Help ...... which bike

[tonythesaint]

Hi,
I'm new to this site but i need some guidance as to which bike to buy, i,ve had a look at the Salisbury LPX and a Powabyke euro and will ride both this weekend. I need to commute 3 miles to work and its quite hilly and being 15 stone i need some help as too what machine would be best suited.
I have a budget of £1000 as i will be buying it thru the cyclescheme but my local bikeshop can supply with any make.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Tony.

 

[Ian]

Hello and welcome to the forum Tony.

Try both them both by all means but make sure you try the Powacycle on a hill comparable to those on your commute. I don't think there is any doubt the Powabyke will manage your weight on most hills but the Powacycle is a less powerful machine and may struggle if the hills are too steep. With a return distance of only 6 miles range should not be a problem with either bike.

The Powabyke is quite heavy and less refined and stylish than many of its competitors but does the job and may well be the best choice for you. In addition it benefits from good support from a comprehensive dealer network.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Tony,
firstly a warm welcome to the forum.
The choices are many and varied, but for your purposes and with your budget, my first choice would be a Wisper Works 905se imported from Germany. They are of Chinese manufacture by a British owned company and cost £1200 if bought within the UK, but the same bike can be bought through eBay from Germany for £895 + £70 for delivery Wisper 905SE Pedelec Ebike Elektrofahrrad NEU on eBay, also Elektrofahrräder, Fahrräder, Radsport, Sport (end time 15-Feb-08 13:47:42 GMT)
You will need to spend a couple of hours assembling it.
The problem with this is you won't be able to get one through the Cycle to work scheme unless your local cycle shop will source it that way and that is very doubtful. Worth asking though.

My 2nd choice within budget from a UK source, Bearing in mind the terrain and relatively short distance would be an Ezee Quando, they are soo much fun. The downside with this one is battery life unless you can get one with a HiMh rather than Li Ion battery.
I have also heard of problems between the manufacturer and the UK dealer.
You will no doubt get other recomendations from forum members.

Good luck

John

 

[stokepa31]

Hi Tony

just some info you may find useful. my bike was over the £1000 limit set under the scheme but there is a way round it. Our scheme was through halfords but they got the bike via 50 cycles and I paid the £1000 through the scheme and paid for the battery as an additional item myself. It fits the rules of the sheme as the bikes are capable of being ridden without batteries!

Good luck. You will love it when you take delivery whatever you go for.

Paul

 

[frank9755]

Tony,

I had a cycling weekend in Ross-on-Wye last year, and you are right, it is hilly!

I agree with Ian's comments.
A Powabyke will get you up most hills and they have the best dealer network - which if you read all the threads about people who have bought mail order you will see is not insignificant.
My wife has a Powacycle and its a great bike on moderate hills but I doubt it will be enough for your terrain.

John / Aldby and I both have Wispers but I don't think it would have enough torque for your hills. Its faster than the Powabyke but not in the same league on the hills.

Others to consider, alongside the Powabyke, are - unfortunately both mail order only - the Ezee F-Series and Kalkhoff Agattu, sold by 50 Cycles.

Frank

 

[coops]

Another downside with the Quando which John mentioned is its single gear only, so its less suited for pedalling if you wanted exercise Tony .

Conversely bikes like the kalkhoff agattu require you to pedal and are very much like normal bikes but with power assist through the gears for hills or speed. Maybe a bit over your budget though.

In between are most other bikes and bear in mind that the ezee Torq now has much more torque and should be good on hills, though not as fast on lesser slopes as previously, and maybe also overkill/overpriced for your short commute.

Still, if you can test ride any ebikes, you might find that you would like to ride one more widely which might make a good investment worthwhile .

I agree with whats been said re the powacycle vs powabyke.

Good luck with your choice & welcome to pedelecs .

Stuart.

 

[tonythesaint]

Thanks

Hi,
Thanks for the advice guys, i've now tried both the Powabyke Euro and the Powacycle Salisbury on my work commute and you are correct the Powerbyke is much better suited to my needs.
I shall order up a Powabyke euro but i need a little more advice first, is it worth the extra £300 for the battery upgrade ? Seems a lot of money to me, or is this the way forward ?
Any help would be much appreciated again.
Tony.

 

[Ian]

Unless you find the weight of the bike with its standard lead-acid batteries a problem you're probably better off not upgrading. Lithium batteries are still rather new, and in some other brands have suffered from very short lives. While the chances are they will outlive the standard lead-acid batteries the high initial and replacement cost makes it likely that they will be more expensive in the long term.

 

[fcurran]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice guys, i've now tried both the Powabyke Euro and the Powacycle Salisbury on my work commute and you are correct the Powerbyke is much better suited to my needs.
I shall order up a Powabyke euro but i need a little more advice first, is it worth the extra £300 for the battery upgrade ? Seems a lot of money to me, or is this the way forward ?
Any help would be much appreciated again.
Tony.

Hi Tony, lithium reduces the weight by 8kg which is a significant reduction and as a result will improve performance, handling, manoeuverability, hill climbing and average speed. The life of the battery too is far greater - up to 3 times the life of the lead acid - lead acid 2-300 charges or cycles, lithium 5-700 charges or cycles. So even though initially there is £300 extra to pay, in the long run the lithium will work out the same, if not cheaper than the lead acid battery.

Depending on the length of your regular journey I would advise a lithium battery.

Regards

Frank

 

[fishingpaul]

I would go for lead acid batteries,if they fail they only cost around £100 to replace and often last 2 or 3 years,lithium at £300 are not really proven at present and seem to be lasting less.remember at short distances, lead acid may only need charging once or twice per week,lithium need charging after every use.

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

Sla

I would go for lead acid batteries,if they fail they only cost around £100 to replace and often last 2 or 3 years,lithium at £300 are not really proven at present and seem to be lasting less.remember at short distances, lead acid may only need charging once or twice per week,lithium need charging after every use.

i'd second that, i have spent £200 buying 2 extra sla batts for my two steel framed 40kg bikes, by designating one batt for long journys & the other for short hops, i'm hoping to get about three years life, or 10,000 miles from each pair, only time will tell, i'm at 18 months and have ridden over 5,000 and the sla batts are still in good shape returning about 65-70% of their original distance.

i try to run the batts to no more than 75% usage and i charge them back up as soon as possible, they're heavy, but they never fail or cut-out & give their all, all the time, although cold weather will cut range by up to 30%. i ride every day and both these batts have been charged just under 200 times

Battery technology is starting to gain pace, they have certainly improved in the time i've been riding and i'm hoping that in about a year, when i'll be looking for replacements, things will have moved on a little further. i'm looking forward to trialling the new LiFepo4 shortly.

SLA is old technology, but it's reliable, it's cheap, easily obtainable & generally trouble-free.

just my tuppenceworth for the old stuff,
beeps

 

[Mandy]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice guys, i've now tried both the Powabyke Euro and the Powacycle Salisbury on my work commute and you are correct the Powerbyke is much better suited to my needs.
I shall order up a Powabyke euro but i need a little more advice first, is it worth the extra £300 for the battery upgrade ? Seems a lot of money to me, or is this the way forward ?
Any help would be much appreciated again.
Tony.

Hi Tony

I own and rode a Powabyke for 3 years and I have to say it is superb on hills! I would stick with the lead acid battery and although heavy, mine lasted 3 years and was upgraded just one month before I bought my new SE from Germany. You can also by the cells on line.
The bike is dependable and I can honestly say that it gave me no problems at all. I had one puncture in 3 years which was not bad and it carried me to work and back without any concerns, cut outs or anything.

I was advised to charge up my lead acid battery after every ride on purchase of which I did and I think this was the key to it lasting so long.
I guess with the weight of the battery this would not be practical if you live in an upper storie flat but fine for charging on the bike in your garden or carrrying a short distance indoors.

I love my new SE but it is not the greatest on hlls but does okay with them, however I have not got a lot of hills to contend with here down south. It is a lot faster than the Powabyke on the flat and shaves around 5 to 7 minutes off my journey, but by the time you are ready to replace the bike a newer model will be out that can achieve both, of which I am sure

Kindest Regards

Mandy