Looking to buy an ebike but....

[Phil the drill]

Hi,
Any suggestions welcome for the following.
Looking to buy a first elec. bike for the 'other half'. I've got a a Wisper 905se, but its much too big for her and an old Powabyke which she finds way too big and heavy. The problem is that there are very few dealers around here (mid Cornwall) to try bikes and I don't want to waste too many long trips looking at something totally unsuitable.....soooo
Any suggestions for a bike that will fit the following criteria:-

1) Step through design.
2) Fit someone short (a shade over 5'1") with short legs! Moderately fit 50yr old, but not an Olympian or a regular cyclist!
3) Will climb steep hills. (1:6 switch backs the norm), with a significant load up to 10 - 15 kg on a rack and/or in basket.
4) Range not too significant - round trip is 6-8 (hilly) miles
5) Speed is not a big issue, as she is not very confident on a bike - having not ridden much for many years, so something small and confidence inspiring would be good.
6) Cost, always an issue, certainly not in Gazelle league......(or probably not even kalkhoff....).

So any suggestions based on personal experience would be very welcome

Incidentally she has a small (little used) Saracen 10spd hybrid. Would something like an Alien front hub motor conversion be likely to do the job?

Cheers, Phil

 

[Saddlesore]

Hi Phil,
I would have a look on ebay under electric bikes and see all the items Alien lists from front motor kits to full bikes and he does some specifically for smaller people in step through design. I think its the Apollo off the top of my head - but all his models are on there and his kits

He appears to have a good reputation and although based in Scotland his p&p charges seem reasonable.

The ebay site lists many others who have been in business for some time some of which are possibly in your area - CV Leisure for instance.

All the best in your search

 

[Phil the drill]

Hi,
will have a look, thanks.

 

[Orraman]

Phil,
I have posted about my Gitane E-Bike 8 but there is also a Gitane E-bike 3 which, otherwise identical, is lighter at 21kg due to the smaller battery which might well suit your lady and cheaper at £1050. Although past my sell-by date and overweight, I find the 3 speed hub gears and Panasonic motor quite sufficient for the hills you mention.

Also posted is my high speed plywood conversion of a recumbent with a Cyclone crank drive system that may be suitable for the existing bike. Again I am well pleased with the power available and using the gears climbing is not a problem, even without pedalling.

Dave

 

[Phil the drill]

Phil,
I have posted about my Gitane E-Bike 8 but there is also a Gitane E-bike 3 which, otherwise identical, is lighter at 21kg due to the smaller battery which might well suit your lady and cheaper at £1050. Although past my sell-by date and overweight, I find the 3 speed hub gears and Panasonic motor quite sufficient for the hills you mention.

Also posted is my high speed plywood conversion of a recumbent with a Cyclone crank drive system that may be suitable for the existing bike. Again I am well pleased with the power available and using the gears climbing is not a problem, even without pedalling.

Dave

Thanks Dave I'll give them a check out too. I think that recumbents or trikes are unlikely to be her thing, but I'll give the Gitane a look. Are they small enough to useable by someone who's only 5' 1"?
Cheers, phil

 

[flecc]

Another possibility for someone shorter is the folder, since they easily cope with any stature. As long as there are 20" wheels, they cycle reasonably well, and due to the wheel size they are normally inherently low geared for both motor and rider so are often better hill climbers.

Since you want to avoid the top price bracket need load carrying, The Greenedge Silverado might suit, since it's powerful and has a rear carrier.

Silverado

They only show it folded there, but it's similar to their Blackstar model. That's only single speed so not for steep hills, but that's shown not folded on this link to see what the style is like:

Blackstar

P.S. Just found a full Silverado photo.
.

 

[Orraman]

Gitane, ground to top of seat tube is 70cm and the seat adds 9cm.
Pedal at lowest point to top of seat tube is 61cm.
Frame size is given as 45cm. I like it.

Naa, don't let her have a recumbent with a Cyclone ~ you could never, never, ever catch up.
cyclone.tw website shows dimensions for fitting to a standard upright.

Dave

 

[Phil the drill]

Thanks for the help chaps,
I'll go investiagate all suggestions.
I thought recumbents were generally less efficient than conventional bikes? I've no experience of them, nor really any great yearning to use one either, but I confess to being a little curious. This is probably the wrong thread to follow that one up though.
Cheers, Phil

 

[flecc]

The general opinion is that recumbents are poor hill climbers, shared by most owners. A few owners dispute that, but I have to say that all those I've come across in my hilly area have been very slow up hills against my bikes, both unpowered and powered.

Downhill they are superb though, speed limited more by the rider's bravery than anything else, a low machine capable of up to 75 mph down hills.
.

 

[Phil the drill]

Thanks Flecc, that was what I expected regarding the hill climbing ability - which to be honest is more important to me than speed on the way down....fun though that may be, you've still got to get to the top first! I didn't realise that they could be THAT fast though........ As one who has come to grief in the not too distant past going (too) fast down a steep narrow lane, I think that is something I could pass on. I'm sure the wife wouldn't go near any form of bike that gave even a wiff of those sort of speeds, she doesn't quite share my sense of adventure on these sorts of matters, bless her!
Cheers, Phil