Hello from a newbie in North Wales

[trickgixer]

Hello all, I don't have a Pedelec yet, but have an interest in maybe buying one.

Having recently retired and moved to the edge of Snowdonia, I am thinking a Pedelec maybe ideal to get me about, on and off road. I am hoping that this forum is the place to learn more without being sold to.

 

[ChuckingFeet]

Welcome , this forum is prob the best around for e bikes . See if you can borrow or test as many as possible to see what suits you , no doubt its a little bumpy where you are so IMHO a mid drive or a very strong hub will probably be your best bet . Get the right one , guarantee a wide grin.... Wrong one , you will never use it .

 

[trickgixer]

Welcome , this forum is prob the best around for e bikes . See if you can borrow or test as many as possible to see what suits you , no doubt its a little bumpy where you are so IMHO a mid drive or a very strong hub will probably be your best bet . Get the right one , guarantee a wide grin.... Wrong one , you will never use it .

Thanks for the welcome and tips ChuckingFeet. It's the bumpy terrain that particularly appeals to me, so it's helpful to be aware about filtering bike choices by those sort of drives.

 

[Fat Rat]

Welcome
Your terrain will ultimately decide your bike choice
Have fun with whatever you choose

 

[trickgixer]

Welcome
Your terrain will ultimately decide your bike choice
Have fun with whatever you choose

Thanks, as I live on the coast and have several 800 metre plus high bumps in the ground within a few miles, I am thinking plenty of torque, good range and decent suspension.

 

[ChuckingFeet]

Basically IMHO you need the best full suspension e MTB that you can afford , not my area of expertise , maybe Soundwave could help here (warning needed ...he will go OTT)
Seriously though, some idea of weight , fitness and price range might help for serious suggestions .

 

[trickgixer]

Basically IMHO you need the best full suspension e MTB that you can afford , not my area of expertise , maybe Soundwave could help here (warning needed ...he will go OTT)
Seriously though, some idea of weight , fitness and price range might help for serious suggestions .

Thanks again ChuckingFeet. I am 11 stone, 5'7". At 60yrs, not super fit, but run 5k - 10k a couple of times a week.
Have been reading about speed pedelecs and have a full motorcycle license Do you think the extra power of one of those might be beneficial?

 

[ChuckingFeet]

You are clearly much fitter than me , I still manage to ride my 28kg bike over the power cut off on the flat most of the time .
Speed pedelecs are a whole new ballgame , not many suppliers in the UK .Need to be licensed, taxed , insured , require better lights , the use of motor cycle class helmets . Also , if you have more power , you need more power storage , so a mega battery or 2 to get any useful range .Out of my knowledge zone , there is a separate forum here for them , might be worth posting on that .
In your situation, as you mentioned off-road use ,think I would aim for the higher spec full suspension eMTBs , like Haibike , Cube, etc with the best Bosch/Yamaha/Shimano motors and largest battery that you are willing to shell out for . Note that they are not cheap , and will require regular maintenance for this sort of use , they put a lot of power through a bike chain and sprockets and brakes will take a hammering too .
As you sound pretty fit and are not that heavy , lower budget bikes from Whoosh, Whisper, Oxygen and Juicy might do the job, best to speak with them directly , they all have good reputations . Juicy are just up the road from me in the Peak District , which has a few bumpy bits too . They all have centre drive and hub drive options, a high torque hub might do most of what you want , but not as good off-road .

 

[trickgixer]

Hmmm, the speed pedelecs have a lot against them for something that will still feel super slow compared to a sports motorcycle. Also, I guess, off road a higher spec "standard" pedelec will be very capable, lighter and not have all the regulatory hassle. Good points thank you.

My other half is a Derbyshire lass, so the Peak District is familiar to us and has some similar terrain to that here in North Wales. Looking at Juicy's web site, the Brick looks very impressive and lighter than I would have expected.

As my confusion starts to clear and I understand more about what would suit me, I feel more ready to visit a bike shop or three to see bikes in the flesh and see if they are providing people test rides.
Thanks again, for your advice.

 

[ChuckingFeet]

Hmmm, the speed pedelecs have a lot against them for something that will still feel super slow compared to a sports motorcycle. Also, I guess, off road a higher spec "standard" pedelec will be very capable, lighter and not have all the regulatory hassle. Good points thank you.

My other half is a Derbyshire lass, so the Peak District is familiar to us and has some similar terrain to that here in North Wales. Looking at Juicy's web site, the Brick looks very impressive and lighter than I would have expected.

As my confusion starts to clear and I understand more about what would suit me, I feel more ready to visit a bike shop or three to see bikes in the flesh and see if they are providing people test rides.
Thanks again, for your advice.

 

[ChuckingFeet]

Best of luck , you will not regret it . My current bike ( excuse the pun ) has just turned 1 year old, still gets me grinning, even on the way to work in a downpour .When I go for a fun ride, it lasts for hours , I am saving for a 2nd battery , but 1 of the bad sides of proprietary kit is the manufacturers have you by the short and curlies ( its not just Bosch ) .

 

[GSV3MiaC]

I think getting a test ride (not easy right now, granted) or even a day hire (money back if you buy is available some places) is essential if you are spending this sort of money.

They all look good on paper, and you'll get lots of good advice here, but your needs / legs / hills are probably a unique set. If you find a decent bike shop they will hopefully try to sell you what will make you a happy customer.. If you know what you actually want to do with it.

Personally my ideas changed a bit when I actually got to look up close and personal at the sort of hilly tracks I thought I might want to ride down..

 

[georgehenry]

For rough terrain, rocks, steep gradients, the entry level Haibike Yamaha full suspension bike gets mentioned a lot as a good starting bike. Though even that is not exactly cheap.

I must admit to liking a good crank drive hard tail for their simplicity, lower maintenance costs, and agility/climbing ability, but the steep rocky descents of both The Peak district and Snowdonia might demand a full suspension bike and a dropper post to better cope with what those areas can regularly throw at you.

 

[Nev]

Evolution cycles in Bangor will let you test ride an e-mtb. They will give you a little route (around 3 miles) to ride on which includes a really steep hill. They will probably let you ride it more than once if you want. When I last checked over a year ago West End cycles in Colwyn Bay would only let you do test rides around their car park. That may have changed now though because they are under new ownership.

Unless you intend on going fairly quickly down mountain tracks then I probably wouldn't bother getting a full suspension bike, front suspension will probably be good enough along with a decent suspension seat post. That's what I have got and I have rode up many of the hills and mountains in Snowdonia, I do not go fast down hill though.

Do you really need an e-bike? If you can run 10 k several times a week then that is really good fitness for a 60 year old you might find you are ok with a conventional bike and only get an e-bike when your fitness drops off with age.

 

[trickgixer]

I think getting a test ride (not easy right now, granted) or even a day hire (money back if you buy is available some places) is essential if you are spending this sort of money.

They all look good on paper, and you'll get lots of good advice here, but your needs / legs / hills are probably a unique set. If you find a decent bike shop they will hopefully try to sell you what will make you a happy customer.. If you know what you actually want to do with it.

Personally my ideas changed a bit when I actually got to look up close and personal at the sort of hilly tracks I thought I might want to ride down..

I agree about how they all look good on paper, quite confusing and i've no doubt that comparing technical specs will not give the same conclusion as comparing how different bikes actually feel off road.
You make a good point about getting up close and personal. My current bike is a hardtail mountain bike fitted with road tyres from when we lived in Milton Keynes up until recently. I probably should change the tyres and get out there on that to experience the terrain initially.

 

[trickgixer]

For rough terrain, rocks, steep gradients, the entry level Haibike Yamaha full suspension bike gets mentioned a lot as a good starting bike. Though even that is not exactly cheap.

I must admit to liking a good crank drive hard tail for their simplicity, lower maintenance costs, and agility/climbing ability, but the steep rocky descents of both The Peak district and Snowdonia might demand a full suspension bike and a dropper post to better cope with what those areas can regularly throw at you.

Just looked at the Haibike on line and see they have a dealer in striking distance from me, so I will go take a look in the flesh. The dealer stocks a few other makes that the other local dealer I found doesnt so that gives me a broad choice.
Not heard of a dropper post before you mentioned it. Interesting bit of kit! As I plan to ride bumpy trails rather than fast downhills with big jumps and rocky drop offs, I'm not sure my riding will justify it. Guess one can be added later now I am aware of them.
I am used to hardtail, but not ridden much off road. Lower maintenance costs, and agility/climbing ability are of interest to me, so its becoming clear that test riding hardtail and full suspension off road will be essential for me.

 

[trickgixer]

Evolution cycles in Bangor will let you test ride an e-mtb. They will give you a little route (around 3 miles) to ride on which includes a really steep hill. They will probably let you ride it more than once if you want. When I last checked over a year ago West End cycles in Colwyn Bay would only let you do test rides around their car park. That may have changed now though because they are under new ownership.

Unless you intend on going fairly quickly down mountain tracks then I probably wouldn't bother getting a full suspension bike, front suspension will probably be good enough along with a decent suspension seat post. That's what I have got and I have rode up many of the hills and mountains in Snowdonia, I do not go fast down hill though.

Do you really need an e-bike? If you can run 10 k several times a week then that is really good fitness for a 60 year old you might find you are ok with a conventional bike and only get an e-bike when your fitness drops off with age.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Wish I could run 10k several times a week, LOL. Just do 2 or 3 runs a week totaling about 20k, and that's mainly just the coast path, so not much elevation.
Saying that, the pedelec is more for fun and exploring mountain trails than for exercise. You could be right about not needing an ebike. I plan to pop some knobbly tyres back on my conventional bike and head for the hills, but fancy the idea of making the climbs less strenuous and extending my range for the amount of effort I can muster.
I popped into Evolution yesterday morning and the lad in there was very helpful and appeared to know his stuff. They currently only provide hybrids for test rides on a road circuit, but he was telling me about their off road test days which sound ideal, when they start running them again. Will have a nose round West End Cycles next time I'm over that way.

 

[GSV3MiaC]

I agree about how they all look good on paper, quite confusing and i've no doubt that comparing technical specs will not give the same conclusion as comparing how different bikes actually feel off road.
You make a good point about getting up close and personal. My current bike is a hardtail mountain bike fitted with road tyres from when we lived in Milton Keynes up until recently. I probably should change the tyres and get out there on that to experience the terrain initially.

If your current bike can cope, and it is just you that runs out of joules, then there is always the option of adding power (there are two or three mid motor kits which will probably go in). Still expensive mind, but look at the Woosh website to see what the costs and hassles are.

I moved to the Shropshire/Welsh borders from Bedford .. some long time ago .. and suffered the same culture shock (traffic 10x lower, hills 10x higher). MK does/did at least have some decent cycle provisions iirc, cycling round Bedford was a really dumb idea.

 

[trickgixer]

If your current bike can cope, and it is just you that runs out of joules, then there is always the option of adding power (there are two or three mid motor kits which will probably go in). Still expensive mind, but look at the Woosh website to see what the costs and hassles are.

I moved to the Shropshire/Welsh borders from Bedford .. some long time ago .. and suffered the same culture shock (traffic 10x lower, hills 10x higher). MK does/did at least have some decent cycle provisions iirc, cycling round Bedford was a really dumb idea.

Agreed, MK was a joy to cycle round. Even the Dutch would be jealous. Easy, well maintained paths, safe as you barely ever need to go on roads and well managed garden park like surroundings almost everywhere. But, for interesting off roading ....... hence I swapped to road tyres on my mountain bike.
Adding power is an interesting concept, I shall have a look at the Woosh site, thanks.

 

[trickgixer]

Thanks for your suggestions and comments so far, very helpful!
With my improved knowledge I visited my local stores. Have now asked a model specific question in the EMTBS section. So, if you are interested where it's going and have further thoughts to share, I would love to hear from you there.