Help! General purpose eBike, under £2k, with throttle for disabled partner

[stringsonfire]

I'm now looking to buy two eBikes. My girlfriend suffers ME/CFS, so a throttle is really a requirement. There'll be times when she can't peddle at all, and we may need to get back with minimal effort if she's starting to feel unwell (a bigger battery may be important for this). When she can peddle, she won't be able to put much in, so a cadence sensor would be better for her, whereas I'd prefer a torque sensor for myself to make myself move, and might end up having to get a different bike.

I think it'll be mostly trails and gravel paths, some fields, some forests (Epping Forest most likely), and roads to get to these places. I was looking for something more adventurous for myself, but I'm not an extreme Mountain Biker and most of my cycling will be done with my girlfriend, so I'm dialling it back a bit. A full suspension eMTB would still be nice for fun and comfort, but a hardtail eMTB or a hybrid that could go on rougher rides sometimes would be great too. I'm still figuring out what this means - for example, do we need suspension if we have massive tyres, and are fat hybrid tyres even suitable for the flexibility we're after?

Ideally under £1,500, but we could stretch to £2,000 if it's really worth it. Here's what I've found so far:

Brand​	Model​	Price​	Battery	Type​	Sensor	Brakes	Notes
Woosh	Rio MTB	£1,269	17Ah (612Wh)	Hardtail eMTB	Cadence
Woosh	Rio LS Fat Boy	£1,229	17Ah (612Wh)	?	Cadence
Wisper	905	£1,699	700Wh	Hybrid (Roads & Trails)	Cadence (Torque +£300		+£300 for Torque sensor with switch +£255 for Throttle
Wisper	Wayfarer	£2,200+	710Wh	Hybrid?	Torque		Mid-drive, 100Nm torque, release Feb 2020. throttle may be additional cost. large battery will be.
Neomouv	Cronos	£1,754	680Wh	Hardtail eMTB	Cadence		Throttle?
Neomouv	Enara	£2,299	680Wh	Hardtail eMTB	Cadence		Throttle?
Rad Power Bikes	RadRhino	£1,525 (€1,699)	672Wh	Hybrid?	Cadence		Road legal? €150 discount when buying 2
Oxygen	S-Cross MTB	£1499	13Ah (468Wh)	Hardtail eMTB	?		Throttle included to fit at home 16Ah version coming soon, may be more expensive
Crussis	Bafang MAX eMTBs	£1435 (€1,599) to £2200 (€2,449)	14Ah (504Wh)	Hardtail eMTB	Torque		Mid-drive. Integrated battery. Some have carbon frames. Throttle?
Kudos	Eiger	£895 (with Plus Pack)	10.4Ah (374Wh)	Hardtail eMTB	Torque		Mid-drive +£466 for NuVinci hub.
Kudos	Other models
Pedelease	Various
Greenway	Various

I'm really struggling to work this out, so help appreciated! Hopefully this will help some other disabled cyclists too. Finding it very difficult to figure out which bikes have throttles, if they work from still, if they go to the 15.5mph limit, if they'll get you up a hill, etc.

 

[Nealh]

Woosh = 612wh. Throttle should be able to set it up as throttle only, check with them first. Fat bike hard tail no need for sus with big squidgy tyres just use lower psi.
Oxygen = 468wh. Throttle inc for self fitting and can be fully activated,
Crussis = 504wh.
Kudos = 374wh.
Rad Rhino = Illegal 750w motor.

Ideally a good solution is for both bikes so that they can use/have the same battery /battery mount, then you can swap them over as your GF will use more wh using a throttle.

 

[stringsonfire]

Woosh = 612wh. Throttle should be able to set it up as throttle only, check with them first. Fat bike hard tail no need for sus with big squidgy tyres just use lower psi.
Oxygen = 468wh. Throttle inc for self fitting and can be fully activated,
Crussis = 504wh.
Kudos = 374wh.
Rad Rhino = Illegal 750w motor.

Ideally a good solution is for both bikes so that they can use/have the same battery /battery mount, then you can swap them over as your GF will use more wh using a throttle.

Thanks, I've updated the table. Good idea on using the same batteries.

So big squishy tyres can replace both front and rear suspension for comfort and mildly rough terrain?

 

[vfr400]

It's not as simple as that. some of those bikes have hydraulic brakes and others don't. You get different quality forks and gear systems. Some bikes handle well and some don't.

 

[Nealh]

[QUOTE="stringsonfire, post: 509592, member: 26381"

So big squishy tyres can replace both front and rear suspension for comfort and mildly rough terrain?
[/QUOTE]

Yes, you would have to play with psi settings to see what is best suited.
On road you won't need a bell people will here you coming.

 

[stringsonfire]

It's not as simple as that. some of those bikes have hydraulic brakes and others don't. You get different quality forks and gear systems. Some bikes handle well and some don't.

I can check which have hydraulic brakes. I can add in forks and gears, but might need some help comparing them. Handling's difficult, most of these brands are small, so it's unlikely I'll find demo units to try.

 

[Nealh]

You need to narrow down the style of frame and maybe drive system for your self.
For your GF cadence means a hub motor really as they are more forgiving then a cadence mid drive.
Having hydraulic disc brakes is a good call as they give good stopping power in the wet and are maintenance free a part from new pads once every year or two.

 

[Nealh]

Don't get hung up n hydraulic because if you get bike with cable disc's you can easily upgrade for about £40 each and the front is the important one.
Comfort and ride handling can be sorted if they are minor, handles bars/ reach are easily sorted with a more upright dutch style bar and longer stem.
For my 700c town/commute bike and my 700c trail/ off road rough trail bike I have fitted PlanetX Geoff bars for superb comfy riding add the addition of comfy grips as well the bike rides and feels different.

 

[Gaz]

My Wife has a Wisper 705 works with a full throttle. She loves it. It's well built, has rim brakes, which do the job fine. Will easily cope with light off road stuff (a mountain bike it is not) and at nine-ish years old, the battery is still good for 20 or so miles.

Gaz

 

[JPGiant]

For me, (58 Kg and very skinny) a Suntour NCX seatpost and well-padded shorts are a must when on my Oxygen MTB hardtail, especially when used off-road.
Although I do miss a FS bike for all-round comfort.

 

[Woosh]

Wosh Zephyr may suit your needs for rugged canal paths and it has a throttle (activated by a turn of the cranks). It has hig torque Bafang rear hub motor, 12AH battery (good for 30-35 miles), full suspension, hydraulic brakes, 100mm RST Omega suspension, lightweight, front wheel quick release etc and it also folds.

The Zephyr B | Powerful Foldable Electric Bikes with 12AH hidden battery from Woosh

The Zephyr-B is the most powerful folding bike from Woosh with the largest 12AH hidden battery.

wooshbikes.co.uk

 

[stringsonfire]

Wosh Zephyr may suit your needs for rugged canal paths and it has a throttle (activated by a turn of the cranks). It has hig torque Bafang rear hub motor, 12AH battery (good for 30-35 miles), full suspension, hydraulic brakes, 100mm RST Omega suspension, lightweight, front wheel quick release etc and it also folds.

The Zephyr B | Powerful Foldable Electric Bikes with 12AH hidden battery from Woosh

The Zephyr-B is the most powerful folding bike from Woosh with the largest 12AH hidden battery.

wooshbikes.co.uk

Don't suppose you're working on a fixed frame full suspension bike with a 17ah battery?

 

[Woosh]

Don't suppose you're working on a fixed frame full suspension bike with a 17ah battery?

No, we already got the Rio MTB with 17.5AH battery.
The 100mm RST Omega fork on it is very good, has magnesium lowers, very good reviews.

 

[stringsonfire]

@Woosh @Oxygen Electric Bikes @Wisper Bikes do the throttles on your bikes work from stand still, or do you have to start moving first? And do they go up to the 15.5mph limit or stop sooner than that?

Would be handy to know if the bikes above would suite a 5'3" rider. Ideally would also be able to fit a suspension seat post as there aren't any full suspension options.

Also @Woosh could the Rio FB LS take a front suspension fork, and is this something you could offer fitted?

Thanks all!

 

[vfr400]

They're all certified bikes, so none of the throttles go past 4 mph, but all of them can be unofficially unlocked, so whatever you do, do not put any money down until you've got the info on how to unlock it. All of them work from a standstill.

 

[Woosh]

@Woosh @Oxygen Electric Bikes @Wisper Bikes do the throttles on your bikes work from stand still, or do you have to start moving first? And do they go up to the 15.5mph limit or stop sooner than that?

that depends on the model. Most require you to pedal first to activate the throttle.

Would be handy to know if the bikes above would suite a 5'3" rider.

yes, possibly, but there are other aspects of geometry that don't suit a smaller rider (under 5ftt8) like long wheel base, wide handlebars or just weight. 5ft3's best friend is the Woosh Petite, it's basically a 90% to 1 scale of the Santana.

could the Rio FB LS take a front suspension fork, and is this something you could offer fitted?

The Rio LS is a large bike, not only it has a longer wheelbase, its 3" tyres make the bike as tall as a typical bike with 28"/700C tyres.
The front fork has 100mm dropout and in principle can be replaced by standard MTB suspension forks but I have not done so myself, so I can't make any recommendation. Don't forget, if you intend to fit suspension fork, you need to think of the 3" front tyre.

 

[stringsonfire]

This could be an option. Offers different sizes: https://cocycles.co.uk/product/whyte-603-xc-trail-17/

 

[D C]

This could be an option. Offers different sizes: https://cocycles.co.uk/product/whyte-603-xc-trail-17/

If you like the look of that you could easily fit a kit from Woosh to an existing or brand new bike, save a few pounds and get exactly what you want with a working throttle.
Dave.