Tigergreen

I have Big Bens on my xduro Hardseven and that is indeed the size I fitted (27.5 x 2")

Sound wave, Sorry to go off topic, but what work stand is that in your pic? Does it cope with the weight of the bike ok? I've been thinking of putting one on my Christmas prezzie list from the missus and saw this one which looks very similar http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BICYCLE-REPAIR-WORK-STAND-HOME-CYCLE-BIKE-MECHANICS-MOUNTAIN-ROAD-PROFESSIONAL-/261011227165 Says it can handle 30kg, has good reviews and at less than £30 all in seems a good deal. Andy.

Hmmm....That's a very brief description! (maybe for fear of arousing suspicion?) I wonder if they've got the charger and battery key! (and indeed, the original receipt) Do hope the OP sees this as I reckon you may be on to something..

Have you considered Haibike? They do a junior sized bike which may be suitable (admittedly it's a hard tail but maybe fit a suspension seatpost?) http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Haibike-Sduro-Hardfour-RX-Junior-24W-Hardtail-MTB-2016-Electric-Bike_90870.htm?sku=315222&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4rbABRD_gfPA2-uQqroBEiQA58MNdHYySW9h-YHOkfh5LpXqd0cTclMaTaNzq62xiJPwYmcaAjYC8P8HA They also do the Sduro Hard life SL which although having full size 27.5" wheels, is a women-specific bike. So has smaller frame sizes and with the cranked crossbar might fit her?http://www.jejamescycles.com/haibike-sduro-hardlife-sl-mountain-bike-2016.html

Nope. He's been involved with e-bikes for several years and reckons should last several hundred if not thousands of miles with regular cleaning and maintenance. My Bosch CX powered Haibike had only done 40 miles! (He had a Cube in for service with the same Bosch system and that was still on its original chain after 2000 miles!) He thought, perhaps, that maybe it was a batch of faulty chains and so was going to check all the serial numbers on the rest of his Haibike stock to see if they're consecutive and thus possibly might have the same issue.

I don't know how close you are to Plymouth, but I can highly recommend Devon Electric Bikes http://devonelectricbikes.co.uk/ebikes/ They've got a good range and Gareth the proprietor is not at all pushy when it comes to a sale. He will allow you to take out several bikes for test rides to see what you find suitable. Test rides are by appointment only so he can dedicate time to you. After sales service is excellent too. ( I bought a bike from him just a few weeks ago and the chain snapped when I was out riding on Thursday. Rang him soon as I got back home. He was genuinely surprised as he had never known a chain snap so soon, couldn't apologise enough and even opened early on the Friday so I could drop the bike off to him to replace the chain while I waited before I started work! All without quibbling and free under warranty. ) Andy.

When I was test riding bikes I chose different style bikes with different systems to see how they compared. One of those was the Raleigh Strada road bike which uses the Shimano STEPS system incorporating a crank drive motor and 8 speed hub with automatic electronic shifting (you can manually override if you wish) I was impressed with it and the automatic gear changing was a hoot! However, at £2000 it is double the price of the Gtech. There is a short review of the Strada here http://ebiketips.co.uk/content/reviews/electric-bikes/first-ride-raleigh-strada-e-29 Andy.

Hmm..I'd have to say a wheel locking up is never good when braking on the road! I too rode motorbikes for years in my younger days and braking technique was to always lightly apply the rear brake a fraction before applying the front brake firmly. On a motorbike the front brakes are much more powerful than the rear (large twin front discs on front and a smaller single disc or drum on the rear) So, under heavy braking, the powerful front brakes will cope with the weight transference over the front wheel while the lighter rear brake should help prevent the rear locking up. However, on my push bike, the front and rear brakes are the same size (180mm hydraulic discs) and so even though I'm only applying the rear brake very lightly before applying the front, then it stands to reason the rear will be prone to locking up as weight transfers to the front wheel. The knobbly off road tyres will exacerbate this due to the lack of rubber actually in contact with the road. By fitting a tyre with a tread pattern which gives a far greater rubber contact area with the road (and hence creating more friction) then I would deem it reasonable to presume that the rear wheel will be less prone to locking up?

How do you find the grip on the road - especially under braking compared to your original tyres? I have very recently bought an XDURO Hardseven. I love it but I do find the rear wheel locks up very easily under heavy braking on tarmac - which I find a little disconcerting. My tyres are Racing Ralphs - so have a similar tread pattern to your Rapid Robs. Hence I have been considering getting a more suitable tyre for the road in the hope that the rear would be less prone to locking up. If the Big Bens offer this then they sound ideal. Would I have to fit narrower inner tubes? (The Racing Ralphs are 2.25" width compared to the 2" of the Big Bens ) The Big Ben in my size is on offer online for a really good price too, at the moment. Athleteshop has them for just over a tenner each ('though they are the Kevlar guard which I think offers less puncture protection than the Racing guard.) Thanks in anticipation, Andy.

Hi, Where is the frame number located on a Haibike Hardseven? I presume I would need it to get insurance cover. The only numbers I can find are underneath the battery on the frame's battery housing but I'm not sure if these are Haibike or Bosch serial numbers? Thanks, Andy.

Finally picked up the bike at the weekend and thought I'd go out for a quick short ride to ease my stiff old body back into cycling and riding in traffic again. What a laugh!! Some 20 minute ride! I didn't return home until 1 1/2 hours and nearly 20 miles later!! I found myself cycling around Plymouth seeking out ever steeper hills to see how the bike would cope with them. Needless to say, it coped brilliantly and the looks on the faces of a couple of youngsters on their lightweight road bikes as I breezed past them on one particular hill was a sight to behold! Only negative was the antagonistic attitude of a couple of motorists who would overtake me and then immediately ease tight into the kerb so as to prevent me going up the inside in stopped traffic queues at lights etc. Needless to say, a few choice words were exchanged! Anyway, here's a pic of the bike.

I understand what you are saying (the £600 discount merely brought the bike into the same price bracket as other similar specced bikes (such as the KTM Macina Force 27 10 Cx4, for example.) However, I think the bigger picture has to be regarded when considering an e-bike purchase: There are few e-bike stockists in Plymouth and especially of e-mountain bikes in particular (e.g think the nearest KTM dealer is some 25 miles away.) As I wanted to be able to physically test any bike to make sure it was suitable and not risk £2K on a 'blind' purchase on-line - only to possibly find a bike wasn't then what I expected upon delivery, then I had a limited options. As it was, the dealer I chose is very local to me, was very patient and certainly not pushy at all. He has a very good selection of different types and make of e-bike and I was able to spend a few hours road testing several of them to help make an informed decision on my final choice of bike. And my final choice was between the Yamaha powered Sduro hardseven and it's cousin the Bosch powered XDuro. I was going to go for the Sduro as there was little to choose between them on the road but at £1895 it was £705 cheaper than the Xduro. I wasn't offered any discount on the Sduro as he could sell them almost as quickly as he can get them in. However, no doubt due to the large price difference,the XDuro wasn't proving as popular - hence the substantial discount offer. So for a final price only £105 dearer than the Sduro, I've got a higher specced bike with the larger 500wh battery. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that although I may not have necessarily ended up with a bargain, I believe I have ended up with a purchase of very good value in that I have been able to buy at a price not matched anywhere else for my particular bike and from a dealer who is not only very local (less than 2 miles from my house) but with whom the whole buying experience was very pleasurable. Also, as he is Bosch registered/trained, I trust him to be able to offer a good after-sales service when it comes to servicing/software updates etc. Anyway, as an aside, I certainly believe that daveV8 has got a bargain with the price he paid for the Cube, considering its spec compared to other bikes for a similar price. Andy.

You can indeed. I Picked up my brand new Haibike XDuro Hardseven RC today from my local dealer (2016 model) and got a hefty £600 discount off the £2600 RRP (which, obviously, I was very happy with) Regards, Andy.

Mine arrived yesterday (thanks for the heads up d8veh.) Just one question as there was no paperwork with the light: When charging, will the led on the charger turn from red to green when the battery pack is fully charged? Regards, Andy.

Thanks for all the replies. I've made my decision. It'll be no surprise that I have gone for the XDURO with the Bosch CX motor. On the original road test, I thought the SDURO Yamaha had felt slightly more powerful than the XDURO Bosch. What I hadn't realised, however, is that the XDURO I had used for the test, was last year's model with the standard Bosch performance motor which has only got 60Nm max torque compared to the CX with it's 75Nm max torque! The CX will therefore feel just as powerful as the Yamaha. Because of the £600 discount offered, the dealer will not allow me to buy the XDURO on interest-free credit but will allow me to buy it using a credit card. So, I've paid him a £100 deposit to hold the bike and have successfully applied for a credit card which offers 0% on purchases over 27 months - so I'll get my interest-free credit that way instead! It'll be a week or two before the card comes through, so it'll give me time to consider a decent lock, lights, new helmet etc. I feel like a kid at Christmas and can't wait to finally get my hands on the bike..!! Regards, Andy.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. Having decided that the Cyclamatic power plus my dad lent me simply isn't going to cut it as my choice of ebike, I've been doing a lot more research into other options and have test ridden several bikes over the last few days - including hybrids and mtb's with either rear hub drives or crank drives. Today I tested a Haibike SDURO Hardseven SL with the Yamaha motor and was very impressed (was my favourite so far.) The dealer then suggested I took out its stablemate the XDURO Hardseven RC with the Bosch CX motor to see how they compare (which I had initially dismissed due to its £700 hike in price over the SDURO I.e. £2600 compared to £1895) Anyway, having been impressed with that too but unwilling to pay the additional premium, he said he would knock the price down from £2600 to £2000 for a cash sale! He won't give any discount on the SDURO as it has been outselling the XDURO (presumably because of the large price difference), but would allow me to take it on interest free credit. If I want the XDURO on interest free, then I would then have to pay the full price) On paper, provided I can get the cash together, I guess it should be a simple choice of going for the higher specced XDURO as it will only be £105 dearer than the SDURO - but both seem to have pros and cons. I think I actually marginally prefer the way the Yamaha motor drives (it seems a little quieter and I like the initial surge it gives when first setting off) but the gearchange on the Bosch seems just a bit smoother and I much prefer the Intuvia display and control switches as its simpler to use and just looks better quality than that of the Yamaha . Also, I believe the Bosch system can have software updates carried out by the dealer whereas the Yamaha are factory set. The Bosch battery is also 500wh compared to the 400wh of the Yamaha. However,I can find plenty of reviews on the SDURO (all of which seem to be positive) but not many reviews on the XDURO - so if anyone has the XDURO can you let me know what you think of it, please? Also, are there any reliability issues with either make of motor? Will need to make a decision soon as once the last few have gone then the prices will go up as the next in will be the 2017 models. Many thanks, Andy

I'm guessing this is it? https://electricbikereview.com/rad-power-bikes/radmini/ Andy.

Cheers, Mark. Looks like that could well do the job. Similar dimensions and the mounting holes look the same. Anyway, at under £6.50 it's definitely worth a punt and as it seems to be the last one, I've gone and ordered it. Thanks again, Andy.

Hello everybody, Joined a few weeks ago to gen up on ebikes etc. as I want to get fitter and lose some weight. I suffer from chronic lower back pain so have to be careful as to what type of exercise is suitable. I'm thinking of taking up cycling again but am put off using a standard bike as I'm faced with steepish hills for about half a mile or so as soon as I leave the house. I really don't want to be having to put in maximum exertion as soon as I start a ride - hence my interest in an ebike as an alternative. To that end, my father has lent me his Cyclamatic Power Plus to see if an ebike is suitable for me. However, it does have a fault that I need to sort first before I take it out. The ignition switch is faulty in that if the key is jiggled only slightly in the 'ON' position, the lights on the handlebar control go out meaning a total loss of power. (Jiggle the key back and they come on again and power is restored.) Thus suspecting the switch contacts can't be making fully, I removed the switch assembly from the battery casing to investigate further. Disappointingly, the switch is an enclosed unit including the locking mechanism -rather like a motorcycle ignition switch - so the contacts are inaccessible. There is a grub screw which I removed from the casing of the switch and underneath there is a pin which I also removed in the hope that I could then remove the key barrel ( rather like that of a car) and hopefully expose the contacts underneath.but alas that didn't work either. I have put it all back together and unsurprisingly, still have the same problem. So my question is:- are the ignition switches available as a spare item? Are they generic or unique to each brand of ebike? If not available, then my plan is to remove the two wires from the back of the switch, drill a hole in the side of the aluminium battery casing and mount a water proof single pole toggle switch of a suitable current rating (10A?). The two wires would then be attached to this new switch. The existing key switch would then just act as a locking mechanism. Thanks, Andy.