61, Over weight and Unfit from South Wales :)

The title just about says it all really

 

My main motivation is to reduce my weight and get a bit fitter!

 

I've not ridden a bike for many, many years and a conventional pedal-power bike would be out of the question as I wouldn't reach my destination

 

My workplace is 5.5 miles from my home and not to many hills in between but, I know I'd need assistance with them - either that or walk

 

At about 18 stone I don't know if there are any ebikes out there that would carry me hence joining this forum.

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

John

Any ebike should carry your weight.

 

The more you pay, the better components you will get, and better also means stronger - to a degree.

 

Hub motor ebikes put more strain on the spokes, so you might be better off with a crank drive.

 

An 11 mile round trip is not far, so a 10ah battery will be big enough, even if you use the assistance a fair bit.

 

There's lots of choice - how much do you want to spend?

Thanks for the reply and advice.

 

When I started looking I found a plethora of offerings in the £699 - 799 price bracket and then many in the £1500 bracket.

 

I'm not adverse to buying 2nd hand and could probably get something that did sell for £1500 for around £700. It's just not knowing what would suit my girth !

 

It does seem that many buy, discover it's not for them and they come back on the market again. I'd persevere a bit more - no gain without pain etc

 

An eBike just seems to be a good option to loosing weight, a bit of exercise that can increase as one builds the energy to climb hills using more pedal power - that's my theory anyway.

 

Cheers

 

John

the Woosh Big Bear LS will cope easily with your weight and is a good first bike.

 

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bigbear-ls

 

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/2014/bigbear-ls/bigbear-ls-400.jpg

If you want to lose weight buy a bike without a throttle; much to tempting to just rely on the motor.

Suffering with research overload just now

 

I'm sure I'd struggle without some sort of power assistance and would probably never arrive at work

 

This morning while travelling to work I took particular attention of the road conditions, hills and pot-holes - power assist is definitely a requirement

 

Think I'll need a set of those snazzy bluetooth weighing scales too so I can plot my progress to lose weight

If you want to lose weight buy a bike without a throttle; much to tempting to just rely on the motor.

 

I'd say just the opposite - If you know you can use a bit of throttle on those days you're not feeling 'zackly, you'll probably still take the bike out:

You'll ride more & further

You need a motor with a lot of torque to drag your weight up hills, This is a case where size matters, so whatever bike you look at, look at the size if the motor. As a general rule, big motors are stronger, give more torque and don't overheat so much.

 

Bikes with big strong motors in order of price are: The Woosh Big Bear, which is specifically designed for people like you. If you want something a bit more stylish, there's the Kudos Tornado, which costs a little bit more. Then, for a bit more again, there's Ezee bikes, As the price goes up to £1400, there's a few to choose from, and by the time you get to £2000, there's so much choice that it's impossible to decide.

 

Always worth a mention is the Tonaro if you can get one for £1000 or less. They have quite a strong crank-drive motor

Well, I've done the deed and purchased an Ebco Eagle LSR-50. I could have researched for months and who knows, my decision might have been different.

 

I'll come back and let you guys know my thought following my first outing

 

Now I need to buy protective headgear.

 

Cheers

 

John

Hi John

Welcome to the forum and I hope you get good service from your new e-bike .

 

I'm 63 and two years ago was diagnosed diabetic , over the previous few years my weight had increased through good food and good wine and not very much exercise , Since then, both fun riding on my old road bike and the use of the e-trike as my around town " run ( fun) about " I have lost a couple of stone and reversed my diabetes , and got lots of fresh air

Wishing you many a happy mile . My cousin has banned me from visiting her in Wales because I complain about the green and pleasant land ( well the rain that makes it green )

 

regards emma

Hi Emma and thanks for your encouraging words - exactly what I hope to achieve.

 

I'm hoping to receive my first eBike later this week and quite excited about it too My rationale is that I have to travel to work every weekday and occasionally at weekends, so why not use a bike and gradually wind down the assistance required as fitness improves - I really do need to lose weight as well.

 

Yes, Wales does tend to have more than its fair share of rain but it's a beautiful place.

 

I'm looking forward to a healthier lifestyle ahead.

 

John

I find my fitness has improved each time I up the power. Well it to be so.

Well, I have to give a 'headz-up' to Paisley Freight. I booked a collection of my new to me ebike from Durham at 9:50am yesterday and today I rode it to work

 

First time on a bike in 30+ years and 5 miles and 21 minutes later, I arrived safe and sound and puffing a bit . For me, in my overweight and unfit state this really is an achievement.

 

Now I just need som eway of plotting my progress over the weeks & months ahead. I know I can do this manually but, being a bit geeky, there must be a better way using my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Android phone Any suggestions?

 

John

Hi John, congratulations on your first ride. I too track my rides and have a galaxy note 3 .I use Endomondo and pay for the premium service which is a couple of quid a month but it gives me a lot more info and Iam able to use the note 3 's built in ant+ sensor to use a cheap heart rate monitor to map my fitness levels. I also use the free version of strava but I find Endomondo better to pay for as their is so much more customisation available of the data you can display on the screen and probably the biggest benefit is that on the last update it displays chosen data on the lock screen ( just set your screen time out for max) and it means you don't keep losing sight of your data especially frustrating when you have winter gloves on and you can't operate the screen. Cheers Gaz

Just downloaded Endomondo and will give it a whirl Looking forward to the ride home at 16:30.

Well, I've done the deed and purchased an Ebco Eagle LSR-50. I could have researched for months and who knows, my decision might have been different.

 

I'll come back and let you guys know my thought following my first outing

 

Now I need to buy protective headgear.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

Hi john and welcome. I will guarantee that you will never get a broken wheel spoke. Secondly, I hope you had test ridden a few ebikes before you came to that final decision.

 

MS

Thanks for the welcome MS and I guess without any spokes as I used to know them, I'll not be breaking them.

 

I have to admit to being rather impulsive and didn't ride any eBikes before making the purchase. I did a fair bit of reading and then just went for it.

 

If I've made the wrong decision then I have no one to blame but myself.

 

I've not ridden a bike of any form for over 30 years, the Ebco arrived this morning with a decent charge left, I unpacked it and was straight out the door.

 

John

Well, I've done the deed and purchased an Ebco Eagle LSR-50. I could have researched for months and who knows, my decision might have been different.

 

I'll come back and let you guys know my thought following my first outing

 

Now I need to buy protective headgear.

 

Cheers

 

John

Nice looking bike!

Well, this morning was a more energetic ride to work, I pressed myself a little harder! I was making good progress until:

 

1. Hit a pothole and the chain came off, easily put back on.

2. The left hand pedal fell off. Couldn't fix it on the spot, so the last half mile was walking!

 

I'm pleased to say there was no damage to the wheel but the pedal might be a little more difficult to fix. It seems the last part of the thread in the crank and on the pedal have stripped a little and I can't engage the pedal into the crank. I'll try again in an hour or so with a garage and tools to hand.

 

Are these pedals simply tightened in or is some sort of locking liquid used?

 

At worst, a new crank and pedal.

Well, this morning was a more energetic ride to work, I pressed myself a little harder! I was making good progress until:

 

1. Hit a pothole and the chain came off, easily put back on.

2. The left hand pedal fell off. Couldn't fix it on the spot, so the last half mile was walking!

 

I'm pleased to say there was no damage to the wheel but the pedal might be a little more difficult to fix. It seems the last part of the thread in the crank and on the pedal have stripped a little and I can't engage the pedal into the crank. I'll try again in an hour or so with a garage and tools to hand.

 

Are these pedals simply tightened in or is some sort of locking liquid used?

 

At worst, a new crank and pedal.

 

Just tightened well and check it after the next ride or two and then you can pretty much forget about it, don't use thread locker or it may never come off again

I have noticed a lot of bikes have insufficiently tightened pedals from the factory/seller, I had the same issue on a very expensive recumbent, and now always check the entire bike over on arrival.

Hi

 

REMEMBER

Left hand pedal has a left hand thread .

if it had become loose then it may have damaged the thread try inserting from the back slowly to check it will go into the undamaged thread and if it does reform the thread from behind .

hope all goes well

 

regards emma

If you screw it in from the opposite side a few times, it'll clean the thread and make it easier to install on the correct side; however, the thread might already be damaged beyond repair. Pedals have to be done up tight to avoid this problem.

bikes sent by couriers usually do not have their pedals fitted.

If you fit pedals for the first time, put a little grease on the thread, screw it in by hand, most important, until the pedal is almost completely in. If you feel any resistance, unscrew and check the thread. Then you need a good long handle spanner, something of this size, and screw it in quite tight (about 40NM)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31bIEJTYj-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Well, this morning was a more energetic ride to work, I pressed myself a little harder! I was making good progress until:

 

1. Hit a pothole and the chain came off, easily put back on.

2. The left hand pedal fell off. Couldn't fix it on the spot, so the last half mile was walking!

 

I'm pleased to say there was no damage to the wheel but the pedal might be a little more difficult to fix. It seems the last part of the thread in the crank and on the pedal have stripped a little and I can't engage the pedal into the crank. I'll try again in an hour or so with a garage and tools to hand.

 

Are these pedals simply tightened in or is some sort of locking liquid used?

 

At worst, a new crank and pedal.

 

 

Be aware that the left hand pedal will be a left hand thread........

Thank you one and all for the replies, all very useful and helpful

 

Fortunately the crank problem has been fixed and both left and right are now fitted tightly

 

Really enjoying my first few days.