Please Help! Boardman HYB 8.9E vs Orbea VIBE vs Furosystems Aventa

[jimmyR2SO]

Hi Everyone!

I am looking to get an e-bike for my commute and for weekend rides occasionally (I have a mate who has a non electric road bike, but would like to be able to keep up with him on rides). I haven't ridden properly for about 10 years, though I often use the Lime/Uber orange bikes around London.

My points for what I want in the bike are;

- Sporty hybrid style rather than full on road bike or cruisy commuter
- No exposed battery (it's hidden in the downtube etc.)
- Can be ridden as a normal bike effectively (so light weight, minimal to no resistance from motor when not in use)
- Under £2300

About me, I am average height (5ft 8/9ish) around 85/90 kg and have degenerative cartilage in my left knee, so an e-bike has been suggested in case on a longer ride my knee begins to play up.

The search so far has lead me to 3 contenders and I would love any input or other suggestions.

Boardman HYB 8.9E
Orbea Vibe
FuroSystems Aventa

In terms of looks the Boardman wins it for me. In the word of mouth positive reviews it's the Orbea but I also keep seeing/hearding about the FuroSystems Aventa although they can't offer test rides currently and I'm not sure I want to buy without trying first.

Any help/insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

[richtea99]

We have one of each - a HYB 8.9e and the predecessor to the Vibe - the Gain.
I'd say the HYB just edges it, mainly on removable battery, centralised weight and its cadence-driven sensor rather than hub-mounted.
However, the Vibe has in-built lights and a slightly improved ebikemotion system over our Gain - hence it's close!

For all that, we like both bikes, either should make you pretty happy.

Regarding the Aventa, I'd be a bit suspect of a website with only computer-generated images. Where's the real bike (just one in the hands of the Verge??) The systems behind the HYB and Vibe have been around for 2-3 years, and are found on multiple makes, so one I'd suggest both of those are safer bets.

 

[GLJoe]

I am looking to get an e-bike for my commute and for weekend rides occasionally (I have a mate who has a non electric road bike, but would like to be able to keep up with him on rides).
....
Any help/insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

If your mate is a typical roadie, and you don't live somewhere where its nothing but hills, then you may very well need a bike you can de-restrict, because your mate will probably ride at around 18mph or so and then you'll be stuffed as you'll never keep up, or he may get very frustrated having to slow down all the time.
Just saying.

 

[Nealh]

They will all be limited to 15.5mph, so will need to be noticeably easy to rode above the cut off to keep up with your mate.

 

[jimmyR2SO]

Thanks for the answers so far guys, very helpful!

My mate is very much an amateur cyclist just with a cheap road bike so can't imagine he's lightning, plus the rides we'd go on would definitely be more leisurely with an element of fitness rather than completing a route in X amount of time.

That said, I am leaning towards to Boardman as with the light frame and 35c tyres, I feel I'd be able to give it a good nudge without support. I don't know about de-restricting it though, that was one of the selling points of the Aventa but I've gone off it now.

Any options similar to the Boardman with the definite option of de-restricting?

 

[richtea99]

Neither the Boardman or Orbea are possible to derestrict (as far as I know anyway) - they're closed systems controlled by the manufacturer i.e. Fazua and Mahle.

There are inline dongles available which claim to give a boost by fooling the system into giving more power by warping the PAS signals. They plug in to the PAS cable. They're £150+ and I wouldn't spend on one without finding several real users who can confirm they work!

Examples (there are many):

Ebikemotion X35 & X35+ Tuning Dongle

Since the inception of mainstream eBikes here in Australia, we have seen many eBike users trying to get the most out of their steed. It came to our attention that each eBike system manufacturer like Bosch, Shimano, Mahle (Ebikemotion x35) etc have and will continue to make important enhancements...

www.sccarbonrepairs.com

Ebike Speed Derestriction Dongle- Fazua Evation

Polini Hi-Speed tuning module/ dongle for E-bikes with Fazua Evation motors. Top of the rage tuning module from Italian manufacturer Polini. This module allows the speed limit to be raised from 25kph (15MPH) to 35/40kph (22/25MPH). The Fazua is limi

www.pedparts.co.uk

Polini are a well known name in the small motorbike sphere, so that one might actually work.

 

[jimmyR2SO]

Neither the Boardman or Orbea are possible to derestrict (as far as I know anyway) - they're closed systems controlled by the manufacturer i.e. Fazua and Mahle.

There are inline dongles available which claim to give a boost by fooling the system into giving more power by warping the PAS signals. They plug in to the PAS cable. They're £150+ and I wouldn't spend on one without finding several real users who can confirm they work!

Examples (there are many):

Ebikemotion X35 & X35+ Tuning Dongle

Since the inception of mainstream eBikes here in Australia, we have seen many eBike users trying to get the most out of their steed. It came to our attention that each eBike system manufacturer like Bosch, Shimano, Mahle (Ebikemotion x35) etc have and will continue to make important enhancements...

www.sccarbonrepairs.com

Ebike Speed Derestriction Dongle- Fazua Evation

Polini Hi-Speed tuning module/ dongle for E-bikes with Fazua Evation motors. Top of the rage tuning module from Italian manufacturer Polini. This module allows the speed limit to be raised from 25kph (15MPH) to 35/40kph (22/25MPH). The Fazua is limi

www.pedparts.co.uk

Polini are a known name in the small motorbike sphere, so that one might actually work.

Thanks mate! I'll look into them!