Buying a new bike

[Trawlerman]

Hi,

I'm new here. For the past three years or so I've been riding a Solartracker SLB2000.

I use it for work and have done around 10K on it over the time that i've owned it. It's been riden pretty hard in that time as it's regularly done 20/25 mile round trips some of which have been onto docklands and on badly maintained country roads. I also try to ride the cycle tracks wherever possible and that can be a bit rough as well.
For all that though, i've tried to look after the bike as much as possible and it's been relatively well maintained.

I'm having to retire it as the motor is now faulty - only doing 6miles per charge despite having two separate batteries to use with it - and i'm running out of spokes on the rear wheel. Solartracker don't seem to want to supply me a replacement rear wheel and motor so i'm stuffed really.


So, i'm looking to buy a new bike in the next month or so. As I need the bike for work essentialy I need to be sure that I get a bike that can be maintained easily and that parts will be readily available and not dry up like previously.


My local store - Jobes of Hull - are currently advertising the GIANT SUEDE E, the SAKURA range and they have the POWABYKE range on their website. They don't seem to be pushing the Powabykes at all? Rather, the Sakura's are what they seem to be selling most of. To me the Sakura looks to be a Solartracker by any other name and i'm very wary of buying into another cheapo brand at top price.


The bikes that i've been considering have been:

GIANT SUEDE E - £650 approx
POWABYKE 6 Speed Eurobike - £650 approx
POWABYKE 24 Speed Commuter - £850 approx

Any thoughts about what I should get? I'm gravitating towards the Powabyke 24 Speed Commuter as it seems like a really well built bike for the money and has the backup and service that I need. Are there any other bikes out there that I might consider?


Many thanks,
Mick

 

[coops]

Hi Mick & welcome!

I'm new to ebikes, as I have said, and must admit I've not come across a solartracker: is it anything like the SLB 2000G pictured on this page?
A bit like a powabyke?

If I've got this right, you want a bike good for ~25mile round trips over fairly flat but maybe rough/poor quality roads & tracks? So it needs to be tough & strong - solid!

I'm sure others will give better advice, but have you looked at ezee bikes at all, at 50cycles for instance? I'm not sure how rough/uneven the tracks are, or how well the ezee bikes would handle that (I can't recall the topic of "off-road" capable ebikes being discussed except in passing) but you can judge that better than me I'm sure.

Powabykes seem to be very heavy but strong "tanks" so may well be suited to your terrain, but more modern lighter bikes with lighter (but equal or greater capacity) batteries could get similar range possibly? The ezee Liv is the new "budget" model in the range, the style of bike looks a bit different to the powabyke, but its a good performer for the price (good power motor) & good spec too.

I'll think more & see what others suggest

Hope that helps.

Stuart.

 

[electric.mike]

hi Mick and welcome, ime from grimsby have two of the bikes you are talking about and deal with jobes, my wife and i both have the sakura cruises they have been very good bikes, with my wife's performing slightly better for her as she only weighs 11stone, with me at 13 stone i was at the limit of its abilities and although i would recommend them for shopping trips and journeys of around 10-15miles i don't think they would suit you.
the powabyke may be a different story but although mine has done everything i have ask of it including a 20mile round trip. and towing a trailer with 25kg of coal i have only had it for a short time so can not be sure how it would work for you.
i would say though that IMO you should try to buy local as you need you bike for work, and i have always found jobes very responsive to my problems ie i had a problem with power cutting out on my first sakura and they exchanged it no problem.(there and then no waiting)
they had the scooter type sakura in when i was last there and it would be of no use to you at all.
sorry i cant actually recommend a bike but i never recommend anything until i know its ok.
mike

 

[nigel]

Nigel

Hi mick
welcome to forum at the moment the EZEE LIV would seem to be your best option it weighs 29 kilos thats 10 kilos lighter then a powabyke and will cost £545.00 delivered to your door its a quality bike and good value for money or there is a 3 speed sprint new on ebay this is a very good bike it might be worth you trying for that first on ebay. PS 24 speed or 6 speed it wont make any difference unless you are super fit because of the bikes weight which is between 36 & 40 kilos. nigel

 

[flecc]

A warm welcome Trawlerman. Any of your choices will do the job, but the 24 speed model is way over the top for gears. Electric bikes just don't need that many due to the carry through effect of the motor which bridges any gear gaps. 5 to 7 gears is plenty.

As mentioned above, also consider the eZee models. The Suede is medium powered and moderate weight, the eZee Liv is quite powerful with again moderate weight, and the Powabyke models are very powerful but squander much of the power in lugging around their high weight. Don't be over impressed by their apparent ruggedness, they have a reputation for breakages around the battery support area due to the very high battery weight. This could be important if any of those cycleways are rough. That said, the support from their dealers is generally good. If you don't have the most severe of hills and you aren't into speed, the Powacycle models are also worth considering. Their Salisbury gents model is on the lower powered side but is light and £499 with NiMh battery, £599 with the newest technology Lithium Polymer battery. The payback for that lower power and low weight is quite long range.
.

 

[Trawlerman]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

The comments are much appreciated. The reason why the Powabyke 24 appealed to me was the gears but if they are very much a moot point then i'll stay away as the extra cost is probably not worth it.

I should have said that the last thing I want to be doing as well is having to pedal a heavy bike home for 10 miles as I have been doing on occassions with the Solartracker. It's almost like pedalling an old moped!

The Powacycle Salisbury looks to be an ideal bike for me and i'll give that one some real thought.

 

[PowaCycle]

Hi Mick
Please feel free to get in contact if you need to know anything about our bikes, or if you want me to find your nearest dealer for you.
The Salisbury is proving an extremely popular model and everyone has been happy with it so far!
We have now sold all of our first Lithium Polymer bikes, but will have more in a few weeks.

 

[coops]

Your welcome Mick

Lots of options then!
I should add that my comment on powabykes being rugged was based on appearances, not experience (which flecc has ).

I think you are right to be "very wary of buying into another cheapo brand at top price" as at first glance there seem to be many powabyke/sakura/solartracker "type" bikes around which seem to me to be somewhat overpriced for what you get compared to more recent lighter framed bikes with lighter batteries?

It depends how rough your tracks are, but if you're thinking of a hub motor bike, I would consider whether the motor is in the front or rear wheel, and suspension - especially if the motor is at the front - for the ride comfort & stress on the bike. Good information on that in this thread.

The Salisbury does look useful, but bear in mind its possibly lower powered than your existing bike or some of the alternatives? That shouldn't be a problem if you're on the flat mainly but on a muddy/slippery surface more power is needed than for a good surface, so depends on your terrain & usage.
Range should be quite good though I think.

Another possibility is the urbanmover bikes, the UM-39 (?) is a MTB styled electric, but has lower max speed (10mph) & power probably average, less advanced battery options (& probably little less range) & less accessories like lights,rear rack, mudguards (?) which you may find useful.

In other words a less "complete" package & less speed, but maybe more torque for rough/slippy ground & the odd hill? More expensive than powacycle too at ~£745 last I saw, but I thought I'd add it to the growing list of options.

Happy hunting
Stuart.

 

[Silver_Rover]

Flecc

In your reply to Mick you stated:

The Suede is medium powered and moderate weight, the eZee Liv is quite powerful with again moderate weight

Why is the Liv considered a more powerful machine when, on paper, they both appear to have a very similar electrical specification?

Ken

 

[flecc]

I don't know the reason for the small difference Ken, only the rider experiences of performance on the Suede and the Liv's much heavier predecessor, the eZee Rider. There's a word understanding factor here as well, since I didn't intend the interpretation to be very different.

"Medium powered" and "quite powerful" are almost the same thing as I'm sure you'll appreciate, both being comparatives not related to a specific base measure and both falling short of "powerful".
.