bateman

I bought a new Haibike Trekking for £1,800 a year ago, and have had 5,000 miles of trouble free commuting so far. Saved £540pa gym membership Saved £1600pa train season ticket Bought a three year biannual service plan for £100pa So even in the first year, there have been modest savings and its much more pleasant and reliable than getting the train. Fingers crossed I should start to see significant savings in the coming years and a low cost/mile.

London's taxes prop up most of the rest of the U.K.

Think my Yamaha is very quiet, but I mistook some early irritating bike noise for the motor. Fixed by the shop lubricating the wheel bearings. Only notice a slight motor whine when there's no traffic or wind.

Love my Haibike Sduro Trekking bought for similar reasons. To reliably make the whole journey on full power you'll need to charge before returning though.

I'm only reasonably fit and in my late 30s, but the badass dongle is more than fast enough for me on an otherwise standard haibike sduro trekking. On flat with no wind 30mph is fairly easy physically, 35 for short bursts, 40 if really putting in a lot of effort. Even though 30 is fairly easy, I only feel I can go that fast safely maybe 10% of the time and my average speed is 15 despite a fairly open commute. Braking distance / visibility are the main limiting factors. I've only been overtaken once by a bike in months. At 30mph a more confident Kalkhoff whizzed past - am guessing at over 40mph without much effort so guessing a bigger motor.

No problems so far on my 2015 sduro trekking after 500 miles of happy commuting

I tried and ended up getting another bike. See last few posts of http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cyclotricity-kit-review.19793/

I changed the bike to a cheap hybrid and switched over the kit. The forks weren't the only reason for changing. My old single speed racer was perfect for my old road only commute in London, but a bigger hybrid with straight handlebars and wider tyres is much more suited to my new mainly coastal path commute. I chose this particular bike, mainly because it was £200, in stock near me, and seemed acceptable quality. But its been surprisingly alright: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes-and-classic-bikes/raleigh-edale-mens-hybrid-bike (largest frame, I'm 6ft1) Steel forks, and the drops didn't need to be filed to fit - checked this by taking the wheel into the shop before buying. Generally seems more suitable for an electric conversion. Much more comfortable and stable. I've been leaving it in top gear permanently. Have now done 100 miles on the new bike. Including my 26 mile total commute today. It was quicker than by car, and much more fun. Throttle only it does about 18mph on the flat with no wind, and has a 25 mile range on my route being used in that way. I've run it throttle only for most of the time so far, as you're supposed to fully discharge then charge the battery 3 times before part charging and I wanted to do that as quickly as possible. But I won't use it throttle only day to day. I'd prefer to pedal lightly most of the time, and put in some effort to move quickly on smooth open sections when they're quiet. Seems there's little (but some) help from the motor in these bursts. Rare opportunities but I've been up to about 25mph according to my phone (or 35 according to Strava, suspect the former is more likely). In most situations, the motor is very quiet but its whir will be noticeable to those around you on throttle only. Only gets a little brash on steep hills. The kit feels pretty strong to me. Particularly when fully charged. There seems to be a very gradual drop in power throughout the battery's discharge. The flat cruising speed appears to drop from 18mph to 15mph over the full range and acceleration drops proportionally. The battery range is so much further than my point to point journey this won't affect me, but I'm glad I didn't go for the smallest battery option. Loving the kit, and my new commute. Very happy with my new electric bike. Cyclotricity have been helpful. Knowledgeable, quick to respond to emails, and easy to reach by phone.

Think there's a lot of pro gamblers, mainly on the exchanges. Have known a few who've done it for a while then stopped. One system betting on football, other per hole golf. Both stopped as very time consuming, dull, and could make an easier living working.

Have talked about the fork problem at length with 4 local bike shops, and they've all come to the conclusion that I should move the kit onto another bike. A couple tried to fit other front forks, and couldn't. The steel racing forks they had were too tight on the hub, and non-racing forks didn't fit the frame. Any suggestions to fix the fork replacement problem? If not I'm reluctantly thinking of getting a hybrid bike for about £300, moving over the kit and selling my old bike.

Added self amalgamating tape. Looking further into the forks, suspect the current ones are unsuitable for conversion and I should change them before riding the bike again. Had assumed the whole fork was metal because the dropouts were, but they do seem to be carbon fibre above after a closer look. Can see grey dust where the hub has rubbed and the evans spec does say carbon which I'd assumed was a mistake (Langster fork materials changed over the years). Don't fancy changing the fork myself. Think I'll go back to the shop and ask them to fit a new steel fork that's the same length, but with 10mm dropouts so filing isn't required and wide enough so there's no rubbing on the hub. Seems there's mainstream brand steel forks for < £30 on amazon, and seen other places online charging £20 to fit so will go with something like that unless anyone has some other advice e.g. a specific fork that's best for e-bikes.

Thanks. I might just put a heat shrink tube over that whole area.

Thanks guys. Although not normal think this is the designed orientation for the cyclotricty kit, comments on this issue from the manufacturer in http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cyclotricity-bike.10630/ and it came out of the box setup for this orientation. Think this potential problem will affect me less than most as I'll only be using the bike when no rain is forecast, driving when that isn't the case.

Great, thank you. Have ordered one and will fit later this week.

Appreciate your advice d8veh. I've attached pics of the bottom of the two dropouts. Made sure they were both still very tight after the necessary filing to get them in. Torque washer on both. Think the dropouts are aluminium. They're light silver metal under the paint and magnets don't stick to them. Think they're ok, or I should I fit torque arms / replace the forks? Thanks