A newbie who is clueless about E-bikes

[Andy_H]

Hi All, I’m new to E-bikes and can’t decide what to get, my situation, oldish (58), weighty (around 16 stone - 102 KG (clothed)), 5 ft 9 1/2, unfit, get intermittent knee and back trouble (knee swollen at present), not cycled for 15 years, retired early from work due to health, a few hills where I live but not huge, probably steepest bit is 1 in 6, most around 1 in 10 to 1 in 15, about 1/2 mile long, No car, need bike for visiting family, bit of shopping (so want to fit panniers) and to get me a bit fitter.


I prefer a crossbar type and I’ve discounted most bikes due to weight limit they have, plus l need one with good mileage, most journeys would be 5 to 12 mile, occasionally 45 mile, but I have memory lapses and will forget to charge it sometimes.

Cost wise the Woosh Big Bear, Woosh Kreiger are appealing but also looked at Wisper 905 torque (16ah battery), (all of which have a throttle), the Heinzman Pan eTR-U (14ah battery) no throttle, or rob the bank (not literally) and go for Ralegh (posibly Motus - (no throttle and unknown weight limit), not keen on ones with battery behind frame as they look longer and could cause storage problem (bike stored indoors).

One of my biggest problems is they have different systems, front, centre and rear drive, and although I’ve been lurking around the forum for a while now, I still can’t decide if one is better at going up hill than the others (with my weight plus a little bit of shopping), i.e. could I get home if knee was sore, pretty sure I could turn the peddle but couldn’t use any force. Also is the price difference for things like hydraulic brakes front and back and whatever else is different (most of it I’ve never heard of) worth spending extra money.

A big problem is having no car and I live in Lancashire so I can’t easily visit any E-bike shops, local bike shops don’t do much in the way of E-bikes, (local one sells Volt mountain type bikes) the Raleigh may be available about 6 miles away, Woosh don’t have local stockist's and would cost around £150 return train if I went there and then Wisper stockist (which are out of stock anyway).


Just wondered what your thoughts are, especially the front, centre, rear motor versus my weight, and brakes, sorry for long post.

Thanks.

 

[RobF]

Forgot your weight - any bike, e or otherwise can handle it easily.

Ease of hill climbing is more to do with power of the motor rather than where it's bolted to the bike.

The woosh bikes are pokey and some have bigger batteries.

The Motus is a nice bike.

I like the Bosch system, but you may not.

The torque sensor means it always requires some effort which could be a problem with your dodgy knee.

Bosch bikes in your price range will have the smaller 400ah battery - it will struggle to do 45 miles unless you only use the lowest assistance setting.

 

[Electric Transport Shop]

Hi Andy, Rob is correct about most eBikes being able to handle your weight - just make sure they are certified to EN15194.
There are many options and views and it's very hard to find the correct machine without a local ebike store.
I like the Bosch system and the Raleigh Captus now at £1600 has a geometry that may be kinder to your back. Being a crank drive system it's suitability depends on the restrictions your bad knee and back impose on your ability to cycle (because cycling is always required).
We can send you a Captus to try if you cover delivery costs but ultimately a trip to a store with several ebikes will be the best way to get something you're guaranteed to be delighted with.

 

[acm2000]

im 13st and the crank motor on the Krieger makes me fly so you would have no problems with that or the hub driven big bear, also remember they have a showroom in cambridge as well as their shop in southend so maybe make a shopping trip day out of it to camrbidge if you want to try them out.

failing that check out all the various makes and models online and research, research, research before taking the plunge blind.

(posted on both threads as no idea which one youre using)

 

[Andy_H]

Thanks for your comments, I must admit the weight thing was concerning me as many - like the Volt ones in local store state a weight limit of 100kg in their advertising, so was beginning to think a particular type of motors would struggle with me + little bit of shopping, (or tools if mum needed some work doing ).

I'll have a think about your kind replies and watch the forum.

acm2000 - wasn't sure what you meant "(posted on both threads as no idea which one youre using)", until I read your other post - different Andy coincidentally posted on same day.

 

[trex]

you are not wrong there. Weight, speed, gradient and motor power are all related. The BPM motor is much better suited to your needs. Ezee Sprint, Kudos Tornado and Woosh Big Bear are very affordable. If you want hydraulic brakes, Kudos Rapide or Woosh Zephyr-B.

 

[falmouthtony]

Hi Andy

I have a rear hub drive bike with an Ezee motor and a thumb throttle to use if needed. (Useful for that initial push off from traffic lights on a hill for instance)

I also have a Bosch motor crank drive bike.

I'm also a big chap, bit of back trouble etc., and live in very hilly Cornwall.

I love both bikes.

They can both cope perfectly with hills of 1 in 4, but I can tell you quite categorically that if I want relatively gentle exercise the pedal sensor hub motor bike is FAR easier on the legs etc., although it is very back end heavy, especially when I put panniers on. Think motor, battery and panniers, all at the back of the bike! But you get used to it and it's not a problem. The motor copes with it easily. In truth though, if it broke down, it would be leave it somewhere and get it picked up!

I enjoy the crank drive just as much. It is really well balanced (battery in the frame, motor by the cranks) and just like riding a normal bike. It does, however, give me far more of a work out with the torque sensor, but if it broke down I could probably bike it home with no power, pushing it up the steeper hills.

Hope my two penn'orth helps rather than confuses.

Tony

 

[falmouthtony]

For what it's worth this Heinzmann bike is the sort of thing I personally would choose for your - presumably predominantly riding on-road - scenario.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/bikes/heinzmann-pan-etr-u-2/

Hub motor for general ease of use
Decent capacity battery in frame - helps general balance and feel of bike
Nice looking road bike with proper mudguards and rack for panniers
Decent hydraulic disk brakes. IMO infinitely better stopping power than rim brakes and none of the fiddly adjusting with mechanical disks.
Finally, a bit of front suspension to iron out the surface of those lanes that don't get surface dressed now with the council budget cuts!

Ideal

 

[falmouthtony]

Reading your post again I've only just noticed you'd already looked at this bike.
Great minds think alike!

And, if it does appeal to you, I think you'll find CyclEzee a thoroughly genuine helpful and alltogether nice guy to talk to and get advice from, given that you may have to end up buying blind by mail order.

 

[Cyclezee]

I'm resisting the temptation to go into marketing mode, just wanted to comment on rider weight as have a couple of customers that are over 150Kg so at 102 Kg Andy is a lightweight
One of them is 6'6" and rides an aforementioned Heinzmann, the other resides in the Outer Hebrides.

 

[Andy_H]

Thanks everyone, having given a lot of thought to your comments, I'm going to see about a holiday in a few weeks and visit some suppliers, haven't had a holiday this year so I'm due for a change of scenery (obviously ringing first to see if its convenient for them).

Thanks again.

 

[Andy_H]

Hi all.

I haven't managed to visit anywhere yet, I've discounted the motus as, because I haven't cycled for years I don't have helmet, good locks, paniers etc. so I have to factor in the extra money needed on top of the bike, I like the Heinsmann but no throttle could be a problem, not because I want to be lazy, but occasionally I get a sharp knee pain and can hardly move my knee for about 5 minutes, in good weather it would be no problem as I could just stop for 5 minutes, but I live in Lancashire - we get a lot of rain.

Anyway on my question please , what do people think about traction with a front hub like the big bear, given that the bike will be used often on wet non-flat roads, I've read some sites which say it is a concern and others which say it is unlikely to be a problem, so wondered if forum members have any thoughts.

Thanks

 

[acm2000]

the big bear might wheel spin a little in wet but only if you try hard enough, it has quite the kick but really only need the big bear if youre over 100KG

 

[Alan Quay]

Hi all.

I haven't managed to visit anywhere yet, I've discounted the motus as, because I haven't cycled for years I don't have helmet, good locks, paniers etc. so I have to factor in the extra money needed on top of the bike, I like the Heinsmann but no throttle could be a problem, not because I want to be lazy, but occasionally I get a sharp knee pain and can hardly move my knee for about 5 minutes, in good weather it would be no problem as I could just stop for 5 minutes, but I live in Lancashire - we get a lot of rain.

Anyway on my question please , what do people think about traction with a front hub like the big bear, given that the bike will be used often on wet non-flat roads, I've read some sites which say it is a concern and others which say it is unlikely to be a problem, so wondered if forum members have any thoughts.

Thanks

Don't worry about traction too much. If you are on the road it won't be a problem.

A couple of my bikes are front drive. The one I was riding today is not quite as torquey as the big bear, but not far off. I just rode it up a gravel/mud farm track, probably 1:10, in the rain with a 20ah battery on the rear rack, on fat, slick tyres. Didn't slip once. Not even a little bit.

The only time I could see front drive being a problem is if you are into serious mud plugging (not my thing). But then you would have all wheel drive, so arguably it's better.