Cube vs Haibike

[Jonny.]

Hi All

Recently registered and looking to do a bit more cycling, especially some of my commuting in fair weather. I've spent a while reading up, so thanks for all the useful information.

I'm early 40s and relatively fit, doing martial arts and insanity regularly. Hills aren't a problem, but I get sweaty very easily. Without a shower at work, I'll need the assistance there to arrive fresh. Riding home won't be problem other than a 10% incline straight out the door, so a bit of assistance will help cold legs.

On this basis I definitely want a bike with zero-resist. I'll also use it for a blast on evenings or weekends, mainly roads, but the odd track/very light off road. If time permits, much longer rides as well. I'm a bit of a speed freak, so keeping a higher speed up the hills is very appealing. Road bikes are out as my wrists can't take drop bars due to old injuries.

The bike will be bought via my business, so will only really cost me less than half the purchase price.

I'm not up to speed with components etc these days, but a 2019 Cube Hybrid One 500 appears to fit the bill, which is around £1,799 depending on deals.

However a few places currently have the Haibike SDURO cross 6.0 on for £1,999, which appears a step up component-wise?

This also appears to be a comparison between the Active Line Plus and Yamaha PW-SE?

Does anyone have any comments or other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Jonny

 

[MarcusT]

It looks like you have a good idea of what you want. Not sure you will get the info you are looking for here.
A few things to consider:
Legal assist Ebikes have a limit of 25 kph.
Depending on which motor you have it can be difficult going faster due to motor drag. The Bosch line has noticeable drag, while I'm told the Shimano has much less. Sorry, don't know enough about Yamaha

As it will be used for road only, you do not need the most powerful motor.

Some shops will let you rent a bike and deduct the rental cost from your purchase price. Best to talk to a reliable dealer face to face.

 

[Nev]

I have two pedelecs one with the Bosch CX motor and the other with the Bosch ALP motor. There is more drag with the CX motor than the ALP, in fact I cant notice any drag with the ALP when above cut off speed although I imagine there might be some.

Make sure to have a good test ride on both the bikes you are interested in, and also any others that take your fancy. Regarding drop handle bars, I have drops on my ALP bike and find them more comfortable than the bars on my straight handlebars CX equipped bike.

I don't tend to use the bottom of the drops that often is that the grip that would cause you difficulty? I tend to use the hoods a lot especially if I am likely to need the brakes, or else I use just to the right and left of the hoods and then its almost the same as riding a bike with straight handle bars.

By having three different handle bar grip positions with the drop bars means I can change grip if my hands start to get a bit numb, you cant really do that with straight bars, I think this is why I find drop bars more comfortable than straight.

 

[Nev]

BTW most racing type bikes now have the endurance type geometry this means ones riding position places far less stress on ones arms and wrists than was the case from racing bikes in the past. If you watch the Tour De France or any race with pro cyclists, they do not ride endurance type racing bikes. They ride pure racing bikes that do put a fair amount of stress on their wrists and their backs are bent over virtually parallel with the road. This is too extreme a riding position for most people unless you are very fit and flexible.

 

[Jonny.]

Thanks both for the replies. I haven't ridden a racer for a while but I have all sorts of problems. It filters through to my back as well. A car drove into the side of mine recently and that's added an ulnar nerve entrapment to the list!

 

[Jonny.]

To update, I went with the Haibike Sduro Cross 6.0 in the end for £1,999. I preferred the feel of it, spec and also functionality of the Display C over the Purion.

Only a quick ride so far, but really nice to ride. With the motor off it feels similar to my mountain bike and is also very easy to ride above the assistance level. Standard and high power are just insane

I'll do a review once I've had a good ride.

 

[row]

Now get a dongle