more is better ?

[stevieb]

i have been a commuter/ leisure cyclist for a long time but only recently been using an electric kit.
what i have discovered about bikes over the years is that a compromise on quality is required for the daily grind of commuting.
what i mean by this is that obviously you shouldn,t use a bike that costs less than £80 brand new because it will be hard to use with poor components .
on the other hand if you use the top of the range carbon fibre road bike it will be very nice to use but i have found the lightweight components [although excellent quality] wear out quicker.
the parts are understandably expensive to replace.
this means that for commuting i don,t use top of the range but stick to a bike of good quality with components that are good but not that good that they wear out faster and are reasonably priced .
does this also apply to electric bikes ?
thanks

 

[trex]

Yes, it does totally.

 

[oldtom]

what i have discovered about bikes over the years is that a compromise on quality is required for the daily grind of commuting.

Yes, striking the right balance between (a) selecting a level of components up to the job of regular commuting and (b) diminishing the bank balance by the minimum to ensure (a) is key to happy commuting.

Most of us have to make compromises in many things and ebikes are no different.

Tom

 

[Deleted member 4366]

i have been a commuter/ leisure cyclist for a long time but only recently been using an electric kit.
what i have discovered about bikes over the years is that a compromise on quality is required for the daily grind of commuting.
what i mean by this is that obviously you shouldn,t use a bike that costs less than £80 brand new because it will be hard to use with poor components .
on the other hand if you use the top of the range carbon fibre road bike it will be very nice to use but i have found the lightweight components [although excellent quality] wear out quicker.
the parts are understandably expensive to replace.
this means that for commuting i don,t use top of the range but stick to a bike of good quality with components that are good but not that good that they wear out faster and are reasonably priced .
does this also apply to electric bikes ?
thanks

I used to have similar views, but I'm changing them now, since I've been using my £5 Trax. When I got the bike, it looked like it had never been serviced in its life: Two flat tyres; brake pads worn right through on the front; no balls in the BB on the drive side; rusty forks. I've no idea how old it is.

I put two new tubes in it, a £10 cartridge BB from Halfords and a pair of new Avid Elixir hydraulic brakes for £70, plus the motor wheel. The chain is probably worn out, but still working, so I'll change it when/if it gives any problems. I can't really see anything that will wear out or fail. The only thing that I know gives problems on cheap bikes is the non-cartridge BBs. Maybe steering head bearings if you don't service them. Both of these things are very cheap and easy to sort out.

So far I've done 200 miles on this bike, and find it quite enjoyable. The suspension does help although it clatters on the rebound at both ends. The seat is also quite comfortable considering that its about the cheapest one you can get. The gears all work apart from a it of jumping between second and third. looking at it, I can't see anything that's likely to give problems in the future.

When people say that components will fail on cheap bikes, what components do they mean. Personally, i think that this is a fallacy, and probably reflects owners' attitude to maintenance rather than inherent problems in the bikes.

Comparing my Trax to a £2000 bike for riding on the road, the suspension is more choppy and noisy, the gears are slightly less slick, it's heavier but stronger(steel), the steering is less precise, and the standard brakes are inadequate. With a few small inexpensive changes, I'm sure that it will give just as many miles.

 

[John F]

But don't forget that not everyone wants to spend lots of time tinkering in the garage!

 

[trex]

none of the posters above actually relies on LBS for routine maintenance. How about solving a problem for someone like CL who needs a reliable transport and does not mind paying for it? which one is the most reliable in your opinion?
You know and I know if something does not feel right, we stop, look and fix it quickly. But if someone can't?

 

[Alan Quay]

Agreed, cheap bikes require a lot more tinkering. It's normally the brakes that require the most effort.

A friend asked me to have a look at his bike the other day. It was new, and just needed setting up.

I was shocked to discover plastic brake levers, plastic brake arms, and plastic crank arms!

I find that good, mid range second hand bikes fetch about £100-£200 on eBay, and will give loads less trouble than the equivalent cost new bike.

 

[stevieb]

thanks for the replies folks
confirms my thoughts
so would i be right in saying that a good mid range electric bike is the best bet for regular commuting?
also would i be right in saying that an expensive top of the range electric bike would not give any real advantages for commuting,other than a more pleasant ride and would be more costly due to more expensive components.?
if i,m correct in these assumptions can anyone give me some examples of bikes that would fit the bill?
that is to say good enough quality without being over the top for every day use.
please don,t get me wrong and think that i,m in any way decrying top of the range bikes ,because i have them myself in the form of a mountain bike and a roadbike and love them but they are purely for leasure only .
thanks.

 

[trex]

to me, the Woosh Big Bear is the best compromise between cost, power, range, comfort, easy maintenance. It is already well equipped for commuting.
Small things like puncture resistant tyres, cartridge BB are useful to have.
All the mechanical parts are standard, but could do with better crankset and pedals.

 

[OldBob1]

Its like a lot of things if not fitted or set up correctly it will be assumed to be rubbish.

 

[Arbol]

Could it be that "more is better" applies to batteries?

I sympathize a lot with the "5 pound bike" idea. I am sure that if I could not look at the bike, I would have a hard time to distinguish that bike from a say "200 pound new bike" (others would do it better, for sure).

However, for batteries it looks like that the more expensive, the better. AFAIK cheap batteries are "bad". Maybe I am wrong?

 

[stevieb]

thanks Arbol
thats an interesting point about the battery
thats the info i,m after.
so the woosh bikes appear to fit the bill along with others advertised on this site .
so is there any thing out there that may appear to be the same standard as those recomended but are not worth bothering with due to poor quality?
i understand if this is an unfair question on an open forum
i can spot poor quality non electric bikes and anyboby with some experience with bikes knows what to avoid .
comment from mike higgins is spot on and i have advised people the same as himself.
i would rather get a good quality second hand bike that cost the same as new sub standard one .
the problem is that i would probably buy new with an electric bike as i,ve read on here that you really need to know your stuff when buying second hand electric.
i don,t yet know good electric components from bad
thanks

 

[Geebee]

Could it be that "more is better" applies to batteries?

I sympathize a lot with the "5 pound bike" idea. I am sure that if I could not look at the bike, I would have a hard time to distinguish that bike from a say "200 pound new bike" (others would do it better, for sure).

However, for batteries it looks like that the more expensive, the better. AFAIK cheap batteries are "bad". Maybe I am wrong?

Difficult one, a battery like the Woosh ones will be a lot cheaper for a new replacement than say a Bosch.
My Tonaro battery is 3 years old and still runs the same as when I got it, only low miles though. My feeling is stay away from the super cheap ones and you should be ok. Again a case of staying in the middle ground ie. dont buty an unknown Ebay special and expect a great battery.

If you are into DIY and know what you are doing the RC lipo's are probably the cheapest and can deliver massive current at low weight but are not for everyone.

 

[Arbol]

I was not thinking so much about the brand selling the batteries (say Bosch) but about cells themselves.

For example, a 36V15Ah will be better in any sense (but weight) than a 36V10Ah: longer life (less cycles given the same usage), better discharge rate, better range ...

Also, a more expensive cell will be better than a cheaper cell: a Samsung 22P is better, in any sense (but price) than a Samsung 22F.

One could argue a 48V battery does not need to be better than a 36V (everything else equal), since rpm of the motor is increased, and the biker may not want that. That could be true.

But for sure, I would prefer a 48V 20Ah with Samsung 29E or Panasonic PF than a 36V10Ah with cheap Chinese cells. It seems that "more is better" is true for batteries.