wookie7070

After a bad ankle injury and also doing my back in gardening the Macina hasn't seen as much action as I would have liked. I am back cycling regularly to work and now over the 500 mile mark. Mudguards fitted have made commuting in the rain so much nicer. The bike has been perfect so far. I am getting 2 return commutes( 32 miles total ) in Turbo mode and there are always 2 bars left on the display. I have remained very impressed with the bike. So far so good.

The first fortnight with the Macina has gone very well. Over 150 miles covered and the only hitches have been a problem getting the battery out which was more me than the bike and a loose chain which was easily adjusted. Due to the hot weather I have been riding in Turbo mode and that gets me two full trips to work (34 miles total) with two bars left on the display. This would equate to roughly 50 miles range in full power mode. This extra range is really useful because I am now prone to going the longer way home every second journey or so. I have also adjusted the brake levers and bar grips and the bike is very comfortable for me to ride. I am still really impressed with most things. The brakes are excellent in the dry but I'll be interested to see how they perform in the wet. I am used to the hub gears now and find them easy to use. Silly things that annoyed me about the Trek are also well engineered on the KTM. The stand is sturdy and works really well. Putting the bike on a bike stand and moving it about is also so much easier due to the more central and lower centre of gravity. All in all I am a very happy camper. I am losing a bit of weight already and my health and general wellbeing have both improved since I got back on the saddle.

Another couple of commutes up the way and I am still very impressed. I have unlocked the fork and can't believe how comfortable the bike is to ride. I am riding mostly at the second top setting(Sport) and am getting around 50 miles to a charge. This will allow me 2 return trips easily and a goal to get to 3 out of a charge in the future. The gearchange once you get used to it is excellent and the brakes very good too. At the moment it is all positive and the weather is even making cycling an absolute pleasure. A word of praise to the controller too. The thumb controls are great and the big backlit display is so easy to read. My only complaint would be that a second trip meter would be useful. I only noticed the other day that there is a USB port for your phone on the controller which could prove useful. I'll have to order a cable for that. All in all an excellent start and hopefully the miles keep rolling by with the need to visit the dealer.

Home now so first whole commute out of the way. The gear changes are coming together no and just as you say a short pause seems to do the trick. The bike has now covered 32 miles and just went down to 2 bars. I would have charged the battery of the Trek at least once already! Old habits die hard so had to check the spokes on my return but all is well.

First commute this morning. Ave speed 15.3mph over the 9 mile journey. That is around the speed I was doing it on the Trek when I had been cycling every day for months. I have only been out once in the last year or so on a bike so really pleased with that particularly as I am recovering from losing half a stone over the last few days due to a stomach bug. I am still getting used to the hub gears. Great at the lights not so sure going up and down the gears in motion. Cycling unassisted is great and I am only using the top assist pulling away from lights or at roundabouts for safety. Mostly cycling in Tour with a quick burst of Sport up the hills. This is far better than the Trek which was almost always at full power. The range looks like it will be around 50 miles with my 15 1/2 stone on board. This is about twice the Trek. Some hills on my journey but nothing too drastic about 300 foot total descent on way to work and the reverse on way home. So far so good. It looks better, handles better and goes further on a charge. Really impressed with the Macina.

Cheers, Mudguards ordered and I will see if the rack on my unpowered hybrid works as it is the very model you listed.

Artsu, I see you fitted mudguards. Could you let me know which ones. Thought the pair in the garage would work but they are for much narrower tyres.

I had a very mixed experience with my first Pedelec (Trek Valencia+) which spent more time having the spokes repaired than rolling along the road. Trek were excellent in dealing with my issues but enough was enough and they gave a full refund to my dealer who agreed to get me a new bike to the same value. Edinburgh Cycle Company have been brilliant throughout this and frequently gave me loan bikes and picked up my bike from my place of work. It took a wee bit of time deciding on my new ride but eventually I went for a KTM Macina Cross with 400W battery. I got the bike yesterday and have only had the chance for a quick ride. First impressions matter and I was very pleased with the way the bike looked. It looks like it was designed as a pedelec rather than the Trek which looked more of an arranged marraige. I am already liking the hub gears and the brakes(Hydraulic Rim) work really well. The control unit is perfectly placed and very clear and gives all the details you want including range and the time. The bike feels so much better to ride unpowered than the Trek did. It feels lighter than the Trek and the weight is distributed far better. The motor makes some noise but once up to speed it can't really be heard over the wind noise. It is quite low pitched and noisier than what I recall on the Trek. I am used to riding bikes with no suspension so it may take some getting used to having front suspension. I imagine it will be locked down when I am commuting. All in all I am delighted. The bike is a good deal faster. You really notice when going down a hill. In the 2000 miles I did on the Trek I don't think I ever got past 30mph going down a hill. It was a breeze to get past that on the Macina. There appears to be far less resistance than the Trek and this will help as I usually pedel above 15mph on the flat so don't have any assistance. I reckon this will be easier on the Macina. I will fit mudguards in the next few days and hopefully I will get out on my first commute tomorrow.

Over 300 miles now and the first service sorted out the few gremlins I had noticed. I ditched the side stand as it worked its way loose and was difficult to tighten. The brakes were adjusted at the service and work really well but the back caliper is in a poor position for adjusting. Gears were also adjusted at the service and work very slickly now. I am still impressed with the bike. My average speed is now around 15.7mph and the legs are starting to propel me further each day with the motor kicking in less and less.

EH19 now riding a Trek Valencia Ride+

Trek Valencia Ride+ Reviewer: Simon Wootton Purchased From: Edinburgh Cycle Company Limited Purchase Price:£1600 Time Owned:10 days Local Terrain: Moderate Hills with a 200 foot altitude difference over the 8 miles ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Strengths: Ease of use, feels very similar to a normal bike except when it powers you up a hill, looks good, comes with everything you need(trip, lights, rack etc) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Weaknesses: Quite expensive but it is a quality product, trip doesn’t show time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: Reasons for getting an E-bike: Hope to get fitter and do it within my normal working day Sick of ever increasing fuel prices Start to enjoy commuting I did a good bit of research online and on these pages before deciding on an E-bike. I was initially going to convert my current bike but after a post on here decided to take a trip to the Edinburgh Cycle Company Limited. I got the chance to try a few bikes from the Giant range and also the Trek Valencia. It was clear from the start that the bikes felt very differently so I thought it was far better to buy a bike I could trial ride rather than buying over the internet. Neal, the owner of the shop, cut me a decent deal but there was a problem with the initial bike. This was eventually sent back and a replacement arrived a couple of days later. The next day I embarked on my first commute to work on an E-bike. The journey went well with the exception of a spoke working its way loose. Neal again came to rescue bringing up another E-bike to my workplace and taking the Valencia away to be sorted. It turned out that the spoke hadn’t been tightened properly in the factory and no harm was done. Not a very good start to my E-biking story but after a rocky start things have really fallen into place. I am still in the battery conditioning phase and have covered 50 miles so far. I decided to just stick the bike in maximum assist and pedal as I would a normal bike. So far this has seen a charge last for 3 trips (24 miles) with a couple of bars left on the display. The assist only helps uphill and pulling away from lights as I cycle at around 17mph on the flat. The bike has really impressed me and it really is a joy to get some fresh air and a bit of exercise at the beginning and end of my working day. My average speed is starting to rise very slowly and is now sitting at 15mph. The bike is quite comfortable as long as the surface isn’t too bad but I lack a bit of confidence on the part of my journey that goes over an unsurfaced cycle path. Narrow slick tyres and no suspension are great however for the vast majority of my ride to work. The Valencia has fulfilled all the reasons I had for wanting an E-bike. I feel fitter and don’t miss those trips to the filling station. I am also really looking forward to jumping on the bike in the morning which makes it easier getting up for work. I’ll try to get some photos and some data of my travels over the coming weeks and update this thread when I have done a few more miles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Rating (out of 10) :I’ll leave the mark until I’ve covered a few more miles

So I would use my existing gears whether the hub is front or rear mounted. That makes sense now. I thought the hubs had gears. I'll measure the distance of both front and rear tomorrow.

Halfords can buy in bikes from other suppliers so it isn't out of the question that I could order a Juicy bike through them. I am a Civil Servant, stop booing at the back, so the Vat will not be being reclaimed or so I am told. The Cycle to work sceme looks like it will save a few quid so I would like to take advantage of that if possible but the conversion kit idea is winning at the moment. Mind you I have changed my mind about 3 times already on Kit or Complete. It will get harder when I have to narrow down makers etc. Thanks again for all the help.

Thanks for all the help guys. Looks like a conversion seems the sensible option. That suits me as I will end up keeping a bike I like and not have to worry about storing another bike. I like the look of the Daahub and looking at your BMC, which is indeed similar looking to my bike, that would fit the bill too. Looks like the Wisper is the keenest price and the two year warranty on the ezee looks good. Any views on what is the easiest kit to fit and what would be the lightest. Do I have the choice to go front or rear wheel drive. If I fit it at the rear I presume the kit wheel has gears so how would that work with my existing gears. If fitted at the front how would it work in terms of controls with the two sets of thumb controls already on the bike. Hope that made some sense.

My employers are starting a Cycle to Work scheme starting next week and it got me thinking about a new bike. I have never cycled to work before but have started going out quite regularly with the family recently doing a 12 mile round trip which was both fun and easy to manage. The cycle to work scheme is through Halfords so the £1000 will be adhered to and I will be stuck with suppliers who will work through Halfords. My commute is 9 miles, one way, and includes 1.5 miles flat well surfaced cycle path with the rest being A roads with quite a few long hill sections but nothing horrendously steep. I am 16 stone, 6 foot and not as fit as I should be. That said I could cycle to work under my own steam if I had to. Time is the major issue for me as I recon it would take 40/50 mins to cycle unaided. An ebike should be able to shave a good 10 mins off that, possibly more, and when parking is taken into account the time should start to be competitive with the car. My current bike is a Claud Butler Cape Wrath D27 which is pretty well specced as far as I can tell and is both comfy and easy to ride. Having looked at the posts on here for a few days I have came to the conclusion that a new bike from Juicybikes or Kudos may be the best option through CTW but I would also consider one of the other better specced bikes from Kalkhoff, Cytronex or Oxygen outwith the CTW sceme. My other option is to convert my existing bike. I am relatively handy and think I could manage the DIY but the range of kits seems to be harder to compare than the ebikes. Whatever bike I end up with I will be pedalling. I hope this will end up a life changing decision both health wise and fitness wise as well as financially. If I can commute through the winter it would mean I could drop one of our cars which would be a massive benefit to the family coffers. So to sum up. Do I start with a new bike through CTW or bite the bullet with a fancy well specced ebike financing the purchase myslef. Alternatively do I convert my existing steed. I appreciate there is no substitute for actually trying bikes out but there doesn't appear to be much scope for the models mentioned up ion Edinburgh. Thanks in advance for any help.