Hill-Friendly Bike

[musicbooks]

Hi,
I am looking for a lightweight reliable electric bike for under £1000 (cycle to work scheme), capable of dealing with the daily climb up two very steep hills in Bath. (approx 3 miles per day). I am a complete electric bike novice and I am totally in the dark as to which bike to buy. I am also looking for a bike that doesn't resemble an electric golf caddy! ( not naming any brands in particular!). I would be very grateful for some expert advice.

Many thanks,
Musicbooks

 

[flecc]

Very steep hills like those notorious ones aren't really electric bike territory, and only the most powerful can cope at all, and then only with good rider assistance.

The most powerful bikes under £1000 which can climb are the Powabykes, but they are very heavy and could still be marginal for the hills. Therefore I'd advise a test ride, as you have Powabyke stockists in the area.

The eZee Quando folder from 50cycles at £845 is one of the best hill climbers around, but only has a single gear that's on the high side for hill climbing, so the rider does need to be quite strong for those hills. One member bought one and rides up the hills there to the university, so they can manage that with a fit rider.

The bikes most suited with high power and full rider gears are the eZee F series, but unfortunately they are above your budget.
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[musicbooks]

Those darn hills

Thanks Flecc for your advice. I'll check out the powabyke.Pehaps it might be worth stretching the budget if it means effective hill climbing. If I did go to say £1200-£1300 would that solve my problem?

Regards,
musicbooks

 

[flecc]

Yes, the eZee Forte from the F series is £1295, is extremely powerful and has an 8 speed hub gear for the rider. That's about the best for your requirement, and it's a very fully equipped bike.
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[musicbooks]

Powabyke or ezee forte for very steep hills

Tanks again for the info. The ezee forte sounds like the one but what is the difference in quality between the powabyke equivalent and the ezee and can I test drive the latter?

 

[flecc]

The lower price Powabyke is old technology, brush motor and very heavy lead acid batteries. It's quite strong but all steel, crude and heavy. They do get the odd quality problem, but the backup from Powabyke and most of their dealers is good.

The Forte is right up to date technology, Hall effect brushless motor, alloy construction, suspension forks, lightweight Lithium-Ion battery so around two thirds the Powabyke weight and better finish. Test rides on this at either the Loughborough base or at 50cyles London W2 test centre. If you ring them they may have someone closer who will let you try their bike, since they have a volunteers customer scheme, but there are not that many Forte bikes out there yet as it's the latest model.

Here's the Powabyke Bristol Dealers page,

and the Forte test details are on the page link given above, the London centre at the foot of the page, Loughborough details at the top.
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[Fat Girl]

try my ezee forte

Tanks again for the info. The ezee forte sounds like the one but what is the difference in quality between the powabyke equivalent and the ezee and can I test drive the latter?

Hi musicbooks
i have just bought one of these. when the battery charger arrives, you're welcome to come and try it out on my hills which are equal to the one that goes up to bath uni from town. I've walked that one myself. I test rode a powabike during my research and though it was a lot cheaper it was heavier and higher off the ground than the forte which made it difficult to manouver safely. I am not too far from bath if you want to take up my offer.
mil

 

[gkilner]

The spec of the Powabykes has improved over the last 18months or so Flecc. They nearly all have aluminium frames, mudguards etc. And when fitted with the Lithium battery weigh around 26-28kgs - not too bad. I agree they do still look a bit crude though.

 

[flecc]

Yes, I know of the changes gkilner, but the price does leap on those light models when with the lithium battery, so I have my doubts about their value, considering the old tech noisy motor they are still using. In fact they are very coy about the actual cost with the lithium and say "ask the dealer". The alloy frame only on the two Euro models when supplied with lead acid batteries doesn't make that much difference, as it's still a heavy bike.

If they update that motor it would be better value, but I think the heavy models at the lower prices were the best option from them.
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[gkilner]

The Powabyke Lithium upgrade on their website is:
6amp £169 or 10amp £299. Most dealers will knock this price down a bit though.

A Euro 26" 6 Speed with 6amp Lithium would be £814, which is expensive, but would be very good up hills.

The only steel Powabykes available now are the shopper and folder. The commuter 24 has always been aluminium.

 

[flecc]

Given the huge peak power of the Powabyke motor (700 watts), I wouldn't entertain the 6 Ah, so with the larger battery and to make it the same as the competition all with 10 Ah, the price would be £944 less any discount that could be got.

To be honest, I wouldn't pay £944 for the crudeness you mentioned and that old tech noisy motor, it's far too close to some much more refined and up to date bikes. It's also heavier than most when the 10 Ah battery is fitted. On the other hand, they are quite tough and the backup is usually good, so for some that could be important, and they have their market.
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