Best ebike for a newbie on diet/fitness regime following a heart attack

[jackhandy]

If you are considering the Kudos Ibex, I'd suggest you try the Arriba as well as the Tornado, as d8veh suggests.

The Arriba, IMHO, gives the BH Neo Extrem a run for it's money & is very similar to ride, having a torque sensor in the crank. The Tornado doesn't have this, but is slightly more punchy - It certainly goes up hills, as Paul showed at Bristol.

All the advice you get here, mine included, is very subjective: 1 man's meat is another man's poison was never truer than concerning ebikes!

Once you're mobile, test &try as many as possible.

 

[ghouluk]

The Arriba, IMHO, gives the BH Neo Extrem a run for it's money & is very similar to ride, having a torque sensor in the crank.

Owning a Neo Extrem, i'd agree with this - while the extrem is slightly more refined in its power delivery (but who the hell wants refined ) value wise the kudos is a winner, just a shame they didn't have one to sell me when i was buying (and at 1000 miles in already, i'm soaking up the extra money i spent on a per mile basis )

 

[Caztaylor]

Again thank you all for your comments. I will now take a further look at the Kudos arriba Ibex and Tornado. Whilst I do not have any e bike shops locally - and I don't drive- I am visiting Bath mid July and understand that there is a bike shop near the station so will try out a few then.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi all, My name is Andrew and would appreciate some guidance on the right e bike for my circumstances.

Following a heart attack at the start of June I am in recovery and starting rehab. I am 49 and as part of my rehab need to lose weight and via diet and exercise. I have already dropped 1 stone to 18 1/2 stone (118kg)and will be looking to be under 18 (114 kg)stone by mid July when I hope to purchase - Budget under £1000 but could stretch a bit further.

My cardiologist,a keen biker, has recommended I purchase a bike and in particular a pedelec Mtb style to which would get me the 2 miles to work and back slight incline and a few steep drops and climbs and also for weekends on longer Cycle routes up 10-20 miles rolling Hampshire countryside Basingstoke to Alton / New Alresford.

Due to my current weight I have been looking at the crank drive Woosh Sirocco CD and Kudos Ibex.Are these my best options? I have also looked at the Batribike granite and Cyclotricity Stealth.

For further info I am 5 ft 7 and inside leg is 29.

I am aware of the wealth of knowledgable members on this forum and would really appreciate your help

Andrew

Hi Andrew, welcome to the forum.

In all but age we have very similar issues. I am 58, 5'7" inside leg of 29 and was 21 stones as of 1st January 2013. Fortunately I managed to get to that weight without the heart attack!

I weighed in this morning at 14st 13lb so am delighted to have lost just over six stones in just under six months. I have achieved this by using my electric bike everyday and following a simple calorie controlled diet.

Your choice of electric bike is very important and you should be carful about the bike you choose, battery life and size and motor power is important, in the early days I found I needed a lot of assistance. A throttle is imperative as you will need to be able to cruise occasionally to get your breath in check. Of course I would recommend a Wisper Classic but they are above your budget. However we do have a selection of reconditioned used and demo Wispers that we are about to sell off.

If you would like to email me at dmiall@me.com I will see if we have anything that would suit you. I would also be delighted to share my experiences over the last six months. I use a web site that has helped enormously with keeping tabs on calories and exercise. (that offer applies whether you buy one of my bikes or not!! )

All the best

David

This was me last year.



I will get a pic taken of me now, not finished yet though, need to get rid of another 3 stone!!

PS Just seen Jonah's post, that looks like an amazing deal and would work well for you, Wispers have 600Wh batteries, a big battery is very important if you want to be able to use throttle only for a rest occasionally.

 

[Caztaylor]

David, Congratulations on your weight loss it just shows what can be achieved in a relatively short time. I will email you for details of the ex demo bikes if I may. I would prefer a new bike if possible but if needs must...... !

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Thanks Andrew, it is achievable when one commits! I look forward to hearing from you re the bike!

Riding the Wisper every day certainly helped me.

Here is a photo my wife took this morning, as you can see still some way to go but gradually getting there!



All the best,

David

 

[Caztaylor]

Looks like I am torn between the Woosh Sirocco CD or the Kudos Tornado with the Kudos as my main choice (although I would have to pay upfront as they do not take part in the Cycle to work scheme. I am aware the bike was at Bristol last week Does any body have any reports / reviews links ? Also I am unsure of the range that can be achieved on both bikes (my max round trip on a weekend would be 50 miles Basingstoke to Alresford) on the different levels of PAS? Finally if a purchase the Kudos Tornado I would be looking for the additional accessories upgrade for lights stand and mudguard c£35 - does anyone know the specs for the upgrade?. Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere.

 

[ghouluk]

can't help you with the specifics on the two bikes i'm afraid, but I did this route in the middle of my sunday ride, so knowing the roads between alresford and basingstoke reasonably well (and assuming that you want to use the backroads) its about 20 miles each way, but there are a fair amount of long slog type hills that will sap your battery. Particuarly on the way back, the climb out of basingstoke to (uhmmm can't remember, but up farleigh/farley road) is non stop climb for a mile or two, and its almost as bad in the other direction) that said its a lovely road to ride on, little traffic and nice surface. If you go the other way and pick up the a30, there are less hills, but its not much fun to ride on.

If you're depending solely on motor power, i don't think either of the bikes mentioned would be dependable to achieve there and back with no charge in the middle. If you're adding peddle power into the mix, then its easily achievable, and a lovely ride If you're stopping in the middle somewhere you can charge the bike, then either should achieve it pretty easily.

 

[ghouluk]

david - just looked at your before and after pics - awesome and well done! i can only aspire to achieve that...

 

[Caztaylor]

Thanks Ghouluk, the Basingstoke to Alresford route would be on me cycling the flats, and using the power for the climbs - the fitter and stronger I get, the less pedal assistance I will need. If I can lose as much weight as David in the same amount of time I will be a happy bunny - I also love the scenery on that route and the the villages on the way. I believe that there were to be charging points on cycle routes - are there any locally?

 

[RobF]

Also I am unsure of the range that can be achieved on both bikes (my max round trip on a weekend would be 50 miles Basingstoke to Alresford)

Range really is a length of a piece of string question.

I can just about get 50 miles out of my Rose/Bosch ebike which has an 11ah battery.

The Bosch system is reckoned to be about as economical as you can get.

I reckon you will struggle to get 50 miles out of the 10ah Kudos, but should be able to do it on the 15ah Woosh.

If you really prefer the Kudos, you could think about a spare battery, those bottle batteries are relatively cheap.

But you would have to carry it, perhaps on a seatpost mounted rack.

 

[ghouluk]

its a great ride alton has a bunch of charge points also if you ever want to go in the other direction (again some great rides out the back roads there too)

re: charging points, you can find a searchable list at cyclecharge.org.uk - there are a few on the route (sun inn at dummer if you turn left to take you down to the a30 just before basingstoke, fur and feathers a little towards alton) - actually if you took the sun inn route you'd skip the worst of the hill coming out of basingstoke, and just do 1/2 a mile or so on the a30. I've never used any of them, but i have used a surreptitious plug in in the local costa on my 2nd or 3rd ride

 

[jackhandy]

Just to reinforce Gouluk's advice on range - You're not going to reliably do a 50 mile hilly route on either bike, IMHO. Particulurly if you're a big lad aiming to get fit.

The Woosh might do it with significant input from you - Others on here know the bike far better than I; I'm just going on reports, not having ridden one.

The Tornado is still a bit of a wildcard, as Kudos only unpacked them last Tuesday & I haven't seen any range reports yet, but I would suggest it should do that distance fairly comfortably on TWO batteries..

The two bikes are chalk & cheese, so you really must try both before you decide on one.

 

[ghouluk]

also - when you test them, test them without motor for a while too, my wifes bike has a 15Ah battery, mine is a 9, but when we go out, she tends to run her motor all the time as her bike is way heavier than mine.

She can get 50 miles out of her bike, but only on flattish routes with her pedalling and working gears hard as well.....

the other thing to remember is your range will increase - my first ride out on the xtrem, i made 25 miles, i'm now reguarly clocking 80-100, so before you spend more money on extra batteries, i'd see how quickly you can build the fitness, and whether the basingstoke rides could wait for a while - there are loads of good 20-25 miles routes around us that are virtually car free and really beautiful scenery (and the odd pub or two for when you deserve a reward for all that hard work!)

 

[Caztaylor]

Thanks again for the helpful responses. To be honest a 50 mile round trip was pushing it. it is the limit of my expectations once able to cycle the majority unaided by the motor - a bit like my goals of captaining England in the World Cup Finland being Prime Minister. Realistically 20-25 mile round leisure trips as Ghouluk suggested would be the norm. On trying as many bikes as possible, I am limited by being a non driver so rely on public transport to get round from Basingstoke.GhoulUk has kindly offered to show me his BH Neo Xtrm. I know that Ebike Direct are in Aldershot which is difficult to get to,but possible. Are there are any other Shops in my area worth considering? Obviously Woosh in Southend (where a worked and lived for 9 months a couple of years ago) and Cambs is outside of my range to test.

 

[ghouluk]

might be worth dropping in on cranks in alton - although they are the premium end of the market with the haibikes, i think they still have some other stuff too (worth visiting to chat to Martin) there is a place in ?romsey? that stocks the juicy bikes i think.

The ebikes in aldershot is owned/run by Rami who designs the cyclotricity bikes- He's a helpful guy, they have quite a few different bikes and its also 2 minutes walk from the station. I'd say give him a call or drop him a pm to make sure he's there, as he has a great deal of knowledge.

you're also welcome to try the oxygen diva that my wife rides, while i dont think the style will suit you, its got a whoomping big battery, but is lower power - might give you some comparisons.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

might be worth dropping in on cranks in alton - although they are the premium end of the market with the haibikes, i think they still have some other stuff too (worth visiting to chat to Martin) there is a place in ?romsey? that stocks the juicy bikes i think..

Hi guys,

Basingstoke! Can't believe how close you are!
I have customer from Devon to past Manchester!
Give me a call in the morning and we can arrange a meeting.
I can point you in the right direction, whilst providing decent coffee (and biscuits if your lucky).

Besides there is a bus straight from Basingstoke (25mins to Alton). Bus no 13 from memory leaves quarter to every hour throughout the day..

Give me a shout on 01420 544999

Regards
Martin

 

[Caztaylor]

Hi Martin, I will give you a call tomorrow to arrange an appointment. I had my first cardio rehab today and feeling a bit knackered hence the delay in replying. p.s. mines a skinny latte with a low cal sweetener,
Cheers

Andrew

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Hi Martin, I will give you a call tomorrow to arrange an appointment. I had my first cardio rehab today and feeling a bit knackered hence the delay in replying. p.s. mines a skinny latte with a low cal sweetener,
Cheers

Andrew

Andrew, I have your skinny latte here, but unfortunately its cold now
Look forward to your call. I will be around at my Alton shop tomorrow and Saturday.

Regards
Martin

 

[Caztaylor]

Andrew, I have your skinny latte here, but unfortunately its cold now
Look forward to your call. I will be around at my Alton shop tomorrow and Saturday.

Regards
Martin

Sorry Martin not up to travelling at the moment If the coffee is now cold I will accept a Frappe in the future!

Cheers

Andrew