Ready made bike or Bionx kit?

[CheKmx]

so if you go for Bionx will you for go the Alfine gears?

 

[HarryB]

so if you go for Bionx will you for go the Alfine gears?

Nope, obviously not possible with the rear motor - and as always will be a compromise. I am look at converting a Merida Crossway like this MERIDA CROSSWAY TFS 800 D 2010 - Crossway Bikes You would be surprised at the lack of choice of hybrids with disc brakes in the £1000 catagory. I think it is the only one suitable although the Ridgeback Flight 03 comes close.

 

[Barnowl]

Good luck Harry. I know where you're at. There's always some blasted flies in the ointment.

 

[Nick]

As Flecc said, I've had my 350W Bionx some time now and am just as pleased with it today as I was when I first bought it, though I think I paid about £1000 for it, and already had a Trek hybrid to fit it to. My wife's bought one too but not used it as much and has a problem with the torque sensor, which NyceWheels will sort out under guarantee but of course we have to pay postage, which isn't cheap unfortunately. I think it's 'one of those' things and would certainly buy another but £1400 is pricy.

The battery life isn't as good now, but then I've fitted fat Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's whereas I used to have much narrower Continental Sports Contacts. Also, I now ride with big panniers and notice a difference with these, just with their wind resistance.

The only bike I've seen that would seriously tempt me away if the Cytronex but John seems to think the performance isn't as good - time for a new thread, just out of interest as I'm not interested in knocking other setups or choices.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Andrew harvey]

First a bike shop is not meant to be able to take a cut from the Cyclesheme voucher, you SHOULD get the full value for the voucher.

Dawes do a nice 601 Discovery with Shimano hydraulics for £700 less a penny.
I had one in stock it sold within a week, it does have carbon forks though, the mechanical disc 401 has suspension forks for £100 less.
/http://www.dawescycles.com/p-278-discovery-601.aspx

The Bionx does have the least drag I've come across in a direct drive motor, at low speeds it's only just detectable but as speed builds, over 15 mph it does become more noticeable, running with the speed limiter enabled you can get a sense of hitting a brick wall when the motor cuts out. Bear in mind though that the kit gives full power until just before it turns of.

The Ezee kit is already well established here so it shouldn't be ruled out, also available for discs and rear wheel drive.

 

[HarryB]

Thanks for the info Andrew. I have £1000 voucher at the moment either towards the basic bike and then pay for the kit or for a complete electric kit. Problem with a £700 bike (and it looks perfect) is that I would have to spend £300 on accessories!

I am moving away from the kit idea mainly because the bionx is looking so expensive due to the exchange rate. The high power kit as fitted to the Trek Plus (in Belgium) is over 1900 Euro so with the extra bits postage etc that getting on for £1700 when it is distributed in the UK. The problem with all the kits and I include the Ezee is that the battery is so makeshift or in the wrong position. The ezee uses a kit bag and I don't want it to look like a kit bike. The one thing about the Bionx is that the battery position and integration are superb - not stealth like but that doesn't matter. Also the pedal sensor is great - I don't want to go back to a thumb or throttle again.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Harry,

I sent an enquiry to Zyro Home and received the following response. I thought it might be of intrest to you and others considering Bionx kits

"We are currently in the process of taking over the distribution of the Bionx range. We are aiming to start distributing the range in June. With regards to pricing this will range from £1,099.99 to £1,699.99 depending on which product you require."

J hn

 

[HarryB]

Hi Harry,

I sent an enquiry to Zyro Home and received the following response. I thought it might be of intrest to you and others considering Bionx kits

"We are currently in the process of taking over the distribution of the Bionx range. We are aiming to start distributing the range in June. With regards to pricing this will range from £1,099.99 to £1,699.99 depending on which product you require."

J hn

Interesting - I gave them a ring a couple of weeks ago and at that stage they didn't have any prices. Assuming the PL 250HT will be top of the range it will be £1700 so even more expensive than I thought - and looking too expensive now. I am not actually sure who are they are going to sell it to either.

The Trek Valencia plus is only £1600 and has most of the running gear so maybe that is the best option for those wanting to go bionx - I suppose when the battery goes you could save up for the larger "on the frame" battery.