Kenny

The Mirrycle is the best I've come across. I've been using them for years and have them fitted on three of my bikes. I broke the glass on one recently when I came off my cargo bike on ice. I've searched for a new one but it seems the glass replacement, on it's own, is only available from the USA. It's the first time I've damaged one and they've taken a lot of knocks. Just a pity the replacement glass isn't available as the bracket on mine is still fine.

Thanks for the reply's. The bearings are rolling smoothly. The pair of wheels I bought only cost £40 and were only Single wall rims. ( I always buy Double Wall ones but couldn't find any fitted with Sealed Bearings). A few days ago my son fell off the bike on black ice and came back with a one inch buckle on the front wheel (he was OK thankfully, just bruised) I was able to to get it spinning straight again using my truing stand but I'm sure double walled wheels would have fared better. Pity I couldn't have bought stronger wheels, but it seems the more you pay the lighter the wheel. With a Cargo bike all I want is durability but strong heavier wheels, like tandem wheels, are not so easy to source.

My Xtracycle cargo bike has seen a lot of use since I bought it about 8 years ago. It's not required much maintenance but in recent years my oldest son has grown to adult size and uses the bike every day, in all weathers, for his paper run. His riding style is not as gentle as mine and I've had one broken wheel axle (hollow type) and a couple of bent ones (solid type). The wheel bearings seem to wear quickly and get slack and gritty so I thought I'd try a pair of wheels fitted with sealed cartridge bearings. They feel super smooth and being sealed should keep out the road crud. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this type of wheel bearing regarding their service life, reliability etc. as they don't seem as popular as cup and cone type.

The later Panasonic motors have a lot of power. My friend has a 2012 Pro Connect S which uses the 350w Panasonic motor. It's lowest power setting provides more power than my 2008 Pro Connect S does in it's highest setting. He's covered over 4000 fast commuting miles and the motors been faultless, with just the usual regular chain replacement issues of most high powered pedelecs.

I have one of the first ProConnect S's, a 2008 model with a 250w motor. The 350w version was introduced in 2010 I think. My bike multiplies your input by up to 1.5 times and I can always keep pace with any Racing bike cyclists I've come across. I'm 56, 11stone and of average fitness. The cut-off speed (which can be easily raised) is about 22mph.

If the Roadies are anything like the ones in my neck of the woods, you'd be about "as welcome as a fart in a space suit" as Billy Connolly would say!

Looks terrific Trex. I've been searching for years for an unobtrusive, lightweight set up like this to fit to my Scott Sportster that has been gathering dust since I got my ProConnect. I'm sure this would be very popular if it was available as a complete kit.

They still make higher powered machines that haven't changed much from their earlier bikes I first came across in 2008. This addition to their range looks great and could possibly offer competition to the high end Bosch bikes.

Hi Trex, What's the catch with the motor you linked to. It's almost 2kg lighter than the Bafang CST- HT Oxydrive use in their top conversion kit. Is it simply not robust enough for heavier riders? I'm sure it would be fine with my 70kg and provide a terrific weight saving.

I upgraded my original B & M Pro Connect front light with this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Busch-LUMOTEC-1752Q42-6N-04-Premium/dp/B00RSSDMB6 You can get cheaper much brighter lights but the're usually not well designed for road use and blind oncoming traffic. I have fitted a Busch and Muller Luxos dynamo light on my Agattu and it's also excellent and can even charge your iphone while you ride, though I've not tried this function out yet. I've also got a B & M rear light that detects when your bike is slowing down and increases it's brightness like a Brake light.

Came across this when browsing: http://eljoy.co.uk/product/eljoy-max-drive/ Not sure about the canary yellow but the new integrated motor looks neat. Not read any reviews yet but could be a good budget alternative to the present Mid-Drives.

Looks like a very capable and stable trike! Things are definitely looking up for when I can no longer manage on two wheels.

The Seller ended the auction early this time and that usually means that they have done a deal with someone without going through the bidding process.

You've already got the Ideal ebike a lot of us would like. If you remove the mudguards, lights, lock and mirror you'd be around the Karoo's excellent light weight with the added advantage of comfortable tyres.

The point I'm making is if you fit bigger tyres, there wont be enough clearance to fit mudguards.

I take your point Eddie, but for many a bigger tyre is all the extra comfort needed and a bit more fork clearance would keep both camps happy. Even us oldies enjoy lightweight bikes.

I like it, but in common with most of these sporty lightweight hybrids, there doesn't appear to be be enough fork clearance for a bigger tyre and mudguards. Fine for roads but I find 40mm tyres much better for rougher tracks.

For anyone who's interested here's a picture of the Bottle carrier brackets, mentioned by Westoe, fitted on my bike: http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc374/kenbogle/bottle%20cage%20002.jpg Often I don't carry a water bottle unless I'm going far off the beaten track, but I always carry my tool bottle. Having bottle cage's fitted lets me transfer my tools to whichever one of my 6 bikes I'm riding.

These are great. I fitted this to my seat tube so I could add an extra bottle cage for holding my tool bottle. It has a very neat and secure clamping system and has stayed nice and tight on my bike for several years.

A nice upbeat thread about e-mtb popularity gets spoiled. Give it a rest Col.

It seems to me every year the manufacturers feel they must come up with a new upgrade. So they move up to ten speed gears and increase the torque which wears out the drive train in no time. Ten speeds on an Electric assist bike seems pointless to me. Is having to return your bike to the dealers to have your power settings changed a good thing? when a simple sprocket change will keep you sweet with a Panasonic motor. I could go on but that's enough of a rant for today.

Owning an old Panasonic drive bike just gets better all the time http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27-Ah-26V-E-Bike-Akku-passend-fur-Panasonic-Kettler-Flyer-Kalkhoff-ab-2007-/262014401710?_trksid=p2054897.l4275 My two 4 year old 18ah batteries are still going strong but it's nice to know that a low priced, large capacity upgrade is available.

Ouch! hope you have a speedy recovery. I holidayed in Bakewell two years ago and cycled the Monsal trail a few times. My youngest son (9) came a cropper in one of the tunnels too, but luckily just got a few scrapes. He looked a right state though as the track surface in the tunnel was very oily or tar like. Still a nice cycle though

I totally agree that the OP should try to test ride different bikes but if your not doing long distances the large ratio changes are not such a big deal. When I rode the 3 speed bike I didn't spin any faster than normal uphill, I just went up a little slower than I would on my 9 speed Kalkhoff. IMHO If your not in a hurry a 3 speed is a nice relaxing ride.

If the OP doesn't want the hassle of doing a lot of gear changing, then the 3 speed would be the way to go. I've driven an auto car for the last 12 years because I'm not interested in sporty driving and manual gear changing to me is a totally unnecessary flaff.