Update time!

 

So I popped up to the chaps in Gateshead to see what they had in their sale and find out what the fuss was about.

 

First impressions: the shop is on a business park, and not your normal retail unit like a few people have commented. The showrooms on the first floor and like RobF said, the bikes are all displayed on their own display stands, mostly racing and mountain bikes on display but they had a Multitask ebike in the window. Again Rob was right, i did enjoy the buying experience, its like a nice car showroom but without the guy at the end trying to haggle over throwing in the car mats!

 

I had a nice cup of coffee with Ian and Trevor and had a chat about what i was looking for, as well as a sniff around some of the racing bikes (1 was nearly £10k and weighed less than 6kg – simply Stunning!) Anyway ...

 

They had a full range of size in the sale, Mostly ex demo multitasks varying in degrees of usage, some of them were just ex display with little (if any!) visible usage. they were all being sold with a warranty and a new battery, so i had no worries about buying one. The one i tried was a near 21” Multitask (without the mudguards and rack) as it would be the size to suit my height. My first impressions were really really good, i knew i liked the styling of the bike from looking at the website but you can really see and feel the quality. The motor was deadly silent, and really really smooth. I only gave myself time for a quick spin around the car park and a couple of the hills for 2 reasons – 1) this was my first proper test since deciding want to buy an ebike and i want to separate the feeling of the “ebike smile” from the performance of this particular bike. And 2) i’m quite impulsive and if i tried the bike any longer i had a feeling that i’d be riding back to the shop waving my credit card!

 

I wasn’t overly fussed with the big apple tyres, although they took the sting out of riding off kerbs and pot holes i preferred something skinnier and a bit more nimble. Ian offered to change the tyres to some skinnier ones at no extra charge if i wanted to buy the bike.

 

So i didn’t leave with one in the back of the car, and that does mean i run the risk of missing out in the sale, but i do want to try the Emotion neo and ive even convinced my self to at least try a bosch bike.

 

Overall: beautiful bike, super smooth and quiet, Ian and Trevor were really kanny and happy to help... and i got one of the posh catalogues for the coffee table! I’ll be going back for a longer demo after i’ve tried the others on my list.

 

Next up: I Need to find a emotion Neo cross dealer near me this week and plan on heading up to south shields to try the Oxygen (not really on my list, but its up the road and im curious)

 

I’ll keep you posted

Thank you for the updates!

 

I feel as if I am doing the test rides with you so thanks for that virtual test ride.. Especially looking forward to feedback on Bosch's you are going to try.... interesting. Were there any small girl type ex demos you saw on bargain prices? (E'ailed but heard nowt)

Next up: I Need to find a emotion Neo cross dealer near me this week and plan on heading up to south shields to try the Oxygen (not really on my list, but its up the road and im curious)

 

I’ll keep you posted

 

The Oxygen is by default limited to 15mph in the LCD display settings, which spoils the ride a little bit because the motor power is cut at 15mph. Ask the guy if he can set it to 40 kph, which makes it a much more pleasant (and faster) experience. If he won't do it, wait til you get round the corner and press and hold the up and down buttons until the display goes to setup mode. Scroll to the speed setting, which should show 25 kph and increase it to 40kph.

The Oxygen is by default limited to 15mph in the LCD display settings, which spoils the ride a little bit because the motor power is cut at 15mph. Ask the guy if he can set it to 40 kph, which makes it a much more pleasant (and faster) experience. If he won't do it, wait til you get round the corner and press and hold the up and down buttons until the display goes to setup mode. Scroll to the speed setting, which should show 25 kph and increase it to 40kph.

 

40 kph is that a maximum setting ?

Edited February 11, 201313 yr by jazper53

Let us know how you get on in SS.

RobF posted this when I introduced myself a little while back regarding the bike shop in South Shields

 

"Sports Recycler, which among other things dismantles and sells bits from stolen bikes recovered by the police, has an ebike off-shoot.

 

The business is subsidised by the local authority and I think ebikes come into it because the tree huggers in the town hall see them as a good thing.

 

The lad who runs the ebike side is called Vince and he normally has about eight or ten in the showroom."

I was in Sunderland yesterday and thought about dropping in to see what they have but the shop is closed on Sundays. Not much info on their website. Electric Bikes | Electric Bicycles | Ebikes | Electric Bike Kits

 

There is the electric cycle centre in Penrith who seem to have a selection of bikes including the BH ones you could check what they have.

 

Happy hunting

 

Dave

I called in to Recycler last weekend.

 

The new European assembled Oxygens are due in the next few weeks.

 

I'm not sure the Oxygens will suit the OP because it looks they are sticking with 26" wheels and mountain bike-type tyres.

 

For general information, Vince is part-time but is usually there on Saturdays.

Build your own!

 

For 2k, the boundries are endless.

Update time!

 

 

I wasn’t overly fussed with the big apple tyres, although they took the sting out of riding off kerbs and pot holes i preferred something skinnier and a bit more nimble. Ian offered to change the tyres to some skinnier ones at no extra charge if i wanted to buy the bike.

 

Overall: beautiful bike, super smooth and quiet, Ian and Trevor were really kanny and happy to help... and i got one of the posh catalogues for the coffee table! I’ll be going back for a longer demo after i’ve tried the others on my list.

 

I’ll keep you posted

 

Hi from Storcker:

Re: the Big Apple tyres. I've been surprised by how well they roll considering the width and am quite happy with them.

On another thread I posted that they give poor grip, none really, on wet mud due to their shallow tread

and width allowing them to float on mud. Last Saturday I went out for a ten mile ride and on one single track road pulled over to allow a car past. After the car has passed I pulled away and managed to fall off in the mud at the edge of the road. They say nothing good ever comes from doing a good deed.

Still no harm done to anything other than my dignity though I'm sure the pigs in the field were laughing at me.

Enjoy your riding whatever you ride.

Hi from Storcker:

Re: the Big Apple tyres. I've been surprised by how well they roll considering the width and am quite happy with them.

On another thread I posted that they give poor grip, none really, on wet mud due to their shallow tread

and width allowing them to float on mud. Last Saturday I went out for a ten mile ride and on one single track road pulled over to allow a car past. After the car has passed I pulled away and managed to fall off in the mud at the edge of the road. They say nothing good ever comes from doing a good deed.

Still no harm done to anything other than my dignity though I'm sure the pigs in the field were laughing at me.

Enjoy your riding whatever you ride.

 

Thanks Storcker, I'll keep that in mind. I think that if i go for the Storck i might swap the tyres for the marathon cross, Ian did say he would be happy to swap them over to get the bike right for me.

Quick update :

 

Still havent had time to nip to shields to see the oxygens, however i'm staying in the lake district this weekend so i'm on the hunt for a Bosch to try tomorrow. I just hope there are some bike shops open on a sunday...

 

thanks for everyone's feedback and help:D

Quick update :

 

Still havent had time to nip to shields to see the oxygens

 

thanks for everyone's feedback and help:D

 

Strange to relate, I was there to look at one this very day.

 

It was the only 2013 they had, was already sold, and the customer arrived to pick it up while I was there.

 

Decent bike for £1,500, but we are talking fairly basic components so I don't think it will suit MS666.

Might be worth trying a Panasonic rear drive bike if you are not keen on crank drives. Should be arriving in the UK in March

Hi from Storcker:

Re: the Big Apple tyres. I've been surprised by how well they roll considering the width and am quite happy with them.

On another thread I posted that they give poor grip, none really, on wet mud due to their shallow tread

and width allowing them to float on mud. Last Saturday I went out for a ten mile ride and on one single track road pulled over to allow a car past. After the car has passed I pulled away and managed to fall off in the mud at the edge of the road. They say nothing good ever comes from doing a good deed.

Still no harm done to anything other than my dignity though I'm sure the pigs in the field were laughing at me.

Enjoy your riding whatever you ride.

 

 

storck runs well on schwalbe marathon plus tyres....28" x 1.5" (50-85 psi....i run them at about 70 psi)...plenty of grip, good roll on road and reliable.

regards

storck runs well on schwalbe marathon plus tyres....28" x 1.5" (50-85 psi....i run them at about 70 psi)...plenty of grip, good roll on road and reliable.

regards

 

While not selling Storck bikes I have tested them and was impressed with the ride. Although did not get the chance to test them on any hills.

I found that most electric bikes give a nice ride until you get to the hills!

I found that most electric bikes give a nice ride until you get to the hills!

 

True but felt smoother than any hub powered bike I have ridden so far. Looking forward to getting our panasonic hub drive and seeing how it compares other than being around £2k so fair bit cheaper

[ATTACH]5141.vB[/ATTACH]

 

storck multitask raddar.....raised stem and 28 x 1.5 marathon plus tyres are mods to original spec.

fabulous ride.......silent smooth assist......

 

regards

I found that most electric bikes give a nice ride until you get to the hills!

 

i have tried many ebikes and find a huge difference in the ride and 'fit' of the bikes (its just the same with normal bikes)......getting a bike that is a suitable fit for your own size/weight etc is very important and should not be underestimated if you want to avoid injury and discomfort on longer journeys........

a good bike shop is usually the best place to get a fitting .......

regards

Update time!

 

So I didn’t have much luck in finding a bike shop in the lakes that was open on a Sunday, although I didn’t really do a lot of planning, I just popped my head into one or two hoping they had some in stock.

 

I ended up taking the family to Grizedale forest for a bit of fresh air (plenty of that in the lakes!) because I remembered seeing a bike shop on the Storck site as a stockist. When I got there they didn’t have the storck in, it was out on demo, but they did have a scott with the bosch system (Bingo!).

 

I took the scott out for a short spin, my first impressions were good, the design was quite nice and they had some decent kit on it. The one I tried was a little small for me, so felt cramped, but it was good enough to tell me what I wanted to know.

 

Although the bosch had a digital display (useful) the levels of assistance was baffling eco to speed with 1-3 levels in each. I couldn’t work out if Eco level 3 was the same (or better) than tour level 1. I just didn’t find it easy to adjust quickly. I imagine if you want to stick the bike in 1 mode and just let it do the same amount of work (or making minor adjustments of 1-3) throughout your ride then it would be fine, but for quick adjustment it felt fiddly. At one point I was in Tour 1 (I think) and wanted less assistance, but the mode button only lets you go up in assistance till you get back round to eco. Am I the only one that finds that silly? It’s like having a gear box in a car that makes you accelerate up through the gears before it lets you slow down.

 

I did like the power it had, not sure which battery was on the scott as I think the bosch has different batteries, but it did have a kick in high power. I did find the pedalling action a bit more mechanical, I can only assume that’s because the bosch has a number of cogs in the box on the crank to provide the assistance. It wasn’t unpleasant, just different. It was good on the hills as well.

 

To be honest, I’d already written off the bosch before id tried it because I like the idea of removing the electric part of the bike and being able to ride it as a “normal” bike in the future. I don’t think that’s possible with a bosch bike, Is it?

 

So in summary – Bosch isn’t for me but would love to know what you think of them.

 

Next up – Still looking to try a wisper and might go back to Storck for a longer hill test as everyone seems to be pointing me back to the Storck.

 

Thanks

MS666....if the Bosch system isn't for you...you have pretty much eliminated 50% of the hill climbing bikes,ignoring our own bikes I know of no other legal (250 watt) system that has the hill climbing power of the Bosch motor,Storck now do a Bosch powered bike principally,I assume,to offer the hill climbing power of their competitors. The Tonaros have gutsy hill climbing abilities.

KudosDave

I can only really compare 4-5 differing systems ,the older Panasonic centre drive ,Kalkhoff impulse centre drive, 2 front hub drives THEN the Bosch centre drive

For my cycling needs the Bosch is excellent giving a good dollop of smooth quiet power at just the right moment .

I believe the latest HMI. controllers are a lot less fiddly to use , but even with my 12 possible power configurations with a little forethought and experience you very quickly adapt .

 

Alan

MS666 The Bosch system you are referring to is the 2012 model. We have just got a KTM in with 2013 system. The key difference is less levels of assistance, improved display and thumb controls to change assistance level which makes it easier. It also has an easy start function up to 6km, ideal for getting away at traffic lights. For £2149 you get the larger battery as well. Not possible to remove electric system but you could take the battery off which would make the bike lighter. Good luck with the search!

Imagine if Eddie were here now,he would have gone into verbal overdrive! MS666....unfortunately you live in a part of the world not served by good dealers. I must say that I rode at least 6 Bosch powered bikes at Eurobike last year and I thought the drive system was very good especially up the hill. The KTM Macina Bold and the AVE-XH3 were lovely bikes and priced at about £1700,were good value.

I do sympathise with you that it is not possible to visit one dealer to see a good range of bikes,is OnBike at Kidderminster out of your range,they I think hold a good spread of bikes.

KudosDave

MS666 The Bosch system you are referring to is the 2012 model. We have just got a KTM in with 2013 system. The key difference is less levels of assistance, improved display and thumb controls to change assistance level which makes it easier. It also has an easy start function up to 6km, ideal for getting away at traffic lights. For £2149 you get the larger battery as well. Not possible to remove electric system but you could take the battery off which would make the bike lighter. Good luck with the search!

 

thanks - glad theyve changed it, it sounds better if they've put less options in it

Imagine if Eddie were here now,he would have gone into verbal overdrive! MS666....unfortunately you live in a part of the world not served by good dealers. I must say that I rode at least 6 Bosch powered bikes at Eurobike last year and I thought the drive system was very good especially up the hill. The KTM Macina Bold and the AVE-XH3 were lovely bikes and priced at about £1700,were good value.

I do sympathise with you that it is not possible to visit one dealer to see a good range of bikes,is OnBike at Kidderminster out of your range,they I think hold a good spread of bikes.

KudosDave

 

Just had a look at onbike on line, they look good but its a 4 hour drive each way ... bit too far for me. thanks for the idea