Ancheer folding electric mountain bike Sport

[JohnPeaks]

Hi! I’m new here and new to ebikes.
I made a winning bid yesterday for the above unused bike which has both pedal assist and throttle. The seller gave no information about it.
I live near cycle trails and am an older gent who needs to ride for health and pleasure and could take this bike in the boot but also ride the few miles to the nearest cycle trail.
I understand the throttle will be illegal to use on trails or public highway without registration plate, licence, insurance and proper specs as to equipment, helmet etc.
I bid £620 and must complete the sale within next 48 hours. The seller states the bike is as new with a plausible reason for sale.
I think the bike fulfils my requirements at entry level and I’m unlikely to venture off roads or trails and I think the throttle facility might be a good back-up in any emergency should I need to ride home.
Being until now a totally law-abiding old guy my question is should I complete the purchase or choose another bike with only pedal assist. (So far I’ve used a Scout electric trike which is pedal assist but has the facility to utilise battery power only). This was fine until the bolt holding on the battery sheared on the High Peak Trail!
The Ancheer has everything I need but with the throttle am I going to cause myself unnecessary problems with the law and if so does anyone know if the throttle could be adapted to switch on and off without disconnecting it completely? Thanks for any advice!

 

[saikee]

The ebike with the battery temporarily removed is just a normal push bike. The trottle is extremely useful for older riders, especially for starting off from rest on an uphill gradient where crank power and stability departments are no longer strong.

 

[JohnPeaks]

Thanks saikee. That’s useful information. Using my electric trike on the old railway cycle trails I find I can mostly just pedal which is ideal exercise for me but the electric assist is good in case I need it. The throttle would be useful but not if I have to get this bike registered and insured.
The videos on YouTube are mostly American and seem to use throttle all the time! I’ve learnt a lot about ebikes in 24 hours! Amazon seem to have stopped selling this model in uk.

 

[saikee]

It is sad that people has an issue against power motor which is obviously more useful for older riders. I bought one with 1000 Watt and could only use it off road or with the battery withdrawn on paved roads. It has 0, 20, 40, 50, 80 and 100% power assisted positions. So at 20% power assisted I would be using only 200 watt. The throtle is usable in any setting except 0% assistance when the bike uses electricity on the display panel, horn and the front lamp. I only use the 20% power assistance setting for all my ridings and the bike is ideal for a person of 71 of age. As long as I "pretend" to peddle (meaning how little force is needed) the motor would kick in to move the bike along.
I chose the 1000 watt motor because I want a fat tyre (26" diameter by 4" wide) as I can use the bike on snow, sand, grass and a variety of terrains. The wider hub conceal the rear motor totally and every manufacturer puts 500watt or 1000 watt motor in every 4" fat wheel.

 

[sjpt]

First 26x4 fat tyre bike I looked up has 250w motor. https://voltbikes.co.uk/e-bikes/fat-tyre/bigfoot
(it does say 'off road only', but not sure why as it appears to be legal for on road).

There are generally 2 objections to the 1000w motor.
Illegal. That isn't an argument it shouldn't be made legal, but it is right now except on non-public off-road spaces.

Inefficient. A 1000w motor doesn't have to be inefficient, but the commonest ones are direct drive ones; these are efficient when run fast but not when run slower (hills, snow, etc). If you suck 200w out of the battery you will probably be getting well under 100w power out of the motor (*), whereas with a 250w motor you will be getting a over 150w

You can do everything you say above many 250w motors.

(*) I'd be interested to know what the efficiency is of these 1kw motors at low power/low speed ... anyone?

 

[saikee]

I can confirm the 1000 Watt motor isn't efficient as i get about 50km out of a 12.8AH battery for using the 20% power assistance all the time. I did notice if I ride faster using a higher power assistance the battery indicator seems to deplete slower. I don't know other ebikes but able to peddle slowly up a steep gradient with a powerful motor even if it works inefficiently still preferable in my case. I never change the mechical gear at all and kept it the fastest setting all the time. With more experience I might be able to get more mileage out of the battery which died on me suddenly with still 3 out of 10 bars in the power indicator. Yesterday I ran 43km but the battery shill showed up 5 bars (50%) afterwards. It just the last 3 bars (or 30%) could have the voltage too low to drive the 1000 Watt motor.

I would have bought a 250 Watt motor if I could get the same foldable bike with front and rear absorbers and 26" by 4" fat tyres.

 

[JohnPeaks]

This is very interesting but largely gone over my head I'm afraid as I confess I know hardly anything about ebikes or the regulations about them. I doubt, at going on 75, I will ever become knowledgeable. I just want an electric /electric assist bike to make good use of the cycle trails I am fortunate enough to live near.
The seller of the Ancheer bike I mention in the thread title is not very forthcoming but claims that it is road legal. Could someone check the specification is legal or not? I just need to be legal riding the public cycle trails in the Peak District and a few miles on the public highway maybe to get there. Mostly it will be taken there in my car boot. I certainly don't want a vehicle I have to licence and insure and just wish to avoid getting stopped for illegal use. The throttle function would be useful as described and the bike has many features at a fraction of the cost of one of the basic electric folding electric assist bikes. It's also "sporty" white looking which might attract unwanted attention!
My only question is what should I do, buy it or not and go for one of the standard electric folders instead?
Trouble is, I have to decide immediately. Don't want to be one of the "fools rushing in" as it were but don't want locking up at my time of life (lol)! Just need your experienced and knowledgeable opinions if you can help please!

 

[soundwave]

This is very interesting but largely gone over my head I'm afraid as I confess I know hardly anything about ebikes or the regulations about them. I doubt, at going on 75, I will ever become knowledgeable. I just want an electric /electric assist bike to make good use of the cycle trails I am fortunate enough to live near.
The seller of the Ancheer bike I mention in the thread title is not very forthcoming but claims that it is road legal. Could someone check the specification is legal or not? I just need to be legal riding the public cycle trails in the Peak District and a few miles on the public highway maybe to get there. Mostly it will be taken there in my car boot. I certainly don't want a vehicle I have to licence and insure and just wish to avoid getting stopped for illegal use. The throttle function would be useful as described and the bike has many features at a fraction of the cost of one of the basic electric folding electric assist bikes. It's also "sporty" white looking which might attract unwanted attention!
My only question is what should I do, buy it or not and go for one of the standard electric folders instead?
Trouble is, I have to decide immediately. Don't want to be one of the "fools rushing in" as it were but don't want locking up at my time of life (lol)! Just need your experienced and knowledgeable opinions if you can help please!

i have had a dongle on my bike to remove the speed limit for 5 years i have even tried to get the police to chase me they are not interested so you wont get pulled over no one on this forum ever has bar the ones that look like mopeds with pedals.

you wont be going that fast anyway on a bike like that so if you want it buy it and just pretend to pedal

The UK finally welcomes e-scooters

The UK government is finally embracing e-scooters.

www.engadget.com

 

[saikee]

John Peaks, As as I know a road legal bike has to have a motor not more powerful than 250 watt and the electrical assistance would kick off when the bike travels faster than 15mph.

Cheaper bikes, especially those from China or with Chinese components, are for international markets including USA where bigger motors are permitted. Thus you may find cheaper bikes with better spec and bigger motor than UK law would permit. I couldn't find a Chinese manufacturer able to supply 250 watt ebike. The smallest I could find is 375 watt. UK agents, like Ancheer, are most likely assembers using specified components from China. This is based on the parts I see in Ancheer. The parts are good because they are mass produced so they are cheap and easily to replace.

My view is if you end up with a ebike not conforming to the current EPAC regulations you have to prepare to transport it to unpaved surface like forest trails to use it. It is possible that the EPAC regulations could be revised as it is clear by now old people can benefit by ebikes with more power assistance than it is currently permiited.

 

[soundwave]

but under the 15mph speed limit a 250w bosch motor can pull as much as 900w you are not going up any steep hill with just 250w of motor power.

what makes it not road legal is being able to remove the 15mph speed limit as classed as a off road switch.

problem is most kits on ebay will let you do this via the display anyway try find a ebike kit you can not change the speed settings

bosch ebike motors are software is locked down so no end user can just change the settings why we have to buy rip off price dongles.

 

[saikee]

A pension-age rider can start off a ebike a lot safer using a throttle if he/she doesn't have to struggle with balancing the bike, checking the traffic condition in both directions and put enough crank energy to move the bike off from a rest position.

I really don't see a policeman would object to it. Having driven motorcycles for 50 years I myself don't use the throttle every time on an ebike but I do see it as a safety feature that comes in useful in some occasions.

 

[JohnPeaks]

John Peaks, As as I know a road legal bike has to have a motor not more powerful than 250 watt and the electrical assistance would kick off when the bike travels faster than 15mph.

Cheaper bikes, especially those from China or with Chinese components, are for international markets including USA where bigger motors are permitted. Thus you may find cheaper bikes with better spec and bigger motor than UK law would permit. I couldn't find a Chinese manufacturer able to supply 250 watt ebike. The smallest I could find is 375 watt. UK agents, like Ancheer, are most likely assembers using specified components from China. This is based on the parts I see in Ancheer. The parts are good because they are mass produced so they are cheap and easily to replace.

My view is if you end up with a ebike not conforming to the current EPAC regulations you have to prepare to transport it to unpaved surface like forest trails to use it. It is possible that the EPAC regulations could be revised as it is clear by now old people can benefit by ebikes with more power assistance than it is currently permiited.

but under the 15mph speed limit a 250w bosch motor can pull as much as 900w you are not going up any steep hill with just 250w of motor power.

what makes it not road legal is being able to remove the 15mph speed limit as classed as a off road switch.

problem is most kits on ebay will let you do this via the display anyway try find a ebike kit you can not change the speed settings

bosch ebike motors software is locked down so no end user can just change the settings why we have to buy rip off price dongles.

 

[JohnPeaks]

I'm getting the gist of the issues now and the street-wise views - thanks guys for that. I guess you only live once and so I'll go for it and buy the Ancheer which apparently only has a 250w motor anyway. If it lasts only a few years it will have paid for itself with enough left over for any fines. For your information the responsible officer at the Peak District NP told me you're unlikely ever to be stopped on their trails for a twist and go throttle.

 

[soundwave]

I'm getting the gist of the issues now and the street-wise views - thanks guys for that. I guess you only live once and so I'll go for it and buy the Ancheer which apparently only has a 250w motor anyway. If it lasts only a few years it will have paid for itself with enough left over for any fines. For your information the responsible officer at the Peak District NP told me you're unlikely ever to be stopped on their trails for a twist and go throttle.

 

[sjpt]

My view is if you end up with a ebike not conforming to the current EPAC regulations you have to prepare to transport it to unpaved surface like forest trails to use it. It is possible that the EPAC regulations could be revised as it is clear by now old people can benefit by ebikes with more power assistance than it is currently permiited.

A couple of comments:
If it doesn't conform to the EPAC regulations you can't use it (without insurance/...) in any public space, including forest trails.
Many old people would benefit by a throttle; very few would benefit from more power assistance than it is currently permitted.

 

[emovement]

I find that I can mostly pedal on my electric bike on the old railway cycle trails, which is a great workout for me. However, the electric assist is great if I need it. If this bike is going to have to be registered and insured, the throttle would be useful.

 

[AndyBike]

I dont think the cops are that aware of throttle ebikes or care a great deal unless you're doing 40mph down the main road.