Hi
I am new to the forum but been using an e-bike for nearly a year and I love it. My primary use is to replace local car journeys and for short daily commute and general zipping into town or out to pubs etc but in nice weather some longer weekend trekking. Occaiasional very easy off road - think tracks and grass, but my other criteria are probably more important. I am lazy on local journeys and even though the terrain is flat I generally push the button and love pulling away at traffic lights next to a man in a white van and looking at his expression when the middle aged female loaded up with laptop bag and yoga mat etc is keeping up with him
I like getting there faster too because my life often runs on late..
My first bike was a hybrid Giant Entour 2 2018 which I loved riding and ticked most boxes except that is very heavy to lift. I have to negotiate stairs and steps on a daily basis so this is my biggest niggle. Not a big enough niggle to compromise the fun I get out of riding by downspecing to a different style of bike but if there is some middle ground or even a couple of kg to spare I think it would help. So I want to stick to a similar bike, finding out what they actually weigh when kitted up with rack, lights, mud guards etc appears to be very hard info to come by. I totally get that for the manufacturers that they are not competing on weight and weight is not a factor in the ride quality, but when it comes to the practical aspects of getting in and out of home and work the heavy beast is quite an effort.
The secondary niggle with the giant was with the light wiring, it was quite a delicate connector and came out really easily (especially when manouvering up and down stairs) and it is really fiddly to get back in, so I'd like something a bit more robust in this department!
Anyway it doesn't look like a replacement giant is on the cards anyway because the insurance can't replace it like for like because the model is out of availability so they have made quite a generous voucher offer instead. The downside of this is not being able to use a local bike shop but the upside from the original cash value makes it worth while. Also, of course I am limited to their suppliers so I don't have unlimited choice but having had a look at the site the choice is quite wide.
My upper price limit is around the 2k mark. A really powerful battery is not critical because I rarely go on rides long enough to really warrant it so that would be a nice to have.
Size wise I should have a S (I am 5ft 5 of the female variety) but I tried a Raleigh 44cm and it felt too small. The Giant was an M which was technically too big although it felt ok. It is also useful to be slightly on the larger side so the (taller) other half can borrow from time to time - so it seems there is some flexibility on this point.
It seems that most of the manufacturers are using similar specs and parts and I have no way of choosing between them.
These are the hybrid manufacturers on offer to me in my price point:
Rayleigh, Cube, Haibike, Merida, Scott, Ridgeback, Forme, La Pierre, Orbea, KTM,
Does anyone know if any of these are significantly lighter than others and, if they are, what is the compromise? I heard Orbea bikes were lighter but I don't know if it is all of them or specific models.
I have tried a Raleigh and a Haibike and both felt an improvement on my giant to be honest and these might be easier to get serviced locally but I will do a bit more research on this when I have a shorter list.
I am going to up the security this time too - the old one was nicked from a station car park under CCTV too. So I am tempted by a frame lock with an alarm as well as a decent D Lock, so an integrated lock is not critical because I kind of want to upspec this bit anyway. I had a tile tracker (blue tooth) hidden on the old bike, when it was nicked this gave early visibility on its initial movement, to the point that the thieves have been tracked to another CCTV camera but the trail has now gone cold so they have either found it and removed or the bike is out of battery (because a feature of giant is that you can't charge it without removing the battery) and the bike is sitting in a shed somewhere.
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated as I am looking to be a bit more informed on this purchase than the last one.
Thanks in advance
I am new to the forum but been using an e-bike for nearly a year and I love it. My primary use is to replace local car journeys and for short daily commute and general zipping into town or out to pubs etc but in nice weather some longer weekend trekking. Occaiasional very easy off road - think tracks and grass, but my other criteria are probably more important. I am lazy on local journeys and even though the terrain is flat I generally push the button and love pulling away at traffic lights next to a man in a white van and looking at his expression when the middle aged female loaded up with laptop bag and yoga mat etc is keeping up with him
I like getting there faster too because my life often runs on late..My first bike was a hybrid Giant Entour 2 2018 which I loved riding and ticked most boxes except that is very heavy to lift. I have to negotiate stairs and steps on a daily basis so this is my biggest niggle. Not a big enough niggle to compromise the fun I get out of riding by downspecing to a different style of bike but if there is some middle ground or even a couple of kg to spare I think it would help. So I want to stick to a similar bike, finding out what they actually weigh when kitted up with rack, lights, mud guards etc appears to be very hard info to come by. I totally get that for the manufacturers that they are not competing on weight and weight is not a factor in the ride quality, but when it comes to the practical aspects of getting in and out of home and work the heavy beast is quite an effort.
The secondary niggle with the giant was with the light wiring, it was quite a delicate connector and came out really easily (especially when manouvering up and down stairs) and it is really fiddly to get back in, so I'd like something a bit more robust in this department!
Anyway it doesn't look like a replacement giant is on the cards anyway because the insurance can't replace it like for like because the model is out of availability so they have made quite a generous voucher offer instead. The downside of this is not being able to use a local bike shop but the upside from the original cash value makes it worth while. Also, of course I am limited to their suppliers so I don't have unlimited choice but having had a look at the site the choice is quite wide.
My upper price limit is around the 2k mark. A really powerful battery is not critical because I rarely go on rides long enough to really warrant it so that would be a nice to have.
Size wise I should have a S (I am 5ft 5 of the female variety) but I tried a Raleigh 44cm and it felt too small. The Giant was an M which was technically too big although it felt ok. It is also useful to be slightly on the larger side so the (taller) other half can borrow from time to time - so it seems there is some flexibility on this point.
It seems that most of the manufacturers are using similar specs and parts and I have no way of choosing between them.
These are the hybrid manufacturers on offer to me in my price point:
Rayleigh, Cube, Haibike, Merida, Scott, Ridgeback, Forme, La Pierre, Orbea, KTM,
Does anyone know if any of these are significantly lighter than others and, if they are, what is the compromise? I heard Orbea bikes were lighter but I don't know if it is all of them or specific models.
I have tried a Raleigh and a Haibike and both felt an improvement on my giant to be honest and these might be easier to get serviced locally but I will do a bit more research on this when I have a shorter list.
I am going to up the security this time too - the old one was nicked from a station car park under CCTV too. So I am tempted by a frame lock with an alarm as well as a decent D Lock, so an integrated lock is not critical because I kind of want to upspec this bit anyway. I had a tile tracker (blue tooth) hidden on the old bike, when it was nicked this gave early visibility on its initial movement, to the point that the thieves have been tracked to another CCTV camera but the trail has now gone cold so they have either found it and removed or the bike is out of battery (because a feature of giant is that you can't charge it without removing the battery) and the bike is sitting in a shed somewhere.
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated as I am looking to be a bit more informed on this purchase than the last one.
Thanks in advance
