Hi all,
I started my search for an e-bike a few weeks ago, and every time I think I find a good option, I come across something to sour me on that brand or some new option that looks better in comparison. I'm a newbie, so in truth I don't know exactly what would be best for me, but I do have some rough criteria.
- Price: ideally in the £1,500-2,000 range (just because most of what I've liked so far hasn't been lower than that, and I'd rather not go much higher unless the bike seems wildly better for my needs than one in this range). Additionally, I'd like to buy this using Cyclescheme if possible, which largely rules out cheaper Chinese brands and DIY options I might otherwise explore.
- Usage: I'll be using this to commute to work a relatively short distance (10 miles each way, with charging available on both ends), and also using this off-road to tear around trails on the weekends when I have time. So I'd like something that works well at road speeds but also that can get up to at least 22-25mph off-road and has the power to get up big hills etc with ease. I also may be moving back to the US in the next year or two, so I'd rather not be bringing back something limited to 15.5mph when it's not required there.
- Battery capacity/efficiency: Because of the above, range isn't a huge deal for me, and I'd compromise range for power/speed, but obviously I'd like something with the ability to go as far as possible to keep my options open (20-30mi of range on full throttle / 40-80mi on the lowest PAS setting would be wonderful).
- Definitely want something comfortable and sturdy; it sounds like some sort of suspension would be preferable, but open to recommendations on that.
The options I've considered so far are the following (with the reasons I've started to have mixed feelings about them):
- Cyclotricity Stealth 500W/1000W:
- pros: seems to satisfy all the power/usage/efficiency/price requirements (to the extent their marketing is accurate, obviously) and they support Cyclescheme. In particular, the price seems to be great and they claim to be UK-made.
- cons: very little out there to inspire trust in the brand
- I can't test ride, as there are no stockists near me
- I've only found one legit-seeming blog review online, which was albeit quite positive about the build quality etc, but not much else.
- Potential quality/warranty support issues (?) - I called the closest stockist listed on cyclotricity's website, and they said they don't in fact stock this brand anymore as cyclotricity has (allegedly) been horrible with warranty claims, and nearly half the cyclotricity bikes they've sold have come back with warranty claims.
- very mixed trustpilot reviews (with the bad ones confirming exactly what the stockist said); on the other hand, other brands that seemed trustworthy (to me at least) like Cowboy admittedly also have similar issues with around 3/5 on trustpilot
- Cyrusher XF650/800:
- pros: seems to have great power and great claimed range (even the actual range noted in reviews is good enough for me); they also look great in my opinion.
- cons: again, very little out there to inspire trust in the brand
- obviously a Chinese brand with limited history/presence in the UK, and probably a lot of fake reviews and exaggerated claims (however, I'm still not ruling them out, since the reality of the bike - even if it's way off from what they claim - may be plenty for my needs)
- no local stockists in the UK (at least anywhere near me), and their test ride facility is way too far to be useful
- they don't directly support Cyclescheme, and I haven't found any third-party shops yet that seller Cyrusher bikes and support Cyclescheme (in which case this is almost an automatic dealbreaker for me sadly)
- again, very mixed trustpilot reviews (some glowing, some saying the bike is crap and Cyrusher is ghosting them)
- Cowboy 3
- pros: great range, very much a fan of the tech/connectedness (and I would strongly prefer this on a bike, but will sacrifice it for power plus range if necessary)
- cons: underpowered (pretty much need to abandon any off-road usage obviously); seen some reviews saying it's not super comfortable; and unclear how reliable, etc it is
- Random mechanical bike plus eBike conversion kit (from a Cyclescheme provider ideally)
- Other eBike with add-ons/replacement parts to either (i) derestrict and take full advantage of an already very powerful (but restricted as stock) motor/controller/battery combo, or (ii) replace certain parts (e.g. controller/battery/motor) to improve performance (again, from a Cyclescheme provider ideally)
That's as far as I've gotten so far, and the last two options are the ones that are by far the most daunting since there's so little advertised about what's in most bikes on the market and what can be done with them. I'm sure you guys know a lot more than I do, so any help to point me in the right direction would be incredibly helpful. Thanks so much!
- Ed
A) Do you really need a derestricted illegal ebike/motorbike to commute or have fun off road.
B) Have you tried any decent crank drive legal mtb pedelecs? - (Haibike/ Giant Fathom/Trek /KTM etc etc)
If your answer to these questions is yes you are on wrong site and need a motorbike.
I have a Haibike Hard7 (bought 2nd hand 5 years ago), a Giant Fathom 2 and have built 2 legal crank drive kits ( a Bafang on a Cube and a Tongshen on a Raleigh youths mtb)
All are perfect commuters and all brilliant off road. Giant best climber, Haibike smoothest, Cube longest range.
Asking for a pedelecs to average 22mph is at best unrealistic, yes its perhaps possible (my Haibike was bought with a dingle and I could average 20 mph with it, even on my off road curcuit, but range doing so was 18 miles. (and with dongle fitted it's an unregistered, untaxed, uninsured motorbike)
I don't understand why folk do this. They look into pedelecs but expect them to replace motorbikes. They are pushbikes with assistance.
If you want range and performance of a motorbike buy one.
Pedelecs are fantastic, mine goes further, faster, easier than any none electric push bike ever (with me pedalling) but can't be compared with a motorbike.
My advice before you spend any money. Try a goof crank drive MTB pedelec? You, ll be shocked at its climbing ability and easy road nature. Forget hub drive on the 250w nominal power limit.
My Giant often sees 600w max short term output but even that needs the range of gears crank drive gives. (all those gears are available for motor as well as you on CD, hub drive has one gear)
Putting it in perspective I have an offtoad climb I'd go up at 4 mph on none ebike.
The Haibike and Cube will average 11 mph and the Giant 14 mph. Derestricing will make no difference to climbing ability (unless I broke through the 15.5 mph limit, which I couldn't on this climb)
