ebike recommendation

[skint]

Hi all, newbie here.
My name is Kin, I am 50year old male, living in Manchester, 17stones, generally unfit.
I bought a Cannondale Badboy last year, thinking of cycling to work to lose some fat, 7 miles each way, well I obviously overestimated myself, I did all of 4 miles, and it's been sat in my garage gathering dust since.
I recently received an email from BMW introducing their new cruise ebike which looks pretty smart, cost £2400,
did some searches, watched utube and read reviews, all seem good, so rang the dealership up, but no one had a clue what I was on about
So I started to look for alternative, anyhow, to cut long story short, I've narrowed it down to the Moustache Samedi FS 27/9 Titanium, probably a grand more than what I'd have like to spend, over spec for what I need but the blink factor is too much to resist!
But before I pick the phone up and order it, would anyone be able to recommend another bike and why? just in case I might have overlooked it? No real max budget but preferred under £3k

Any advise and recommendations would be much appreciated.

Kin

 

[Jonah]

Kin,

I would strongly advise that you try some bikes out before making your purchase. The Moustache is a good bike but you might like to check out Kalkhoff, Riese & Muller / Grace and KTM. You should find adverts for most of these on this forum.

 

[trex]

Kin,
if you are unfit, you need a throttle to rest your legs.
Also, with your weight, a big fat hub motor like a BPM will be preferable to a Bosch crank drive.

 

[RobF]

Seven miles is naff-all for an ebike and 17 stone is not so humungously overweight.

A Bosch bike will do the job fine and I doubt you will want/need a throttle.

What you will need for year-round commuting is mudguards, a rack to carry stuff and some lights for seeing and to be seen.

Factory fitted is neatest, and if you like Moustaches how about:

http://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Electric-Bikes-UK-Dealer/moustache-samedi-28-silver-gents-2014

It's a hardtail, if you really want a full-sus bike then about the only commuter/touring spec ones are Riese and Muller.

http://en.r-m.de/bike/delite-hybrid-II-touring/

Lovely bikes, I had a ride of forum member Croxden's Delite.

But if it's just commuting, a hard tail would be fine.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Skint....interesting nickname and spending £3k !!!!!! I had a look at the spec of the Moustache,good spec bike....
Bosch 250 crank drive,I assume generation 2
400 Wh battery
Full suspension,Fox forks
Shimano 10 speed Deore
Shimono hydraulic brakes
21.5 kg weight
29" front wheel,27.5" rear-interesting
The Moustache looks to me a serious off road type e-bike,but your posting suggests that you want the bike as a ride to work bike.
If you want the bling factor I think the KTM range is the one manufacturer that is trying to make these e-bikes exciting.
Personally I like the KTM Panasonic hub drive models which are the most powerful of all the legal e-bikes,to my eyes they look purposeful in the classic KTM colours and they have the KTM motorcycle heritage.
I was talking to our London dealer (London Electric Bike Company,Hampton Wick),he has sold many KTM models,they are very well assembled and very reliable. The KTM Lycan 27 GPS is a direct competitor to the Moustache ,price about £3500 but there are cheaper models which may do your job as well.....the KTM e-race P 29 is a similar bike,more powerful than the Bosch and priced at £2249.
Eurobike show is only 1 month away,it may pay to wait one month I have no doubt KTM and Haibike will have some exciting new product.
If you are primarily using it as a ride to work bike I would look at the KTM e-style P
It has the 48v Panasonic hub
Tektro hydraulic brakes,bigger front
Shimano Deore XT 27 speed gears-these are the strongest of the normal Shimano sets
Schwalbe tyres
B&M led lights
Good quality and well mounted mudguards.
Priced at £2249.00
I think it is very good value.
KudosDave

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Given that your last bike sits in the garage doing nothing, unless you've got money to burn, do yourself a favour and get a cheaper bike to start with. If you have to borrow the money, definitely get a cheaper one. The cheaper ones are perfectly adequate. All the UK bikes do 15mph, but the cheaper ones can be derestricted easily and cheaply if that's what you want. With your weight and level of fitness, it would be best to get a bike with a strong motor, which in price order are the Woosh Big Bear, Tonaro, Kudos Tornado (and some other Kudos), Ezee bikes. It's probably best to get one with a throttle, which is more convenient than pedal assist only, and will give you a chance to rest your legs if they get tired.

 

[jackhandy]

Obviously, you really should try as many different ebikes as poss...

But agree the Moustace bikes are a bit special.

 

[skint]

Thank you all guys for the replies, and I must admit that I agree with most of your comments.
Test ride will be ideal, but the nearest shop where I could test ride the bikes is 200miles+ away, unless someone knows where I could test the bike out in the NorthWest region.
I've looked at all of the bikes mentioned above, and tbh, most of them looked almost dated apart from KTM and Grace, although I have no doubt its more than adequate for my commuting needs, I guess its a case of letting my heart rule my head I wanted something that look at least half decent bling and cool.

I've done some read up on various reviews, and am led to believe the crank motor(Bosch) is ideal for uphill, I do have one big hill to peddle on my way to work.
Hence my reason for choosing a bike fitted with Bosch performance drive, and I am slightly concerned that a couple of members pointed out my weight could be an issue too, I am 5"11, 17 st, I know its quite heavy, but surely not massively so, sound as though the drive unit could not cope?
As for the last comment about buying a cheap bike to start with, I totally understand what d8veh mean, but from my experience, you buy cheap you buy twice. and I do not need to borrow money either.
Obviously I will reconsidered all the comments above and make my final decision, £3k+ for a bicycle is no small change!

Thank you again

 

[oldtom]

Further to the suggestions already put to you Kin, in case you're unaware, the Badboy is a pretty decent hybrid bike and is one of the models Cytronex choose to stock and sell with their kit attached.

As you already possess the bike, you could select from a wide range of kits which might provide the performance you need while keeping your outlay relatively low.

I would suggest, though they're not the cheapest, that you explore the Ezee kits or certainly have a word with the proprietor about your options. There are cheaper options but Cyclezee at Milton Keynes is a lot closer than China for help and guidance plus, I understand, he's an honourable chap.

Tom

 

[Kudoscycles]

Skint....obviously I would like you to test these bikes at our London dealer but I respect that is some distance away. In Hampton Wick,Surrey the Kalkhoff dealer is only 200 yes away,so you can test them and just-e-bikes have a shop in London,try Haibike and Sparta.
You can in one trip try probably the best selection of e-bikes in the UK.
I often fly London City airport to Manchester,it's only 40 mins and can be quite cheap booked ahead and then you are in the London Underground system
KudosDave

 

[skint]

Thanks oldtom, just checked the site, no badboy in there, but I am sure there's a kit for it, how much on average their kit cost?

I will probably give them a ring tomorrow.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've done some read up on various reviews, and am led to believe the crank motor(Bosch) is ideal for uphill, I do have one big hill to peddle on my way to work.

You've read information that is well out of date. That statement might have been true 3 years ago when the Bosch first came out, but now there's hub-motors that can out-perform Bosch. Look at the new Oxygen MTB that will storm up hills. The bikes from Kudos an Woosh that have the Bafang BPM and CST motors plus Ezee bikes all climb well. The KTMs with the Panasonic hub-motor can out-climb a Bosch too.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thank you all guys for the replies, and I must admit that I agree with most of your comments.
Test ride will be ideal, but the nearest shop where I could test ride the bikes is 200miles+ away, unless someone knows where I could test the bike out in the NorthWest region.
I've looked at all of the bikes mentioned above, and tbh, most of them looked almost dated apart from KTM and Grace, although I have no doubt its more than adequate for my commuting needs, I guess its a case of letting my heart rule my head I wanted something that look at least half decent bling and cool.

I've done some read up on various reviews, and am led to believe the crank motor(Bosch) is ideal for uphill, I do have one big hill to peddle on my way to work.
Hence my reason for choosing a bike fitted with Bosch performance drive, and I am slightly concerned that a couple of members pointed out my weight could be an issue too, I am 5"11, 17 st, I know its quite heavy, but surely not massively so, sound as though the drive unit could not cope?
As for the last comment about buying a cheap bike to start with, I totally understand what d8veh mean, but from my experience, you buy cheap you buy twice. and I do not need to borrow money either.
Obviously I will reconsidered all the comments above and make my final decision, £3k+ for a bicycle is no small change!

Thank you again

Skint....I have no ulterior motive in questioning your decision about the Bosch crank drive but many of the German test reports have reported that the Panasonic hub drive has superior hill climbing ability to the Bosch unit. However the Bosch unit is super smooth and is a delight to ride,but the Panasonic is the best hill climber.
This was proven to all at the Bristol event when the Oxygen-BPM was in the final with the KTM-Panasonic,it was close to the winner.
Bosch have done a wonderful marketing job in Germany and that has rolled out over the rest of Europe.
My own Kudos BPM motored bikes are stronger hill climbers than Bosch.
KudosDave

 

[RobF]

Trex is certainly not the Messiah and he's bordering on being a very naughty boy for suggesting a Bosch bike might not be adequate for you.

Best bet is try one, they are all about the same so if you test a Bosch bike from another manufacturer you will have a good idea how that Moustache you fancy will perform.

 

[skint]

Thanks guys, this is the beauty of a forum, vast wealth of knowledge, but now I know those hubdrive are better, could someone now recommend bikes with the above drive fitted, preferably bling and cool looking

 

[Kudoscycles]

Skint.....powerful hub drive e-bikes.....I think we have already covered ....the KTM bikes with Panasonic hub motor,the Oxygen MTB,the Ezee bikes,the Kudos Performance series and the Woosh Big Bear,there must be others I apologise for forgetting.
Please don't discount the Bosch and Impulse drive bikes,hill climbing ability is only one aspect of the performance of electric bikes,there is rideability and joy of ownership.....you can only find out what bike you like by test riding.
KudodDave

 

[trex]

you want some bling? Martin will have this new Haibike + yamaha motor but you may have to wait a while. It has instant power delivery, torque to match BPM and crank drive.

http://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blog/post/review-yamaha-ebike-system-haibike-sduro-2015/

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Thank you all guys for the replies, and I must admit that I agree with most of your comments.
Test ride will be ideal, but the nearest shop where I could test ride the bikes is 200miles+ away, unless someone knows where I could test the bike out in the NorthWest region.
I've looked at all of the bikes
fitted with Bosch performance drive,

Hi


Not sure where in the north west is best for you but close to Manchester we do have dealers with demo eBikes in stock. Bike shed in Huddersfield is only a quick trip over the m62 or a couple of stops on the train and they have KTM eBikes in stock.

If that's no good, there are others. Just let us know where is best and we can recommend someone.

Regards

 

[Spencer Ivy]

As mentioned above I'd also urge you to wait for euro bike / NEC. The new Haibike S range is special and we as dedicated Haibike dealers expect to get the first UK bikes fairly soon, just after the 2015 X range. On YerBike in Preston as a a dedicated Raleigh Cycle Life Electric dealer is probably your best bet to get access to the bikes locally. Give John or Ryan a try there. Hopefully they've recovered from their Schweinfurt weekend by now...

 

[skint]

Hi


Not sure where in the north west is best for you but close to Manchester we do have dealers with demo eBikes in stock. Bike shed in Huddersfield is only a quick trip over the m62 or a couple of stops on the train and they have KTM eBikes in stock.

If that's no good, there are others. Just let us know where is best and we can recommend someone.

Regards

Thanks Huddersfield is only around 20miles away, I'll give them a ring today.