Hello, looking for a commuter bike

[warlord0]

Hi All, as an aging unfit male, I potentially find myself needing to attend the office more than the 3 days a week I currently do. Change of job, could see me needing to do 5 days a week. Trouble is, I only have access to the car 3 days a week.

I'm looking at a 15 mile journey each way. On the train it's an hour and 15 min commute, with 5 miles of walking.

Cycling will certainly help me get fitter, but not sure if it's wise or realistic to choose a commuter bike. For the compactness, I like the look of the Mirider GB3 or Whisper 806, but it's going to see 30 miles a day (unless I mix it with the train), 2 days a week. I'm wondering if my fitness will cope, but also if the bike could cope. Should I be looking at something bigger?

 

[RollingChunder]

hour and 15 min commute

It will be a similar journey time on an ebike plus you will have to get up earlier to get waterproofs on and bike ready. Also have to arrive earlier to lock bike up and change clothes, maybe remove battery and lights too. Despite that it's still very rewarding! I do 12.5 miles each way currently. Just want you to be aware it's not the perfect solution for everyone.

 

[Silly_Girl]

A great bike is the Eovolt Morning 16. Its incredibly compact but also rather robust. As im sure you know, there is generally a compromise if you want light weight, compact, and features, but you also want range. It has the hub motor in the rear wheel and the battery is actually the seat post. I think you can eek out 30-31 miles out of it, but a number of factors will determine how far you can go. So the level of assist, inclines, head wind etc and of course your own weight. They also make more robust versions with larger wheels, but they are of course larger bikes and will of course weigh more. My partner got one in leu of a Brompton as it offered better value for money and has proven to be reliable and purposeful. Definitely worth a snoop! x

 

[thelarkbox]

Most ebikes will sail through 15 miles with nominal input from the rider beyond keeping the pedals moving and balancing so fitness wise you can decide how much effort if any you want to contribute, so if you can walk for an hour and 15 mins you can ebike for the same duration ok imho.

the faf of buttoning up and the extra layers to keep warm and dry is a pita compared to opening a car door and sitting down. And the neon yellow look that saves lives can be a struggle for some fashion victims.

go for it and have a premature welcome to the ebike side from me..

 

[matthewslack]

You'll need to decide up front if the bike will go on the train regularly. If not, then no need to overthink it, any generic hub motor bike will do the job.

I'm not clear on the commute details: if there is 5 miles walking each way in 75 minutes using train, then there can't be much train involved! Or is it 2.5 miles walking each way, so 5 miles total per day? Is the walking mostly at one end of the train journey, or evenly split? Is there bike storage at either station?

 

[saneagle]

Hi All, as an aging unfit male, I potentially find myself needing to attend the office more than the 3 days a week I currently do. Change of job, could see me needing to do 5 days a week. Trouble is, I only have access to the car 3 days a week.

I'm looking at a 15 mile journey each way. On the train it's an hour and 15 min commute, with 5 miles of walking.

Cycling will certainly help me get fitter, but not sure if it's wise or realistic to choose a commuter bike. For the compactness, I like the look of the Mirider GB3 or Whisper 806, but it's going to see 30 miles a day (unless I mix it with the train), 2 days a week. I'm wondering if my fitness will cope, but also if the bike could cope. Should I be looking at something bigger?

It's possible to commute 30 miles a day on a bike with small wheels, but it'll be fairly inefficient and not very comfortable. I would recommend a bike with big wheels and the best suspension you can get. Suspension bikes are a bit less efficient than those without but for a journey that long, it'll be a lot more painful without it. After you've done it for a couple of months, your bum toughens up and you don't feel the bumps so much, then a lightweight hybrid or road bike type might be a better solution.

Initially, you'd need a battery with about 500wh, but as your legs become stronger, you'll see that your power consumption starts reducing substantially.

I commuted 14.4 miles each way for a few years. Llike you, I started from a very unfit state. Initially, It took about 80 minutes and used about 340wh with a lot of effort because if I used maximum power, the battery would have run out. In the end, the journey time was around 60 minutes using about 200wh. If I had a much larger battery, and used max power all the time, the time would have been just over an hour. The journet was mainly downhill in the morning and uphill on the way back with a reasonable amount of ups and downs. A flatter route would be a lot easier and quicker.

 

[RollingChunder]

the faf of buttoning up and the extra layers to keep warm and dry is a pita

Sounds silly but this is my biggest factor in deciding to bike or car. Some days, I just don't have the time to faff about at the start and end of a journey despite travel time often being similar.

 

[saneagle]

Sounds silly but this is my biggest factor in deciding to bike or car. Some days, I just don't have the time to faff about at the start and end of a journey despite travel time often being similar.

In the years that I did my 14.4 mile each way commute, the only protective clothes I used were a quilted reflective builders type jacket over my office clothes, which was even too warm at temperatures around freezing, and a cape when it rained. On the coldest winter days, I used, and still do, motorbike gauntlets, and on not such cold winter days I wore/wear Thinsulate-type gloves from Aldi I think. I wear/wore a balaclava on my head during the winter. In the worst case on the coldest days, it's not exactly a faff. I could put it all on before I could get the car off my drive.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

As @saneagle says - do you need a folder ? if not maybe I would go for a bigger wheeled bike for that commute - Wisper have a range or I don't know when Woosh's new bargain crank drive is released. I have got a suspension seat post on the bike I use on the road, which isn't as good as full suspension but helps with the bumps

 

[RollingChunder]

In the years that I did my 14.4 mile each way commute, the only protective clothes I used were a quilted reflective builders type jacket over my office clothes, which was even too warm at temperatures around freezing, and a cape when it rained. On the coldest winter days, I used, and still do, motorbike gauntlets, and on not such cold winter days I wore/wear Thinsulate-type gloves from Aldi I think. I wear/wore a balaclava on my head during the winter. In the worst case on the coldest days, it's not exactly a faff. I could put it all on before I could get the car off my drive.

What about boots and overtrousers?

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi, we have a few (9) Wisper Ex demos for sale at 40% off retail. They come with a 575Wh battery and a full 2 year manufacturer's warranty. All of them have scuff marks on the paintwork as they have been used for exhibitions and put in and out of the van. They are all very low mileage.

All the best, David

 

[saneagle]

What about boots and overtrousers?

I never wore/wear them on a bicycle. The cape covers a lot of you. Mudguards keep most of the spray of your feet, so it's quite important that you have good ones. Over-trousers are no good for cycling. Your legs sweat and get wet inside them. I tried them in the beginning, but soon realised the problem. A cape is much better. With a cape, feet and shins can get a litlle wet, but it was never so bad that it bothered me.

 

[thelarkbox]

Ive had some time consuming clobber over the years Over trousers and boots were indeed some of the worst offenders.
reaching laces when clobbered up with quilted layers and stiff waxed outer layers let alone tying them securely is a challenge..

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Hi, we have a few (9) Wisper Ex demos for sale at 40% off retail. They come with a 575Wh battery and a full 2 year manufacturer's warranty. All of them have scuff marks on the paintwork as they have been used for exhibitions and put in and out of the van. They are all very low mileage.

All the best, David

What models please David ?

 

[RollingChunder]

reaching laces when clobbered up

End up sweating bullets before you've even got on the bike!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

What models please David ?

Hi Peter,

They are 40% off FULL retail price. (For avoidance of any doubt, this is not 40% off our sale prices)

For details and specs please see...

ww.wisperbikes.com

1 x 705t 26" red
1 x 705se 26"black
1 x 705se 24" blue
1 x 705se 24" red
3 x Wayfarer H7 blue (450Wh)
1 x Wayfarer H9 red (450Wh)
1 x 806se black
1 x 905se black

All the best, David

 

[warlord0]

Wow, what a difference a day makes!

Thanks for all the awesome replies. Very helpful. I've been spiralling out of control with options and budgets.

I spent the day planning the route to work. It's just over 14 miles, but 8 miles of it are along the canal - loving the no hills bit

Then I get a call and talk to an old colleague, and they talk about a job that is a serious offer and changes the goal posts. I could be moving jobs to Milton Keynes which is way out of my cycle range, but very commutable, with a 4-mile trip to the train station one end and a ten-minute walk the other. So now this really could be a folder, and the battery life not so vital.

But all the info you guys have posted is invaluable. I thought a 15-mile cycle on an electric bike would be more like a 10-mile ride with 5 miles of assistance. I'd still arrive hot, sweaty and nearly dead. But sounds like the right bike would eat up the miles for me.

Going to do some more research.

 

[saneagle]

Wow, what a difference a day makes!

Thanks for all the awesome replies. Very helpful. I've been spiralling out of control with options and budgets.

I spent the day planning the route to work. It's just over 14 miles, but 8 miles of it are along the canal - loving the no hills bit

Then I get a call and talk to an old colleague, and they talk about a job that is a serious offer and changes the goal posts. I could be moving jobs to Milton Keynes which is way out of my cycle range, but very commutable, with a 4-mile trip to the train station one end and a ten-minute walk the other. So now this really could be a folder, and the battery life not so vital.

But all the info you guys have posted is invaluable. I thought a 15-mile cycle on an electric bike would be more like a 10-mile ride with 5 miles of assistance. I'd still arrive hot, sweaty and nearly dead. But sounds like the right bike would eat up the miles for me.

Going to do some more research.

Wisper Wayfarer with hub-motor would be a very good bike for your sort of commute. It has a very powerful motor in case of steel hills. Everything about it is solid and reliable.

 

[warlord0]

I'm not clear on the commute details: if there is 5 miles walking each way in 75 minutes using train, then there can't be much train involved! Or is it 2.5 miles walking each way, so 5 miles total per day? Is the walking mostly at one end of the train journey, or evenly split? Is there bike storage at either station?

When I do the route on train, it clocks up 5-miles of walking on my step counter - each way, and involves two trains - one very unreliable, and often causing me to get a taxi for that leg, or abandon the trip to work. Abandoning the trip home isn't an option, but the frustration of finding you can't get home without a bus or taxi is so very frustrating.

In all, 75 minutes each way. Frustrating as it's 11-miles as the crow flies.

 

[warlord0]

Wisper Wayfarer with hub-motor would be a very good bike for your sort of commute. It has a very powerful motor in case of steel hills. Everything about it is solid and reliable.

It's the one chosen in my head for the longer journey. Or the Woosh Santana 3 for the wallet - but rim brakes