Is this Ancheer eBike Any Good?

[FatBob]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANCHEER-Upgraded-Removable-Lithium-Ion-Spoting_Black/dp/B081N7V9F4

I'm a pretty heavy guy (23st) but it says it can take 150 kg.

 

[Muddyfox]

Fatboy just following your Amazon link there are ample reviews and over 90 answered questions available if you click on the 5 stars just below the main description. Not sure if anyone on the forum could enlighten you more than these reviews from actual owners of Ancheer eBikes. Please keep us updated. Cheers.

 

[sjpt]

Trouble with Amazon reviews are mostly written very early in ownership. People sometimes bother to update them later (eg if things go wrong), but by no means always. So informed opinion here would be really useful too, especially if informed by somebody with the bike. Or somebody who knew details not listed in the spec such as which motor etc is actually used.

 

[RossG]

Have a look at the reviews on You Tube, a few Ancheer owners on there.

 

[RobF]

Standard Chinese ebike - I've seen worse.

Separate battery and controller is a scruffy design.

For that budget I'd ring woosh and get them to recommend a bike from their range.

Proper after sales service, too, making woosh hard to beat for the money.

 

[sjpt]

Standard Chinese ebike - I've seen worse.

Separate battery and controller is a scruffy design.

For that budget I'd ring woosh and get them to recommend a bike from their range.

Proper after sales service, too, making woosh hard to beat for the money.

I don't think any of the Woosh bikes claims to support that weight. Of course, it is quite likely that they are actually stronger than the Ancheer but claim less. I'm sure you'll get better support from Woosh.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

That weight limit may include the weight of the bike etc. Sometimes its written as total load which includes all weight and sometimes just rider weight limit. Non adjustable cheap front forks are horrible with heavy riders and are relatively short life for any rider in my experience. As a heavy rider myself I won't touch anything with a freewheel based drivetrain but admit where the freewheel is mounted to a motor hub with a solid hardened steel axle it could be a bit better but on conventional bikes often with quick release skewers or un-hardened solid axles they are awful. In the past when I've had freewheel equipped bikes I've had to replace the solid axle with a hardened chromoly axle just to stop bending the axle and I've found the freewheel die quite soon as they have weak pawls compared to freehubs. Also if I see anything with a 8 or 9 speed freewheel which are pure junk in my opinion I avoid.

It's important what works for the lighter majority and reviews well may not do so with heavier riders.

Also bear in mind there is a common sort of scam on amazon where a seller sells something for a low price and farms a whole load of positive reviews for the low price and then ups the price significantly and you still have all those positive reviews connected to it. Amazon prevents you mentioning the price in the review and many sellers exploit that. I saw an action camera that sold at £20 and got some great reviews because of it, get sold at £80 with those same reviews. That to me is a con/scam because the reviews don't relate to that price point. The reviews are genuine, not the obvious fake reviews you see for items so its easy to be misled if you forget the price they paid may be completely different to what you are going to pay. Use 'camelcamel' to see all prices if possible.

 

[FatBob]

Thanks Bonzo. Not sure what a freewheel based drivetrain or motor hub with a solid hardened steel axle is, but I'll gladly accept you know what you're talking about and it probably isn't worth the risk. Thanks!

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Thanks Bonzo. Not sure what a freewheel based drivetrain or motor hub with a solid hardened steel axle is, but I'll gladly accept you know what you're talking about and it probably isn't worth the risk. Thanks!

The difference between a freewheel vs freehub is shown in this image. The bearings are wider apart and closer to the dropouts so better supported and the pawl mechanism slightly larger. The freehub is designed for heavier duty use, mountain bikes etc and as a consequence also means a stronger option for the road ideal for heavier riders. Freehubs typically have better seals too so prevent more water ingress and emulsifying the grease around the bearings and other issues which again are quite important to heavier riders. I'm not saying a freewheel based ebike won't work for you but you are massively increasing the probability there will be issues. The maximum rider weight for mainstream brands goes up to about 136kg/300lbs with some slightly below at 120kg and the weakest at 100kg total load including bike weight (Decathlon) so only about a 75-80 rider weight for that brand. so you outside normal weight limits. I would say you probably could get away with a bike that allows 120kg rider weight or more if you are careful in how you use it. To support your weight you need wider profile tyres and a stronger frame so my suggestion would be the Carrera Subway ebike at halfords or cycle republic.

 

[Dewey]

On the Ancheer Power Plus model https://electricbikereview.com/ancheer/power-plus-electric-mountain-bike/ the controller reportedly burned out during a hill climbing test see https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/ancheer-mountain-bike-performance-range-and-hill-test-ancheer-model-an-eb001.29348/ and the guy discovered when taking off the rear wheel he could not disconnect the power wire coming out of the hub axle. I don't know if Ancheer have since upgraded the wiring to add a motor power hub connector - that would be a good question to ask Ancheer customer service & in the Amazon owner comments, before you buy.

 

[FatBob]

On reflection, do you think, given my weight I should actually look only for cargo ebikes, that are actually built for heavy weight, and be prepared to spend 3-4 times my original budget? If so, can you recommend one that will happily deal with 3% inclines? Thanks.

 

[Dewey]

Pashley make an electric assist version of their Pronto cargo bike that was originally designed for the Royal Mail, its a step through designed to carry weight https://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/carrier-cycles/e-pronto.php

You can get one for less, and support a worthy cause, if you buy an Elephant bike (which is an earlier model Pashley Pronto originally these were Royal Mail bikes) and convert it to an ebike with a mid-drive kit motor like a tsdz2 or bbs01/02 you can buy from Woosh. There are threads on this forum from folk who have done just that if you want to contact them eg https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/elephant-bike-conversion.29785/#post-410361
If you go with the BBS01 motor I highly recommend also fitting a BSB-1 torque arm with a hose clamp because the stock Bafang fixing plate is a bad design that lets the motor rotate in the bottom bracket. The Pronto bikes sold by Elephant have some quirks like two different tire sizes, 26" rear, 24" front, and you will likely have to take off the chainguard if you add a motor.

Cycle Of Good - Elephant Bike - Royal Mail Postal Bike

Lovingly refurbished ex-Postie bikes. For every bike sold, we send another to Malawi. Ultra-reliable, easy to ride and easy to maintain. Choose from 24 colours - get yourself a unique piece of British history!

www.cycleofgood.com

8-Fun BBS01 CD kit | Chain Drive Electric Bike Kits from Woosh

The 8-Fun BBS01 CD kit: we have two models (36V 15A BBS01and 48V 14A BBS01), chain drive electric bike conversion kit available from Woosh.

wooshbikes.co.uk

 

[Bonzo Banana]

On reflection, do you think, given my weight I should actually look only for cargo ebikes, that are actually built for heavy weight, and be prepared to spend 3-4 times my original budget? If so, can you recommend one that will happily deal with 3% inclines? Thanks.

I don't think my suggestion of the Carrera Subway ebike is a bad suggestion. Here is the bike. It's basically a mountain bike but with a rigid chromoly steel fork rather than suspension fork and a geared hub motor using a high quality freehub based drivechain. There was some issues with the suntour motor system but not breaking with weight it was related to the crankset torque sensor and later models appear to be improved. There is someone on youtube who is a food courier in Bristol and he uses his Crossfire both for commuting and his deliveries he has done many miles on it without issues and that is based on the same motor system. The Subway has a strong reinforced mountain bike frame, strong mountain bike wheels, thick profile tyres, super strong steel forks, hydraulic disc brakes which should cope with your weight without problems on the road. Like most legal ebikes it is limited to 250W nominal power but I think it will peak at about 400W from what I've read. Also remember the same ebike system is used on some of Halfords entry level e-mountain bikes which will get a far rougher time and will be taken up steep ascents etc with riders up to 120kg.

It's a pretty decent motor paired with a torque sensor not cadence.

Details - SR SUNTOUR Cycling

www.srsuntour.com

Actually looking at the spec the torque is 60Nm and peak watts are 450W. It's one of the best road legal geared hubs.

Also bear in mind Halfords have huge economies of scale, they buy from the factory directly in high volume and retail directly themselves. It's easy to believe the bike is somehow inferior because of the price when in fact it often offers a superior spec to many models that cost considerably more. The maximum load rating of the bike is 160kg which includes the bike weight itself although they only recommend up to 120kg rider weight. The difference is normally allocated to other accessories and any luggage you carry.

Also bear in mind this bike is based on a torque sensor, it senses how much effort you are putting in and increases its output to match, the less effort you put in the less the motor will give you which actually helps protect the motor because the motor can't be expected to do all the work like a throttle control or simple cadence sensor which turns on the motor even if you are pedalling in an easy gear and providing a low level of effort.

Lastly e-cargo bikes may have high weight capacity but they don't expect that weight to be only on the saddle they are designed to carry cargo. Their actual rider weight capacity may actually be the same as normal bikes, may even be less for the rider. The structure of the bike may be to have the weight correctly distributed at different points, directly above the rear wheel or at the front. Which ever bike you consider the manufacturer should have a maximum rider weight capacity which may be far less than the full weight capacity of the bike. It is normally a requirement of the certification to state a maximum rider weight so the certification tests ensure the frame will comfortably work to that weight for a reasonable lifespan 7-10 years.

The other option is to configure your own ebike, go maybe for a 26" wheel steel mountain bike frame with steel forks, get a direct drive front hub motor and replace the rear wheel with a strong mountain bike freehub based wheel. Direct drive hub motors have the highest weight limits and 26" are the strongest of the larger wheels. Steel frames and forks aren't necessarily always the strongest although in my experience they are but the important thing is they give a warning of failure which is useful for a heavy rider. You can configure such a bike easily for under £700 in my opinion with new parts. It's an option if you are mechanically minded.

 

[FatBob]

Wow. That's quite a positive write up for the Carerra Subway given my weight. Ignoring price, would the Subway or Woosh Big Bear Plus be the better bike?

 

[Albert12]

Have a look at the reviews on You Tube, a few Ancheer owners on there.

 

[Woosh]

Wow. That's quite a positive write up for the Carerra Subway given my weight. Ignoring price, would the Subway or Woosh Big Bear Plus be the better bike?

for your weight, the Big Bear Plus.
All bikes with torque sensor demand much bigger user input when climbing a hill.
You need two things to climb a hill with a torque sensor: increase your cadence and increase your pedal pressure. For some people, it's too much, especially on a long hill.
Bikes with cadence sensor don't. You keep pedalling as much as you want and keep your cadence that suits you. The bikes supply the rest.