Buying a ebike part 2

[Vennwood]

The Haibike arrived on 6th July and I'm extremely pleased with it. The Yamaha crank drive is wonderful. Loads of torque at the start and acceleration takes you by surprise. It climbs hills effortlessly so the tendency is to forget to change gear. The ride is a bit different from my old MTB (a Viper FX2.0 with full suspension) maybe because it is a larger frame with larger wheels and cross tyres however after a mile or two I soon got used to it. The saddle though will have to go. I changed the original Viper saddle as I couldn't get used to the pointy thin seat that seems to be the norm on all bikes these days. I'm built for comfort so a change on the Haibike is due. The gears are a dream - very precise and positive with very little drama. The Trekking has a 20 gear set up - 10 at the rear and 2 up front. When riding there is little need to change at all as the Yamaha has plenty of power to cope with all but the steepest of hills. The display does indicate that when riding uphill without changing down the power used is much higher so I guess that would translate into fewer miles per battery charge not to mention wear and tear. It is taking a bit of getting used to having to remember to change gear to save the battery.

My first outing was a relatively flat 20 mile ride at an average speed of 10.5mph. (that was an increase of 4.5mph achieved over the same route on the Viper) from roughly the same effort on my part. The battery level showed a drop of 3 bars out or 10 and the remaining distance available showed an encouraging 30 miles left. If I can get 40 miles between charges I will be well pleased. I had thought about getting a speed dongle but can't see the need so I will shelve that thought for now. Like the Giant this bike is very easy to ride without power and at around 20kgs it doesn't feel too heavy. In fact on my second outing a turned off the power to try it out, got distracted and only realised some 30 mins later that I hadn't switched it back on.

Pros:

1. Extremely well made when compared to other makes I looked at.

2. Yamaha motor appears much more powerful that the Bosch (torque wise)

3. Walking mode is a bonus and allows me to ride without pedalling up to 6kph

4. Built in lighting very effective

5. Great brakes - hydraulic and positive

6. Battery recharges very quickly

Cons:

1. Saddle is too narrow for my rear end

2. Tyres not a forgiving as wider MTB tyres

3. Very “nickable” so need to watch carefully when parked

4. LCD screen while providing lots of info doesn't look as durable as the Bosch unit

Overall I'm over the moon with the Haibike and so far very impressed and I like the Haibike style. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a general use bike.

Buying from Germany - absolutely – I got a cracking deal and saved a fortune and the retailer so far has been very good. All documentation is in English. The manufacturer so far has been responsive when I asked questions. Only downside may happen if I get any warranty problems.

 

[farmer]

The Haibike arrived on 6th July and I'm extremely pleased with it. The Yamaha crank drive is wonderful. Loads of torque at the start and acceleration takes you by surprise. It climbs hills effortlessly so the tendency is to forget to change gear. The ride is a bit different from my old MTB (a Viper FX2.0 with full suspension) maybe because it is a larger frame with larger wheels and cross tyres however after a mile or two I soon got used to it. The saddle though will have to go. I changed the original Viper saddle as I couldn't get used to the pointy thin seat that seems to be the norm on all bikes these days. I'm built for comfort so a change on the Haibike is due. The gears are a dream - very precise and positive with very little drama. The Trekking has a 20 gear set up - 10 at the rear and 2 up front. When riding there is little need to change at all as the Yamaha has plenty of power to cope with all but the steepest of hills. The display does indicate that when riding uphill without changing down the power used is much higher so I guess that would translate into fewer miles per battery charge not to mention wear and tear. It is taking a bit of getting used to having to remember to change gear to save the battery.

My first outing was a relatively flat 20 mile ride at an average speed of 10.5mph. (that was an increase of 4.5mph achieved over the same route on the Viper) from roughly the same effort on my part. The battery level showed a drop of 3 bars out or 10 and the remaining distance available showed an encouraging 30 miles left. If I can get 40 miles between charges I will be well pleased. I had thought about getting a speed dongle but can't see the need so I will shelve that thought for now. Like the Giant this bike is very easy to ride without power and at around 20kgs it doesn't feel too heavy. In fact on my second outing a turned off the power to try it out, got distracted and only realised some 30 mins later that I hadn't switched it back on.

Pros:

1. Extremely well made when compared to other makes I looked at.

2. Yamaha motor appears much more powerful that the Bosch (torque wise)

3. Walking mode is a bonus and allows me to ride without pedalling up to 6kph

4. Built in lighting very effective

5. Great brakes - hydraulic and positive

6. Battery recharges very quickly

Cons:

1. Saddle is too narrow for my rear end

2. Tyres not a forgiving as wider MTB tyres

3. Very “nickable” so need to watch carefully when parked

4. LCD screen while providing lots of info doesn't look as durable as the Bosch unit

Overall I'm over the moon with the Haibike and so far very impressed and I like the Haibike style. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a general use bike.

Buying from Germany - absolutely – I got a cracking deal and saved a fortune and the retailer so far has been very good. All documentation is in English. The manufacturer so far has been responsive when I asked questions. Only downside may happen if I get any warranty problems.

 

[farmer]

Please could you tell me the retailer's web site adress.

 

[Vennwood]

Please could you tell me the retailer's web site adress.

www.badbikes-online.de - they had a promotion on last month celebrating 10 years in the business - not sure if its still on but you can ask. Great people to deal with but you may have to use Google translate when emailing Maik. If calling ask for Thomas as he speaks good English

 

[JohnCade]

Must have got a good discount because the prices I saw on the site which were shown as discounted were very similar to UK prices. A Kalkhoff Pro Connect 10 was £1958 plus shipping as against £2195 with free shipping from the dealer here. That includes two year transferable warranty too. The Haibikes seems pretty similar with only a hundred pounds saving maybe.

If the bike or battery really has to go back to Germany it starts to get expensive too.

 

[Vennwood]

Must have got a good discount because the prices I saw on the site which were shown as discounted were very similar to UK prices. A Kalkhoff Pro Connect 10 was £1958 plus shipping as against £2195 with free shipping from the dealer here. That includes two year transferable warranty too. The Haibikes seems pretty similar with only a hundred pounds saving maybe.

If the bike or battery really has to go back to Germany it starts to get expensive too.

I don't want to get into yet another discussion over where to buy Each to their own I did my deal and that is nothing special others can do their own deal. However if you look at their web site you will see the Trekking RC is listed at €2339 now when I went to school with an exchange rate of €1.40 to the £ that comes to £1670 plus €35 delivery against ebike shop price of £2399 that's a saving of £700 and that is without ANY discount

 

[JohnCade]

Not saying anything about were you bought it, or any interest either. I looked at the site and the prices I saw were nothing special compared to the prices you get here with the current exchange rate. If you’re happy with the deal then good for you.

Personally I wouldn’t bother for the saving I saw and the drawbacks. Each to his own eh?

 

[Vennwood]

Not saying anything about were you bought it, or any interest either. I looked at the site and the prices I saw were nothing special compared to the prices you get here with the current exchange rate. If you’re happy with the deal then good for you.

Personally I wouldn’t bother for the saving I saw and the drawbacks. Each to his own eh?

Don't understand you John. My figures above are DIRECTLY from each web site and the exchange rates are there for all to see.

The bike you quoted earlier doesn't have a price on it as its out of stock so I don't see how you can make any comparison on that model at that site. I guess if you can afford a difference of between £700 and £950 then good for you. I wish I could afford to dismiss that amount.

 

[Blew it]

Overall I'm over the moon with the Haibike and so far very impressed and I like the Haibike style. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a general use bike.

Hi Vennwood, delighted to hear you are enjoying the sDuro Trekking, it truly is a remarkable machine. My example of the marque now has 250 miles on the clock. The Yamaha drive continues to quieten as the miles add up.....it is now barely audible. Fifty miles on a charge is easily achievable when riding in my own moderate terrain.

 

[JohnCade]

Don't understand you John. My figures above are DIRECTLY from each web site and the exchange rates are there for all to see.

The bike you quoted earlier doesn't have a price on it as its out of stock so I don't see how you can make any comparison on that model at that site. I guess if you can afford a difference of between £700 and £950 then good for you. I wish I could afford to dismiss that amount.

The prices I saw on their site are what I posted after converting to sterling. A saving of just over a hundred or so quid for the Kalkhoffs after shipping .

Maybe the Haibike price was better, but that is probably because their dealers here aren’t discounting after the exchange rate changes even if most other brands are. But for what I would be interested in there was no saving worth losing the warranty for. So each to his own.

 

[trex]

I am eying up this Haibike on that website for my next conversion project
@ EUR 499 (about £350). Add SWX02 cassette motor at the rear, 13AH battery for about £400. Total project £750 for a new 21kg bike with SLX .

http://badbikes-online.de/epages/d006b20b-4aed-4f31-a252-c39c757446d7.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/d006b20b-4aed-4f31-a252-c39c757446d7/Products/4180027445

 

[hopbackguy]

No English version of their web site that I could find, guess if you know exactly what you're looking for or can speak German thats OK!

 

[Vennwood]

No English version of their web site that I could find, guess if you know exactly what you're looking for or can speak German thats OK!

I agree that was an issue for me but managed to get around it using Bing and Google translate. If you ring them though some of the staff do speak English. Once I found what I wanted I emailed them and they usually replied within an hour or so.

 

[mfj197]

When I was looking around this time last year Haibike did seem to be very expensive here in the UK for their 2015 range. KTM had done a far better job of translating Euro prices for ebikes directly into GBP. The strengthening of the pound against the Euro only magnifies the poor pricing of Haibike in the UK. Cube were also priced competitively here, although I was only comparing traditional bikes not pedelecs.

Michael

 

[Vennwood]

Totally agree Michael - its the strength of the pound that makes the difference and in my case brought a model that was out of my price range back into contention. I guess also many dealers both here in UK as well as Germany are starting to discount to clear stocks in preparation for the 2016 model year.

 

[anotherkiwi]

No English version of their web site that I could find, guess if you know exactly what you're looking for or can speak German thats OK!

You mean you don't learn to speak several languages at school? How very European of you My Google Chrome is set up to automatically translate German (a language I will never learn, sorry).

The site seems to offer a minimum 10% discount on all bikes with some special offers at over 50% discount. I guess that if you are patient one could get a very good deal.

 

[EddiePJ]

Seems a shame that this thread couldn't have just stuck with being a review about the bike, instead of judging where it was purchased and for how much.

Glad that you are enjoying the bike Vennwood, and thanks for the review.

 

[Vennwood]

Seems a shame that this thread couldn't have just stuck with being a review about the bike, instead of judging where it was purchased and for how much.

Glad that you are enjoying the bike Vennwood, and thanks for the review.

Hi EddiePJ

The Haibike just gets better every day. I try and get out two or three times a week and loving every minute. Done around 300 miles so far and touch wood the only problem has been a loose bolt on the seat. I haven't experienced any undue noise from the Yamaha when under load as mentioned by some, in fact it seems quieter than ever. I've even got used to the pointy seat. I'll add more to the review after 500 miles and try and give proper review.

 

[Vennwood]

Some 8 months on and I thought I would update my thoughts on the Haibike. Well I'm pleased to say all is still well and after a little over 1500 miles nothing has fallen off. The range is fairly constant at between 40 and 50 miles between charges (depending on how many hills I climb) I have noticed that the battery looses 2 of its 10 bars fairly quickly but then stays there. Don't know if this will develop into an issue or maybe more of the way I operate. I usually charge up the battery soon after a ride then it gets left for up to 3 or 4 weeks before the next outing ( I'm a softy and don't set out in the rain ) so maybe I should charge up the day before I use it. Over the winter months I have used the lights a fair bit and have to say I'm impressed with the spread and power of the beam. I have on occasion ventured up and down steeper hills than I would have down without power and this has identified a small failing in descending hills - the front fork travel is limited so perhaps the Treking RC is not for "pure mounting biking" Secondly the tyres tend to slide a bit on rough muddy surfaces so maybe a wider tyre with a bit more grip is needed. Other than those comments the bike soldiers on faultlessly. No regrets.

 

[flecc]

I have noticed that the battery looses 2 of its 10 bars fairly quickly but then stays there. Don't know if this will develop into an issue or maybe more of the way I operate.

This is normal since these meters work on the tiny decline in voltage and the initial rate of decline from full can be rapid. It's why the road distance per bar of decline often isn't consistent even when the terrain is.
.