Complete Beginner, what should I buy?

[Stactix]

Hello,

I haven't cycled in quite some time bar the odd Beryl bike but have decided as a breakup treat to get an ebike via the cycle to work scheme.

I'm currently residing in Bournemouth, 5ft3 and weigh probably 8.5st at most.

Have looked at the Woosh Santana bike but not sure on the best way forward due to it being unlikely to test / not sure it's part of the cycle scheme anyway.
The limit I have for bike/Accessories is 3k via the scheme.

I have very little knowledge of bikes/maintenance required etc though I have built racing drones in the past so will enjoy getting to know the more techy details.

I'd want to use it for commuting/New Forest exploration perhaps some off road but nothing extreme.

Any reccomendations for places in Boumou and the bikes they sell?

Thank you!

 

[Woosh]

Have looked at the Woosh Santana bike but not sure on the best way forward due to it being unlikely to test / not sure it's part of the cycle scheme anyway.

We have an agent in Bournemouth who can help you looking after your bike but he does not have a demonstrator Santana. About cycle to work, we work with a number of scheme providers. Which scheme provider or providers does your workplace use?
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cycletowork

 

[Stactix]

We have an agent in Bournemouth who can help you looking after your bike but he does not have a demonstrator Santana. About cycle to work, we work with a number of scheme providers. Which scheme provider or providers does your workplace use?
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cycletowork

Thank you for getting back to me, I'd be under BCP and know the 'cyclescheme' is one of the ones they use. Unsure if they have any others, still getting to grips with it all!

 

[Woosh]

we work with a number of agencies but not cyclescheme.co.uk in Bath.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

The biggest retailer of ebikes in the UK by far is Halfords. They are just about everywhere for warranty repair and support and also offer great value for their own brand bikes like the Carrera, Voodoo and Boardman models. I've heard good things about the Carrera Impel with derailleur gears. I think the top end model is only about £1500 and is a hybrid style design. There are also the Boardman and Voodoo models but they are more proprietary. The Voodoo Zobop is an excellent e-mountain bike with decent parts that many brands would charge twice as much for. A killer deal if you can buy that on the cyclescheme with a huge reduction on top of that. That's if you need a e-mountain bike though. A Carrera Impel would be a much more practical bike for day to day commuting and the New Forest etc.

I remember reading in a forum about Specialized ebikes that were dropping like flies with a huge failure rate but one person was stating they had used and abused their Specialized ebike a lot and had no issues yet other forum posters had already gone through 2 or 3 replacement ebikes. It was a huge issue at the time that Specialized had to increase the warranty to 4 years when it was 2 years previously. Anyway it turned out after investigation the rider in question was quite light like you less than 8 stone and so the bike and motor system were getting a much easier time of it. So with that logic maybe A Voodoo Zobop would be a good option for long term use. The Voodoo Zobop is based on a far more reliable Shimano motor system than the Brose system of the Specialized. Unless you plan to do more technical off-road riding I wouldn't get it but if you are it could be an amazing value option.

yes Halfords reputation is hit and miss but you have to remember Halfords sell more bikes than the whole independent bike retailer sector of the UK. They take about 25p in every £ spent on cycling in the UK and that actually equates to about 40% of all bikes and ebikes sold by volume because of their lower cost.

I have a strong preference for Halfords personally because of their great value and the fact wherever you cycle there is a Halfords nearby. I bought a new bike in the past (Carrera Subway 8) rode it on a long trip and got a puncture and took it into another Halfords different to where I bought it when it was about 3 months old and they fixed the puncture for free with a new tube. I was very happy with the service. Perhaps on a busy day I wouldn't have got that service though. Also the free main service I got from them was great which you get after the first month. My bike was quite complicated with a Shimano Nexus 8 premium hub gears. I paid £320 for the bike then but it came with £80 of accessory spending included so effectively £240 plus I bought online using topcashback and bought reduced price giftcards. I think I worked out this new bike cost me about £150 at the time with everything factored in. It makes a lot of sense to at least consider Halfords especially their own brand bikes.

 

[Woosh]

There are very few step-through ebikes at Halfords. The OP is probably female in view of her height (5ft3) and weight (8.5st).

 

[Stactix]

There are very few step-through ebikes at Halfords. The OP is probably female in view of her height (5ft3) and weight (8.5st).

Nope just a short guy! haha

I'm thinking probably best I pop into some local shops. I've seen Primera Sports are a 5min walk away so might have a look there. I think the tricky part is I've seen a few bikes here, yourselves/Wisper and a few online but then all the places around here don't stock any I've seen/been interested in

 

[Stactix]

The biggest retailer of ebikes in the UK by far is Halfords. They are just about everywhere for warranty repair and support and also offer great value for their own brand bikes like the Carrera, Voodoo and Boardman models. I've heard good things about the Carrera Impel with derailleur gears. I think the top end model is only about £1500 and is a hybrid style design. There are also the Boardman and Voodoo models but they are more proprietary. The Voodoo Zobop is an excellent e-mountain bike with decent parts that many brands would charge twice as much for. A killer deal if you can buy that on the cyclescheme with a huge reduction on top of that. That's if you need a e-mountain bike though. A Carrera Impel would be a much more practical bike for day to day commuting and the New Forest etc.

I remember reading in a forum about Specialized ebikes that were dropping like flies with a huge failure rate but one person was stating they had used and abused their Specialized ebike a lot and had no issues yet other forum posters had already gone through 2 or 3 replacement ebikes. It was a huge issue at the time that Specialized had to increase the warranty to 4 years when it was 2 years previously. Anyway it turned out after investigation the rider in question was quite light like you less than 8 stone and so the bike and motor system were getting a much easier time of it. So with that logic maybe A Voodoo Zobop would be a good option for long term use. The Voodoo Zobop is based on a far more reliable Shimano motor system than the Brose system of the Specialized. Unless you plan to do more technical off-road riding I wouldn't get it but if you are it could be an amazing value option.

yes Halfords reputation is hit and miss but you have to remember Halfords sell more bikes than the whole independent bike retailer sector of the UK. They take about 25p in every £ spent on cycling in the UK and that actually equates to about 40% of all bikes and ebikes sold by volume because of their lower cost.

I have a strong preference for Halfords personally because of their great value and the fact wherever you cycle there is a Halfords nearby. I bought a new bike in the past (Carrera Subway 8) rode it on a long trip and got a puncture and took it into another Halfords different to where I bought it when it was about 3 months old and they fixed the puncture for free with a new tube. I was very happy with the service. Perhaps on a busy day I wouldn't have got that service though. Also the free main service I got from them was great which you get after the first month. My bike was quite complicated with a Shimano Nexus 8 premium hub gears. I paid £320 for the bike then but it came with £80 of accessory spending included so effectively £240 plus I bought online using topcashback and bought reduced price giftcards. I think I worked out this new bike cost me about £150 at the time with everything factored in. It makes a lot of sense to at least consider Halfords especially their own brand bikes.

Thank you for the post, really appreciate that and I also have a halfords pretty close by so I'll definetly give them a look. I've never had any issues dealing with them myself in the odd occasion I've used them for my car.
I'm certainly keen to get one asap, despite needing to think about more 'productive' things like the fact I'm moving in 10 days and half the furniture isn't coming with me! just fancy having one for the summer I think. It's a shame with the cycle to work scheme I wouldn't be able to take advantage of all the little discount tricks like topcashback and reduced giftcards.. always a fun game

 

[Stactix]

I actually quite like the look of the Raleigh Trace,
Another thing I have to consider is weight as I'll be storing it on a first floor flat without a lift.

I'm not sure I like the idea of an internal battery though, even if the bike itself looks quite unassuming.

Raleigh Trace Electric Bike in Blue

Have you ever considered how much fun your journey could be if it weren’t for timetables, traffic jams, and diversions? The freedom to go whenever and wherever almost sounds too good to be true. Except, it’s not.

www.primera-sports.com

One thing I'd like to do is go on a long distance adventure, not at first of course but the idea of cycling between airbnbs or camping along the Jurassic coast sounds rather appealing!

 

[Nealh]

Carrying a full size bike up and down each time may soon lose it's appeal, might be worth considering a decent 20" wheeled folding bike.

 

[Woosh]

.. or convert a Brompton

 

[Nealh]

Brom's can be a bit dear to buy but has it's followers, Dahons are well regarded.

 

[Woosh]

Brompton is much easier to carry up the steps by the saddle. No other bike that I know of can be carried that way.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Brompton is much easier to carry up the steps by the saddle. No other bike that I know of can be carried that way.

I once beat Colin Jackson (holder of the 110M hurdles World Record at the time) up the steps at the local mainline train station, both of us rushing to catch the train. Colin used to live not far away.

I was carrying Brompton he was carrying a suitcase.

 

[saneagle]

I actually quite like the look of the Raleigh Trace,
Another thing I have to consider is weight as I'll be storing it on a first floor flat without a lift.

I'm not sure I like the idea of an internal battery though, even if the bike itself looks quite unassuming.

Raleigh Trace Electric Bike in Blue

Have you ever considered how much fun your journey could be if it weren’t for timetables, traffic jams, and diversions? The freedom to go whenever and wherever almost sounds too good to be true. Except, it’s not.

www.primera-sports.com

One thing I'd like to do is go on a long distance adventure, not at first of course but the idea of cycling between airbnbs or camping along the Jurassic coast sounds rather appealing!

You've put yourself in some dilemmas. Folding bikes are convenient for storage, but or not very good for touring on riding longer distances. Non-folding bikes can be a bit awkward to carry up stairs. Light bikes are easy to carry, but have small batteries, so don't go far. Consealed batteries look great and are secure, but when it comes time to replace, you're probably going to wish you'd chosen something different.

If it helps, you can make any bike go flat to keep it from blocking gangways by fitting folding pedals and quick release screws for the stem clamps so that you can turn the handlebars in line with the wheel for storage. Neither of those things cost much.

With your very low body weight, you'll get much more range than us, so I think you'd be OK with a relatively small/light battery.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

The biggest retailer of ebikes in the UK by far is Halfords.

I heard yesterday that they were pulling out of the eBike market to concentrate on car servicing, parts etc., has anyone else heard anything?

All the best, David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Nope just a short guy! haha

I'm thinking probably best I pop into some local shops. I've seen Primera Sports are a 5min walk away so might have a look there. I think the tricky part is I've seen a few bikes here, yourselves/Wisper and a few online but then all the places around here don't stock any I've seen/been interested in

Please let me know which Wisper you would like to try and I will make arrangements for your local dealer to have one in store for you.

All the best, David

 

[Bonzo Banana]

I heard yesterday that they were pulling out of the eBike market to concentrate on car servicing, parts etc., has anyone else heard anything?

All the best, David

I can't see that happening at all with such a large market share for ebikes. Halfords are absolutely huge in bike retail. It would mean a huge drop in turnover and mass redundancies. I can see them re-assessing cycling a bit with the downturn since covid maybe look for a higher margin on some ebikes possibly. I was in one store back along and one of the staff was moaning he had to setup 6 ebikes for customers. He might have been fishing for overtime.

Halfords have been one of the most consistent retailers in cycling in the UK for over 120 years. I think they now own National tyres plus they have Halford's Autocentres they definitely have plenty of car related business which I think is facing a small downturn with EV's needing less maintenance and parts than conventional ICE vehicles.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Thank you for the post, really appreciate that and I also have a halfords pretty close by so I'll definetly give them a look. I've never had any issues dealing with them myself in the odd occasion I've used them for my car.
I'm certainly keen to get one asap, despite needing to think about more 'productive' things like the fact I'm moving in 10 days and half the furniture isn't coming with me! just fancy having one for the summer I think. It's a shame with the cycle to work scheme I wouldn't be able to take advantage of all the little discount tricks like topcashback and reduced giftcards.. always a fun game

I think the cycle2work scheme should provide you with ample tax benefits a lot better than cashback and giftcard reductions. I think if they all worked together they would be paying you to take the bike away

 

[Nealh]

Halfords own Tredz on line retailer and cycle rebublic brand.