My Pendleton Somerby

[Tony Jaques]

Hi there,
A couple of months ago I bought a Pendleton Somerby electric bike. The first surprise was to see the amount of space in the user manual taken to warn of a limited life. In effect metal fatigue among other things could have it fall to bits at anytime! (Not that they quite put it like that.) I can't imagine any reputable manufacturer like Raliegh, Falcon or Claude Butler putting that in the manual - not that there was a manual in those days. If you had a bike you knew what to do with it.
The next surprise, and one which for me soon relegated it to the level of a toy to play with, is the ridiculously low gear ratios available. I have had what are now called road bikes for over sixty years, and for a long time my normal speed has been about 15mph +/- wind and gradient. But on this toy my legs are windmilling away to do that.
My current road bike is a Falcon Voyager which I have had since the late '60s of early '70s and of course it does not have indexed gears. I was really looking forward to the improvement. On the pendleton it is, for me, a totally wasted facility. Apart from an initial experiment I have never been out of top gear. I can't even imagine what the lowest gear is for; going up the side of a 'bus perhaps?
I did go to Halfords afer a week or so to ask if a larger chain wheel was available, but was told quite shortly that no there wasn't. My Falcon has 54 and 43 at the front. I can't remember when I last needed the 43. On the Pendleton 43 is all there is!
It could be of course that Halfords simply did not want to know - having sold the bike. Does anyone here know if a sensibly sized chainwheel that would fit does actually exist? I realise that the chain guard would have to go, but I have never had one of those before either, and I wouldn't miss the noises it makes.
The electric drive is useful against a strong wind but otherwise is unpowered most of the time. After some 40 miles the indicators still show >80% charge remaining.

Anyway I hope that this was, even if not of any value to someone, at least entertainng.
Tony...

 

[egroover]

One look at the Somerby shows it's a sit up and ride easy sedate peddler, not for speed merchants like yourself. Try the Boardman ebikes with the lower power motors and bigger chainsets.
Halfords offer free test rides, makes sense to try before you buy...

And yes, you can replace the chainset for a larger one, will of course need a new longer chain and you'll need to refit the cadence sensor onto the new chainset or not if it's on the existing bottom bracket shaft

 

[Sturmey]

My daughter has a electric pendleton and I have assembled a number of flat packed Halfords bikes. They all come with literature explaining why the frame guarantee on aluminium frames is much shorter than the 10 year given on their steel frames.
My daughters 2017 pendleton came with a 38T front and an 8 speed 13-32T rear freewheel. These gears I suppose match the legal 25km/hr max speed and the motor power.
Strictly speaking, (afaik)its illegal for a seller to modify an ebike in any way from how it has been type approved. But you can yourself take off the chainguard and 38T crank and replace with a larger say 48 or 52T. (The chain may be long enough or may need extra links). But its not going to make the motor any faster and (at least the older versions) some of these bikes have an annoying habit of the motor power been very slow to kick in when coming back down from a higher speed to 25 km/hr.
The low gearing (38/13) is low enough in that if you need lower, you are crawling up the hill too slowly and the motor is at risk of overheating.
Bear in mind that the bike is a competitively priced traditional classical shaped utility bike with mudguards, chainguards rack etc. It has its limitations.

 

[Nealh]

It is a bike more inline for female riders, as mentioned a sit up and beg dutch style type ride. The gearing is so to make the bike very easy to ride and in most part women casually riding will only be pootling along.

 

[saneagle]

Pendletons had DNP 11/32 rear gears, which gave comfortable 20 mph pedalling. They now have 14/28. Buy 11/32 or 11/28 from Aliexpress £10. Problem solved.

 

[Tony Jaques]

One look at the Somerby shows it's a sit up and ride easy sedate peddler, not for speed merchants like yourself. Try the Boardman ebikes with the lower power motors and bigger chainsets.
Halfords offer free test rides, makes sense to try before you buy...

And yes, you can replace the chainset for a larger one, will of course need a new longer chain and you'll need to refit the cadence sensor onto the new chainset or not if it's on the existing bottom bracket shaft

Hi egroover, and thank you for the response.
At 82 years old, and with a heart problem, I think it hardly likely that I come into the speed merchant category. Indeed observing other cyclists I seem to be about average. I admit that downhill or with a following wind (and a clear road of course) it is enjoyable to get over 20, especially on a heavy bike like my new one! It's failrly easy on the Falcon.
However, the sort of bike that I would have preferred (with a proper crossbar) would have been about £6000 or so. Just not on. The Somerby has a very presentable appearance, and a much more sensible price. I shall be changing the sit-up-and-beg aspect when I can work out how to get the handlebar grips off without cutting them.
Thank you for the comment about what old fashioned me referred to as a chainwheel. I will look into it.
Tony...