E-bike or E-mtb. What am I not understanding?

[MrG]

Hello all,

A change in job recently has made me think hard about getting an E-bike or E-mtb.
I'm a completely novice rider and I haven't even ridden an E-bike so totally inexperienced.
I've been looking into various makes and models and the more I dig the more questions I have.

I will be using the bike to commute 10 miles (ish) daily and

Are E Bikes and E-mtb’s the same thing in terms of how the motors perform. The reason I ask this is why don't I just buy a decent Mountain bike from say Specialized, a respected big player in the industry. No concern with parts being dodgy, far better gears and suspension for those pesky pot holes on uk roads.

Also safety wise I imagine the batteries are way less likely to catch fire over the dodgy Chinese bikes.

Not to mention the availability of support if things go wrong which I have found is a common problem with the Chinese E bikes.

For example you can buy E-mtb’s which are a couple of years old for around 2k and their original price was a whopping 4k when released. Surely these are substantially better bikes than the new e bikes which cost around the same price? They still have all the essentials like assistance up to 15 mph and if your feeling fruity these can also be unlocked to hit around 28mph.

I appreciate the bigger tyres might make the bike feel a bit slower and an Emtb isnt intended for commuting but surely the motor negates any of these negatives with relative ease.

Also, if you did decide to be a bit fruity with the speed assist one of those chopper Ebikes with a throttle are far more likely to catch the police attention than what looks like a regular mountain bike.

Am I on the right track or am I missing something really obvious?
Thanks in advance..

 

[Wayners]

I don't like fat tyres because of the road noise. Passed one yesterday the great lump. Seems some like that sort for reasons unknown. Fun I guess? Hum.
IMO. Front suspension step through is great for town and general riding.
Proper MTB if you got no problem getting on and off although that's becoming uncomfortable for me. Also good for getting some power peddling and a bit of grass riding. I avoid that generally.
Take a look at the forum sponsors bikes. Under 2 grand with great specs and spares available. Also helpful backup on phone.

 

[thelarkbox]

Hello all,

A change in job recently has made me think hard about getting an E-bike or E-mtb.
I'm a completely novice rider and I haven't even ridden an E-bike so totally inexperienced.
I've been looking into various makes and models and the more I dig the more questions I have.

I will be using the bike to commute 10 miles (ish) daily and

Are E Bikes and E-mtb’s the same thing in terms of how the motors perform. The reason I ask this is why don't I just buy a decent Mountain bike from say Specialized, a respected big player in the industry. No concern with parts being dodgy, far better gears and suspension for those pesky pot holes on uk roads.

Also safety wise I imagine the batteries are way less likely to catch fire over the dodgy Chinese bikes.

Not to mention the availability of support if things go wrong which I have found is a common problem with the Chinese E bikes.

For example you can buy E-mtb’s which are a couple of years old for around 2k and their original price was a whopping 4k when released. Surely these are substantially better bikes than the new e bikes which cost around the same price? They still have all the essentials like assistance up to 15 mph and if your feeling fruity these can also be unlocked to hit around 28mph.

I appreciate the bigger tyres might make the bike feel a bit slower and an Emtb isnt intended for commuting but surely the motor negates any of these negatives with relative ease.

Also, if you did decide to be a bit fruity with the speed assist one of those chopper Ebikes with a throttle are far more likely to catch the police attention than what looks like a regular mountain bike.

Am I on the right track or am I missing something really obvious?
Thanks in advance..

HI and welcome.. Its a bit more complex.. but essentially yes a lot of the same motors are found on ebikes and emtbs.
certain motors will be used by brands that will hold you to exclusive service/repair/maintenance contracts with dealers though. pretty much the same motors but you just get to pay super high prices for everything regularly.


The branded bike problem is that branded bikes in order to conform with regs install custom systems into the controllers locking you into a parts ecosystem, whats worse many employ added features such as battery communication where the controller handshakes with the battery to confirm its 'safe' or just is it supplied by the high price seller? -

And the more built into the bike such control systems are the harder it is to replace the limited locked systems with generic replacements that can employ any battery/motor.

Yes battery safety is a legitimate concern - but there are UK businesses that sell batteries with quality cells in generic formats. and even Chinese distributers like yose-power with a good track record

If at all capable of exchanging a rear tyre on a bike you can fit a conversion kit, cheaper bullet proof hub motors are ideal for commuting and simple off roading.. If you want to climb long steep hills on or off rd a mid drive option using the bikes gears may be a better fit.

For my use a stock conversion kit from yose-power including the battery and all tools needed that i fitted coming up 2 years ago still makes me smile as i pull away works a treat. ( me - not slim old lazy sod..)

If you dont have a bike or an ideal bike to find on ebay to convert, amazon special ebikes see the bargains thread in here cost from £400 up same as my kit basically but with a free bike thrown in!! Ideal starter ebikes as if not upto the job all the typical ebike upgrades are simple plug n play generic replacements found on ebay/amazon etc..

The kicker that got me tho was you really want to think bolt on and not built in if you want VFM, and i kinda had my heart set on one of the sleek looking built in bikes i had seen swish past on occasion .. but thats how it is- at least from my perspective..

hope that helps and isnt too late.

EDIT btw afaik no one in here has seen/had a battery fire, use a proper charger with the correct voltage output and keep an eye on it. dont leave a battery charging overnight or under a pile of coats and forget about it, or plug it in through the window attached to the bike in the rain.. ie dont be a dick.. and all should be good..

its simple do in your head maths most 36v battery chargers are 2amp chargers, so if your battery is a 10ah Amp Hour battery and is fully depleated/empty, it would need 5 hours charging at 2 amps to fill it back up (5hours X 2 Amps = 10ah ).. So if it only needs 50% 2 and a half hours charging needed etc..