First bike

[Seanwhat]

Hey guys I'm looking for a bit advice on a bike. I'm looking to keep a budget of around 1k but I'm not gonna kick up a fuss if I need to spend a bit more. Also if I can get what I need for less, bonus!

I was looking at the carrera crossfire-e, and this is the kind of style I think I want to go for; I don't like the look of the ones with small wheels really. It's pretty much the first one I've found so it'd be silly to just buy it without asking you guys first!

It'll mostly be used for going to and from work or going to the shop. I probably won't do more than about 15 miles in a round trip, but we're really hilly which is my main concern. I'm interested in a larger battery, as this will mean I don't have to charge it every day, but this isn't essential. A battery meter would be nice though.

I've read some of the guides, but I don't really know what's important in an e bike, or how much value each feature holds. Any guidance is appreciated!


Age 24
About 75kg
Not that fit but looking to improve

 

[Nealh]

A similar bike is the Karoo from Woosh bikes in Southend, specs sim but no front sus forks but for £40 they will supply a very good Suntour sus seat post. Motor is rear hub Bafang SWX02 a slightly smaller version of the powerful BPM hub, Trex reckons it has about 90% of its power.
Prices inc del £789 with 15ah battery or £749 with 13.5ah battery both with top quality Sansung cells.also backed up by their superb cust services.

The Halfrauds claim of 80 miles from a 9ah battery take with a large pinch of
salt, may be possible in lowest assist possible travelling at 10 -15 mph on a flat road with no wind and a good helping of peddling. With a larger battery you should be able to get a way with charging every other day even with hills, with a new battery I would charge regularly to get the cells and battery as a whole conditioned.
.

 

[RobF]

The style of the Crossfire looks about right, assuming your trips to work and the shops are on the road or well made paths.

Charging after every ride is better for the battery, so it's pointless trying not to.

The Crossfire will be fine for 15 miles, even using higher assist modes.

You are also relatively light, which means you will tend to use less power.

There is nothing startlingly better at about £1k, although woosh would be a good choice if you still want a bigger battery.

A crank drive bike is a nicer cycling experience and will get you fitter faster because crank drives tend to encourage you to pedal more.

Something from the likes of KTM will be a better all round bike, but you are looking at £1,500 or more.

 

[Earn]

I Picked up the ladies version of the crossfire e last week. It is fantastic. The battery is actually 11.6ah not 9 as the website says. I weigh considerably more than you and have now done about 20 miles on this charge. Lots of hills and the battery is showing 4/5 lights still on. I tend to ride it in Eco mode until the hills where I have been on top two settings. Today's hills were the toughest yet and the bike ate them. It has a great controller and I can't say enough good things about it. Disk brakes and good front suspension that will lock. Early days for me still but up until now I can't fault this bike.