non-folder to fit in the boot?

[Dai Gleddau]

Still researching which ebike to get....
I'm looking for an ebike of shortish overall length (about 175cm max), so with front-wheel removed, it will fit in the car. For lots of reasons, I don't want to have to use a bike-rack.
Roughest riding I do is forest trails (not serious mountain biking). I think 26" wheels is about the smallest I'd tolerate.
So far, most bikes I've looked at are a touch too long.
And of course, I don't want to spend too much!
Any ideas appreciated (except for "get a bigger car!")?

 

[Az.]

Scotby Cycles

Scotby Cycles is no longer trading, thank you to all our customers over the past three decades.

www.scotbycycles.co.uk

Now this is a good MTB. Above your budget, but worth it IMO. Only one left in stock:

Scotby Cycles

Scotby Cycles is no longer trading, thank you to all our customers over the past three decades.

www.scotbycycles.co.uk

 

[saneagle]

There's no point in buying a new bike as a donor because you'll wipe out any warranty when you convert it and you're going to hate drilling your shiny new bike. You can buy the same bike second hand on Ebay or Facebook for half the price, then you don't care about drilling and filing it.

 

[Az.]

There's no point in buying a new bike as a donor because you'll wipe out any warranty when you convert it and you're going to hate drilling your shiny new bike. You can buy the same bike second hand on Ebay or Facebook for half the price, then you don't care about drilling and filing it.

I prefer new and never had any problems with bikes to clam warranty.
I find buying second hand bikes time consuming. They are mostly for pick up only and when you drive there they not quite what you expected. I buy new and look after bike well. Not all people do that.

Why would you drill holes in your bike? For extra battery mounts?
As per filing... yeah... will have to do that to my MTB and Step through. I won't like it, but it is like visiting a dentist. Has to be done

But, yeah, if you see a good second hand deal nearby, then grab it. Deal is a deal.

 

[Nealh]

My rokshok's eventually was metal fatigue at approx. 1k miles, I was in the back of beyond on the S / downs on one of the 100's of many tracks to find.
The only way I could get the motor wheel to stay put was to reverse the forks (Halfrauds style), tighten the TA's and ride home the 30 odd miles carefully.

 

[saneagle]

I prefer new and never had any problems with bikes to clam warranty.
I find buying second hand bikes time consuming. They are mostly for pick up only and when you drive there they not quite what you expected. I buy new and look after bike well. Not all people do that.

Why would you drill holes in your bike? For extra battery mounts?
As per filing... yeah... will have to do that to my MTB and Step through. I won't like it, but it is like visiting a dentist. Has to be done

But, yeah, if you see a good second hand deal nearby, then grab it. Deal is a deal.

I must've done about 50 conversions. Only two of them were new donors. One was for The Gadget Show, when they wanted a particular style of bike and it had to be done in a hurry. the other was a full-sus Dahon that are not easy to find second hand. I never had any difficulty finding a used MTB, road bike or hybrid bike of the right type when I wanted to do a conversion. There's Ebay, Facebook, Next Door, Gumtree, Preloved, Secondbike, Buycycle, Freeads, Cash Converters, and best of all, the scrap men. the scrap men nearly always have bikes on their trucks. If you tell them what you want, they'll hapily divert to your house and give you the bike for £40. You'd be surprised what people chuck out.

 

[chris667]

Scotby Cycles

Scotby Cycles is no longer trading, thank you to all our customers over the past three decades.

www.scotbycycles.co.uk

Now this is a good MTB. Above your budget, but worth it IMO. Only one left in stock:

Scotby Cycles

Scotby Cycles is no longer trading, thank you to all our customers over the past three decades.

www.scotbycycles.co.uk

700c. That's a big bike! Plus (and this bit really is absurd), it's got a crap fork. A bike that supposedly sells for the best part of a grand has a cheap, poor quality fork. Suspension forks are expensive things to make well - better to have a rigid one for increased reliability.

 

[saneagle]

700c. That's a big bike! Plus (and this bit really is absurd), it's got a crap fork. A bike that supposedly sells for the best part of a grand has a cheap, poor quality fork. Suspension forks are expensive things to make well - better to have a rigid one for increased reliability.

It's nothing to upgrade forks. There are plenty of used ones on Ebay for not a lot. ! bought my Marzocci Gran Fondo air forks from Ebay in 2013. for about £80. They work perfectly and never had any service in many thousands of miles use - not even had to pump more air in. Look on Ebay now for Fox Floats and Rockshox Reba. There are loads for less than £100. Obviously, the 26" ones are cheaper, so get a 26" wheeled donor bike.
This is my bike ca. 2017. It's a perfect general purpose e-bike:

 

[lenny]

Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire

Second-Hand Bikes, Bicycles & Cycles for Sale in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire | Gumtree

Find great local deals on second-hand bikes, bicycles & cycles for sale in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire ✅ Shop hassle-free with Gumtree, your local buying & selling community.

www.gumtree.com

Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire

Mountain bike | in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire | Gumtree

Carrera mountain bike in good condition just doesn’t get used £100 Ono Located Milford haven May swap for a ps4 slim

www.gumtree.com

 

[thelarkbox]

a £5-700 depending on sales/vouchers.. amazon special..
I have one, there are flaws... mine pictured against 2 x 4ft wide garage doors im 15st 5'10" and its a ok ride..
I am aware of my knees more on this bike than on my sit up n beg bike.. And i would like the bars lifted higher but..



Going by the listing dimensions for the delivered box, Bike - front wheel.. 136cm.. I cant imagine they ship without the back wheel fitted as one of the bikes 'features' is the 30-40mm the back 'forks'?arms? need expanding to get the wheel in.. the alloy wheels allow 2 x 2"x4" wedges to get hammered in to wedge open the gap.. Yeah the bike has a few features.. ( mine arrived in bits not new..)

with a 17a aftermarket kt controller fitted its capable of upto 23mph with the wind behind you (had to try it before applying the limits..)..

Its currently a few bikes deep in the garage in need of attention if a real candidate i can pop out unbury it and measure actual dimensions..

The other features of note beyond the need to wedge open the frame to fit the rear wheel is the holes in the frame for cable routing that allow water to pool at the bottom bracket..
and no on/off switch on the battery..

 

[Dai Gleddau]

a £5-700 depending on sales/vouchers.. amazon special..
I have one, there are flaws... mine pictured against 2 x 4ft wide garage doors im 15st 5'10" and its a ok ride..
I am aware of my knees more on this bike than on my sit up n beg bike.. And i would like the bars lifted higher but..

View attachment 55871

Going by the listing dimensions for the delivered box, Bike - front wheel.. 136cm.. I cant imagine they ship without the back wheel fitted as one of the bikes 'features' is the 30-40mm the back 'forks'?arms? need expanding to get the wheel in.. the alloy wheels allow 2 x 2"x4" wedges to get hammered in to wedge open the gap.. Yeah the bike has a few features.. ( mine arrived in bits not new..)

with a 17a aftermarket kt controller fitted its capable of upto 23mph with the wind behind you (had to try it before applying the limits..)..

Its currently a few bikes deep in the garage in need of attention if a real candidate i can pop out unbury it and measure actual dimensions..

The other features of note beyond the need to wedge open the frame to fit the rear wheel is the holes in the frame for cable routing that allow water to pool at the bottom bracket..
and no on/off switch on the battery..

Thanks... something like that might fit the bill, but I think that a conversion is the way to go for me. I might even just convert my old steel boneshaker and run that for a season or two and see how it goes. Will certainly save me a few ££, and maybe I'll learn something along the way.

 

[Saracen]

Still researching which ebike to get....
I'm looking for an ebike of shortish overall length (about 175cm max), so with front-wheel removed, it will fit in the car. For lots of reasons, I don't want to have to use a bike-rack.
Roughest riding I do is forest trails (not serious mountain biking). I think 26" wheels is about the smallest I'd tolerate.
So far, most bikes I've looked at are a touch too long.
And of course, I don't want to spend too much!
Any ideas appreciated (except for "get a bigger car!")?

I have a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross SAEC, and either of my bikes fit !!!

 

[Az.]

Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire

Second-Hand Bikes, Bicycles & Cycles for Sale in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire | Gumtree

Find great local deals on second-hand bikes, bicycles & cycles for sale in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire ✅ Shop hassle-free with Gumtree, your local buying & selling community.

www.gumtree.com

Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire

Mountain bike | in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire | Gumtree

Carrera mountain bike in good condition just doesn’t get used £100 Ono Located Milford haven May swap for a ps4 slim

www.gumtree.com

Would you buy a bike like that for yourself and ride it? WHY?

On Gumtree they don't even tell you what is the frame size. You will travel only to find out it is not your size. Time waste.

 

[Az.]

best of all, the scrap men. the scrap men nearly always have bikes on their trucks. If you tell them what you want, they'll hapily divert to your house and give you the bike for £40. You'd be surprised what people chuck out.

Nah... that is not for me. I am not a millionaire. In fact I would put myself well below poverty line, but luckily I can afford to buy any bike I want (within reasonable limits). I have seen many bikes in skips, ditches etc but not a single good one. Unusually this way people dispose bikes like Apollo and other clankers from Argos.

This is my bike ca. 2017. It's a perfect general purpose e-bike:

Not bad. I assume you didn't find it in a skip. Isn't it to small for you?

 

[saneagle]

Nah... that is not for me. I am not a millionaire. In fact I would put myself well below poverty line, but luckily I can afford to buy any bike I want (within reasonable limits). I have seen many bikes in skips, ditches etc but not a single good one. Unusually this way people dispose bikes like Apollo and other clankers from Argos.



Not bad. I assume you didn't find it in a skip. Isn't it to small for you?

I have featured three bikes on this forum that I converted from bikes that either came from the scrap-men or from a skip. They were all excellent bikes after conversion. One of those bikes was used to do 1000 miles in 30 days in winter through all weathers with no maintenance and no cleaning. The total cost of that one was £520, including £5 for the bike and the rest for the conversion with 20Ah 36v battery.

 

[Dai Gleddau]

Would you buy a bike like that for yourself and ride it? WHY?

On Gumtree they don't even tell you what is the frame size. You will travel only to find out it is not your size. Time waste.

Nah... that is not for me. I am not a millionaire. In fact I would put myself well below poverty line, but luckily I can afford to buy any bike I want (within reasonable limits). I have seen many bikes in skips, ditches etc but not a single good one. Unusually this way people dispose bikes like Apollo and other clankers from Argos.



Not bad. I assume you didn't find it in a skip. Isn't it to small for you?

Is there a particular reason why that bike might not be upt to standard? I'm used to an all-steel ancient pseudo mountain-bike and I'm just looking for something a bit lighter, but that wont break if I fit a kit to it.

 

[Az.]

Is there a particular reason why that bike might not be upt to standard?

Both bikes are very low quality. One has rim brakes, another completely rusted fork and I am not sure what happened to saddle. Your £300 can buy you something much better on Ebay.

 

[lenny]

Llanelli

Pardon our interruption...

Kidwelly

10 X ADULT BIKES | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 10 X ADULT BIKES at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Az.]

This one looks nice:

Rocky Mountain Element 30 | eBay

Headset Cane Creek Ten Series: ZS44mm Top / ZS56mm Bottom Reducer. Shifters Shimano Deore Rapid Fire 10spd. Fork Travel 120. Front Derailleur Shimano SLX E Mount 10spd. ABC™ Pivots. Fork RockShox Recon Gold TK Solo Air.

www.ebay.co.uk

but you would have to ask owner for triangle dimensions to check if battery would fit and then beg him to arrange for delivery. Long shot, but worth a try. Bike is old, but well looked after.

 

[Woosh]

I have featured three bikes on this forum that I converted from bikes that either came from the scrap-men or from a skip. They were all excellent bikes after conversion. One of those bikes was used to do 1000 miles in 30 days in winter through all weathers with no maintenance and no cleaning. The total cost of that one was £520, including £5 for the bike and the rest for the conversion with 20Ah 36v battery.

your Rocky Mountain Carve is certainly good and comfortable for riding 1000 miles a month but would you do the same with any of the cheap bikes though?

 

[saneagle]

your Rocky Mountain Carve is certainly good and comfortable for riding 1000 miles a month but would you do the same with any of the cheap bikes though?

Yes, and I did. The bike I used cost £5 and I found it in a skip.