Does the forum need a name change or change of emphasis.

[mike killay]

I am always wary of changing a name. Remember Consignia?
I guess to most people, a Pedelec is self explanatory.
Most non-users will not realise that it applies to a particular method of operating an ebike.
Prospective buyers who are internet savvy will find this site and educate themselves.
Finally, I found Eddie insufferable with his, 'I can afford the best, all Chinese made stuff is rubbish, your Torano is a Turdano.'
He was illogical, partisan re German products (I suspected that either he was German or paid) and grossly offensive.

 

[trex]

Trex....never worry it does one's health no good!
There are some crazy prices around at the moment,we have bikes down to around £500-£600 in our sale to clear room for 2014 models. I suspect that the euro 1299 bikes are not those that are attractive,if they are genuine bargains the deals will dissappear in the spring,for that is the pattern of all of the bike trade.
Our London Electric Bike dealer is a good monitor of the UK marketplace in a very prosperous part of the UK,despite offering top of the range Haibike,KTM and BH e-bikes the market still wants bikes around £1000.00 or less,these sell 10:1 against £2k bikes.
The quality of the chinese product is improving all the time...unless Wisper have changed their mind I understand that they are returning back to China for 2014 production,I think that is common knowledge.
My main concern is that the e-bike business was showing all the signs of take-off in the spring/summer of 2013 but these recent deaths of cyclists in London has made many wary of buying a bike of any type...Boris needs to make cycling safer.
KudosDave

I beg to differ - German e-bike shops are full of cheap Bulls, Raleigh's and Rixe's besides Kalkhoffs being deeply discounted, 30% is the norm, some are even half priced (I saw a Bulls s-pedelec at 1,699 Euros). Some shops discounted so deeply that they can't put the price on their web sites.
The problem may be that Bosch can no longer be absolutely certain that Chinese bikes won't snap at their heels, then decide to use their rationing of the new motor as a pretext to cut the price of the old model. By the way, I thought you own the LEBC shop?

 

[trex]

I am always wary of changing a name. Remember Consignia?
I guess to most people, a Pedelec is self explanatory.
Most non-users will not realise that it applies to a particular method of operating an ebike.
Prospective buyers who are internet savvy will find this site and educate themselves.
Finally, I found Eddie insufferable with his, 'I can afford the best, all Chinese made stuff is rubbish, your Torano is a Turdano.'
He was illogical, partisan re German products (I suspected that either he was German or paid) and grossly offensive.

well, he hasn't bought the best - he bought VFM German bikes, not the best German bikes.

 

[los monty]

Cant help but think that Electric Bike Forum would help people find the site. The rest I would leave alone, it works so does not need fixing.

 

[Geebee]

most of the 30,000 or so people who are going to buy a pedelec next year don't even know that themselves.
If you ask the regular posters what they project for 2014, then the answers will tend to be just as you described, simply because we've all built legal bikes in the past so we are not going to do that again.

I must be the odd one out then, I built/modified a couple of illegall bikes quite a few years ago and have since built/modified several legal ones and have zero interest in owning or building illegal bikes.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

Trex....never worry it does one's health no good!
There are some crazy prices around at the moment,we have bikes down to around £500-£600 in our sale to clear room for 2014 models. I suspect that the euro 1299 bikes are not those that are attractive,if they are genuine bargains the deals will dissappear in the spring,for that is the pattern of all of the bike trade.
Our London Electric Bike dealer is a good monitor of the UK marketplace in a very prosperous part of the UK,despite offering top of the range Haibike,KTM and BH e-bikes the market still wants bikes around £1000.00 or less,these sell 10:1 against £2k bikes.
The quality of the chinese product is improving all the time...unless Wisper have changed their mind I understand that they are returning back to China for 2014 production,I think that is common knowledge.
My main concern is that the e-bike business was showing all the signs of take-off in the spring/summer of 2013 but these recent deaths of cyclists in London has made many wary of buying a bike of any type...Boris needs to make cycling safer.
KudosDave

Dave is that the London bike shop which you own part of? Just curious . In terms of the market I agree around £1000 is currently the average price. However we increasingly notice people are willing to pay more particularly for their second e bike.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I beg to differ - German e-bike shops are full of cheap Bulls, Raleigh's and Rixe's besides Kalkhoffs being deeply discounted, 30% is the norm, some are even half priced (I saw a Bulls s-pedelec at 1,699 Euros). Some shops discounted so deeply that they can't put the price on their web sites.
The problem may be that Bosch can no longer be absolutely certain that Chinese bikes won't snap at their heels, then decide to use their rationing of the new motor as a pretext to cut the price of the old model. By the way, I thought you own the LEBC shop?

Looks like now is a window of opportunity to pick up a cheap e-bike,some of this product may be 50% more in 2 months time.
KudosDave

 

[flecc]

- - - - - - - - Eddie - - - - (I suspected that either he was German or paid)

Definitely neither German or paid, his origins are much more local. Don't forget he was more than once a Wisper owner and a strongly supportive fan of their Chinese made bikes. He also very much likes the Japanese Dapu hub motor and has posted that the Swiss made Flyer X was the best e-bike he'd ever ridden.

So far from all German.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Dave is that the London bike shop which you own part of? Just curious . In terms of the market I agree around £1000 is currently the average price. However we increasingly notice people are willing to pay more particularly for their second e bike.

We have noticed that customers have realised that if they spend a little more money they get a much better bike,but a little more means say £100-£200 not upping the spend by £1k. Actually this is logical if you think about it....the cost of a cheap bike is probably about £250,if you spend cost £500 you have doubled the cost price but that same £250 increase at retail is less significant but makes a dramatic difference in the quality of the components.
KudosDave

 

[MikeyBikey]

If one rates popularity by post & views, maybe it could be renamed 'The Electric Cigarette and Bicycle Forum' (only joking).

 

[trex]

We have noticed that customers have realised that if they spend a little more money they get a much better bike,but a little more means say £100-£200 not upping the spend by £1k. Actually this is logical if you think about it....the cost of a cheap bike is probably about £250,if you spend cost £500 you have doubled the cost price but that same £250 increase at retail is less significant but makes a dramatic difference in the quality of the components.
KudosDave

Name me a good bike in the shops that fits the £1,000 bracket.

If you are looking to replace your e-bike, with a few exceptions, you'll end up with a self build.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Name me a good bike in the shops that fits the £1,000 bracket.

This one looks pretty good:
2013 36V 350W 27-speed MOSSO-A Ebike with 36V 12AH Lithium Battery Electric Bike | eBay

 

[jackhandy]

This one looks pretty good:
2013 36V 350W 27-speed MOSSO-A Ebike with 36V 12AH Lithium Battery Electric Bike | eBay

That one looks Very good...

But I don't think you'll find it "in the shops"

In fact, it almost looks too good to be true.

 

[mike killay]

Live and learn.
Probably I switched off after his offensive comments.
He did have a lot of knowledge and it was a pity that he could not exercise a bit of thought for others when he posted.

 

[jerrysimon]

Interesting. He must have made quite an impact given that he still pops up in many of the discussions, some of which seem so unrelated

Why is it we all find it so hard to move on ?

BTW

Trex.....what would make a bike 'brilliant'?
KudosDave

Easy, mine!

Regards

Jerry

 

[Gringo]

Like in an earlier post I to found the site by accident.
The term "pedelec" meant nothing to me, all I knew was electric bikes and nothing of the different flavours.
Now I own a Kalkhoff, I find people ask me about my "electric bike" and if I try to explain it's a "pedelec" they become confused, so now I just say "yes it's electric" and go on about my business.
So by having a name that includes "electric bike" would draw more new visitors ti the forum.

Again agreeing with an earlier comment about trade members.
When I asked "what to do with my unused Agattu " I found in with the responses I received, some were from the trade, encouraging to buy a new bike from them !
I'm a big boy now and cynical with it, so take trade views with a pinch of salt.

 

[John F]

Totally agree Phil. Ever heard a non ebike owning member of the public use the word pedelec? If we want to sell more ebikes in the UK, we can do without this strange word! This is a great forum - I've learnt a lot and enjoyed a lot of the craic too, HOWEVER I do NOT want dealers to jump in at every opportunity when I am merely seeking advice or information.

So The Electric Bike Forum please

I found this forum by accident, looking for information on ebike kits; I certainly didn't search using the term 'pedelec'. From that point of view alone, I would say that changing the name to 'Electric Bike Forum' or similar makes sense.
As for suggesting that most posts are about non EN compliant bikes; I don't agree. There are many posts asking for advice on problems with off the shelf bikes, as well as people looking to improve their bike, and very often still looking to stay legal (increased range, or the various threads on lighting options, for example).
There is a specific part of the forum for non compliant bikes. Some issues seem to 'bleed' into the main forum occasionally, but most follow the rules.
The biggest bugbear for me is the way one ot two traders pounce like vultures as soon as someone asks for advice with regard to a particular project, or about a particular model or configuration of bike; very often they ignore the fact that the OP has mentioned a particular specification (say, "I want a front hub drive with 10aH battery for £800"), and jump in with "I can build a Saturn V rear hub nutmangler with 300tG of dilithium boost - give me a call", or "Come and see our vast array of overpriced crank driven bikes". That's not traders being helpful - it's spam, pure and simple.
Most people who use ebikes do just that - they use their bike as a tool. If it breaks, they may resort to the internet and find this forum, and if they're lucky, they find a fix, or at least good advice about where to go for a fix. After that, they don't look here again. It's only sad nerds like me who use it as a place of worship (Actually, I keep coming back because I enjoy most of the craic)

 

[flecc]

The trouble with calling the forum "Electric Bike something" is that it perpetuates a widely held but wrong public belief.

We don't ride electric bikes, they are electric assist bikes, and leaving out the word "assist" reinforces the public notion that e-bikes can be expected to do everything with no need to pedal, even when hill climbing.

 

[Yamdude]

I had no problem finding this forum..... you only have to Google 'electric bike forum' or 'ebike forum' and this site is top of the tree.
The reason why there isn't many people on this forum, isn't because they cant find it, its because ebikes are such a small niche market here in the UK.

 

[funkylyn]

If one rates popularity by post & views, maybe it could be renamed 'The Electric Cigarette and Bicycle Forum' (only joking).

Why joke......it sounds like a great idea to me

After all, the electric cigarette postings have probably saved as many lives as encouraging people to get fit by e-cycling

As for the forum name ....google electric bike forum and there we are.....top of the ratings, mind you, if you miss off the forum bit you get tesco

I like the craic too.....

Lynda