just need something that is reliable and easily patched up, should it go wrong.
I don't intend going off road : )

The single speed Carrera Impel is likely to be a very reliable bike but it only has a single gear. The Carrera Crosscity is also a relatively simple ebike and maybe easier to store safely at work being a folding design.

Maybe go for a free trial of the single speed Impel and see how you get on with it.

 

[Mandyxxx]

How would you buy a ebike from ebikesdirect using a halfords cyclescheme voucher? Halfords don't seem to have as many third party bikes on their site anymore.

Also Tredz only seem to do the Pendleton bikes of Halfords with nothing else around £1000.

They accept them. I asked.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

It looks as if Woosh accepts Halford's vouchers.

Woosh Bikes

Woosh Bikes Ltd Electric bikes and kits assembled in Southend-On-Sea. Affordable and comfortable e-bikes to suit every pocket.

wooshbikes.co.uk

Cycle to work vouchers:
We work with: Cycleplus, Bike2work, Salary Exchange, Salary Extra, Cycle Solutions, Halfords, Green Commute Initiative etc..
If you want to use their vouchers, please call.

If so, their Camino is worth a look. Over your base budget though (£1229). You'll probably get a better bike for the money and better customer service it it does suit.

Also says '

• Halfords customers: Please Use Halfords website where our products are available to make your selection, and then either contact ourselves with your LOC number and your home or work address for delivery. Or you can speak to the Halfords cycle2work scheme department to arrange.

but there are no such ebikes on the Halfords web site. I'm wondering if Halfords still have a third party marketplace for bikes.

 

[Mandyxxx]

They accept them. I asked.

It is a long process finding independent retailers that take them. I went onto halfords cycle to work website and put random postcodes in search bar. This gave me various independent stores. Then it was a matter of searching their sites.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Ebikesdirect.co.uk also accept a similar wide range of schemes (from their website):

"Some companies are set up with a 3rd party who assists them in the scheme, such as “Cycle Scheme”, “ride2Work”, "c2w Support", “Bike2work”, “Evans Ride2Work”, “Halfords Cycle to Work”, “Bikes for the NHS”, “Green Commute Initiative, previously PRO c2w”, “Cycleplus” and many more to do this. We are a partner of all of these schemes."

I'd take a look at the Basis Beacon. It looks fair value to me.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

They accept them. I asked.

Fair enough I've had a quick look at their site and I've gone up to £1500 and can't see anything with good quality long life components. The Carrera Impel seems better to me either single speed or multi-gear. It seems to have a high quality freehub based drivetrain rather than basic freewheel and weak short life suspension.

If you want a bike to last and not need constant maintenance you want a bike that is overall strong in all areas.

 

[cyclebuddy]

The problem with the Halfords Impel is that it uses a truly weird, closed electronics system, hitherto unknown to anyone else here. It's been discussed before. The Beacon uses generic, easily replaced components - see the members review.

Dependability will largely depend upon how the bike is treated and looked after. Whilst you wouldn't expect top-end components with a £999 Beacon, what there is is all fixable. I'm using an £800 folding e-bike for my commute; it's all entry-level stuff and it won't last a lifetime, but it does its job competently enough and (so far) without issue.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

The problem with the Halfords Impel is that it uses a truly weird, closed electronics system, hitherto unknown to anyone else here. It's been discussed before. The Beacon uses generic, easily replaced components - see the members review.

Dependability will largely depend upon how the bike is treated and looked after. Whilst you wouldn't expect top-end components with a £999 Beacon, what there is is all fixable. I'm using an £800 folding e-bike for my commute; it's all entry-level stuff and it won't last a lifetime, but it does its job competently enough and (so far) without issue.

When you say weird do you mean the battery has an integrated controller because on the Hyena site the other controllers are universal with regard batteries and the hubs look pretty standard.

A lot of the ebikes on that ebikes direct site had very low end front suspension forks with small diameter stanchions, poor seals and no preload adjustment they look like very light duty forks and may need frequent maintenance and typically no replacement seals are available for such forks. I personally don't see the point of them but accept a low end freewheel based drivetrain especially if 1x can be relatively reliable and long lasting. and not need frequent adjustment.

 

[cyclebuddy]

From what's been revealed so far the Impel uses what appears to be another locked/proprietory system... that is, you can change nothing and repair nothing. Like Halfords other Suntour systems, you need to return the bike to the dealer for service unless you're prepared to undertake extensive surgery and replace the core of the electronics.

From the other Basis Beacon owners here, the Beacon has all generic and easily replaced and/or upgradable components, both electric and mechanical. It seems the freewheel could do with changing from 14T to 11T for £30, and if the forks bother you, not much cost there either.

But for the OP's purpose - a road based commute as other members here use theirs - it's not a bad buy IMHO. For those trying to work within a limited £1000 budget, £1500 could be a stretch too far. Whilst it won't be everyones cup-of-tea, the Basis Beacon seems a good value entry-level package for the money.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

So does the Bavis Beacon have a controller integrated into the battery or is it separate. It does look like a special battery type to fit the frame. It doesn't look the easiest bike to customise electrically.

The Beacon may be slightly better than the Impel but still doesn't look ideal. I think the main issue would be battery replacement but isn't that the same issue with all ebikes with captive or specially designed batteries.

 

[cyclebuddy]

It's a standard Hailong battery with controller integrated into the carrier, for which vfr400 identified/suggested a KT replacement if you wanted to upgrade that.

Member andrewelectricbike1 posted his Basis Beacon review here.

EDIT: My bad! I've just picked up on the fact they've changed the battery style to a Dorado for current Beacon models. It's still a standard pack though.

 

[lukemelon]

EDIT: My bad! I've just picked up on the fact they've changed the battery style to a Dorado for current Beacon models. It's still a standard pack though.

Would I be right in thinking that with a Dorado battery it could be removed to charge?

 

[cyclebuddy]

Would I be right in thinking that with a Dorado battery it could be removed to charge?

Yes, the Dorado style battery pack is removable and used by several e-bike brands. It's available in different capacities - the higher the Ah rating, the greater the distance you can travel on each charge.