Help! Electric bike on cycle to work scheme
- Thread starter stefscaz
- Start date
you shouldn't worry about your weight, more a question of how fit you are.
If you are not a good pedaler, then your choice is restricted to bikes with cadence sensor and a strong motor, such as the Woosh Big Bear LS.
If you are not a good pedaler, then your choice is restricted to bikes with cadence sensor and a strong motor, such as the Woosh Big Bear LS.
Woosh Big Bear LS | MTB electric bicycle from Woosh
The Woosh Big Bear Low Step, a very sturdy electric bike 36V 15AH/17AH battery from Woosh.
wooshbikes.co.uk
Your weight won't be a problem for a good quality bike, although I would avoid a rear hub motor.
Plenty to chose from at your budget or very close to it.
This Cube is one, but if you look elsewhere on the Tredz site there are others.
Do you know where you can use your voucher?
Some seem to be restricted to certain retailers.
There's a lot to be said for buying from a local bike shop.
If they don't do Cube, they should be able to sort you out with another decent quality bike with the Bosch, Yamaha, or Shimano crank motor.
www.tredz.co.uk
Plenty to chose from at your budget or very close to it.
This Cube is one, but if you look elsewhere on the Tredz site there are others.
Do you know where you can use your voucher?
Some seem to be restricted to certain retailers.
There's a lot to be said for buying from a local bike shop.
If they don't do Cube, they should be able to sort you out with another decent quality bike with the Bosch, Yamaha, or Shimano crank motor.
Cube Touring Hybrid One 400 Easy Entry Womens 2020 - Out of Stock | Tredz Bikes
Cube Touring Hybrid One 400 Easy Entry Womens 2020 - Electric Hybrid Bike. Out of Stock. All Electric bikes are delivered free to the UK mainland, 365 day returns & Price Match.
www.tredz.co.uk
I'd be careful of the replies you receive. I've seen many forums where people are happy to recommend bikes for heavier people with no consideration that those brands may have very low structural weight limits. Whichever bike you are considering go the company site and check the weight limits either by looking at the faq pages or downloading the instruction manual. Bicycle frames are comprehensively tested as part of the certification process and those limits should not be exceeded. There is a about a 60kg difference between the lowest weight capacity brands and the highest. Typically Decathlon bikes are mainly at 100kg total load, that includes the bike weight, all luggage, fitted accessories and the rider where as something like Giant are typically 160kg. Using a frame beyond its weight limits doesn't mean it will fail immediately it might last 3 years and just when you are not expecting it the frame or forks fail and you have a major injury or death. Basically you have accelerated fatigue on that frame by your extra weight. Your weight is fine for a great number of brands so there is no point taking risks and instantly invalidating your guarantee by overloading the bike. I think most Halfords bikes go up to 160kg total load, 120kg rider weight and some other brands go to a 136kg/300lb rider weight but still the same 160kg total load.
My recommendation would be something like this;
Carrera Subway Womens Electric Hybrid Bike - M Frame | Halfords UK
Shop the latest Carrera Subway E-Bike Ladies 16" - Medium at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com
It's simple and reliable and more importantly comfortable and strong. I wouldn't go to your £2000 limit personally because I don't think you have to and if the plan is to cycle to lose weight then I would reward yourself with a better bike down the line when you've lost some weight. As its halfords you can pop in to your local store and try it out.
that Carrera Subway that Bonzo Banana recommended has a lower top tube than a crossbar but is too high to step through for a lot of people.
This Woosh Santana is much easier to get on/off:
Some other important considerations are:
- the sensor type: cadence or torque.
If you choose a bike with a torque sensor, you need to supply 25% to 50% of the energy required. It's fine for flat roads but on hills, it is very challenging, especially if your weigh is an issue. You also need to maintain a high cadence. If you have breathing impairment, don't go there.
If you choose a cadence sensor, you can pedal as little or as much as you like, a clear advantage if you are tired at the end of the day.
The Carrera that Bonzo Banana recommends has a torque sensor.
- the motor torque:
You need torque to climb hills and accelerate from standstill. The heavier you are, the more torque you need. That is why Woosh use different motors to suit different riders weights. The Faro uses a 1.7kg Aikema 85SX motor, the Petite 3kg Bafang SWX motor, the Santana3 4kgs Bafang SWX02 motor and the Big Bear 4.5kgs Bafang BPM motor. The BPM on the Big Bear produces about 40% more torque than the Aikema on the Faro.
The Suntour motor on the Carrera has about same size and weight and is comparable to the Bafang SWX on the Petite. The motors on the Santana3 and Big Bear are stronger when climbing hills.
- Brakes
If you are heavy, you need hydraulic brakes which stop better than cable operated brakes.
This Woosh Santana is much easier to get on/off:
Some other important considerations are:
- the sensor type: cadence or torque.
If you choose a bike with a torque sensor, you need to supply 25% to 50% of the energy required. It's fine for flat roads but on hills, it is very challenging, especially if your weigh is an issue. You also need to maintain a high cadence. If you have breathing impairment, don't go there.
If you choose a cadence sensor, you can pedal as little or as much as you like, a clear advantage if you are tired at the end of the day.
The Carrera that Bonzo Banana recommends has a torque sensor.
- the motor torque:
You need torque to climb hills and accelerate from standstill. The heavier you are, the more torque you need. That is why Woosh use different motors to suit different riders weights. The Faro uses a 1.7kg Aikema 85SX motor, the Petite 3kg Bafang SWX motor, the Santana3 4kgs Bafang SWX02 motor and the Big Bear 4.5kgs Bafang BPM motor. The BPM on the Big Bear produces about 40% more torque than the Aikema on the Faro.
The Suntour motor on the Carrera has about same size and weight and is comparable to the Bafang SWX on the Petite. The motors on the Santana3 and Big Bear are stronger when climbing hills.
- Brakes
If you are heavy, you need hydraulic brakes which stop better than cable operated brakes.
that Carrera Subway that Bonzo Banana recommended has a lower top tube than a crossbar but is too high to step through for a lot of people.
This Woosh Santana is much easier to get on/off:
Some other important considerations are:
- the sensor type: cadence or torque.
If you choose a bike with a torque sensor, you need to supply 25% to 50% of the energy required. It's fine for flat roads but on hills, it is very challenging, especially if your weigh is an issue. You also need to maintain a high cadence. If you have breathing impairment, don't go there.
If you choose a cadence sensor, you can pedal as little or as much as you like, a clear advantage if you are tired at the end of the day.
The Carrera that Bonzo Banana recommends has a torque sensor.
- the motor torque:
You need torque to climb hills and accelerate from standstill. The heavier you are, the more torque you need. That is why Woosh use different motors to suit different riders weights. The Faro uses a 1.7kg Aikema 85SX motor, the Petite 3kg Bafang SWX motor, the Santana3 4kgs Bafang SWX02 motor and the Big Bear 4.5kgs Bafang BPM motor. The BPM on the Big Bear produces about 40% more torque than the Aikema on the Faro.
The Suntour motor on the Carrera has about same size and weight and is comparable to the Bafang SWX on the Petite. The motors on the Santana3 and Big Bear are stronger when climbing hills.
- Brakes
If you are heavy, you need hydraulic brakes which stop better than cable operated brakes.
I agree with a lot of your points but the Subway does have good tektro hydraulic brakes and more importantly is fully rated for a 120kg rider with a strong mountain bike frame that will have no problem taking 120kg rider weight as will the strong mountain bike wheels. Step thru's often require a lot more metal in the frame to provide similar strength or they are simply not rated for the same weight rider. Decathlon had that huge recall on their step through e-bikes because the frames kept failing and those bikes were only rated to 100kg total load so only allowed a rider of about 75-80kg as well. Admittedly Decathlon frames are often junk and they use the cheaper frames often sold on the Chinese market it seems for lighter oriental riders hence their low weight limits but still I feel a heavier rider there is a risk for a heavier rider with a step-thru frame and is that risk worth taking, the Subway does has a slightly lowered top tube but still very high structural strength.
Also the Subway has a high quality strong freehub based drivetrain so can take wide ratio cassettes and already comes with a fairly decent 60Nm geared motor hub surely such a combination should allow anyone to get up those hills. The Subway also provides a lifetime warranty on frame and forks and the fact it is rated for a 120kg rider means realistically you should expect a minimum of 7-10 years use. I know frame warranties are about manufacturing defects and fatigue caused by heavy use is realistically only covered up to about 10 years as per the certification testing you'd need to have a weld failure for them to honour the warranty in 20 years but its still a great warranty to have.
In my experience Carrera is Halfords less performance orientated brand often strong frames with less flexing designed to last a long time with durability and strength put before comfort and performance. You only have to look at that frame to see they have paid the factory to put extra reinforcing between top tube and the top of the seat tube, bottom of downtube to headtube, reinforced the bottom bracket and they have used ultra-strong steel forks. It's a no compromise design for strength. That's not to say here comfort is reduced as it has mountain bike wheels so takes thick tyres that can easily be optimised for the weight of the rider to provide a suspension effect and great comfort. The saddle to me looks like the first upgrade to improve comfort though.
Decathlon Recalls 2012-2016 E-Bikes
VILLENEUVE D'ASCQ, France - Decathlon issued a voluntary recall for a full line of ladies e-bikes due to breaking frames. The e-bikes included in this recall were distributed between 23 February 2012 and 4 August 2016.
www.bike-eu.com
Bonzo, I have been selling the Big Bears to heavy riders for 7 years, I never have a broken frame. There are maybe 200+ members of the forum who bought the Big Bears for that reason, because the bike suits their needs. Next time you are in Southend, you should pop in to our shop to check for yourself. I have a large Halfords shop in the next street (London Road) and see regularly all their own range of e-bikes when I pop in for some bicycle parts. Honestly, they don't compare with German bikes nor with mines.
The Chinese make bikes for anyone, so using the adjective as a yardstick is meaningless.
You need to specify the rotational speed to make sense of a torque figure. A motor will have very high torque when it is near stalling. Suntour does not say how it is measured nor how much the required user input is.
A lot of time, people buy an e-bike to help them with hills.
Your Subway does not do well with those who have a bad BMI. They need a cadence sensor.
Your comments are coming across as extremely biased and clearly defending your commercial interests. It's easy to claim a bike will take a lot of weight if you offer a short warranty as failing frames will likely be outside the warranty period. I prefer to take the approach if a bike company is offering high weight limits and a long warranty that forms the basis of a good approach to buying a bike suitable for a heavier rider. Bikes have to be certified for sale and if you state weight limits then that has to be backed up by the certification which shows comprehensive tests on the frame and forks and normally the instruction manual is part of that certification I believe. While the certification I have dealt with hasn't been directly bike related I have in my time read much of the BSI bike certification when I worked for a company that had an open license on the BSI site so I could read different certification not related to the industry I was in.
The bike you suggested has a low end freewheel based drivetrain typically found on many sub £100 bikes, the idea that that somehow your bike based on low end components is somehow better than Halfords with mid-level components is not something I agree with. I base my purchases on a proper examination of the spec vs price and it so happens Halfords having as much as 40% of the UK bike market by volume and 25% by revenue plus buying directly from factories and retailing them directly means they are extremely cheap for their specification especially when you buy when they are on offer and you use discount codes and cashback sites. It's amazing what you can get from Halfords. I have no commercial interest in Halfords just can see what exceptional value they provide compared to most bike retailers. I've been warned bout Halfords by many bike shops who often try to sell me some piece of junk bike for twice the price of the Halfords bike I was considering, often with much lower end components, i.e. mountain bikes that look like mountain bikes but feature freewheels instead of freehubs and lower spec suspension like XCT instead of XCM etc despite their high price.
Anyway we will definitely have to agree to disagree to say the least.
I can agree with you on this.
You did not bother to look into the argument, standover height, torque sensor versus cadence sensor.
Of course I am biased to my products because I know them well but that has no bearing on me saying that the Subway you recommended is not suitable for the OP.
I'd second the comments about declared tolerances on weights. The "failure mode" can be any component that is stressed beyond its stated capabilities. In my case it was the derailleur while in the middle of France.
If you do want to stress a bike beyond its stated limits also bare in mind, that there will be little comeback in a contractual sense, as regards warranty. Some manufacturers/assemblers may offer replacement/repair over and above their contractual liabilities for the sake of customer service but that is no good if you are stuck somewhere remote.
If you do want to stress a bike beyond its stated limits also bare in mind, that there will be little comeback in a contractual sense, as regards warranty. Some manufacturers/assemblers may offer replacement/repair over and above their contractual liabilities for the sake of customer service but that is no good if you are stuck somewhere remote.
which bike lets you down, Emanresu?
If you have a hub motor, you would still be able to ride home after such a problem.
I have a hub motor, and I would pick hub motor over mid motor any day. I have recently came across this brand called WAU bike, and I am thinking about buying it. The rear lights seem pretty cool, and the battery capacity seems huge, what do you guys think? this is their website http://www.waubike.com/
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Yes agree, but DIY ebike doesn't look the same as a waubike lol. I am really liking the brake lights and indicator lights, have you had a look on their website? I am from UK thinking of getting a it using cycle to work scheme.
Importing that heavy horrible bike form China will incur anti dumping tax, vat and import duties. Anti dumping tax is approx. 80% on top of the bike price & 20% vat, etc etc. Is it really worth it, the stated weight for the 50ah bike is very conservative and expect it to be more like 35-40kg.
The £1,000 bike would be a factory bike, but you would have to carry a spare battery.
In a way that's better because lugging that enormous pack around is pointless if you are only doing a few miles.
Only take the spare when you need it for longer rides.
Well my weight plus full panniers means my Cube (Bosch mid-drive) carries over 100kg.
It certainly feels incredibly sturdy. I think they are rated at 115kg or 160kg (structural with trailer) but I'd imagine you get a 20% tolerance on those figures. The trapeze is a good compromise between normal bar and step-thru which should retain structural stiffness.
And certainly if Woosh say their Big Bear will carry you, it will.
You can get some bargains from the chains (if you can get multiple discounts on Halford's Crossfuse for example or find an end of line Haibike at Cycle Republic) and some of their staff are decent but online sellers or local bike shops will usually have more know-how.
I think what really matters is whether you are compromised in your ability to pedal.
I'm 2-3 stone overweight but relatively fit considering and managed to do a 100km Sportive on my Cube (4500 feet of climbing) spending almost all of it in Eco mode (the lowest assist level - adding 40% to the Watts that you put in).
So to claim that you can't climb on a Bosch mid-drive obviously isn't true.
But if you have health problems or can't put minimum power down reliably then you should think about a cadence motor rather than a torque one.
Probably best to try both types and see which suits you best.
Bosch mid-drives on German bikes like Cube and Haibike are expensive but reliable and the experience of cycling is a more natural feeling than with the hub drives. But the cadence motors can move you around with almost zero of your own effort - more like an e-moped.
You need to work out what you want...
It certainly feels incredibly sturdy. I think they are rated at 115kg or 160kg (structural with trailer) but I'd imagine you get a 20% tolerance on those figures. The trapeze is a good compromise between normal bar and step-thru which should retain structural stiffness.
And certainly if Woosh say their Big Bear will carry you, it will.
You can get some bargains from the chains (if you can get multiple discounts on Halford's Crossfuse for example or find an end of line Haibike at Cycle Republic) and some of their staff are decent but online sellers or local bike shops will usually have more know-how.
I think what really matters is whether you are compromised in your ability to pedal.
I'm 2-3 stone overweight but relatively fit considering and managed to do a 100km Sportive on my Cube (4500 feet of climbing) spending almost all of it in Eco mode (the lowest assist level - adding 40% to the Watts that you put in).
So to claim that you can't climb on a Bosch mid-drive obviously isn't true.
But if you have health problems or can't put minimum power down reliably then you should think about a cadence motor rather than a torque one.
Probably best to try both types and see which suits you best.
Bosch mid-drives on German bikes like Cube and Haibike are expensive but reliable and the experience of cycling is a more natural feeling than with the hub drives. But the cadence motors can move you around with almost zero of your own effort - more like an e-moped.
You need to work out what you want...
Any of the Giant range based on your use?
Womens Electric Bikes | Liv Cycling UK
Shop Liv Cycling for e-bikes for women. Discover the fun of women's electric bikes and get on your way faster and more efficiently than ever. 0% finance available.
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