Recommend a bike for my missus

[greencat]

My missus is about 5 foot 2 and weighs around 50kg. She is not a terribly confident cyclist. Balance and strength are the key barriers. But she is happy riding something with small wheels and a step through frame, like my Brompton, where she can easily put her feet down and feel safe. Trouble is, it's not a good bike for hills.

We live about 4 miles from the nearest small town but you can go almost all of the way there by off road, but tarmac, cycle way. It is mostly downhill all of the way there, but a gentle climb with some steep bits all of the way back.

I'd like to get her an electric bike that will let her comfortably do that journey and maybe a few others locally (perhaps a ten mile radius but steep hills abound).

Ideally, she'd be able to fold it and put it on a bus very occasionally eg if caught out in bad weather.

Given we live in the middle of nowhere it would be quite hard to travel somewhere to test a bike out.

I was considering something like the Whoosh Gale but they are out of stock until April.

Any alternative suggestions in a similar price range?

 

[Geebee]

Welcome to the forum

One thing to watch out for is the all up weight as your wife may have trouble hauling the 23kg Gale onto a bus?
Your best bet maybe to fit a kit to a lower end Bromton.

I am hesitant to recommend a folder I have due to its being a bit of an odd ball, but it would probably suit your requirements quite well it only weighs 14kg all up, it has 12" wheels and is single speed but will make a 10% grade feel quite comfortable, it is a Beat bike (mine is a different brand same bike) review here ISSUU - Issue 6: Electric Bike Magazine by Velo Vision Ltd
The only things I found different is that at 5'8" the seat at max extension is ideal for pedalling and I have done rides of 25 km with power left over ( I weigh 85kg), I always inflate the wheels to max pressure. It offroads quite well as long as its not deep loose gravel and is great fun to bunny hop curbs with.

 

[greencat]

Thanks Geebee.

Yes, thinking about it I can't imagine her heaving almost any folding bike onto a bus really. Probably more likely that at the sign of inclement weather, she'd take the bus in the first place while leaving me to pick it up if she got caught out.

I will take a closer look at the beat bikes. But I think she'd quite like a throttle.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I can't think of any folder that would be light enough to fold and take n the bus for a 50kg 5'2"female. It can be done, but not easily. At that weight, even the weakest motor will be adequate, so it's just a case of finding a folding bike with a throttle which she's comfortable on. I think only someone that's 5'2" or smaller can make a recommendation. At The Cycle Show, there were a few short women doing the rounds looking for a bike that they could manage. They found the non-folding Oxygen Diva a comfortable fit, but I'm not sure if you can still get them.

 

[los monty]

Hi my wife is a similar build and was not happy riding my full size electric. She now has a Viking E Go and is more than happy with it. With the Woosh Gale the company run a scheme where owners allow potential customers can try bikes local to them. Ring them and see if they can help. Pro Rider do a similar model as well.

Regarding putting it on a bus I have done it myself concealed in a bag but is a fair lift beyond my wife's capability. Its not just heavy its bulky and unevenly balanced.

Tesco sell a rebadged E Go for £420 the cheaper models have a smaller battery, however it does not have a throttle. Good luck my good lady loves her bike and now wants one to take to Spain.

 

[los monty]

Just bumped this post up as it seems to have disappeared from recent posts

 

[greencat]

Thanks very much for your replies. I will now go and check out the E Go.


Update: Well, I've ordered a Tesco Hopper which seems to be the same as the E Go. I showed her a couple of ebikes and she liked the look of the Hopper the most (very low step over frame, better colour and apparently looks like a scooter).

And I have a couple of weeks for her to try it out to see if she likes it and see if it can get up some of the hills around here.

 

[greencat]

The Hopper has arrived. Mrs greencat won't get a chance to try it out until tomorrow, but she looks very pleased and it has pride of place in the kitchen at the moment. The saddle had to go down pretty much all of the way so I don't think it would suit anyone much shorter. But she loves the look of it, the low step over, general fit and stability.

As a keen cyclist myself I was pleasantly surprised by the quality for the money. It is by no means a bike shaped object - most of it uses alloy components and there's pretty good attention to detail. The instructions aren't up to much though - still the person who wrote them writes better English than I do Chinese.

 

[greencat]

The missus had her maiden voyage on the Hopper today. The bike fits her very well and after a wobbly start she gained more and more confidence. Then she turned the motor on for a hill - and shot off like a rocket with a scream of delight and fear. She finds it a bit fast even in lowest assist mode so rode it mostly without the motor on, but by the end of the afternoon she was ready to tackle the steep hill back to our home. Amazingly even in lowest assist she cycled up it without any wobbles as it required only a small amount of effort.

I think she'll grow to love her Hopper. She already wants to go out again tomorrow. Thank you so much for the recommendation. I think it's going to make a massive difference to her ability to get out and about.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They were on the Ideal World channel for £499 plus about £10 delivery and phone call. They included lights, a cover and a lock.
http://www.idealworld.tv/Viking_Eco_Stepper_6-speed_24V_250W_Electric_Folding_Bike_20inch_Wheel_with_free_lock_and_protective_cover_285128.aspx?fh_location=//idealworld/en_GB/$s=viking

You can also get a refurbished one from them for £350, which should be just as good.

 

[greencat]

That's quite a nice deal - especially as has a lock and cover (the Tesco version does come with lights). Sportsdirect have another version for £399:

http://www.sportsdirect.com/e-co-electric-bike-933004

I went with Tesco because they're local and the returns are good. Worth it for the extra £20 paid. If the missus had taken against it, there would have been little point in keeping it.

 

[trex]

sportdirect quoted a range of 35 miles for 24V 8.5AH battery - that's 5.8WH per mile for power consumption.
Small folders are a little less energy efficient, burning around 12-13WH/mile on the flat, 60WH/mile on 10% hills, I think the real range is more like 15 miles for 204WH.

 

[greencat]

Here we are more than six months on. The missus still loves her Hopper and has become a much more confident cyclist on it. She regularly does solo rides on it (unthinkable previously) and hasn't taken the bus anywhere for nearly six months now. She's now actually pretty quick too - and some of the steeper hills I struggle to keep up.

I have a trailer trike which I attach to my bike for the missus to ride on routes beyond the range of the battery. It's noticeable now how much more of a contribution she's able to make ie not leaning the wrong way around corners etc.

In short it has done its job of creating a new cyclist.

She does struggle to get the battery on and locked into place - but otherwise a total success.