Hopeful newbie with some difficult requirements!

[james13]

Hello all. Have had a look around and this seems to be an interesting and helpful forum. I'm seriously considering an electric bike (obviously!) so hoping to find some useful advice.

So, what am I looking for...

A step over for use mainly on the road but perhaps on some trails, but nothing too challenging. Must cope easily with hills as there are a lot nearby. Mainly for social use but possibly some commuting.

Needs to be able to have a child seat fitted (I currently use a hamax siesta), and cope with a tag-along as my son will soon grow out of the seat!

I also have Thule bike carriers for the car so would like it to be compatible with them.

I think the challenge is finding where the battery should be. On the down tube and the bike seat won't work. As a water bottle and it won't fit on carriers!

All and any help appreciated!

 

[RobF]

How many round trip miles are you intending - commute and leisure - for a journey?

Budget?

I don't get your point about batteries.

A water bottle battery will work with your car carrier, not least because you can take the battery off.

Child seats can be compatible with seat tube and rack batteries, but a down tube battery is the simplest solution.

 

[jonathan75]

Yes a bottle battery is what I'd fit if fitting a child seat - because of the lower centre of gravity.

 

[james13]

Thanks both. I think I may have confused myself! When I said downtube, I was thinking seat tube.

The child seat needs to attach to the tube just below the seat post, whilst the car carrier grips the frame just above the chain by the pedals. I assumed the bottle batteries could be removed but didn't know whether there were other attachments/fittings that would prevent the car carrier from working.

I could, of course, look for the right bike then worry about the car carrier and child seat!

As I said originally, it's mainly for leisure. If I use it to commute it's about 12 miles (each way) with one very serious hill. Even for leisure, I'm surrounded by hills. I have a bike and my son loves to go out on it, but I just find the hills too challenging especially with the additional weight. It's difficult to say how many miles I'll cover. At the moment, I'd love to go out with my son each weekend but just find the ride too difficult. I'm hoping an e-bike will make it a much more enjoyable and therefore frequent occurrence!

In terms of budget, it does need to be as low as possible (so possibly ideas for second hand models to look for). I doubt I could go above £1k to be honest but the more I think about it the benefits for me and my son would be worth it.

 

[RobF]

A kit conversion of your existing bike would be a good solution in your case.

The BBS 500W crank drive kit has lots of poke and a bottle battery.

The supplier in the link - woosh - also sell good value complete bikes, so while you're on, see if there's one you fancy.

http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit

 

[james13]

I've been searching for a bike that ticks the right boxes but also has that something extra, something that makes me excited at the thought of riding it.

I've discovered the Yuba ElMundo and ElBoda Boda. Love the look of them both but am yet to find anywhere in the UK that sells them. I've found non-electric versions but not sure I'm up to the conversion job!

The search continues...

 

[jonathan75]

I am pretty sure an a1 ebike mechanic will do the labour for a conversion for £100 or less. But find a good one.

 

[jonathan75]

By the way the BBS kit Rob was talking about is apparently relatively easy to fit, it commands a price premium I believe partly for the reason that most folk won't even need to hire a mechanic to do the work.