How to find a trustworthy bike shop if…

[AndyBike]

Must it be a folder ?. I got my bike from Love E-Bikes in Glasgow(west end) Very reputable

Bosch performance CX gen4 500w/h. Basic other bits, rack, built in lighting system, and quite a nice looking bike overall.
£2499 Focus Adventura 6.6

Focus Aventura² 6.6 Electric Bike

Scotland's largest stocked and dedicated electric bike shop. Leading electric bike brands and styles. From affordable Bosch powered ebikes to something a bit more special and unique!

www.love-ebikes.co.uk

replacement cost can be high a bosch 500w batt is £633.

Batteries, at least the quality ones are expensive, but you get what you pay for in everything
Besides, recharges are a minimum of 500 full charges(or 2 years), guaranteed by Bosch, with many owners claiming they've recharged many times more than that.

Say for example if you put a £1 coin in a box each time you did a full(0-100%) recharge, by the approximate end of the battery life, you'd easily have as much money in the box to cover the price of a new one.
I have seen 500w/h Bosch branded batteries for this type of bike as low as £499, but thats in sales, but again if and when you need it, its a case of a bit of research and you can be lucky.

But outwith that it is as Soundwave says, about 600 quid - at todays prices. 2 years+ from now I'd think probably less. afterall, these batteries originally came out 3 years ago and they were nearly £800

 

[Sylvs]

Must it be a folder ?. I got my bike from Love E-Bikes in Glasgow(west end) Very reputable

Bosch performance CX gen4 500w/h. Basic other bits, rack, built in lighting system, and quite a nice looking bike overall.
£2499 Focus Adventura 6.6

Focus Aventura² 6.6 Electric Bike

Scotland's largest stocked and dedicated electric bike shop. Leading electric bike brands and styles. From affordable Bosch powered ebikes to something a bit more special and unique!

www.love-ebikes.co.uk

Batteries, at least the quality ones are expensive, but you get what you pay for in everything
Besides, recharges are a minimum of 500 full charges(or 2 years), guaranteed by Bosch, with many owners claiming they've recharged many times more than that.

Say for example if you put a £1 coin in a box each time you did a full(0-100%) recharge, by the approximate end of the battery life, you'd easily have as much money in the box to cover the price of a new one.
I have seen 500w/h Bosch branded batteries for this type of bike as low as £499, but thats in sales, but again if and when you need it, its a case of a bit of research and you can be lucky.

But outwith that it is as Soundwave says, about 600 quid - at todays prices. 2 years+ from now I'd think probably less. afterall, these batteries originally came out 3 years ago and they were nearly £800

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Hi Andy, thank you for your reply. I need my bike to go neatly into the boot of my car. Part of my commute involves driving and I just don’t want to use a bike rack daily. I know myself and I am certain that one day I’d just not attached it properly plus I don’t have a lot of space at work or at home, hence the folder.

 

[Sylvs]

Bumped into this bloke, check out the 40mph+ kid's bike he made 13 years ago:

you’ll need full motor racing gear to use that bike. I’m getting something like that next and love the set up on his handlebars.

 

[flecc]

I guess there’s a reason no folder is sold with it as a standard.

They do exist, but tend to be very expensive. Long ago Honda made their Step-combo folder and Panasonic made their Will folder, both very stylish with integrated mid motors.

Today one of the longest established e-bike makers, Swiss company Biketec, make the Flyer e-bikes and have a neat mid motor folder, the Upstreet2 :

€4699 though, reassuringly expensive!
.

 

[Woosh]

I need my bike to go neatly into the boot of my car.

what kind of car?

 

[Sylvs]

what kind of car?

A Fabia

 

[Sylvs]

They do exist, but tend to be very expensive. Long ago Honda made their Step-combo folder and Panasonic made their Will folder, both very stylish with integrated mid motors.

Today one of the longest established e-bike makers, Swiss company Biketec, make the Flyer e-bikes and have a neat mid motor folder, the Upstreet2 :

€4699 though, reassuringly expensive!
.

I should not be shown such things, it looks precisely like something I’d want, the price tag is so far out of my range tho ;(

 

[flecc]

I should not be shown such things, it looks precisely like something I’d want, the price tag is so far out of my range tho ;(

LINK .
.

 

[Sylvs]

LINK .
.

Hahaha I knew this is the place to come for bike tips but life tips too!?! More than I bargained for

 

[AndyBike]

E-Brompton ?
A bit higher priced, but they hold that price well should you need to sell it. Its a very popular British made bike.
Probably one of the best folders, certainly folds small, and they have that in-built suspension for a bit of comfort.

As I said previously, its always a case of you get what you pay for and Ebikes are expensive really. The ones I feel people should avoid are the ones put out as cheaply as possible.

We've seen this mass produced BSO(Bicycle Shaped Object) on normal bikes cause so many problems to potential new riders, with them being pretty much unfit for purpose.
People buy them then discover a few months, weeks or even days down the line that the reason they were so cheap is the parts used aren't up to the job. That means repairs, and in general not the best experience, so the bike gets destined to live in the shed unridden and puts people right off.
These are eventually handed in to bike recycling charities(which I've workeed for in the past) and do you know what we do with them ?. Fix ? No, recycle ? kind of. We recycle them into scrap metal, because they are either not worth fixing, or simply cannot be fixed, and that is bikes ridden a few times and are effectively new.
Im all about Bums on Saddles, but I strongly believe standards need to be higher. Unfortunately and in the world of Ebikes that really means a minimum price. and I think £2 1/2-3K is the starting figure most should aim for.

 

[Sylvs]

E-Brompton ?
A bit higher priced, but they hold that price well should you need to sell it. Its a very popular British made bike.
Probably one of the best folders, certainly folds small, and they have that in-built suspension for a bit of comfort.

As I said previously, its always a case of you get what you pay for and Ebikes are expensive really. The ones I feel people should avoid are the ones put out as cheaply as possible.

We've seen this mass produced BSO(Bicycle Shaped Object) on normal bikes cause so many problems to potential new riders, with them being pretty much unfit for purpose.
People buy them then discover a few months, weeks or even days down the line that the reason they were so cheap is the parts used aren't up to the job. That means repairs, and in general not the best experience, so the bike gets destined to live in the shed unridden and puts people right off.
These are eventually handed in to bike recycling charities(which I've workeed for in the past) and do you know what we do with them ?. Fix ? No, recycle ? kind of. We recycle them into scrap metal, because they are either not worth fixing, or simply cannot be fixed, and that is bikes ridden a few times and are effectively new.
Im all about Bums on Saddles, but I strongly believe standards need to be higher. Unfortunately and in the world of Ebikes that really means a minimum price. and I think £2 1/2-3K is the starting figure most should aim for.

I know Brompton are good. Just not my cup of tea. I want 20” tyres minimum.

 

[cyclebuddy]

As for Fiido, the L3 was the first bike I came across online and wanted to buy (day 2 of research..) but since then I probably would want one of the D models. Are they easy enough to get fixed if needed?

In the mid-motor bracket, there's also the new Cube folder with Bosch drive: £3100 with derailleur, £3500 with belt drive and internal hub gearing.

I'd go with your initial instincts. The Fiido L3 has a massive 23Ah battery (far larger than you'd need for a final few miles from the car to your work), the consequence is it weighs a massive 24kg... a bit much for lifting into a car boot, and only 16" wheels and no gears - both drawbacks I'd say.

The Fiido D4S though at £640 has 20" wheels, 7-speed Shimano gearing, 10.4Ah battery, and weighs 18.5kg - I think that's an ideal commuter for what you want to do. The Fiido D11 is what I bought for my mixed mode commute, £880, 20"/7 speed, 11.6Ah battery, 17.5kg... and that's been great for my purpose and not too heavy to lift into a car boot or carry on trains and up stairs. Warranty, spares and email support are good with video tutorials on how to repair because there aren't any local Fiido specific dealers (although they do have a UK depot for shipping). And Fiido themselves don't do cycle-to-work schemes: The bikes are IMHO already cheap enough, which also means there's less to worry about if it gets stolen or scratched up a bit in the boot of your car/on a train (that was my reasoning anyway - money wasn't the issue). Here's the list of Fiido's folders sold directly.

So many difficult choices. I do wish you luck!

 

[Sylvs]

In the mid-motor bracket, there's also the new Cube folder with Bosch drive: £3100 with derailleur, £3500 with belt drive and an internal hub.

I'd go with your initial instincts. The Fiido L3 has a massive 23Ah battery (far larger than you'd need for a final few miles from the car to your work), the consequence is it weighs a massive 24kg... a bit much for lifting into a car boot, and only 16" wheels and no gears - both drawbacks I'd say.

The Fiido D4 though at £640 has 20" wheels, 7-speed Shimano gearing, 10.4Ah battery, and weighs 18.5kg - I think that's an ideal commuter for what you want to do. The Fiido D11 is what I bought for my mixed mode commute, £880, 20"/7 speed, 11.6Ah battery, 17.5kg... and that's been great for my purpose and not too heavy to lift into a car boot or carry on trains and up stairs. Warranty, spares and email support are good with video tutorials on how to repair because there aren't any local Fiido specific dealers (although they do have a UK depot for shipping). And Fiido themselves don't do cycle-to-work schemes: The bikes are IMHO already cheap enough, which also means there's less to worry about if it gets stolen or scratched up a bit in the boot of your car/on a train (that was my reasoning anyway - money wasn't the issue). Here's the list of Fiido's folders sold directly.

So many difficult choices. I do wish you luck!

This is brilliant. Thank you. I definitely don’t want to start messing with my budget as I have set it up for a reason. I suspect I will be buying a better bike in the future. I would prefer to do it once I’m not a complete newbie to pedelecs. Also I think I’d be able to learn upgrades or repairs on a cheap bike. I would be too scared to do it on a 3k+ one.
Fiido is back in the mix..

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Wisper can have a torque sensor (is that a gimmick?)

Nope not a Gimmick, we install a Torque Sensor BB and change the controller if a TS is needed.

We sell about 30% of all our bikes with a TS fitted, however with the 4mph throttle to get you going and the new faster reacting Cadence Sensor, my preference is CS, but I am old and lazy!

All the best, David

 

[Woosh]

A Fabia

That's good. 20" it is then.
I would suggest you take a look at my 20" folding e-bike, the Woosh Rambletta. It's good for commuting and easy foresty trails.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rambetta

 

[Sylvs]

That's good. 20" it is then.
I would suggest you take a look at my 20" folding e-bike, the Woosh Rambletta. It's good for commuting and easy foresty trails.

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rambetta

Tony, you are breaking my heart. A week ago I decided on your rambletta but…you don’t do Cycle scheme ;(

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Tony, that link doesn't work, should be https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rambletta you missed the L in Rambletta

All the best, David

 

[Woosh]

Tony, you are breaking my heart. A week ago I decided on your rambletta but…you don’t do Cycle scheme ;(

Did you ask if your company can offer you another scheme? Halfords? Evans? Vivup? Cycleplus? Caboodle? Green Commute Initiative? etc. Hatti here could not work with cyclescheme.co.uk - the contract went back and forth with them for years.

 

[Sylvs]

Did you ask if your company can offer you another scheme? Halfords? Evans? Vivup? Cycleplus? Caboodle? Green Commute Initiative? etc. Hatti here could not work with cyclescheme.co.uk - the contract went back and forth with them for years.

Work doesn’t offer anything else unfortunately. There was talk of them taking that away too so I’m not going to push my luck.

 

[Sylvs]

Nope not a Gimmick, we install a Torque Sensor BB and change the controller if a TS is needed.

We sell about 30% of all our bikes with a TS fitted, however with the 4mph throttle to get you going and the new faster reacting Cadence Sensor, my preference is CS, but I am old and lazy!

All the best, David

David, so would you recommend CS+throttle rather than a TS? Also…from what I’ve seen, your throttle upgrades go through DVSA so that adds waiting time, am I right?
And finally, any local dealers up Glasgow way?