help with buying a new ebike

[trouters]

Hi there group members, thanks for accepting me to the group, my name is Anthony ,but please call me Tony, im 64 and a recovering quadruple heart patient in need of some gentle exercise , and an ebike is just what i need , i have an exercise bike at home and use it most good days, would like some advice on what and where i should buy one, i have seen a few good looking bikes , and my neighbours have bought a few from one seller in Bolton, they are German made and the read up sounds good, my second choice was an American compony that delivers more or less world wide, but my son has advised me to buy local as in Halfords, as it would be easier to get repairs and less hassle if i have any problems from the word go, decisions decisions, so a little help needed i think many thanks Tony

 

[sjpt]

One important thing is your budget. I guess you won't be looking for gruelling rides, but how hilly is it round you, and how heavy are you?

The German bike was most likely a Cube? They have good reputation. Dealers vary widely. One issue is the Bosch propriety electrical system (same on many other brands too including Crossfuse). Mainly reliable, but expensive and often very slow to fix (dealer has to return motor to Germany and wait for return) if anything does go wrong; batteries must be Bosch batteries and are very expensive. Many other mid to high end systems are similarly proprietary and expensive to fix.

Halford's have some good bikes (eg Crossfuse) and some that have been very troublesome (Crossfire). Customer service has been very patchy, especially on resolving Crossfire issues.

US bikes are likely to be made to different regulations and may well not be strictly legal on UK roads (or bridleways); main UK requirements for a pedalec are 250w nominal motor and 15.5 mph max assisted speed (you can go faster, but the motor mustn't help you). Anything more and you need license, tax and insurance. The rules aren't followed up very often, so you'd almost certainly get away with any small technical issues, though. Also you may well have issues with service.

Many here recommend the small brands, Woosh, Juicy, Wisper and Oxygen. All well rated for customer service. I can only personally vouch for Woosh, we have one of their kits. They mainly use quality branded Chinese electrical systems; just as reliable, but parts are much cheaper and more interchangeable (far from always interchangeable) should you get issues.

 

[Amoto65]

As a recovering heart patient myself of the same age I would recommend a hub driven bike at first, When I got out of hospital I had a rear hub driven Wisper 905se which was very reliable and ideal as you could ghost pedal and build up your strength slowly, After a while as my strength built up I bought a Carrera Crossfuse with a crank motor which requires more rider input I now use this most of the time around the Peak District covering about 100 miles a week.

 

[Benjahmin]

To add, you should be aware that there are two systems of providing the power assist.
All legal bikes have to be peddled to get the power. One system uses torque sensing. This senses the power you are putting in and gives you a percentage adding as assisstance. i.e. 25, 50,75 100%. The thing here is that you have to be actively involved - if you don't push you don't get power.
The second is cadence sensing (referred to as pas) here, so long as the peddles are rotated, you get power. So if you find yourself suddenly knackered or breathless you merely rotate the peddles to get you home.
The first is on all Bosch bikes and European bikes in general. These are the ones with proprietry systems that tie you in to their bateeries etc.
The second are mostly on hub powered bikes and are, mostly, generic parts of chinese origin that are owner obtainable and replaceable. Also on a lot of these bikes you will get a throttle.
For your condition I would recommend the latter, at least as a get you out there bike.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi welcome