newbie with same old question

[ray74]

hi everyone, I'm ray and just about to buy a new e-bike, I decided to join here because I found through all my research this site gave me the most answers.

cut a long story short, I have new job that's 9 miles away so 18mile round trip with a few smallish hills, I'm about 14 stone and 6 foot 1. I have my 3 bikes in mind but just need all your expert advise if possible. I only have a small budget of £750 max and would prefer something that looks like a mountain bike or hybrid.

they are

cyclotricity revolver 20"
Revolver electric cycle. Buy yours from Cyclotricity today- £599

cyclotricity claud butler hybrid
Electric Bike, Lithium-Ion electric bicycle, e-Bike, Power eBike, Power Bike | eBay

or woosh sirocco sport
The Sirocco-Sport | Electric Bikes from Woosh | electric bike sales & hire

I know this question has been asked before but i would appreciate any thoughts on what you guys would go for if you only had my budget and needs.

also if any of you have one of these then some feedback wood be great

thank you in advance for any replys

 

[jackhandy]

Personally, I'd be tempted by the Woosh, but check it's big enough for you.

As always, try before you buy.

 

[RobF]

Most commuters find they need mudguards and a rack.

These can be retrofitted to most bikes but are usually neater if they come with the bike.

The Woosh Scirocco2 has both.

 

[ray74]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I must admit I do like the look and spec of the whoosh sirocco sport with it having the disc brakes and 18 speed but the cons on this one is its 2kg heavier and only comes in the 18" frame plus after talking to someone there at the shop they said its now out of stock and being replaced in the next few weeks with a new model.

The revolver though is in stock and the same motor from what I can tell, it comes in a 20" frame and only weighs about 19kg, but no discs and from what I have read it has the same volt and ah battery but 252wh compared to 360wh on the woosh, I don't know much about the in and outs of electrics but I assume that over 100wh would make a difference to something?.

 

[ghouluk]

When i was testing ebikes, the cyclotricity stealth is the bike that was most like riding a normal bike in terms of weight and power application, it just made life a little easier. I haven't ridden the revolver, but i really enjoyed riding the stealth, it was a good ride, and the bike was nicely proportioned for my 6'1 height. I did find it a little underpowered for my 100kg, but you should be fine i'd say.

Whereabouts are you based? get yourself out on as many as you can and ride them all, and buy the one that feels best.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

With your requirements, virtually any electric bike would be OK. so your choice should be more about the styling. There's one other choice that you seemed to have skipped, which you might want to consider, and that's any of the Woosh crank-drive bikes. They have the advantage that they can be de-restricted to give a lot more speed if you're interested in that sort of thing, and when you start to enjoy the ease of your new bike, you may want to ride for pleasure, where the superior hill-climbing of the Woosh might be useful. Add a pair of SKS Beavertail XL mudguards for £13, and you have a nice commuter bike.
The Sport CD | Chain Drive Electric Bikes from Woosh | electric bike sales & hire

 

[ray74]

Thanks ghouluk, I'm in Nottingham and going to commute to derby 6 days a week. The problem here though is there aren't any shop/dealers close to me to get a test ride on the models I like. I hadn't even ridden an e bike until Tuesday just gone, I went to 50 cycles and rode a kalkhoff, they are way out of my price range but I did enjoy the experience.

I appreciate your view on the stealth, I spoke to someone called Zak at cyclotricity and he confirmed that the stealth and revolver are similar specs apart from the LCD display, disc brakes and number of gears although the number of gears don't bother me to much from what I experienced on my last test ride.

I looked at the sirocco 2 because of the bigger battery and range but I'm not a fan of the styling. I would much prefer a normal looking bike for now and then I was thinking with the money I save from not going on the bus ( £6 return per day) equates to over £140 a month and I will put that in a pot for the year and get something more expensive as and when I need/want to.

I'm off next Tuesday and the kids are back at school so I might arrange a test ride with cyclotricity and woosh and make my decision then. Just the 350 mile round trip that I'm not to joyless about.

 

[ray74]

Thanks d8veh.
I did look at this one and thought for the £150 price difference I'd go for the hub over the cd as I didn't see much benefit in it but now you say it could be tweaked then I might take a closer look at it, don't get me wrong, I'm not a speed demon wanting to go 50mph on a bike but to get to 20 or even 25mph on a bike would cut 10/15 minutes off my commute to and from work, is it easy to do something like that?

Plus I did use to go out biking for pleasure but had a lot of changes in the last 3 years i.e. divorce and other things and I know for definite that when I get my new bike I will be using it all the time not just to get to and from work.

I also thought chain drive were noisier than the hub drives?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I also thought chain drive were noisier than the hub drives?

This one is definitely quieter. The advantage of the crank-drive is that it can give it's maximum power at any speed, and speed only depends on the gears, however, torque reduces each time you change up. An average 250w hub-motor, like one of those you've chosen, has a pronounced power profile, that typically gives maximum torque at low speed, good assistance up to 15 mph, but then the power tails of rapidly 'til you reach a maximum of about 18 mph.

De-restricted, the Woosh will bowl along at 20mph (with pedalling), and on a slight incline or a following wind, it'll help you all the way to 24mph, but you'll soon be changing down and slowing down when you come to a hill because it's still only 250w. It then starts to gain again when you get down to about 8mph, when the hub-motors start to become inefficient, while as the Woosh can go much slower whikst still giving full power from the motor. You're not that heavy, so hill-climbing won't be much of an issue with the hub-motor unless you encounter very steep hills; however, when you're tired at the end of a long journey. it's nice to know that you can enjoy the full power at whatever speed you go.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Ray74

We have just the Bike for you Please come to Banbury for a test ride we are open 7 days a week

fast Electric Bike Xipi Exprees 1,500 watt ready to ride 10 AH Battery | eBay

Call me we can talk Price

Frank

 

[ray74]

Thanks again d8veh, I've learnt a lot today from what you have told me, I was more or less set on going for the revolver and thinking about buying it on the 17th when I get paid but now I'm looking into the sport cd after what you have said, I will still probably go for the revolver for 2 main reasons, 1, frame size because of my hight ( i have long legs) and 2, price, I don't have the £775 for the woosh sport cd at mo and would have to wait until next month to get it, as always when I make my mind up about getting something I want it sooner rather than later plus the bike will pay for itself in 5 months due to not paying the bus fare so I could still have 5/6 months of riding my 1st e-bike and look at upgrading at a later date. I have seen cyclotricity bikes going on eBay for between £350-£450 so I could always use that for next time if I do upgrade.

Having said that though I might still opt for the cd. I could have an eBay session of my own and sell some stuff. Time will tell and i will leave a post on my final decision with hopefully a small review of what I think of my new bike.

 

[Malfunction]

Hi Ray, It may be worth asking if your chosen supplier has any ex display bikes available, I went down to Cambridge a month ago to look at the woosh bikes, i'd more or less decided I wanted a woosh sirocco and found they had one that had been used by a magazine for a review, apart from a bit of dirt on the tyres it was as new and I got a bit of discount.
Always worth a try.

 

[ray74]

Hi malfunction. I'm off next Tuesday and have arranged a test in Peterborough on the revolver and then I'm going to Cambridge in the afternoon to test a couple out there, I was going to ask them if they might have any ex demos. Can I ask what kind of a discount you got if possible so I know what I might be dealing with? Thanks.

 

[RobF]

Just to put a spoke into the works, Kudos Dave is having a sale.

The tourer with hub gears at £645 would make an ideal commuter.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/15589-kudos-sale-495-00-a.html

 

[ray74]

Just to put a spoke into the works, Kudos Dave is having a sale.

The tourer with hub gears at £645 would make an ideal commuter.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/15589-kudos-sale-495-00-a.html

That has put a spanner in the works. I quite like the look of the tourer. I'm not a fan of the battery at the back but at that price I could be convinced. I will have to check out some reviews.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Malfunction]

pm sent Ray

 

[denwyn]

dam this has put a real spanner in the works, i was about to order a Woosh on monday, not sure which but either a sirocco cd or hub, the Kudos deals look so tempting, the Kudos City looks so comfortable, and the Tourer looks a good deal as well, i would love to get this sorted today, i am waay on a short holiday at the moment and have limited internet access, the question i have is should i go with hub or derailleur gears, the shimano hub looks very neat but is it reliable, its the only option on the Kudos City. I would do all the basic maintenance myself. Which would be the best buy, Tourer or city, not a lot in the price. Or should i still stick with the Woosh,although looking this morning they seem to be selling out of some models. Any help appreciated.

 

[jackhandy]

You really should test-ride something with the 250 watt bafang motor, as fitted to the Kudos Tourer, before you finally decide.

The CD motor, as fitted to the Woosh CDs ( and the Kudos Ibex/Eiger) has had varied reviews,with some saying it gives better assistance & others saying it doesn't.

It's totally your call, I'm afraid.

 

[trex]

kudos city on price, also the Nexus-8 is so sweet.

 

[grldtnr]

'Tis simples , go to Kudos Dave ,and nick off with the city Hub gear, I have the Touer 8 spd, for commuting you have a well specced bike ,with low maintenance for winter riding and fully enclosed chaingaurd to keep your trews clean,with a little effort you can wring out 15 - 16 mph out off it on the flat,And KD has given me good aftersales service when i lost part off the chaingaurd when it fell off on a nasty pot hole !

QUOTE=denwyn;191528]dam this has put a real spanner in the works, i was about to order a Woosh on monday, not sure which but either a sirocco cd or hub, the Kudos deals look so tempting, the Kudos City looks so comfortable, and the Tourer looks a good deal as well, i would love to get this sorted today, i am waay on a short holiday at the moment and have limited internet access, the question i have is should i go with hub or derailleur gears, the shimano hub looks very neat but is it reliable, its the only option on the Kudos City. I would do all the basic maintenance myself. Which would be the best buy, Tourer or city, not a lot in the price. Or should i still stick with the Woosh,although looking this morning they seem to be selling out of some models. Any help appreciated.[/QUOTE]