Need help !

KEN OPENSHAW

Pedelecer
Aug 6, 2018
54
12
82
Hi all
Two new knees,one new hip, (other hip shortly) so thought I’d have to give up cycling but hallelujah my salvation....ebikes.....but which one ? 6ft 1 and 16st, 70 plus live in Cornwall around 1k budget. Been looking online but so many !!
Would appreciate any advice ?
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
2,460
1,675
69
West Wales
Hi Ken,
Horses for courses really.
Cornwall, so I'm guessing hilly? Some would say that demands a mid drive, but, living in hilly west Wales and using a hub drive, I beg to differ. At your budget point they will mostly be hub drives of chinese origin, even if assembled elsewhere. Majority of hub drives are pas sensing not torque sensing. This means that you will get power by merely rotating the pedals, effort not necessarily required. A distinct advantage if ones knee/hip goes painful a few miles from home. On a torque sense bike (mid drives and mostly european) you have to put in effort to get power assist.
So a front or rear geared hub (don't go direct drive, highly inefficient on hills and below around 20mph) with the largest battery you can afford as you will want to go further once you get it.
The Halfords e carreras have been getting a bad rep on here for cut out problems and some sort of drive resistance problem - not yet nailed.
Woosh have a good rep and good customer service, though they only sell online or from their Southend base. Wifes got a Big Bear, good basic workhorse, very strong front hub. It's the one they spec for taller/heavier people.
The others I don't know
If you already have a bike you like your budget would pay for a really nice conversion, if you're handy with the spanners. Most kits come plug and play. Has the advantage of you ending up with a bike you know how to fix and can get parts for, unlike a lot of the more expensive offerings.
 

KEN OPENSHAW

Pedelecer
Aug 6, 2018
54
12
82
Hi Ken,
Horses for courses really.
Cornwall, so I'm guessing hilly? Some would say that demands a mid drive, but, living in hilly west Wales and using a hub drive, I beg to differ. At your budget point they will mostly be hub drives of chinese origin, even if assembled elsewhere. Majority of hub drives are pas sensing not torque sensing. This means that you will get power by merely rotating the pedals, effort not necessarily required. A distinct advantage if ones knee/hip goes painful a few miles from home. On a torque sense bike (mid drives and mostly european) you have to put in effort to get power assist.
So a front or rear geared hub (don't go direct drive, highly inefficient on hills and below around 20mph) with the largest battery you can afford as you will want to go further once you get it.
The Halfords e carreras have been getting a bad rep on here for cut out problems and some sort of drive resistance problem - not yet nailed.
Woosh have a good rep and good customer service, though they only sell online or from their Southend base. Wifes got a Big Bear, good basic workhorse, very strong front hub. It's the one they spec for taller/heavier people.
The others I don't know
If you already have a bike you like your budget would pay for a really nice conversion, if you're handy with the spanners. Most kits come plug and play. Has the advantage of you ending up with a bike you know how to fix and can get parts for, unlike a lot of the more expensive offerings.[/QUOTE

Hi Benjamin
Thanks for the advice.I do have a cracking alloy framed road bike, it’s not for off road which I would want the ebike to be...(possibly a hybrid) neither has it got suspension,so,apart from buying a used mountain bike and converting that I think that an off the shelf one it will have to be......and still in a quandary !
 

tommie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 13, 2013
1,760
600
Co. Down, N. Ireland, U.K.
Hi all
Two new knees,one new hip, (other hip shortly) so thought I’d have to give up cycling but hallelujah my salvation....ebikes.....but which one ? 6ft 1 and 16st, 70 plus live in Cornwall around 1k budget. Been looking online but so many !!
Would appreciate any advice ?
Hi Ken, with knees and hip done i`d be looking at a cadence based ebike, reason being you dont have to put pressure on the pedals as you do with the more common torque based variety.
I`m sure Woosh on here could suggest some of their models.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Hi all
Two new knees,one new hip, (other hip shortly) so thought I’d have to give up cycling but hallelujah my salvation....ebikes.....but which one ? 6ft 1 and 16st, 70 plus live in Cornwall around 1k budget. Been looking online but so many !!
Would appreciate any advice ?
I would suggest the Big Bear or the step through Big Bear LS.
Either will cope well with hills and your weight.
The LS has hydraulic brakes, so no faffing about with the brakes.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bigbear-ls
 

KEN OPENSHAW

Pedelecer
Aug 6, 2018
54
12
82
Not to sure I’m happy with the front wheel motor ? After reading in here about traction problems when climbing !
Why put it up front in the first place ?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Why put it up front in the first place ?
there are a few reasons:
1. broken spokes. Rear spokes break, front spokes don't, this is because most of the rider's weight is on the rear wheel.
Go back a few years, bikes with rear hub motors suffer from broken spokes. Although the percentage is small (much less than 10%), the risk seems to be proportional to the weight of the motor and the weight of the riders.
A bike like the Big Bear, the weight of the customer may be 50%-100% more than those who buy the Karoo. The motor + torque arms certainly weigh twice as much, so the risk of broken spokes may be 4-8 times higher if the BB motor were put on the rear wheel compared to the same risk on the Karoo.
2. weight distribution.
The Big Bear can't take a downtube battery without sacrificing the curved tubes, so the battery will have to go to the rear of the bike.
 

KEN OPENSHAW

Pedelecer
Aug 6, 2018
54
12
82
Ok...valid points, but could you not put stronger spokes in ? and what about mounting on a rear rack like other manufacturers ?
The guy on here switched to a rear motor anyway...think you sent him the new wheel ?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
but could you not put stronger spokes in ?
the spokes are strong, but strength is not a determining factor on the probability of breaking spokes. Spokes work in extension, if they are compressed, they snap their heads. So the probability of breaking is directly proportional to the number of loose spokes. Those are the ones that will snap if they hit a pothole or a kerb. The weight of the motor also acts like a hammer, hitting the head of the spokes when you hit a kerb. If the motor is put on a suspension fork, the motor is allowed to move up, avoiding hitting the spokes' head with its full inertia.