I've recently changed jobs and whilst my commute is roughly the same length I'm finding it much harder to commute on my Kalkhoff ebike. One reason for this is that its all on road and not dedicated cycle paths like my previous commute. The other (and main) reason is that I have to be there an hour earlier and I'm not particularly a morning person at the best of times, so motivation and time are usually stretched meaning I'm opting for the car.....

 

I'm considering going full electric motorbike and doing my CBT, the Super Soco TC Max coming out soon looks interesting..... anyone got a Super Soco and can recommend it, the few reviews I've found don't seem particularly independant.......

Don't take any notice of the range. The battery has 3.24kWh, but with a total efficiency of around 70%, that means that you have 2.3 kWh of usable energy, which will drive you around 40 miles at 45 mph, but you need to leave about 1/4 in the tank to avoid the risk of pushing it home, so say a safe 30 miles. At 60 mph, you need about 5 to 6kw, so the battery will last around 20 to 30 minutes or 20 to 30 miles.

 

Apart from that, it looks OK. To be honest, small petrol bikes, like the Honda CB125F are so frugal on petrol, that there's not much difference to an electric bike and they're nearly half the price and probably cheaper to run in the long term. You can even get a used one to save on depreciation. Bear in mind that an electric one will have virtually no residual value in about 5 years time, so you have to factor in nearly £1000 depreciation per year, equivalent to 19000 miles of driving with the petrol one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIAL-OFFER-HONDA-CB125F-LAST-ONE-LEFT-SAVE-OVER-300/123690265263?hash=item1ccc83aaaf:g:4UgAAOSw3k9cipDH

 

Look at this one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CB-125-F-LOW-MILEAGE-ONLY-1100-MILES/113690929212?hash=item1a7881e83c:g:e1QAAOSwdrdcA-ak

As a shift worker I know what you mean about being motivated enough to cycle to work in the earlier morning.

 

I think you might be better off on a simple cadence sensor powerful rear hub motored bike as they are simple and relaxing to ride, set to full assist you add as much effort as you want and waft along.

 

I have both a modern crank drive mountain bike and a older simple rear hub drive bike and for road riding when you are not fully awake the hub drive wins hands down.

 

Often they have a head unit that will allow you to set a top speed a few miles an hour higher than the legal limit at around 20 mph that makes a big difference when commuting although I appreciate this would depend on your feeling about doing this.

Thanks for the comments - got a bit carried away and bought one off eBay at the weekend. Got it for £1600 second hand as the seller was moving abroad, this years model with only a handful of miles on it.

 

Don't think that's too bad really as I paid about £1500 for my Kalkhoff ebike a few years back. I've not tried it yet as we collected it in the motorhome while we were away at the weekend. I'll let you know how I get on though.

 

I'm thinking it should do both commute journeys (there and back) so I can perhaps cheekily charge it at work and reduce my costs even more.

 

I appreciate a conventional petrol bike would be almost as economical but I really wanted to stick with electric - plus this has the appeal that I can legally ride it restricted on my current licence then derestrict it when I do my CBT.

I'm sure you'll love it. You get a lot more torque than a petrol bike. I just watched a video of the middle-sized Zero out accelerating a Kawasaki H2. I'd love to get an electric motorbike, but my electric bicycle is used exclusively for journeys up to 30 miles and most of my other journeys are over 200 mile, so I don’t really have a use for one.

 

The race is at the end of this vid.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3u6576r1ZQ:194

I think the Zero is a bit of a different league from the Super Soco, looking forward to trying it though.

 

My commute will be about a 30 mile round trip too. Just not using the bike for it since I changed jobs - that hour makes all the difference

Went out for a quick ride last night - initial impressions are good. Back in the car today for the commute since I feel it would be wise to get a little more familiar with it before tackling rush hour traffic.

Been to work a few times on it now and getting used to it, a very different experience to eBike riding! did a little video review here;

 

Nice cat. I always wanted a marmalade tom. What did it see through the fence at the beginning of the vid?

Nice cat. I always wanted a marmalade tom. What did it see through the fence at the beginning of the vid?

 

That's the world famous Mr Ginge! Probably absolutely nothing there he just likes looking through gaps. Spends hours in the house with only his head outside through the catflap.

Hope you're enjoying your Super Soco. My brother has one in Berlin and loves it, I considered it over a pedelec but am against adding another tax/mot/insurance liability to keep track of. Also think it's a bit small for me at 6ft 3in.

 

The TC Max may have changed my mind due to the top speed matching my commute better but I reckon if it's wet and cold, I'm getting in the car regardless of what 2 wheeled options i have!

I am really enjoying it, I've even ridden it in the rain a few times. It's certainly saving me a lot of petrol! Range is an issue though if I need to do anything other than my regular commute. I nearly came unstuck when i took it for its initial 500 mile check over.

 

I am really enjoying it, I've even ridden it in the rain a few times. It's certainly saving me a lot of petrol! Range is an issue though if I need to do anything other than my regular commute. I nearly came unstuck when i took it for its initial 500 mile check over.

 

Great, love the video diary you keep. Yes, range comes a close 2nd to cost that's keeping me away from a BEV. We have a PHEV which works well for our needs out in the UK countryside, my hope is it lasts us for 5-7 years and by then BEV options will work for me.

That seems an awful lot of hassle and expense just to get a stamp on a piece of paper. I would doubt whether the dealer has the special equipment needed to check the electrics on that bike, so what's he done that you couldn't do yourself?

 

When you want to buy something like that, it's much better to sort out the rules for warranty before you put your money down. That's when you have bargaining power. I've found that, to get a sale, the sellers will often adjust the rules about what you need to do to keep the warranty, particularly if dealer service is going to be inconvenient.

 

It's the same with electric bikes. There isn't really anything that a dealer does to service the bike that would affect the running of the electrical systems, which is the bit that you need the warranty for, so servicing shouldn't be a requirement to maintain warranty of your battery, but don't expect to get your wheel rebuilt because all the spokes broke when you never checked and adjusted the spoke tension.

That seems an awful lot of hassle and expense just to get a stamp on a piece of paper. I would doubt whether the dealer has the special equipment needed to check the electrics on that bike, so what's he done that you couldn't do yourself?

 

When you want to buy something like that, it's much better to sort out the rules for warranty before you put your money down. That's when you have bargaining power. I've found that, to get a sale, the sellers will often adjust the rules about what you need to do to keep the warranty, particularly if dealer service is going to be inconvenient.

 

It's the same with electric bikes. There isn't really anything that a dealer does to service the bike that would affect the running of the electrical systems, which is the bit that you need the warranty for, so servicing shouldn't be a requirement to maintain warranty of your battery, but don't expect to get your wheel rebuilt because all the spokes broke when you never checked and adjusted the spoke tension.

 

All good advice, the bike was bought secondhand though (albeit only a month old with only 99 miles on the clock) I did consider just leaving it and checking it over myself. In the end though I decided on a visit to the dealer. I agree they almost certainly didn't do much.

Well, 3 months later and I've been using the Super Soco regularly for commuting and have covered around 1800 miles. I'm still pretty pleased with it and have had only a couple of minor issues. The performance is definitely a little lacklustre though...

 

Excellent review, and nicely made video. Thanks a lot. I hope you keep us informed on how you get on in the future. The cat is a real star. I love his face when he's sitting on the drive facing the camera. I'm still jealous.

Thanks, yes he's quite a character!

anyone got a Super Soco and can recommend it, the few reviews I've found don't seem particularly independant.......

 

Member Caph has bought a new Super Soco TC Max and posted his experiences today on this link

.

Member Caph has bought a new Super Soco TC Max and posted his experiences today on this link

.

 

Thanks for alerting me to that, I'd missed it somehow. They do look great and I'm very tempted to upgrade......

Thanks for alerting me to that, I'd missed it somehow. They do look great and I'm very tempted to upgrade......

 

It even raised temptation in me, despite giving up my CB500R a few years back.

 

But then I looked at the rain outside and remembered my warm and cosy Nissan Leaf tucked away in the garage!

.

I bought a Nissan Leaf a couple of months ago too, best purchase ever!

I bought a Nissan Leaf a couple of months ago too, best purchase ever!

 

Same for me, and I've possessed 32 and am an ex motor mechanic who's driven a huge variety of vehicles.

 

I just love driving it and have over quadrupled the one year mileage of my previous car. Can't see me ever driving an i.c car again.

.

Well I hit a snag the other day, two road closures with diversions on my normal route to work. Normally each journey leaves me a comfortable 40-50% battery however the two diversions were long enough to reduce battery capacity to 6% with only 3 miles range showing when I got home.

 

Back in the car until the road re-opens, it would only take a bit of a head wind to leave me short I reckon.