Decathlon B'Twin Elops 940 E?

[IbizaNick]

I'm still trying to decide which ebike to buy. In many ways, my preference would be to buy from a local bike shop, but there is a Decathlon nearby. I bought one of its folding ebikes a couple of years ago and I've no complaints about its service. And the prices seem better than I can find for what seem to be fairly equivalent models at one of the local shops. (I live in Ibiza, by the way.)

I'm considering Decathlon's top of the range ebike which has been discounted from €1900 to €1700. (Here's a link to the UK web page. ) I've looked on the forum to see if anybody has experience of this model, but I can't see anything. I know that with some of Decathlon's cheaper ebikes there's been some suggestion that 'you get what you pay for'. This one, as a newbie, seems reasonably well specced.

The thing I find difficult to get my head round with all ebikes is quite what the power of the motors actually means given they're all restricted to 25kmh officially. This one uses a Shimano STEPS motor which, apparently, produces a maximum torque of 50nm and is good for between 50 and 90km. It's unlikely I'd ever want to do more than 60km. Ibiza is hilly, but it's not mountainous, so I should be able to nurse it over that range, I would hope. But, maybe somebody can give me a rough idea as to how much help I'd actually get from a 50nm motor.

The final question is, if I do decide to buy this bike, which version should I get, with or without a crossbar? I'm still old-fashioned enough to regard a step-through as a lady's bike, but, at 62 I have a bit of difficulty getting my leg over. [Insert joke here...] But, does a crossbar really make that much difference on an ebike? I wouldn't have thought that the extra flexion of the frame would have as much effect as it can on a pushbike, but maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I'm still trying to decide which ebike to buy. In many ways, my preference would be to buy from a local bike shop, but there is a Decathlon nearby. I bought one of its folding ebikes a couple of years ago and I've no complaints about its service. And the prices seem better than I can find for what seem to be fairly equivalent models at one of the local shops. (I live in Ibiza, by the way.)

I'm considering Decathlon's top of the range ebike which has been discounted from €1900 to €1700. (Here's a link to the UK web page. ) I've looked on the forum to see if anybody has experience of this model, but I can't see anything. I know that with some of Decathlon's cheaper ebikes there's been some suggestion that 'you get what you pay for'. This one, as a newbie, seems reasonably well specced.

The thing I find difficult to get my head round with all ebikes is quite what the power of the motors actually means given they're all restricted to 25kmh officially. This one uses a Shimano STEPS motor which, apparently, produces a maximum torque of 50nm and is good for between 50 and 90km. It's unlikely I'd ever want to do more than 60km. Ibiza is hilly, but it's not mountainous, so I should be able to nurse it over that range, I would hope. But, maybe somebody can give me a rough idea as to how much help I'd actually get from a 50nm motor.

The final question is, if I do decide to buy this bike, which version should I get, with or without a crossbar? I'm still old-fashioned enough to regard a step-through as a lady's bike, but, at 62 I have a bit of difficulty getting my leg over. [Insert joke here...] But, does a crossbar really make that much difference on an ebike? I wouldn't have thought that the extra flexion of the frame would have as much effect as it can on a pushbike, but maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.

1. You will be using the gears so 50 nm doesn't mean much really
2. Range - see point 1, the correct gear for the terrain will give you better range especially if you put in some effort
3. I am a year older than you and have been riding a "womens" frame Decathlon Riverside conversion for two years. Swallow your pride and enjoy stepping through the frame! My bike gets a bit woolly at speed but it is more the cheap suspension fork not up to it rather than the frame.

 

[DynatechFan]

I had a Steps equipped Merida for a while, it was powerful enough for the hills in Yorkshire, though I am 80kg - if you are heavier your experience may be different. Because it was torque sensing (matches your effort) I found I had to work quite hard on the steeper hills - but it had excellent range. Local support is worth a lot, Deore is a good level of kit and Decathlon seem to have excellent warranty from threads I have seen on here

FWIW My Merida had 385WaH battery and was definitely towards the bottom of the claimed range, so you might want to see what a second battery will cost you for 60km in hilly terrain

 

[DynatechFan]

no batteries listed on current Decathlon site but I did find this, so prices look like they should be fairly sensible to me
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/10ah-battery-id_8249039.html

 

[IbizaNick]

1. You will be using the gears so 50 nm doesn't mean much really
2. Range - see point 1, the correct gear for the terrain will give you better range especially if you put in some effort
3. I am a year older than you and have been riding a "womens" frame Decathlon Riverside conversion for two years. Swallow your pride and enjoy stepping through the frame! My bike gets a bit woolly at speed but it is more the cheap suspension fork not up to it rather than the frame.

I had a Steps equipped Merida for a while, it was powerful enough for the hills in Yorkshire, though I am 80kg - if you are heavier your experience may be different. Because it was torque sensing (matches your effort) I found I had to work quite hard on the steeper hills - but it had excellent range. Local support is worth a lot, Deore is a good level of kit and Decathlon seem to have excellent warranty from threads I have seen on here

FWIW My Merida had 385WaH battery and was definitely towards the bottom of the claimed range, so you might want to see what a second battery will cost you for 60km in hilly terrain

Thanks. The terrain in Ibiza is probably not that different from the Yorkshire Dales and I weigh about 75 kilos, so it's handy to hear your experience. And, having looked round it does seem to do what I need at a pretty reasonable price.

 

[IbizaNick]

1. You will be using the gears so 50 nm doesn't mean much really
2. Range - see point 1, the correct gear for the terrain will give you better range especially if you put in some effort
3. I am a year older than you and have been riding a "womens" frame Decathlon Riverside conversion for two years. Swallow your pride and enjoy stepping through the frame! My bike gets a bit woolly at speed but it is more the cheap suspension fork not up to it rather than the frame.

The main reason I'm getting the bike is to explore Ibiza, with improving my fitness being secondary. But, I'm certainly not expecting to get the bike to do all the work, although it'll probably take me a little while to optimise my use of the gears.

I should also mention that although you're a year older, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, which kind of trumps your seniority! That said, all things considered, I'm pretty fit. (Although, 'fit with terminal cancer', sounds like a bit of a contradiction in terms.)

I'm still very drawn to the crossbar version, if only on purely aesthetic grounds. It looks a lot better, unlike the pictures of your step-through which looks very cool!

 

[IbizaNick]

no batteries listed on current Decathlon site but I did find this, so prices look like they should be fairly sensible to me
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/10ah-battery-id_8249039.html

I was thinking I might try and track down a spare battery once I've tested the limits of the first one. I have heard one or two stories of problems tracking down Decathlon batteries and they never seem to be listed on the website.

 

[Trevormonty]

My wifes last bike was STEPs powered step through. Excellent hill climbing motor, especially after I swapped 44t chainring for 38t. Definitely better climbing motor compared to her current bosch gen2 Activeline. The STEPs also has very useful eco mode, Boschs is bit weak to be useful.

Step throughs are definitely easier to get on and off especially if know how to scoot, as you take leg through frame instead of over back.

The 20lux light is bit weak for unlight roads, easy enough to upgrade or supplement with battery light.

 

[IbizaNick]

Thanks for everybody's helpful comments. I think I will finally take the plunge and buy this bike. I've got to wait until next week when I should get some money through.

It does make sense to order the step-through rather than the crossbar version, but I still think the 'man's' bike looks better...

 

[anotherkiwi]

Thanks for everybody's helpful comments. I think I will finally take the plunge and buy this bike. I've got to wait until next week when I should get some money through.

It does make sense to order the step-through rather than the crossbar version, but I still think the 'man's' bike looks better...

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It would look (and handle) MUCH better if they had put the battery in the triangle but they have standardised the battery for both bikes to keep costs down.