Best electric bikes under 2000

[oldtom]

The Xion motor is direct drive, so no clutch, which is why you can't go fast downhill on the Xion.

My Xion-motored PC goes downhill just as easily as my other two ebikes so I don't understand your statement. It's a nice motor, providing a smooth, quiet drive with enough torque to get up most hills at a fair lick.

The energy replenishment is nice on the spec sheet but in practice, pretty useless really. I keep it switched off now and the only point I can see in switching it on is for the engine braking effect, saving a little on brake pad wear. For all that brake parts cost, I'm happy to pay for replacement when they wear down so the energy recovery/brake assist is pretty superfluous on my bike.

Tom

 

[Frankie24]

I don't think that there are any bad motors these days

I think you tried many ebikes, could you tell me if you feel a big differencein how powerful are or on the quality comparing the bafang from woosh to the bh,Bosch,etc?
Or the differenceon the price start in the quality of the battery cells?

 

[trex]

The main difference is the quality of fork and brakes.
The Woosh Big Bear and the Woosh CDs are just as powerful and fast as any of the £2000 bikes you are likely to find. Woosh sell a lot of bikes to commuters so they put kevlar tyres on all their bikes except the Sport.

 

[Frankie24]

The main difference is the quality of fork and brakes.
The Woosh Big Bear and the Woosh CDs are just as powerful and fast as any of the £2000 bikes you are likely to find.

Is this the same for the Woosh sirocco 2?
Do you think that is worth spending another 1000 on the forks and brakes?

 

[Jonah]

It depends on your point of view, you'll get different answers from different people. If you know about bikes, the difference in overall quality is pretty evident. Frame, gears, brakes, forks, tyres, cranks, bars etc - all components and it all adds up. The latest budget motors are by all accounts pretty good and the battery is more a question of range, longevity and appearance. If as a customer you are inclined to go for quality, you will notice the difference. If you are more a car is a car type of person then the budget bikes will seem just as good. Like beauty, quality is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[trex]

Is this the same for the sirocco 2?

No, the Big Bear and CDs are fast, the Sirocco 2 has plain vanilla 8-Fun SWXK motor, about half the power of the Big Bear and two third the power of the Woosh crank drives. All the powerful bikes have LCD to limit their speed.

Do you think that is worth spending another 1000 on the forks and brakes?

There are more than just hydraulic brakes and adjustable hydraulic fork. Things like paint, headset, crankset, chain, tyres, rims, saddle, grips, outer cables, lights, waterproofing are all better on a £2000 bike. You pay for quality. The Woosh bikes have good motor and battery - the rest is standard bike parts.

 

[EddiePJ]

I can vouch for the Geared Dapu hub motor as fitted to the BH Easy Motion NEO Xtrem. Okay I have got through a couple of them now, but this is no way a reflection upon the motor. The first had a bearing issue, which was quickly resolved, and I'd image that they wouldn't let it happen again. The second motor went swimming, so totally my fault. If these motors can put up with my very tough demands, then there certainly isn't anything wrong with them. Mine at least have also been super silent.
Battery wise, the Xtrem currently comes with a 9ah battery which I could probably kill in less than 15miles, or equally get it to last approx. 35miles or more with careful use. Range is not really an answerable question, simply because everyone's riding terrain and needs are different, as is the speed settings that they use. I have altered the gearing so much on my bike now, that meaningful 'pedal only' road speed has been lost in favour of more suitable off road gearing.
BH are now fitting 12ah batteries to the NEO range, but whether this will make it to the Xtrem I don't know.

The Xtrem is a good do it all bike, but whether it would suit your needs is something that I couldn't answer.

There are more than just hydraulic brakes and adjustable hydraulic fork. Things like paint, headset, crankset, chain, tyres, rims, saddle, grips, outer cables, lights, waterproofing are all better on a £2000 bike. You pay for quality.

Not in the case of the NEO Xtrem.

 

[Frankie24]

When you say not in the case of the neo, do you mean that you pay more just for the way it looks and the forks and breaks?
Is your experience with this bike positive?

 

[EddiePJ]

When you say not in the case of the neo, do you mean that you pay more just for the way it looks and the forks and breaks?
Is your experience with this bike positive?

The component spec is very budget. The forks can be bought for less than £50.00 and brakes aside it wouldn't cost significantly more for the rest of the components, and the quality of the bearings is shocking. The paintwork isn't great either, and chips incredibly easily.

The motor and battery aside, I'd say that you are definitely paying for looks.

My experience of the bike has very much been a roller coaster ride, and certainly isn't one that I'd call positive. Having said that though, I really love the bike, and would certainly never get rid of it. Countless other owners have had no issues at all and are putting in some serious hassle free commuting mileage.
I have had to spend a lot of money on my bike to get it the spec that I want, which was totally my choice, and every ride on the bike makes me smile and want more.
If BH swapped out the forks for something decent, then the other minor niggles wouldn't matter. Sadly in life when something winds the crap out of you without getting resolved, which in my case was the front forks, it suddenly becomes very easy to find fault with everything else. I guess that what I'm trying to say is that just because my experience hasn't been good, it isn't to say that everyone else has suffered the same, so don't judge the bike solely from my experience.

If you were to ask me if I'd buy another if mine were to get stolen. I'd probably say yes, but I would want a decent discount in order to spec the bike back up again.

If you scroll down through this link, the modifications are detailed. http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/media/2013-bh-emotion-neo-xtrem.13/?page=1#comment-13

 

[Frankie24]

Is nice how you improve your bike in the way that most of the people after problems and everything probably would sell it to buy another one.
Nowadays is very hard to decide which bike to buy but once you get one probably the best is try to enjoy and don't think about how would be others or regret about what you did.

 

[EddiePJ]

Thank you Frankie.

I get as much fun from personalizing and trying to improve the bike, as I do from riding it. I certainly miss it when I don't have the use of it.

 

[Artstu]

but nothing else i've ridden has the same immediate performance as any of the Neo's.

Eddie has touched on that point, it seems that it is that initial kick that gives the impression of speed. However he has said he goes faster on the Strava segments on the Bosch bike despite it feeling slower.

 

[EddiePJ]

The climbs that are quicker on the Bosch are the hills with a gradual slope, rather than severe. The odd thing is that it never feels faster, but is.
The BH scores on long steep climbs though, and on one particular 1 mile long hard climb, the Bosch is approx 3-4mph slower over the distance. Get this next Wiggle ride out of the way, and I'm going to carry out some hill climbing tests carried out. The initial take off performance of the BH is always faster.

edit... I should have added that the Bosch system has done more for level of fitness than the BH. I strongly believe that without riding the Bosch bike in between my Wiggle rides on the BH, that I probably wouldn't be able to finish them. I have just been out this evening for a cracking ride using the Bosch, 17miles at an average speed of 17mph. Given the terrain that I ride on, that is quite a credit to the motor, and my legs were pumped and felt like jelly after the ride.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

Eddie has touched on that point, it seems that it is that initial kick that gives the impression of speed. However he has said he goes faster on the Strava segments on the Bosch bike despite it feeling slower.

I have sold both Neos and KTM Panasonic hub drive and I found the latter to be quicker it takes off like a train in top assistance mode (up to 400% assistance). However I do like both.

 

[Frankie24]

I can't get KTM in Dublin, that's why I am not thinking in one of them.
In the other hand as I said before I could get BH, A2B, Fast4ward and just 2 models of the kalkhoff (out of my budget)
If you compare the Neo Cross vs the Neo Xtrem for commuting, which one would be better?
And what do you think is working better, the Rear motor on the neos or the Bosch system in the xenion 650?
Thanks

 

[Frankie24]

I've readed on the internet, website provided here in a coment http://newwheel.net/electric-bike-basics/electric-bicycle-motor-systems (thanks for that)
Some kind of comparative, as far as I know. The bosch is little bit more reliable because the rear one is breaking the spokes and is easier to have issues.
The motor in the neo xtrem and the cross are geared, which I don't really know what is the difference.
About which one is more powerful I think are more or less the same, just the rear motor has a faster response?
As you can see, I am lost again hahaha
I am not looking for the best bike but I am looking for something good enough, and If I pay 2000 I just hope to get something that is worth that money.

 

[flecc]

A month today and 69 posts asking about various e-bikes since you joined Frankie!

You could dither for ever, given the huge range of e-bikes on the market, but ultimately the right one for you is the one you like most after trying out a few.

The weather is turning nice now for the Summer, try not to miss it!

 

[trex]

I applaud frankie's attitude. Not afraid to ask why.
Note that his budget has more than doubled since. Didn't I say membership of this forum makes you spend more?

 

[flecc]

I agree it's good to ask Trex, but after all that effort he's just posted this:

As you can see, I am lost again

I think he really needs to start trying some to find those he likes, rather than just finding out the many that others like. That's just confusing him.

 

[Frankie24]

I have to agree with trex( I will spend more because of the forum hahaha) but looking for a better quality bike.
My way of thinking now is, once I'm going to spend money is better if I get something that i really like.
I have to agree with flecc as well, I want to get the bike to enjoy with the nice weather and that I have to get the one I like the most.
All my question are coming because of the unknown about the ebikes. I could say I'm kind of afraid and your experience could help me to don't get something wrong. I am lost in the way that now I know much more about ebikes and systems and I know that some are more reliable than others but like everything you get something good and something bad as well as nothing is perfect. I'm looking for the perfectionfor myself hahaha.
I will spend the weekend trying ebikes.
Thanks to all of you