What should I try?

[Danno]

I have been thinking about the purchase of an electric bike since the summer. The choice is far bigger than I had anticipated and frankly I am confused. Would you of the kind soles on this web site be able to offer some advice?

I live most of the time in Brighton and would be doing most of my riding here for social travel, excersize and to enjoy the area. I am 61 next week not fit and too heavy.

I have decided not to buy a push bike due to the Steep hills in the area.

 

[flecc]

Hello Danno, welcome to the forum. Could you narrow down the choice a bit for us by giving some idea of your budget?

 

[Cyclezee]

A warm welcome Danno on this chilly day.

As Flecc says, your budget is the best place to start. As you say the choice available are big. It gets even bigger if take into consideration conversion kits as well as complete bikes.

Once you have set a budget, read all you can from this forum and elsewhere. Then very importantly, try as many bikes as possible before you buy.

The best advice you will ever get anywhere comes from the man who has already responded to your thread.

This may sound like a cliche, but his word is gospel, unbiased, impartial, extremely knowledgeable and totally honest. Want to know anything about electric bikes, just ask Flecc.

 

[bikesuser]

Have you checked out one of these?
Cruiser 4 Electric Bike
E Go Folding Bike

 

[Danno]

Hello Danno, welcome to the forum. Could you narrow down the choice a bit for us by giving some idea of your budget?

Thank you for replying to my request. I have a good budget of up to about £2000.00 and have looked at quite a lot of sites. I cannot understand why some bikes are so expensive and others with what seems to be the same or similar specs are half the price. I do have a reasonable budget but do not want to over pay although I want to spend my money wisely though.

 

[flecc]

That budget certainly gives you plenty of choice Danno, but as you say, you don't want to spend more than is necessary. Since you have some steep hills to tackle, there's two approaches to that. One is a powerful hub motor bike, the other a crank drive bike where the motor drives through the bike's gears so the motor can take advantage of lower gears for hills, car fashion.

Most crank drive bikes are pedelecs, meaning you have to pedal all the time, and most demand that you supply a part of the effort needed, generally about half in standard power mode and a third in high power mode. There is the odd exception like the Tonaro though, this having a twistgrip throttle like some of those mentioned below.

Hub motor bikes don't demand you supply part of the power, though the pedelec ones do need the pedals turning to get power. Those with twistgrip throttles allow you stop pedalling at times when the going is easy, but some find having to operate a twistgrip all the time a bit tiring.

Do you have any preference with regard to these two types?

Respond as frequently as you like Danno, then we'll get things narrowed down for you.
.

 

[Danno]

Thanks very much Flecc. I am very grateful to you for your help. I spent a few hours yesterday studying the various bikes available and comments on this web site. The Torano is popular and the Wisper seems to be well regarded although some of their bikes seem a little overpriced. I think the next move for me is to test ride a selection of bikes. I think I may wait for some warmer weather though.

 

[yselmike]

My Flyer cost euro 4100,the basic bike with a 10ah battery cost 3700 i got a 16ah battery +200 and an extra charger +200 thats at work so I top up at work and when I get back home.
A new battery will cost about 8-900 euro so a 1/4 of the bike is in battery alone roughly,
One bike you see will cost 1200 a good deal then you see its got a 8ah battery not so good
one at 1500 with a 15ah battery may be a better deal you see what I mean
check all the specs,gears basic shimano or high end,brakes Magura or halfords basic,
Its my first E-bike so I am on a learning curve when i need to replace this one i will get Rolhoff[sp] gears
as I dont have hills in the Netherlands,
you will have to test ride the bikes thats a must the difference is amazing,

 

[flecc]

Yes, definitely test rides are important Danno, that way you'll better appreciate the differences between the types mentioned. The differences are quite substantial and can easily rule out one type. I can't blame you for waiting for somewhat better weather after this morning's severe frost!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Danno, welcome to the forum!

Thanks for your comments on Wisper bikes, they are well regarded due to their quality and just as importantly to our commitment to after sales service. Unfortunately this does mean our bikes can look a little more expensive than our competition sometimes. If you were to buy a Wisper you could rest assured that we would always be in a position to look after your investment. We hold large stocks of spares in our Cheltenham service center going back to our original bikes seven years ago. Most parts can be dispatched within two days.

We find that people who ride a Wisper will normally understand where the extra money has gone, so like the others who have replied to your question I absolutely recommend that you should try a good selection. I too am larger than I should be but by quite a lot more than you! I use my 905sel to ride up the north downs in Kent and I can handle the 14% gradients quite easily, so if you do test a Wisper I would suggest that you give an sel a try.



All the best

David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

We think it's cold here?

This morning I received this image from a Canadian Wisperer he still rides in Minus 38 degrees C!



All the best

David

 

[bevisonwheels]

and there's me thinking how brave I was going out yesterday at minus three degrees....I'm a wimp in comparison! ( but it was sunny and a lovely ride)

 

[JuicyBike]

Whereabouts are you Dan?

 

[flecc]

Whereabouts are you Dan?

Danno is in Brighton, Bob.

 

[Danno]

I live in Brighton and work in London.

I had the opportunity to get out at the weekend and try some electric bikes, I now understand why there is such a price difference between them. I tried an I Zip that was not what I was expecting but cheap at one end and the Metro at the the other that was powerful but too heavy for my taste. My favourites included the Eagle from Free go, the Wisper 905se and the Raleigh, although I felt this bike lacked the power of the other two. I am waiting to try the sel from Wisper before I make up my mind which one to go for.

 

[flecc]

Glad you had a chance to try a few Danno. The Raleigh may have been the one with the Panasonic crank drive system from what you say. If so you've already narrowed the choice down to a hub motor bike and once you've tried the Wisper sel, a good selection of those.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Danno

I am pleased you liked the Wisper 905se, and am sure you will enjoy the extra torque and higher end components on the 905sel. Did you try an Alpino?

Not all our dealers have the sels in stock yet, if you would like to drop me a line to dmiall@me.com I will see if I can get one to a shop near to you. It maybe in London if that's OK?

All the best

David

 

[Eaglerider]

My favourites included the Eagle from Free go, the Wisper 905se and the Raleigh, although I felt this bike lacked the power of the other two. I am waiting to try the sel from Wisper before I make up my mind which one to go for.

Hi Danno,

I reached the same conclusion as you, at the last gasp it was the Freego or the Wisper. I actually bought the Freego which has been fantastic for the 500 miles I've done so far, but i think I might have been just as happy with the Wisper as they are very similar and I think use the same motor. For me it was a pretty impulsive purchase.

I do think you should try a crank drive as well, especially if its very hilly round your way, as they do have an edge on really steep stuff. Nonetheless I suspect you will ultimately go for a Freego or Wisper.

I'm only 40 miles from you, so if you get a big battery version (most important), we could meet up for a Beer around Lewes perhaps. Happy hunting.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Danno,

eZee has an excellent range of bikes that has not been mentioned previously in this thread.

You can check them out here eZee Electric Bikes Bicycles

Regards,

 

[tonyishuk]

There are probably suppliers in the Brighton area, I purchased two Freego cycles from a shop in Worthing

(Kardinal Mobility
82-84 Broadwater St West
Worthing
West Sussex
BN14 9DE

Tel: 01903 211931)

Pleased with the purchase, and after sales service. (Battery and charger went "pop" together, and both replaced within a week) There is a thread on this site with a review of Freego Bikes.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bike-reviews/10149-freego-eagle.html

Rgds