Opinions and suggestions

[oyster]

Partner was loaned a low-end Coyote Connect ebike. Having tried it, she can't stand it! It feels wobbly. The brakes are rubbish. She hates the tiny wheels. And the riding position is hopeless for her - without sufficient possibility of adjustment or upgrading. But it did concentrate her mind!

Going round websites and a couple of real shops, and going along with our checklist, one that seems possible is the new version Raleigh Motus Grand Tour Low Step in its smallest size.

https://www.raleigh.co.uk/motus-grand-tour-low-step-23033

Positives include: stepthrough frame, battery within the triangle, disc brakes, various adjustment possibilities, in-hub gears, seems sturdy, built-in lights.

Negatives include: colour (black is at least neutral), fairly heavy, not inexpensive!

She was able to try a previous version - which had an over-wheel battery and was a hideous colour.

Do bear in mind, we have some decent hills here. She will be using it round town and, possibly some country paths. Not off-road.

Any comments on this bike - or alternatives. Possibility of buying locally would be a positive.

 

[Nealh]

Telford , Shrops in d8veh land.
http://severnvalleyelectricbikes.co.uk/oxygen-bikes-s-cross-st-step-through/

 

[oyster]

Telford , Shrops in d8veh land.
http://severnvalleyelectricbikes.co.uk/oxygen-bikes-s-cross-st-step-through/

Thank you - I did look at Oxygen - having seen them mentioned frequently here. The obvious downer is not having in-hub gears.

 

[Nealh]

Hub gears don't often have the gearing for hills but see the Motus has a 22T gear. This is like 14/42T cassette with steps of near as damn it 14,16,18,22,26,29,34 & 42 in teeth size. Simply by changing the rear single gear you can alter gearing to suit your needs,

The choice is yours, one is a lot more expensive then the other pro's and con's for both.
For the wife if she doesn't like derailleurs, the nice easy bit is nexus hub gears so easy to down change if in the wrong gear when stopped. Alfine 8 is a bit more durable then Nexus, both appear to be better then the Alfine 11.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Hub gears don't often have the gearing for hills but see the Motus has a 22T gear. This is like 14/42T cassette with steps of near as damn it 14,16,18,22,26,29,34 & 42 in teeth size. Simply by changing the rear single gear you can alter gearing to suit your needs,

The choice is yours, one is a lot more expensive then the other pro's and con's for both.
For the wife if she doesn't like derailleurs, the nice easy bit is nexus hub gears so easy to down change if in the wrong gear when stopped. Alfine 8 is a bit more durable then Nexus, both appear to be better then the Alfine 11.

Careful there are two versions of the nexus 8, one is the same as the Alfine 8 inside but without the disk brake mounting it is the "premium" version.

 

[oyster]

Telford , Shrops in d8veh land.
http://severnvalleyelectricbikes.co.uk/oxygen-bikes-s-cross-st-step-through/

Meant to say, even going to the Severn Valley site is interesting for their somewhat unusual range of products. Thank you for that.

 

[oyster]

Careful there are two versions of the nexus 8, one is the same as the Alfine 8 inside but without the disk brake mounting it is the "premium" version.

I am confused now! What difference does "premium" make? And for this light use, does an Alfine make any real difference to a Nexus?

 

[anotherkiwi]

The "premium" has the same needle bearings as the Alfine and the "regular" has common old bushings IIRC. The Alfine has a disk brake mount whereas the nexus is either rim or roller brake (a German guy does make disk mountings for the nexus).

 

[oyster]

the nexus is either rim or roller brake

You really have got me perplexed now! The Motus I linked to has disc brakes and Nexus 8 (no mention of premium, though).

Shimano must have enhanced their range - lots of Nexus for disc brakes.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/components/urban/category/internal-geared-hub.html

 

[anotherkiwi]

You really have got me perplexed now! The Motus I linked to has disc brakes and Nexus 8 (no mention of premium, though).

Shimano must have enhanced their range - lots of Nexus for disc brakes.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/components/urban/category/internal-geared-hub.html

Damn it when I wasn't looking!

Apparently they have added a disk brake version but no premium disk brake version that I can see, that would be an Alfine. So the difference is easier shifting and less drive train losses with the premium.

 

[georgehenry]

When I looked at the new Motus Tour on the ebike shop Farnham web site the hub geared version had 7 gears not 8.

The hub version does look an appealing low maintenance every day bike prospect. By all accounts the new least powerful bosch active line motor is the quietest and much quieter than other crank drives. A quiet motor is a relaxing motor.

If you are in a hilly spot I think a crank drive would be better for steep hills than a hub motor. However the hub geared version has fewer gears and less gear range than the cheaper derailleur and you would need to know that the lowest gear on the hub version can get you up the steepest hill in your area, or that the gearing can be lowered and that afterwards the top gear is not too low.

The best idea is for the person who is going to ride the bike to test ride the bikes you are interested in, finding a hill that compares to the ones where you will be riding the bike once you have bought it.

You can spend hours looking at specifications and convincing yourself that one bike is better than another to discover that you do not like it when you test ride it. Strange but true.

I guess you should also consider that the Bosch active line motors are new and as such their reliability is at this stage untested.

I have to say though that I do really like the look of the new Raleigh Motus tour. Those people that bought the last version and offered their opinion on here also seemed to really like it.

 

[oyster]

When I looked at the new Motus Tour on the ebike shop Farnham web site the hub geared version had 7 gears not 8.

The hub version does look an appealing low maintenance every day bike prospect. By all accounts the new least powerful bosch active line motor is the quietest and much quieter than other crank drives. A quiet motor is a relaxing motor.

If you are in a hilly spot I think a crank drive would be better for steep hills than a hub motor. However the hub geared version has fewer gears and less gear range than the cheaper derailleur and you would need to know that the lowest gear on the hub version can get you up the steepest hill in your area, or that the gearing can be lowered and that afterwards the top gear is not too low.

The best idea is for the person who is going to ride the bike to test ride the bikes you are interested in, finding a hill that compares to the ones where you will be riding the bike once you have bought it.

You can spend hours looking at specifications and convincing yourself that one bike is better than another to discover that you do not like it when you test ride it. Strange but true.

I guess you should also consider that the Bosch active line motors are new and as such their reliability is at this stage untested.

I have to say though that I do really like the look of the new Raleigh Motus tour. Those people that bought the last version and offered their opinion on here also seemed to really like it.

The new Motus we are looking at is actually not the bottom Bosch, but the next one up, the Active Line Plus.

Definitely do not want derailleur. For someone who has never knowingly used gears on a bike, hub gears are the way to go, I think.

Trouble with test ride is that the new model is not yet available. We are expecting a call as soon as they can get hold of one. But in the meantime, it seems sensible to look at alternatives.