Looking for a decent ebike to buy, on a bit of a 'budget'

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
21,223
8,696
61
West Sx RH
Some people just don't get it .
The concession for EAPC's is that they are limited in power and how that power is activated, to be as near as possible to a non assisted push bike .
If folks think they can out put more power then a 250w EAPC then they don't need an EAPC.

If one wants a moped then simply buy one and register and pay the insurance required for a motor vehicle.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
21,223
8,696
61
West Sx RH
I haven’t yet published this video on my channel, but I’m due to publish the review in a few hours but the link will work to access the content.

The bike below, retails for under £500 and goes up to 22mph of speed (when you remove the restriction). It also folds up.

Only downside, it’s rather small for larger riders, like myself but perfect budget ebike.


iSCOOTER U4 Review - Electric Bike UNDER £500?!
Another moped review , the bike is a moped 22mph and 500w rated motor.
 

Mr. B Ikeman

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 16, 2025
22
1
Some people just don't get it .
The concession for EAPC's is that they are limited in power and how that power is activated, to be as near as possible to a non assisted push bike .
If folks think they can out put more power then a 250w EAPC then they don't need an EAPC.

If one wants a moped then simply buy one and register and pay the insurance required for a motor vehicle.

Another moped review , the bike is a moped 22mph and 500w rated motor.
This is the problem with many online communities, especially UK ones, people are fixated on fhe current laws and fail to see how further changes to the law in the form of relaxation of laws could be beneficial.
I've already made the argument that relaxing the laws to throttle and higher wattage motors would open up cycling to a wider variety of individuals, giving some significant health (both physical and mental) benefits.
As for EU directives, its because of the EU (and the UK diligently copying them) that I have to spend extra time vacuuming the house because apparently a vacuum cleaner with a wattage above 900 watts isnt suitable for home use, somehow spending twice as long doing something is more energy efficient, I'm guessing whoever voted on that directive had never heard of or understood a kilowatt hour. So, using that one example (just because its a recent one for me) these directives rarely make sense and are often voted on by people who have no idea about what theyre doing.

I've not seen any arguments about why a motor over 250W 'isnt needed' 750W 72V motors seem to be well liked in places where they are legal, by cyclists. Same with 'throttles' yet I've given an example of how they can be safer than pedal assist systems.
Not all laws are well thought out or make sense. It seems to be a very specific thing to the UK where people defend laws rather than demanding change when a law either isn't fit for purpose, or causes more harm than good, or they simply accept it as the new ststus quo and pray the agreement isn't altered further.

/rant
 
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soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
17,448
6,658
if you think my bosch motor is only 250w then you live in lala land :p

any epac can have a motor as powerful as it needs to be my bosch cx is more like 900w otherwise it would not go up anything steep at all and it also has a 20A motor controller.

it wont go up hills faster dongle or not.

i smoke weed and drink hi power cider and can hit 40mph on the flat do the maths the power isn't coming from my legs 15-20% at most as have the bosch app :p

as long as the motor cuts power at 15mph and does not assist anymore the power of the motor does not matter.

 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,739
3,318
Would probably be safer to get a gear on your cassette that just isn't attached to the wheel. Gear with a bearing before the splines/threads. That way you could pedal forwards with almost no effort (probably less than backpedalling), a tiny bit of dirt in your drivetrain isn't going to derail the chain and you're not going to have to rely on ebrakes to stop the bike flying off if you adjust the pedals while stopped. You would need to get that freewheeling (in either direction) gear custom machined, though cheap online-order CNC out of mild steel should probably suffice as it's not going to actually see much force.
You would probably have to sacrifice a gear on your cassette though unless there's enough room to sneak an extra on.
Cool! I've just thought of two more ways to make pedal assist activation easier, plus another gizmo I'm calling Guerney's I Can't Believe It's Not a Throttle™. I must stop thinking about this stuff, because I don't actually need a throttle. How the hell speed based controller controlled hub motored ebikers cope, I will never know.
 
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soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
17,448
6,658
uder epac it states any changes to the controllers setting ie amps volts and speed if they can be changed is classed as a off road switch or mode a user can set them self.

my bike is can bus locked there is no way to change anything bar a rip off dongle to remove the speed limit.

but none of this has been tested in court.

plod pulls you over sees a throttle lifts up the back wheel and sees it going 28mph its a motor bike.

then if you cant insure it you wont get it back.

cid raided my house about 4 years ago and said you mind not smoking that while we are here i said no because you raided me put ur face masks back on.

is that weed! yep wanna a puff ;)
 

matthewslack

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2021
2,284
1,565
Trouble is, given 750W and throttle, and maybe 20+mph whilst we're at it, they will still get ridden on pavements and cycle paths! Such machines may be well liked by their users, but they are not friendly to anyone else.
 

Mr. B Ikeman

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 16, 2025
22
1
Trouble is, given 750W and throttle, and maybe 20+mph whilst we're at it, they will still get ridden on pavements and cycle paths! Such machines may be well liked by their users, but they are not friendly to anyone else.
Well, that's more of a people problem and not the fault of the bike.
Any time I'm riding on a cycle path and see a pedestrian i assume saod pedestrian is going to do something unpredictable, so I slow down to the point i can stop the bike in under 2 metres. . Same for blind corners.

Regardless of speed or wattage, or the bike even being electric, some peoppe are going to be bad cyclists.

That argument can be apploed to many other object based accidents or incidents, recently government ministers were considering having all new kitchen knives blunted because an individual who was well known to the law ans anti-terror groups did something that deserves a significantly more significant and final punishment than was recieved. It's not the fault of the knife for being sharp, its the fault of the inconsiderate maniac wielding it.

Instead of crushing ebikes that don't fit the regs, wouldn't police time be better spent by getting people to actually obey cycling laws? £50 on the spot fine for dangerous or inconsiderate cycling would likely work far better. Though it would mean the police would need to actually get out into public and not go after the easiest targets, who are usually the law abiding ones.
 

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
1,524
641
cid raided my house about 4 years ago and said you mind not smoking that while we are here i said no because you raided me put ur face masks back on.
And you can swear at them as well. Basically the public disorder act isnt a thing if its inside your home, which is a private space. So therefore the act cannot be applied
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
17,448
6,658
round here plod gets the fast food from ebike bike riders on 1000w hub motors and batts in bin bags delivered direct to there car window.

and there all out side mcds waiting for orders just plod cant go up there unless there bulb is on ;)