New Crossfire

[233sqn]

Halfords have introduced a new Crossfire, looks good and a couple of early purchases are reporting very favourably on FB. Hopefully it will address the issues they have suffered. Details on the Halfords website.

 

[egroover]

Spec wise, it looks pretty much like for like as the old version, albeit with the new style battery and frame.

Once they drop the RRP to £1k, plus add a xmas 20% off code, BC 10% discount, Gift card trick and Topcashback to bring it in at about £650 I might bite again lol

 

[lolipop808]

Having the motor on the back wheel would put me off as it would make changing the Tyre more tricky.

 

[233sqn]

Having the motor on the back wheel would put me off as it would make changing the Tyre more tricky.

Don't let it put you off....if you can remove and refit an ordinary back wheel and mend a puncture, then you can do a powered one. The biggest problem I see nowadays is that hydraulic brakes (a good thing) prevent tipping the bike upside down to remove the wheel in the first place!

 

[233sqn]

Spec wise, it looks pretty much like for like as the old version, albeit with the new style battery and frame.

Once they drop the RRP to £1k, plus add a xmas 20% off code, BC 10% discount, Gift card trick and Topcashback to bring it in at about £650 I might bite again lol

Yes new frame, new battery, 9 gears instead of 8, wider bars, different saddle, beefed up mount for the display (early ones used to crack) and hopefully trouble free.

 

[Nealh]

No one using tubes needs to remove a rear hub wheel unless a tyre is being replaced, a Gaadi tube is the answer.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

The biggest problem I see nowadays is that hydraulic brakes (a good thing) prevent tipping the bike upside down to remove the wheel in the first place!

I haven't heard of that advice before and certainly have put a push bike with hydraulic brakes upside down without having any problems.

 

[Nealh]

The biggest problem I see nowadays is that hydraulic brakes (a good thing) prevent tipping the bike upside down to remove the wheel in the first place!

I have had it once when I upturned after a puncture ( pre Gaadi days). A few pumps of the lever gets things back to normal along with gentle taping along the brake line or at home the lever can be applied with a strap holding it to allow air to rise.

 

[Gringo]

I haven't heard of that advice before and certainly have put a push bike with hydraulic brakes upside down without having any problems.

Been doing it for years without a problem, someone has either had Some bad luck or been given some bad advice

 

[BazP]

The biggest problem I see nowadays is that hydraulic brakes (a good thing) prevent tipping the bike upside down to remove the wheel in the first place!

I had that problem for the first time last week.
The bike was upside down for four days whilst waiting for a new Bosch cog to arrive. when tipped back up the rear brake lever pulled back to the bars. It took about 8 pumps to sort. Wouldn't have thought that 10 minutes to change a tyre though would cause this.

 

[vfr400]

Having the motor on the back wheel would put me off as it would make changing the Tyre more tricky.

How often do you change tyres. I put mine on 6 years ago (6000 miles) and it looks like they should last another 10 years (10,000 miles) if they carry on wearing at the same rate. That's once every 16 years. I think many of our forum members would be dead before they change their tyres on that basis.

Even then, it's a 2 minute job to get the wheel off - 2 nuts and a single connector. That's not exactly difficult.

Personally, I'd rather have ebiking nirvana for a lifetime with a rear hub-motor and 2 minutes of extra work to get a wheel off, than having the unpleasantness of a crank-motor for the rest of my life and all the inconvenience of frequently replacing chains, sprockets and derailleurs. The thought of a all that extra work and expence with a crank-motor makes me shudder!

The Crossfire-E was a fine bike when it was going, but it's let down by the battery cut-outs and dodgy torque sensor. I see that they've now updated the Vengeance, which doesn't have the torque sensor, and AFAIK doesn't have the cut-outs, so is probably a nice bike at £899 list price, but that price could go down by £200 if you use all the discounts, which would make it a bargain.

 

[Nealh]

I had that problem for the first time last week.
The bike was upside down for four days whilst waiting for a new Bosch cog to arrive. when tipped back up the rear brake lever pulled back to the bars. It took about 8 pumps to sort. Wouldn't have thought that 10 minutes to change a tyre though would cause this.

If any air void is present in the reservoir it will naturally head to the high point (calliper) if bike up turned so yes a soft lever can occur, pumping it once turn right again often sorts it out

 

[Keifling]

site still lists 8 gears. but this now looks like an option for me coming from the vulcan e if they have made some improvements

 

[233sqn]

The text doesn't match the pictures on the Halfords website....have a look the pictures and zoom in

 

[lolipop808]

How often do you change tyres. I put mine on 6 years ago (6000 miles) and it looks like they should last another 10 years (10,000 miles) if they carry on wearing at the same rate. That's once every 16 years. I think many of our forum members would be dead before they change their tyres on that basis.

Even then, it's a 2 minute job to get the wheel off - 2 nuts and a single connector. That's not exactly difficult.

Personally, I'd rather have ebiking nirvana for a lifetime with a rear hub-motor and 2 minutes of extra work to get a wheel off, than having the unpleasantness of a crank-motor for the rest of my life and all the inconvenience of frequently replacing chains, sprockets and derailleurs. The thought of a all that extra work and expence with a crank-motor makes me shudder!

The Crossfire-E was a fine bike when it was going, but it's let down by the battery cut-outs and dodgy torque sensor. I see that they've now updated the Vengeance, which doesn't have the torque sensor, and AFAIK doesn't have the cut-outs, so is probably a nice bike at £899 list price, but that price could go down by £200 if you use all the discounts, which would make it a bargain.

I have had some major problems with punctures and ended up getting them daily. My commute is horrible. Before anyone thinks I did not clean the rims or check the insides of the tyres, I did. Most of the time the tyre had a nail in, or a pin badge, or an industrial staple or on a couple of occasions blew off because of pot holes. I had 4 punctures in 4 days. I was at the end of my tether.

I have since changed the back tyre to a tube less. It is life changing. I have done 500 miles on it so far and no problems. Will change the front one later this month.

I had had enough of being at the side of the road changing a tube and it nearly sent me back to going to work in the car.

 

[vfr400]

I have had some major problems with punctures and ended up getting them daily. My commute is horrible. Before anyone thinks I did not clean the rims or check the insides of the tyres, I did. Most of the time the tyre had a nail in, or a pin badge, or an industrial staple or on a couple of occasions blew off because of pot holes. I had 4 punctures in 4 days. I was at the end of my tether.

I have since changed the back tyre to a tube less. It is life changing. I have done 500 miles on it so far and no problems. Will change the front one later this month.

I had had enough of being at the side of the road changing a tube and it nearly sent me back to going to work in the car.

Get some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and forget about punctures and tyre replacement.

 

[sjpt]

Get some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and forget about punctures and tyre replacement.

I swear by Marathon Plus; from 3 punctures a week (with Kevlar tyres) to none in 15 years. You do pay a bit in ride quality, and very poor sideways grip on muddy paths. It looks as if tubeless might be even better; though I doubt if I will make the change.

 

[Benjahmin]

Another one for Marathon plus. I went belt and braces and used slime in my motor wheel. No punctures in 7000 miles.
Now that's tempting the puncture gremlin.

 

[sjpt]

I sadly had problems fitting Marathon Plus to my front hub wheel (Woosh XF07 700c); it wouldn't sit right and bulged and became uneven. (I did fit it right and have fitted quite a few Plus's to various bikes). Puncture in the Specialized FlackJacket I used instead last week (not sure where it came from, I hadn't bought it). I'm going to try the MP again; maybe the one that wouldn't sit was from a batch with a slightly overspec size (it did go over the rim suspiciously easily for an MP).

 

[vfr400]

I sadly had problems fitting Marathon Plus to my front hub wheel (Woosh XF07 700c); it wouldn't sit right and bulged and became uneven. (I did fit it right and have fitted quite a few Plus's to various bikes). Puncture in the Specialized FlackJacket I used instead last week (not sure where it came from, I hadn't bought it). I'm going to try the MP again; maybe the one that wouldn't sit was from a batch with a slightly overspec size (it did go over the rim suspiciously easily for an MP).

MPs are easily damaged. You mustn't fold them nor can you use the wrong technique to fit them. Even if you did it right, it could be that someone else bought your tyre, struggled to fit it and took it back to the shop or something like that.

Before you try to flip the bead over the last bit of the rim, you must make sure that all the rest of the bead is sitting in the well of the rim. Once stretched, you get the problem that you indicate, and there's no way back, though some rims are higher than others, so it might work on a different rim.