RobF

As said, a quality cadence sensor, which the Wisper should have, is the best choice. David Miall, the owner of Wisper and one of life's good guys, will give you all the info you need. Worth giving him a ring before placing the order.

A rough yearly maintenance cost is impossible to give because there are so many variables. As an example, an Eagle cassette is a minimum of about £140, and you can pay as much as £300. The Sunrace cassette on the Orbea is about £70. That differential may be repeated elsewhere, although you could put cheaper bits on the Cube. Looks like you are in danger of becoming confused over the specs. The Cube Stereo in your link is part carbon with a 625wh battery. The Ornea is ally with a 500wh battery. Not sure where a Cube Kathmandu comes into it.

A track bike chain tensioner might do the job. They are designed for horizontal dropouts, but may stay in place on other types of dropouts when tightened. https://www.wish.com/product/588034f4711726587e8273cf?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=GB&_force_currency_code=GBP&pid=googleadwords_int&c=%7BcampaignId%7D&ad_cid=588034f4711726587e8273cf&ad_cc=GB&ad_curr=GBP&ad_price=3.00&campaign_id=6493229882&guest=true&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkuWhgpDq6wIVh9OyCh27Jw2mEAQYAiABEgJhjPD_BwE&share=web

The Cube does have a better spec on paper, but the Orbea might be cheaper to look after. Replacement parts for the Cube's Sram Eagle groupset are very expensive. A consideration given that some mountain bikers seem to wear chains and cassettes quickly. The bigger battery on the Cube is a plus point, as might be the Kiox display if you like onboard gadgets. Both bikes have four piston brakes, but I would go for Shimano on the Orbea over Magura on the Cube every time. The Cube's frame is part carbon which might help compensate for the heavier battery, although neither bike will be light. Both are very nice bikes, as they should be for the money, and both should give lots of riding pleasure.

From a quick look at the specs online, I think the difference is the Como has a much more set up and beg riding position. The handlebars are swept back, and higher in relation to the saddle.

A sensible filtering process is to first decide on the style of bike you want, then look for bikes in that style with a motor.

Bar end is the way to go. This is cheap, simple, and works. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOBILITY-SCOOTER-BAR-END-MIRROR-3-SAFETY-MIRROR-ADJUSTABLE-50-OFF-Pair/dp/B01LZZIP4P?pd_rd_w=EGAYU&pf_rd_p=69b5500e-f147-4fda-9645-ed830a25a763&pf_rd_r=AJ4FS359NDWX161SCGGZ&pd_rd_r=9b39345d-0d45-4472-ae7a-fd7bde9efa8d&pd_rd_wg=DO0UW&pd_rd_i=B01LZZIP4P&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_17_t

Stuff like tyres can depend on what the bike maker can get cheap at the time of the bike build. You ought to get the model of battery and motor stated on the website. But the 'specs may change' warning is there for a reason.

The dealer is doing you no favours here. The likes of Shimano, Bosch, and Yamaha are all pretty much the same when it comes to power and weight. You can get slightly more powerful versions of the Bosch and Shimano motors, but you may not notice any difference. Three grand is a lot to take off pensioners for something that will be very similar to what they already have. At the very least you need to test ride the exact bike you are going to buy to make sure the 'extra power' is sufficient for your needs.

You do not need an MTB for the off road paths and dirt tracks you specify. Almost any ebike of reasonable quality will be well capable of those conditions, and in most cases, more suited to those conditions. If you fancy a Woosh, the Camino would do the job. About the worst that might happen is the mudguards will clog if it's very muddy.

Gear range can be a weak point with hub gears, particularly those with fewer ratios. The 263% from the Nexus 5 will be too narrow for a lot of riders. At the other end of the scale you have a Rohloff - or a mountain triple MTB derailer gearset - with a range of about 500%. I rarely use top gear on my Rohloff, but I wouldn't want a bike with a very much narrower range.

I suspect the LCD display comment relates to kits with LCD displays being generally better than those with other types. You will struggle to get a battery that will reliably do the 60 mile trip to London, so I think the only answer is to carry a spare for longer rides. My bike has a twin battery set up, and I regularly do 100+ mile day rides on it. Regrettably, I have to carry a third battery for those rides because I cannot reliably squeeze 50 miles out of one battery, given all the variables.

Well done for producing what looks like an excellent bike for the money. If I had under a grand for an ebike, a Rambletta is what I'd spend it on. Shame you can't meet demand. No reason why the next consignment shouldn't also sell well.

How about your Rambletta? I'm a big fan of 20" wheel compact framed ebikes. They do the job and are much easier to (wo)manhandle than big wheel bikes. Nice and comfy on balloon tyres. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rambletta

Did you see the charger, the battery, and did you see their other bike? I'm afraid it still sounds fishy to me. The guy's nicked the bike, found out already it's all but unfixable so is prepared to let it go for whatever he can get for it, in this case fifty quid. The fact that it's brand new adds to the suspicion. The seller could have bought the bike legitimately complete, then decided to keep the battery and charger from his £1,100 purchase and sell the bike for £50 - when he'd be much better off selling the brand new bike he bought he all of sudden doesn't like complete. But it's far more likely the bike is the subject of a shop or wholesaler burglary where they've nicked a load of bikes and chargers, and this one is left over as a bike they don't have/cannot match a charger to.

I suspect you will continue to suffer from tyre wear.

Where are you? Due to a persistent medical problem, my Supercharger Rohloff twin battery could be for sale - it's the bike in my avatar. I'm having trouble mounting a cross bar so am looking to change to a step through.

The 20" ebikes are much easier to handle than the full size wheel ones and they are easier to ride. Such an ebike is an ideal, I would say only, choice for the OP. This leads to one bike only given the budget and current availability of ebikes - a Woosh Rambletta. Apart from anything else, it's an excellent low entry design with no crappy suspension fork. Throttle control which would be handy for the weaker rider, and I even like the look of the semi-smooth welding. [mention=26072]Coademo[/mention], get one before it sells out, as it inevitably will.

Standard Chinese ebike - I've seen worse. Separate battery and controller is a scruffy design. For that budget I'd ring woosh and get them to recommend a bike from their range. Proper after sales service, too, making woosh hard to beat for the money.

The motor is quite pokey. I thought it had a bit more grunt than my Bosch bikes. Some owners have got 24/25mph out of them, but I suspect you would need to be fairly light to get that.

All you can do is go for a known brand and avoid anything described as 'lightweight'. Schwalbe as good as any, or Continental or Michelin. Nowt wrong with the Halfords own brand ones, although I don't know what the shopping arrangements are currently. I think some branches are open for collection if not much else.

At one time the speed restriction was a simple enough user setting on the display. Might have changed on 2020 bikes. Bear in mind you won't get any extra power, but the motor will assist above 15.5mph so you will notice a difference.

Routinely, the motor cuts out at 15.5mph so for most of your use all it will be doing is slowing you down due to its weight and slight running resistance. There are (illegal) ways and means to restrict most ebikes, particularly the kits. Woosh is a responsible retailer, but it may be all you need to do is google the controller/display you are getting to find the buttons to press. On some displays, cut off speed is an obvious user settable feature when you scroll through.

You do have particular gearing requirements, so converting a bike which has gears with which you are happy is a good solution for you. Mind, the motor will slow you down unless Tony gives you a naughty button.

I like the look of the Rambleta - no crappy suspension fork. The 20" balloon tyres are very comfortable and capable. The bike is easily good for rides as long as the battery will allow.