Volt range of e-bikes.

[TedG]

Anyone using a Volt bike? Would be interested in your views and opinions and experiences.

 

[TedG]

Nobody using or with any opinions of the Volt range of e-bikes?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They're basically good quality Chinese bikes. If that's the sort of thing you want, they're perfect, but don't come on here later and ask how to derestrict them. If you want speed, there's better bikes.

 

[TedG]

I have only been using various electric bikes for fifteen years so I am a bit of a novice compared to you guys, I was just interested in any Volt bike owners and what their experiences were.

I have found a thread but it isn't a new one and there have been several model additions since then.

As for speed I have done all that over 35 years on motorbikes right up to 170mph superbikes so speed or derestriction wasn't high on my list.
Not sure I even mentioned speed.

If in the unlikely event I decided on derestriction I would obviously not "come on here" for advice, I would fall back on my experience learnt over half a lifetime in auto engineering and indeed my colleagues in electronics during that time.

At 67 now with a bucket full of health issues I am not interested in competition, I am still after an easy life with a bit of necessary assistance on an e-bike and was interested in Volt owner's comments to compare with our own opinions on these excellent bikes over the last two years.

Many thanks for your response anyhow.

 

[tommie]

Hi Ted, maybe you are aware of the Volt dealer over in Castlewellan?

http://www.voltbikes.co.uk/castlewellan.php

I see they do test rides.
also the range includes that shimano steps motor that gets good reviews.

Worth a try.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If in the unlikely event I decided on derestriction I would obviously not "come on here" for advice, I would fall back on my experience learnt over half a lifetime in auto engineering and indeed my colleagues in electronics during that time.

I think you misunderstand me. What I meant was that it's probably not easy or maybe impossible to derestrict a Volt bike. If that were important to you, it would be better to look elsewhere.

We get loads of people that come to this forum saying that they bought X bike, but they're not happy with the 15mph and want to derestrict it. It would always have been better to ask that question before buying the bike.

 

[TedG]

Hi Ted, maybe you are aware of the Volt dealer over in Castlewellan?

http://www.voltbikes.co.uk/castlewellan.php

I see they do test rides.
also the range includes that shimano steps motor that gets good reviews.

Worth a try.

Hi Tommie,
I do know the dealer in Castlewellan and what a place to have a test ride!!!
Hills?? Just a bit.
We actually used our local dealer in Belfast and bought an Infinity for me and a Pulse for my wife.
Only 1500 miles so far but well pleased.
I can only say that they are excellent in just about every way and light years ahead of my previous bikes technology wise. We have yet to find anything we don't like about them (saddles changed of course) As you say the Steps motor is a delight to use and experience. Lots of folk stop us to admire and I always tell the truth that they are superb bikes for those of us who need a bit of help.
I was just curious as to why there is little or no mention of that range on this forum and was interested in views of other owners.
Sitting indoors furious at the moment because of these stupid regulations when we could be on our way to the Titanic Quarter on the excellent tow path system.

 

[RobF]

[QUOTE="TedG, post: 392795, member: 20894"
We actually used our local dealer in Belfast and bought an Infinity for me and a Pulse for my wife.
Only 1500 miles so far but well pleased.
[/QUOTE]

So you've already got two Volt bikes and have done 1,500 miles.

You should be telling us about them, not the other way around.

 

[TedG]

So you've already got two Volt bikes and have done 1,500 miles.
You should be telling us about them, not the other way around.


I was looking for opinions etc from other users in order to compare notes.

 

[RobF]

For what it's worth, the Volt hub bikes have always looked dear to me for what is a fairly standard Chinese import.

If you root around, you will find near identical bikes with the same display badged differently for a lot less.

The battery behind the seatpost design of the Pulse is now quite old, and £1,500 for the small capacity version isn't particularly good value.

On t'other hand, an elderly friend of mine has one because he wanted something with a full speed throttle, and he's pleased with it.

http://www.voltbikes.co.uk/pulse-hybrid-electric-bike.php

 

[Crockers]

Have you used the STePs system in automatic mode? If so is it any good?

 

[TedG]

For what it's worth, the Volt hub bikes have always looked dear to me for what is a fairly standard Chinese import.

If you root around, you will find near identical bikes with the same display badged differently for a lot less.

The battery behind the seatpost design of the Pulse is now quite old, and £1,500 for the small capacity version isn't particularly good value.

On t'other hand, an elderly friend of mine has one because he wanted something with a full speed throttle, and he's pleased with it.

As I said previously I have been approached by several people who showed interest, commenting on how neat a bike the Infinity was. One admitted that he had just had a "good deal" with a High Street company so he took it up but after seeing the Infinity his comments were "well you get what you pay for I suppose" and it was obvious that he was happy(ish) but realised that he didn't have what he saw as "obvious quality".
The battery behind the post design on my wife's Pulse is a bit awkward but not impossible. The battery on mine is on the downtube and the fittings to hold and connect it are strong, clever and well made.
We did a bit of research and discovered that both bikes were going to be what we thought as expensive but after seeing many more expensive models and makes we now realise that we made a good choice.
after nearly two years if you asked me would I do the same deal I would answer Yes we would.

 

[TedG]

Have you used the STePs system in automatic mode? If so is it any good?

Hi Crockers. I understand there is an automatic mode which was not set up at the time of purchase because it was being "refined". I understand that I can have that setting activated now but I have been hesitant as I quite like the manual electronic control. I have heard some comments that the auto setting can "overwork" by changing unnecessarily often depending on conditions and what effort is being put in by the rider. I am not convinced yet of its effectiveness so I will stall on that idea for a while.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I was just curious as to why there is little or no mention of that range on this forum and was interested in views of other owners.

Probably because they're a little expensive for what they are. They have a good specification, but the prices push them into competition with Cubes and Scotts, etc.

Look at the Alpine X, which is £2000. It's 33% more expensive than the Oxygen S-cross MTB, which has a similar spec., and the Oxygen has the advantage that it can be adjusted to go very fast.

The Pulse X is also £2000. Its main competitor would be the Wisper Torque. Again the Volt is much more expensive, and I'd say that the Wispers are better because they're quieter, have the torque sensor and also can be made to go fast.

 

[Crockers]

But the Infinity is a different bike, needs to compared to the Wallerang or other STePs bikes

 

[TedG]

Probably because they're a little expensive for what they are. They have a good specification, but the prices push them into competition with Cubes and Scotts, etc.

Look at the Alpine X, which is £2000. It's 33% more expensive than the Oxygen S-cross MTB, which has a similar spec., and the Oxygen has the advantage that it can be adjusted to go very fast.

The Pulse X is also £2000. Its main competitor would be the Wisper Torque. Again the Volt is much more expensive, and I'd say that the Wispers are better because they're quieter, have the torque sensor and also can be made to go fast.

Fair points and relevant to many.
However in our case neither speed nor cost are of any concern to us. We just bought what we liked and as I said if we had to do the same again we would buy the same bikes.

 

[Danidl]

Fair points and relevant to many.
However in our case neither speed nor cost are of any concern to us. We just bought what we liked and as I said if we had to do the same again we would buy the same bikes.

Is that not The best recommendation. Cost is one thing, value another , as a canny NI person, you know the difference.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes, but in this case, there was no comparison done between the Wisper and Oxygen bikes vs the Volt. If it had been done, the Volt might not seem such good value for money. Value is exactly what's holding back the Volt. As I said, they're lovely bikes, but I reckon that you can get better alternatives cheaper. Better and cheaper means better value.

The question was why they don't get mentioned much. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. If they were good value, everybody would be buying them and raving about them on this forum. The fact that they don't, should tell you something. The fact that OP can afford to pay double what a bike is worth is irrelevant. OK, he's happy with his bike. There's no reason not to be, but had he bought a Wisper or anything else, he might have been happier. On the other hand, if Volt bikes are the only bikes that his only local dealer sell, then that would be a compelling logical reason to buy one (or two).

 

[TedG]

Yes, but in this case, there was no comparison done between the Wisper and Oxygen bikes vs the Volt. If it had been done, the Volt might not seem such good value for money. Value is exactly what's holding back the Volt. As I said, they're lovely bikes, but I reckon that you can get better alternatives cheaper. Better and cheaper means better value.

The question was why they don't get mentioned much. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. If they were good value, everybody would be buying them and raving about them on this forum. The fact that they don't, should tell you something. The fact that OP can afford to pay double what a bike is worth is irrelevant. OK, he's happy with his bike. There's no reason not to be, but had he bought a Wisper or anything else, he might have been happier. On the other hand, if Volt bikes are the only bikes that his only local dealer sell, then that would be a compelling logical reason to buy one (or two).

When we lived in England for 33 years we were involved with many makes, models and types of cycles both before and after my health issues.
There was a vast choice of dealers there and we visited a lot of them over the years.

Upon returning to Northern Ireland we found remarkably few cycle dealers in comparison and it didn’t take a genius to work out that to transport bikes over here with the possible after sales problems were issues which we didn’t need just to save a few pounds.

We have counted the pennies all our lives but at the beginning of our pension years we stopped that ritual and when we saw and inspected and tried out what we believed to be two quality bikes we bought them even though our research showed that they might be on the expensive side.

There were also a lot much more expensive but didn’t appear to offer any real advantages which would sway us with our basic needs.

We have to have respect for the countless who will put cost ahead of most things because we spent most of our lives in that situation.

Keeping control of health issues now are far ahead of value for money in our personal cases and as I sit here at a PC unable to legally ride my bike, the few quid in my back pocket means little or nothing. Count yourselves lucky over there for the moment and start hoping that this ludicrous situation doesn’t drift across into your lives.

After our two seasons on these particular bikes, unpopular as they might be, we have spoken to many other e-bike riders who all agree that they are pretty effective looking bikes.
Many have said that they never had previously heard of Volt but suggested that if they had then their choices might have been different.

As I said before if we had to buy two new e-bikes we would make exactly the same decision.

 

[mike adams]

I bought a Volt Pulse just over a year ago, i would still buy the same model again if mine got nicked, my only issue is with my local dealer who isn't going to get any more of my business!