June 19, 201510 yr First of all, hi all! I have spent my afternoon trawling through the forums looking at recommendations for good hill climbers but haven't found anyone who had quite the same requirements as me so thought I would ask for your advice. I live in Hebden Bridge, land of endless stupid hills. When I lived in London I was pretty comfortable cycling 16 miles a day on the flat, but I moved house to south London to avoid having to cycle up hill on my commute so you can imagine how much of a fan I am of the hills around here. I don't have a car so I'm looking for a get-me-around bike, I don't need a lot of range as my journeys are likely to be under 5 miles each way. What I need is something that is going to get me up some steep hills with minimal effort on my part so that heading out to the shops or into the next town is a quick and painless trip. I have a mountain bike for days out on the downhill, so this bike is an a-to-b type affair. It's going to be stored in the basement so weight is a concern as it'll need to be carried up and down stairs. As I'm only 5'3 something with a one-size-probably-doesn't-fit-all frame is likely to be big and uncomfortable for me, I need something with a small frame though I'm not fussed whether it's step over or step through. And one final point is that it needs to be something that is stocked by a shop that will offer finance options as looking at the prices it's not something I'm going to be able to fork out in one go. I'll take all the help and recommendations you can offer me!
June 19, 201510 yr the woosh Gallego would do it. It's very light, probably the lightest folding bike on the market but you don't have to carry it, you can drag it up and down the stairs on its rack wheels. http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?gallego
June 19, 201510 yr This bike will need a power point in your basement to charge the battery as it has to be charged on the bike. Woosh have a good reputation.
June 19, 201510 yr you can fold the bike and pull the battery out. the battery on its own weighs about 2kgs. http://wooshbikes.co.uk/2014/gallego/gallego-battery-350.jpg
June 19, 201510 yr Whoops, I was thinking of the zephyr-cdn from Woosh. ignore my post, trex is correct on this point.
June 19, 201510 yr If you're in Hebden Bridge, there are Kalkhoffs to try in Blazing Saddles. Blazing Saddles 35 West End Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire HX7 8UQ Available to demonstrate: Kalkhoff Agattu Premium Impulse 8, 46cm step-thru with 28" wheels
June 20, 201510 yr ... Available to demonstrate: Kalkhoff Agattu Premium Impulse 8, 46cm step-thru with 28" wheels the OP is 5ft 3, not 6ft 3.
June 20, 201510 yr the OP is 5ft 3, not 6ft 3. Good point, well made. I think the OP needs to try an ebike if she has not done so to get an idea of the amount of assistance available. There are lots of hills and nasty ramps where she lives. It may be something gruntier than a Gallego is required.
June 20, 201510 yr the Gallego has 15A Lishui controller and 8-Fun SWX front hub motor like the Woosh Sundowner but running on 16" wheels instead of 29". It is slower but much more capable hill climber than the Sundowner. motor on woosh Sundowner: http://wooshbikes.co.uk/2014/sundowner/mini/sundowner2-600.jpg motor on woosh Gallego: http://wooshbikes.co.uk/2014/gallego/gallego15.jpg Edited June 20, 201510 yr by trex
June 20, 201510 yr Good point, well made. I think the OP needs to try an ebike if she has not done so to get an idea of the amount of assistance available. There are lots of hills and nasty ramps where she lives. It may be something gruntier than a Gallego is required. It will depend upon the controller, I just fitted a 17 amp 36v controller to my Beat bike clone (with matching battery), its climbing ability is very impressive for a tiny single speed folder or even for any ebike.
June 28, 201510 yr Hey RosieL :-) I'm a 5'1" girly in hilly Cornwall :-) I have a Kudos Tempo, it's a smaller frame step through. It's great :-D To take it up or down stairs o have to take the battery out so it's a tad lighter. I can manage it fine then. I purchased it from e-bikes direct, with my employer's cycle scheme :-D Sarah x
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