2nd Hand Electric bike under £400?

[JamesW]

Local bike shop should be able to do that. Failing that as halfrauds charge only £25 for a wheel build I'm sure there are easy options available for Jowo.

 

[Jowo]

Some local bike shops round my way, fortunately.

 

[patpatbut]

My local bike shop re-tunes/repair spokes any bike wheel for £9

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't get ripped off. £25 is the absolute max.

 

[Jowo]

I am, however, now boggling at the folded size of it, now that I have just discovered how hard it is to buy any kind of bike transport bag for it.

85cm (L) x 70cm (H) x 55cm (D)

Any ideas for cheap bike bags to protect a car boot or to smuggle it onto train carriages for companies that ban powered bikes onboard?

Folded up, it comes up to my hips, is twice as wide as me and twice as deep. It's much bigger than my Old Granny tartan shopping trolley (and I bought the large size one, equivalent to a medium to large suitcase...)

thanks

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It'll probably be too heavy as well. Oh well!

 

[JamesW]

I am, however, now boggling at the folded size of it, now that I have just discovered how hard it is to buy any kind of bike transport bag for it.

85cm (L) x 70cm (H) x 55cm (D)

Any ideas for cheap bike bags to protect a car boot or to smuggle it onto train carriages for companies that ban powered bikes onboard?

Folded up, it comes up to my hips, is twice as wide as me and twice as deep. It's much bigger than my Old Granny tartan shopping trolley (and I bought the large size one, equivalent to a medium to large suitcase...)

thanks

Personally I would
1) be looking to see if I could find an enormous tent bag for it. I think the short of bag an 8-10man tent goes in might be big enough if you are lucky - there seem to be a few on eBay, but dimensions are difficult to get.
2) make my own/get one made
3) find someone who has pinchedon of those massive Ikea shopping bags and ask if you could relieve them of it.
(Options 1&2 should give you a zip.and less hassle on the train)

 

[Nealh]

Well done Jowo, I think you have bought a good little bargain there. The guy sounded honest enough and says he was willing to keep it if it didn't sell (fat chance of that at that price). If you take it into LBS and they are not used to ebikes just make sure that they are careful with the e - cable coming out of the axle and also when they disconnect the plug at the joint.

 

[Cyclezee]

1. It was me.
2. No, I didn't - that's an extra 100 miles to travel due to my stupidity...

Well at least it wasn't Newcastle NSW

 

[Jowo]

The good news is my local bike shop did a good job of giving it a service and replacing the spokes, chain and mudguard.

I had a week of zipping to work with ease - even though I elected to peddle far more than I predicted, my arthritic knees didn't grumble. I got to work in 30 mins instead of an hour by public transport. It didn't struggle up the hills to any great degree.

The bad news is that I crashed on ice today outside my office and now the bike doesn't work - no response with the throttle. I don't know if it was specifically the crash as I forgot to test it as I just limped into work, or because I left it in the rain for a few hours rather than using the bike shed.

I've tried pulling out and pushing in the 3 pin plug a few times as I've knocked it out before and that's usually fixed it, to no avail. I'm leaving it in the warm tonight and have towelled off the battery and the connections to it.

Any pointers on solutions would be appreciated. thanks

 

[trex]

does the LED panel turn still on?
if it does, then you may have blown the FETs, get a new controller.
If not, then you may have blown the battery fuse.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Sorry to hear that. Check that you didn't grind through the wire where it comes out of the motor. It's bad news if you have.

 

[Cyclezee]

Check that you didn't grind through the wire where it comes out of the motor. It's bad news if you have.

The reason eZee fit motor cable protectors as shown below

 

[Jowo]

The LED panel does light up. I will look into those options. It did fall on the side of the motor wire which had no protection,other than my pannier above.

 

[trex]

the motor cable has a socket and plug about 10 inches from the motor to allow quick disconnection when you want to remove the motor wheel. It is possble that the cable got pulled apart a bit during the fall. Just push the two ends back together. Post a picture of the cable - we can check it for you.

 

[trex]

check also the brake levers, one of the brake sensors may get stuck in the active state inn the fall. The brake sensor plugs into the main signal cable in the front of the bike, you can unplug it to test this.

 

[Jowo]

Thanks again. I fiddled with the cables and plugs that you suggested and it seems to have returned back to life when my lengthy attempts a few nights ago had no results. I will give it a proper test in a few days as I'm still too sore to ride it.

A few further questions

- does the front brake have any influence on the power or just the back wheel brake where the motor is? The front brake handle was damaged in the fall (when you press it in, it won't depress automatically). The front brake now sticks a bit.
- it is possible to buy a motor cable protector and easy enough for a novice to fit?
- do you have a recommended website for accurate weather or tips on how to avoid or deal with ice?

Before my tumbles at around 6.30 in the morning, I managed to set off oblivious to the conditions despite a scan of a weather website. I came a cropper on lesser a used pedestrian path and a recently tarmac'd new road that's never had any traffic on it towards the end of my journey. I'm now a bit nervous about cycling to work as there wasn't any traffic near me at the time of my falls but if there were, I might have got squashed by a car.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Both brakes normaĺly have switches. If your front brake lever doesn't return, that would cause your loss of power. Ice is not that common. If you see that the grass is white with frost, then you can expect ice, so stay off the cycle paths. The roads are normally salted, so not such a problem.

 

[D8ve]

Jowo
It's healthy to be suspicious of traffic as there are a few loonies around and a number of careless drivers too.
But keep going and your confidence should increase. As well as skill in reading the road and other users.

 

[Jowo]

Right, that's me nearly back on the road. Thanks all.

The local bike shop unjammed my brake lever and fitted a guard over the motor cable for a tenner, my bruises are fading and I will start using it against once the current icy snap is over - the local station platform has been gritted so if that's not a sign to stay off the road, I don't know what is.

The bike mechanic enjoyed zipping about on it and has his eye on some mega mountain e-bike.

Just found out the company has opened up the new Bike to Work Scheme but I'm ineligible as I haven't completed my probation so that's it for this year.

Will probably get a small personal loan to upgrade to a lighter electric Mezzo or Dahon within the next 12 months so I can take it into the office and onto trains more easily.