QWIC MA11 vs Stromer T5

[WonderingLeaf]

I am on the cusp of purchasing my first e-bike. I cannot drive and so this will be my main vehicle to get round, when taking the train is not possible.

What are the main differences between the QWIC MA11 Speed Performance 28mph and Stromer T5. I would like to know in detail what more the extra £3,595 gets you for your money. I am looking for as much information as possible please.

I have narrowed it down to these 2 models and will be looking to buy in the next few weeks. Some people have suggested 1500w models for only £2,000 but I am not sure what to make of them

The QWIC MA11 comes with a 735Wh battery apparently capable of 90 miles. Meanwhile the Stromer T5 comes with a 983Wh battery capable of 110 miles. Realistically is this accurate? I am aware that zooming along at 28mph does drain the battery quite quickly.

Thanks in advance for the advice everyone.

 

[vfr400]

I wouldn't get either because they're not something you can fix yourself. You'd be better off getting something with a more mainstream system, like Bosch performance CX and fitting a dongle to derestrict it, if that's what you want, or better still, make your own. You could get something pretty decent for £1500. Conversion of a normal bike isn't difficult.

 

[WonderingLeaf]

Are electric bikes usually as difficult to get repaired as cars? I was hoping that at this price point that breaking down wasn't something to worry about too much. I work in IT and building bicycles is not something I have experience in . What can I buy that is decent for £1,500?

Both of these look very premium and I am looking for the best value for money

 

[sjpt]

Electric bikes can be more difficult to get fixed than cars. There are lots of competing garages (of rather mixed standards) after the custom to fix you car. Bike shops tend to be very wary of touching anything they haven't sold you themselves. That will change as ebikes become more common but for now Covid has meant it can be quite a wait to get even a regular bike serviced or repaired at in a shop.

It depends a lot what you want. Both of the ones you mentioned are very clearly S-pedelecs which come quite a lot of baggage (registration, insurance, license) to be ridden legally on the road. So far people have mostly got away with not bothering about that, but I suspect there will be a bit of a clamp down at some point and that those very powerful bikes will quickly get noticed. A derestricted Bosch CX won't have the same power as those you mention, but that means it is much more likely to pass unnoticed.

It's not common to see 'Bosch performance CX' and 'you can fix yourself ' mentioned together. I think vfr400 means that you will be able to fix the non-electric aspects of a typical Bosch bike (gears, transmission etc) yourself.

I don't think you will be safely zooming at 28mph on a £1,500 ebike. Somewhere like Woosh (https://wooshbikes.co.uk/) is a good place to look at that price point, or Cube bikes in a sale

 

[vfr400]

The electric bike dealers typically only support the brands they sell, so unless you get a bike with standard Chinese parts, Bosch or Shimano, the chance of finding someone to fix it is pretty well zero unless you bought your bike locally, and the local dealer is still in business and they still support that brand and the brand hasn't used unusual parts that are no longer available.

Some mail order companies, like E-bikesdirect, Woosh and Wisper have systems in place to give long-term support to customers

You can buy a good bike for converting for around £250 and do a good conversion for around £1000. When you use a coversion kit, you are master of your own destiny. You can get whatever power, range, weight, style, size you want, though not necessarily all together. Parts are available and they're cheap. All the parts are modular, so maintenance and replacement is dead easy.