MTB or Hybrid with full throttle, up to £1500 ish, for short commute

[2Lazy]

I'm looking to buy an MTB or hybrid style ebike. Details, requirements and a list of bikes I have shortlist can be found below. I'm planning on test riding all of them if I can and I already have some test rides booked but I'm hoping you guys might be able to provide some guidance and help me whittle the list down to something more manageable.

I should mention that I visited Cyclezee yesterday who kindly let me test ride the Ezee Torq and Ezee Sprint. These were the first ebikes I had ridden and I have to say I was really impressed with them. They were a lot more powerful than I was expecting.

Type of bike

Must be a step over frame, hub motor, full twist and go throttle (to 15mph), ideally bottle cage mount battery, would consider seat tube mount, but definitely don't want pannier rack mount. I would like something as 'normal' looking, quiet and discreet as possible. I'm undecided on whether I want the pannier rack and full mudguards 'commuter' look. I think my preference would probably be an MTB style bike to which MTB mudguards could be fitted, with a bottle cage mount battery. The option to derestrict the bike would be a definite bonus - not saying I need it or would do it - but nice to have the option.

Budget

Under £1000 would be nice, £1000 to £1500 would be ok, anything above £1500ish would have to be something really special. I would rather pay more for something with better quality components and something that is going to stand the test of time but equally I don't want to overspend given that my commute on the bike is relatively short.

Me

39 year old bloke, 5ft 10.5", 13.5 stone, healthy and relatively fit

Use

I'll be using the bike for a 7 mile round trip commute (3.5 miles each way) which is all on cycle paths (no roads). There is only one hill on the return journey which is quite small by most people's standards, I think it's 6 to 10% for about 300 meters. Otherwise the terrain is pretty flat except for short inclines for overpasses and underpasses. I do have a good quality hybrid bike which I enjoy riding occasionally in the summer time on weekends but I'm not doing this for any kind of enjoyment or fitness. It is purely because parking is becoming problematic (not enough spaces) and with fuel it is costing me £7 to £9 a day. I have a fairly long onward commute (3 hour round trip on a good day, 4 hours on a bad one) so I need this to be as painless as possible. After a 12 hour day when I get to the train station of an evening all I want to do is get home asap. As such I'm looking for the bike to do the vast majority of the work. At a moderate pace I can get to the train station in 20 minutes on my push bike so on an ebike I would hope to reduce that to 15 minutes or less. I might also use the bike occasionally for leisure riding locally at weekends but I wouldn't do any more than 15 miles in a day so range isn't massively important.

Shortlisted bikes (in no particular order)


Fast4Ward Peak
Oxygen E-Mate City
Oxygen E-Mate MTB 11Ah and 13Ah
3E Sport / Urban
Volt Pulse / Pulse X
Volt Alpine / Alpine X
Cyclotricity Stealth 1000w
Cyclotricity Revolver 500w
Wisper 905 Classic
Ezee Forza
Ezee Torq
Freego Eagle
Freego Martin Sport
Ecobike Adventure / City Ride
Roodog Avatar

Of those the ones that appeal the most (style wise) are the Oxygen E-Mate MTB, Volt Alpine / Alpine X, Fast4Ward Peak, Cyclotricity Stealth, Cyclotricity Revolver, Roodog Avatar and the 3E Sport.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They're all good. You can add the Kudos Tornado to the list as well.

 

[2Lazy]

Thanks. I was under the impression that none of the Kudos bikes had full twist and go throttle but perhaps I am mistaken.

I might also have a look at the Woosh Big Bear, even though it has the pannier mounted battery which I'm not really keen on it has good reviews and it's looks to be good value at £850.

 

[RobF]

Arranging test rides on 20+ ebikes will take months, not to mention many miles of travelling.

Never worth it to find any bike, let alone one for a short 3.5mile commute.

Even if you did test all 20, you would have that much information swimming around in your head you would be unable to process it all.

Buy the Oxygen MTB and get on with the rest of your life.

 

[2Lazy]

Hmm, all being well I will have arranged test rides for 15 of the 20 by the end of the week. Four different dealerships, one very close to where I live, another very close to where I work. The other two I'll need to drive a fair way and visit them both on the same day. I'll just make a day of it and it's surely worth the effort for a £1500 purchase. If an £800 bike meets my needs there is no point spending £1500 and I can only really get a feel for that by test riding them. I wouldn't buy a TV without testing it first let alone a £1500 bike.

 

[trex]

...
I might also have a look at the Woosh Big Bear, even though it has the pannier mounted battery which I'm not really keen on it has good reviews and it's looks to be good value at £850.

for short commutes like yours, the woosh Zephyr-B may be better suited.
It does not look electric, folds and has quick wheel release in the front, hydraulic brakes, all for under £1000. You can take it into trains.
Range is same with all bikes with 10AH battery, about 30 miles on a full charge.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-b

 

[D8ve]

the £599 volt uno might meet your spec but why a grand plus? Well better components and smother ride.
A more expensive bike that runs easier and lasts longer?
Or am I casting nasturtiums on woosh and the like?

 

[Croxden]

the £599 volt uno might meet your spec but why a grand plus? Well better components and smother ride.
A more expensive bike that runs easier and lasts longer?
Or am I casting nasturtiums on woosh and the like?

No, I don't think you are. I tested bikes on a mobile sales day and found the KTM to be worth the asking price compared to the lower cost option.
No doubt they will have improved with later models but they will still have lower spec components. Always go for the best you can afford.

 

[trex]

an expensive commuter bike is not a sensible solution.
Unlike your weekend bike, you may not have the choice of parking the bike where you want, under a shelter. Then there is the risk of attracting thieves.

 

[JohnCade]

Cyclezee is on your doorstep and has bikes which seem to cover your needs and which are recommended here. Not a bad idea to buy from someone nearby if they have a good rep for product and service. Could save a lot of hassle down the line.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Be careful, you often get a false impression of bikes on short test rides. Bikes that feel immediately comfortable are often not comfortable for long rides, and bikes with speed-control controllers often feel more powerful than they are because they feed in high power at start up. Crank drives can also feel more powerful than they are because the torque increases in the low gears. Then you have to figure outthe settings and controls work, which can take a while to figure out. I bet some dealers don't even know how the 18 different power levels on the new Oxygens work because I haven't seen that on any other bike. It has current control as well as speed control. Riding on the flat doesn't give much for comparison either. You need a very steep hill to sort out the men from the boys.

I'm not saying that test-riding is a waste of time. You just have to be careful of drawing the correct conclusions.

 

[JohnCade]

Riding on the flat doesn't give much for comparison either. You need a very steep hill to sort out the men from the boys.

I'm not saying that test-riding is a waste of time. You just have to be careful of drawing the correct conclusions.

He just wants to use it for a three and a half mile trip to the station and back In Milton Keynes with one not very steep hill. Almost any bike will do what he wants easily. So there’s a lot to be said for buying locally I would have thought.

 

[trex]

that's why I thought the Big Bear is heavy and overkill. The Zephyr-B is light, powerful and folds. Piece of cake to chuck it in the back of a car and take it with you when you fancy a bit of hills or mud. It's well equiped without looking showy and still under a grand.

It has the lightest (1.5kgs) and most high tech battery on the market. Where the lock is located, thieves can't nick the battery with bolt cutters or carbide drill either.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

He just wants to use it for a three and a half mile trip to the station and back In Milton Keynes with one not very steep hill. Almost any bike will do what he wants easily. So there’s a lot to be said for buying locally I would have thought.

Good point; however, that's where many of us started. Once you have the bike, you realise what else you can do with it.

 

[D8ve]

I know the crank drives feel more powerful in low gear.
But isn't that the idea. Get maximum torque up steep hills and efficent higher speed in top gear on the flat?

 

[trex]

some members can't stand the sound of chain mashing against the cog's teeth. I would have thought that the solution is to fit fast shifting short cage derailleurs and avoid anything bigger than 28T on the freewheel.

 

[LEBC Tom]

Hi 2Lazy, have you considered the Kudos Secret?
http://londonelectricbike.com/electric-bike/kudos-secret/
At 18kgs and £700 price tag I thought you may want to consider this very versatile bike?

 

[2Lazy]

an expensive commuter bike is not a sensible solution.
Unlike your weekend bike, you may not have the choice of parking the bike where you want, under a shelter. Then there is the risk of attracting thieves.

Yes this a good point and it has crossed my mind. That is partly why I'm looking to buy an ebike and it's also partly why I'm not in any great rush to buy the first bike I see. In the meantime I can take my time test riding a number of different bikes.

 

[2Lazy]

Cyclezee is on your doorstep and has bikes which seem to cover your needs and which are recommended here. Not a bad idea to buy from someone nearby if they have a good rep for product and service. Could save a lot of hassle down the line.

Indeed. And I test rode a couple of Ezee bikes the other day. The Torq and Forza are on the shortlist but I'd like to test a few others bikes before making a decision. MK is only 30mins by train from London so there are a number of London dealerships which are within fairly easy reach.

Also, I've just discovered that my employer offers CycleScheme with no upper limit on purchase price. I'd be foolish not to take advantage of this so any dealership I buy from needs to be registered with CycleScheme which, of course, might limit my choices somewhat.

 

[2Lazy]

Hi 2Lazy, have you considered the Kudos Secret?
http://londonelectricbike.com/electric-bike/kudos-secret/
At 18kgs and £700 price tag I thought you may want to consider this very versatile bike?

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the reply, here and on the email. The Kudos Secret I'm sure is a very good bike but I'm afraid it's not my style. I'm looking for an MTB or Hybrid style bike with full twist and go throttle. I'm aware that there are some imminent changes in the law in regard to the latter which is partly why I'm looking to purchase a bike now before the type approval requirement begins in 2016 as I susepct that will greatly reduce the range of bikes available with twist and go throttle.