off the shelf e bike or custom build ?

[jim Brock]

I thought choosing an electric bike would be easy. I assumed I would just spend a few days researching & then go "I want that one". However, 2 weeks later & I have drifted from one bike that ticks all the boxes to the next, and the next and the next............ The budget kept going higher & higher & the a reality check made me question spending £2500 on a bike when one for £1500 will be plenty for me & not forgetting the wife as she needs one so that's two bikes so the budget is a consideration.

My favorites have included a few of the Kalkhoffs (the 17AH motor got me hooked in initially) the the Freego Martin with 20ah, the Oxygen which seems to get good reviews here, then one from the juicy bike stable etc. etc, etc.. Another day, another favourite & today the thought dawned on me why not buy a good spec bike & put a kit on it. Surely that would get me the best overall bike & within budget but is that a realistic option.

The plan is for me & the wife to buy a couple of electric bikes & have long weekends away (taking the bikes with us in the back of the van staying at B&B's) exploring places like the lake district, new forest, Scotland etc..& if we get really into it them maybe France so all being well we will be looking for some good quality bikes that will last maybe 5 to 10 years doing say a 1000 miles a year on average. No commuting, just fair weather bikers assisted by electric here & there exploring places we wouldn't normally have access to.

Things I would like or prefer on a bike if I were to build one or just buy one ready made:

• A decent Battery of 15AH + not bothered about speed just a decent range touring at a steady amble at 10mph up hill & down dale taking in the scenery
• 50 mile + range (thinking of the future if we get hooked)
  
• Hybrid for me with panniers to carry the food, drink, waterproofs, locks etc..& probably a step through for the wife with panniers. A sort of his & hers.
  
• I would prefer a crank drive
  
• I like the idea of a belt drive coupled to an alfine hub - not fussed about derailleurs
  
• Not interested in lots of gears - just plodding along
• Would like the chunkier tyres for the rough tracks we will encounter
• Budget £1500 on each bike but could easily spend more but not going to let my heart rule my head on this one.
• Both 50 ish, overweight & unfit (currently) - I am 5'8" wife is 5'2"

Anyone here custom built a bike & was it worth it. Any savings to be had or not worth the bother ? I was thinking perhaps up to a grand on a bike & up to a grand on the electrics or just buy one & take advantage of the 0% interest free credit.

Just seen a Volt pulse X.......................

Decisions decisions

 

[Alan Quay]

Yes, plenty of us on here have built our own bikes. If you have some basic electrical and bicycle maintenance skills you'll be fine.

For a 50 mile range I'd say go for a 36v/20ah battery, and be prepared to pedal a bit.

A decent kit will set you back £600-800.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Building a bike with a kit is not much cheaper than buying a ready-made kit apart from those guys that stole the Oxydrive kits a few weeks ago. You should only do a conversion if there's something special you want. or if you just like to do your own thing, or if there's a special bike you want to convert. There's plenty of bikes that are adequate for what you've described. Don't get carried away bu technology: it gives very little real advantage. Remember that there'es a huge number of people happily commuting to work every day on non-electric bikes that cost less than £100.If you have spare cash, you can blow it on things that are nice to have, but you don't need.

I don't know your reason for not wanting derailleur gears, but they're fitted on most high end performance bikes because they're simple, effective and reliable. They're on all the top mountain bikes, and Bradley Wiggins has one on his bike.

The same with crank-drives. They sound like a logical advantage, but in practice, they have their downsides too. For relaxed touring, a hub-motor is much better. If you're unfit, a high torque one will get you up the hills. Crank-drives are better for sporting people and those that like to do a lot of pedalling.

There's a lot of nice ebikes today, and within the next few months, there will be even more.to make the choice more difficult. If you need dealer support, go down to your local dealer and see what he/she's got. If you're happy with mail order, the Woosh bikes give the best bang-for-buck. Their kits are pretty good too. Oxidrive are very nice kits, especially if you want to go fast.

 

[jim Brock]

Thanks for the replies.

If there isn't much saving to be had building my own & to be honest there is nothing that specific the it looks like a ready built bike would be best.

Regarding the derailleurs I suppose it's down to having a badly adjusted gears in years gone by on not so great quality bikes so you make a good argument that I can't argue with to be honest

I have just been looking at the Volt pulse X & I am quite taken with it but the Volt step through's aren't that easy on my eye.

 

[JohnCade]

If it was me I would go and ride a couple. Some are very nice with good spec parts and ride beautifully, and some are not so nice to ride. Otherwise it's a bit like saying you want a car and not test driving a couple of models which seem to fit the bill before you choose between them.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The voilt Pulse X has a high torque motor, so could be a good chouce, but I thought it was about £2000..

Derailleurs sometimes get a bad name because they get fitted to the cheapest bikes. There's nothing wrong with them, except that the cheap ones are often not adjusted properly by the factory or shop, or they get bent and need re-setting. You won't get any problems on a mid-priced ebike.

 

[trex]

jim, not many e-bikes will last 5 to 10 years.
The modern batteries are made for 700 charges, 4 years life expectancy. Legislation will also change soon. The kits you buy today may not be legal by 2017 if our goverment chooses to enforce EN15194 or adopts the tamperproof bike electronics. I'd go for a pair of cheaper bikes for the first time, then in a year or two, sell them on and upgrade. Like these Big Bear-LS:

 

[chris74]

I sympathise with your problem. I have been posting for advise here and also received recommendations for Whoosh bikes - in my case the Zephyr folders. They look ideal except that the Zephys-CDN for my wife has a small 8ah battery that is hard wired into the machine - which means that it has to be charged in the bike - and the Zephyr-B for me only has a 10ah battery for a big heavy rider. I would like 15ah batteries.

I too am looking at making my own so that electrically both bikes are the same with large enough batteries that they cease being a problem. I am not sure, however, that it simplifies the decision!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You can always carry a spare battery. Those ones in the folders are pretty light. I've been doing some long rides recently, for which I carry a spare in a should bag, which is bigger than those ones.

 

[chris74]

I don't think that you can carry a spare battery for the Zephyr-CDN. Whoosh tell me that the battery is hard wired which both precludes a replacement and removing the battery for overnight charging in the caravan. I don't see a solution that keeps the warranty.

It would be really useful if both bikes had the same battery and they could be removed!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I don't think that you can carry a spare battery for the Zephyr-CDN. Whoosh tell me that the battery is hard wired which both precludes a replacement and removing the battery for overnight charging in the caravan. I don't see a solution that keeps the warranty.

It would be really useful if both bikes had the same battery and they could be removed!

You should check again in case there's a misunderstanding. If I have it right, it doesn't have a charge connector so has to be charged on the bike, but I thought it was stiĺl removable.

 

[trex]

@chris74
The Zephyr-CDN will be upgraded in May/June, it will use the same removeable 10AH battery as the Zephyr-B.
15/20AH battery on a folder? adding a 10AH frog battery to the Zephyr-B would solve this problem but that'll add 3kgs to the bike. A second Zephyr-B battery only weighs 1.5Kgs

 

[chris74]

The lady at Whoosh told me that the battery was fixed, hard wired and was not instantly removeable.

15 amp on a folder:
http://www.batribike.com/folding-electric-bikes/dash/dash16-pro

The May/June Zephyr upgrade with a spare battery would solve the problem but I need the bikes for mid April. Ferries booked.

 

[trex]

if you can't wait, the Zephyr-B with a second battery is still cheaper than the dash16-pro - and you get BPM motor and hydraulic brakes with the zephyr-B. One problem though, your wife needs to be 5ft3 or above.

 

[chris74]

Suits me but my wife has 2 hip replacements and cannot cope with a cross bar bike. The CDN is for her

 

[trex]

the woosh Gale with a second battery would suit your wife. Total cost: £559 + £195 for the second battery. It's easy to get on/off.

 

[chris74]

Yes I saw those. The Zephyr -B and CDN sharing the same battery are the ideal solution. Is May/June fixed or might it be earlier?

 

[trex]

My sources said they are on order but with the 3 week Chinese New Year's holiday, the factory won't reopen until second week in March. They expect delivery late May, early June. The upgraded CDN will have 52T chainring instead of 44T, making high speed cycling easier.

 

[chris74]

That really does sound to be what we need. UM......

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Hi Jim,

Not eBike related but just thought I would say lovely car!
Owned a R35 for a year or so and thoroughly miss it!

P.S: My full range here

Martin