London leisure riding and commuting, hills, with child seat - which ebike to get?

[Wheelybin]

I've test ridden the Cowboy 4, the Vanmoof S5, a Ribble Hybrid Al E (but the electric assistance was not available), an Orbea Vibe H10.

I cycle a fair bit (Specialized Hybrid) for fun, fitness, chores, commuting etc. I'd like to get an ebike and add a child seat. There are big hills around me which I don't mind so much without a kid on the back, but would like the additional assistance with baby on board I think. I'd like to take child seat off and ride about much as I do now too, though.

My thoughts at the moment are the S5 is too clunky and expensive for what it is. I'm tempted by the Ribble CGR AL E, but haven't been able to actually test drive one so would be a leap of faith.

I think I would generally cover a max of 35 miles a day, normally less. I would like a light-ish bike, though the Cowboy 4 has lots of things going for it.

I'd appreciate any opinions and guidance you can offer, thank you!

 

[sjpt]

Look at Woosh Faro. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?faro
Probably not quite as good/light as the Ribble, but MUCH cheaper. Also good customer service. You'll have difficulty getting a test ride unless you are near Southend (probably not as you say big hills).

Beware of bikes with lots of proprietary parts, they can get very difficult or expensive should anything go wrong.

 

[Wheelybin]

Look at Woosh Faro. https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?faro
Probably not quite as good/light as the Ribble, but MUCH cheaper. Also good customer service. You'll have difficulty getting a test ride unless you are near Southend (probably not as you say big hills).

Beware of bikes with lots of proprietary parts, they can get very difficult or expensive should anything go wrong.

Thanks for your suggestion: hadn’t heard of Whoosh, they look light and good, will do some investigating. I am bit wary of maintenance of the Ribble, no London branches. Whoosh tempting as my expected spend has gone dramatically up from when I started looking but would like to pay less.

 

[sjpt]

I'm afraid the Woosh prices went up a couple of days ago too; but still excellent value.

If you are handy with bikes anyway you should be able to do most maintenance/repair on the Woosh ones yourself; with reasonably prices fairly generic replacements when really necessary. That might not be so easy with the Ribble, and almost certainly not with the Vanmoof.

 

[sjpt]

I notice the web site is a little out of date. The online page shows the increased price of £1069; the Faro page I pointed at still says the pre-October £999

 

[AndyBike]

A snip at only £14,249.99

 

[Wheelybin]

A snip at only £14,249.99View attachment 49041

Wow. I’ve been pushed up out of my initial range but not there yet - what model and make is that?

 

[Wheelybin]

I'm afraid the Woosh prices went up a couple of days ago too; but still excellent value.

If you are handy with bikes anyway you should be able to do most maintenance/repair on the Woosh ones yourself; with reasonably prices fairly generic replacements when really necessary. That might not be so easy with the Ribble, and almost certainly not with the Vanmoof.

That is tempting, I’m okay with a bit of maintenance and don’t like the thought of being beholden to the manufacturer

 

[soundwave]

Specialized SWorks Turbo Levo Electric Mountain Bike 2022 Blue Ghost

The all-new <strong>Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo Electric Mountain Bike</strong> delivers an unimaginable fusion of human and machine.

www.leisurelakesbikes.com

the motors on these things tend to fail some ppl have had more than 5 motors just because you pay top whack does not mean you wont have any problems with it.

 

[Wheelybin]

Specialized SWorks Turbo Levo Electric Mountain Bike 2022 Blue Ghost

The all-new <strong>Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo Electric Mountain Bike</strong> delivers an unimaginable fusion of human and machine.

www.leisurelakesbikes.com

the motors on these things tend to fail some ppl have had more than 5 motors just because you pay top whack does not mean you wont have any problems with it.

blimey. I want to try the Vado SL even though it is out of my budget but I know that specialized are generally overpriced - not normally £15k overpriced though

 

[soundwave]

the prices have been going up nearly every year since i got my bike and back then it was top of the range everything for 5k it is now more than double that but depends on the brand but cube have some ok priced bikes if you can find one in stock.

what really sucks is if you pay 15k you still only get a 2 year warranty on batt and motor which is just crazy how much these things cost now.

 

[Wheelybin]

the prices have been going up nearly every year since i got my bike and back then it was top of the range everything for 5k it is now more than double that but depends on the brand but cube have some ok priced bikes if you can find one in stock.

what really sucks is if you pay 15k you still only get a 2 year warranty on batt and motor which is just crazy how much these things cost now.

What model bike do you have?

 

[soundwave]

Haibike xDuro AMT PRO 27.5 Gen 2 2014 – e-bikeshop.co.uk

The 2014 Haibike xDuro AMT Pro 27.5 is your ultimate all mountain electric bike! From the largest UK Haibike eBike Dealer.

www.e-bikeshop.co.uk

tho the only original parts are the frame brakes and the forks and upgraded the motor from performance to a cx one last year but the old motor still worked but i hammered the crap out of that thing as use a dongle to remove the speed limit.

 

[Wheelybin]

Haibike xDuro AMT PRO 27.5 Gen 2 2014 – e-bikeshop.co.uk

The 2014 Haibike xDuro AMT Pro 27.5 is your ultimate all mountain electric bike! From the largest UK Haibike eBike Dealer.

www.e-bikeshop.co.uk

tho the only original parts are the frame brakes and the forks and upgraded the motor from performance to a cx one last year but the old motor still worked but i hammered the crap out of that thing as use a dongle to remove the speed limit.

Cool, what is the speed it can go at with the dongle?

 

[soundwave]

max i got was 39.6mph but to get this the cranks have to be going at 120rpm so cant be sustained for very long but you get a work out trying it

there are 3 motor types

pedelec 15.5mph
sclass 28mph
race class 28mph and above

tho the price you pay for going fast is half the range from the batt and from a 500w bosch one its about 25 miles.

 

[Wheelybin]

max i got was 39.6mph but to get this the cranks have to be going at 120rpm so cant be sustained for very long but you get a work out trying it

there are 3 motor types

pedelec 15.5mph
sclass 28mph
race class 28mph and above

tho the price you pay for going fast is half the range from the batt and from a 500w bosch one its about 25 miles.

View attachment 49058

I think I’m stuck with pedelec, what with having a kid on the back, but that looks like a lot of fun

 

[soundwave]

you could look at bafang mid drive kits as you can set the power levels in the software but you will need a donor bike to fit it to.

it wont look as good as a pre made mid motor bike but the batts are cheaper and you can get all the motor parts for cheap and a bbshd will kick my ass at full amps and you can fit a throttle if you want.

Home → Cogs Y Gogs - eBike Workshop Supplier & Installer

Electric Bike Kits Stockist & installer based in Caernarfon.

www.cogsygogs.co.uk

 

[AndyBike]

Have you considered a RAD wagon ?.
They seem to have a fairly good reputation and do 'cargo' type on a budget. Or something from Babboe.

I would always try to keep in mind you'll be using this a fair bit, so best not to think purely on whats cheapest. Maybe even saving up a little longer to get something thats far better suited, than making do.

Babboe Curve E-trike - £3500.

 

[Wheelybin]

Have you considered a RAD wagon ?.
They seem to have a fairly good reputation and do 'cargo' type on a budget. Or something from Babboe.

I would always try to keep in mind you'll be using this a fair bit, so best not to think purely on whats cheapest. Maybe even saving up a little longer to get something thats far better suited, than making do.

Babboe Curve E-trike - £3500.
View attachment 49060

Those look great as well, only have one kid at the moment. If I had another I would definitely go that route though. Think you're right, when you think about how much you will use something the cost vs quality and usefulness becomes much less of an issue.

 

[Nealh]

How about adding a kit to a cargo bike, there's a nice yuba mundo kitted out for one kid on ebay at the mo, start bid is £400.