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[Iain Wright]

Hello everyone, I went to the cycle show yesterday and had a go on Cube 'E' mountain bike I have to say I was very impressed! So I am now delving into the foray of E Bikes I currently have just started commuting 15 miles from home to work and have an average speed of 15mph so very similar to the ebike speed, however! I am pretty tired when I get to work and to be able to cut down the commute time would be beneficial too especially after finishing a night shift. I live in Norfolk which is relatively flat. The bike I had a go on was a hardtail 29" I like the style so would want to keep that but have none knobbly tyres. Would the current batteries enable me to ride 30 miles a day between charges on the relatively flat Norfolk roads? My budget would be around 2k.

I look forward to hearing from you guys....

Regards

Iain

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You should be able to do 30 miles easily because you'd be pedalling over the assist speed most of the time. I'm not sure that a 15 mph bike is going to help that much if your rides are flat. You'd have to slow down to get the help from the motor. There's many bikes that you can adjust the cut off speed a little (or lot) higher, so you can get help to higher speeds, which will cut down your journey times and the effort you put in.

Also, the Cubes have Bosch crank motors that don't have many advantages on flat terrain, so you only get the disadvantages. For flat terrain at constant speed, a hub motor would be much more suitable. You'll get a much more relaxed commute, meaning that you'll arrive at work much fresher.

Did you have a go on other bikes at the show. If so, why did you choose the Cube?

 

[Iain Wright]

d8veh thanks for getting back to me. I like the look of the mountain bike style types of bikes and that's the one that looked like a mountain bike. The guy from Cube said there was a way to up the speed? He said Google it!! Lol. There are a few small hills on the route I would probs drop from 15mph to 8 to 9mph but very short. I would like to use it to get fit too? Really out of my depth here. What other options would you recommend?

Cheers

Iain

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Most people buy an electric bike considering criteria from the heart rather than the head. When you're independent, it's easier to be more pragmatic. IMHO, it doesn't make sense to use an MTB type bike for commuting unless you want to do substantial modifications. For a start, you need proper mudguards and lights, and best fit a chainguard too. Then you need to change the tyres. You can commute on anything, but it's much better to keep your MTB for mountain riding, and get a proper commuter bike for commuting. If you must get a cube, there's a ready-made one for commuting:

http://www.cube.eu/bikes/hybrid/touring-hybrid/cube-touring-hybrid-anthrazit-black-green-2015/

however,every brand that uses Bosch motors has an equivalent. has an equivalent.

To release the speed limit on a Bosch, you need a dongle that costs between £100 and £200. It'll increase the speed to 45 km/h, but if you use power to go at that speed, you won't make 30 miles. I guess if you used a lower power level, you'd be able to do the trip OK.

One last thing: Do you have somewhere secure to keep your bike when you arrive at work? You don't want to leave a nice bike locked up in public in the same place every day. At best, you'll lose your wheels. After that, it could be anything. I heard of a guy that came back after shopping and found his nice hydraulic brakes gone.

 

[Iain Wright]

Its that much to modify!!

I like the Cube you posted the link too. Is that also speed restricted?

What other options none Cube would you recommend?

I was looking at this bike http://www.cube.eu/en/bikes/hybrid/suv-hybrid/cube-suv-hybrid-sl-275-glossyngrey-2015/

Yes my work is very secure so no problems with having anything stolen from it.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Have a look at the Volt Pulse X (X is important), but check with them that the max speed can be adjusted through the LCD. I'm pretty sure it can. A bit more old fashioned, but a really comfy, relaxed 20mph bike is the Ezee Torque. The new Oxygen Emate MTB is also fast (over 24 mph) and powerful, but would need modifying into a commuter.

Did you think of converting your present bike. It's so easy now because there's lots of plug-and-play kits with the controller in the battery with everything else plug in. You can have a kit with the Oxygen electrical stuff, so you get the same power and speed for only £800. That's a mighty fine kit - now right at the top of my list for plug-and-play kits:

http://www.oxydrive.co.uk/electric-bike-kit/oxydrive-cst-ht-13ah.html

 

[Iain Wright]

To be honest I don't have the time or the patience to do a conversion would rather buy ready made. I am a little fashion conscious and wouldn't want it to look old fashioned lol. The Oxygen Emate MTB looks good put some slick tyres on and I would be off.

Much more up my street really.

Are they easy to "modify"?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, the speed limit can be adjusted in the LCD - just a few buttons to press. You can get 27.5" commuting tyres and a pair of SKS Beavertail XL mudguards should fit. Add a pair of Aldi small lights plus an Ebay £12 Cree T6 XML light and you're away. You'd have plenty of money left over to buy a nice rain cape, Lezyne pump and toolkit. Maybe also a nice camera to record all the bar stewards that cut you up and run you off the road.

 

[Iain Wright]

I have some good sets of lights from night riding through Thetford Forest and plenty of wet weather gear. Only thing that will stop me now is snow and ice lol. Do people still wear rain capes ;-) With you on the camera have threatened myself with a go pro or maybe the new Garmin....

Thanks for your help should be getting this in about two weeks if they have stock.

 

[JohnCade]

I would spend some time researching before I jumped in. You could start here and there are a lot of threads about commuting by e bike including this one.

.http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/test-of-pedelec-vs-road-bike-for-long-commute.18795/

There are other informative ones too if you look including one from Col of KTM. The Chinese bikes can usually be adjusted to go faster easily, and many others take advantage of the ten percent leeway in the law to go up to about 17.5 mph before assist is lost. Then back at in at around 17 mph. Even a couple of extra mph will do a lot for your average speed and the effort you have to put in since it gets you up to speed faster and keeps you there without much work.

Legal too which you may or may not think is important.

 

[Iain Wright]

It's difficult my aim is getting fit but not killing myself doing it. Leave the car at home saving money on fuel and wear and tear on the car the commute is 15 miles each way I have no problem putting effort in on the ride and don't want an easy ride just a little help keeping a constant speed I am not sure what the total accent is over the journey will have to check my Garmin. I don't want to ride an old fashion looking bike it should be modern and as agile as possible I like the idea of changing the tyres and now I can take it to the forest. I have three bikes already Full suss MTB, hard tail and road bike I tend to get on them for a few months when I am in my fitness mode and burn myself out.

The article you put up was interesting but with little hills like D8veh was saying how much benefit will I get without derestricting I will be mostly on country roads until I hit Norwich and then the commute is only about 3 miles. I start work at 0630 and finish at 1830 so traffic is negligible. That's why I thought the Oxygen bike would be a good choice best of both worlds so to speak?

 

[JohnCade]

The Cube would have been a torque sensor as it was a Bosch, and that would be a different ride to a speed sensor bike where you just have to turn the pedals over. So trying both would give you a better feel for what you need. To improve fitness as you commute maybe a TS is better because you have no choice to put in a little effort there. You can with a SS too but it is harder to judge how much effort you are putting in with that, and in practise on a flat commute the bike will probably do all the work.

If you derestrict it you will have to balance speed against battery as it will use a lot more going fast. If you make it go too fast you might get unwelcome attention too. Bikes going on the flat at 25 mph plus with the rider dressed for work and not working hard, or riding a pukka road bike, will make a copper wonder.

 

[Iain Wright]

Maybe I just need to get on my road bike and let it bring my fitness up lol. I would be lycra clad and they would have to catch me lol ;-). I thought a TS would be better for me as I want to put the effort in. The Oxygen bike would do most of the work I can't set my effort V the bike?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Oxygen bike has two systems of regulating the power. There's three levels of current control that limit how much current can be taken from the battery, and there's 6 (?) levels of speed regulation to speeds above which you don't get any assistance, which gives 18 different speed/power combinations. You can pedal as hard or soft as you like at any normal cycling speed. The more power you give, the less the motor will take, and, obviously, the less power you give, the more power the motor will give depending on the settings. With this type of system, you can set it to give exactly the ride you want considering how much effort you want to put in and how fast you want to go.

 

[Iain Wright]

I think that's what I am after! If it doesn't work for me then I can always sell it on...

 

[RobF]

As someone who wants to put in some effort you are an ideal candidate for a Bosch bike.

Style is important to you and you like the Cube, so I'm not sure what there is left to discuss.

You could spend weeks and months researching an almost limitless number of models, or you could get riding.

Nowt wrong with Oxygen, I rather like it, and I believe there is plenty of stock.

I just think the Bosch system will suit you better.

 

[Gubbins]

I have a bosch powered Scott 29er MTB and have just put Road tyres on it and it will easily do your 30 miles whilst climbing the Yorkshire hills. Without the hills and by adding a bit of effort I can do 45 to 55 miles on one charge.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If the ride were more hilly, I think I might bend towards a Crank-drive, but, as I said before, you only get the disadvantages if you rise on flat terrain, and commuting is not the same as a Sunday ride out.

 

[D8ve]

Here I am about to suggest something unexpected.
Try a recumbent. It's 20 mins of terror and a few months to adapt but then it is more mph for the same sweat.
If you assisted it the up hills would still be 15 but down and on the flat would be easily 20+. If you do 15 on a mountain bike.

 

[Kinninvie]

I have a bosch powered Scott 29er MTB and have just put Road tyres on it and it will easily do your 30 miles whilst climbing the Yorkshire hills. Without the hills and by adding a bit of effort I can do 45 to 55 miles on one charge.

Can you get up the hill through Haworth on it ok?
I cant even walk all the way up that one,I have to have a rest in every pub.