New bike for serious commuting

[axolotl]

I'm looking to ditch my car and commute by ebike. I used to commute by push-bike when I used to live closer to work so I'm no stranger to commuting on two wheels, but these days I just live too far (over very hilly terrain) for a push-bike to be a practical solution (no showers or changing facilities at work).

I test-rode the JuicyBike Sport last weekend and I was really impressed with the power and performance - it certainly seems like it'll cope with the hills. However, I've been reading a few reviews online from people who have used the bike for regular commuting and I've been hearing about some worrying reliability issues. I need a bike that can cope with upwards of 3000 miles a year and I'm beginning to have my doubts about the Juicy.

Reliability is the single most important point of me. There's nothing worse that having a major component fail when you're on your way to an important meeting.

Other options I'm considering are the Wisper 905 and the Freego Martin Sport. Can anyone tell me what these bikes are like long-term? Also, are there other bikes I should definitely look at around this price point?

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Axolotl,

Welcome to forum.

I would suggest that you have at the eZee bikes, we have several models that are within your price range and very capable of giving the performance that you require.

You can see them via the following link http://cyclezee.com/index.html

 

[trex]

most bikes are actually quite reliable, the chance of your electric going down is near zero nowadays but can easily become less reliable because of exposure to rains and lack of routine mechanical maintenance.
The best result for a high mileage commuting bike is to convert a good donor bike.
If you buy ready made, get something like the Woosh Big Bear - even so, you will have to re-inforce waterproofing and take on routine maintenance yourself.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

What you've read about Juicy bikes probably applies to ones that were made several years ago. Like most bikes, Juicy have been continuously improving. Outwardly, they might look the same, but there's lots of differences.

The Juicy bikes use more or less standard electrical components, so spare/upgrade parts are readily available from a number of sources in the unlikely event that you'd need them.

 

[axolotl]

The Juicy bikes use more or less standard electrical components, so spare/upgrade parts are readily available from a number of sources in the unlikely event that you'd need them.

This is definitely a big plus point in their favour.

But not for the first time, I'm reading about water/rain compatibility being an issue. Surely ebikes sold in the UK are designed to be used in typical UK weather?

 

[KirstinS]

My own experience of commuting daily all year round has been with a relatively low end kit - 8fun specifically

All bar one issue i have had were ultimately due to water ingress into one area or another. Now I am extreme in my extra precautions and have had no issues whatsoever. The remaining issue was simply a broken bit of plastic bracket that was easily repaired

Things I have done are

Ensure there wire going into the motor has a drip loop
Added extra sealant around the entrance of wire into the motor
Added extra sealant to handbar led unit - both round the edges and where wire enters it
Added sealant on top of the battery screws
Used PVC tape on the battery where the metal chasis joins the plastic top and bottom
Made a better controller housing out of a water bottle ensuring that if water can get in it is routed away from the controller itself and can escape
Ensured the connections near the controller fully encased in PVC tape to guard against shorts


That's the electrics


Other than this and very occasional chain lube I do no maintenance whatsoever. A big part of this is that my bike has an Alfine 8 hub gear which is fully sealed against the elements. No fiddling around like deraileurs

The hub has worked faultlessly for 4 years or more. I've gone through a few sets of brake pads of course but I also have hydraulic disk brakes which self adjust - again no fiddling around as with calipers

Just my experience of course

 

[trex]

most bikes can cope with moderate rain -but repeated exposures cause condensation and stagnation. Batteries for example are normally waterproofed. Open one after a few months in the rain, you'll see there are rubber gaskets between plastic and alloy but steam still gets inside through gaps between plastic parts and condenses inside, corroding soldering spots. Members have also reported condensation inside the LCD and yet, looking at them you can't see where steam can get in. My theory: steam gets through the plastic battery cover!

 

[axolotl]

Ensure there wire going into the motor has a drip loop
Added extra sealant around the entrance of wire into the motor
Added extra sealant to handbar led unit - both round the edges and where wire enters it
Added sealant on top of the battery screws
Used PVC tape on the battery where the metal chasis joins the plastic top and bottom
Made a better controller housing out of a water bottle ensuring that if water can get in it is routed away from the controller itself and can escape
Ensured the connections near the controller fully encased in PVC tape to guard against shorts


That's the electrics

I see. I guess the question is how much I have to spend to get a bike that's ready-prepared for the rain?

Also, I'm planning on using the bike for grocery shopping - perhaps 25kg of goods in pannier bags. The bike I buy has to be able to handle this, plus 75kg of me.

Hub gears and hydraulic discs I need no convincing on - both great to have on any commuter bike.

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi Axolotl
We've survived for over 6 years based in one of the countrys most hilly areas with the highest annual rainfall!

All our bikes have gradually been extensively upgraded taking advantage of better, more recent technology and in response to feedback, particularly from some of our more demanding individual and corporate customers including bike hire centres and public services, expert reviews and passionate, more-nerdy riders .

I'd be very interested to hear of any feedback that questions our bikes' reliability. I am aware of one customer who broke a crank spindle on a 2010 model Sport, a forum member. This component has since been upgraded to a standard shimano cassette alternative solving an issue of local supply. We made every effort to intervene when his local bike shop lost interest but were unable to completely satisfy him. His annual mileage was very high by most standards and he had some bad experiences with local bike shops.

I'm sorry some doubt has been sewn for you personally but please let me reassure you of my absolute faith in our range of bikes and our philosophy of constant product refinement.

 

[newboater]

My own experience of commuting daily all year round has been with a relatively low end kit - 8fun specifically

All bar one issue i have had were ultimately due to water ingress into one area or another. Now I am extreme in my extra precautions and have had no issues whatsoever. The remaining issue was simply a broken bit of plastic bracket that was easily repaired

Things I have done are

Ensure there wire going into the motor has a drip loop
Added extra sealant around the entrance of wire into the motor
Added extra sealant to handbar led unit - both round the edges and where wire enters it
Added sealant on top of the battery screws
Used PVC tape on the battery where the metal chasis joins the plastic top and bottom
Made a better controller housing out of a water bottle ensuring that if water can get in it is routed away from the controller itself and can escape
Ensured the connections near the controller fully encased in PVC tape to guard against shorts


That's the electrics


Other than this and very occasional chain lube I do no maintenance whatsoever. A big part of this is that my bike has an Alfine 8 hub gear which is fully sealed against the elements. No fiddling around like deraileurs

The hub has worked faultlessly for 4 years or more. I've gone through a few sets of brake pads of course but I also have hydraulic disk brakes which self adjust - again no fiddling around as with calipers

Just my experience of course

My own experience of commuting daily all year round has been with a relatively low end kit - 8fun specifically

All bar one issue i have had were ultimately due to water ingress into one area or another. Now I am extreme in my extra precautions and have had no issues whatsoever. The remaining issue was simply a broken bit of plastic bracket that was easily repaired

Things I have done are

Ensure there wire going into the motor has a drip loop
Added extra sealant around the entrance of wire into the motor
Added extra sealant to handbar led unit - both round the edges and where wire enters it
Added sealant on top of the battery screws
Used PVC tape on the battery where the metal chasis joins the plastic top and bottom
Made a better controller housing out of a water bottle ensuring that if water can get in it is routed away from the controller itself and can escape
Ensured the connections near the controller fully encased in PVC tape to guard against shorts


That's the electrics


Other than this and very occasional chain lube I do no maintenance whatsoever. A big part of this is that my bike has an Alfine 8 hub gear which is fully sealed against the elements. No fiddling around like deraileurs

The hub has worked faultlessly for 4 years or more. I've gone through a few sets of brake pads of course but I also have hydraulic disk brakes which self adjust - again no fiddling around as with calipers

Just my experience of course

can I ask which sealant you use thanks

 

[KirstinS]

Just a standard all purpose silicon sealant

And Sugru on occasion

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Axolotl
We've survived for over 6 years based in one of the countrys most hilly areas with the highest annual rainfall!

All our bikes have gradually been extensively upgraded taking advantage of better, more recent technology and in response to feedback, particularly from some of our more demanding individual and corporate customers including bike hire centres and public services, expert reviews and passionate, more-nerdy riders .

I'd be very interested to hear of any feedback that questions our bikes' reliability. I am aware of one customer who broke a crank spindle on a 2010 model Sport, a forum member. This component has since been upgraded to a standard shimano cassette alternative solving an issue of local supply. We made every effort to intervene when his local bike shop lost interest but were unable to completely satisfy him. His annual mileage was very high by most standards and he had some bad experiences with local bike shops.

I'm sorry some doubt has been sewn for you personally but please let me reassure you of my absolute faith in our range of bikes and our philosophy of constant product refinement.

Please don't get me wrong as I am a fan of this particular forum, but one of the problems with forums in general is that one negative experience that is published can get blown out of proportion and the uninitiated assume a brand or product is inferior when in truth it is not.

I believe the majority of electric bike buyers are quite happy with their purchase and have never looked at a forum let alone bothered to post anything about it

People also assume that because a bike has retained the same basic physical appearance for a number of years that there have been no improvements.

Using eZee as an example, changes have not been radical, revolutionary or 'sexy', but evolutionary with improvements in quality, reliability and performance over a number of years.

 

[trex]

ezee bikes are particularly well built. It's the attention to details, simple things like two pronged stand on the Sprint, axa wheel lock, good quality crankset, good quality mudguards, metal cover for the motor cable, rubber grommets on cables etc that I like.

 

[RobF]

I would be wary of blobbing sealant on an ebike.

All too easy to seal a drain hole but leave another water access point open, thereby making the job worse.

Bosch describe their system as shower or splash proof, which I take to mean it's fine to ride in rain, avoiding any deep puddles.

It may not cope with a deluge while moving, but in my case the rider would have stopped to seek shelter long before that.

 

[KirstinS]

I would be wary of blobbing sealant on an ebike.

All too easy to seal a drain hole but leave another water access point open, thereby making the job worse.

Bosch describe their system as shower or splash proof, which I take to mean it's fine to ride in rain, avoiding any deep puddles.

It may not cope with a deluge while moving, but in my case the rider would have stopped to seek shelter long before that.

Things have moved on a lot since my basic 8fun kit which I why I caveated my post - def worth doing on a low end kit as the waterproofing is nothing like a Bosch bike

But you are right - water does need to get out again hence my careful routing of inevitable water ingress - basically my controller has two shells around around it with a small exit hole at the base.

I overvolt my system with means both controller and motor get warm (but never hot)

This helps evaporate any ingress

Also my bike is kept indoors at both ends of commute which also helps - it never sits in the rain just moves through it

 

[trex]

two more items: you'll want the best seat post and not too many gears, a Nexus 3 would be sufficient in most situations.

 

[axolotl]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Ideally, I want a bike that's as easy to maintain as possible, and I don't mind paying a bit more if necessary. I take on board what's been said about reliability - as I said in my first post, I'm new to ebikes and I'm not totally sure what to expect.

Regarding the rain: as I'm going to be using the bike primarily for commuting there will inevitably be days when it's going to get wet. It'll be stored out of the rain at home, but at work it will be chained to railings outside the back of the office (there's nowhere for it inside). I could perhaps get a tarpaulin to put over it, but decent waterproofing is still absolutely essential.

 

[Kudoscycles]

The KTM Macina Bold or the KTM 400 Sport are lovely bikes for serious commute if you don't mind spending £2k. We have many customers on this forum using the Kudos Tourer with either Derailleur or Nexus gears,quite a cheap bike now ,from £965.00 . Where are you located in the UK?
KudosDave

 

[wissy]

Been using my KTM macina dual hs tourer almost every day to work for over a year now. Rode him through the heavy rains and floods of this winter. I actually rode through a 'puddle' (aka flood that stopped cars) and was half way through when i remembered i had the motor down bottom end... I carried on pedalling as i was half way by then. It was fine and has been fine since then..

I also have to leave it outside at work.. Chained to the recycling bin railings with my trusted 4" blobk of wood for the leg stand thing. I now use a bike cover... On my second one now (oxford one i believe) as first blew off i. The hurricane winds.... I did get home before all the cars that day when school had to close early.

So.. Winds and rains on. Anglesey and Snowdonia... KTM still doing well... Although chain keeps getting jammed behind crank thing every so often but I am becoming good at removing chain guard and getting a scrwdriver to slowly wedge out... still a pain thiugh. Weather is not a problem.

 

[billadie]

I use a Smarta LX8 for my commute of approx. 24 miles return.
I've had it for 4 years and it has gone through 2 tyres and a chain. The first 10Ah battery now only gives about 16 miles, so I bought a new 15Ah which I have never managed to flatten. The bike has a throttle. It is reliable as can be. It is used in sun, rain, summer and winter. On the down side it is heavy and noisy, though the newer models may be better.
Since I broke the second computer (transporting skirting boards) I have lost count of mileage, but estimate at 13,000.
If I were storing outside at work I would remove the battery and cover with proper bike cover.
Current cost about £1100 from ETS only.