Buying options, opinions welcome

[A quiet tipple]

Firstly hello out there, stumbled across this place by unusual route and would appreciate some pointers/options on bike selection.

I have a car / motorbike / roadbike and have recently started getting back onto the roadbike as I'm trying to reduce running as a primary method for cardio due to injury. My company signed up for the cycle to work so as the opportunity was present I decided to get a hybrid and there the rabbit hole started.

Browsing halfords I spotted the Carerra E bike which caught my attention. This led to me somehow trying out a volt pulse at my local bike shop. And on searching for de-restriction options for those bikes I somehow came across this forum (not sure you will be happy with that connection lol) and now I'm overloading on information.

Spec and aims of sorts
6'3 usually around 15 stones, a little heavier at the minute
Med to low fitness, not just got off the couch but no enduro rider under 40.
Must be cycle to work accessible
Upto £1500
Will be used for commute primarily so road and would like trails ability beyond what my RB can take.
Thinking disc brakes and lockout forks if fitted.

So as of now on the table I'm looking at the following:

Carerra E bike (non adjustable)
Volt pulse (non adjustable)
Whoosh Karoo (too small)
Whoosh Rio MTB (too small)
Oxygen Scross MTB (too small)

I think if I was to choose to adjust the restrictor, this rules out my first two choices. Are there any other options that might fit in with my aims?
And if you have read this far, thank you .

 

[Nealh]

Kudos Stealth / Alamo.

Derestricting means typically 10 - 25% faster riding under pas, the knock on affect is range/mileage is affected so battery ah/wh size will be a factor depending on the miles you want or need to ride.

 

[Woosh]

The Karoo and Rio MTB are too small for your 6'3 frame.
I will have a new Karoo for taller riders in July.
Stealthier and lighter than the current Karoo.

 

[A quiet tipple]

Yep, I'm aware of the effects and risks and have eyes open on that option. To be quite honest literally just after upto 20 assist if I did go that route so the output would be low anyway just to lighten the load on myself, still like to get a bit of a sweat on. It is actually factoring into regarding MTB bikes as I should be able to maintain a good pace anyway despite the increased drag and mass, they were off the table initially.

Cheers for that, ill look into those as well.

Regarding the Whoosh bikes, damn, I never noticed you didn't offer bigger frame sizes

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I would cross the Careers off the list. It can't easily be derestricted and there are some questions about whether the torque sensor is able to cope with all-weather riding.

 

[A quiet tipple]

Might be one of a few that fit though unfortunately. I had not considered lack of suitable sizing.

 

[Trevormonty]

If you lift your budget to £1700-2000 then there are quite a few factory middrive eMTBs to choose from eg Cube Trek, KTM Will need to add £140 for dongle.

 

[A quiet tipple]

That is a possible yet I do not think I could justify that to myself, 2k on a set of powered pedals . Might be more efficient to lop my legs down a bit.

 

[CreativeSource]

Hi there
Not sure how the cycle to work scheme in its entirety works but here's a scenario to perhaps consider. Buy a donor bike, in My case a Carrera Vulcan MTB £380 and with incredible spec for the price. Buy a kit, in My case a 48v 1000watt rear hub motor for £599 = £980 for the on road total price. This bike does have full hydraulic clarks M2 disc brakes..... you'll need them! And preload and lockouts on the folks that you requested.

Best of luck man.

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk

 

[A quiet tipple]

Cheers for the input, as you stated that probably isn't for me at the minute. I did start looking at 1kW bikes off the peg then had a hard shake of myself, I'm after an assist for fitness, not an electric ped lol.

 

[CreativeSource]

You can always peddle it like normal, I do many many miles on 0 assistants, but it's a great feeling to have that power and torque for hills and serious head winds when your the wrong side of 14stone has I am! And if you remove the battery (see photo) it feels very light to peddle. I believe this bike with all the options available covers all bases.

Good luck

Cheers for the input, as you stated that probably isn't for me at the minute. I did start looking at 1kW bikes off the peg then had a hard shake of myself, I'm after an assist for fitness, not an electric ped lol.

Sent from my Hudl 2 using Tapatalk

 

[ianboydsnr]

Apparently you can buy a ebike at decathlon use it for near on a year, then tell them it’s not suitable, and get all your money back,

Sounds a pretty cheap way to ebike purchase to me.

 

[A quiet tipple]

I think I caught a glimpse of that thread . I may have to up my budget on this as suggested earlier.

 

[Benjahmin]

Not sure how it would work with cycle to work scheme, but a kit with a geared hub motor would be my suggestion. If you go for a 36v motor but overvolt it to 48v you get approx. 33% extra speed. So 19-22mph assist speeds possible. The winding speed of the motor is important and has to be matched to wheel size, it's then paired with a 48v battery, controller and display.
So find a frame that suits you and get over to the conversion forum for all the info you need.
The 1000w motor, mentioned above, will be direct drive so will offer magnetic drag when cycled with power off, good if you want a work out. Also they are inefficient at low speeds converting battery power to waste heat. Geared hubs don't suffer from this.

 

[A quiet tipple]

Think I may have just decided to pick up a hybrid bike and potentially kit it in the future as suggested. It does simplify the process and means a higher spec base bike.

Looking thus far at

Specialised crosstrail elite 2018
Trek DS4

etc.

I assume there will be no issue converting these types in the future?

Random one found but no CTW and looks like poor aftersales if problems https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Mountain-Bicycle-Designer-Mechanical/dp/B078JFPFJR

 

[Woosh]

they are nice bikes to work on.
Perfect donors for a rear geared hub with cassette.

 

[A quiet tipple]

Glad you approve cheers. Leaning more towards the Trek, no specific reason really just lockout and gear range seem good with good non fussy kit. Several others also around this price point and the non suss front bikes are pretty light. Giant also has one knocking about but fitted with a triple.

Trek do actually do an E variant utilising a shimano steps crank setup.

https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-dual-sport-2018-electric-hybrid-bike-EV283463

 

[Woosh]

the 11kg hardtail MTB Boardman hardtail Pro may also be worth a look.

 

[A quiet tipple]

This one? http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/boardman-mountain-bike-pro-29er-16-18-19-20-frames

Frame seems a little small for me, does look interesting though. Not sure how the geometry fairs against a flat bar road bike or DS but I imagine with some road oriented tyres it would shift well. Very solid base for an ebike.

Edit, found a 20" https://www.cyclerepublic.com/catalog/product/view/id/4515/s/boardman-pro-29er-mens-mountain-bike-2016/category/2/

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Buy a used bike if you want to convert it. You can get a good used one for about 1/3 of the price.