Hello From Rainy Manchester

[Sunny]

Hi there, I'm new to this site, have to says it's brill. Have a mountain bike, but interested in an electric bike. Will still ride my mountain bike but now I'm getting a bit older..Aww, feel I need some help along the way.
Not got one yet, so many around and some very pricy. Watched izip video on utube, looks quite a decent bike, not too pricy. But there again I'm a novice to all this! Ebay seems good?

 

[gray198]

Hi Sunny
Welcome to the forum. You will find much advice on here. I am fairly new here so cannot give a lot of tech advice, but generally I would say, decide what use you will be putting bike to , distances terrain etc, and have a good look around and try as many as you can. I am sure there are some good deals on E Bay, but also there are several excellent companies who advertise on this site and give good back up. Happy hunting

regards gray

 

[funkylyn]

Hi Sunny,
A welcome to the forum from rainy Somerset !

I agree with Gray, there are several excellent companies on this site with excellent bikes and back up in different price ranges, if they get it wrong they have US to deal with LOL.
Personally I wouldnt touch ebay with a barge pole if you know nothing about e-bikes....way too risky unless you hit on one of the good sellers and you wont really know if they are good or not....but you can always ask on here for advice if you see anything that takes your fancy.

I know at least 2 good companies that sometimes sell on ebay.....Powerpedals with their Tonaro's and Kudos with their range of bikes.

First you need to work out what you want the bike to do and the price you want to pay...that should sharp narrow the choice down a bit.

Good luck anyway I hope you find the right bike for you

Lynda

 

[stesteste]

hi i searched and studied for ages got 2 bikes with 250w motors they wasnt good enough for my needs ..hilly areas.. ended up with alien aurora and very happy with it in every way ..try and test before buy i coulnt and made 2 mistakes but still got refunded glad i ended up witb aurora...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

[JuicyBike]

You would be very welcome to come and try a Juicy Bike at our South Manchester branch, 500m from New Mills train station, on the A6. Or if you fancy a day out in Buxton, all our range are available there to try also, though we do get busy, especially at festival time (which starts this week!).

 

[Cardy01]

Hi Sunny,

You'll be pleased to here it isnt just raining in Manchester

As an owner of a new electrc bike for just a week I'd say it revolutionises cycling & makes you look for opportunities to go out there .. rain or no rain.

My personal experience is not to rush into you decision and try get a test ride on as many different ones as possible. Obviously price/budge tends to be key but be conscious of the weight of your bike too and make sure if you test ride it - you do so with no assist as inevitably you'll run out of juice or possibly have a problem at some time. This does make buying on eBay tricky though.

I found the guys at the electricbikeshop really helpful but appreciate they're not too near you.

Good luck

Cardy, Whisper 905 - Harpenden

 

[Sunny]

Hi Cardy
Many thanks for your reply. Nice day here today just been a bike ride, saw someone on a izip skyline, similar to the one on ebay for £368. I asked her what she thought of it, she said she was happy with it. Seems a bargain, but like you said tricky buying before you've seen it, but says can return and full refund. The problem is not many reviews for izip or ezip as sometimes called.
Just looked at whisper, nice bike. I think your right though to have a test drive.
Best wishes

 

[Sunny]

Hi there
Many thanks Bob, might just do that, I do really like the juicy bike,
Regards

 

[Sunny]

Hi Lynda
Thanks for your help. I feel so confused at the moment all the various ones and some so expensive. Seen someone on a izip/ezip said it was a good bike, but not many reviews on internet. Just looked at powerpedals and kudos, so expensive, suppose I could push to £1000. Keep being drawn to the one on ebay, £368, says full refund if not satisfied. Let you know what happens.
Sunny

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi there
Many thanks Bob, might just do that, I do really like the juicy bike,
Regards

Do come and have a try Sunny. If it's not the right bike for you, we will tell you!
We're open in New Mills, Thurs, Fri and Saturday to the public, and everyday in Buxton.
You can also try a Wisper and Storck at Edinburgh Cycles in South Manchester, which are both nice bikes. Edinburgh also stock Giant, which are cheaper (but not as good as ours!)
Hope to see you soon.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hi Sunny....the reason there is so much choice of bikes available is that everybody has their own ideas about the ideal bike for them and there is a lot of brand loyalty,which can get quite emotional on this forum.
But here is a guide that may help you to focus in generally the right direction.
1. What sort of bike-mountain style,dutch style,x-bar,step thru,folder
2. What sort of terrain-flat,bit hilly,very hilly
3. What budget
4. What height,leg length.
If you live in hilly area then crank drive bikes are generally better than hub drive but near your budget the Tonaro is probably the only inexpensive crank drive option,you will have to spend closer to £2k to get a german crank drive bike.
The better of the hub drive bikes are very good excepting for very steep hills.
The Kudos Redbridge cycle day was an ideal venue to try these bikes in challenging terrain-just riding a bike on the flat is not good enough to properly test these bikes.
Try to find a dealer who has a good selection of various types and be prepared to travel some distance,just going into the local bike shop that has one aged e-bike is not ideal.
Hope that helps
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[funkylyn]

Sunny.....the biggest favour you can do yourself is to invest some time and money trying out lots of different bikes.
It really is important to try as many as possible, only then can you come out of the confused state we all find ourselves in when trying to weigh up the pros and cons of so many different bikes.
Believe me, it can be an expensive mistake.

So take your time doing it, dont rush your decision and have FUN

Lynda

 

[indalo]

I could push to £1000. Keep being drawn to the one on ebay, £368, says full refund if not satisfied.
Sunny

Hi Sunny.

I'm a big fan of ebay, not just for bikes but for lots of things. Yes, it's true that there are some bargains to be had in the auction situation but my advice, for what it's worth, is to give it a miss at the present time and consider the good value bikes to which attention has been drawn by forum members, Kudos and JuicyBike.

I'm not a huge fan of trade people being part of user or interest group forums but the two I mentioned seem to play with a straight bat in my experience. My inclination, were I in your position, would be to buy from a local dealer with a good track record in after-sales support and one offering a solid, no-nonsense warranty. These things may not necessarily accompany sales from companies dealing solely on ebay or those little firms operating out of sheds with little or no history.

Almost by way of an aside, those two companies actually sell extraordinarily decent bikes for the kind of money you are prepared to spend. Spend more; get a much larger choice but not necessarily better machines. If you have read much in the way of older posts on this forum, you will know that Wisper bikes are very well regarded, again top-notch in respect of after-sales support, though I'm not sure whether or not they have bikes within your budget. I think they do but you can check that just as easily as I can.

All those companies would be happy to let you, in fact they'd probably insist, test-ride their machines and that's a big plus compared to buying something from an internet seller.

I sincerely hope you find a bike you enjoy at a price you're comfortable with as ebiking is a real treat so long as you have the right machine.

Regards,
Indalo

 

[Sunny]

Hi
Interesting one Snow Patrol, may take up knitting instead of biking.
Sunny

 

[Sunny]

Hi Indalo
Thankyou for so much information. Not looked for a couple of days, just basically got fed up of looking! Spoke to a local bike shop where I bought my mountain bike, he doesnt do electric, but knows quite a lot, been there years, he mentioned Wisper, Kudos, and Juicy, he did say however that Izip were good too, thats the one I was looking at.
I think all the replies I've had mention very important to test ride, and you cant do that off the net and also get after sales support.
Many thanks again
Sunny

 

[indalo]

You're welcome for my little piece of generic advice and good luck with your search. You'll find one to suit and you'll know when you've tried a few.

Regards,
Indalo

 

[Sunny]

Hi Dave
Thank's for all the info. Getting quite confused now, so not looked for a couple of days. Firstly listed what I want from a bike, perhaps mountain bike style, but main priority is lightness, as I find that some of the routes I go I need to lift it, and as I now have a bad back after being knocked off my bike by a car, I find lifting difficult, secondly terrain, flat, quite hilly, on road and off road. Now I never thougt of leg length! just presumed you altered the seat etc! Budget? prob 800-1000. Love the Kudos site, will try and find a shop near me.
Thanks again
Sunny

 

[funkylyn]

Hi
Interesting one Snow Patrol, may take up knitting instead of biking.
Sunny

You can do both knitting and cycling sunny....I do.....though not often at the same time
Snow Patrol......amazing.... now I do 'do' them at the same time as cycling

Lynda