Had been using one of the cheap folding bikes to get back in to cycling and see if an electric bike was for me, shown below. I'm 35 years old, 5"10 13.5 stone but completely unfit.
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/e-co-electric-bike-249-99-sports-direct-delivered-1846286
Sold it before the winter to fund my next bike (and sold it for £50 more than I paid for it!)
Was very heavy for its size, only 24v but I had fun modding it with a throttle and removing speed limiter so I could get constant assistance. Small hills were ok, still needed a fair bit of a effort but anything steeper the bike would grind to a near halt and I'd find it hard to peddle in a straight line - not good on the narrow one way roads. And from office to home its all uphill. I never used the folding capability and I now have a garage and there are proper bike lockers in my office. 2 miles each way to office, I often pedaled home at lunch, so around 7-8 miles a day, therefore a huge battery not required and full size is fine.
I'd like something with a bit more grunt. Budget £1000, had considered a kit and get a 'decent' £600 bike but not sure I'd have the time to fully put one together.
Have been reading quite a bit last few days over what bikes to get - I see prices have shot up over last few years, a bike I once looked at the big bear which was around £900 in 2014 is now over a grand.
I think I've narrowed it down to a choice of four. Ideally I'd try each of them out, but here in Belper I don't think there is anywhere nearby that sells all of them, I'd be looking at halfords Derby or decathlon Nottingham way.
1) Halfords carrera e bike - most expensive at £1100 but a branch not too far away I could test
2) Gtech bike - £995, only single gear so probably not suitable for the derby hills, but imo the best looking of the 4 and like the fact I would get a free trial (although no idea if they're as good as Amazon when it comes to returns).
3) Kudos Stealth - have seen this bike praised on here and like the fact the owner(?) is a regular and knows his onions.
4) Big bear - Looked good when I researched bikes back in 2014 but £200 more expensive than it once was. Theres also a Karoo 13ah which is the cheapest but I don't know how the performance would compare to the others above.
I'm a bit of a tinkerer, not too bothered if I can't fit a throttle (I quite liked it on old bike), but I would like the ability to derestrict, something I've seen is possible on the carrera with a few components.
So, short of having to try and find owners/shops nearby with the above bikes, any of the above (or alternatives) that stand out?
Cheers
JD
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/e-co-electric-bike-249-99-sports-direct-delivered-1846286
Sold it before the winter to fund my next bike (and sold it for £50 more than I paid for it!)
Was very heavy for its size, only 24v but I had fun modding it with a throttle and removing speed limiter so I could get constant assistance. Small hills were ok, still needed a fair bit of a effort but anything steeper the bike would grind to a near halt and I'd find it hard to peddle in a straight line - not good on the narrow one way roads. And from office to home its all uphill. I never used the folding capability and I now have a garage and there are proper bike lockers in my office. 2 miles each way to office, I often pedaled home at lunch, so around 7-8 miles a day, therefore a huge battery not required and full size is fine.
I'd like something with a bit more grunt. Budget £1000, had considered a kit and get a 'decent' £600 bike but not sure I'd have the time to fully put one together.
Have been reading quite a bit last few days over what bikes to get - I see prices have shot up over last few years, a bike I once looked at the big bear which was around £900 in 2014 is now over a grand.
I think I've narrowed it down to a choice of four. Ideally I'd try each of them out, but here in Belper I don't think there is anywhere nearby that sells all of them, I'd be looking at halfords Derby or decathlon Nottingham way.
1) Halfords carrera e bike - most expensive at £1100 but a branch not too far away I could test
2) Gtech bike - £995, only single gear so probably not suitable for the derby hills, but imo the best looking of the 4 and like the fact I would get a free trial (although no idea if they're as good as Amazon when it comes to returns).
3) Kudos Stealth - have seen this bike praised on here and like the fact the owner(?) is a regular and knows his onions.
4) Big bear - Looked good when I researched bikes back in 2014 but £200 more expensive than it once was. Theres also a Karoo 13ah which is the cheapest but I don't know how the performance would compare to the others above.
I'm a bit of a tinkerer, not too bothered if I can't fit a throttle (I quite liked it on old bike), but I would like the ability to derestrict, something I've seen is possible on the carrera with a few components.
So, short of having to try and find owners/shops nearby with the above bikes, any of the above (or alternatives) that stand out?
Cheers
JD
