Brand new to this or at least not seriously ridden a bike for over 30 years. Now in my early 70's having had both knees replaced and having a bit of free time on my hands - seems a good idea to try out an E-Bike. As those having been through this journey will know, the knees don't bend quite as easily as perhaps they once did. Mine aren't too bad I did the exercises and I am generally, if not a little over-weight at 15st, still quite fit. Sure that will soon go, even with the assistance of an electric motor. Open to advice on what bikes to look at, up to about £2,000 max.

 

Peter

Welcome to the forum Peter, seems that quite a few from North of the border have joined lately.

Which style of bike are you thinking of, my guess is with knees and to be kind to them a step through may be a good idea !!!

Best bet is to find some local/ish vendors and test ride first to see which drive style feels good to you. Hub motor for relaxed/tour riding or a mid/crank drive for athletic riding.

Hello Peter

 

Well done for doing the exercises. My Dad (89y/o didn't when he was your age and regretted it - 'til he could no longer remember regretting it ).

 

The a huge choice out there in your price range. Forgive me for making a huge assumption, but I'll take a punt you're not looking for a hardass full suspension mountain bike (MTB) for hooning down mountains at breakneck speed?

 

Have a rummage on here as there's a lot of discussion on exactly what you're asking. General advice is buy local if you can (for aftersales support). And try several different bikes first - essential in my book. You might prefer a step through frame rather than a cross bar.

 

If it's leisurely cycling on mostly tarmac, you're probably better off with a hub drive, than a crank drive.

 

In your price range is the Wisper 905 Torque, which was no.1 on my list when I was looking last year, but Woosh advertise on here and they'll have a selection that'll suit you. The Oxygen S-Cross is held in quite high regard, or for a top spec R&M, there's one currently advertised on here which you could afford:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/riese-muller-blue-label-roadster-touring-for-sale.28790/

 

Anyway, welcome aboard, and happy e-bike hunting!

 

Edit: Presumably not far from you and as good a place as any to start:

http://electricbikesscotland.co.uk/our-range/

 

Gaz

Edited August 21, 20178 yr by Gaz

Welcome to the forum Peter, seems that quite a few from North of the border have joined lately.

Which style of bike are you thinking of, my guess is with knees and to be kind to them a step through may be a good idea !!!

Best bet is to find some local/ish vendors and test ride first to see which drive style feels good to you. Hub motor for relaxed/tour riding or a mid/crank drive for athletic riding.

Thanks for the advice - your thoughts are fairly close to mine and certainly the advice to check out the local dealers first. I'm sort of an age where bikes without cross-bars seem a little strange to me and that has swayed my thoughts towards a 20" foldable as being a sensible compromise? I obviously need to try a few out first rather than guess.

Hello Peter

 

Well done for doing the exercises. My Dad (89y/o didn't when he was your age and regretted it - 'til he could no longer remember regretting it ).

 

The a huge choice out there in your price range. Forgive me for making a huge assumption, but I'll take a punt you're not looking for a hardass full suspension mountain bike (MTB) for hooning down mountains at breakneck speed?

 

Have a rummage on here as there's a lot of discussion on exactly what you're asking. General advice is buy local if you can (for aftersales support). And try several different bikes first - essential in my book. You might prefer a step through frame rather than a cross bar.

 

If it's leisurely cycling on mostly tarmac, you're probably better off with a hub drive, than a crank drive.

 

In your price range is the Wisper 905 Torque, which was no.1 on my list when I was looking last year, but Woosh advertise on here and they'll have a selection that'll suit you. The Oxygen S-Cross is held in quite high regard, or for a top spec R&M, there's one currently advertised on here which you could afford:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/riese-muller-blue-label-roadster-touring-for-sale.28790/

 

Anyway, welcome aboard, and happy e-bike hunting!

 

Edit: Presumably not far from you and as good a place as any to start:

http://electricbikesscotland.co.uk/our-range/

 

Gaz

Thanks for that, very useful. Not so sure about flying down mountains on the new bike but it would make for a good story I'm sure. I will give ElectricBikesScotland a try, they do seem to have good reviews. I'll let you know how I get on - or fall off of course!

Since the advent of urban bike sharing schemes low steps are generally just seen as unisex. No one really cares any more. The Oxygen S-cross ST looks fairly butch anyway: http://www.oxygenbicycles.com/e-bikes/s-cross-st and Oxygens come with a throttle in the box if you feel like fitting one. For 20 inchers look at the Kudos Secret. It's a good hill climber and also has a throttle. Throttles are rare on bikes these days but may be useful if you ever find yourself in extremis with your knees.

Since the advent of urban bike sharing schemes low steps are generally just seen as unisex. No one really cares any more. The Oxygen S-cross ST looks fairly butch anyway: http://www.oxygenbicycles.com/e-bikes/s-cross-st and Oxygens come with a throttle in the box if you feel like fitting one. For 20 inchers look at the Kudos Secret. It's a good hill climber and also has a throttle. Throttles are rare on bikes these days but may be useful if you ever find yourself in extremis with your knees.

Many thanks for the thoughts, I'm probably old enough not to care too much, after all the hair has gone along with the six-pack - not the memories though! I now seem fairly settled on one of the 20" bikes with the Winora Radius Urban being hard to shake off. Not an easy bike to source for sure, obviously very popular!