EddieK

LOTS of quality cheapies to clear from us on eBay at the moment, mostly located at our Bristol shop. £50 off any of these bikes if collected in person, paid for in cash or by BACS, and if you don't click "Buy it Now"!

Hi Pollsters, Really happy to see the poll results so far. A throttle is important and should not be made illegal. I will be contentious here and suggest that to remove throttles from ebikes would be less than - non discriminatory. Not only do throttles help to avoid low speed wobble (pointed out by JuicyBike) and aid with hill starts and filtering through traffic (when not enough of the cycle lane is left for you to pedal), and tightly controlled manoeuvres where the pedal assist may come on too strong but.....and I think most importantly........ they help many of our less abled customers have the freedom that many of us take for granted. We provide hundreds of custom made products every year to people with health and mobility concerns and the vast majority of them would not find the control they need using a pedelec system. I appreciate mainstream bicycle manufacturers will respond to the needs of the mass market first and minimise their warranty issues by excluding the use of throttles but I hope as an industry we dont forget about the customers that supported us from the start and allowed the rest to happen. I voted for I always use the throttle but really it is occasionally for more accurate control rather than a rest.

Hi Members, We have new stock of compatible powacycle lipo battery packs. They are £20 cheaper and have dble the length of warranty. We also have other lipo battery packs for other brands and models available. Contact us support@electricbikesales.co.uk for more info.

Hi Everyone, Hope you are all having a good festive period and managed to get out and about on your ebikes. Just a quick post to let you know about our Jan sale. 10% off all ebike srp purchased online until Jan 10th 2012. Of course we also repair and service all ebikes if you need to get your bike ship shape for 2012. Have a great start to the New Year!

update to 10 yr battery warranty terms Hi Guys, A quick and well overdue update. The terms have been changed to make it clear that batteries will be replaced at 50% capacity or prior failure.

Hi Dayglowfroggy, I know this reply is a bit dated. We have converted many Dawes bikes and can do so with your Sonaron.

Hi Dayglowfroggy, Thank you for your kind words. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of time researching a product and then being disappointed with a compromise. If you haven't decided on a bike yet please pop into our Cambridge store this week and we will put a suitable deal together for you. If you can please email me on sales@electricbikesales.co.uk to let me know when you are coming.

lithium tech Hi Guys, I'm a fan of testing the various technologies on application. Although they weigh more we have had better results on a Heinzmann 500w 33A sport using LifePo4 10Ah than using LiCoMn 10Ah. The Triple Oxide cobalt Sanyo batteries (Ultramotor Metro) have performed well. The cobalt (& cobalt compound) cathode batteries appear to be performance restricted by a capped LVC and HVC. The extra energy is there but the cells need to be used comfortably within their capacities to achieve their life cycle. We have found it easier to source LiCoMn batteries with consistent qualities then LifePo which tend me be more hit and miss.

Hi Guys, Thanks for the welcome and good wishes regarding the battery warranty scheme. I will try to join more topics and borrow Stevebills crystal ball for a day or two when he finds it The main differences compared to leasing are that the customers own the battery from the outset and any subsequent replacements they receive. They can also exit the scheme whenever they wish because there are no contractual tie ins. This makes selling the bike and battery on very easy for customers. We have preparred for the uncertainties as much as we can. Regarding longevity: well made ebike frames can certainly last 10 years and it makes more sense to update the onboard technology than to scrap. The price of bicycle components continues to head north and I think more people will seek to keep their ebikes on the road or to achieve a reasonable resale value for them. Given a choice and a budget of say £500 I think many people would buy a 5 year old Wisper 905se with a 5 Year battery warranty before buying something new with lower quality and less performance. Atleast I would - but I might be mad! Time will tell :-)

Comments regarding the 10 year battery warranty from The Electric Transport Shop Hi Members, Along with Jamie I am co-founder of The Electric Transport Shop. This is my first post on any forum...ever. I feel a small rumble of anticipation...is that normal? Firstly thank you to Wisper, Flecc, SteveBills and John, for bringing the topic of this thread to our attention. I think several members have rightly pointed out that the 50% capacity limit in the terms and conditions of the 10 year battery warranty may look like commitment escapism. I feel we had better explain ourselves a bit and hopefully you will believe that we are sincere and our customers wont be disappointed by the scheme. Our Customers Most of our customers use their ebikes over distances of less than 15 miles/day and for their purposes 50% capacity will generally be fine unless they have hills/loads that cause voltage drop trip. We generally get to advise our customers which bikes best suit their needs and therefore will take hills/loads into account at the outset. We are seeing the average daily distance cycled increase because more young commuters are finding their wings on ebikes (and no doubt joining you on this forum). If the intended use of the bike is fully explored at the outset we are able to recommend appropriate battery/bike care to ensure our customers will be happy with the outcome. In reality what will happen is that our customers will see us twice a year and a good relationship will be built with our store managers and colleagues. Whenever a customer justly requires a battery replacement to use the bike as they intended then they will get it, no delay, no quibble. Most of the customers we initially approached with this idea loved the thought of having a real incentive to keep their ebikes in good condition with regular servicing and not having to worry about the cost of replacement batteries. Because the warranty is transferable they can sell their regularly serviced machine for maximum value with battery warranty and service log book. Our Colleagues are professional, enthusiastic, honest people. They would not recommend or stand behind any ideas I presented to them unless they believed in them and trusted that they added real value for their customers and the business. The guidelines are there and our store managers have to decide when it is time to replace their customers batteries...face to face and seeing them at least twice a year....and possibly living just up the road from them. Our Suppliers We work closely with all of our suppliers to ensure we can offer more real value to customers. As an example: one of our suppliers has been making some interesting developments regarding the voltage drop BMS trip. I'm sure you will hear more in the near future. Is it possible/sane? Our sincerity regarding this offer comes from the knowledge that there are sound business ideas behind it. We are always looking to improve the value we offer to our customers. That needs to be done with a view to the future and the reasoning may not always be obvious at first. Indeed some of that reasoning we cannot reveal. Andy 82 has made some insightful comments. Many people have bought bargain or discounted ebikes that have proven to be a false economy. Most people do not have the time to learn about the inner workings of the machines they use, and possibly not even the time or desire to service them themselves. Reliability and back up is crucial to the care free enjoyment of these products and that is where we believe the real value lies for our customers and this offer is an extension of that belief. In Conclusion We are not a faceless operation. We are very much involved in the promotion of ebikes in our localities. Our store managers are the very best we could find: knowledgeable, down to earth people. All of our offers are genuine and sustainable. We hope this offer leads to less ebikes being scrapped and more availability of quality used ebikes on the market. The 50% battery capacity requirement is more of a guideline and an attempt not to encourage unnecessary waste and cost. I can say we want to be absolutely fair about this and would like to invite productive discussion about what the requirements for battery replacement should be. End of War & Peace :-) Eddie PS, what are trackbacks?