recommendations for bike for 12 mile commute each way

[Pedematt]

Hi guys and girls

i am looking into ebikes as a replacement for my motorbike, which i use for my commute into the centre of Nottingham. my journey is currently just under 12 miles and it takes me about 35mins. i have done the journey on my mountain bike with narrow trail tyres on occasion and it takes 55mins on the road. i need to be 45mins on the ebike which probably isnt unreasonable.

there arent any really steep hills but it seems like it is gently uphill both ways if you were to ride it. there is a hill into town obviously as thats how Nottm is and a big ish hill to get home.

if i was to get an ebike it has to be something that will get me to work every day. i carnt wimp out and catch the bus otherwise the wife, well she wouldnt be happy.

i was initially interested in the bh neo race or cross. the race because i would have thought i could have maintained a higher speed but the cross because a route i thought i might take as an alternative to the road is probably 1 mile on roughish track and 2 or 3 on canal trail.

but i carnt test the bh easily.

in fact i carn't test many bikes because there doesnt appear to be many, if any, dealers close to nottm that sell ebike.

so i wondered about narrowing the search down a bit and hoped you could help. i am looking for a bike for a 12 mile commute each way, i dont need a mountain bike and i am nervous about getting something like the KTM erace because of running out of gears like i do on my non ebike. something like the neo cross maybe. i am willing to spend £2000-£2500 because i will be replacing my motorbike.

can you help

thanks

matt

 

[Artstu]

Loughborough isn't too far is it? Electric Bikes | E-bikes | Electric Bicycles UK

 

[Deleted member 4366]

To do that journey in 45 minutes means you have to average 16mph. therefore you need a bike that can do at least 20mph, which means a de-restricted one. It's not easy to de-restrict the BH Emotion Neos. you can get a dongle for the Bosch-motored bikes, but with the speed limit released, even the bigger 11aH battery looks a bit marginal. Once you release the speed limit, the range will go right down if you use the speed, which you will. You really need something with at least a 15 aH battery unless you want to pedal hard.
Frank's Xipi bikes would have the speed and the range, so have a look at them.
Welcome to Xipi

Don't forget about security. Unless you've got a secure place to park it at work, the chance of it being nicked is high.

 

[freddy]

I'm also in Nottingham. There is an ebike shop in Long Eaton. If I was spending that kind of money I would want to try first. powered bikes

 

[Artstu]

To do that journey in 45 minutes means you have to average 16mph. therefore you need a bike that can do at least 20mph, which means a de-restricted one.

That's not strictly correct. My bike is legal and yet I can manage average speeds of 18 mph on some of my rides that don't include extreme hills, they still have plenty of less steep climbs though.

 

[103Alex1]

^^ that's called capitalizing on the downhills !

Using trails / canal paths might actually slow the journey down unless they knock miles off the total commute or cut out traffic lights etc....

 

[Pedematt]

Hi guys thanks for the replies.

I definitely want to try anything before I buy.

I hadn't realised 50cycles were in Loughborough, thanks for pointing it out.

I thought 45mins wasn't too bad because when I had a go on a step through ebike it seemed quite easy to maintain 30kph (well according the the computer anyway) and if I can do the journey in 55mins unassisted and on a mountain bike then 16mph av didn't seem unreasonable.

Thanks matt

 

[Pedematt]

I'm also in Nottingham. There is an ebike shop in Long Eaton. If I was spending that kind of money I would want to try first. powered bikes

Thanks for this freddy. I don't know why these sites don't come up when you search on google

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

I have averaged over 16.5mph fairly easily. However I would state that I found a high gear ratio to be very useful to take advantage of any downhill sections. Panasonic hub drive KTM's have some bikes with good gear ratio or a Bosch bike with more gears e.g. Sram dual drive such as AVE SH9. Good luck with the search. Orginally from Leicester area so though we are not based there we are more than happy to help customers in that area (we go to that area every so often anyway). Or perhaps a nice day trip to Cromer . Anyway all the best, look forward to hearing what bike you go for
David

 

[Pedematt]

Thanks David

you are right and as some of the chaps above have pointed out, in order to average 16.5 you need to take advantage of any down bits. my mountain bike has 11T & 44T at the front and you have to pedal crazy to get to 30mph downhill. i wouldnt want to do that on a commute though.

I have averaged over 16.5mph fairly easily. However I would state that I found a high gear ratio to be very useful to take advantage of any downhill sections. Panasonic hub drive KTM's have some bikes with good gear ratio or a Bosch bike with more gears e.g. Sram dual drive such as AVE SH9. Good luck with the search. Orginally from Leicester area so though we are not based there we are more than happy to help customers in that area (we go to that area every so often anyway). Or perhaps a nice day trip to Cromer . Anyway all the best, look forward to hearing what bike you go for
David

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Anybody can average 16mph, but not riding 12 miles to work through a city centre. Don't forget, once you're over 15 mph, you're pedalling on your own. Some bikes cut off at exactly 15mph, and even for those that don't (with a couple of exceptions), the power tails off rapidly thereafter.

 

[Sacko]

Not like the idea of building your own?

 

[hopper_rider]

I saw this the other day
Electric Bikes from Raleigh UK
You can search for dealers local to you

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Kindly pointed out by Mountainsport. I didn't know about this one, which has a big battery to provide the power for sustained high speed. They say, "250Watt. High efficient Hi Torque Hi power", but that doesn't mean very much when trying to compare it. I would guess that it's got the same Dapu motor as the BH Emotion Neo, because it mentions a 11T top gear, which normally means Cassette gears, and there aren't many cassette motors. 11T top gear is necessary for high speed pedalling. It also has the infamous "off-road" switch for speeds up to 25mph.
Mountain Sport Electric Mountain Bike | LifeCyle Electric Bikes

 

[trex]

pedematt,
if you want to spend more than £1,500, don't buy Chinese, buy a Bosch or a Kalkhoff.
The law of diminishing return hits the Chinese bikes much harder than German bikes.
Chinese bikes are good value if the components are sourced from China.

 

[Jonah]

If you want legal speed, I would suggest you try the Kalkhoff Pro-connects at 50cycles. See my review in the reviews section.

 

[Martin1]

If you want legal speed, I would suggest you try the Kalkhoff Pro-connects at 50cycles. See my review in the reviews section.

If not, try the BS10, probably the most fun you can have in Lycra!

 

[Pedematt]

thanks guys. i will take a look at the kalkhoffs. although the BS10 is probably too much for what i was looking to spend, the pro-connects is less.

i read your review jonah, thanks for pointing out. it sounds like you have a good bike there

thanks

matt

 

[wissy]

I got a courtesy AVE bike which had actually been on my shortlist of bikes although not a Bosch one. I found it so different to the KTM Macina (Bosch) for not only the motor systems / gearing but also the quality was much higher on KTM (in my opinion).

I can be a bit forgetful and manage easily the 7.5 miles trip to work and back using turbo all the while (I will get fit I will get fit I will get fit) and have one more 'trip' to work left spare if I forget to charge it when I get home.. But then I would be stucken. it is fairly hilly there and obviously more downhilly on way back.

i purchased a spare charger to charge it up in work in case I forgot the night before. It is there for emergency use and rarely used but a lifesaver a couple of times. It is a 400 nghhzthlllthingiemyjig battery

 

[Pedematt]

I tested the bh neo. I quite liked it to be honest. It was quite rapid at accelerating beyond 30kph. It wasn't a long test I had though. Next I want to try the KTM ecross p. it is a little cheaper than say the neo cross but appears to have better components.

I also tried a different cycle route to work which was 11.7 miles in 50mins on my mountain bike so I definitely think 45mins is in reach on a ebike. I was a little tired though