Conversion costs

[FastFreddy2]

Around 2015 I had a 1000 watt motor but only kept it on for a month, it was too fast for the MTB I was using and scared me several times.


A work colleagues husband recently spent around £3000 on a 1000 watt bike and had it confiscated 4 days later.

Hard to have sympathy for someone well off enough to make two bad decisions. Firstly spending that sort of money on a bike with that sort of power. And the second riding somewhere illegally. If I were going to spend that sort of money on what legally should be an offroad bike, I'd be buying one of these or something like them:



Or.... If it has to be electric .....





30mph and up to 40 miles between charges.


Pre-covid I had the chance to try a friends unrestricted Levo. It was like riding a small engined motorbike. Almost nowhere was that speed usable offroad.

 

[chris667]

If I were going to spend that sort of money on what legally should be an offroad bike, I'd be buying one of these or something like them

Exactly! Why on earth would you buy an illegal ebike when you could perfectly legally own a motorbike for less money?

The motorbike will likely be much more reliable in the rain too, if my experience of eBikes is anything to go by.

 

[aardvark5]

Exactly! Why on earth would you buy an illegal ebike when you could perfectly legally own a motorbike for less money?

The motorbike will likely be much more reliable in the rain too, if my experience of eBikes is anything to go by.

He is a Prison Officer and quite high up also.
The beauty of eBikes is that you can cut out a lot of unnecessary roads by being able to go on footpaths/cycle lanes etc.
For example my commute is only around 10% roads/streets but if I had an eScooter I'd have to go on 100% road.

Funny thing is looking out of my office at the hospital we used to regularly see two blokes overtaking cars on the A34, one day a colleague came in and said that Coppers were loading their bikes into a Police van further up the road, we never saw them again. They overtook me one day on the road the other side of the hospital and I'd say their motors were 1500 watts they were going that fast.

 

[chris667]

The beauty of eBikes is that you can cut out a lot of unnecessary roads by being able to go on footpaths/cycle lanes etc.

Yes, but if you can go on them at motorbike speeds that's not really fair to other people that only go at bike speeds or pedestrians, is it?

Frankly, if you want to ride at 20+mph on a footpath, I am all for your bike being impounded.

 

[FastFreddy2]

Yes, but if you can go on them at motorbike speeds that's not really fair to other people that only go at bike speeds or pedestrians, is it?

Frankly, if you want to ride at 20+mph on a footpath, I am all for your bike being impounded.

Exactly that. You can't have it both ways. You are either a cyclist, or a motorist. Even at 25kph, that's not a safe speed on a footpath when other people/pedestrians are using it.

 

[soundwave]

i have had a dongle on my bike for ten years yet now i am the slow one, id not come to Gloucester pavement speed is 40.

road speed is unlimited.

yet every time i get burger king it is fkn stone cold and takes 3 hrs to get here

 

[thelarkbox]

and 25-30 would be safe on a clear 5m wide cycle track with the occasional oncoming cyclist or vacant clear straight stretch of footpath too imho I think its safe to assume not all riders of bikes capable of higher speeds are inconsiderate dicks I will accept some are.. ive seen video evidence..

Sometimes its impossible to please foot travelers sharing the cyclepaths, ive received dirty looks after slowing right down almost to a stop before dinging the bell (once not maniacally) to get acknowledgement and access to some of the path width..

 

[portals]

and 25-30 would be safe on a clear 5m wide cycle track with the occasional oncoming cyclist or vacant clear straight stretch of footpath too imho I think its safe to assume not all riders of bikes capable of higher speeds are inconsiderate dicks I will accept some are.. ive seen video evidence..

Sometimes its impossible to please foot travelers sharing the cyclepaths, ive received dirty looks after slowing right down almost to a stop before dinging the bell (once not maniacally) to get acknowledgement and access to some of the path width..

I agree with the points made above, just because I can go at 30mph doesn't mean I go around at that speed, most of time I'm pottering about with my son.

The Sinnis 125 and Cypher electric look like decent alternative options for the money, how anyone could spend £2,500 on an ebike is beyond me, especially if it's only 1000W....I'd be expecting much more for my money.

However that's just the purchase cost, when you factor in insurance, road tax, fuel, servicing and repairs etc. then the cost goes up significantly, especially if you're in a high insurance post code or young so not really a fair cost comparison.

 

[aardvark5]

how anyone could spend £2,500 on an ebike is beyond me

I was on the Great Orme last November when an elderly cyclist had a mishap and I went over to help him.
I said it was a nice Trek ebike and I had 2x Trek's that I had converted.
I then asked the price: £7,800, he said he nearly had the £10,500 model.

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[portals]

I was on the Great Orme last November when an elderly cyclist had a mishap and I went over to help him.
I said it was a nice Trek ebike and I had 2x Trek's that I had converted.
I then asked the price: £7,800, he said he nearly had the £10,500 model.

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Nuts, a fool and his money...

 

[Az.]

He is a Prison Officer and quite high up also.

Isn't that ironic?

 

[soundwave]

Nuts, a fool and his money...

my bike will kick that things ass try jump a table top 20m long going 15mph, it will hurt lol

 

[AndyBike]

The Clarks Clout brakes seem decent for the money and reviewed quite well for off-road use and the Vulcan has a 180mm front rotor too. Trek charge £500 for a mountain bike with basic mechanical disc brakes and to get a bike with a similar spec to the Vulcan you probably would have to pay £800 or more. As for safety the Trek model has a basic freewheel which could easily break the quick release if used off-road and forks with only 28mm stanchions, the vulcan appears to be 30mm stanchions so significantly stronger. I don't get the criticism for the Vulcan as it enables you to get a much safer stronger mountain bike than many of the its competitors for significantly less money. Despite the huge sales of Carreras they haven't had the frame recall history of many other brands like Decathlon for example, where Rockriders had to be recalled for breaking frames some only weeks old.

Also V brakes can be good I mean they were used for competitive off-road cycling for many years. Well setup with decent pads they can perform well and of course if you have an ebike with regen braking like a direct drive hub motor you get a third braking system and many people find their brake pads hardly get worn at all as the V brakes are backup brakes to the regen braking for general riding and non-emergency braking.

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I think theres a couple of points in there. Mainly the weight of the bike and the speed of the riding. BITD V's were fine, and a serious improvement over cantis, though we had years of counter argument from the canti lovers who would say things like 'Properly set up' blah blah. Thought the truth there was cantis were never great, or even good really. You really just need to watch the old xc racing vids on you tube from bitd to see how ineffective they were with most of the rider overshooting turns and ending up in a heap in the bushes. But you know how some folk are-resistant to change.
The weight of the bikes bitd could be easily half what an emtb is now.
Then theres riding style. Geometry is radically different and that difference haas led to speed and an ability to turn or hold a line that int he 80/90's or even 00's would be impossible. The speed and style of my riding when i did serious offroad (red/black)7 or 8 years ago are in comparison to a couple of decades previously so remarkable different, it seems like we were kids pottering about in the park
OK we were kids pottering about in the park lol but you know what i mean.

Prices of brakes are so far down in price now in comparison, i mean my first brakes were Hope C2's, and those still set me back 500 or 600 in the early to mid 90's when you inc the wheels, and you can get not dissimilar power* for a 1/3 of that today, or less if youre clever, use sales and check/research reviews.

*

Clarks Clout brakes

No lol, not clarks clout.
difficulty bleeding, sticky pistons, and once heated up forget it. Their new M4 brake looks not bad. Reviews are ok, seems to be styling on a clone of others but for a commuter brake they're going to be very good.

 

[soundwave]

i will rip ur wing mirrors off fkn twats

 

[AndyBike]

i will rip ur wing mirrors off fkn twats

Pour vous

I think this is your ideal girl...

 

[guerney]

Sometimes its impossible to please foot travelers sharing the cyclepaths, ive received dirty looks after slowing right down almost to a stop before dinging the bell (once not maniacally) to get acknowledgement and access to some of the path width..

After giving up cycling in the late 1980's and resuming 3 years ago, I thought I'd try cycling on pavements and these newfangled cyclepaths... but I found it too annoying: surface too warped broken and tree rooty, too many pedestrians shouting "Get on the road!" despite the path being shared and marked such, hazardous dog walkers with whom horrible disasters could happen if my bike ploughed between them over the lead, or dog cut in half, progress being too darn slow because there are too few cycle paths and too short, some are just a few metres long, people walking out of terraced houses directly in front etc. It's faster and safer using the road.

 

[FastFreddy2]

However that's just the purchase cost, when you factor in insurance, road tax, fuel, servicing and repairs etc. then the cost goes up significantly, especially if you're in a high insurance post code or young so not really a fair cost comparison.

It was a comparison on purchase cost.

Someone who wants 2 wheels that allows them to travel at 30mph, they're a motorist. At 30mph and on two wheels you're almost certainly going to need insurance unless you're an Olympic grade cyclist, and also a license of some sort. This is not a grey area. 30mph = road. LEGALLY, bikes aren't even supposed to be used anywhere other than the road, UNLESS on a dedicated bike path.

There's no doubt in the mind of most pedestrians, bicycles are supposed to be on the road regardless to what powers them. Riding what is effectively an electric scooter or moped on a pavement is literally asking for a call to the police and confiscation/fine and possibly losing a driving license.


"The courts also have a specific power to disqualify you from driving a car (and send you to prison for 2 years) if you’re convicted of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious cycling or racing, or by wilful misconduct or wilful neglect on a bicycle. (OAPA s. 35; RTOA Sch 2, pt. 2; Taylor v Goodwin (1878-79) LR 4 QBD 228)

You can only be convicted of this offence if you injure someone while you’re cycling in a way which is wanton or furious or shows wilful misconduct or neglect. There’s no definition of what counts as wanton or furious or wilful – it all basically depends on how a jury would judge your cycling.

Until 2008, no-one could remember a conviction for this offence. Since then there have been two cases, both involving cyclists who rode onto the pavement at speed and knocked over a pedestrian, who later died. Both were jailed, and one was disqualified from driving. (R v Lambert [2008] EWCA Crim 2019; R v Hall [2009] EWCA Crim 2236 )"

 

[sjpt]

LEGALLY, bikes aren't even supposed to be used anywhere other than the road, UNLESS on a dedicated bike path.

or bridleway.

 

[FastFreddy2]

LEGALLY, bikes aren't even supposed to be used anywhere other than the road, UNLESS on a dedicated bike path.

or bridleway.

or byway.

 

[chris667]

when you factor in insurance

Just a small point to clarify things.

If you are riding an unregistered, unlicensed motorcycle (which is what your conversion is), there is no possibility of you being insured. If you cause an accident and get sued, there is no payout and the solicitor/insurers will come after you.

Fine if you're a Deliveroo driver with bugger all, but if you own a house? Good luck with that.