Farleymarley

Thank you all for your lovely replies. As much as I love the look of the Brompton, there were some significant issues with adding the electric system as it stands. Brompton have a 'no internet sales' policy, so I couldn't buy one from an online shop that I could purchase the bike AND the motor from without being able to collect it in person. They are all too far away. I am also a single girl that owns a toolkit that comprises one screwdriver and a hammer, so I wouldn't have the confidence to fit it myself, let alone widen the front forks. Plus it invalidates the warranty and I couldn't justify adding £700-900 to the cost of the bike and invalidating the warranty in the process. Soooo..I dont need the bike to fold small to commute, I just need to fold it small to store at home. So I have bought the Rayleigh Stow-E-way, which fits the bill and is comfortable to ride with 20" wheels, its currently folded up under my stairs whilst I wait for a bike lock to arrive. Its the 2017 version, which is matt black with orange decals, so my son also feels comfortable taking it out and about too. Perhaps when the E-Brompton comes out officially, I might be able to upgrade to that at some point. I will have one, one day

Well.....I have discovered the reason that the Rayleigh Stow-e way was on sale, they were just about to bring out a brand new version. So I have bought the new version of the Rayleigh Stow E Way in charcoal and orange. The only electric bikes I have to try out locally are the Freego, so I am taking a bit of a risk buying untried, but I like the slow ease-in of the pedelec system torque sensor of the Rayleigh. Btw, I rang Brompton to find out when the e-Brompton is going to be released. Apparently the original release date for selected cities/people was going to be August, this has now been put back until later this year. General release is now going to be next year. The closing date for the "Customer Service Job - Electric" at Brompton was today, so it looks like it is definitely happening.

Thank you, but I no longer have a garage and the bike will have to live in the cupboard under the stairs, so I really do need a folder of some description

Hi all My last posts were in 2012 when I had purchased a Rayleigh Velo Trail through the Cyclescheme. Well that has been and gone and although I loved how the pedal assist just gently edged in (none of that horrid jerk forward when the motor kicks in) it was just so incredibly heavy and the battery on the rear made it feel rather unbalanced. Eventually I gave up riding it, the dead weight battery started to give out and it has now been sold. So I am now looking for something new and I wondered if I could have some advice please as I have been searching for what seems like weeks! My main issue appears to be finding a small folder that is also a pedelec. My requirements: I am asthmatic so a pedelec is a must, not really interested in the throttle, but dont want that jerk forward like you find with the Freego type. It MUST be foldable, reasonably light and as a girl who trips over most things, a low stepover. I have hardly any storage space so my ideal would be an electric Brompton, but I have tried a normal Brompton out today but it feels like I am going to go over the front handlebars. I would like it to be able to be small enough for me to lift it to sit on the back seat of a car (I have a dog crate in the boot). I will be riding on tarmac or compacted chippings on canal towpaths for pleasure and to get fitter. Dont need particularly long range as I live 25meters from the towpath! Budget up to £2500 max I have discounted Freego, Rayleigh Stow-e-way (cant find any reviews on this one and all the ones online are on sale) Halfords ones as they are extremely heavy and look like they are made of iron girders, I am a girl after all. Janice:)

It wont be long before I start commuting (waiting for CycleScheme Raleigh Velo Trail bike) however my route to work is full of children walking to school and also cars taking the same route. I live in a rural area and for some of these children there is no option but to go in the car. I work in a Primary School so on my journey there will be children and parents that I encounter every day so I have to do it 'right' if that makes sense. Especially as the class I work in, will also be doing the 'Lets Bike' training scheme this year. However the few people that cycle this route dont wear much hi vis. If it is, its the yellow tabard type, which not only do I get very hot in as its nylon, it looks very boring (although safe) and flaps around in the wind. Im sure also some drivers have almost yellow hi vis blindness and it is seen so often that it is almost ignored. I did think of a pink tabard, however because its nylon I just end up hot and bothered. I just wondered if there was any decent high vis that was patterned, stripy, stars or even chevrons like you see some of the backpack covers? My ideal would be a waistcoat or a Sam Browne type belt with stars on or something. It would encourage the children I work with as well that wearing hi vis could be cool as well as safe. I do have an Altura Night Vision jacket in red, but thats too hot to wear at the moment. Any ideas?

Thank you for that info Flecc, today I went for another quite a long ride on it and have now requested my Cyclescheme certificate for that bike, as I work for Cheshire East they have a pretty good system all set up and Ive had a phone call to say that it all looks okay and should get the certificate shortly Interesting about the TMM sensor, there is an absolutely seamless transition on the motor kicking in, you dont get that woosh that almost shoots you forward as in some of the other bikes. Extremely quiet and strange that this time after having spent most of the weekend trying out different bikes it didnt seem half as 'top heavy' as it did last week when I tried it first. Brian Im not sure what you mean about the key. On the model I saw today, the key wasnt used to turn anything off or on, it was just to lock the battery to the frame, there was a small black on/off switch for power on the battery casing. There was a seperate on/off switch on the controller on the handlebar for the display. Im hoping that I will be able to go out with my friend who is an avid cyclist just for pleasure rides as well as my commute....work is 1 mile away lol However that mile is down a busy A road and as its a rural primary school where I work with barely a pavement let alone a cycle path, its quite a challenging route safety wise.

After trying as many bikes as I could actually find to try, I have decided to hopefully get (applying via Cyclescheme) the Raleigh Velo Trail bike. I prefer the feel of this bike, its a lot more natural, after all I do like cycling, just dont have the stamina I used to. The way that the torque assist works is much more natural to me and doesnt make me feel that I dont have total control of the bike. Its a really local dealer, he said he would change the tyres to hybrid ones and will probably swap the stock saddle for my Brookes. So I do have some questions: Ive tried to find some reviews on the Raleigh Velo Trail and have only come upon one, which is mainly about the Velo Citi version. Can anyone give me any links to any ones on the Trail. With the torque sensor, does this need any special care? Are there any known problems with this bike? With the battery being on the rack are there any special considerations with this placement ie do these sorts of batteries need some sort of protection from the rain? Anyone else got one? Ta muchly Have now got to go off and find the best type of security for it, although that might have to be a different thread.

Looks great you have to be aware of several things though as I found out to my cost. The child on the back is quite low down so difficult for drivers to see, the tag-along bikes have flags that stick up out of the back. You can get the clips and flags online. You have to make sure that the child's bike is a sort that it can roll along without the pedals turning. Some childrens bikes are fixed wheel or back pedal, so if the child stopped pedalling behind you, the pedals might still go round at a fast rate and catch their legs. If they had a back pedal bike then obviously if they were 'freewheeling' and put pressure on the back pedal that could cause a nasty accident. Lets just say that I found those things out due to personal experience some years ago.

Well I went to All about the Bike today, took quite a long time as we got stuck in traffic so had to buy my friend lunch as compensation lol They were extremely helpful and I tried: Juicy Classic Schwinn Tailwind Python Epass I saw they also had a Freego Eagle but as I had already tried the Freego Hawk which I didnt like, I didnt worry about that one. I had wanted to try the Fast4ward as they are advertised as having a torque assist, however they had sent theirs back due to a particular model having some sort of problem with the assist having a 'soft spot' which they said made it an awful ride? and apparently the manufacturer are going to sell the current stock before modifying the model to get rid of this. They didnt have any of the other sub £1000 bikes in stock as its only a little room at the front and a big warehouse at the back, I think their main business is mail order as its not a shop as such. Really lovely people, lots of time for us, tweaking seats and handlebars etc. I very quickly discovered through the test rides that they all work in a similar way to the Freego, ie, if you have the power setting to low, then you start pedalling and the motor kicks in, no matter how slowly you are going, it speeds you up to the pre-set speed so in some cases I was in the wrong gear and the pedals just spun. One one bike I had to be in 7th gear before I could actually pedal even though the pedal assist was on low. I do not like this. I cannot find any other bikes locally to try. I cant find the Giant Twist Express anywhere and I would definately need to try before buying. So what I have decided to do is go for the Raleigh Velo Trail, its a really local dealer, he said he would change the tyres to hybrid ones and will probably swap the stock saddle for my Brookes. I prefer the feel of this bike, its a lot more natural, after all I do like cycling, just dont have the stamina I used to. The way that the torque assist works is much more natural to me and doesnt make me feel that I dont have total control of the bike. So I do have some questions: Ive tried to find some reviews on the Raleigh Velo Trail and have only come upon one, which is mainly about the Velo Citi version. Can anyone give me any links to any ones on the Trail. With the torque sensor, does this need any special care? Are there any known problems with this bike? With the battery being on the rack are there any special considerations with this placement ie do these sorts of batteries need some sort of protection from the rain? Anyone else got one? Ta muchly Have now got to go off and find the best type of security for it, although that might have to be a different thread.

Mmm but I need to be able to use the pedal part more often than the throttle tbh. That feeling of lurching forward was like being in the passenger seat when someone is driving badly. Didnt like it at all. Im not going to be a long distance cycler and live in a village so dont need speed, just assistance really. Thanks for the info Flecc, so to your knowledge, is there a bike that works the same way as the Raleigh in smooth take up yet has the battery behind the seat post and not on the luggage rack (still got to be around the £1000 mark, so that counts out the higher Raleigh's) Its that feeling of being slightly top heavy without even having a work bag or luggage etc that is putting me off buying that one. Fussy arent I lol, however this is the next biggest thing Ive bought since I got my car and its got to be right.

Argghghghghgh You know when you had an idea about something and it gets completely turned upside down? I went to the dealer again near me today that had the Freego Hawk step through but this time I had a go. I was on the bike, it took several turns of the pedals to get the motor to kick in (only had it on the lowest power) and the motor kicking in was like if you are driving in a car and suddenly your foot presses down sharply on the accelerator and you shoot forward I was heading toward a bend, stopped pedalling to slow down a bit, started pedalling again and when the motor kicked in, it was really quite unnerving as I felt as though I was lurching forward. Not a smooth change whatsoever. So on a straight bit of road, with some trepidation I took it up to the mid setting and was cycling, the motor kicked in and the difference between the speed I had been going and the speed the motor shot me up to almost instantly was enough to make me want to get off the bike. I felt rather out of control. I didnt even try the throttle, was too scared! The woman that took me out then said that most bike that have throttles do work in that way, as its a different type of pedal assist that is used. Not sure how true that is? However the balance of the bike I felt was good and so was the seating position, seat was comfy too and having broken my pelvis in the past, that is saying something. Will NOT be getting the Freego. On going back to the shop, they also had the Raleigh Velo Citi and the Raleigh Velo Trail. It was decided that although the Raleigh Velo Citi was the 'look' of the bike I was thinking of, being 700c wheels and an 18" frame it was going to be too big. However they had a demo version of the Raleigh Velo Trail which we took out and because of the 26" wheels the 18" frame didnt feel too big. It doesnt have a throttle and works with a torque sensor? Has some sort of trip computer on the handlebars and you can adjust the assistance from eco - high. So I set off and almost immediately I could hear the motor slightly, but there wasnt that lurching feeling as the motor kicked in. The cycling was easy and it just felt quite bizzare not to be completely out of breath. I went round the little circuit each time and it just felt a very smooth transition, didnt feel out of control at all and was very nice, liked it a lot. However, with the battery on the luggage rack, it did make the bike feel rather 'top heavy' does that make sense, and rather more wobbly that the Freego. The seat was also incredibly painful to sit on. It does also have mountain bike wheels. The dealer said that he would be able to just exchange the tyres for a hybrid version FOC (like for like quality, although not sure what that means in reality) and that he could do something with a different seat. I have a Brookes here, but not sure if it would fit due to the possibility of the back of it fouling the rear bar of the luggage rack. The other advantage is that this dealer is literally in the next town and has been in business for over 20 years and would do all the servicing etc. So would this be a good purchase? Wasnt really intending getting a mountain bike, although this would have hybrid tyres on it. The shop also said that the battery had a one year warranty, some places Ive read that it has a two year warranty, the website says nothing. Does anyone know exactly what it has? So do all bikes with a throttle have this lurching thing? Would this Velo Trail be a good buy? (yet again cannot find many reviews) Anything else anyone can suggest that has this smooth introduction of the motor? Sorry all the questions :o

I have just got my friend to agree to take me to 'All about the Bike' at the weekend, will phone them tomorrow to see what test bikes they have. Thank you for your reply Bob, at least if I can see them all in the flesh/metal lol then it will help no end.

So out of those three bikes Flecc, which would you go for?

Flecc - re the 26" wheels, 5 years ago I bought a cheap Halfords Mountain bike to muck about with the children on, it had 26" wheels albeit mountain bike ones. Totally the wrong purchase but it was good at the time for riding on the tracks with my boys. However on the road it was like riding through treacle, really awful. Ive now got a Claud Butler Windermere, a hybrid bike, this has 700c wheels, with which I get a larger smoother ride. However riding this bike to work is now impossible due to my health problems and asthma. Hence thinking that the 700c tyres would give me a the same sort of ride and not the 'riding through treacle' experience should my battery ever run out. This is what I based my opinion on? D8veh - Im sorry but I have no idea what soldering the shunt means, when you say powerful, do you mean speed achieved or the fact it didnt give you as much assistance whilst pedalling as you thought it should?

Following on from my thread below, unless someone comes up with anything else, these appear to be my three options. Can anyone help me compare them a bit more please as Ive found no real indepth reviews on any of them The bike is to be bought on the Cycle scheme so I have an absolute maximum of £1000, it will need to be serviced 6 monthly and needs a good guarantee. It needs to be a 17" frame if at all possible or have the ability to move the seat quite a long way (sometimes the battery position prevents this) and it needs to be a step through and hybrid tyres rather than nobbly ones. I cannot cope with a massively heavy bike as I have to be able to manoever it on my own in and out of a shed and up a patio step. I have severe asthma and this is to help me get a bit fitter. Claud Butler Glide 2 Fors: From a well respected close bike shop (I have a 'normal' Claud Butler bike from them already, its just my asthma that prevents me using it) They are going to do something about the price as its normally above £1000 Its a make I know already. 17" frame Lightweight at 23.5kg with battery Li-po battery 36v 10ah Throttle as well as pedal assist 700 wheels which is what I have got on other bike and like them. Against: Not tried one, shop doesnt have one in stock Front hub motor (wouldnt this make the front wheel a bit wobbly when cornering?) v Brakes Battery placement on carrier but have got a pannier anyway Cant find any reviews Not been out long and has superseded the Glide 1 and Glide 1-36v Guarantee on battery 12 months Its white..even though I now live in Cheshire, Im originally from Essex nuff said... Freego Hawk Step through Fors: Local well respected dealer, although not dealt with them before, havent tried one but seen one in the shop. They dont have a demo version. Its below £1000 36v but Lithiom Ion battery Throttle and pedal assist Disc brakes Normal sort of warranty (if they cant repair it within 5 days then you get a new one, one year warranty) Comes in Red (am such a girl lol) Battery placement behind bar rather than carrier which doesnt seem to affect seat hight as much. Against: 22kg without battery and seems VERY heavy to lift 26" wheels Build quality is not as neat the welds seems to be very bulky Quite a chunky bike and an 18" frame which could be a dealbreaker Never heard of company before, worried about long term issues with bike if company goes out of business. Cant find many reviews Juicy Classic Fors: A long way below £1000 This bike is more 'me' and I do like the look and the styling (tbh this is what is driving the choice for this in my list) 36v battery Li-po Battery placement I like. Has front and rear disc brakes Can have throttle 24kg although not sure if this is with battery? Against: 26" wheels Cant find frame size anywhere Cant find one to try and cannot get to anywhere to try it. Would have to be an internet order. Where would I have it serviced/repaired if need be. Have seen some reports about build quality not great/welds and also issues re repairs. Can anyone else give me any advice please?

So what size is the Classic please? Does it have hybrid tyres?

Okay....so... My choice appears to be: The Freego Hawk with stepthrough. This is at a local dealership. Lithium 36v 10ah Weight without battery 22kg, seems to be quite a bulky bike although I like the battery placement. Seems extremely heavy, welding looked a bit messy. Not too sure what tyres were on, seems quite a LARGE bike even though its the right size for me. The Claud Butler Glide 1, this can be ordered through another local dealer, bought my previous bike from there, they have a good reputation and have been around three generations. However they dont have any in stock at the moment but going to get some in a couple of weeks. Cant find out much more information on it, even the Claud Butler website doesnt have much. Or a complete buy from the brochure option of the Juicy Classic? Doesnt say what size frame it is, I need a 17" max. Can anyone give me some fors and against please. Would be interested in your comparison as well Bob.

Hi Bob Sadly Im right down in Nantwich and that shop is about 42 miles away, through Chester and them some, so still some considerable distance away and I had enough trouble getting a friend to take me to the bikes today. Its a real shame though as I really like the look of your classic bike and its the sort of thing Im looking at. Could just do with you having a dealer much much closer. Hmmm

Problem with going with Juicy Bikes is that if I have a problem I cant get to them. Ive also just read a really interesting review re one of their bikes and a long term test I think Im going to have to find someone quite close so I can get to them should I have any issues. Part of the scheme is that you have to have the bike serviced every six months.

Hiya What did you end up buying Woakesy and where did you get it from? Hi Juicy Bikes

Thank you Right...things have moved on a bit. Ive spoken to HR at Cheshire East. At the moment they are attached to CycleScheme. Both Cheshire East and Cycle Scheme have confirmed that I am eligible and the deductions wont take me below national minimum wage, even though I dont pay much NI and Tax. The way that Cyclescheme works apparently is that the deductions are made over 12 months and at the end, rather than making a massive payment for ownership of the bike, you pay 7% of the cost to extend the 'loan' for another three years with no further payments. After that Cyclescheme said that they give you the bike for a nominal £1 fee. This works better than Cycle to Work who ask you to take ownership of the bike at the end of the first year for a much much larger payment. Sadly neither scheme work for adaptation kits so I would probably sell my Claud Butler Windermere. Ive seen another couple of bikes today, it was the Freego Hawk and the Freego folding bike. Both had throttles. The other bike shop I went to see had the Claud Butler Glide 1. Can anyone point me in the direction of any reviews of these please. As for Juicy Bikes, I will have a look into them see if their is a local dealer. Thank you for the offer of trying one in Warrington, might have to take you up on that

Hi Sdrio Thank you for your reply. I appear to have run into a few problems, from my reading the Cycle to Work scheme seems to be only available to people who pay tax and national insurance. Being a lowly teaching assistant I pay very very low amounts of these. I have also found out that Cycle to Work deduct the payments over a year so for a £1000 bike it would be around £83 a month and then at the end of the contract you would be expected to pay a large amount at the end so you end up paying for the bike twice Cycle scheme seem to work a bit differently and ask you to pay a small percentage at the end of the year for another three years 'loan'. I dont have any savings (or even a credit card to put it on) so this would have been the only way to pay for it, in smaller amounts. I have looked at conversion kits, however the Rayleigh bike that I have been able to look at, had the motor on the front wheel. Even when I was just holding the bike it made the front end really quite unstable, I can imagine turning a corner and the weight swinging the wheel out. Plus wouldnt having the drive at the front making it less efficient than having it push you from the back?

Hi all My name is Janice and I live in South Cheshire. I currently work just over a mile away from where I live as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary School. Last year I bought a brand new Claud Butler Windermere with the intention of cycling to school. However I am very asthmatic and have had other health problems in the past including a couple of ruptured discs in my back and a knee that creaks a bit and those issues meant that the bike has stayed in the shed. The effort involved in cycling very far at all (inhaling large amounts of cold air as I get out of breath really quickly is a bit of an asthma trigger for me) has stopped me from taking it out very much at all. On the way to work is a slight hill, probably not one you would really notice driving, however with me on a bike its a big struggle and I have dreaded it to the point that it spoils the whole journey. Since the beginning of the year Ive done five miles on it I know a mile doesnt sound very far at all, however when you are worried about breathing, balancing and end up at work as a hot sweaty mess with nowhere to change etc it just doesnt set the day up well. Someone recently mentioned to me the cycle to work scheme and electric bikes. I wondered if this would be a way I could get to work on a bike, not end up in a mess and help me get a bit fitter but without the issues Ive been having. I am currently speaking to the Local Authorities HR but I think my maximum would be £1000. Ive had a look around the internet and have only found one bike shop that had a pedelec. It was the Rayleigh Velo-Cite. It was too expensive and because of the placement of the battery it didnt look like the seat could go any further down so it was going to be too big for me. I cannot find any others anywhere that are within a short driving distance for one of my friends to take me and they certainly are not willing for me to even try one I dont know much about the best sort of drive (Ive just confused myself) hub/crank? I am blinded by science about batteries, dont want a replacement to cost the earth, dont mind charging it every few days but would have to take it out of the bike as I dont have a garage. I need a low step through, a classic bike if you like. Dont want a make that is one that I can never get any spares for. Dont need a folding bike but it does need to be lightweight. Im 5ft 6 and about 16 stone :o (at the moment although hopefully this will go down). Do any companies hire out bikes to try them? Is this the sort of thing that you just buy without trying? Help!

Hi all, my name is Janice and I live in South Cheshire. Currently dont have a pedelec, which is what I found the forum to help with Have two teenage sons, three dogs and work in a Primary School. Need to get fitter, improve my health and my asthma.