New to this thinking of commuting

Hi all. I've have never tried an ebike though am very tempted to get one to do my daily commute. I priced everything up and realized that I could save myself £156 a month. (v train) Which would be great. The only problems are:-

1. my commute is from sanderstead CR2 to Chelsea SW10 0XD which is 15 miles each way. Up 2 steep hills either direction would a bike battery last for the return journey with hills?

2. I'm a very very out of shape i have not exercised at all since I did the London to Brighton 5 years ago and I've gained a bit/lot of weight. Realistically can you ride these with very little effort? I would struggle otherwise. Though I would like to use this to improve my fitness.

3. I'm wondering how safe it is cycling in central London.

4. My budget is a maximum £2000 and ive been looking around the favourite ive seen so far is the juicy roller (i like a more comfortable upright ride and long advertised range)

If anyone has any recommendations thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful to hear them.

Also any recommendations on where to go to try a good ebike? Are they all very much the same to use? I phoned the local shop on juicy's site though sadly they don't stock the one in interested in to try. Though I'm open to look at other bikes/models.

Hi, you'll get plenty of specific bike advice from others later, no doubt.

Just my own thoughts and responses to your questions here;-

1. It'll take around an hour, to do that journey, on a 15 mph legal ebike / pedelec. Many bikes will do that mileage on a single charge.

2. Yes.

3. Lights, helmet, a camera and illuminous clothing will help to keep you safe.

4. That amount will give you plenty of choice.

Welcome aboard.

Edited December 16, 20169 yr by LeighPing

Thankyou for such a fast response :-)

I'm glad you said yes to point 2. And as far as point 3 goes I've already factored in lights and insurance. Although I'm not sure what clothing would be good for all weather cycling. Just got to get a bike and get started.

Here's a good headlight suggestion. Click to view.

Riding on the road in all weathers.. Something dayglo yellow over a gortex jacket would be my choice. Warm, waterproof gloves too.

Some bikes have thumb throttles, if that's your preference. Best to have a look around here for a while and see what's what.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryEXWnkqtsY

My ebike got me fitter than I have been for some time.

Hi all. I've have never tried an ebike though am very tempted to get one to do my daily commute. I priced everything up and realized that I could save myself £156 a month. (v train) Which would be great. The only problems are:-

 

1. my commute is from sanderstead CR2 to Chelsea SW10 0XD which is 15 miles each way. Up 2 steep hills either direction would a bike battery last for the return journey with hills?

 

2. I'm a very very out of shape i have not exercised at all since I did the London to Brighton 5 years ago and I've gained a bit/lot of weight. Realistically can you ride these with very little effort? I would struggle otherwise. Though I would like to use this to improve my fitness.

 

3. I'm wondering how safe it is cycling in central London.

 

4. My budget is a maximum £2000 and ive been looking around the favourite ive seen so far is the juicy roller (i like a more comfortable upright ride and long advertised range)

 

If anyone has any recommendations thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful to hear them.

 

Also any recommendations on where to go to try a good ebike? Are they all very much the same to use? I phoned the local shop on juicy's site though sadly they don't stock the one in interested in to try. Though I'm open to look at other bikes/models.

Hi all. I've have never tried an ebike though am very tempted to get one to do my daily commute. I priced everything up and realized that I could save myself £156 a month. (v train) Which would be great. The only problems are:-

 

1. my commute is from sanderstead CR2 to Chelsea SW10 0XD which is 15 miles each way. Up 2 steep hills either direction would a bike battery last for the return journey with hills?

 

2. I'm a very very out of shape i have not exercised at all since I did the London to Brighton 5 years ago and I've gained a bit/lot of weight. Realistically can you ride these with very little effort? I would struggle otherwise. Though I would like to use this to improve my fitness.

 

3. I'm wondering how safe it is cycling in central London.

 

4. My budget is a maximum £2000 and ive been looking around the favourite ive seen so far is the juicy roller (i like a more comfortable upright ride and long advertised range)

 

If anyone has any recommendations thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful to hear them.

 

Also any recommendations on where to go to try a good ebike? Are they all very much the same to use? I phoned the local shop on juicy's site though sadly they don't stock the one in interested in to try. Though I'm open to look at other bikes/models.[/quote

An hour plus in the saddle each way plus a day's work in the middle is quite onerous, but if you are genuinely OK with that your plan could work.

Bear in mind a commute is hard on the bike as well as the rider.

With £2K to spend I would go for a Bosch or Yamaha powered crank drive ebike which should have a reasonable chance of standing up to the commute.

Bosch would be my choice because you can get one with a 500wh battery which should be big enough to do the round trip, even if you need to resort to a higher assist level on the way home.

Cubes look good value at the moment.

There are lots of models, but it might be worth pushing the budget for this one which has the 500wh battery, mudguards and decent lights - although you might want to add a couple of battery LED ones.

No carrier, but another £20 or so would sort that.

https://www.cube.eu/uk/2017/e-bike-trekking/cross-hybrid/cube-cross-hybrid-sl-allroad-500-blacknflashred-2017/

Hi all. I've have never tried an ebike though am very tempted to get one to do my daily commute. I priced everything up and realized that I could save myself £156 a month. (v train) Which would be great. The only problems are:-

 

1. my commute is from sanderstead CR2 to Chelsea SW10 0XD which is 15 miles each way. Up 2 steep hills either direction would a bike battery last for the return journey with hills?

 

2. I'm a very very out of shape i have not exercised at all since I did the London to Brighton 5 years ago and I've gained a bit/lot of weight. Realistically can you ride these with very little effort? I would struggle otherwise. Though I would like to use this to improve my fitness.

 

3. I'm wondering how safe it is cycling in central London.

 

4. My budget is a maximum £2000 and ive been looking around the favourite ive seen so far is the juicy roller (i like a more comfortable upright ride and long advertised range)

 

If anyone has any recommendations thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful to hear them.

 

Also any recommendations on where to go to try a good ebike? Are they all very much the same to use? I phoned the local shop on juicy's site though sadly they don't stock the one in interested in to try. Though I'm open to look at other bikes/models.

Hi I would agree with almost everything LeighPing has said but

1. while you can get up to a speed of 15 miles per hour and keep it up for an hour or more without tiring yourself out or sweating, I doubt that you can do this through traffic . So you would probably need more like 1.5 hrs with the stops and starts of traffic.

You will know what the traffic is like on your commute very soon.

2. You will get stronger, fitter and probably loose weight. You will actually be energised by the commute and you will save on gym fees.

3. I would advise a central motor drive e.g say a Bosch drive, as they have a reputation for reliability.

4. Look at the Raleigh Motus as a potential short list candidate... it would be within your budget. . I like mine. but There are plenty of equally good equivalents

5. If you have the opportunity of recharging the battery at your place of work, an additional charger should be considered, this would ensure that the battery only partially discharges and this will increase longitivity. Having said that a 400 wh will cover the commute even on turbo assis depending on the number if braking events. . Stop and starts are very wasteful on battery power , probably even more so than hill climbs... What you loose going up a hill you get back on the reverse, you don't get that when you break

6. You would need to make provision for maintenance. tyres at 6 month intervals

7. Get the largest capacity battery , they will lose capacity with time and the bigger they are the longer it will last.

favourite ive seen so far is the juicy roller (i like a more comfortable upright ride and long advertised range)

Well I wont deny you have great taste sir! But I will say that it's imperative you try any bike you're thinking of buying - all bodies and bikes create unique combinations and whilst we've focused on comfort for Roller (and power, weight and range) a test ride is still the only way to avoid wasting your money.

If you let me know the bike shop you'd like to try from I'll do my best to get a Roller to them when they next come back into stock during the second week of 2017.

The only locations to try right now are in Southampton and South Manchester - both far from you I guess.

As a relative newcomer myself to e-bikes I can only reiterate the advice of others in terms of try before you buy. They're all so different it's imperative to work out which one's best for you. I struck lucky on the off chance and ended up with an e-bike that's more comfortable than the commuter I'd been riding for the last 12 years.

I'm an unfit 50+ year old and I find myself looking for excuses to ride instead of drive now. If you're anything like me, you won't regret getting one at all.

Gaz

Almost any decent bike will do that commute whether hub or crank drive, equally a converted bike will also do the same job. A hub cadence/pas system will allow a leisurely ride if you are a bit weary and tired, ideally any battery from 11ah/400wh to 15ah/540w/h will do that return trip and

should be good for 30 - 50 mile range dependant on terrain and seasonal weather, in winter cold weather expect about 10% less range.

Well I wont deny you have great taste sir! But I will say that it's imperative you try any bike you're thinking of buying

I've been trying to get on the Juicy website, but get this message when I try, is that my issue or yours?

This site can’t provide a secure connection

www.juicybike.co.uk uses an unsupported protocol.

 

ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH

I've been trying to get on the Juicy website, but get this message when I try, is that my issue or yours?

I think that must be a problem with your browser Stuart... Try deleting your cache or use a different browser. All good and secure at the site.

Edited December 18, 20169 yr by JuicyBike

I've been trying to get on the Juicy website, but get this message when I try, is that my issue or yours?

Juicy site works fine at my end

On a pedelec note - I was going to suggest KTM eCross as the panasonic hub drives in 2016 had 500Wh batteries as standard enhancing capability & range.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/electric-bike-reviews/ktm-ecross-p-review/

However it looks like they've discontinued the panasonic drives :-(

Reiterating everyone's advice and test ride as many as possible.

edit http://www.flidistribution.co.uk/ktm-bikes/ebikes/panasonic-drive---city-hybrid-bikes/2016-ktm-estreetp

2016 KTM eStreet P > £1,799.99 reduced from £2,099.99

Bargain!

http://d3pxkhl3nt0be7.cloudfront.net/files/9/204539/5/819355/ktm-estreet-p-2015-electric-bike-a.jpg

I think that must be a problem with your browser Stewart... Try deleting your cache or use a different browser. All good and secure at the site.

Tried that, still the same. It is the only site I visit that I can't access.

[The client and server don't support a common SSL protocol version or cipher suite. This is likely to be caused when the server needs RC4, which is no longer considered secure./QUOTE]

If you let me know the bike shop you'd like to try from I'll do my best to get a Roller to them when they next come back into stock during the second week of 2017.

They are very far im sorry to say. My nearest appears to be coulsdon. I will look forward to trying it.

Edited December 18, 20169 yr by 0omo0

There is a underground carpark with a bike area at the office block i work in. One guy had a problem in the past though i was thinking a chain. Dlock and some cables should be enough to secure everything...? Or would i need more?

The biggest single consideration is where you will keep the bike while you're at work. If you're going to keep it in a public place, I guarantee that it won't last more than a couple of weeks. A nice £2000 bike would go a bit sooner than a stealthily converted cheap bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6s72VWyDI

Edited December 17, 20169 yr by Wicky

There is a underground carpark with a bike area at the office block i work in. One guy had a problem in the past though i was thinking a chain. Dlock and some cables should be enough to secure everything...? Or would i need more?

That's a difficult one. Cables are a waste of time. They're easily cut with pocket tools. They're OK for occasional parking, but when you park in the same place all day every day and someone likes the look of your wheels, they can bring whatever they need. I heard of one guy that had his nice hydraulic brakes nicked - three screws each can be gone in about one minute.

Another consideration for commuting is the time. 15 miles will take over an hour at the legal 15 mph. An unrestricted bike with a speed of 20 mph would make the journey a lot quicker. Some OEM bikes can be derestricted by secret (known) settings or other methods. Some can't. A person that I know very wel used to commute 15 miles each way. At first he kept his bike restricted, but soon realised that nobody has ever been prosecuted, as far as we know, and nobody is checking, so he adjusted his setting and felt very guilty for the first few days, but as the months went by, that feeling disappeared and journey time went down to 45 minutes.

If you're handy with the spanners, you can convert any cheap bike to an awesome commuter. Here's one i did with a £5 donor bike. Total cost about £500. The battery bag could easily have been made removable, by putting the battery in a bag with a couple of handles, like a strong plastic carrier bag, inside the black zip bag. One connector and you could take it with you. That bike did 1000 miles during one month (January) with absolutely no maintenance, cleaning or adjustments:

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq236/d8veh/Bikes%20I%20Built/20140403_151444_zpsc87fdc69.jpg

The biggest single consideration is where you will keep the bike while you're at work. If you're going to keep it in a public place, I guarantee that it won't last more than a couple of weeks. A nice £2000 bike would go a bit sooner than a stealthily converted cheap bike.

I had a look at all the bikes you converted. Blimey! So many. How did the Mrin with the 500W FRONT hub go. I am always being told not to fit a front hub onto alloy suspension forks even with anto rotation measures!

The Marin went pretty well. That was about 5 years ago when things were different. The bike arrived cheaply, and that was the only motor I had to hand at the time. Top speed was about 22 mph, IIRC, and hill-climbing was very good because it ran at 30 amps, which is about double most of the OEM bikes. It had two 10Ah 36v batteries in parallel. They were left over from other projects.

You can fit a motor to a front wheel if you know what you're doing, but I wouldn't advise it unless you have steel forks. A back motor is better anyway. If you look very carefully, you can see steel reinforcements running up the front of the fork from the drop-outs up to about 6". They're tapered, so hardly noticeable.

That's a difficult one. Cables are a waste of time. They're easily cut with pocket tools. They're OK for occasional parking, but when you park in the same place all day every day and someone likes the look of your wheels, they can bring whatever they need. I heard of one guy that had his nice hydraulic brakes nicked - three screws each can be gone in about one minute.

 

Another consideration for commuting is the time. 15 miles will take over an hour at the legal 15 mph. An unrestricted bike with a speed of 20 mph would make the journey a lot quicker. Some OEM bikes can be derestricted by secret (known) settings or other methods. Some can't. A person that I know very wel used to commute 15 miles each way. At first he kept his bike restricted, but soon realised that nobody has ever been prosecuted, as far as we know, and nobody is checking, so he adjusted his setting and felt very guilty for the first few days, but as the months went by, that feeling disappeared and journey time went down to 45 minutes.

 

If you're handy with the spanners, you can convert any cheap bike to an awesome commuter. Here's one i did with a £5 donor bike. Total cost about £500. The battery bag could easily have been made removable, by putting the battery in a bag with a couple of handles, like a strong plastic carrier bag, inside the black zip bag. One connector and you could take it with you. That bike did 1000 miles during one month (January) with absolutely no maintenance, cleaning or adjustments:

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq236/d8veh/Bikes%20I%20Built/20140403_151444_zpsc87fdc69.jpg

Wow i have my touring bike in the garage and had not thought of this. How difficult is it to attach all the bits and get it working well?

It's not difficult. We've had people do it successfully even though they were completely ham-fisted and had no previous mechanical or electrical experience.

Show us a picture of your bike, so we can advise if it's suitable. Ideally, you want a bike with a triangle frame and disc brakes - something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/barracuda-mountain-bike-/272483822182?hash=item3f714d2a66:g:YQgAAOSwHMJYI3XP

Wow i have my touring bike in the garage and had not thought of this. How difficult is it to attach all the bits and get it working well?

Yes, this stealthy approach to commuting would save you quite a bit. You could even keep a second, new, nice shiny bike at home, as a fair weather back up, if you liked, and still be in budget. I have 2 myself.

You've had some great info on this thread. Decisions, decisions, eh..

Commuting, you'll probably benefit from a bikerack and bag. My stealthy little old kit bike is a bit of a 'sleeper', in that it'll do 20 mph (motor cuts off at 19 mph). That's achievable by adjusting a couple of buttons on the lcd screen.

With all the junk on the bars (camera, mp3 music player, mirror, lights, horn and bell), new brake blocks, disc brake at the front, gel seat, suspension seatpost and a bikerack bag, it was still less than £500 second hand from a member here. I love it. Even though it's technically a girls bike.

I don't clean it either. I just grease the chain up. It's a mess and subsequently less desirable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSVe7zHpe_Y

Wow i have my touring bike in the garage and had not thought of this. How difficult is it to attach all the bits and get it working well?

On a touring bike if it has a standard BB and you have the tools about half a day in the shed to fit the GSM from Woosh:

Combo GSM 18A kit + 36V 15AH HL battery (offer, save £25): £628. Don't buy the smaller battery to save money the bigger the better with this motor. If your bike doesn't have disk brakes put a Magura HS11 hydraulic rim brake on the front, another £50.

You will have about 650W on tap for your two steep hills. I get by with about 540 W on my hills but now that I am fit I use a lot less than that. The battery will give you about 50 miles of lazy rider assistance and much more than that if you pedal harder.

Don't put the speed sensor magnet on the wheel and the GSM will assist up to about 40 km/h (25 mph) on the flat depending on what gear you are in and how much you are pedalling. If the law ever stops you for going too fast you can look at the wheel, frown and say "damn the magnet fell off" and try and lie your way out of trouble...