More questions

[Old Timer]

I`ve been offered a new 24V 250W Li-ion battery for my wifes bike for £180. Her battery is almost new but I`m thinking of the future and also a better range for her.
Not sure what to do really, thinking that maybe by the time she actually needs one and e bikes are more popular prices might have come down anyway but of course the new battery would be identical to her original equipment and be plug and play which is attractive.

any thoughts?

 

[Mussels]

The batteries will degrade even if not being used, save your money and buy one when needed.

 

[flecc]

As Mussels says, lithium batteries chemically age continuously whether used or not, and this is more severe on the cheaper ones which have no "sleep" mode. Only buy for longer range if your duplicate use really justifies it.
.

 

[Old Timer]

So, if purchased (thinking about actually getting a battery that just drops in and works with your existing charger and remember things change quite fast as far as electronics go) using the batteries in rotation would that not be a decent idea?

I`m not too worried for myself but if/when my wife goes out on her own for a decent ride I just feel as if I want to protect her against having to maybe pedal home or be left standing on the side of the road waiting for me. You know what life is like and the lunatics seem to come out of the shadows when they see a wounded animal so to speak. I don`t want to look back on an incident with hind site that could have been avoided if you know what I mean.

thanks for the input.

 

[eddieo]

a woman broken down on a bike will not have to wait long to get help IMO.At least that is my wife's experience commuting to work in London. Cyclists are a friendly lot. The fear of crime etc..... etc.... You really must stop reading the daily mail........

what bike has she? any idea as to its range?

 

[flecc]

Using in rotation won't gain any life, but it is easier to manage than having a spare battery that you have to recharge every couple of months to prevent it dying.

By all means have two as an insurance and use them in rotation, and they will last a bit longer than just one used all the time, but they won't last twice as long as one battery due to the effects of chemical ageing over time.
.

 

[Alex728]

I`m not too worried for myself but if/when my wife goes out on her own for a decent ride I just feel as if I want to protect her against having to maybe pedal home or be left standing on the side of the road waiting for me. You know what life is like and the lunatics seem to come out of the shadows when they see a wounded animal so to speak. I don`t want to look back on an incident with hind site that could have been avoided if you know what I mean.

Is it really that bad round your way? Suffolk isn't that bad!

I take a semi-professional interest in the group dynamics of crime and criminology as I used to be a rave organiser (not in EA I would add) now try and encourage youths to put on these events legally and safely and thus keep a close watch on the reported activities of thugs/gangs and wrong'uns across EA.

even when I scour the EDP24 etc I don't see any sort of real cause for concern for your age group, other than the risk of RTC's which affects us all, young or old..

The very small minority of gangs existing in your area tend to prey on their own age group, and an old lady on an odd looking bike would either be left left alone by youths, or iits more likely the "hoodies" (particularly the ravers) would dial 999 for her and if unhurt she will be trying to convince the well meaning staff of Eastamb not to haul her off to the NNUH or James Paget (where her bike is at more danger of being robbed from the car park unless Eastamb have secure storage for patients property!)

the only worry I would have is the remoteness of this region and it might be ages before anyone arrives (but I am a Londoner originally so it might not be a "culture shock" to you)

 

[Old Timer]

Is it really that bad round your way? Suffolk isn't that bad!

I take a semi-professional interest in the group dynamics of crime and criminology as I used to be a rave organiser (not in EA I would add) now try and encourage youths to put on these events legally and safely and thus keep a close watch on the reported activities of thugs/gangs and wrong'uns across EA.

even when I scour the EDP24 etc I don't see any sort of real cause for concern for your age group, other than the risk of RTC's which affects us all, young or old..

The very small minority of gangs existing in your area tend to prey on their own age group, and an old lady on an odd looking bike would either be left left alone by youths, or iits more likely the "hoodies" (particularly the ravers) would dial 999 for her and if unhurt she will be trying to convince the well meaning staff of Eastamb not to haul her off to the NNUH or James Paget (where her bike is at more danger of being robbed from the car park unless Eastamb have secure storage for patients property!)

the only worry I would have is the remoteness of this region and it might be ages before anyone arrives (but I am a Londoner originally so it might not be a "culture shock" to you)

Well! I was born in the Est end of london so am pretty street wise but anne was bourn near the seaside. We live in a fairly remote area and you barely see a car after rush hour( there are six at rush hour

I have a couple of close police friends and although you would never class this area a risk spot you would be surprised just who is knocking around.
I do a lot of photography and know most of the land owners and they welcome me around their fields because they know I`m on the look out.

No! I think that you can never be too careful and I like to make sure that we are as safe as we can be and my wife is a lot younger than me BTW (she keeps me on my toes

 

[Old Timer]

a woman broken down on a bike will not have to wait long to get help IMO.At least that is my wife's experience commuting to work in London. Cyclists are a friendly lot. The fear of crime etc..... etc.... You really must stop reading the daily mail........

what bike has she? any idea as to its range?

Funny you should mention the Daily Mail, we have just changed to it mainly because the paper we had was very high in printers ink smell that used to affect Anne. The Daily Mail (I`m told by my newsagent) has a very high plastic content in the paper (which makes it not ideal for starting fires BTW) and because of that the amount of ink used is minimal because no soak in and I can tell you that it doesn`t smell anywhere near as bad as the other papers.

Anne just has a Friday night special 17" frame E bike (much lighter than mine.) She hasn`t had it long enough because of the weather to do a proper test so not sure what the range might be.(it dentalfgo though) she rides with a wide smile now

 

[eddieo]

The Daily Mail has a high content of plastic in its journalists as well. So you bought your wife a rubbish bike as well Now that you realise you enjoy E biking and will probably need new bikes sooner rather then later....Costing you probably twice as much as a couple of decent bikes would have in the first place. Never mind it is a learning curve and an enjoyable past time.

regards the wife getting stranded, If riding in a rural environment she is more likely to get a puncture then a flat battery (I am sure she far to sensible) Marathon plus tyres are the forums favourite puncture resistant tyres

 

[Alex728]

I have a couple of close police friends and although you would never class this area a risk spot you would be surprised just who is knocking around.I do a lot of photography and know most of the land owners and they welcome me around their fields because they know I`m on the look out.

There is no such things as "not a risk spot" but some areas are less risky than others, I'm sure its less worse than Romford or Stratford or even Colchester. But yes, up here there is also the older criminal fraternity (up to and including your age group!) who use this region as a bolthole from London, dating back to the days of the 1960s and the Krays.. Some are still active, as well as the usual stuff such as smuggling drugs etc other gangs are targetting plant and machinery and other rural stuff for theft - whole families are at it from oldies to young men in their 20s!

Most of this is sold on to the commercial rivals or overseas, us ex-townies obviously don't want to buy knocked off tractors but a extra pair of eyes and ears always helps for security in the countryside.

even so I wouldn't class this lot of rural reprobates as a particular first line danger to cyclists (unless making a getaway in a badly driven/defective vehicle) but it does make sense to be safe and secure as RTCs are never "accidents" and some are "deliberates", only a few days ago here in Ipswich a lady was deliberately shoved off her bike in broad daylight. That wasn't by young hooligans though, it was by a couple in their 40s-50s driving a pricey Saab!

Danger can come from all sources and unlikely ones, though I still maintain that other peoples bad driving is the biggest for anyone on two wheels.

 

[Old Timer]

There is no such things as "not a risk spot" but some areas are less risky than others, I'm sure its less worse than Romford or Stratford or even Colchester. But yes, up here there is also the older criminal fraternity (up to and including your age group!) who use this region as a bolthole from London, dating back to the days of the 1960s and the Krays.. Some are still active, as well as the usual stuff such as smuggling drugs etc other gangs are targetting plant and machinery and other rural stuff for theft - whole families are at it from oldies to young men in their 20s!

Most of this is sold on to the commercial rivals or overseas, us ex-townies obviously don't want to buy knocked off tractors but a extra pair of eyes and ears always helps for security in the countryside.

even so I wouldn't class this lot of rural reprobates as a particular first line danger to cyclists (unless making a getaway in a badly driven/defective vehicle) but it does make sense to be safe and secure as RTCs are never "accidents" and some are "deliberates", only a few days ago here in Ipswich a lady was deliberately shoved off her bike in broad daylight. That wasn't by young hooligans though, it was by a couple in their 40s-50s driving a pricey Saab!

Danger can come from all sources and unlikely ones, though I still maintain that other peoples bad driving is the biggest for anyone on two wheels.

Alex

My parents moved out to Chadwell Heath when I was 12 and it was then a wonderland. Some of my family still live around Romford. I started my married life in Dagenham, done the house up and move to Hornchurch, then Brentwood and now north Norfolk all the time trying to keep ahead of the problems.
I make you right on bad driving being more dangerous than other crime out here but no doubt it will come.

 

[Alex728]

I make you right on bad driving being more dangerous
than other crime out here but no doubt it will come.

At the risk of sounding like a traffic cop or one of them dudes off the TV shows about police chases its all linked IMO ... dangerous/antisocial road use is a hallmark of those with little respect for society or others and they will often go on to commit all sorts of other crimes - I would expect a rise in road rage incidents, and prangs caused by aggressive driving will soon be followed by a rise in other crimes...

 

[Old Timer]

The Daily Mail has a high content of plastic in its journalists as well. So you bought your wife a rubbish bike as well Now that you realise you enjoy E biking and will probably need new bikes sooner rather then later....Costing you probably twice as much as a couple of decent bikes would have in the first place. Never mind it is a learning curve and an enjoyable past time.

regards the wife getting stranded, If riding in a rural environment she is more likely to get a puncture then a flat battery (I am sure she far to sensible) Marathon plus tyres are the forums favourite puncture resistant tyres

Yeh! i`m not sure why I still take a paper, in general it`s just a load of rubbish but it helps to pad out the clothing when cycling fast down hills in the cold even on RUBBISH Bikes

You`ve got a thing about not spending a lot of money on bikes! maybe you are trying to justify something? and for your information my wife bought her own bike (she has far more money than me)

I remember being told years ago that i would never take a decent image on the cheap Russian cameras and the cheap 100ft rolls of out of date film that i used to buy and roll into cassettes myself and eventually after becoming chairman of the camera club they agreed that the club shouldn`t spend anymore money on the trophies i was winning at all the club competitions

You don`t need expensive top of the range gear to excel in anything or better still to enjoy what you do (I learnt that lesson early on in life) it`s far more of a challenge and satisfaction to get what you have to do what you want it to.

Now can we get on with constructive assistance instead of put downs

Cheers

 

[eddieo]

I have to agree with Alex, RTA far more likely then being attacked IMO. country roads do not even cater for pedestrians let alone cyclists.

when we go away in our motorhome. the speed of traffic on narrow rural roads frightens the life out of us. I remember one occasion last year, we cycled out to the main road from site (Battle near Hastings) tried to get out on main road, gave up, went back and took the van out......Give me heavy south London traffic any time, far more predictable.

"You`ve got a thing about not spending a lot of money on bikes! maybe you are trying to justify something?"

it was an observation/generalisation for others entering the E bike arena as much as anything else. Correct, no need to spend a fortune, no hang ups there. There are a few decent bikes with a track record and back up for around £500 but I don't think you have purchased one (again, no criticism just an observation)

I started with a second-hand Wisper from classified section of this forum. unlike Kalkhoff the Wisper warranty is transferable so I inherited a 9 month warranty and had spoke problems and a rear wheel rebuild through Wisper and bike was rock solid since.

Part bin/clone Chinese E bikes are no sort of value really, mostly unreliable, with poor copycat generic motors/controllers/rims/spokes/wiring/ batteries/frames etc etc....

I have no bike at the moment and waiting for new wisper but I have the wife's wisper to use in the meantime. I dont agree with you on value/cost, in this life you have to pay a little bit more for quality and reliability or else suffer the consequences, fine if you are a mechanic, or have Flecc as a neighbour! lol frustrating if you are not. reliability/support is king in my book probably why I stick with Wisper.........

 

[Alex728]

I
I have no bike at the moment and waiting for new wisper but I have the wife's wisper to use in the meantime. I dont agree with you on value/cost, in this life you have to pay a little bit more for quality and reliability or else suffer the consequences, fine if you are a mechanic, or have Flecc as a neighbour!

since joining here I have got the impression that 95% of the forums users are mechanics/engineers/techies and if they worked collectively could build Britain's first space ship out of scrap metal in their own garden sheds

 

[onmebike]

Just popped in to say Hi.

Hi all, this seems as good a place as any to introduce myself. Although I'm not so sure I want to tell you about my bike as its what I'd call a mid range unbranded Chinese import.
My names is Tony and I'm not exactly a cyclist as such. In fact its been many years since I rode a cycle but the temptation of owning an electric bike was to great to resist. Whether it lasts is another story.
I've been looking around at electric bikes for a while and the first thing I noticed was they practically all originate from China. Many are sold unbranded like mine and many which appear to be branded just carry the importers brand name but originate from the same factories as their cheaper cousins.
I read on an earlier thread about the Cyclamatics and how cheap they were. so I took a close look. Strangely they share many components with more expensive bicycles. An example would be a Pulsar folding cycle which appears very similar to the cyclomatic folder and shares the same servo rear brake as the larger Cyclamatic Power plus. The main difference between them being one is 36volt while the other is 24.
Not being a serious cyclist I set out to find something within my budget that wouldn't break the bank as I firmly believe, you don't have to pay top prices for good quality. Latest technology always costs more but seems to carry a degree of risk as its often rushed into the market without appropriate testing.
When I get the chance I'll post a picture of my bike, one of you may recognise it as a known brand but as far as I'm aware its a no name although all the components are branded such as Shimano, Zoom, Apse, S/Bafeng etc.
Hope I haven't bored you all with my first input to the forum and look forward to getting to know you all. This is very much a learning curve for me and I welcome some advice and criticism on my choices etc.

 

[eddieo]

Welcome Tony!

your post will get lost in Old Timers thread I think, you should maybe introduce yourself with your own? some more details of bike would be helpful, price, make etc.....Picture's are always helpful And battery details important

Until you give more specific info re your bike its hard to comment, if really cheap, parts are unlikely to be original I would think...... BS motors are not that cheap nor Shimano parts either......and lots of knock offs about

anyways welcome, and look forward to your posting

 

[Mussels]

Welcome Tony!

your post will get lost in Old Timers thread I think, you should maybe introduce yourself with your own? some more details of bike would be helpful, price, make etc.....Picture's are always helpful And battery details important

Until you give more specific info re your bike its hard to comment, if really cheap, parts are unlikely to be original I would think...... BS motors are not that cheap nor Shimano parts either......and lots of knock offs about

anyways welcome, and look forward to your posting

Shimano are known for making some very cheap and naff parts, it's not a great indicator of quality.

 

[Old Timer]

Hi all, this seems as good a place as any to introduce myself. Although I'm not so sure I want to tell you about my bike as its what I'd call a mid range unbranded Chinese import.
My names is Tony and I'm not exactly a cyclist as such. In fact its been many years since I rode a cycle but the temptation of owning an electric bike was to great to resist. Whether it lasts is another story.
I've been looking around at electric bikes for a while and the first thing I noticed was they practically all originate from China. Many are sold unbranded like mine and many which appear to be branded just carry the importers brand name but originate from the same factories as their cheaper cousins.
I read on an earlier thread about the Cyclamatics and how cheap they were. so I took a close look. Strangely they share many components with more expensive bicycles. An example would be a Pulsar folding cycle which appears very similar to the cyclomatic folder and shares the same servo rear brake as the larger Cyclamatic Power plus. The main difference between them being one is 36volt while the other is 24.
Not being a serious cyclist I set out to find something within my budget that wouldn't break the bank as I firmly believe, you don't have to pay top prices for good quality. Latest technology always costs more but seems to carry a degree of risk as its often rushed into the market without appropriate testing.
When I get the chance I'll post a picture of my bike, one of you may recognise it as a known brand but as far as I'm aware its a no name although all the components are branded such as Shimano, Zoom, Apse, S/Bafeng etc.
Hope I haven't bored you all with my first input to the forum and look forward to getting to know you all. This is very much a learning curve for me and I welcome some advice and criticism on my choices etc.

Hiya Tony

I must agree with a lot you said. I would put it more that "you don`t have to pay top dollar to get enjoyment"
You get what you pay for was in my opinion more true before China really came on the scene. My son has been to China on a business buying trip and you would be very surprised at just what is made all in one factory. He pointed this out to the manufacturers that he visited and was told basically they have to provide parts and fittings for three main buying groups. Budget, mid range and top range. By catering for the three markets they get the lions share of the market. When he pointed out that some products were the same with a different price point and naming lables then they just smiled
you see this in all walks of life be it tyres, cars, etc Now I`m not saying that there aren`t copies out there that are nowhere near as good as the originals but i know from my sons first hand experience that you can get quite a bargain if you know what you are doing.I can`t mention the manufacturer but when he finally sourced what he wanted at 1/10th the UK price he noticed that they were actually making the UK item in a different packaging Rocket science might be different but lets face it bikes ain`t rocket science.

So! just enjoy your bike