another which one...sorry.

[poptop]

I know you guys must be sick of us newbies, but I`m sure we all have the same fear.....buying a pig in the poke and not a fairly decent e bike.
Withou experience its hard decisions.
So I think I am considering the following bikes but some advise on technical bits.
1/. live 1000ft up mountain.[ but not always riding up and down it]
2/ folding prefered
3/. battery size concerns
4/.Derallier or hub gears.
Bikes under review are, seago [ now back available], woosh zephyr cdn or b, secret, a Storm electric / Joule micro [ what is difference please?] or any new ones i havent seen
many thanks
Pete

 

[JohnCade]

You should tell us your weight and how far you want to go on it. People here may not have tried all the bikes you mention.

Hub or dérailleur is a matter of preference. Hub is cleaner and can be lower maintenance but is a slower change and slightly more hassle to change the wheel. But does allow you to put it in gear while stopped. You may need to think in terms of a powerful motor and big battery before you worry about that if it’s very hilly where you live; and you are heavy or not very fit. Not all e bikes have the same power even if they are all rated nominally at 250w. All modern ones will put out more than that but some multiples more.

 

[trex]

strike the zephyr-CDN from your list, it's being revised at the moment but do add the woosh Gale with 13AH battery to your list.
The zephyr-B is the best equipped of the bunch and the only one that you could call 'fun bike' and suitable for off-roading.

 

[poptop]

strike the zephyr-CDN from your list, it's being revised at the moment but do add the woosh Gale with 13AH battery to your list.
The zephyr-B is the best equipped of the bunch and the only one that you could call 'fun bike' and suitable for off-roading.

thanks guys. I am 11 stone. fairly fit [a ski instructor] 5ft 5" tall The woosh gale with bigger battery did catch my eye. is the CDN being revised because of issues?
how far? well maybe 10-15 miles, maybe along canal banks, dirt tracks, but no longer mountain trails. A general purpose bike, which i know no one can really do on its own.
Has any one heard of the storm electric. I do wonder if this was the bike sold by someone before joule bikes took them over?
Thanks.

 

[trex]

is the CDN being revised because of issues?
.

No. The revision was due in June but postponed. The 2016 version will have the removeable and lockable Zephyr-B battery, longer seat post (400mm from 350mm), the controller is moved to inside the motor to save space and uprated from 15A to 17A. The new CDN will have a rear rack and be zippier than ever before.

 

[acm2000]

anything hilly go with direct chain drive and whatever battery they can fit on it, i have a woosh CD bike with newer model motor and 20A controller and the thing flies

 

[Nealh]

A high torque CST/BPM will eat hills as good as a CD motor.

 

[poptop]

A high torque CST/BPM will eat hills as good as a CD motor.

..may have already posted this, sorry, but what is a high torque CST/BPM ?

 

[trex]

BPM (big powerful motor) is a class of hub motors, 180mm diameter, weighty, very strong hill climber, made by Bafang originally but many other companies now make them.
Bike with BPM motors: Kudos Tornado, Sonata, Rapid. Woosh Big Bear, LS.
The Ezee bikes have also a similar if not better motor.
The Zephyr-B has one of those on the rear wheel.

 

[Nealh]

Too add Poptop a CST is also a rear hub motor a stablemate of a BPM. BPM takes a threaded cassette 6,7 or 8 gears a CST takes any cassette from 8 -10 gears and sits on a spline, the latter are stronger and easier to fit. Bpm are cheaper to buy then CST generally half the price, BPM can be F or R hub CST R only.

 

[jonathan75]

Just be aware if getting a CST/BPM that you need one with the right winding, which is expressed either in an rpm figure or a code. The rpm for hills needs to be low, 235 max,preferably 201, to get good torque, and there are even some below that (although v rare for bafang). Smaller wheels generate even more torque.

There is actually a motor called Puma on sale in g ermany with 150 and 175 rpm which looks interesting.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I looked again at your OP,I think all the bikes you have considered are small wheel diameter,20" ,I think.
I use the Kudos Secret to climb mountains out in Greece,somewhere on this forum is my bike exploits up very steep hills in the Ionian Islands.
Although these bikes look less powerful because of their small size,they are actually strong hill climbers due to the torque reaction within the small diameter wheel,despite only using the SWX motor. What you should look for is the size of the chainring,the first generation Kudos had too small a chainring,which meant the gears were pretty redundant,you could set off in top gear all the time,but made the cadence too high,even at 15mph.
We are on generation 3 Secret which has a bigger chainring and many minor mods based primarily on my suggestions using the bike.
I did consider putting the BPM motor and hydraulic brakes on the bike,to make a Secret Plus,but really it doesn't need it. Would need very strong spokes to overcome the strong torque reaction if using the hi torque at low speed BPM.
KudosDave

 

[shambolic]

The Joule bikes mentioned by the OP. Anyone know anything about them? Any opinions? They look interesting to me as I need a low centre of balance but meaty bike and throttle

http://www.joulebikes.co.uk/electric-bikes.html

 

[Perseus]

This the one I like to compare other to: http://www.50cycles.com/electric-bikes/activity-e-bikes/tasman_impulse_8_hs_17ah.html Only one snag is I wasn't impressed by the ride.