Hello - need help with a decision

[Glasgow123]

Hi there,

I've been following the advances with electric bikes for the last couple of years hoping to save up enough to buy one for the commute.

i already cycle to work around three days a week until the weather gets too bad (Glasgow can be brutal in the winter) but my knees are starting to complain about the hills on the way back home. The climb on the way back is about 400 to 500 feet over 8 miles or so. I'm not as young as used to be and carrying a bit more weight than I should be. So, I was hoping a pedelec might keep me on the road.

The thing that swung it to prompt me into making a purchase is that the company I work for just signed up to one of the cycle to work schemes.

My budget is up to £1000 and i think I've got it down to a choice of two at the moment, both from e-bikes direct.

The Cyclotricity 500W Dual Power and the Greened CS2.

http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Item/Brands/Cyclotricity/CycloTricity_Stealth_500W_Dual_Power_Electric_Bike-9Ah_17_Frame.aspx

http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Item/Brands/Green_Edge/Greenedge_CS2_Electric_Mountain_Bike-Greenedge_CS2.aspx

The specs for the money seems really good but I just wondered if I'm missing something vital. Does anyone have any experience of either or no much about the reputation of the bikes or the supplier?

I was thinking the Greened purely on price, but it seems to be their own brand and I worried a bit about being able to get spares further down the line.

Hope it's OK to ask a question just after joining.

Thanks,

G

 

[Benjahmin]

Hi G,
Welcome to the forum.
A quick look at the Cyclotricity says to me that it's not actually road legal. 'Of road switches', as they are called, are prohibited under current legislation. You can only use a bike with a motor rated greater than 250 watts on private land to which the public have no access. Also a 9Ah battery may be a bit small for your hilly return, especially in windy winter weather.
The same battery consideration applies to the greenedge, range tends to drop in colder weather (I'm guessing you get a bit of that in Glasgow) and also with age. It would be better to look for a larger battery or consider charging at work.
Halfords do this one:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-crossfire-e-mens-electric-bike
Several on this forum have one and speak well of it. The spec doesn't say but I'm guessing this has a 12-14Ah battery. Think Halfords do the bike scheme.
I know there are members from Glasgow, perhaps they can give you local supply knowledge.
Good luck and go and try a few.

 

[Glasgow123]

Hi G,
Welcome to the forum.
A quick look at the Cyclotricity says to me that it's not actually road legal. 'Of road switches', as they are called, are prohibited under current legislation. You can only use a bike with a motor rated greater than 250 watts on private land to which the public have no access. Also a 9Ah battery may be a bit small for your hilly return, especially in windy winter weather.
The same battery consideration applies to the greenedge, range tends to drop in colder weather (I'm guessing you get a bit of that in Glasgow) and also with age. It would be better to look for a larger battery or consider charging at work.
Halfords do this one:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/carrera-crossfire-e-mens-electric-bike
Several on this forum have one and speak well of it. The spec doesn't say but I'm guessing this has a 12-14Ah battery. Think Halfords do the bike scheme.
I know there are members from Glasgow, perhaps they can give you local supply knowledge.
Good luck and go and try a few.

Thanks Benjamin,

That's interesting re the road switch. I didn't realise that wouldn't meet the regulations for power restriction. I thought it might be a bit touch and go with the 9Ah battery but I figured I wouldn't need to use the motor much on the way in. Rather than hilly, it's more like one big 8 mile long hill - which makes for a gloriously easy fast run on the way in, not so much fun on the way back!

I had looked at the Carrera Crossfire but it looked a bit on the heavy side. I've had the normal Carrera Crossfire and it was a heavy bike even without the electrics on it but I'll maybe go and give it a spin at Halfords to see what it feels like. The Greenedge CS2 is show on Halfords as 16kg and 19kg on e-bikesdirect (which seems to good to be true - might get in touch with them). I can't find a weight for the Carrera Crossfire anywhere but someone who said they'd retrofitted a crossfire 3 as an bike said it was coming in at 28kg - seriously heavy. On the ride in I'm rarely below 15.5mph so I'm thinking it will feel quite heavy without the assistance. That's what had put me off it because apart from that the spec looked quite good. Does anyone have the weight for it?

I might have a look into the effect of the cold on the battery as i hadn't considered that at all.

Thanks for advice!

G

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That bike will take you at least 30 hilly miles, so it'll easily be enough for what you want.

 

[Angelnorth]

On the ride in I'm rarely below 15.5mph so I'm thinking it will feel quite heavy without the assistance.

An Ebike may not be for you if you mean you rarely go below 15.5mph even on your long uphill. A (legal) motor can only provide assistance at speeds up to 15.4mph, after that you're on your own so it sounds like you'd just be pedaling a heavy bike!

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hi G.....I notice you are dealing with e-bikes direct,they have recently been sent details of our latest Kudos Alamo/Stealth bikes. These bikes are specifically designed to offer electric assist on a sports style bike,with semi concealed Samsung battery (11Ah) and low rolling resistance sports tyres....is this the sort of bike you intended?
The bike is light with a big chainring so it will ride easily even when the speed is above the legal limit,the range will be easily 35 miles plus.
KudosDave

 

[Benjahmin]

My own bike is a converted Crossfire 3. Before conversion I weighed the bike at 14Kg. I converted using an Ezee front hub kit with 14Ah battery. After conversion the bike was 28Kg BUT this was including panniers, carradice handlebar box, water bottle, Crivit frame mounted lock and lights. Weight has never been a problem 'cause the motors so bloody good. And that's cycling west Wales hills.
However I'm not a commuter, merely pleasure, so your needs are different.

 

[Glasgow123]

That bike will take you at least 30 hilly miles, so it'll easily be enough for what you want.

Good to know. Thanks

 

[Glasgow123]

An Ebike may not be for you if you mean you rarely go below 15.5mph even on your long uphill. A (legal) motor can only provide assistance at speeds up to 15.4mph, after that you're on your own so it sounds like you'd just be pedaling a heavy bike!

I'm regularly above the 15.5mph on the way into work downhill and flat! However, on the way back it's pretty much between 9 and 12 most of the way - that's where I'm really interested in the help from the motor. On the steeper bits my knees are really starting to feel it.

I just thought that if I don't need it much on the way in then the battery should easily cope with the 8 mile return even if it is uphill.

 

[Glasgow123]

My own bike is a converted Crossfire 3. Before conversion I weighed the bike at 14Kg. I converted using an Ezee front hub kit with 14Ah battery. After conversion the bike was 28Kg BUT this was including panniers, carradice handlebar box, water bottle, Crivit frame mounted lock and lights. Weight has never been a problem 'cause the motors so bloody good. And that's cycling west Wales hills.
However I'm not a commuter, merely pleasure, so your needs are different.

To be honest, if it's coping with all that gear it might well be what I'm after. Have you ever suffered from the battery cut-out issues that some people have been having with it?

 

[Glasgow123]

Hi G.....I notice you are dealing with e-bikes direct,they have recently been sent details of our latest Kudos Alamo/Stealth bikes. These bikes are specifically designed to offer electric assist on a sports style bike,with semi concealed Samsung battery (11Ah) and low rolling resistance sports tyres....is this the sort of bike you intended?
The bike is light with a big chainring so it will ride easily even when the speed is above the legal limit,the range will be easily 35 miles plus.
KudosDave

Thank Dave. I did have a look at the stealth but was ideally looking for something with disc brakes which tend to handle the Scottish rain a bit better. Good looking bike though.

I'll probably end up with puncture resistance tyres on it as the reliability is probably more important to me that the speed. I used to have problems with punctures all the time then got some Schwalbes and never looked back.

To be honest the Kudos Rapide is probably more like what I'm after but just a bit out of my price range.

 

[Angelnorth]

I'm regularly above the 15.5mph on the way into work downhill and flat! However, on the way back it's pretty much between 9 and 12 most of the way - that's where I'm really interested in the help from the motor. On the steeper bits my knees are really starting to feel it.

I just thought that if I don't need it much on the way in then the battery should easily cope with the 8 mile return even if it is uphill.

In that case, an Ebike sounds like a great idea! If you're basically not needing to use the assist on the way in to work, even a smaller capacity battery should cope easily with the return. I live in pretty hilly Northumberland and 8 miles would typically only take one bar off my 375wh battery. It is a torque bike which I believe is usually a bit lighter on battery use than cadence ones but you're not remotely in the realm of worrying about it (unless you get the bug and end up wanting to do much longer leisure rides!).

Do you have a local Ebike dealer? Going and trying some out will give you much more idea than you will ever get from reading any number of specs, reviews etc.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thank Dave. I did have a look at the stealth but was ideally looking for something with disc brakes which tend to handle the Scottish rain a bit better. Good looking bike though.

I'll probably end up with puncture resistance tyres on it as the reliability is probably more important to me that the speed. I used to have problems with punctures all the time then got some Schwalbes and never looked back.

To be honest the Kudos Rapide is probably more like what I'm after but just a bit out of my price range.

There is one Rapide in our ex demo list,I rode that bike myself yesterday,I don't think it has done many miles,There is an odometer on that bike so someone at Kudos could give you an idea of miles travelled.
I really like the hydraulic brakes on the Rapide,they lower lever strain on fast steep downhill stops.
From memory I think it was about £1100.
The Rapide and Sonata are the best spec bikes that Kudos has had manufactured,I think they are good value but most Brits don't want to spend more than £1k.
KudosDave

 

[Glasgow123]

There is one Rapide in our ex demo list,I rode that bike myself yesterday,I don't think it has done many miles,There is an odometer on that bike so someone at Kudos could give you an idea of miles travelled.
I really like the hydraulic brakes on the Rapide,they lower lever strain on fast steep downhill stops.
From memory I think it was about £1100.
The Rapide and Sonata are the best spec bikes that Kudos has had manufactured,I think they are good value but most Brits don't want to spend more than £1k.
KudosDave

Now you've got me tempted - I'll take a look!

 

[Glasgow123]

There is one Rapide in our ex demo list,I rode that bike myself yesterday,I don't think it has done many miles,There is an odometer on that bike so someone at Kudos could give you an idea of miles travelled.
I really like the hydraulic brakes on the Rapide,they lower lever strain on fast steep downhill stops.
From memory I think it was about £1100.
The Rapide and Sonata are the best spec bikes that Kudos has had manufactured,I think they are good value but most Brits don't want to spend more than £1k.
KudosDave

The Rapide looks really really good. Would an ex-demo still qualify for the cycle to work schemes? I couldn't see an ex-demo bit on the website - would I just need to ring up?

 

[Kudoscycles]

The Rapide looks really really good. Would an ex-demo still qualify for the cycle to work schemes? I couldn't see an ex-demo bit on the website - would I just need to ring up?

No,I don't have a cycle to work scheme,we don't put the ex demo bikes on our website because these are mainly sold to local people in our home area,but if it seems appropriate I offer the odd one on this forum.
Ring up Kudos and talk to Scott or Andy and they will get the bike out and give you a full description,the spec is on our website.
KudosDave

 

[Glasgow123]

No,I don't have a cycle to work scheme,we don't put the ex demo bikes on our website because these are mainly sold to local people in our home area,but if it seems appropriate I offer the odd one on this forum.
Ring up Kudos and talk to Scott or Andy and they will get the bike out and give you a full description,the spec is on our website.
KudosDave

Thanks Dave

 

[Benjahmin]

To be honest, if it's coping with all that gear it might well be what I'm after. Have you ever suffered from the battery cut-out issues that some people have been having with it?

I've never managed to run the 14Ah battery flat, it has more range than my bum! Most I've had out of it, on summer holiday in Cornwall, is 36 miles with plenty to spare. On a cold day around here, when my knees don't feel so good (so less effort from me) I've been down to one bar after 26 miles.
As always depends on wind, terrain and your own effort.

 

[Glasgow123]

No,I don't have a cycle to work scheme,we don't put the ex demo bikes on our website because these are mainly sold to local people in our home area,but if it seems appropriate I offer the odd one on this forum.
Ring up Kudos and talk to Scott or Andy and they will get the bike out and give you a full description,the spec is on our website.
KudosDave

That's a shame you don't have a bike scheme. Not sure I can really afford it without it. Do you have any Scottish distributers at all?

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi there,

I've been following the advances with electric bikes for the last couple of years hoping to save up enough to buy one for the commute.

i already cycle to work around three days a week until the weather gets too bad (Glasgow can be brutal in the winter) but my knees are starting to complain about the hills on the way back home. The climb on the way back is about 400 to 500 feet over 8 miles or so. I'm not as young as used to be and carrying a bit more weight than I should be. So, I was hoping a pedelec might keep me on the road.

The thing that swung it to prompt me into making a purchase is that the company I work for just signed up to one of the cycle to work schemes.

My budget is up to £1000 and i think I've got it down to a choice of two at the moment, both from e-bikes direct.

The Cyclotricity 500W Dual Power and the Greened CS2.

http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Item/Brands/Cyclotricity/CycloTricity_Stealth_500W_Dual_Power_Electric_Bike-9Ah_17_Frame.aspx

http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Item/Brands/Green_Edge/Greenedge_CS2_Electric_Mountain_Bike-Greenedge_CS2.aspx

The specs for the money seems really good but I just wondered if I'm missing something vital. Does anyone have any experience of either or no much about the reputation of the bikes or the supplier?

I was thinking the Greened purely on price, but it seems to be their own brand and I worried a bit about being able to get spares further down the line.

Hope it's OK to ask a question just after joining.

Thanks,

G

Hi G
M8 Cycles in Coatbridge ML5 4RY have Juicys in stock and can supply through the Cycle to Work Scheme.