Newbie and need advice

[Hazel2705]

Hi,

I have decided to get rid of our little run around car as it's costing too much to run now it's old so going to buy an electric bike. We have another car I can use if it's raining so would robably use the bike about 3 times a week on average throughout the year. I want one with a throttle and pedal assist. I'm looking to buy a cheap one to start with (I know you only get what you pay for) and seeing how I get on with it and then next year if I'm still using it regularly I will upgrade and sell the cheap one.

I have cycled to work to test out the route last week on my normal bike and I managed it OK but was a bit slow. I only have 30 minutes between finishing work and collecting my daughter from nursery so I need to be quicker hence the main reason for buying an electric bike as I'm slow on the hills.

So, I need to cycle 8 miles round trip daily with only a few hills and all mainly cycle paths. I would use the throttle on only short 2 hills on the way there and 2 longer hills hills on the way back. Pedal assist would be used rarely but I would still like the bike to have it. I also need to be able to fit a child seat to the back (if that's impossible I can live without it). I definitely want a throttle as I hate going up hills with a passion.

I've seen a £500 bike (cyclamatic) and thought that looked like it had what I wanted but is it absolutely rubbish?? If I have to charge it every other day it's not a problem as it will still be cheaper than putting petrol in a car. (I could charge it at work which wouldn't cost me a penny then! )

Also is something changing with the law in the UK that means a throttle bike will not be legal? I don't want to buy one then find I can't use it in a few months time!

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Hazel2705]

Another question,

I've seen on some adverts for bikes "500 cycle recharge". What does mean? Doe it mean you can recharge the battery 500 times then you need a new one?

This is the one I was looking at. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclamatic-Power-Plus-Electric-Bike/dp/B00472NWCA

 

[flecc]

By pedal assist I think you mean power assist Hazel, and with an e-bike being heavier than a normal bike, using some power all the time is normal. A throttle isn't important for going up hills, many e-bikes have a torque sensor that measures your pedal effort and adds power to suit. When you have to work harder, it senses that and helps more.

Don't worry about any change in the law, it will not be retrospective and existing bikes wil still be legal.

The Cyclamatic e-bikes are imported and sold by SportsUK who often have discount weekends and that Power Plus has often been much lower priced, so keep an eye on their website. They only have the folder at the moment but will be getting more PowerPlus models.

We have some members with the Cyclamatics and they all like them, but they are at the lower power end of the market, many more powerful though often more expensive. There has been the odd incidence of battery failure on the Cyclamatics but SportsUK have been good on service and replacements to date.

The cycles refer to the number of charges and 500 is typically as much as we get, but lower cost ones like the Cyclamatics can have shorter lives of around 300 or so charges. Batteries are the major running cost on e-bikes, not electricity which is used only sparingly.

Any e-bike's range will easily be able to do your round trip.

 

[PennyFarthing]

Welcome.

Having tried a bike with a throttle I thought that is what I need. That is until I tried a crank driven bike. Excellent at hill climbing and no throttle required.

You really need to try several different bikes out to see what suits best.