Hello!
I'm hoping to buy my first ebike soon, and would welcome any advice or recommendations. My budget is unfortunately fairly restricted - I'd like to stay as close to £1000 as possible, and I'm aware this is going to be a limitation in terms of the quality of bike I can get.
I need something for my commute to work, which is just a 4 mile round trip but almost all uphill one way. Outside of commuting, I'll be using it to get around town (which will nearly always involve some kind of incline) and maybe the occasional leisure ride, but I don't expect to be travelling long distances. Basically I just want something that will give me a boost up hills and help me pull away more easily at junctions, traffic lights etc. to feel safer cycling on city centre roads. I'd prefer something that's not too chunky or heavy as I need to lift it up and down a few steps to get to the bike storage facility in my building. I'm 5"4 so need something that comes in a relatively small size, but I'm not interested in folding bikes.
At the moment I'm considering the Raleigh Array Open Frame as it's on sale at Cycle Republic for £1082. I know it's an entry level, very much budget end bike, but considering what I need it for, I'm wondering if it would do the job? It's the new 2020 model so I haven't been able to find many reviews of it.
www.cyclerepublic.com
Salespeople in the shops I've visited have been really insistent that I should try and stretch my budget to get a mid drive bike instead of a hub motor, and I'm finding it hard to tell if this advice is genuine or if they are just pushing the more expensive bikes. I realise that mid drive is probably going to be better, particularly for hills, but I'm not convinced it's necessary for my needs - and most/all mid drive bikes will be well beyond my current budget anyway. Are rear hub bikes really as unreliable as these salespeople keep telling me they are?
I'm hoping to buy my first ebike soon, and would welcome any advice or recommendations. My budget is unfortunately fairly restricted - I'd like to stay as close to £1000 as possible, and I'm aware this is going to be a limitation in terms of the quality of bike I can get.
I need something for my commute to work, which is just a 4 mile round trip but almost all uphill one way. Outside of commuting, I'll be using it to get around town (which will nearly always involve some kind of incline) and maybe the occasional leisure ride, but I don't expect to be travelling long distances. Basically I just want something that will give me a boost up hills and help me pull away more easily at junctions, traffic lights etc. to feel safer cycling on city centre roads. I'd prefer something that's not too chunky or heavy as I need to lift it up and down a few steps to get to the bike storage facility in my building. I'm 5"4 so need something that comes in a relatively small size, but I'm not interested in folding bikes.
At the moment I'm considering the Raleigh Array Open Frame as it's on sale at Cycle Republic for £1082. I know it's an entry level, very much budget end bike, but considering what I need it for, I'm wondering if it would do the job? It's the new 2020 model so I haven't been able to find many reviews of it.
Raleigh Array Derailleur Open 2020 - Out of Stock | Tredz Bikes
Raleigh Array Derailleur Open 2020 - Electric Hybrid Bike. Out of Stock. All Electric bikes are delivered free to the UK mainland, 365 day returns & Price Match.
www.cyclerepublic.com
Salespeople in the shops I've visited have been really insistent that I should try and stretch my budget to get a mid drive bike instead of a hub motor, and I'm finding it hard to tell if this advice is genuine or if they are just pushing the more expensive bikes. I realise that mid drive is probably going to be better, particularly for hills, but I'm not convinced it's necessary for my needs - and most/all mid drive bikes will be well beyond my current budget anyway. Are rear hub bikes really as unreliable as these salespeople keep telling me they are?
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