many questions from germany

[qeeeme]

Hello,
i am glad to have found your forum. Here in germany i found no similar forum on pedelecs.
I am 42 and i have a distance 0f 25 km (15,5 miles). i have to go back and forth.
i do it with a "race"bicycle .
but sometime it is just too much so i take train + busses but it is expensive and not so flexible (few busses)
and i think about "save the earth, dont use gas" and i think about "cheap cheap electric bicycles are cheap in electrical consumption"

so i am a potential buyer of pedelec

so welcome to the jungle

EVERY buyer tells me that his product is appropriated for me because of "bla bla bla theory"

then i have bought a german bike (rex ebike) + china motor (suzhou bafang) + led battery. it was cheap somehow, 500 euros. but after 6 months i gave it back (thanks God it was possible). The bike had only 3 gears, it was not possible to work with my muscles (too heavy or too light) and many cheap parts of the bioike went broken and sometime the motor didnt work (overheat, bad quality?)

So now what?

i am standins in front of more than 20 companies and bikes

and no really possibility to test and to give back what is not good for me

so maybe your theoretical and experience information will help me

1st question:
- comparing with a "racebike" how good, bad, better, worst is a pedelec for the "sport" effect. Imean, with the race bike i still have to grow in relationship to bicycle and health, how i can do what for my fitness. When i have time and i am fit i will cycle with my racebike and invest the money there, until i understand better bike+fitness. And what happens with your pedelecs? which effect has it on health? of course you are everytime "outside" "fresh air" + you are "cycling with your muscles if you want". but thast is the point. Is it not possible to have a triathlon position with motor in front? (too heavy for motor and front wheel), if the motor is in the middle you cannot really use your muscles because to drive this middle motor you have to give torque there and this is unhealthy? (for health, better a easy gear and the heart is working and the frequency is higher?)

2nd question:
-i am tending to the S-Flyer from Biketech switzerland. i dont see it yet in this forum (sorry i should seek mor i know). Are some users here? is it worth the 3500 euros? am i then really quick? and good for health or too much torque needed?

3rd questiion:
where is the fronteer between: i dont need a pedelec, for this short distance and my normal health for 42 years any bike is okay and 15 miles are too much today i want to make the trip without being tired after and not pyaing/waiting for busses. so what is your experience between: now i take my bike and make sport or now i take my pedelec because i want to not be tired (and i even make sport with it?)

thanky for your patience, next time i will try to ask more specifivc questions

ramo

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Ramo,

Some questions which will help us to advise you.

Is that journey 25 km total or 25 km there and 25 km back?
How much time does it take you on your race bike?
What is the steepest hill on the journey?

Nick

 

[flecc]

You have the German Kalkhoff models, and also those from Raleigh Gmbh which all use the same Panasonic motor unit as several BikeTech models. These are all high quality and reliable, and they are the closest to true cycling that there is in e-bikes. However, they do tend to deliver the power best at lower pedal cadences (slower pedalling speed), so are not as good a physical workout as a good sports bicycle.

They do require around 50% of the input from you though, so they are good exercise. The Kalkhoff Pro-Connect is a more sporting styled model, and these Panasonic unit bikes are long range and pedal just like an ordinary bike when the power is switched off for riding on the flat, so you can get as much exercise as you want.

None of the cheaper Chinese bikes have very good quality, and even the more expensive ones cannot match the quality of the German models I mentioned above.

If you prefer a hub motor, you have the German Heinzmann, again very good quality and in various powers and speeds, but they are heavy compared with the best Chinese motors.
.

 

[Charlie]

Hi Ramo,
I was in a similar position to you, my round journey is 17 miles. I'd preveously try to cycle a couple of days a week. I then bought an Ezee Torq, and have been very pleased with it. I have no interest in riding to work through the winter months, but for the rest of the year, I now find I have no reason not to ride to work.
Feeling a little too tired to cycle, just isn't an excuse anymore! I've even cycled home for lunch, just as an extra excuse to use it.

Charlie.

 

[giguana]

if I could choose any racing bicycle, it would probably be a bionx 700cc conversion and a nice racing bicycle of choice...€3500 is the most expensive I have ever heard of, most of the top ones seem to be around €2k? there is a review section on this website with some of the popular models.

 

[bersh]

How high the hill?

Hi Ramo, welcome to our fine group. If you want a pedelec to help climb quite steep hills, consider my experience. I have an eZee Quando II and live in San Francisco with our sometimes very steep hills. My vote is to help get on the market/in production so you can buy it, Flecc,s version, the one he redesigned to include seven gears. Couple that bike with a NICAD battery (so the battery doesn't shut the bike down, temporarily, when the ascent becomes too steep/draining. I have been told that NICAD's are environmentally unfriendly, and thus more and more difficult to find.

While this response to your questions may not help right now, it should give you some more information to consider.

Good luck, and good speed.

 

[Leonardo]

Hello Geemee

Flyer S Series are wonderful bikes and if you are plenty of money just get one and enjoy it… But it is true they are uselessly expensive for most uses: the high speed versions are faster than the standard one of course, but with a standard and “cheaper” T or C series you can cruise at 25-28km/h with very natural and healthy pedalling, just like the Kalkhoff/Raleigh that Flecc suggests. You can find some experiences with the Flyer bikes on the French forum and our Italian one: I don’t know if there is in Britain anybody who owns a Flyer. However the perfect review of the Kalkhoff Agattu edited by Flecc describes the behaviour of the last Panasonic unit used both by Flyer and Kalkhoff/Raleigh. In the comparison Biketech Flyer has slightly better specs, you can choose between more internal and external brakes and gears, the bike is just a little more silent, has perhaps a bit higher assistance mode and… it is a more expensive: I’d suggest the get a Kalkhoff unless you have special needs.

I’m curious about the Rex that gave you such a bad experience: was it the heavy 36V model? And are you sure it uses the Suzhou Bafang motor?

 

[qeeeme]

Hi Ramo,

Some questions which will help us to advise you.

Is that journey 25 km total or 25 km there and 25 km back?
How much time does it take you on your race bike?
What is the steepest hill on the journey?

Nick

there are 50 km total, 25 there and 25 km back
with my race bike i did it once fats in about 1 hour (without tachometer)
actually, winter, cold not so well , thinking about pedelecs, i do it with an average of 18 km/h
i think steepest hill: 50 m high and lowest point 0 m.

 

[qeeeme]

I’m curious about the Rex that gave you such a bad experience: was it the heavy 36V model? And are you sure it uses the Suzhou Bafang motor?

Yes, it was the Rex 36 Volts. My problem was: 3 gears = not enough, too heavy or too easy so it was not possible to use it really, some parts of the bike broke easily but the worst was that sometime the motor just didnt function in the middle of nowhere (and then being there with a heavy bike) and then suddenly it functionned again. thermical problems? i was putting too much on the throttle? anyway rex had a service and they visited me but they were mainly mechanic people understanding little of pedelec, so they changed me battery or controller but this gave nothing really. so i gave it back.
yes it was a suzhou bafang motor

 

[Tiberius]

Hi Ramo,

It sounds like you do not have difficult hills and that you are already going fairly fast. If you average 18 to 25 km/h, then your top speed must be 25 to 30.

Maybe you should look at e-bikes that are optimised for speed rather than hill climbing. There is a 25 km/h speed limit on the motor here in the UK. If that is the same in Germany then you need to choose one where that limit can be turned off for "off road" use.

I have the eZee Torq and I can keep my average speed above 25 km/h. But none of the e-bikes are like race bikes. The handlebars are different and they are heavier - they do not feel the same.

Nick

 

[qeeeme]

Hi Ramo,
It sounds like you do not have difficult hills and that you are already going fairly fast. If you average 18 to 25 km/h, then your top speed must be 25 to 30.

yes it is like this . now of course i understasnd, some pedelecs are made for hills/mountains, others for flat/speed

Maybe you should look at e-bikes that are optimised for speed rather than hill climbing. There is a 25 km/h speed limit on the motor here in the UK. If that is the same in Germany then you need to choose one where that limit can be turned off for "off road" use.

i didnt know that? i can imagine "turnuing off" like going into the controller (or with bionx? it is easy to do?) and taking out the speed limit"illegally" what no policeman can control. or does pedelecs exist where it is possible easily to switch the limit off?

I have the eZee Torq and I can keep my average speed above 25 km/h. But none of the e-bikes are like race bikes. The handlebars are different and they are heavier - they do not feel the same.

i dont know ezee bikes here in germany, now only from this forum i see that it is widely sold in the UK

so i still try to understand bikes like SFlyer but it is a lot of money (3500 euros) and if it is not really the right product for me it is really too much. but SFlyer in Germany you could drive more than 25km/h (advertising etc speaks from 35, 40, 45 km/H) and you have to py the governement for a number (like motorcycles, insurance etc)

Nick

maybe i am not using well the "quote buttons"

 

[Leonardo]

Geemee, why don't you try it? I'd suggest to try a Flyer T4 (less than 2000 euro in your lucky country) and a Kalkhoff Pro-Connect.
If you want something less natural but more powerful there is an Ezee supplier in Germany, where you could try a Torq: elektrisches-fahrrad.de - Home - but there should also be a beautiful new Sport model by Heinzmann-Estelle (Estelle - Electrobikes - Fahrräder mit Elektromotor, Hilfsantrieb, Zusatzantrieb, Elektrorad, Elektrofahrrad, E-Bike)
If you want a natural feeling but more speed, and it is ok for you to pay the mofa plate and so on, then try the Flyer S-Series. But please try it before buying. My feeling is that a standard Flyer or Kalkhoff would be ok... Maybe you could just change the rear sprocket in order to have more speed and less hill climbing ability, if it is what you need.