I'm glad you have found the powabyke useful, and I do admit they have a much wider avaliability, they even have some local to me! But my experience suggested the finish was very rough - bits of metal sticking out, a spoke loose, and the motor didn't work. That and the weight, really put me off.
Advice please...
- Thread starter joanna
- Start date
I'm glad you have found the powabyke useful, and I do admit they have a much wider avaliability, they even have some local to me! But my experience suggested the finish was very rough - bits of metal sticking out, a spoke loose, and the motor didn't work. That and the weight, really put me off.
So I could have it in a month! I won't buy that 3 month train ticket then!! That's good news about the guarantee, does that include the battery and motor?
By the way where can I buy a spare battery charger? And when I come to need it battery?
Jo
New thread! New thread! Do keep us informed! Cant wait to see what this does to the system. I can already think of so many applications. I love the pedelec system, but there are times when a throttle would just help out as an alternative.
Joanne, Just a thought. I travel on hilly unlit roads a lot and i know the chilterns very well. If you get the bike in Feb, you'll be thrown straight into winter commuting in some challenging terrain.
For an area like the chilterns, you'll need a very powerful front light that throws a beam far ahead of you. Budget ~£100-200. I use a 3yr old Lumicyle HID and its very good for this purpose although these days there are many competitors.
There are 3 reasons you need the light:
- Safety1: In rural roads cars see oncoming trafffic by their powerful full beams. If you have one, then they will see you before you come round a corner.
- Safety2: In rural roads, in bad wet weather its hard to spot, branches, oil, floods, ice etc A powerful light gives you plenty of time to see hazards and adjust speed\direction
- Speed: This is the important one! The ebike will get you up the hill very fast and gravity gets you down fast. You'll be descending very fast and at that speed you have limited control. If you dont have a light that lets you see 50yds ahead, you'll have to slow down to be safe.
PS as all the powerful lights have a limited battery time, a dynamo makes an excellent backup and fill light, and is fine for summer commuting.
PPS Take the new bike out when you get it and practice emergency braking, work out your stopping distance.
For an area like the chilterns, you'll need a very powerful front light that throws a beam far ahead of you. Budget ~£100-200. I use a 3yr old Lumicyle HID and its very good for this purpose although these days there are many competitors.
There are 3 reasons you need the light:
- Safety1: In rural roads cars see oncoming trafffic by their powerful full beams. If you have one, then they will see you before you come round a corner.
- Safety2: In rural roads, in bad wet weather its hard to spot, branches, oil, floods, ice etc A powerful light gives you plenty of time to see hazards and adjust speed\direction
- Speed: This is the important one! The ebike will get you up the hill very fast and gravity gets you down fast. You'll be descending very fast and at that speed you have limited control. If you dont have a light that lets you see 50yds ahead, you'll have to slow down to be safe.
PS as all the powerful lights have a limited battery time, a dynamo makes an excellent backup and fill light, and is fine for summer commuting.
PPS Take the new bike out when you get it and practice emergency braking, work out your stopping distance.
I tried cheapish throwover panniers but doing that mileage they were soon knackered, I now have Agu X-rain as they are a little larger and more practical than the long standing top choice of Ortlieb back rollers.
Some of them actually do Joanna, and I remember one male forum member inquiring where he could buy them, and another using one on the rear carrier for his small dog. Its a whole new world out there.So I guess you guys don't have those lovely wicker baskets on the front? That's what I was thinking of...
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Consider an alternative bright lighting for less than £100-200 mentioned here- (how about around £15?). even shorter term- you've spent a lot lately!
Tesco have 2 Watt LED aluminium torches for a tenner, There are torch mounting brackets available for fitting torches to the handlebar (web search..). they use AA batteries, and can use NIMH rechargeables to keep running costs down.
(don't get too the bigger C and D battery torches won't fit the mounts and would probably be to heavy and unbalanced on a bike).
Yes- they have a more focused torch beam rather than broader beam available on some bike lights but they are really BRIGHT and shine a long long way. Ask at tesco to see one working- a small piece of plastic needs to be removed from battery end- they are good. And LED means good battery life better than the traditional bulb light units mentioned here,
(SAFETY 4)
LEDs don't break like bulbs
(leds last up to 100,000 hours, about 10 years always on, compared to 10's of hours for bulbs with the possibility of filaments going at the worst possible time)
DealExtreme: Bike Accessories (Page 1) shows a couple of inexpensive torch mounts. DealExtreme: $8.40 Fenix Flashlight Bike Mount seems the more flexible/versatile
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confesssion.Some of them actually do Joanna, and I remember one male forum member inquiring where he could buy them, and another using one on the rear carrier for his small dog. Its a whole new world out there.
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I'm considering one. The other option seems to be like a supermarket shopping basket which seems too open.
I used a supermarket type wire shopping basket with handles removed on a Lafree carrier for three years, a handy way of carrying the shopping back. I'd devised a quick release attachment so it only went on for shopping trips.
Did I steal it? Well no. Walking out of Focus DIY one day after buying some items, I spotted a small number of the baskets as part of a display stand of sale items. I mischievously asked an assistant how much they were, to which I got the surprised reply, they're free. Accordingly I popped the items I'd bought into the top one and walked out with it.
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and relax
It is quite nice being on here, I can admit to wanting what the non-electric bike people would laugh at! Some have already said what on earth do I want an electric bike for - I asked them if they cycled 36 miles a day - some do of course, but most are quiet then!
So it is basket on the front, torch tied on with cable ties, skirt guard, and really, if I am being honest, a tricycle, but I think that doesn't actually match my needs, so wisper it is. Oh and one of the cycle helmets that look nothing like bike helmets!
I have signed up for bike maintenace classes my local council has just started (they have been nominated a cycling town - one of 5 new ones (I think) and the smallest, so have money to spend on encouraging people to cycle. They are also offering adult bikeability classes, but I can't work out what these are, as far as I can see the bikeability scheme is the new cycle proficiance, and only for children, but I don't really feel I need that anyway. Wonder what they will think of an electric type thing?
And I now have my husband interested in the whole thing - and I have not even got the bike yet - still can't wait!!!!
It is quite nice being on here, I can admit to wanting what the non-electric bike people would laugh at! Some have already said what on earth do I want an electric bike for - I asked them if they cycled 36 miles a day - some do of course, but most are quiet then!
So it is basket on the front, torch tied on with cable ties, skirt guard, and really, if I am being honest, a tricycle, but I think that doesn't actually match my needs, so wisper it is. Oh and one of the cycle helmets that look nothing like bike helmets!
I have signed up for bike maintenace classes my local council has just started (they have been nominated a cycling town - one of 5 new ones (I think) and the smallest, so have money to spend on encouraging people to cycle. They are also offering adult bikeability classes, but I can't work out what these are, as far as I can see the bikeability scheme is the new cycle proficiance, and only for children, but I don't really feel I need that anyway. Wonder what they will think of an electric type thing?
And I now have my husband interested in the whole thing - and I have not even got the bike yet - still can't wait!!!!
hats
It is one of the yakkay helmets I have my eye on, though to be honest I will start with my old helmet - bought for me by my parents when I was a teenager (15 years ago), and worn to the top of the road each bike ride, then removed and put in my panniers... still got those as well, or I still have a horse riding helmet (one of the old ones again, that are no longer sold) so will make do to start and buy things gradually, have spent quite a lot of money recently (these electric bikes are not cheap!). However I am after the yakkay helmets - so I am sure I will justify it somehow...
It is one of the yakkay helmets I have my eye on, though to be honest I will start with my old helmet - bought for me by my parents when I was a teenager (15 years ago), and worn to the top of the road each bike ride, then removed and put in my panniers... still got those as well, or I still have a horse riding helmet (one of the old ones again, that are no longer sold) so will make do to start and buy things gradually, have spent quite a lot of money recently (these electric bikes are not cheap!). However I am after the yakkay helmets - so I am sure I will justify it somehow...
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Joanna,
If you have got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet
Mine cost £1.50 from a car boot sale, my wife's cost 50p from the same place..........the helmets that isJ
hn
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I don't much like wearing helmets, (except to clamp the hood on my anorak in place, or keep warm in the cold). 'She who must be obeyed', however, gets awfully wound up when I don't. Solution: Bought a surplus WWII leather flying helmet and googles....... A couple of trips like that and the insistence that I wear it soon wavered .
Cheers, Phil
. A couple of trips like that and the insistence that I wear it soon wavered .Cheers, Phil
Pictures?I don't much like wearing helmets, (except to clamp the hood on my anorak in place, or keep warm in the cold). 'She who must be obeyed', however, gets awfully wound up when I don't. Solution: Bought a surplus WWII leather flying helmet and googles......
Cheers, Phil
You're a brave man Phil the drill. I thought the H word was banned
Joanna - Check this out. Double Click on the small picture to enlarge the photo. Sort of gives the Wisper a more feminine look.
Nouveau VAE, le Wisper Works 905 SE
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