low step hub gear

[sjpt]

We are thinking of a new electric bike for when we are going out separately, so it should fit both of us (5'5" and 5'10"). We have the tandem when we are together.

We knew we wanted a ladies frame for easy mounting but after trying the ladies Crossfire and Crossfuse at Halfords we realised we want a low step, not just a ladies frame. (My wife has a bad back just at the moment which helped us realize this ... we know bad backs will get commoner as we move from 70 to 80!). Also it clarified we would really like hub gears.

One possibility is a Raleigh Motus H low step (one available secondhand fairly near). I think that is our most likely option at the moment (if it doesn't get sold while we dither). I'd been very attracted by a Volt Infinity but it looks as if it is not as low as we want.

I've seen a few Lindsey-West on Google (I'd not heard of them till today) that almost looked promising, but they were a bit too basic and heavy with feeble size batteries, and anyway all out of stock. Also the Kudos Safari and Liberty, but those both look really heavy at 29.4 and 29.6kg

so --- two questions

Does anyone have any comment on the Motus H Low Step?

Are there any of the small brand bikes (reasonable ones at reasonable prices ... similar to Woosh Santana) that come with low step and hub gear, and the option of a sensible battery?

 

[Trevormonty]

Gepida Reptila 900 (26" wheel) &1000 (28"), £2100 are well spec step throughs with bosch activeline plus and 8spd nexus hub. Motus are about same price but can be had for less with 40nm Activeline.

My wife has 900 which is good fit for her but is too small for me. Ok if I'm going to shops but not for long ride. We are similar heights.

The other option is small wheel city bikes, they are designed to handle huge in rider size. Some are very quick to setup for change of rider. See Orbea Katu as example.

 

[Woosh]

you could convert a Batavus Wayz with either the XF07 kit or BBS01B.

https://www.fietsvoordeelshop.nl/batavus-wayz-2018-zwart-mat-dames

 

[Warwick]

I've just bought the 'mens' crossbar version of this bike and am very impressed with it. I have put my thoughts on it on a separate thread. Aside from the smallish battery - which is holding up well on my commute - and a somewhat bouncy suspension seatpost, it is a very well put together bike. The Nexus hub is actually better, IMHO, than the 'superior' Alfine hub I've had on other bikes. I'd consider swapping the twist shifter for a trigger one, but that would mean changing the very comfy bar ends, so I'm holding back on that one for now. I might tinker with the gearing to raise it a little, but that's a simple task of fitting a smaller rear sprocket and shortening the chain. The Bosch Active Line drive is very intuitive and responds well & quickly to increased pedal pressure. There's no throttle, but I can live without that.

I don't know where you are, but you're welcome to try mine out if you're anywhere near Warwick. I suspect test rides might be hard to organise otherwise.

 

[sjpt]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. The Gepidas look quite expensive now, a bit above what we were hoping for. Certainly keeping an open mind on the Batavus Wayz. I like the idea of an 'Oma' bike in their range, but they are too much Oma even for us.

Thanks for the offer of test ride; we are in Winchester so won't take you up on it. I've read the comments in your other thread and see there are lots of Ortlers on sale at Bikester; probably difficult to get test ride as you say. I don't mind the roller brake as long as it isn't a backpedal brake.

We may wait a bit for any new bike; lots of places may have end of 2018 clearance soon.

Following them up I've also found a couple of Batribike that look promising (can test ride in Portsmouth; my wife has to go there on Wednesday anyway). https://batribike.com/see-the-bikes/perdu#spec They mostly seem to come with a sensible choice of battery size.

If I go for the second hand Motus I should be able to test that too.

 

[Warwick]

The Ortler's (second) rear brake is a coaster; i.e. a back pedal brake, not a roller. I'm not a big fan, but it does have its uses.

 

[sjpt]

@Warwick Thanks for pointing out the coaster, I'd somehow missed that amongst the rest of the details. I suppose I could get used to it, but certainly a minus as far as I am concerned.

 

[Warwick]

It does have a normal v-brake as well on the rear, so I use it as a regulator on hills and coming up to junctions. Not something I'd choose to have, but it was an eBay bargain.

 

[Ocsid]

Is there not a fundamental difference in the subject bikes under consideration that needs sorting, the relative merits in your case between hub drives and crank drives?

Edit: if electric bikes are new to you then our initial impressions might be helpful.
The first one you try can be very seductive, probably pushing you to buy.
However, IMO resist that and go and try others before buying, they can be very different and with only a single test you are not to know you have found the most suitable.

 

[sjpt]

Thanks for the comment. We have a tandem we have converted with front hub motor which we have been very happy with, so have a bit of an idea.

Our main test on solo bikes was the Crossfire (rear hub) and Crossfuse (CD). The Crossfire had a rather curious power pattern of little surges when pedalling slowly; not an essential feature of hub drive as our Woosh tandem conversion does not share it. Apart from that, though there were clear differences, I don't think they would be that important for our relatively simple demands. It did highlight the benefits for us over the next few years of low step and hub gears; even thought we have both been riding for years without either. This was a bit unexpected and shows the importance of test rides, as you say.

Our next test will almost certainly be the Motus. Probably a rather better bike than we need, but within our price bracket as it is second hand. I think if we like it we will go for it without further tests. If not we will certainly do more test riding where possible.

 

[Warwick]

The biggest difference I find between hub drive bikes and mid drive ones is the torque sensing. On my rear hub drive Oxygen, full power is fed in if the pedals are turning - however hard I'm actually pushing. On the Bosch-equipped Ortler, the power is fed in proportionally to how hard I am pushing. That's really good, as it helps when pushing up hills. I find the combination of Bosch/Nexus on the Ortler works very well.

 

[sjpt]

We tried a second-hand Raleigh Motus low step with hub gear and bought it. (£1100 ebay/https://e-bikeshop.co.uk) Seemed to tick all the boxes, and very pleased with it after a short ride when we got it home. Will report more after a few weeks.

 

[Warwick]

Glad you're sorted. What hub gear does it have?

 

[sjpt]

It has Nexus 7. The newer ones have Nexus 8, which I might have preferred for the wider range. It took me up the hills right here easily enough ... have yet to test it on some of the harder ones nearby but I think the low will be low enough.

 

[Warwick]

My Ortler has the same hub and I really like it. I'm in two minds about tweaking the gearing. My knees tell me that the lower gearing it has is good, but I also know there's a few MPH more to be had out of it, but the range of the hub means I'm spinning out once it gets to 22 or 23MPH. I'll probably leave it as it is for now, as the spiked tyres that will take me through the winter are draggy. I have a couple of Alfine 8 hubs that could make one decent one out of to fit, but the Nexus is winning me over. Decisions, decisions!

 

[sjpt]

We've will need a little time to get used to on the hub. Haven't used hub gears for a VERY long time. We know to ease off pedalling to change gear; I think we need to ease off more than we expected but I don't think it will be a problem as we get used to it.

We are happy with the low gearing. We rarely want to go over 15 or maybe 18 mph except on non-pedal downhills; and hardly ever use the big front ring on the derailleurs of our tandem or either solo bike. The Motus will replace one solo bike, leaving us with two solos we can swap between us as needed. We don't often use two solos at the same time.

 

[sjpt]

Getting more used to the hub already.

Oddity 1 on Motus: no bottle cage mounts.
Oddity #2: twist gears go the 'wrong' way (that is, different from our other bikes)

 

[sjpt]

I have realized some oddities in my second-hand bike Motus. They should have been corrected by the bike shop that sold it (https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/)

The rear wheel had been put on completely wrong, with the right hand anti-rotation washer inside the dropouts and pointing in. There was a smooth washer on the outside of the dropout. No surprise that the wheel slipped out of straight when we applied hard force to the pedals. I think they may have forced the dropout width a bit to get it in. Also didn't help accurate gear changes.

The rear brake was completely mis-adjusted. I noticed it was slack when doing the (very short) test ride, but hadn't noticed how asymmetrical it was.

Now they are right (or at least, my approximation to right which is much better than before) the brakes and hubs work very nicely.