I have finally received my cycle2work voucher and after months of research I still haven't decided whether to get an ebike or a new non assist bike and an conversion kit.

 

I have a top budget of £1500. My main use will be a 30 minute commute to work and back 2/3 times per week. Ideally I would also like to use for leisure rides on weekends. I'm not totally unfit, 6ft, 15 stone.

 

My question is if you were me and had my budget. What would you go for? If ebike, which one would you buy today? If non assist and kit, which ones?

 

Really keen to see if I've missed any good options in my research and also just to see what everyone else would go for if they had one choice today!

 

 

If you only want to ride roads then many are ok, I personally chose the upgrade route with the only GOOD route, MID drives, more power/torque for off roading, and whilst people will be rear, front or mid drive people the MID drive is better than all front/rear hubs and that is fact, but more expensive.

 

I like off road, gravel rides round forests and in Wales that means ROUGH so hub drives for me are out.

Are there devices that you can run your charger through while charging the battery that allow you to set a charging limit? Sure I saw someone say this and you van set it to stop at 80% charge for example?

 

All GOOD manufacturers and chargers will cut off when charging is complete, not carry on charging, when my Bafang is charged I can hear the fan stop and charger turns off, avoid cheap unbranded 100% (Chinese)

the MID drive is better than all front/rear hubs and that is fact, but more expensive.

 

Better for what? I've heard that the repair shops like them quite a lot, and they make good boat anchors because the cranks dig in the mud better than a hub-motor.

To compare differing drives you have to compare like for like so power /wattage output needs to be very similar . To evaluate both one has to use them to compare rather then assume from hearsay.

there are special chargers that let you do that. They have presettable lower charging voltage likle 40V to prepare the battery for long storage period. Your battery does not need to be prepared for storage.

Thought I read somewh

All GOOD manufacturers and chargers will cut off when charging is complete, not carry on charging, when my Bafang is charged I can hear the fan stop and charger turns off, avoid cheap unbranded 100% (Chinese)

Yeah but I read that if you are not going to be riding the bike soon its better to charge it to 80-90% rather than 100% and had seen someone say they had a device that you could select when the charging would stop so it wouldn't charge to 100%.

Also read that you should try to run the battery to 40% or below before charging if you can to maximise the battery life. No idea if any of these things are true lol but as with everything you want to maintain it as best you can.

Thought I read somewh

 

Yeah but I read that if you are not going to be riding the bike soon its better to charge it to 80-90% rather than 100% and had seen someone say they had a device that you could select when the charging would stop so it wouldn't charge to 100%.

Also read that you should try to run the battery to 40% or below before charging if you can to maximise the battery life. No idea if any of these things are true lol but as with everything you want to maintain it as best you can.

For long term storage, you want the battery somewhere between 40% and 80%. It doesn't matter how you get it like that. It's best not to run your battery right down until it cuts off, though that can't be avoided sometimes. It doesn't actually do any harm to worry about, but it does put it at risk of having other problems, so nothing to panic about, but best avoided. Also, it's best to charge before you use your bike, not immediately after you used it unless you're going to use it again soon, like every day commuting. Always charge to 100% except when you plan long-term storage.

Thought I read somewh

 

Yeah but I read that if you are not going to be riding the bike soon its better to charge it to 80-90% rather than 100% and had seen someone say they had a device that you could select when the charging would stop so it wouldn't charge to 100%.

Also read that you should try to run the battery to 40% or below before charging if you can to maximise the battery life. No idea if any of these things are true lol but as with everything you want to maintain it as best you can.

 

I ride daily, so ..........................

The front disc brakes are hydraulic. If you feel any binding, take a look at the caliper. You want the rotor to be centered between the pads.

If it's not centered, loosen the front quick release skewer a turn, squeeze the front brake lever, tighten the quick release and release the brake lever. Check again that the rotor is now centered.

The brakes will then on automatically adjust themselves.

Can wider tyres be put on the wheels that come with the camino or is it wise to stick with the 40c?

You can fit 50-700C tyres to the Camino but if you need wide tyres , the Gran Camino is better. More comfortable and more powerful.

You can fit 50-700C tyres to the Camino but if you need wide tyres , the Gran Camino is better. More comfortable and more powerful.

I already have a camino and fine with the 40s just wondered if I could go wider in the future if I wanted to.

I already have a camino and fine with the 40s just wondered if I could go wider in the future if I wanted to.

yes, you can, just watch out for the gap between the rear tyre and the mudguard.

There is some space but not a huge amount, so up to 50mm wide is OK.