I need some help and advice please, cant find any bikes to try.

[Farleymarley]

Hi all
My name is Janice and I live in South Cheshire. I currently work just over a mile away from where I live as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary School. Last year I bought a brand new Claud Butler Windermere with the intention of cycling to school. However I am very asthmatic and have had other health problems in the past including a couple of ruptured discs in my back and a knee that creaks a bit and those issues meant that the bike has stayed in the shed.

The effort involved in cycling very far at all (inhaling large amounts of cold air as I get out of breath really quickly is a bit of an asthma trigger for me) has stopped me from taking it out very much at all. On the way to work is a slight hill, probably not one you would really notice driving, however with me on a bike its a big struggle and I have dreaded it to the point that it spoils the whole journey. Since the beginning of the year Ive done five miles on it

I know a mile doesnt sound very far at all, however when you are worried about breathing, balancing and end up at work as a hot sweaty mess with nowhere to change etc it just doesnt set the day up well.

Someone recently mentioned to me the cycle to work scheme and electric bikes. I wondered if this would be a way I could get to work on a bike, not end up in a mess and help me get a bit fitter but without the issues Ive been having.

I am currently speaking to the Local Authorities HR but I think my maximum would be £1000. Ive had a look around the internet and have only found one bike shop that had a pedelec. It was the Rayleigh Velo-Cite. It was too expensive and because of the placement of the battery it didnt look like the seat could go any further down so it was going to be too big for me. I cannot find any others anywhere that are within a short driving distance for one of my friends to take me and they certainly are not willing for me to even try one

I dont know much about the best sort of drive (Ive just confused myself) hub/crank?
I am blinded by science about batteries, dont want a replacement to cost the earth, dont mind charging it every few days but would have to take it out of the bike as I dont have a garage.
I need a low step through, a classic bike if you like.
Dont want a make that is one that I can never get any spares for.
Dont need a folding bike but it does need to be lightweight.

Im 5ft 6 and about 16 stone (at the moment although hopefully this will go down).

Do any companies hire out bikes to try them? Is this the sort of thing that you just buy without trying?

Help!

 

[sdrio]

I'm sure you'll get the rest answered by others, but being in the middle of my 'research' stage I can tell you a couple of things;

- The ride to work scheme seems to have been somewhat spoiled by clarification of the legislation. The killer is now that you are expected to pay far more at the end of the contract to keep the bike, and unless you pay 40% tax, you're saving pretty much nothing.

- £1,000 should be more than enough.

Just a thought, in the meantime. If you have a decent bike already, have you looked at the conversion kits? It's basically a replacement front wheel with a motor, a battery and the wiring/controls for it. It doesn't require any irreversible changes to your bike, just a reasonably competent person to fit it all.

 

[Farleymarley]

Hi Sdrio
Thank you for your reply. I appear to have run into a few problems, from my reading the Cycle to Work scheme seems to be only available to people who pay tax and national insurance. Being a lowly teaching assistant I pay very very low amounts of these. I have also found out that Cycle to Work deduct the payments over a year so for a £1000 bike it would be around £83 a month and then at the end of the contract you would be expected to pay a large amount at the end so you end up paying for the bike twice

Cycle scheme seem to work a bit differently and ask you to pay a small percentage at the end of the year for another three years 'loan'.

I dont have any savings (or even a credit card to put it on) so this would have been the only way to pay for it, in smaller amounts.

I have looked at conversion kits, however the Rayleigh bike that I have been able to look at, had the motor on the front wheel. Even when I was just holding the bike it made the front end really quite unstable, I can imagine turning a corner and the weight swinging the wheel out. Plus wouldnt having the drive at the front making it less efficient than having it push you from the back?

 

[flecc]

Have a look at the Juicybike model on the link below which seems to fit your needs. Low Step-through, rear motor, £849, and the supplier is in your area, being in South Cheshire. They are a sound company with a good reputation and I believe they have a nearby dealer and showroom if you get in touch for details:

Juicybike Classic

 

[sdrio]

Hi Sdrio
Thank you for your reply. I appear to have run into a few problems, from my reading the Cycle to Work scheme seems to be only available to people who pay tax and national insurance. Being a lowly teaching assistant I pay very very low amounts of these. I have also found out that Cycle to Work deduct the payments over a year so for a £1000 bike it would be around £83 a month and then at the end of the contract you would be expected to pay a large amount at the end so you end up paying for the bike twice

Cycle scheme seem to work a bit differently and ask you to pay a small percentage at the end of the year for another three years 'loan'.

I dont have any savings (or even a credit card to put it on) so this would have been the only way to pay for it, in smaller amounts.

I have looked at conversion kits, however the Rayleigh bike that I have been able to look at, had the motor on the front wheel. Even when I was just holding the bike it made the front end really quite unstable, I can imagine turning a corner and the weight swinging the wheel out. Plus wouldnt having the drive at the front making it less efficient than having it push you from the back?

Hi,

OK, perhaps there are different schemes, I only looked at the cycle to work one. There's not much getting around the fact that these machines are quite expensive!

Regarding front and rear wheel, I asked the question last week and it seems that there isn't much difference between them.

If anything, front wheel might be slightly better as bikes tend to have more weight at the rear anyway, and also if you're pedalling, you get 2 wheel drive, possibly improving traction.

Having said that, if you're looking to get it on a scheme/pay monthly, I'm not sure a kit would qualify anyway.

Best of luck!

 

[timidtom]

Hello: we live in Cheshire and find our JuicyBikes ideal for the county! My lady Joyce has ridden 25 mile charity runs in spite of an interesting collection medical conditions! The advantages of having 1) a throttle control for wobble free starts, 2) an easy step-through frame and 3) excellent after-sales service suggest you give it a try. Juicy have a selection of bikes you can try in Buxton, or if you can find your way to Warrington you can try one of ours.
Don't buy without trying - you'll be able to make an informed choice.
Welcome, and happy ebiking!
Tom.

 

[Farleymarley]

Thank you

Right...things have moved on a bit. Ive spoken to HR at Cheshire East. At the moment they are attached to CycleScheme. Both Cheshire East and Cycle Scheme have confirmed that I am eligible and the deductions wont take me below national minimum wage, even though I dont pay much NI and Tax. The way that Cyclescheme works apparently is that the deductions are made over 12 months and at the end, rather than making a massive payment for ownership of the bike, you pay 7% of the cost to extend the 'loan' for another three years with no further payments. After that Cyclescheme said that they give you the bike for a nominal £1 fee. This works better than Cycle to Work who ask you to take ownership of the bike at the end of the first year for a much much larger payment. Sadly neither scheme work for adaptation kits so I would probably sell my Claud Butler Windermere.

Ive seen another couple of bikes today, it was the Freego Hawk and the Freego folding bike. Both had throttles. The other bike shop I went to see had the Claud Butler Glide 1.

Can anyone point me in the direction of any reviews of these please.

As for Juicy Bikes, I will have a look into them see if their is a local dealer. Thank you for the offer of trying one in Warrington, might have to take you up on that

 

[gray198]

Hi Farleymarley,

Ref previous posts. My wife has a Juicybike Folder, which cost £789 from Eco Republic in Buxton. She is only 5'2 so the classic which Flecc suggests was a bit big for but should be ok for you. Bike is very well made and although she is not a cyclist, and 63yrs she managed a ride of 32 miles around Derbyshire, so that shows how big an advantage they are over normal cycling. Service from Juicybikes excellent. I have a Freego Eagle, which is excellent and again I have nothing but praise for the service I have received. Look on Google for Freego dealers in your area.
gray

 

[flecc]

The Juicybike Classic can also have a throttle fitted for just £29 extra above the £849.

 

[Farleymarley]

Problem with going with Juicy Bikes is that if I have a problem I cant get to them. Ive also just read a really interesting review re one of their bikes and a long term test I think Im going to have to find someone quite close so I can get to them should I have any issues. Part of the scheme is that you have to have the bike serviced every six months.

 

[JuicyBike]

Your nearest stockist may well be "All About The Bike" in Chester Janice. The good thing about those long term reviews is that they tell us how to make the bikes better. Which we do

 

[Farleymarley]

Hi Bob
Sadly Im right down in Nantwich and that shop is about 42 miles away, through Chester and them some, so still some considerable distance away and I had enough trouble getting a friend to take me to the bikes today. Its a real shame though as I really like the look of your classic bike and its the sort of thing Im looking at. Could just do with you having a dealer much much closer.

Hmmm

 

[flecc]

Many members are in the same position without e-bike dealerships. It's worth considering that the electrical side is generally very reliable and has no routine maintenance needs. The bike side which does need routine maintenance can be looked after by any cycle dealer. Some dealers are nervous about e-bikes but many don't mind them, so you could ask your nearest ones to you if they would be happy to do any cycle maintenance and repairs on one.

 

[JuicyBike]

We often send our bikes to a customer's nearest local, traditional bike shop for assembly and then a long term relationship develops between our customer and their local shop.
Most maintenance is simply normal bike adjustment. When specialist "E-Bike" maintenance is required we support the traditional bike shop at a distance, giving advice and sending parts if needed.

 

[Farleymarley]

Okay....so...
My choice appears to be:
The Freego Hawk with stepthrough. This is at a local dealership. Lithium 36v 10ah
Weight without battery 22kg, seems to be quite a bulky bike although I like the battery placement. Seems extremely heavy, welding looked a bit messy. Not too sure what tyres were on, seems quite a LARGE bike even though its the right size for me.

The Claud Butler Glide 1, this can be ordered through another local dealer, bought my previous bike from there, they have a good reputation and have been around three generations. However they dont have any in stock at the moment but going to get some in a couple of weeks. Cant find out much more information on it, even the Claud Butler website doesnt have much.

Or a complete buy from the brochure option of the Juicy Classic? Doesnt say what size frame it is, I need a 17" max.

Can anyone give me some fors and against please. Would be interested in your comparison as well Bob.

 

[JuicyBike]

Janice I would be much happier if you got to try a bike before you bought it. We offer a return to us refund if you decide you don't want the bike when you receive it. However in the case of the Cycle To Work scheme it is much much harder to refund in that situation.

I'm not going to browbeat you any more than I have already! And my comparison of the FreeGo or the Claud Butler wouldn't count for anything in this context. They are both good bikes of a similar standard to ours.

Try to find the time to come over for a test ride if you can. Buxton is a good place for a day trip, as is Chester. Christine at Chester has some experience of FreeGos as well as Juicy Bikes, and feedback about her service is excellent.

 

[Farleymarley]

So what size is the Classic please? Does it have hybrid tyres?

 

[Lynne]

Hi Janice,

Like you I am looking for an e-bike and have come to this forum for support and advice....and finding it really helpful! Though also finding that there is a lot of choice so finally making a decision is not as easy as I first thought it would be!

I have decided though to invest some time in doing some test rides, which unfortunately does seem to involve a lot of travelling! Like you I want to find the right bike! Just wanted to say best of luck with your search, and hello! I've put sunglasses on my smiley because I'm hoping for the sun to make an appearance soon!