Bikes with off-road function

[peter.brydges@gmail.com]

Hi,

I'm considering purchasing an eBike for commuting on a 6mile trip each way to work. There are no major hills, but roads are very busy with traffic lights, so will be a fair bit of stop starting and so good acceleration would be required.

I would like a bike which I could ride in without any manual peddling on the way to work, so that I don't need a shower when arriving at work.
I would probably use the bike for exercise on the way back home and cycle without any power assistance, so ideally it would be fairly light without major drag.

I have seen the wisper bikes have an 'off road' function allowing the bike to go beyond the normal 15mph cap. I would be very interested in this, although the wisper is probably a bit beyond my budget (looking for somethnig under £1,000). Are there any other bikes which can go over the 15mph limit which are slightly cheaper?

In look and appearance I would like the bike to be as much like a normal bike as possible.

So far I like the look of the Alien GS II, although I don't think this bike can go beyond 15mph.

If anyone has any recommendations on a good bike for me I would be very interested to hear.

Thanks.

 

[enceladus]

Hi Peter, Have you tried your commute with a normal upowered bike. I say this because I have been seriously considering an ebike for my 7 mile each way commute which is fairly hilly and I tried out the run on my mtb and found to my surprise that I can get to work barely breaking sweat at all. We don't have showers at my office so I had the same issue as you, but now I cycle in every day and just hang my work clothes in the office, quick change in the toilets and away I go.

Just a thought as it could save you a few bob!!

Also my 7 mile commute takes 32 minutes, which is only 10 minutes slower than driving which is far better than I had expected.

 

[NRG]

The Alien GSII goes quite a bit faster than 15mph however Alien are out of stock at the moment. Most bikes will go above 15mph TBH and the Panasonic kitted bikes can be fitted with an alternative sprocket to raise the assisted speed. I had a good look at the Urbanmover in Halfords today and for £850 it looked to be OK this is fitted with the Panasonic drive unit...

 

[flecc]

I had a good look at the Urbanmover in Halfords today and for £850 it looked to be OK this is fitted with the Panasonic drive unit...

Surely not, they are SB rear hub motor bikes?
.

 

[NRG]

Oooops! quite right Flecc not sure what I was thinking! Still a bit jet lagged I think

 

[flecc]

Mind you, wish it was, at £850 it would sell like hot cakes!
.

 

[rustic]

If you're on a budget I would give serious thought to the Alien GSII. It certainly ticks the boxes for quick acceleration & speed potential of 15.5mph+. It also looks like a regular road bike (paricularly with pannier bags fitted). The battery range would easily cover that journey, it's still out of stock I believe, but may be worth trying a few different bikes in the meantime. If you are anywhere near the Essex / Suffolk border you are welcome to come over & try out mine to see if it suits.

All the best, Rus.

 

[peter.brydges@gmail.com]

The Alien GSII goes quite a bit faster than 15mph ...

Very interesting to hear, on the website it states a maximum speed of 15mph. Would it require some technical know how to change the bike to exceed this speed? How fast can this bike actually go?

What might I also miss on this bike, that I could get on a bike closer to the £1,000 mark? Is it just a case of lighter frame?

 

[flecc]

Very interesting to hear, on the website it states a maximum speed of 15mph. Would it require some technical know how to change the bike to exceed this speed? How fast can this bike actually go?

Some e-bikes don't have a speed cut-off, their motors just run to their maximum possible on the battery voltage. Therefore they run to around 17 mph on a freshly charged battery, but when the charge gets low the speed drops off as the voltage falls, ending up at around 15 mph. The law allows a 10% variation so this method is ok. I think the Alien is probably like this.

What might I also miss on this bike, that I could get on a bike closer to the £1,000 mark? Is it just a case of lighter frame?

There is no standard pricing method on e-bikes. Sometimes extra spent buys better components, sometimes it buys better after care service. Weight doesn't vary greatly on most, usually falling around 22 to 26 kilos on fully equipped bikes with mudguards, carriers etc, but a very few drop to 17 to the 20 kilo region in stripped form. By the time you've added your own weight, the variations don't amount to much.
.

 

[NRG]

Just to add to Flecc's response I can cruise comfortably around ~17mph on my GSII in pedelec mode and can sustain for a while about 19~20mph with extra input from me using the throttle...the throttle gives a little more speed than pedelec alone.

What you get with the Alien is a good bike for the money, Alien have no dealer network so the price they can offer the bike at is lower than if it where offered via a dealer, however, the downside to this is no local support or the ability to try before you buy unless you live close to the factory..technical support is remote via phone and email but Alien exceed in this area offering prompt and good service, certianly in my experience and others on the forum.

Also have a look at the Synergie bikes now owned by Alien, they also seem to offer the same good value, Oldtimer recently bought a Breeze which he seems very happy with. Don't forget the Urbanmover at Halfords, worth a look and maybe you can get a test ride....

 

[peter.brydges@gmail.com]

Just to add to Flecc's response I can cruise comfortably around ~17mph on my GSII in pedelec mode and can sustain for a while about 19~20mph with extra input from me using the throttle...the throttle gives a little more speed than pedelec alone.

What you get with the Alien is a good bike for the money, Alien have no dealer network so the price they can offer the bike at is lower than if it where offered via a dealer, however, the downside to this is no local support or the ability to try before you buy unless you live close to the factory..technical support is remote via phone and email but Alien exceed in this area offering prompt and good service, certianly in my experience and others on the forum.

Also have a look at the Synergie bikes now owned by Alien, they also seem to offer the same good value, Oldtimer recently bought a Breeze which he seems very happy with. Don't forget the Urbanmover at Halfords, worth a look and maybe you can get a test ride....

Thanks for the advice. I did actuall try an urban mover at Halfords, but it didn't seem to have a throttle function. Ideally I would like to be able to get into work with no peddling at all so that I'm still fresh when arriving. I was also only allowed to try it out on the shop floor which didnt give me a very big space to get a good feel for it.
Do you know if the Synergy bikes can also pass 15mph?

Thanks.

 

[flecc]

#
Do you know if the Synergy bikes can also pass 15mph?

Thanks.

Old Timer whose wife has a Synergie Breeze has said that in sports mode it's just a bit short of his Alien on speed. The popular Synergie Mistral I think was only a 15 mph bike from memory.

However, Alien have taken over Synergie and the models may be changing now, so the history may not be valid.

Not many bikes have a throttle only mode now, and it will soon be outlawed on all new e-bikes for sale as we conform to EU law around next year.
.

 

[Vikki]

My Wisper does about 16-17mph with throttle wide open. I don't have to peddle but actually find it easier to do so. I find balance is easier if I'm pedalling. The power I put in amounts to a miserly 5%, if that. I'm just turning the pedals. Someone said something about pedalling giving 'dynamic balance'.

Anyway, back to the point. After 7 mile (27 mins) I haven't a drop of sweat on me. Contrast that with same journey on my unpowered trike - 40 minutes and drenched in the darn stuff. My cruise speed on my trike is only 12mph. LOL! When I first started using it my cruise speed was more like 9 or 10. My average has gone from 8mph to 11.2mph (I'm getting fitter - yipppeeeee).

So, strictly speaking, a bike with a throttle that only works when pedalling would not be a problem since you only need to keep the pedals turning - not apply any real muscle power. Oh, but you can do a quickie sprint if you want to. I was going up the bike shop the other week and decided to push it, got up to 22mph (no assist at that speed), soon pettered out and back to cruising on electric

Hope that helps.

Vikki.

 

[Straylight]

I totally agree with you Vikki, as I peddle all the time as well, I think there have been some overblown objections to the loss of 'throttle only' operation. The only instance I'd miss it is in the very rare event of having to ride over sheet ice in a careful straight line, as pedalling can destabilise the ride enough to cause the wheels to slip sideways. On saying that I can only think of two occasions last winter where this might have been an issue, so hardly worth considering.

 

[Mussels]

I totally agree with you Vikki, as I peddle all the time as well, I think there have been some overblown objections to the loss of 'throttle only' operation. The only instance I'd miss it is in the very rare event of having to ride over sheet ice in a careful straight line, as pedalling can destabilise the ride enough to cause the wheels to slip sideways. On saying that I can only think of two occasions last winter where this might have been an issue, so hardly worth considering.

I pedal all the time and there are a couple of reasons I'd like to keep the throttle only option. First is snow and ice, I rode over a lot last winter and it was very useful. Secondly is redundancy, my pedelec sensor is fickle and I'd be annoyed if I couldn't use my bike because it was having a moment.
I want to keep throttle only as there is no benefit to losing it, but I'm not exactly going to lobby parliament about it.

 

[jkirkebo]

Thanks for the advice. I did actuall try an urban mover at Halfords, but it didn't seem to have a throttle function. Ideally I would like to be able to get into work with no peddling at all so that I'm still fresh when arriving. I was also only allowed to try it out on the shop floor which didnt give me a very big space to get a good feel for it.
Do you know if the Synergy bikes can also pass 15mph?

Thanks.

You could check with the Ezee dealer if they can import a US version Ezee for you. I got a US version Ezee Forza in Norway, no problems at all. The bike will do 20mph with assist and doesn't come standard with a pedelec sensor, throttle only. It would of course be illegal to use on the roads, if one cares about that.

I actually have installed a pedelec sensor, because I swapped the brakes for Avid Code 5 hydraulic discs and thus lost the brake cutout function.