Crikey, there's so much to know, and I know nowt. Basically, I own a couple of motorbikes (a DR125 and a Blackbird, sorry) but I'm looking to chop them both in and buy a mid-range motorbike for long journeys, and an electric bike to get to work on. I've been doing quite a bit of research, and in my price range (£600-£800) I know I'm not going to get a top of the range machine, but one that has caught my eye is the Alien Gents Special II (is it good or naff?). I think (?) I've decided on a front hub driven machine, as they seem the least likely to go wrong, but can't decide between a ready made bike, or converting my mountain bike....the 'off-road' kit from alien looks pretty good, but my main goal is to improve my fitness a bit, so maybe a road legal version would be better. I used to cycle to work when it was a 10 mile round trip, but last year I changed jobs and now it's a 25 mile round trip, too much for my iffy knee (playing squash has taken its toll.) What I'd really like to know, is what would you all buy if you had around £700 to spend on a bike, or should I wait until I can afford a more 'premium' bike? Thanks.
Pleeeeease give me some advice.
- Thread starter BLACKPANTHER
- Start date
Welcome
I think at the price the Alien seems to be a good bike and well regarded on here. I dont think rear or front hub makes that much difference to be honest, but rear hubs can handle more power I believe.
what kind of commute do you have? terrain, length etc..... are you fit, big etc...The more info the more meaningful the advice.
Personally I would rather get a good used higher spec e bike then a budget job. There are 2 wisper 905 SE for sale in classified section now.
I think at the price the Alien seems to be a good bike and well regarded on here. I dont think rear or front hub makes that much difference to be honest, but rear hubs can handle more power I believe.what kind of commute do you have? terrain, length etc..... are you fit, big etc...The more info the more meaningful the advice.
Personally I would rather get a good used higher spec e bike then a budget job. There are 2 wisper 905 SE for sale in classified section now.
Last edited:
It's 11.4 miles by motorbike, but by cycling I could use the bus lane (which Donny council doesn't allow motorbikes to do, bah!) and cut through Doncaster town centre so it'd be about 10.5 miles to work, most of it by road, 'cos it's safer than using the footpath and crossing dozens of junctions. I'm 13 stone, and was very fit until I knacked my knee, which is now just about recovered. I would be able to re-charge at work, but ideally I'd want a bike that could handle up to 25 miles on a single charge. The reason I was contemplating an off-road version was for if I had a really hard day at work, or my knee played up, I could just ride home without pedalling at all...plus the thought of overtaking other cyclists without any effort would give me a warm feeling
. I had hoped to have a bit of a test ride on an electric bike, but my local 'Powabyke stockist' only had an old 6 speed city bike in the shop and can't get demonstrators.Alien SPECIAL II £599.00
PowaByke X-6 £799.00 is it worth the extra £200?
BTW, thanks for the advice about buying 2nd hand, but it's a bit far to travel from Doncaster. If anyone nearby is selling, I would be very interested.
Last edited:
There seems to be no doubt that the Alien Gents special 11 is pretty good value for money. I converted one of my MTB`s using the Alien kit which as far as I know uses the same hub motor and electrics. I`m pleased with the power of the motor and haven`t had any problems yet. The supplied battery seems to be a pretty good one. whether you will get 21 miles I can`t say but I think you will if you use it in pedal assist but if you can charge at work them why worry.
Front wheel bikes are in general easier to work on and if you get a problem down the line with the hub(although it should be good for quite some time because it is a Barfang) then it will be a lot easier to source another wheel. Having both front and rear drive I prefer the rear drive(it just seems more balanced) but that could be the difference between the E bike and the converted MTB because the MTB doesn`t have suspension.What you might like about the Alien powered bike is that on my conversion I reckon I can get close to 20mph when using the throttle. When you look at the spec of the alien bike then I don`t think you can go wrong, if i had realised before buying the kit then I would have probably brought the Gents ready made bike.
I agree to a certain extent with Eddeo about a higher quality bike for a regular commute but of course if you can only afford a second hand one then you will be buying a bike(although probably mechanically good) with a battery that might have seen the best days and the better batteries are not cheap and I think that`s why some people swap them in before the battery starts to show signs of age(maybe not)
You have near enough everything you need on the Alien Gents without any further outlay and could if you wished a bit down the line still get a fair bit of your investment back if you wanted to trade up.
The attraction for me if I were to be commuting 20 odd miles a day would be the whisper with the 14amp battery that would almost certainly do the outbound and inbound journey without the need to charge during the day but as I said the Alien might well be ok as well and is a lot cheaper.
Dave
Cheers Dave. Did you fit the 36 Volt 10Ah road legal kit? Jim at Alien did say they would do a bit more than 15mph due to the American controllers. If the road legal kit does do 20mph, I don't think there'd be much point going for the off-road version. I did enquire as to whether I could get the AlienII specced up to a higher power, but he said they came already made. I'm tempted to go for the whole package, but the extra speed (30mph!!) of the 48v conversion is appealing. The downside to the off road kits is that they're lead acid batteries, which I understand don't last half the time if the Lithium ions, but I suppose they're cheaper to replace when they do fail. I may have to flip a coin.....what should I buy?????????????
Higher speed = less battery time = lower mileage. It's a trade off. 20mph might drain a battery that could do 25miles@15mph to 17-18 miles.
Also 30mph on a cycle in traffic = brown trouser moments, but it's nice to have it when the roads are clear.
It's not like doing 30 on a motorbike where you can command the road.
My 2p.
Also 30mph on a cycle in traffic = brown trouser moments, but it's nice to have it when the roads are clear.
It's not like doing 30 on a motorbike where you can command the road.
My 2p.
Hello Blackpanther
You will see from my posts I joined the ebike fraternity last week by purchasing an Alien GS2. I too am a lifelong motorcyclist and currently run a Thunderbird and an SV 1000 S, I am also 13 stone in weight! I have just done a 20 mile run this afternoon and the green full charge light is still on, I guess I am about half way through the charge, anyway I dont see any problem for you even if you don't recharge at work, you should get home easily on one charge, unless its "extremely" hilly. You can always keep the battery switched off on the way to work thus improving fittness and have a pedal free ride home if you are "bushed"
By the way the price you quote is the Ebay price, if you buy direct its £20 cheaper and you can still pay by card etc. i purchased the panniers from Alien aswell, they are fairly small but neat and have plenty of room for waterproofs, lunch etc.
So far I am delighted with my purchase even though I knew I was buying at the budget end of the market. I didn't know if I was going to like it, but I am hooked, and as others have advised you can always upgrade in a year or two. Good luck if you join the gang.
cheers
Roadrunner
You will see from my posts I joined the ebike fraternity last week by purchasing an Alien GS2. I too am a lifelong motorcyclist and currently run a Thunderbird and an SV 1000 S, I am also 13 stone in weight! I have just done a 20 mile run this afternoon and the green full charge light is still on, I guess I am about half way through the charge, anyway I dont see any problem for you even if you don't recharge at work, you should get home easily on one charge, unless its "extremely" hilly. You can always keep the battery switched off on the way to work thus improving fittness and have a pedal free ride home if you are "bushed"
By the way the price you quote is the Ebay price, if you buy direct its £20 cheaper and you can still pay by card etc. i purchased the panniers from Alien aswell, they are fairly small but neat and have plenty of room for waterproofs, lunch etc.
So far I am delighted with my purchase even though I knew I was buying at the budget end of the market. I didn't know if I was going to like it, but I am hooked, and as others have advised you can always upgrade in a year or two. Good luck if you join the gang.
cheers
Roadrunner
The ebay price is £599 or 'best offer'. I was going to offer £450 and take it from there, but I guess the final bit of haggling could include free panniers, as they look really good on the bike, and would take my lunchbox etc (as for my orange squash, I'll dilute it at work to save weight!)
I'm going to have another trawl on the tinterweb this weekend, but it's looking like I'm going 'Alien'. I've not come across any bad reports about them or their products yet. Has anyone fitted heated grips to their bikes?
Last edited:
The battery on the AGSII is a good one. I live in a very hilly area and can get over 28miles out of it. Top speed is 18mph on throttle and about 16mph on the pedelec with a fresh charge. I think you would need to spend considerably more to get a better quality bike.
Another alternative not mentioned much is the Synergie Mistral, similar in price to the Alien but with a slightly different spec that may suit you better.
Another alternative not mentioned much is the Synergie Mistral, similar in price to the Alien but with a slightly different spec that may suit you better.
Heated grips? I use Gerbings Hybrid motorbike gloves - they come with a small Li battery and keep my hands toastie over winter on the cycle or the motorbike. Expensive, maybe, but I'm worth it!
The Synergie Mistral (which is distributed from the same area of Scotland as the Alien bikes!) is owned by a few people on here and was popular at the lower price range, although the company appears to have been overtaken in the support / customer service stakes by Alien, with some owners complaining that replacement batteries are out of stock and hard to obtain.
Ironically I have heard rumours that the owners are known to each other and were perhaps once business partners!
I wouldn't waste too much time with low offers, it's clear from their feedback details that they wont sell for less than the website price of £579. It seems a very sound bike for the money, there are drawbacks - you'll be able to find several recent-ish threads detailing some of these, but imho I really don't think you'll find much better at that end of the market.The ebay price is £599 or 'best offer'. I was going to offer £450 and take it from there, but I guess the final bit of haggling could include free panniers, as they look really good on the bike, and would take my lunchbox etc (as for my orange squash, I'll dilute it at work to save weight!)
Has anyone fitted heated grips to their bikes?
All the best, Rus.
I would not rule out getting an Alien conversion if your current bike is in good order. I have fitted one to my Giant Boulder and I am very happy with the result and at £400 it was excellent value. I saw no sense in getting rid of a perfectly good bike. The kit was very easy to fit and fun too. BTW there seem to be plenty of "bikers" on here - I have a BMW F800ST and can't wait for the better weather for the Beemer and the e-bike!
I've just checked out Synergies range. I hadn't come across them before. I'd just about decided on the Alien, and now I've got to start comparing again. Arghhhhh nooooo! Seriously though, thanks for mentioning them, I really like the look of the 'Avanti' but I need a rear rack and don't think I could make one fit. The Mistral looks almost the same spec as the Alien, for less money, but is only 6 speed. I think the Alien looks a bit better, but I like where the battery is on the Mistral.......I think I can see a pro-con list coming.
The big deal breaker for me is the 36V Alien vs the 24V synergie
I like the spec of the Syn and if the bike was 36V no contest with front and rear suspension.you could get a rack to fit the syn, I like the two power settings for sure and the battery box, in fact I can`t fault it other than that 36vs24.
My wife has 24V and always seems to keep up but she is a lot lighter than me and her bike is lighter than mine + I`m the one that always seems to carry the gear in my panniers. When we were out the other day we came across a decent hill and the 36V motor showed it`s head.
The Alien kit is faster than my bought E bike but then it`s fitted to a very light Evans MTB. The pedelec on my E bike is more suited to how i like to ride(when the crank is turning slow you get more help) up to the 15mph limit on the alien the assistance is greater when the crank is spinning fast. Some prefer it because you get more help in a lower gear on hills. Having said that I tend to ride the alien convert on throttle.
Now, how about I fit the Alien wheel to the front of my E bike and leave the rear hub on as well. Use the front wheel on throttle only and let the rear run on pedal assist, each with there own battery
what do you reckon NRG?
Dave
According to their website the Synergie Mistral is 36V 10Ah....maybe it's a new model?
Now you're just being crazy. If you're not careful, you'll end up with one of these.... YouTube - The fastest e-bike. Speed 120km/h ( 75mph) .....who in their right mind would want such a machine???? I'll take 2 please.Now, how about I fit the Alien wheel to the front of my E bike and leave the rear hub on as well. Use the front wheel on throttle only and let the rear run on pedal assist, each with there own battery
Dave
Last edited:
The Synergy Mistral is 36V, also available on Ebay...
SYNERGIE MISTRAL LITHIUM E-Bike Electric Bike Bicycle on eBay (end time 03-Mar-10 02:43:40 GMT)
SYNERGIE MISTRAL LITHIUM E-Bike Electric Bike Bicycle on eBay (end time 03-Mar-10 02:43:40 GMT)
Sorry! you mentioned the Avanti so I assumed that was the one.According to their website the Synergie Mistral is 36V 10Ah....maybe it's a new model?
Now you're just being crazy. If you're not careful, you'll end up with one of these.... YouTube - The fastest e-bike. Speed 120km/h ( 75mph) .....who in their right mind would want such a machine???? I'll take 2 please.
Related Articles
-
MTF Enterprises announces acquisition of EMU Electric Bikes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Wisper 806T folding bike wins Which? ‘Best Buy’- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Sustrans calls for protected cycle lanes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Amazon launch their first UK e-cargo micromobility hub- Started by: Pedelecs
