Help! New e-bike buyer here - what annoyances should I expect?

[mine]

Daily commuter here (20km round trip). Seriously considering an e-bike to ditch public transport. But all these ‘perfect’ reviews feel suspicious!
Veteran riders: What nobody tells beginners?

• Most annoying recurring issue you tolerate?
• Any ‘dealbreaker’ flaw discovered after purchase?

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I think the actual riding the bike is great.

For commuting I would choose a hub motor - less wear on chainline and more relaxing

I would say don't spend a lot of money (unless you want to). A lot of the things that makes bikes expensive are pretty irrelevant to e-bikes

The extra weight doesn't really matter with motor assist when you are riding, just taking out and putting away

You use the gears much less, so a slick gear change and lots of gears isn't as important. In fact more than 7, 8 or 9 gears is probably a disadvantage

I would say if you are doing a lot of miles is choose disc brakes and if cable, upgrade to hydraulic (cheap and easy) . My first bike had rim brakes and I had to adjust them quite often.


The other thing is the security at the other end - if you could only take a folding bike into work, that would tip me into buying a folding bike for a commute. Also if you are going to leave it outside buy a waterproof cover ! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405206837770?

 

[Tony1951]

I think the actual riding the bike is great.

For commuting I would choose a hub motor - less wear on chainline and more relaxing

I would say don't spend a lot of money (unless you want to). A lot of the things that makes bikes expensive are pretty irrelevant to e-bikes

The extra weight doesn't really matter with motor assist, just taking out and putting away

You use the gears much less, so a slick gear change and lots of gears isn't as important. In fact more than 7, 8 or 9 gears is probably a disadvantage

I would say if you are doing a lot of miles is choose disc brakes and if cable, upgrade to hydraulic (cheap and easy) . My first bike had rim brakes and I had to adjust them quite often.


The other thing is the security at the other end - if you could only take a folding bike into work, that would tip me into buying a folding bike for a commute. Also if you are going to leave it outside buy a waterproof cover ! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405206837770?

Good advice. Especially about rim brakes. Lots of fiddling and they rapidly wear the aluminium rims. Also great advice about replacing cable rim brakes with the cable/hydraulic type. Costs next to nothing (about £25 when I did mine) and they work very much better. Saneagle wrote a few posts on how to do it and where to get the cable/hydraulic type. You can find it in this big thread if you look about on it. https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/£245-argos-folder-improvements-complete-story.47790/page-4#post-726214

 

[saneagle]

Daily commuter here (20km round trip). Seriously considering an e-bike to ditch public transport. But all these ‘perfect’ reviews feel suspicious!
Veteran riders: What nobody tells beginners?

• Most annoying recurring issue you tolerate?
• Any ‘dealbreaker’ flaw discovered after purchase?

I commuted 14 miles each way for a few years. I had been using a motorbike and car, then switched to an electric bike. I loved it. The only thing that I found annoying was that the wind always shifted from morning to afternoon. There was a long stretch of road with hedges either side, which would funnel the wind along it, so a shift in direction from the side from -5 deg to +5 deg made it completely reverse so that it was always against me.

During that time, I never had any issues. In that amount of mileage, you're bound to encounter the odd bad driver, but nothing too serious. I never had any mechanical issues except one, when a crank came loose, but I was still able to get home because I had a hub-motor.

The things you need for commuting are puncture proof tyres (Marathon Plus), hydraulic disc brakes and decent lights. A very visible helmet camera seems to calm down the car drivers. Finally, don't waste money on expensive waterproofs. I used a day-glow padded builders jacket (about £15) for winter riding, which keeps you very warm and dry in the winter, and a cape for heavy rain (about £10).

 

[thelarkbox]

The gut punch to my expectations was the reality of built in and sleek equals BAD and bolt on looking diy equals GOOD..

Because most if not all the built in systems are closed and oblique to fixes and mods.. 'sophisticated' battery communication for Your Safety actually means prematurely self bricking, and a system designed to stop you extending the life of your bike with a basic battery replacement if/when needed.

If at all diy inclined and exchanging a tyre isnt a problem a diy conversion on a comfortable to ride bike with Good brakes as above, Is the best FVM route imho.

And some suspension will add to comfort (missing on my bike) as with a motor the need to rise out of the saddle is SIGNIFICANTLY LESS so road surface inconsistencies can get transferred right up your spine.... Seat post suspension solutions are a thing !!

fwiw i went with a stock yosepower 250w rear wheel kit- 2 yrs on am still very happy with it, my own ignorance when buying resulted in the wrong pedal sensor in my kit, a brief exchange of email with the support team resolved it, and Saneagle in here spotted my rookie mounting the motor upside down error following my first hey like my bike post in here otherwise its been trouble free.

Others have upgraded their basic yose controllers with KT brand version at circa an extra £80-100 for more control and power options, which is an easy unplug the old and plug in the new replacement job with the standard generic plug/socket fittings.

 

[AndyBike]

Veteran riders: What nobody tells beginners?

Never ever ever ride up the side of a truck, Articulated or other at a junction. It can literally mean death.

If you feel/see theres a build up of traffic behind you, pull over and allow the build up to clear.
Drivers are impatient bu66ers and if held back for a minute or two will risk *everything to get past.

Always wear a Hi-Vis tabard at night.
Doesnt matter it you are super brightly dressed, soon as the sun dips below the horizon all colours turn to black.

*Your life

PS.
Get a book on fixing your bike. It's quite easy really, and will save you a lot of money. YT is excellent for step by step instructions.

 

[Waspy]

If you buy a ready made eBike make sure there is a durable label on the bike with the following information:

Manufacturer's Name
Max Power 250W
Battery max 48V
Max assisted speed 15.5MPH or 25KPH

The police have been known to seize legal bikes without this information displayed on the bike.

Also, definitely no twist-and-go throttle.