Just joined. Tried a Wisper 705 torque with full throttle in a shop and decided not for me as a beginner in elec bikes. Chose a new German beauty, Corratec LifeS P5 which was heavily discounted and am waiting to collect later this week. See photo. It has hub gear change and goes very quiet and smooth with the Bosch drive train. Will report back when I have used it for a while. Ciao for now.
Review Just joined. I am 79. Not ridden (normal bike) for last 8 years. Need more gentle exercise.
- Thread starter Rjos
- Start date
Nice to see another 20" wheeled mid-drive, clearly there's a market for such bikes... but isn't that torque sensored? Wouldn't a cadence sensored mid-drive give you more...
?
My 20" wheeled bike is a BBS01B mid-drive conversion specifically set up in firmware to require as little effort as possible to pedal, because the last thing I want from my bike is exercise of any sort - I slow jog for exercise instead.
It took me a while to find this bike:
Is it a folder? Looks like a folder which does not fold. I hope discount was really good. 3K sounds totally ridiculous.
Welcome and enjoy your bike.
Is it a folder? Looks like a folder which does not fold. I hope discount was really good. 3K sounds totally ridiculous.
Welcome and enjoy your bike.
A bit like this which @cyclebuddy posted about recently, which is also pricey and torque sensored unfortunately, CAN bus too, but not low step over/thru:
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/hi-looking-for-fiido-d21-alternative.44728/page-5#post-704682
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Funnily enough, Corratec distribution has been handled by Ebco in the UK AFAIK since forever... maybe that's where they got the inspiration for their own "not-folding mid-drive e-bike" from? The OP's Life model has been around a good few years now: It just looks a little strange to me though; the steep angle of the seat-post and folded back bars means you're sitting quite far back over the rear wheel... great for doing wheelies I suspect!
I read that Ebco recently became part of the same group that acquired Norton MC's too... more British heritage snapped-up by Johnny Foreigner!
I read that Ebco recently became part of the same group that acquired Norton MC's too... more British heritage snapped-up by Johnny Foreigner!
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As distributors, they must have seen a growing market for such 20" wheeled bikes.
Torque sensored, therefore I suspect you're right. Despite my rear rackmounted battery there's no chance of that on my 20" wheeled BBS01B conversion, because I've programmed for more gradually increasing power delivery upon detection of cadence - it wasn't even possible when it had a throttle, unless starting on a very steep hill... not with the controller limited to 15A anyway, might be another outcome at 20A. I should try a torque sensored Bosch mid-drive bike locally sometime, I keep reading they're easier to start pedalling when on higher gear.
Anti-business aparrently, not making that as easy as it is.
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I can’t jog. Heart condition. This bike has the pedal in front of the steep seat stem to enable the rider to put feet flat on the ground when stationary but not be too close to the handlebar. Supposed to adjust to riders from 5’ to 6’. I am 5’6”. Got it for 2/3 of RRP. Zero miles on clock. Very robust non-folding construction but comfortable ride. Bit heavy. Smooth gear change and super 500w battery. What is there not to like?
The market is created by the sales people. The guy didn't know anything about electric bikes - easy meat for a predatory salesman.
That was certainly true of the music business, as clearly detailed by ex-A&R man Bill Drummond of the group KLF in their manual (which worked for various artists by the way):
The Manual (How To Have A Number One The Easy Way) - KLF ONLINE
The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu reveal their zenarchistic method used in making the unthinkable happen. The Manual got published in 1988 following the success of Doctorin’ The Tardis by The Timelords. In their book, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty lay out a detailed plan for how to have a...
klf.de
...less so now of course - pushy online streaming services push differently, probably using one of those vast high security warehouses of servers you posted about. However, don't small run pressings of vinyl records and duplication of audio tapes cost a heck of a lot less than ordering hundreds or thousands of bike frames and motors etc? No company would take that sort of risk without rigorous financial analysis. As distributors, EBCO have access to useful stats.
It'd be insane to risk such investment relying on predatory salesmen. Some days, they may have had breakfast instead of cocaine.
The guys that started Ebco are british and quite nice guys. They previously owned the Saracen brand, which they sold to Madison. They're quite strong on marketing through dealer networks, but their bikes have never been anything special - mainly a little weird and quite niche. Their first bike was the Ebco Eagle, which was a Chinese bike that you could also buy under other brand names.
All electric bikes work. You just have to find one that suits you. Everybody has different needs.
Somehow one does wonder if the multiplying torque system is the correct drive option ?
A cadence hub bike with the throttle may have been a better choice ?
3k is a lot but there comes a stage of life where cost does not matter so much, no use being the richest man in the grave .
It may depend if the op has tried out the drive system first ?
It may depend if the op has tried out the drive system first ?
There don't appear to be many places where the OP can try a well set up low pedalling effort cadence sensored high powered hub or mid-drive conversion appropriate to his state of physical health... and I'm certainly not letting him try my well adjusted, fast accelerating, hill climbing, heavy trailer uphill hauling, easy pedalling 20" wheeled £909 BBS01B folding bike conversion. It's also fun to ride, I fear someone with a very serious heart condition could die from the excitement.
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The problem is that most people are limited by the choice of bikes at their local dealer. You can get better deals and bikes from online suppliers, but what are you going to do when it stops working?
We practical types are lucky because we can fix stuff. That means we can get any bike that is self-fixable and we avoid ones that aren't, but for people, who can't fix things, their choices are limited and they have to pay the high price of the shop fixing it when it goes wrong.
Personally, I feel that OP's choice is not ideal, but that opinion is based on the facts stated. Maybe the heart condition and lack of fitness is not so bad and OP will become more healthy because of their choice.
Good observation sills.
Cyclist must hold grips tight all the time. Looks very uncomfortable to me in long run. I hope I am wrong.
Nice splash of red color.
I've never ridden a bike with ape hangers - would there be less strain on the heart because smaller muscles are used gripping, than when aggressively hunched forward all sabre tooth tiger like? The latter is my riding posture BTW.
That's the issue with a lot of people they buy a bike and often can't find any where to have them repaired if not dealer supplied/supported bike which is often a mid drive type.
The guy over the road has had a step thru he bought for £400 used, it has been sitting in his shed for a while because it doesn't work. He wasted money and bought a new controller only (crap wave type) and still it wouldn't work, then he found out from his landlord ( a mate of mine) that I was an ebike guru .
He now has a EAPC stepthru that works perfectly , the guy is one happy guy .
I even pumped his tyres up , adjusted the crappy cable disc brakes and greased the cartidge BB for him.
I took the bike out before I gave it back to him for a test ride and surprisingly the bike rides very nicely but I did feel a little out of place riding a ladies style bike, it does help the bikes rides so nicely because I fitted it out with a KT system.
Bit of a pain teasing the wiring internal thru the frame .
With a non working or troublesome bike the biggest and best upgrade for a hub type bike is to simply rip everythng off and replace all with a KT upgrade for about £70 - £100, the best option to stop users fiddling and messing stuff up is to go basic with the LCD and use a LCD1 or LCD2. One can simply use a LCD3 first to set all the C settings for the controller then us ethe LCD1 or 2 as the final user option then they can't mess with much.
The guy over the road has had a step thru he bought for £400 used, it has been sitting in his shed for a while because it doesn't work. He wasted money and bought a new controller only (crap wave type) and still it wouldn't work, then he found out from his landlord ( a mate of mine) that I was an ebike guru .
He now has a EAPC stepthru that works perfectly , the guy is one happy guy .
I even pumped his tyres up , adjusted the crappy cable disc brakes and greased the cartidge BB for him.
I took the bike out before I gave it back to him for a test ride and surprisingly the bike rides very nicely but I did feel a little out of place riding a ladies style bike, it does help the bikes rides so nicely because I fitted it out with a KT system.
Bit of a pain teasing the wiring internal thru the frame .
With a non working or troublesome bike the biggest and best upgrade for a hub type bike is to simply rip everythng off and replace all with a KT upgrade for about £70 - £100, the best option to stop users fiddling and messing stuff up is to go basic with the LCD and use a LCD1 or LCD2. One can simply use a LCD3 first to set all the C settings for the controller then us ethe LCD1 or 2 as the final user option then they can't mess with much.
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