I need to decide between a mtb & a road bike

[jackhandy]

J.Afternoon all,

I'm in a bit of a quandary & would appreciate opinions or advice:

I've decided to buy an ebike, so that's one decision decided ,

Now comes the tricky bit - I'll be mostly on road, with the occasional excursion on forestry trails & the Camel Trail etc. (I live in Cornwall)
I'd estimate 80% road.

I've pretty much decided on either the Kudos Tourer or the King, being in budget & fairly conventional- looking bikes. I'm prepared to forego suspension, but I'm not sure just how far the Tourer is "road only".
Had a chat with the bike guy in Halfords & he showed me a couple of hybrid m/cs that looked like what I had in mind, having what I would describe as hybrid tyres (kind of slick spine with knobbly sides).

So - has anyone used the Kudos Tourer as I envisage &, if so, how does it handle on loose-ish tracks?Or should I go for the King &, if so, what's that one like on a 40-mile road ride?

There's a 250.00 price difference at the mo, which is, obviously, considerable leverage with SWMBO

Any helpful comments more than welcome: I should mention that I emailed Kudos, but wasn't greatly enlightened by their response

Pete

 

[eddieo]

Buy a decent cross trail bike and fit a kit. here is video of a specialised crosstrail ltd disc 2011. have seen it for £700 new and second hand cheaper (was £1100 last year)XT gearing, hydraulic brakes great shocks, light weight, hollow crank etc... etc....

should be able to get decent spec bike for £600 or less

Mine has wisper kit which is hard to come by. but 8fun or Ezee would be a good fit...you end up with such a better bike...

2011 Specialized Crosstrail - YouTube!

 

[Eaglerider]

Hi Jackhandy.

You have decided to buy an E-bike. Excellent decision.

Regarding your quandary, only you will know how rough the terrain is that you plan to ride. As such, your best plan must be to ride both models back to back and see which you feel would best suit your needs. Unless you are planning any serious off-roading, I would guess both bikes will be capable of fulfilling the role you expect.

Moreover, comfort is very important, if the bike puts a lot of weight on your wrists you may find it uncomfortable, and of course the looks of the bike are important.

Its worth taking a day out to actually try them both, then at least you will know which you prefer. If you are not comfortable, you wont be riding for long.

I ride a Freego, I've ridden a great deal of off road tracks, including some very muddy ones and the bike has been fine. Personally, of the two I reckon I would go for the King, because it looks pretty snappy!

Best of luck, let us know which way it goes.

 

[mountainsport]

Hi Jackhandy,

Firstly,you have definitely come to the right place for the best advice.If you enjoy building things from the ground up and have time,follow the advice from eddieo.
I have tried these ebikes and they both ride ok,personally if i had a choice i would go for the (KING),with mud guards fitted for the occassional rainfall. (I've spoilt it now haven't i).

Hope all goes well

Mountainsport

 

[Alan B]

J.Afternoon all,

I'm in a bit of a quandary & would appreciate opinions or advice:

I've decided to buy an ebike, so that's one decision decided ,

Now comes the tricky bit - I'll be mostly on road, with the occasional excursion on forestry trails & the Camel Trail etc. (I live in Cornwall)
I'd estimate 80% road.

I've pretty much decided on either the Kudos Tourer or the King, being in budget & fairly conventional- looking bikes. I'm prepared to forego suspension, but I'm not sure just how far the Tourer is "road only".
Had a chat with the bike guy in Halfords & he showed me a couple of hybrid m/cs that looked like what I had in mind, having what I would describe as hybrid tyres (kind of slick spine with knobbly sides).

So - has anyone used the Kudos Tourer as I envisage &, if so, how does it handle on loose-ish tracks?Or should I go for the King &, if so, what's that one like on a 40-mile road ride?

There's a 250.00 price difference at the mo, which is, obviously, considerable leverage with SWMBO

Any helpful comments more than welcome: I should mention that I emailed Kudos, but wasn't greatly enlightened by their response

Pete

There's only £30 difference in price isn't there ?

I've got a King, it's capable offroad but the heavy weight behind the seat compromises handling, and it rattles over the bumps. It does have knobbly tyres, suspension, and hydraulic disks which will work in the wet/muddy. It's perfectly comfortable, and I've done over 50 miles, with a brief re-charge half way through. I can do just over 40 miles on a full charge, but I generally pedal faster than 15.5mph on the flat, so to expect 40 miles consistently might be to much.

The Tourer has mudguards and hub gears which make alot of sense, especially on muddy tracks.

If you want to get optimum offroad performance you need to go the Eddie route, or spend a shed load of money.

cheers,

Alan

 

[JuicyBike]

Try a search for "Hybrid electric bike" and see where that takes you. If you're riding along prepared trails, rather than off-trail then you will have a much greater choice, and much better range when on the road.

I wouldn't let your choice be restricted by the tyres that come with the bike. Tyres are an easy upgrade on electric bikes which use connectors to allow motor wheels to be removed completely. Avoid the makes that don't have these.

I haven't had the pleasure of trying either bike yet so I can't advise there.

 

[barrycoll]

Just to add by 2 pennies worth, I would advocate suggest one of Juicy Bikes's front wheel conversions...my wife and I have just come back from driving down to Spain through France, with her with my Rockhopper, and her Juicy bike converted Garry Fisher, on the tow bar rack...
...we rode every day, and one ride that stands out is up into the Pyrenees, just over the French border....
...the road follows a fabulous gorge and then climbs about 4 miles to some stunning mountain views, but the important thing is that my wife's Juicy Bike conversion was brilliant...she had a grin from ear to ear, while my tongue was hanging over my front wheel...
the road surface was broken in places, and usually rough un restored tarmac, but the weight distribution on the garry Fisher, worked well for my (slightish) wife, and having a choice between pedelec or occasional throttle suited her well...

...so for a £500 conversion on a good quality (say) £500 + or- bike, you are head and shoulders above a stock machine...........

all the best................Barry-coll

 

[jackhandy]

Well - In the final upshot, I decided to go for the Kudos Tourer, right or wrong.

Thanks for the opinions, chaps - All taken into account.

My chief use of the bike will be riding the local lanes & cycle trails: The trails are mostly decent compacted ballast, gravel & sand; plenty of sand round here, in the Cornish Alps ... with the possibility of an 11-mile trip to work 2 or 3 times a week in the offing.

So, all considered, a road-biased hybrid seemed the sensible choice. I have a feeling that I'm soon going to be lusting after a MTB, though.

The final choice was made easier by the fact that Rally-Design are offering the Tourer for £762.00 delivered, on ebay just at the moment, which means I can afford a second battery if I find that's necessary.

Now - all I have to do is persuade 'Er Indoors that she really needs a liquorish mountain bike to keep up with the granddaughters on the Camel Trail & I've got it cracked

Thanks again,

Pete