garrence

They're at the start of the bridleways too! As well as one of those things they have a wide opening with two 8" high bars on the ground so the horse has to step over one then another. Someone in the council must think that kids can't manage to lift their little motorbike things! Nice to "meet" another local person. I'm in Crookes and have an Oxygen E-mate. I've seen one other electric bike around here but that's all.

Loads of these things on the trails around Sheffield. You have to jump off the saddle, turn the handlebars sideways and wiggle through. I think they're meant to impede kids on off road motorised trail bikes. Perhaps their handlebars don't turn far enough?

yes that would be sensible. So of course I haven't done that and have just gone ahead ordered one. I'm sure they just include an extra wire for the sake of it. Will report back!

Decent brakes should be enough to tame a runaway, even if a faulty controller ignores the microswitches in the brakes.

That looks good! Wires already soldered on and it's half the price. What is the signal wire on the output for?

Nah, only wrong on the one count. I was looking at alienbikes.com by mistake earlier, which does only have an email link. I thought it seemed different! Yet Alienbikes.co.uk tells us "I got on the net and found a company in China who could sell me motors and another one which had controllers and yet another one which had a throttle etc. I imported a sample of each and modified my Claud Butler." Hence my having had the impression it was one man in a lockup. It's only when you scroll down past the video that the company sounds bigger: "AlienOcean are now one of the longest established independent electric bicycle and e-bike kit sellers in the U.K. and operate out of a 5000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre in central Scotland."

I'm curious about adding a DC/DC converter to power USB devices. Primarily I think this would be handy for powering my Android phone running a mapping app (probably Maverick) in a handlebar mount. It could also be handy for powering the USB charged lights we're seeing on the market now - they could be hardwired and have their internal batteries removed. Dear electronics buffs on the forum - do you think this nice small DC/DC converter would do the job? TRACOPOWER|TEN 15-4811WI|CONVERTER, DC/DC, 15W, 5.1V/3A | Farnell United Kingdom Do you just wire it up as-is, or does it need extra capacitors etc?

The website says "I made this bike" not "we" or "us" and the contact page is just an email link. That usually indicates a one man co.

I'm kinda with this reply... I've never bothered with helmets owing to a combination of not finding a comfy one and preferring the extra road space that drivers give you without one. But as I'm now cycling regularly and exceeding 30mph downhill I figured it's perhaps time. Maybe I should start wearing the £35 birds nest I managed to get to fit this weekend before I start seeking a nicer one! I quite like the style of the Casco one because it should stay in place well and therefore need less neck strangulation. But you can get BMX-style ones for a quarter the price. Hmmm.... yep maybe a trip to a shop is in order.... Thanks for the interesting replies!

Has anyone tried the Casco Emotion helmets available at 50cycles, Evans and others? I'm thinking of getting one but they're pricey and buying headwear at a distance seems risky (although I suppose I could return it under the Distance Selling Act). Are they good? Does your head get hot compared with a normal helmet? Do they keep the rain out of your eyes? How much do they weigh? Did you buy the optional ear muffs and is £20 a rip off price for them?! Do people ask you where your horse is?

The spooklight looks pretty cool, especially at only 90g. I see 50cycles sell it. I like the ability to power a USB device from it too - should be handy for using my phone as a satnav. Perhaps they could make a wired-in ebike version without the battery or accelerometer.

It occurs to me that these electric bikes have switches in the brake levers (to cut the motor out) so it should be possible to co-opt these to turn on a brake light. And if my bike had indicators then I wouldn't need to take my hand off the throttle to signal right. Has anyone fitted such lights?

1:14 steep?! Where are you - Norfolk?! We got some 1:4 on my hill in Sheffield At the risk of asking a daft question... have you tried moving the saddle back on its rails? I'm 6'1 with an Oxygen E-mate (like the 905 but better specified IMHO) and I've put my saddle right back. But now I think I'm sitting too far forward on it.... so I'm all confused about how far the distance is meant to be?

Now that would make for an entertaining cop chase!

There's loads of great lubes available now. Have a browse through the reviews on Wiggle or BikeRadar. They might seem quite dear but you only need a small fraction of the bottle each time. You'll use less of the ones that last longer of course. Dry lubes are particularly popular for off road because they pick up less muck. Some of them claim to work in all conditions.

CrumpetMonster, perhaps this was the bike you meant. It's the price and spec you quoted but not an Oxygen one. I think it's a couple of kilos heavier than Oxygen. *NEW* Kingfisher Mountain Electric Bike | Electric MOUNTAIN Bikes | 2WheelElectric

By the way, I'm pretty sure there wasn't a 10Ah model at £999 on the oxygen bicycles website 4 weeks ago when I got mine?

I've barely been off my Oxygen e-mate since buying it 4 weeks ago and think its great. I've gone from doing very little cycling to doing 44 miles one day and regularly doing 15 mile trips for fun. I'm planning a 260 mile 4 day round trip in a couple of weeks. With some pedalling I've already got the range up to 55 miles on one charge. The Schwalbe tyres on the higher models are well worth having for their puncture resistance. I've already changed the saddle to a thinner one because they're better for distance rides than the plush one most models come with (plush ones are great around town without shorts). I think the models on the website are samples and you could have get one made to your own spec. Andrew from Oxygen pops up on here often, in fact that's how I found his website. Is your employer the accommodating type? If so they could perhaps split the cost into parts: Bicycle without battery - buy under C2W scheme and it will be sub £1000 Battery - these could be considered consumable items so I think the employer can just buy them for you. I'd estimate £300 to £400 for 13Ah Tyre upgrade, rack, lighting - these are safety items so I think the employer can just buy them for you.

The ones I've read have been woefully poor. The "recovery" involving taking you to the closest bike shop, train station or home - at their option. I decided to just store the numbers of some taxi firms instead.

LOL @ the "fashion bag" it comes with!

Flicking through this fortnight's Makro mail I noticed they have the following offer on soon: PowaCycle Salisbury Lithium polymer battery 26V (not 37V like most bikes) 273 watt hours, up to 37 miles. Twist throttle max 12mph. PowaCycle site says 15mph (200W motor) - perhaps this Makro offer is a lower spec? Shimano 6 speed Aluminium frame Front and seat suspension Price on PowaCycle site is £765 Standard Makro price £500+vat = £588 Makro offer 14th-27th July £450+vat = £529 Not available in Manchester, Bristol, Pool, Queensferry or Teeside stores. I'm guessing they're using some pretty cheap bits to hit such a low price? However it's good to see them being stocked by a major box shifter. I hope it encourages greater take-up of pedelecs and brings down battery and motor pricing! PS. I've no connection to Powacycle or Makro. PPS Makro is a trade warehouse place so you need to be a business of some kind, or have a friend who has a card.

All models have the same frame. The race model has no mudguards, no rear rack and has a very lightweight saddle - perhaps that explains the weight loss? Gary

Hi Just a short note from another very happy Oxygen e-mate rider. In my case I randomly decided to check out electric bikes but found that most of them are commuter bikes. I wanted a bike for every day use around Sheffield with its big hills, holey roads and the trails of the Peak District just down the road. The e-mate looks great, is very well built, reasonably light and well-specified with good components and good battery technology. In comparison with other bikes at the same price point, the e-mate seemed so much better, so much closer to what I wanted, that I placed an order. It's an absolute joy to ride. It's really well balanced and the front suspension and smooth braking make a very comfy ride. I've bounced it up and down steps with less effort than it takes my mountain bike. I got approaching 4 hours of heavy use out of the first battery charge. My only criticism is that the mudguards seem like a bit of an afterthought on an otherwise very well thought-out bike. They don't really match the style of the rest of it and I broke the front one by accidentally kicking it into the wheel so it buckled up (but fixed it in 5 minutes easily enough). Since getting the bike, my car hasn't left the garage, so it's paying for itself in saved petrol, increased fitness and general joy of life already! Gary

Hi Mike I've been the very proud owner of an Oxygen e-mate for the last week and think it's amazing. I've given a few expert cyclists some rides and they've raved about how well balanced it is and how well it rides. You wrote that Richmond is a long way for you to travel from West Yorkshire to take a test ride, so if you'd like to visit me in Sheffield you're welcome to take mine for a spin. (Send me a private message on here with your phone number and I'll call to arrange). Things controlling the power are: 1. Toggle button to switch between pedelec mode and throttle mode. 2. Throttle twist on the left part of the right handle bar. (Not the whole grip). 3. You must pedal for the motor to work when in pedelec mode. (Throttle mode works without). 4. Both brake levers are wired to stop the motor if pulled. Personally I treat pedelec like a car "cruise control" - its handy when you want constant speed over some distance so you don't wear out your throttle hand (accelerator pedal) but I prefer not to use it around town. I use throttle mode around town because I can quickly accelerate from a standing start because it will respond without having to pedal. I can use however much I want, without it simply trying to keep me at 15 mph I can use short bursts or just pedal It seems safer than using pedelec. If you prefer pedelec and want to turn it off then simply push the button to turn the pedelec off. You don't need to turn the throttle, but having the throttle there if you need it could be a lifesaver! Gary