pwylie

I had a bike stolen some 7 months ago. I am expecting the insurance cheque for £1,450 or thereby shortly. I still have the battery and charger for the Heinzeman. I was planning to switch to leg power only but the insurance company appear to want me to buy a replacement electric bike. I'd welcome suggestions. 13 mile e/w commute with some minor hills, but nothing serious. Speed and reliability both important. If I buy something other than Heinzeman again, I will probably offer my battery & charger foc to another owner - though hopefully not the thief!

With the heinzmann hub it was 60 mins either way. But not so many hills between Kilbarchan and Glasgow City Centre compared to East Kilbride. I can cycle unpowered in 65 mins and back in 75 mins but would need a shower either end adding to time.

I am from Glasgow. I have already alerted the police and local & national suppliers of the hubs. Am keeping an eye on craiglist, gumtree etc but am not hopeful. I really loved that bike. I am in the tribe that wishes for a slightly faster assisted speed than 15.5mph so am not sure I will replace it even if I manage a reasonable claim. Flecc was bang on with his speed predictions for my 13.25m commute into Glasgow two years ago when I was planning to buy the bike. A contractor working on the building failed to secure an exit they were using that allowed the thief into the building. I have the CCTV footage for the police & am tempted to post it on youtube, although there are data protection issues about making it public. I don't really post but do pop in often for a read through the threads and thank those regular posters for their regular contribution.

Am p****d off having seen my bike nicked in CCTV footage at work a week ago. Two floors down in a secured private basement made me over confident - I didn't lock my bike. I may get some compensation from work but not enough to replace. Annoying thing is that the bike will end up in a ditch was it is useless without the battery & charger which were not attached. If any member spots it on ebay I'd welcome being told. The bike it was fitted to was an Edinburgh Courier Race 28" wheel hybrid.

I added the Heinzmann hill climber version hub to my basic 8 gear hybrid as outlined above using Kinetics in Glasgow. It was an expensive exercise (£1,300) but the bike has proved a solid dependable workhorse. The noise is there but is doesn't seem to bother me, perhaps because my main use of the bike is in traffic for a fair amount of the time. My journey is 13.5 mile each way commute into Glasgow which takes under an hour without working up a sweat. It takes me up most hills I have tried to tackle at around 13 to 14 mph with no serious additional effort from on the flat. The weight of this bike is around 19 kgs, including a fairly hefty battery.

I sold my audi TT when my wife got pregnant and bought a 330 D BMW to cart the family around in. Not gay. Now have more modest means of transport - a Heinzmann hub kit. Would that be classed as gay too? I do also have a brompton which the local chavs would argue somewhat hampers my non gay status irrespective of the wife and kids. Unless an individual is hurting another individual or creating real damage to society they should be left to their own devices - including pedelecs! On a more serious note, it would be good if there was a proper catalogue of pedelecs. I do think they are the vangard of a new mode of transport if only cruise speeds on 20 mph could be maintained on modestly priced bikes and batteries for two hours. I'd love to know how much of an urban population is within an hours door to door assisted cycle.

EmotivePete, I did not plan criticize the Heinzmann; it does exactly what I need it to do. I knew the price before I placed the order. Nor am I skint - otherwise it would need to be a car replacement rather than an alternative. It is a lot of cash though if there is high praise for a hub kit already installed into a Trek for £1,000. Key for me was the knowledge that there was local aftersales support via Kinetics if I needed it. It looks well designed and I have had no issues and I have put several hundred miles on it already. Currently it does not do the return 26.5 miles on one charge. This is because I enjoy using & abusing the power via acceleration from a standing start at lights and not keeping it on Eco at all. I am sure it could do but I have not tried it yet - I am still enjoying the novelty I have a great bike now with a great engine. Would still like to try a Pro-Connect or a Cytronex to compare though.

On my journey into work (13.25 miles on my Heinzmann assist) this morning it occurred to me one of the challenges in comparing one type of bike with another is because of the impact that rider input makes to making an assessment. One possible solution would be to encourage forum users living near to one another to swap bikes for a week or two an post the the results of the comparision on line. That way it would be a bit easier to compare, say a Kalkhoff Agattu with a Trek Cytronexs. Each assessment would still be subjective but it would make for interesting reading. There would have to be some basic swap rules to protect each party such as any damage to be repaired before return and a stolen or written off swap would mean no return of swapped bike until recompense has been made but with goodwill on both parties it could work. I'd welcome any thoughts. P.S. I have several hundred miles now on the clock of my Heinzmann kit bike and will post a review in due course. My each way commute of 13.25 miles in under an hour (556 mins) is managable now for various reasons it was not using leg power alone. Given the cost of my bike at £250 & kit of £1330 I believe that there would be cheaper ways of puting a good bike together such as the Cytronexs & a few swap reviews may help a lot of people like me buy the right tool for the job.

Phil, I have a Heinzmann hub fitted to a 28" wheel hybrid, the 1122 version. It stops assisting me at around 15.5 miles per hour acording to the speedo - I pedal faster without power, when not feeling lazy, on the flat. However it barely drops speed when on the hills I come across - somewhere around 12/13 mph. I have never tried another bike so I can make no comparision but it does go up hills well. Very expensive however. I should add that I weight about 90kg.

Homemz, I have just taken delivery of a retrofit Heinzmann with the throttle forward to spped up set up you describe. Having never had a motor bike I have not found it a problem - have done abot 50 miles so far. One observation is that if you ride with thottle most of the time open you can put a lot of pressure on the throttle mech & your wrist. I had to re-fix the thottle which slipped because of this.

Back from Glasgow to Kilbarchan tonight. Looks likely that even the big Heinzmann battery I bought wont take me both ways (est between 22 & 24 miles) on a single charge. Still fresh after the journey & happy now to do both legs of the commute in a single day. I was previously only doing one way by bike & one way by car. Bought the big motor with steel gears because I am quite lardy at 14st for 5'8". A number of hills on the way into Glasgow from home but nothing major. Don't want to praise or condemn too much until I have given it a fair crack.

Picked up the bike with the kit from Ben at Kinetics yesterday. Not yet ready to post a full review but worth observing the good & bad for anyone considering one. Hub is quite noisy - though this was not a surprise. I didn't realise how often my speed rose above 15 mph so assitance not always available when I'd like it. Range is less than I'd like, though battery still to be conditioned & I need to learn how to cycle with economic use of the battery power. Took me 56 mins to get into work this morning as opposed to my best non assist on the same bike of 62 mins. Key thing to flag is that I can now do this in work clothes & not need a shower - a saving about of 26 mins all told - shower time included. Was surprised to see I seem to get more help from the hub motor when on lower gears than on high when climbing hills. Time will tell if it is worth the cost.

Nearly there! Ben from Kinetics has emailed to say he is building the front wheel at the moment. Will leave the bike over the weekend there to get fitted & be serviced (golf weekend - yea!). Time taken, four weeks from date of order. A keen cyclist colleague says I am barking to have spent so much money on something so pointless as this. Time will tell. I just know that I can't practically do 11/12 miles each way every day from a physical & committment point of view without pedal assist. At the moment I am doing around two to three legs of the journey a week on the bike - say 35 miles. I aim to get that up to 60 miles a week. I travel (fly)1 or 2 days a week for work so would not be a 5 days a week commuter. I will review the bike once I have had a couple of journeys under my belt.

Mary, very interested in you comments and your purchase. I ordered the Heinzmann retrofit kit with the strongest engine available from Kinetics in Glasgow. My order was made some three weeks ago & I am still waiting for delivery. I was not aware at the time I ordered how noisy it might be but I guess I'll cope. The only review of the system I have seen was of an older version. Based on your research, how do the new set ups compare to what you had below?

I have ordered a Heinzmann system from Kinetics in Glasgow. I am hopeful it will arrive in the next week or so and will post a full review in due course. I have ordered the Pedelec kit - front wheel, 9.6Ah Li-Ion battery, 1122 motor (53Nm, 33A, Steel gears) hopefully 15% climbing, 15mph + on a 28” wheel although I don't really know what those things mean. I think it might go a wee bit faster than 25 km per hour but we will see. The kit weighs about 8kg & will be fitted to my 12kg hybrid. I will watch with interest what you go for. If there had been a bionx supplier nearby I would have gone for a bionx Pl-350 as a retro fit. I did not want to buy a new bike as I really like the one I have. The more info that is available on the alternatives that are out there the better.

I decided instead to go for what I really wanted. I have ordered a Heinzmann system for my exisiting roadbike from Kinetics. The cost was hideous! The Dahon would have been unlikey to cut down much on my commute which was key deciding factor for me. I shall post a review on the system once it is fitted - hopefully in about three or four weeks time.

Usual ebay fever has taken over me. I bid on the above bike - and although I did not win I have been offered the bike as a second chance. The vendor has 459 positive feedback comments and not a single negative. I know it does not meet my requirements stated in my previous thread but I think it might be a good "stick your toe in the water" bike which, with a bit of luck, I can re sell in a few months. I have until tomorrow evening to accept. The price is sub £425 - about a third of new retail. Summary below - any contributions/observations would be welcome! Dahon Roo El Special Edition folding electric bicycle, complete with charger and spare battery At a weight of under 17.5 kgs this is still the lightest electric bicycle ever built for general use. It folds down to 33 x 66 x 80 cm (13" x 26" x 31.5"), light weight and folded size making it ideal for multi-modal commuting, but still comfortable for a fifty mile ride in the country. This example is one of the few 2006 models imported to the UK with a: 7005 alloy frame, 16.8 volt electrics, brilliant front hub dynamo headlamp, and rear auto vibration/light sensitive battery lamp. Now discontinued, it was designed in California and built in Taiwan, (unlike many electric bicycles which are both designed and built in China, producing folders which are not ideal for the taller rider). The Roo El will accommodate cyclist heights of 5 feet 4 to 6 feet 4 inches. The 16.8 volt 8 amp NiMh battery cells will power the bicycle for at least 20 miles (assuming an inexperienced cyclist who never pedals the road speed up to and beyond the legal power cut-off of 15 mph), but will easily provide a range of up to 30 miles for the more experienced (or, with the power switch set to Economy, anybody who is happy with a longer more leisurely ride). Using the spare battery which is included in this listing will double any of these distances. This example was purchased new by me in the summer of 2006 and has seen only moderate leisure use as I do not commute: it is therefore in outstanding condition and full working order. A detailed specification will be found at World Wheels - The No 1 internet source for Dahon Folding Bikes in UK and EU (errors and omissions excepted, of course). Note the following changes which I have made: the pedals are alloy non-folding, the grips are Ergon (which, unlike the originals, are locked on and do not twist on the bars), and the tyres are Marathon Plus, the best puncture resistant tyres available, which provide a firm but flexible ride with low rolling resistance. They add half a kilo to the weight but that is well worthwhile for the freedom from flats. Note the full tread as shown in the photos. The power system is Sram Sparc, a unique well-tried pure (electronic) pedelec design, which contains two 100 watt motors, five speed hub gear, and electronic controller inside the rear hub. There are therefore only two cables, one to the battery on the rear rack for power, and one to the battery meter, Off, Econ, and Full switch on the handlebars. The whole bicycle and power system complies 100% with the existing UK regulations, and the forthcoming EU regulations for electrically assisted pedal cycles.

Re the Heinzmann the price the website generated was £1,320, based on a 9.6ah front hub pedelec £1,265 & £55 for a wheel build. This looks like the most powerfull set up for me. I struggle with the legal issue - given the fact that speeding for car borne traffic is the rule rather than the exception & the number of cars currently on UK roads without insurance or MOT. My exisiting road bike is fairly light - 11.5kgs, with no suspension & thin tyres on 28" rims. It has a simple 8 gear set up. The test drive issue is the reall killer for me. Whichever way I go it looks like I will spend over £1,000. I don't buy a pair of trousers for £20 without trying them on first! I'd hate for fork out that amount of cash & find no noticeable change in journey time - although if I didn't need to shower after each journey this would save 10 mins.

I did look at the nano a while ago & emailed the guys at nano without a reply - a common theme I found having been ignored also by electriccyclecompany also (although 50cycles have been great at answering queries). I think the nano might be a little slow too although I got quite excited about it reading about it in AtoB. The Heinzmann system really does appeal - as much because Kinetics is close to me & I could easily return the bike to base if there was a problem. It looks very dear based on my understanding of their latest prices (£1350 just for the kit). Have just noticed someone has posted an ad for a powacycle windsor in gumtree in Edinburgh at £350 which might be a cheap way of dipping the toe in the water - if the battery has reasonable life left in it. I could ebay it afterwards if I wanted to trade up. A chipped windscreen & a flat tyre on a single trip in my mini this week has encouraged me to take a step forward soon re a purchase. Having a parking space since December at my office makes it too easy to take the car rather than hoping on either the brompton or my courier race and using pedal power. I shall post again on this thread when I make my mind up. Thanks once more for your interest & advice.

Thanks to all of you for well considered replies. It looks like the Pro Connect is the most likely candidate and that my ambitions on timing may be a little optimistic. Even if the reduction in time is not as much as I had hoped I presume the work rate will be reduced which will make an each way run a more attractive prospect on a daily basis. I have some hesitancy in ordering a bike before I am sure it is fit for purpose and might try & get down to 50 Cycles for a test run if they will allow one. I am based near Glasgow. As I travel widely for business this should be feasible. I started reading AtoB on riding my Brompton which put me on to pedelecs & finding the web site. It is a great resource.

I have been lurking for a long time & am seeking any advice anyone may care to give. I am considering a bike to help with a circa 12 mile each way commute. Four long gradual hills but nothing too steep, otherwise mostly flatish. It takes me 60 minutes out & 75 minutes back on my unpowered hybrid. I can manage one way but both ways in a day is too demanding & pinches a little too much time from time with kids. I also own a brompton which I love which takes me to the local train station two miles away. I also have a mini cooper which is a second car. I have lived without a car before (thanks to the brompton) & could do so again easily. If I could find a reliable year round pedelec I could dispense with the car. Ideally I would like to get the journey time to nearer 45 minues each way. I can recharge the battery at the office too. I travel most weeks for one or two days so it would be used for at least 70 miles a week. I am 40 and a somewhat lardy 14st. I am able to shower at the office but would like not to need to. I need not buy a budget bike and reliability is key for me. I have been considering an Ezee Torq or Kalkhoff Tasman. As an alternative the idea of a Heinzmann retrofit on the hybryd is a possibility & is attractive as I need not add another bike to the collection. Any views or advice would be most appreciated.