20 mile commute on an Electric Mountain Bike...

[Knobby]

Hi Guys..

Back ground first, used to be a keen cyclist 5 years ago.. used to road cycle lots 4-5 times a week. Tried cycling to work 18 miles each way a couple of time but never enjoyed the traffic and risk of death!!

Roll forwards 5 years after having a child, wanting to get back into shape and no time to do it, i’ve decided to buy an ebike. My commute now is 12 miles in a car each way but the the back road/country lane/track way which is traffic free is 17-19 miles each way. In my current shape that’s too far to cycle and i’d be hanging by the time I get to work plus a lot to do on a normal mountain bike vs a road bike.

Been looking at a Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 SL 500 27.5" 2018 - Electric Enduro Mountain Bike, the commute will have some off road so would prefer a mountain bike. Budget is 3-4K, would like a 2018 bike with the battery a little more integrated into the frame. To complete the ride each day it sounds like the 500 battery is the one to go for.

Mountain bikes vs road bikes, road bikes are far more efficient than mountain bikes but what are e mountain bikes vs road bikes like.

Thanks

 

[Nealh]

Road bike should be quicker on the flat and most likely downhill.
Emtb may have it on inclines but will be restricted to 15.5mph after this you have to put in effort.

 

[Parky]

Welcome

As long as your not looking to break any records - (saying that I’m doing my best on Strava to ruffle the ‘roadies’ feathers with some of the timed segments I’m managing to achieve ) you’ll be more than fine with the Cube with a change of tyre, you’ll get better puncture protection and less rolling resistance on the back road bits

Happy Days - order the bike today, you won’t regret it - as I haven’t like many others

 

[anotherkiwi]

You could try mounting Big Ben Plus tyres if you don't have to ride through too much muck. i.e. they are good on gravel and such but haven't tried them on mud I tend to stay away from the stuff as much as possible...

 

[chris_n]

Welcome

As long as your not looking to break any records - (saying that I’m doing my best on Strava to ruffle the ‘roadies’ feathers with some of the timed segments I’m managing to achieve ) you’ll be more than fine with the Cube with a change of tyre, you’ll get better puncture protection and less rolling resistance on the back road bits

Happy Days - order the bike today, you won’t regret it - as I haven’t like many others

Please declare your rides as Ebike rides on Strava.

 

[Trevormonty]

FS MTBs give great ride but they are expensive to maintain. Rear suspension and all those linkages. Unless you plan to use it for MTBing, hardtail maybe better option.

The other plus of hardtail is its easier to fit mudguards and a rack.

 

[RobF]

A full suspension bike seems overkill to me, and may require more looking after than you would like to keep it running sweetly.

A hardtail with shallow tread balloon tyres - such as Schwalbe Big Ben or Super Moto X - would provide a good compromise between rolling resistance, puncture protection, comfort and grip.

Nearly 20 miles is well over an hour each way.

Too long for me, whatever the bike, but you may think differently.

 

[Knobby]

Thanks for all the comments.

Previously the 18 miles used to take me about an hour and 15. You don’t think I will be about to do it quicker on an ebike?

Like the idea of the Big Ben plus tyres. Will look into those.

The ideas behind the full suspension was the possibility of using it for the local trails at the weekend. Plus they look awesome! I do already have a non e full sus mtb so perhaps overkill as you say.

The speed limit can this be turned off for off road sections?

Might pop and have a look at some bikes today while the Misses watches the royal wedding.

Some more contenders

Specialized Turbo Levo Hardtail Comp 6Fattie 2018 - Electric Mountain Bike


Scott E-Scale 720 27.5"+ 2018 - Electric Mountain Bike


Scott E-Scale 930 29er 2018 - Electric Mountain Bike


Scott E-Scale 910 29er+ 2018 - Electric Mountain Bike *


Cube Reaction Hybrid SLT 500 27.5" 2018 - Electric Mountain Bike

Not a massive Specialized fan but looks good.

Would love a Scott! Heart says Scott, head says Cube. My current mtb is a cube and you seem to buy so much for your money.

So with a hard tail.
26, 27.5, 29? Fat boy??? Clueless, what’s best for covering the miles.

Thanks.

 

[Woosh]

Previously the 18 miles used to take me about an hour and 15. You don’t think I will be about to do it quicker on an ebike?

you may shave a bit with an e-bike but the main benefit is to arrive pink, not red and sweaty.
I reckon on flat-ish roads, the quickest time is with a lightweight road e-bike.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I'm going to pull out that damned graph again...



As you see above once you get to about 15 km/h or so the air starts to get in the way. So if you are on a road bike or an electric assisted road bike the result is the same - the graph illustrates the difference between air resistance and rolling/drive train at 40 km/h (rolling resistance and drive train losses represent 12.3% of the total forces you are fighting against).

So if you want to commute fast you need a road bike and if it has an unrestricted 350W motor you don't need to provide much effort at all!

If you are on a MTB then you are just going to be pushing more air, with assistance or without. And FS adds in more rolling and drive train losses thanks to the suspension and extra weight. More Watts needed, bigger battery...

Your call.

 

[Knobby]

Hard tail mtb bike it is.

I’m doing this to get fit again so 100% don’t want zero effort. I only really want help on the hills as there are a few.

Getting to work fresh would be good. Have showers there which is good as I think I’ll still get hanging the first few weeks.

 

[Trevormonty]

I go either 29 or 27+. Either way you will need a bit sweat to sustain any speed above 15.5mph cutoff.

Easy to add dongle to Bosch, not sure about Shimano and Brose motors. You will need to do you homework there.

Bosch CX harder to ride unassisted because of internal gearbox compared to direct drive Brose and Shimano motors.

There are few hardtails with trail geometry and suspension (120-140mm). Merida ebig Trail is one example. These bikes give you low maintenance of hardtail while still capable of taking on serious MTB trails.

Worth spending extra for air shocks, your body will thank you.

Hard tail mtb bike it is.

I’m doing this to get fit again so 100% don’t want zero effort. I only really want help on the hills as there are a few.

Getting to work fresh would be good. Have showers there which is good as I think I’ll still get hanging the first few weeks.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Shimano requires a device to connect to your PC, then a code from Ebiketuning.com:

https://www.ebiketuning.com/

Beware of Specialized if you want to derestrict. It's difficult to get hold of the rather expensive programming devices.

If you want a fast commuter with the ability to handle normal trails, the Oxygen S-cross MTB takes some beating. The motor assists to around 28mph and it costs nothing to derestrict. Your commute sounds very similar to what Andy Bluenoes does. Have a look at his review thread.

You only need a crank-drive for serious off-roading, but a serious off-roading bike doesn't make a good commuter, though it would be OK for short commutes.

 

[Knobby]

Just been to my local bike shop, they have a Scott E-Scale 930 2017 model and will do a bit of a deal on it.

CX motor, but with old display.
29er
Air Shock
500 Battery
Needs some less off road focused tyres.

Was £2699 they will do it for £2200.. Was going to spend more but a good deal it looks.

Same as the one below.

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/373456/products/scott-e-scale-930-2017-electric-hardtail-mountain-bike-black.aspx

 

[chris_n]

Might as well do it in a car then!

 

[Danidl]

If it's 12 miles by car why is it not 12 miles by bike?. Motorway??? . . A good road bike of the Dutch frame type with marathon tyres ,is in my opinion the safest option. Good visibility, .
Look at another kiwi graphs again. .. basically the wind is always against you . Say you are travelling at 25 km hr ground speed and the wind is a slight breeze of 10 km hr. Then depending on direction the adverse wind is either 15 or 35 km hr. .. the realyr bad news is that power loss increases as the cube of wind speed . In the example above the power loss is 27 times worse at 35 than at 15 !!!.

 

[EddiePJ]

Danidl, the comment by Chris_n, was directed at Parky for his misuse of Strava, by intentionally setting out to upset pedal cyclists, and to alienate pedelec riders even further from regular cyclists.

To quote Parky "(saying that I’m doing my best on Strava to ruffle the ‘roadies’ feathers with some of the timed segments I’m managing to achieve )"


.

 

[Knobby]

Deal done. Picked up this afternoon.

Quick ride round the block. First proper ride tomorrow am.

Will keep you posted.

It’s a29er, which tyres? 1/3 off road, 2/3 on road.

 

[GLJoe]

It’s a29er, which tyres? 1/3 off road, 2/3 on road.

If its mostly for commuting, I'd take a look at Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTBs.
You can get them in a 2.25 IIRC.
They have a fairly hard, nearly constant center tread for the road, so roll reasonably well, but there is grip on the sides if you hit patches of mud etc on trails.
They are super heavy, which is bad, but you get probably best in class puncture protection, which is good!

 

[chris_n]

Danidl, the comment by Chris_n, was directed at Parky for his misuse of Strava, by intentionally setting out to upset pedal cyclists, and to alienate pedelec riders even further from regular cyclists.

To quote Parky "(saying that I’m doing my best on Strava to ruffle the ‘roadies’ feathers with some of the timed segments I’m managing to achieve )"


.

Close, there are enough haters in the unpowered cycle community, why give them ammunition. It was actually aimed at Jimrod who chose to disagree!