EBike for tall man with arthritic hip

[Vans]

I am 6’4” man with mobility problems with my right hip. HopI get for ebike suggestions.

Can just about get my leg over my old Trek mountain bike but it is not a pretty sight. So have not cycled for a while. Wanting an ebike to do the shopping and local road trips.

Looked at the Radrunner because of a review but last time I checked the company said they had paused exports to the UK from Europe.

Noticed the Raleigh Modus with a step through frame for £2,300, which is doable but at the top end of what I want to spend

Also read a very positive review of the Ribble Al e for £2,200. Not a step through frame but it looks a bit lower than my Trek. Unfortunately not sure there are any places in Berkshire for me to check one out

Low maintenance would be a plus

i would be very grateful for any suggestion or help

 

[sjpt]

They are very short on stock, but look at Woosh. The website says the Santana CD is in stock. Their customer service is excellent, but sadly the website is not always as up to date as it should be. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?santana-cd

That will probably be pretty much as good to ride as the Motus, but around half the price. Look at Wisper bikes as well. Also, if anything does go wrong repairs or new batteries on the Woosh bikes are likely to be quite low, but alarmingly high on the Motus.

You should be able to get a Motus for less that £2,300, but maybe difficult with supplies generally so low right now. e.g. https://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/brands/raleigh/raleigh-2020-motus-low-step-derailleur-alloy-electric-hybrid-bike-grey-7-speed-700c

We have a several year old second hand Motus (step-through, hub gears) and are very happy with it.

 

[vfr400]

How bad is your hip? does it affect your pedalling. if so, you'd be better off with a bike that has a cadence pedal sensor rather than a toque sensor. Torque sensor bikes give power as a multiplication of your own, so you always have to pedal with some amount of force to get power. cadence sensor systems give power when you turn the pedals, regardless of how hard you pedal. the latter is better for unfit people and any that are compromised in their ability to pedal. The Raleigh Motus has a torque sensor and the Ribble has a cadence sensor.

 

[Vans]

How bad is your hip? does it affect your pedalling. if so, you'd be better off with a bike that has a cadence pedal sensor rather than a toque sensor. Torque sensor bikes give power as a multiplication of your own, so you always have to pedal with some amount of force to get power. cadence sensor systems give power when you turn the pedals, regardless of how hard you pedal. the latter is better for unfit people and any that are compromised in their ability to pedal. The Raleigh Motus has a torque sensor and the Ribble has a cadence sensor.

Thanks for the reply. Since I damaged my hip I have lost a lot of fitness but started to use a static cycle set up in the garage to see how I get on. As you suggest it is the amount of pressure on the peddles that causes problems for me rather than the cadence. So it looks like I need a cadence sensor.

 

[Vans]

They are very short on stock, but look at Woosh. The website says the Santana CD is in stock. Their customer service is excellent, but sadly the website is not always as up to date as it should be. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?santana-cd

That will probably be pretty much as good to ride as the Motus, but around half the price. Look at Wisper bikes as well. Also, if anything does go wrong repairs or new batteries on the Woosh bikes are likely to be quite low, but alarmingly high on the Motus.

You should be able to get a Motus for less that £2,300, but maybe difficult with supplies generally so low right now. e.g. https://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/brands/raleigh/raleigh-2020-motus-low-step-derailleur-alloy-electric-hybrid-bike-grey-7-speed-700c

We have a several year old second hand Motus (step-through, hub gears) and are very happy with it.

Thanks for the reply. I have checked out their website and it looks interesting. I need to work out what CD drive is.

The Ribble has a stand over her of 82mm and i checked how easy it would be to use the bike of that size. I found it very difficult (but not impossible) to get my leg over the saddle, so it looks like it has to be a step through frame

 

[vfr400]

You should be able to get a good quality one for your budget, something like an Oxygen, Wisper, or Juicy are all good. If you want a bit more power, there's the 48v NCM Moscow. Overall, I'm leaning towards the new Wisper Wayfarer H9 which is 44v, so plenty of power. At 6ft 4", the only question is the size. It's a fair sized bike, so is going to be as good as anything. Large electric bikes aren't that common. Best would be to try one if you can.

 

[Vans]

Thanks for the reply. I have checked out their website and it looks interesting. I need to work out what CD drive is.

The Ribble has a stand over her of 82mm and i checked how easy it would be to use the bike of that size. I found it very difficult (but not impossible) to get my leg over the saddle, so it looks like it has to be a step through frame

just had a reply from Woosh, they said the Santana 3 andthe CD will be too small for me, so said sorry they cannot help me.

 

[budsy]

Best to go to a local store to purchase one this after checking the e-bikes out
for yourself and u can ask some Qs in which u may want to find out about
that said bike .

I reckon its best to get to try several e bikes out .. and any store worth its salt shall allow this best if at this time when open again in UK then u should call them up first to make some appointment ..and if they dont allow such then just look elsewhere ..

But buying local is the way to go id say bcause if something comes up with the bike
its easier to speak face to face about the bike as to whats wrong this instead of this emails back forth which gets u nowhere sometimes ..Im a firm believer of buying locally and thats within UK in a store closest to you .

 

[Vans]

Best to go to a local store to purchase one this after checking the e-bikes out
for yourself and u can ask some Qs in which u may want to find out about
that said bike .

I reckon its best to get to try several e bikes out .. and any store worth its salt shall allow this best if at this time when open again in UK then u should call them up first to make some appointment ..and if they dont allow such then just look elsewhere ..

But buying local is the way to go id say bcause if something comes up with the bike
its easier to speak face to face about the bike as to whats wrong this instead of this emails back forth which gets u nowhere sometimes ..Im a firm believer of buying locally and thats within UK in a store closest to you .

Good advice, thanks.

 

[geoff967]

I am 6’4” man with mobility problems with my right hip. HopI get for ebike suggestions.

Can just about get my leg over my old Trek mountain bike but it is not a pretty sight. So have not cycled for a while. Wanting an ebike to do the shopping and local road trips.

Looked at the Radrunner because of a review but last time I checked the company said they had paused exports to the UK from Europe.

Noticed the Raleigh Modus with a step through frame for £2,300, which is doable but at the top end of what I want to spend

Also read a very positive review of the Ribble Al e for £2,200. Not a step through frame but it looks a bit lower than my Trek. Unfortunately not sure there are any places in Berkshire for me to check one out

Low maintenance would be a plus

i would be very grateful for any suggestion or help

I am 6’4” man with mobility problems with my right hip. HopI get for ebike suggestions.

Can just about get my leg over my old Trek mountain bike but it is not a pretty sight. So have not cycled for a while. Wanting an ebike to do the shopping and local road trips.

Looked at the Radrunner because of a review but last time I checked the company said they had paused exports to the UK from Europe.

Noticed the Raleigh Modus with a step through frame for £2,300, which is doable but at the top end of what I want to spend

Also read a very positive review of the Ribble Al e for £2,200. Not a step through frame but it looks a bit lower than my Trek. Unfortunately not sure there are any places in Berkshire for me to check one out

Low maintenance would be a plus

i would be very grateful for any suggestion or help

One

 

[geoff967]

One

One tip I was given was to lie bike on ground (gently of course). Stand over bike and lift up. An 82 year old traditional cyclist gave me that tip. Bike is obviously heavier than standard but enables you to have greater choice of bike rather than restrict to hybrid. I have Gazelle grenoble but will probably be out of budget. Good luck.

 

[Woosh]

you can get something like this Decathlon

27.5" Touring Mountain Bike ST 120 - Black/Blue ROCKRIDER | Decathlon

This 27.5" mountain bike is easy-to-handle, making it the perfect choice for getting started with MTB touring. It's lightweight and precise thanks…

www.decathlon.co.uk

and fit a DWG22C kit to it.
https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-241-dwg22c-48v12ah/shengyi-dwg22c-48v-250w-rear-hub-kit-with-48v-12ah-battery

Total cost about £1000 including fitting.

 

[Vans]

One tip I was given was to lie bike on ground (gently of course). Stand over bike and lift up. An 82 year old traditional cyclist gave me that tip. Bike is obviously heavier than standard but enables you to have greater choice of bike rather than restrict to hybrid. I have Gazelle grenoble but will probably be out of budget. Good luck.

great idea, I will try it tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

If you can bear the pain and manage to, a bit of regular joint movement is good for arthritis - it prompts the body to start repairing itself. Good job you're getting an ebike!

 

[Vans]

If you can bear the pain and manage to, a bit of regular joint movement is good for arthritis - it prompts the body to start repairing itself. Good job you're getting an ebike!

Thanks, that is part of the plan. My consultant said that 30 minutes of cycling is a great way to control the pain. And it does work. The up down motion improves the flexibility of the hip and reduces the pain. The problem I have is the loss of sideways leg movement needed to get my foot over the saddle.

I tried geoff697 suggestion and it certainly has potential

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Thanks, that is part of the plan. My consultant said that 30 minutes of cycling is a great way to control the pain. And it does work. The up down motion improves the flexibility of the hip and reduces the pain. The problem I have is the loss of sideways leg movement needed to get my foot over the saddle.

I tried geoff697 suggestion and it certainly has potential

As you move your joints more, you will (to some degree) regain some lost leg movement. Pain does reduce, and more degrees of freedom of movement becomes possible. I've got arthritis in big toes and my right hip. It all unsiezes rather a lot with stretching, walking (less so), but unsiezes much more with stretching plus slow jogging:

When I first started slow jogging, I could only manage a few yards before thinking I'd have a heart attack. But it's fine to stop/start (called "Startstopping or "Fartstopping" in the army), catch your breath while walking a bit, start slow jogging again (can be as slow or slower than walking. Old ladies overtake me walking while I'm slow jogging), and gradually those yards became more yards to three miles. It took me almost a year to increase to a non-stop 3 miles. If anyone had told me that was possible, I would not have believed them, Hip pain became much reduced.

Since I converted my old, previously unused bike to electric and started cycling again (stopped in the late 80s), I haven't noticed as much hip pain.

Swimming is supposed to be quite good. I just don't like it.

 

[Vans]

Just been to my local bike shop. The delivery times are really long. Was told there might be a chance of new stock delivery in September

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Why not get a decent bike professionally converted, as in post #12 above? You might be able to get ebiking sooner in (theoretically) better cycling weather.

 

[soundwave]

Complete E-bike conversion incl. motor kit and battery - from

Electric bike conversions in Brighton and Hove. Bespoke E-bikes with Bafang BBS01B BBS02B BBSHD motors and quality lithium-ion battery cells. E-bike fitting service. Lekkie Bling Ring stockist

www.brightonebikes.co.uk

 

[Chainring]

Is this frame any help? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2030657141.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.9.3d496c5bIR3KJn
You could buy a motor kit from Mr Woosh. It gives the measurements down the page. Might need a long seat post. I have bought from them - they are trustworthy.