Are Raleigh bikes any good these days?

[Biscitt]

Hello, I am new to Pedelecs, the bikes and the forums, and seeking some advice.

I live in a very hilly part of the country, East Lancs, and would like a bike that will allow me both to commute (approx 20 mile round trip) and ride for pleasure over canal tow paths and other muddy paths as well as roads. Can pedal ok but being a bit over the hill myself am put off by all this other hill climbing I would have to do. 5ft 5 and about 11.5 st (72kg). I have been around to a few dealers to try out various ebikes from RooDog, Batribike, Wisper, Freego something else I can't remember and lastly the Raleigh Motus, the only crank drive we (oh yeah him indoors wants one too) tried.

Out of all the ones we tried the Raleigh was the smoothest most responsive and best equipped and the dealer is about the closest to where we live, ok it is a grand more than most of the others but if it is worth the extra I would invest. However back in my day Raleighs were cheap and cheerful bikes and I still have that niggling at the back of my mind. So are the modern day Raleighs a quality bike and will it do the job of getting us up these bally hills? Is the Bosch crank drive reliable?

I would appreciate any advice before I spend a lot of my hard earned. Thank you.

 

[JohnCade]

Raleigh are not the same as the old maker of that name which went bust years ago. The ownership of the brand is confusing, and split between several companies in different countries and continents. This one may be made in Germany or possibly Holland. Derby Cycles owns one on the Raleigh brands, and they have been folded into a large Dutch owned bike conglomerate which owns many European bike brands.

The spec, like the brakes and dynamo light make me think this is a Derby Cycles build but I may be wrong. They build tough long lasting bikes.

I found this very quickly and if you search you will probably find more like it…..

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/anyone-got-a-raleigh-motus.21825/

 

[acm2000]

if you live near to cambridge or southend then woosh do crank drive bikes much more affordable than raleigh and you can test drive those at either location.

otherwise youre gonna wanna a very big BPM hubbed bike with a very large battery

the last raleigh bike i had was the Activator many moons ago, and all of their e-bikes seem quite over priced hoping people will buy them because they know the brand

 

[Biscitt]

Thanks for the info. That other thread has been very useful.

 

[Spencer Ivy]

Hello. Raleigh is part of the Accell Group, the largest bike manufacturer in Europe. We have 24 brands within the group. The Motus was designed in Holland and manufactured in Hungary. It was introduced to establish Raleigh as a serious player in the crank-driven market. Our hub-geared version has sold out rapidly this year and has proved a massive hit with e bikers, offering simplicity and efficiency in its drive and robustness and quality in its build. Not all raleigh / Cyclelife dealers sell e bikes but any Raleigh dealer should be able to help you with warranty issues wherever you are, offering an unrivalled after sales and customer care service. Good luck in your search for your ideal bikes!

 

[Kudoscycles]

Biscitt.....the Raleigh Motus is a well equipped ride to work bike,it's a good all rounder and typical of the Bosch crank drive bikes,of which there are many competitors,like all Bosch motored bikes it's a smooth ride but is a capable but not especially powerful hill climber.
If hill climbing is your prime requirement you should look at the BPM motored hub drives and their clones....these may include the KTM Panasonic hub,Oxygen-BPM,Woosh-BPM and our range of MTB e-bikes including the Kudos Tornado,Arriba and for a taller guy,the Escape and Typhoon.....we have put the same motor into our commuter bikes,the Kudos Rapide and Sonata.
You don't have to spend £2k ,up to £1500 will give a good hill climbing bike....our Tornado sells well at £1095.00.
Good luck with your search.
KudosDave

 

[gray198]

kudos dave,
how do these bpm motors compare with the generic hub motors, for instance the one fitted to my Freego eagle,which is fine on level and slight gradient but seems to struggle on any more serious gradient. Or maybe its just me thats knackered

gray

 

[trex]

while you are waiting for KD, in my experience, it's the controller that determines how gutsy your bike goes uphill. BPM motors have 180mm diameter, generic motors 120mm. BPM bikes can run with 15A, 17A and 20A controllers. You have to ask the manufacturer which. With a 20A controller, you get about 55NM torque with the BPM against 35-40NM for generic motors.

 

[Kudoscycles]

kudos dave,
how do these bpm motors compare with the generic hub motors, for instance the one fitted to my Freego eagle,which is fine on level and slight gradient but seems to struggle on any more serious gradient. Or maybe its just me thats knackered

gray

I assume that the Freego Eagle has the same SWX type motor as my Kudos Cobra,five years ago these were virtually the only motor fitted into an e-bike,they are still widely sold in Holland and in China (Holland is flat and most Chinese cities are on flood plains,ie flat)... I sell bikes in London with that motor and many customers are very happy.
But the Bafang BPM is so much more powerful at low speed....the SWX needs 8 mph to get to the speed offering peak motor torque,the BPM starts at 4 mph,this gives help in hilly terrain when you most need it,at slow speed.
You need to go try both motor types and also compare with a crank drive...the Yamaha crank seems to have more guts than the Bosch but the power delivery is not so smooth.
You need to try to see the difference for yourself.
Hope that helps.
KudosDave

 

[gray198]

thanks for replies.I don't know what motor is in the freego. Doesn't seem to be a name on it. I am interested in crank drive bikes and will hopefully be having a good look round. The only one I have tried so far is a Raleigh Motus which I thought was really good but of course I have nothing to compare with, not yet

gray

 

[Electric Transport Shop]

Hi Biscitt, the Raleigh Captus is now available for £1600 making it one of the best value Bosch bikes on the market for 2016. I'm sure there are other retailers closer to you and it's best to buy local if possible. Here is our listing: https://www.electricbikesales.co.uk/Raleigh-electric-bikes
The Bosch crank drive is currently the market leader and I would say reliable.
Let me know if I can help further.

 

[gray198]

what is the main difference between the Motus and the Captus. I had a ride on Motus (only a short one/no hills) and very much like the feel of it.,
but a bit out of my price range at the moment

regards gray

 

[oriteroom]

From EBS link the Motus seems to be 7 gear Nexus hub, whereas the Captus is a 9 speed derailleur. I don't know if the Motus also comes with a derailleur option, since in an earlier post on a different thread (see below) i found that the Motus did have the derailleur. My experience is that hub gearing can be low (esp on latest Kalkhoff Tasman) depending upon size of Chainring and hub sprockets fitted. Best to try both, to check the gearing is suitable for your preferred riding style,your preferred cadence and whether you want to assist above cut-off under favorable conditions (tailwind, flat, slight downhill).


The earlier post was......

Make sure you try BOTH out on a test ride and that you are happy with the gearing. Gearing on the Tasman, which comes with a 21 tooth rear sprocket, is quite low. Too low in fact for my wife! and she's no 'girl racer.' Even fitting an 18 tooth sprocket, which notches it up about one gear, it is still low compared with earlier ProConnects that we have. A contributory factor being the 38T front chainring on the Tasman compared to 41T on earlier ProConnects using the same Shimano hub gears. It all depends if you want to add a bit of your effort once you get to assist cut off (e.g. On the flat, following wind, downhill). I now Osho on this forum also believes the Tasman is too low geared. Cannot comment on Motus, and not sure of chainring and gear sprocket that are fitted, but armed with that knowledge it's easy to calculate likely 'feel' from gearing tables.
#63
oriteroom, Oct 8, 2015

 

[gray198]

Oriteroom
The motus I tried did in fact have derailleur gears

Gray

 

[Perseus]

Hello. Raleigh is part of the Accell Group, the largest bike manufacturer in Europe. We have 24 brands within the group. The Motus was designed in Holland and manufactured in Hungary. It was introduced to establish Raleigh as a serious player in the crank-driven market. Our hub-geared version has sold out rapidly this year and has proved a massive hit with e bikers, offering simplicity and efficiency in its drive and robustness and quality in its build. Not all raleigh / Cyclelife dealers sell e bikes but any Raleigh dealer should be able to help you with warranty issues wherever you are, offering an unrivalled after sales and customer care service. Good luck in your search for your ideal bikes!

On my shortlist and is a good bet as it is available in a local shop for after sales servicing etc. The daunting thing is the price which to my mind if £500 OTT. Good reports.