MDJO

I bought a Ezee Sprint Primo (Ladies step through version of the one John has recommended above) for exactly the same purposes as you describe. 14/15 mile commute with some gradients. It's been a fantastic buy and does the job with ease. I'm a similar age (ok, ok a few years older) and similar weight. Battery life easily copes with 14 miles (easily over 50% remaining after 14 miles with a nominal amount of pedalling which is easy to do as it's quite light). Been using mine for about 7 months now and would buy another in a heartbeat. Highly recommended .

Does anyone know if any of these Cree lights can be bought as an all-in-one rechargable unit i.e without separate battery pack. I've already a light on my bike (connected to battery) plus various other wires near the handlebars and am limited for room so would ideally like one of these but as simple as possible. (but without paying silly money for a branded one) Thanks if you can help

Hi - just a quick update to let you know I bought a Ezee Sprint Primo (low step through) which arrived on Friday. Have taken it for a couple of rides already, 9 miles on Saturday and 20 miles today down to the coast and back, with a mix of roads, cycle paths and bridleways. Today's journey back included about 3 miles up a slight gradient into a strong headwind, and I'm delighted to say it made very light work of it. Overall it didn't use much battery at all - I had 3/5 left. So I'm really pleased and will post a proper review in a week or two. Thank you for all your help and advice - And thank you for John at Ezee for answering all my queries.

Hi everyone Firstly thank you all for the advice you've kindly provided so far. I've done lots more research and narrowed the 'spec' as follows Step through or low cross bar Front hub Pedal Assist plus throttle (not torque as I originally thought) Front suspension fork Min 36v/10ah battery Frame size c. 17"-18" Light as possible and obviously best value for money (budget c.£600-£900) So far I have narrowed down to Ezee Sprint Primo (£850) Woosh Sirocco (£585) Cyclotricity Sahara (£699) I've also considered converting a standard bike (Giant Rove being the bike of choice although UK seems to be short of supply at this time) Cost approx £400 bike + £conversion kit variable, Obviously at first glance the Woosh seems the best value although the heaviest at 24kg. Is there any significant differences between these bikes that I should be aware of or I'm not spotting? Thanks, again

Thank you D8veh and Hoppy - I did like the Raleigh, so that's definitely an option. I've seen 2 x Raleigh Velo Trails, once priced at £1,000 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=7609) and one a bit more at c.£1,350 (http://www.raleighebike.co.uk/Range/Product/?pc=1&pt=198&pg=9083). I can't seem to see the difference but will check with the Hire place to see which one it was I actually hired. Looked at the Woosh too - I liked them and they seem to get rave reviews on here. Although I *think* the only one with a torque sensor is the Sirocco Sport not one of the step throughs I was looking for. I'll keep looking (now I know that I'm looking for 'torque sensor' it makes it so much easier - thank you)

Hi everyone I've recently got a new job which requires a commute into the City Centre. At present my commute is disjointed and costly. Typically I drive to a metro station (c.4 miles), park (£1), metro (£3.60) then 10 mins walk at the other end. Overall this can take anything between 40mins-1hr and over costs in the region of £5-£6. Sometimes I need to have a vehicle with me, so on those days I drive and park which is 10 miles plus £6 per day parking and again can take anything from 35 mins to 50 mins depending on traffic. I have been looking at alternative forms of transport and this weekend hired an electric bike to try out. The bike was a Raleigh Velo Trail Step Through. I'm not sure which model exactly but it had 7 gears and three levels of assistance. There wasn't a throttle and the assistance was relative to how much effort was put in. I really enjoyed it and ended up doing 30km, mostly flat but the odd reasonable gradient as well. I did try a couple of short buyt really steep hills, at about 13% gradient, which I just about managed. I haven't been on a bike for over 20 years and have no fitness level to speak of, yet was really surprised at how easy it was. I didn't even get warm never mind break a sweat and the only thing that was sore the day after was my seat bones. I'm now looking to buy an electric bike with a view that I'll use it for leisure initially and build up fitness and confidence to eventually commute to work. I'm also considering an option of driving part-way into work with bike in back of van, then cycling the last 4-5 miles where the traffic is bad but the cycle lanes are good :-) This will also save on parking. Anyway enough waffle.. I'd really appreciate some help as to which bike would be best for my needs - here's the spec The full commute is 10 miles each way. Mostly flat with maximum gradient of 6% - depending on which route in, there might be one or two stretches of a few hundred meters at 13% - happy to get off and push though :-) We have some nice off road riding close by - again mostly flat tracks etc and I would like to be able to leisure ride this too. I'm female, weigh 75kg and am 5'6". I definitely want a step through frame. Need to be able to carry panniers. Would like a removable battery I liked the assistance the hire bike gave, i.e. assistance when pedalling in relation to how much effort I put in - not sure what this called. I have a budet of £1,200 but ideally under £1,000 I'm based in the North East All suggestions and advice gratefully received. It's a minefield Many Thanks