New bike for serious commuting

axolotl

Pedelecer
May 8, 2014
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I'm thinking of buying two sub £1k Chinese Bikes instead of a higher spec £2k Bike. That way SWMBO (or family or friends) might be tempted to join me.
Nice idea, but as there's a full foot in height difference between me and my partner, a bike is one thing we definitely can't share.
 
C

Cyclezee

Guest
The BPM motor has transformed the hill climbing strengths of the hub drive bikes,if you are average height the Kudos Tornado is a possible or the Typhoon if you are tall.
KudosDave
eZee did that years ago and have been going further longer.
 
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Jazzist

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 9, 2014
7
1
54
Looking at the £2k ish bikes the Kalkhoff impulse 2 looks like the highest spec system on paper especially with its 70Nm torque and 600W battery.

To get close on torque with Bosch you need performance line.. Most competitors are active line. Also looking across the brands it's difficult to keep it under £2k, you jump to £2.5k seemingly easily. With the smaller battery you'd think they'd be cheaper than a 600W bike, the spare 400W batteries are allot cheaper (£800 vs £550).

Some of the non Kalkhoff look allot sexier on screen but other than that... Unless they were a much better fit why would you?

I don't want to only look at one supplier and one brand. What am I missing? Are KTM , haibike tourer etc. using otherwise better parts to justify their price. Eg looking at a kalkhoff pro commuter you might compare it to the Haibike xDuro Trekking SL Gents 2014 but that is still on the classic motor from what I can see and is considerably more expensive.

Going down in price confuses further there are a million and one ebike manufacturers offering £1k machines.

It's OK trying lots and buying the one you get on with best but you still want good value price vs paper spec. Hmm!
 
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trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
Going down in price confuses further there are a million and one ebike manufacturers offering £1k machines.

It's OK trying lots and buying the one you get on with best but you still want good value price vs paper spec. Hmm!
under £1000? Woosh Big Bear is difficult to beat!
 

halfer

Esteemed Pedelecer
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.
Hi axolotl

I've not visited Pedelecs in ages, but having reason to do so recently, I noticed your post. It was likely my Juicy Sport 2010 review that you saw on the web.

I agree with both d8veh and Bob - it was an older model, and also it's probably worth getting a set of reviews before coming to a conclusion. Indeed, another of my articles about the Juicy features a comment from a very happy Sport customer, from about 11 months ago.

I did have rather a poor run of luck, but it may have been my subsequent telephone feedback that contributed to the cartridge-type bottom bracket being switched out for a standard one in the later design. In fact, I was so impressed with how well my views were taken on board, I blogged about that too. I'm happy for people to read the negative article, but I'd hope they read the positive one too!

When I was decided what to replace the (eventually stolen) Sport with, the main issue I felt I came up against was getting product support if the vendor is not local. That's a problem faced by all small bike shops selling nationally, so I'd say do your research on who uses standard components on all the non-electric bits. Decide if you can replace BB/gearing/brakes/forks/handlebars etc using a local bike shop (who usually won't have e-bike expertise).

I have a similar dilemma at present: my current Ave XH-3 is looking rather poorly recently after being bumped on the nose by a car. The third-party insurers have decided to write it off, and thus are offering me a perfectly nice-looking MTM Macina Action 27. Unfortunately, they are in Swansea and I'm in Birmingham, so support is going to be non-trivial if something goes wrong.

Anyway, good luck in choosing a new bike!
 

jackhandy

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 20, 2012
1,820
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the Cornish Alps
When I was decided what to replace the (eventually stolen) Sport with, the main issue I felt I came up against was getting product support if the vendor is not local. That's a problem faced by all small bike shops selling nationally, so I'd say do your research on who uses standard components on all the non-electric bits. Decide if you can replace BB/gearing/brakes/forks/handlebars etc using a local bike shop (who usually won't have e-bike expertise).



Anyway, good luck in choosing a new bike!
I felt I needed the assurance of good after-sales support, which is why I went to Cyclezee for a kit to go on my Trek Mamba 29er.

Cyclezee has always gone the extra mile to get me back on the road when the inevitable problem has cropped up:
I honestly can't fault his dedication to a b£00>y good brand.
 
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axolotl

Pedelecer
May 8, 2014
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Well, it's arrived - I've joined the ranks of the ebikers. I'm now the proud owner of a BH Easy-Motion Diamond with a big 13.5 A/h battery.

Thanks again for the all the help and feedback. As well as all the information I gathered here, a big factor in my decision was the fact that the dealer for this bike is only half and hour's drive from my home.

Now I can't wait to take it for a good, long ride!
 

halfer

Esteemed Pedelecer
Well, it's arrived - I've joined the ranks of the ebikers. I'm now the proud owner of a BH Easy-Motion Diamond with a big 13.5 A/h battery.
Very pleased you have something you are happy with. If you get a chance, please do write up a detailed review of your new bike and post it here (or anywhere on the web). One of the things I found difficult when getting started with e-bikes was finding reliable real-world reviews, especially after a bedding-in period.

I've written reviews for my Juicy Sport and for my Ave XH-3 in the past, and am presently scanning the diary for a photo session and article authoring for my latest acquisition, a KTM Action Macina.

a big factor in my decision was the fact that the dealer for this bike is only half and hour's drive from my home.
Good choice. I found being close to On Bike (a train ride and maybe six miles of cycling total) was very useful in the early days of bedding in my Ave.
 
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axolotl

Pedelecer
May 8, 2014
150
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50
Will do, Halfer. I'm going to wait a few weeks though, just to get the bugs ironed out and get used to riding the bike.