Help finding an electric (preferably folding) bike for a big bloke.

[LongbowArcher]

Hi I see on Ebay the a similar bike £559 But they say 100 kilos But they are in the midlands you could Try Befog you BUY

PRO RIDER FOLDING ELECTRIC BIKE 48KM RANGE E BIKE | eBay


Frank

That looks a good bike and cheap too... the warranty looks fantastic !

Sugar... now I am wondering what to do again.... lol

 

[LongbowArcher]

It looks very similar to the Batribike Breeze so I have emailed for the replacement battery price and to see if my weight would invalidate thier super duper warranty.

 

[flecc]

That looks a good bike and cheap too... the warranty looks fantastic !

Sugar... now I am wondering what to do again.... lol

It's only 100 kg capacity, so well short of what you want. Also it worries me when I see lots of hype, some of it inaccurate. For example, repeatedly there's comments on the "high powered" battery. Batteries do not have power, that's what motors have, batteries have capacity. This shows remarkable technical ignorance from someone who states he is very capable of maintaining the bike and giving full backup.
.

 

[LongbowArcher]

Right then... back to the Batribike then lol...

I got it onto my head that the weight capacity wasnt set in stone and that some are over or understated for safety reasons for some reason but yes you are right...

 

[morphix]

I ride a 26" folder which is a cheap Chinese clone of the Dahon Espresso and it's a very strong sturdy folding bike, ideal for someone taller and heavier.. I converted mine myself, but if your budget can stretch and you want a ready-made one, you could try the Electric Wheel Company who sell converted Espresso's for £1.2k, although with smaller 6Ah batteries. If you fancy converting yourself Dahon do several 26" folding bikes that aren't too expensive.

I don't drive so I can't comment on whether a 26" would be possible to fit in a hatchback or not..looking at my own bike I think it might be a challenge! So perhaps you'll need a 20" instead.

I know what you mean about the high gearing.. I have to keep my bike very highly geared and only have two gears, fast and very fast else I can't keep up with the motor on full power.

 

[flecc]

Yes, there are safety factors in weights as I mentioned before, but this one at 20 to 30 kilos short of what you want is worse than the others you were looking at. At least the Batribike warranty covers your weight range, they are premises based and have a fairly wide dealer network, all giving some assurance.

 

[LongbowArcher]

Yes, there are safety factors in weights as I mentioned before, but this one at 20 to 30 kilos short of what you want is worse than the others you were looking at. At least the Batribike warranty covers your weight range, they are premises based and have a fairly wide dealer network, all giving some assurance.

Yes I see...I do intend to los a lot of my weight this year... the Batribike works out at £924 with delivery the 100kg one is £559 including delivery and they are only and its a collect and return warranty if there are problems...

I was thinking if the firm will still honour the warranty knowing my weight is 120kg I might save the £365 and go for the Pro Rider, they have a shop in Loughborough about an hour from me and they do a lot of other big stuff like mobility scooters... they arent just an ebay seller...

£365 is a lot of saving and its just about the same spec apart from the control system and gears...

I can easily talk myself both ways and round in circles though and every tip somepne gives me changes my mind again...

The Pro rider firm did email me back saying the bike will still be fine with my weight but will do less distance than stated so I have asked about the warranty.

 

[flecc]

That's a good reply then, comforting to know they aren't just ebay based. As others have said, if you can get to try at least one that would be even better, maybe Pro Rider could provide that as they are close enough?

E-bikes are very personal things and it's best to be certain you are happy with riding your choice.

 

[LongbowArcher]

That's a good reply then, comforting to know they aren't just ebay based. As others have said, if you can get to try at least one that would be even better, maybe Pro Rider could provide that as they are close enough?

E-bikes are very personal things and it's best to be certain you are happy with riding your choice.

Thanks everso much for all your advice Flecc I have decided to save the money and go for the pro rider...they have sent me in writing a promise to honour the warranty at my full weight bearing in mind I am 45 years old and not going to be doing stunts and bumping up kerbs on it...

Its the only firm I have seen that collects the bike and delivers it back to you at no cost to yourself should there be a serious problem...

I am sure I will be happy with it as my missus has the Izip and that is almost good enough for me... just needs a bit more power...

The firms site also say that I have 7 days to send it back under the distance selling regs if not happy so looking at the site and speaking to one of thier guys by email I think they will be as good a firm to buy from as any...

They do mobility stuff so will be used to dealing with old fogies as well so I should be ok with them...

For my peace of mind I have the shops "home" warranty plus if I buy through paypal I have the 45 days paypal cover... should it be a total flop but I think I will be ok with this bike plus £365 in my pocket to blow on something else... I had mentally spent the money already...

They say that they have understated thier maximum capacity in the vein of "under promise over deliver"

I will do a review of first impressions when it comes.

As well as thier shop the firm has 6930 feedback and 100% positive and being an ebay seller myself I know how difficult it is to keep 100% positive these days (I sell LED and CFL energy saving bulbs for a living and I use ebay too, on my big account I have 25,000 feedback but only 99.5% positive and I try my very best to keep the negatives down but with bulbs sometimes people dont even give you chance to put it right before leaving bad feedback so 6930 feedback and 100% positive is very good for any seller)

The battery is also £100 cheaper than the batribike one which helped swing it for me...

I might regret it but I feel quite positive so far about it all...

 

[flecc]

I saw the excellent feedback. I look forward to what you think about it and a review in due course, it will help others in their similar quest.

 

[LongbowArcher]

Other fat blokes you mean ?
Will do a review on the whole experience yes.
Thanks again

 

[12xu22]

there is this one:

ProMotion Folding Electric Bike

 

[x332race]

Hiya my partner weighs 18 1/2 stones and has just had his Dahon Speed bike converted to electric the motor is a bafang with 36v battery and it pulls him with no problem's, but as Flecc says avoid pot holes and curbs, my patners motor is on the front wheel hope this helps.
Regards Sammy

Sorry to hijack this thread, but how did you fit the motor to the front forks? Were the forks replaced as I thought the standard Dahon front forks were too narrow?

 

[RoadieRoger]

That Folder 12xu is my Batribike Folder by another name . That is the same as my Quartz SE model , motor in the front wheel and battery on the seat tube . The slight difference is the small bracing tube at the bottom of the headstock . That`s good value, mine was £650 18 months ago .

 

[12xu22]

That Folder 12xu is my Batribike Folder by another name . That is the same as my Quartz SE model , motor in the front wheel and battery on the seat tube . The slight difference is the small bracing tube at the bottom of the headstock . That`s good value, mine was £650 18 months ago .

significant saving if it is the same bike, the quartz is going for £800+

 

[LongbowArcher]

Out of stock though but that looks a great price if its the same as the Quartz (the older pre LCD one)...

The Quartz LCD is £899 + £25 delivery...

Interesting to see the max capacity rated as 10kg lower for the same bike though which confirms Fleccs observations earlier...

 

[flecc]

Not the same bike though, it's a 24 volt one and there is that frame strut difference so could be weaker.

The Batribike is a 36 volt model.

 

[LongbowArcher]

Aha sorry I didnt read the spec...

Can I just say a big thank you to everyone who has helped with the advice...

I have gone ahead and comitted to buying one and am really looking forward to getting it...

At the end of the day it will suit my needs I dont want something that can get me up a steep hill with no effort as I want to get fitter and I think its best to spend £559 than £924 for my first leccy bike... I can always sell it and get something else in the future...

I am sure I will become known as "that fat bloke wo has an electric bike" locally soon too...

My first ever time on a leccy bike was only a few days ago...I went out after building it up for the missus and a neighbour (who doesnt talk much normally except to say hello) saw me and asked me what on earth it was... I explained and she was really really interested and wanted to know all the details... I had only been out on it a few minutes... I reckon she wants one now...

 

[RoadieRoger]

My Quartz SE is 24V 8Ah , I saved £100 as opposed to the 10Ah battery and was obviously a run out model . When I bought mine the 10Ah battery standard model was out of stock . Mine is quoted as 120 Kg Max. Load . A month later the new model came out with the motor in the rear wheel , the battery on the carrier and 36V . I think the weight distribution is more even on the earlier model , it is certainly nicely balanced for a 70+ year old to carry down steps .

 

[bode]

Another longbow archer

A bit off course from the main thrust of this thread, but if you are a longbow archer as implied in your nickname, you may like to know that it is possible to carry a longbow on a folding e-bike (and I do, on occasion):