Advice please

[Lancs Lad]

I’m looking to recover some levels of fitness (gradually) and am looking to purchase an ebike to help me do this. Suffer from dodgy hips and knees but I’m sure that some cycling will help strengthen some muscles and help lower my weight over time.


I’ve got a budget of £1000-£1500. I weigh about 100kg at present. I want something reliable and low maintenance. I want something that can definitely cover 20 -25 rides without battery anxiety and that will allow me, in time, to build up fitness and speed. Also I don’t want any worries about legality for use on UK roads and cycle ways. Would ideally like to get it in the next month but not a deal breaker.

Was considering a Pure Flux one but was worried about a single gear so wanted a test ride. I’ve emailed the Liverpool shop to ask for a test ride this weekend but they haven’t replied so that immediately put me off them as it isn’t a good sign for their customer service.

Also considering a Carerra Impel IM-2 as the spec and price seem ok but I have seen some grumbles about Carerra reliability issues.

I’ve also been looking at the Swoosh Gran Camino but only heard of them this week and not a lot of trustpilot reviews.
Basically any advice, recommendations and warnings would be helpful. Would love to hear from any owners of the brands I mention or even some shout outs for options I should add to my list.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Nealh]

Woosh in Southend are mail order mainly though one can pop in if local.
They are predominantly known among ebike forums and those in the know, Woosh have a 5* rating amongst most on here and are an exceptional small company to deal with, been trading for 10 years.
Tony a director is a regular on the forum.

 

[sjpt]

Was considering a Pure Flux one but was worried about a single gear so wanted a test ride

I’ve also been looking at the Swoosh Gran Camino but only heard of them this week and not a lot of trustpilot reviews.

Unless it is very flat near you a single gear won't be a good idea. The Pure Flux one has a tiny battery, you'll only get the 20-25 range if you put in quite a bit of the effort. It's a lightweight for an ebike, designed to give a regular cyclist a little help especially up the hills (if they aren't too steep with the single gear).

The Gran Camino is a lot heavier, but with a much bigger battery. Woosh have an excellent reputation here; our experience buying a kit from them was very positive. You'll probably be better off with the Woosh.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Woosh in Southend are mail order mainly though one can pop in if local.
They are predominantly known among ebike forums and those in the know, Woosh have a 5* rating amongst most on here and are an exceptional small company to deal with, been trading for 10 years.
Tony a director is a regular on the forum.

Thanks for the recommendation. I’m all for supporting smaller companies especially if they look after customers

 

[Lancs Lad]

Unless it is very flat near you a single gear won't be a good idea. The Pure Flux one has a tiny battery, you'll only get the 20-25 range if you put in quite a bit of the effort. It's a lightweight for an ebike, designed to give a regular cyclist a little help especially up the hills (if they aren't too steep with the single gear).

The Gran Camino is a lot heavier, but with a much bigger battery. Woosh have an excellent reputation here; our experience buying a kit from them was very positive. You'll probably be better off with the Woosh.

Thanks for the advice. Good to hear positive experiences regarding Swoosh.
It isn’t too hilly where I am but I’m keen not to be always trundling at 15mph so the single gear was a bit of a worry.

 

[AndyBike]

Sometimes with mail order, there can be problems returning should anything go amiss, or dont want to talk to you on the phone or you get a call center and they havent a scooby what youre on about.
(Woosh excepted, as i know from on here they are the pick of the litter)

With Carrera its Halfords, and thats probably an easier company to return the bike to for refund or replace, and they usually have in house mechanics should the problem be a minor one

 

[Lancs Lad]

Sometimes with mail order, there can be problems returning should anything go amiss, or dont want to talk to you on the phone or you get a call center and they havent a scooby what youre on about.
(Woosh excepted, as i know from on here they are the pick of the litter)

With Carrera its Halfords, and thats probably an easier company to return the bike to for refund or replace, and they usually have in house mechanics should the problem be a minor one

Thanks for the advice. Good to know Woosh are the pick for online sellers. As you say Halfords are handy for going into to if there are any issues but I wonder what the waiting times are like as I know many places have long waiting lists (maybe it’s getting better as the lockdown fitness bug decreases?)
Pure do have some branches within 40 miles which made it semi attractive but as they couldn’t be bothered replying to a query about a test ride I’ll probably swerve them.

 

[vfr400]

Thanks for the advice. Good to know Woosh are the pick for online sellers. As you say Halfords are handy for going into to if there are any issues but I wonder what the waiting times are like as I know many places have long waiting lists (maybe it’s getting better as the lockdown fitness bug decreases?)
Pure do have some branches within 40 miles which made it semi attractive but as they couldn’t be bothered replying to a query about a test ride I’ll probably swerve them.

Unfortunately, there have been many problems with Halfords bikes in that price range. My advice is not to buy an electric bike from them. It's not only that the bikes themselves get a disproportionate number of problems, but the time taken to deal with them is sometimes quite long and spares not readily available. The bikes themselves are very good when they work, but that might not be for too long.

 

[JPGiant]

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[DiggyGun]

Try Wisper bikes as well, they are very good bikes.

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[Lancs Lad]

Unfortunately, there have been many problems with Halfords bikes in that price range. My advice is not to buy an electric bike from them. It's not only that the bikes themselves get a disproportionate number of problems, but the time taken to deal with them is sometimes quite long and spares not readily available. The bikes themselves are very good when they work, but that might not be for too long.

Thanks for the heads up