Best bike for hills?

[RobF]

I get the impression you fancy a cross bar bike.

The Bear cross bar is listed on the website as suitable for riders of 5ft 8" and above.

Does two inches matter in this case?

Possibly not, but you could spec the ordinary seat post which should go down lower than the suspension one.

Alternatively, don't rule out the low step.

Same motor and a lovely, laid back riding position for those who want to bowl along, taking in the scenery.

 

[flecc]

You're right Rob, in fact Michelle did say in an earlier post that she wanted a crossbar bike.
.

 

[chelle]

I live in Scotland so it would be a pretty big road trip! I would love to pick something with a higher spec but I think for the amount I cycle I should wind my neck in a bit and save some cash. It'll do the job, I think!

Yeah I read about the saddle and will definitely go for the other one. I will give them a phone tomorrow.

 

[RobF]

Hatti, who owns woosh, is about your height and rides her own bikes.

A word with her would be helpful.

She's also not the type to flog you a bike that's not suitable just to make a sale.

 

[Blackgold]

Chelle just to throw a spanner in,I have a kudos tornado,absolutely love the bike,I tried a couple of bikes with motrs in the front,they didn't suit when on rough trak,I am saving up to change it for a kudos rapide,most of the time I use it to ride to work but the bikes are the same.
In tried the rapide and an expensive ktm bike and likes the rapide.
the tornado only weighs 21 kg,I hated some of the heavy bikes wich could only be ridden with power.
you will like the tornado,I got it for £1000.

 

[Nealh]

Chelle don't worry to much about components as they can be upgraded as and when you can afford to, the parts on the big bear are decent enough to start with.

 

[eastman]

Any bike with a decent low gear should do, a light bike would help. They also sell little electric motors you can install to aid the ascent up the hill.

 

[Jimod]

I live in Scotland so it would be a pretty big road trip! .

Where in Sotland do you live? There's an ebike shop in Linlithgow which hires ebikes. You could try a bike there to see if an ebike will do what you want?
I've got 2 Kudos bikes which both do what I want and my wife has a Woosh that does what she wants but only you can tell if a bike would do what you want.

 

[chelle]

Ok, so I got the big bear and took it out today. It was really please t to ride with the power off and then I turned it on just before I hit the hill up to my house. On the flat and on the hill the motor kicks in and zooms me along then cuts out and I have to peddle alone. Is that normal? Am I doing something wrong? I expected it to go constantlyas I was peddling and make peddling easier. But like I said, it seemed to "woosh" me along then cut out and kick back in randomly.Maybe I just need to get the hang of it?

 

[Jimod]

Ok, so I got the big bear and took it out today. It was really please t to ride with the power off and then I turned it on just before I hit the hill up to my house. On the flat and on the hill the motor kicks in and zooms me along then cuts out and I have to peddle alone. Is that normal? Am I doing something wrong? I expected it to go constantlyas I was peddling and make peddling easier. But like I said, it seemed to "woosh" me along then cut out and kick back in randomly.Maybe I just need to get the hang of it?

If you're moving faster than the cut out speed then the motor will cut out and cut back in again as the speed drops. My Typhoon does that if in power level 5. Try going for a lower power level unless on a steep hill and the motor might not go over the cut out speed so will assist you all the time.

 

[chelle]

I definitely wasn't going the cut out speed as I came to a stop! I'll have another go tomorrow and if I can't figure it out I'll give them a bell.

 

[trex]

Just to make sure that the electrics works - use the throttle.
If you are pedalling, the motor will cut out about one second after you stop pedalling,
the Big Bear is set to cut the power when your speed reaches 15mph to be road legal. As jimod said, you can leave the assist level at 1, or 2 the bike won't push you along too fast and lets you pedal a bit. On hills, use the throttle to climb. The throttle overrides the assist level, you don't have to increase it.
If you only need 10% or less increase in speed limit, upping it from 15mph to 16mph or 17mph, I think this is tolerated, you can change the cut out speed in the setup. Read the manual here:
http://www.king-meter.com/upload/files/Specifications of J-LCD V2.0.pdf

To go into setup, press both the + and - buttons for 5 seconds.

 

[chelle]

Thanks tree, that's handy to know. It definitely wasn't the cut out speed though as I was strugglingup the hill and eventuallycame to a stop. Then I gave up trying to figure it out and just used the throttle which worked fine. But I'd prefer to figure out how to do it without that as it would be better on the battery.

 

[Jimod]

I definitely wasn't going the cut out speed as I came to a stop! I'll have another go tomorrow and if I can't figure it out I'll give them a bell.

Take it along a flattish road in its highest power setting, I'll bet it goes over the cut out speed quite quickly. The motor will cut out and you'll feel a big difference as it's now just you doing the work. Keep pedaling and let the speed come down, the motor will cut back in and shoot you over the cut out speed.
If you find that's what's happening, just cut the power level down a bit and yo'll find it won't go over the cut out speed, so will feel more comfortable.

Eventually, you'll get used to it like we all had to do when we started. just persevere, you'll get the hang of it. On steep hill or any hill when you're feeling tired or just lazy, use the top power level.
You'll be fine.

BTW, welcome to ebiking. We need more of us up here. I've had mine for 4 years and only ever met 3 or 4 others on the road.

 

[Jimod]

Thanks tree, that's handy to know. It definitely wasn't the cut out speed though as I was strugglingup the hill and eventuallycame to a stop. Then I gave up trying to figure it out and just used the throttle which worked fine. But I'd prefer to figure out how to do it without that as it would be better on the battery.

Was it in the highest power setting? I'm not sure how many power settings you have.

 

[chelle]

Yeah I had it at the highest power setting. It has five levels. Even when I had it at one on the flat it seemed to kick in and out randomly,I was trying to go about 8 miles an hour as I had the dog running with me.

Thanks guys, and apologies for my atrocious typing. I'm on my phone and can hardly see what I'm typing cause of the layout.

 

[trex]

8mph is difficult to maintain on pedal assist unless you are on a fairly low gear, 3 or 4. To ride with your dog, use the throttle - which will override the assist level, controls the speed and lets you pedal as much as you like. When you don't use the throttle, assist level 1 gets you up to about 12mph, too fast for the dog.

 

[chelle]

I don't need to use it at all on undulating fairly flat terrain. But when I go tonharrisbthere is one MASSIVEhill we'll be climbin and I figured using the throttle must do the battery in quite quickly? I'd prefer to peddle as well if it would save battery.

Sounds like I definitelynjust need some more practice though

 

[trex]

the throttle uses the battery a little bit more but you have a large capacity battery, it does not make much difference if you use the throttle all the time.

 

[chelle]

Ok, so I just went out again. Like I said, I don't need to the power on unless i'm on hills but I gave it a go on the flat today anyway to see how it felt. I let the dog off to run on his own and I had it at assist level one.. I was going about 9 miles an hour in fourth gear, again it just kicked in and out randomly and never stayed on for any length of time. I had assumed peddle assist meat that you peddled however you felt comfortable and it done some of the work for you. I didn't realise it would zoom me along accelerating then cutting out.

Tried it on the hill again at level five and the same thing happened. It kicked in and cut out (not because I was going 15 mph) and i eventually came to a stop again because I couldn't peddle up the hill (its pretty steep). So i used the throttle and it got me up no bother.

Am I doing something wrong? It's grand the throttle can get me up but i'd really like to be able to use the peddle assist.