£2,000 toy fund - but what to spend it on ?

[DavePat]

"OxygenJames
Appreciate your efforts BUT i’m a big believer in supporting local / UK business. Not only from a support and warranty perspective, but also because i’d rather spend a little more and support a UK small business through tough economic times, than send the money abroad. "


Is South Shields not local enough for you, Oxygen have a dealer based there. As others have pointed out no matter what you buy you will be sending money abroad.

The guys I met at Storck in Gateshead were very friendly and helpful when I called in, if you pick up a sale bargain at 2K or so it might be just what you want and some good test routes on their doorstep.

 

[Cyclezee]

I don't know if any of you have heard, but apparently, some food products claiming to be beef are in fact 100% horse

 

[carpetbagger]

Having just heard on BBC radio that container loads of sausage skins derived from pigs are imported from China through Felixtowe port, you may be eating Chinese in a different way from what we usually understand.

That could be more worrying than riding a Chinese e-bike!

Then here we fill them with horse meat from romania.....i truly multi-national product with that special kick

 

[jazper53]

What's the fuss? For years we've been told that Ready Meals contain too much Salt and Shergar.

 

[wissy]

what's the latest thought ms666?

You any closer? How co e you didn't like the KTM, AVE or Haibikes out if interest? (My shortlist).. You seen the Heinzmann bikes...,? They look cute..... Cute motors.

 

[shemozzle999]

I don't know if any of you have heard, but apparently, some food products claiming to be beef are in fact 100% horse

I don't know about meat but I sounds a bit phishy to me.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I don't know about meat but I sounds a bit phishy to me.

Neigh lad!!!!!!!!!!!!!....straight out of the horses mouth!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wissy]

why are people straying so much off this person's thread topic?

Anyhow... Back to pedelecs.......... Hope OP comes back with questions and comments regarding his preferences. It is fascinating to get an alternative viewpoint to a similar budget and choice of bike. I 'was' learning a lot.....

 

[jazper53]

why are people straying so much off this person's thread topic?

QUOTE]

Maybe its got something to do with the sudden urge to have a cantor after ones evening meal .

 

[Wisper Bikes]

No point in shutting the stable door now, that horse has well and truly volted!

The message of this thread is to try as many bikes as possible after all the hoof of the pudding......

 

[MS666]

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

 

[wissy]

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)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

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.

 

[jazper53]

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 ?

 

[DavePat]

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

 

[RobF]

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.

 

[Sacko]

Build your own!

For 2k, the boundries are endless.

 

[Storcker]

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.

 

[MS666]

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.

 

[MS666]

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