Recommendations for a new bike - 20 miles of very hilly commuting done every day

[Paul Newport]

I'm vaguely thinking of replacing my Wisper 905 with something new.

My requirements are:

An easy 20 mile range. By easy I mean it should manage this with no problem at all.

Excellent hill climbing ability. I commute in and out of Bristol and the route has over 1000 ft of elevation changes, including some very steep hills (Constitution Hill for those in the know)

Reliability and build quality. This is really important for me

Preferably front and rear disk brakes.

I've also heard that crank based bikes are the way to go, so I guess it should be crank powered.

Does such a machine exist ? The closest I've seen is the Raleigh Dover, but at a 3 speed I'm dubious as to whether it could cope with the hills.

 

[flecc]

For those Bristol hills I'd definitely say the 8 speed Nexus hub, not the three. Either the Raleigh, Kalkhoff or BH-emotion equivalents, all having the Panasonic crank drive units.

 

[Paul Newport]

PS how much better are crank drives than rear hub motors. You have to still put a reasonable amount of effort in to going up hills in my Wisper (OK a huge amount of effort for Constitution Hill), do the crank drives have more torque ?

 

[indalo]

I'm vaguely thinking of replacing my Wisper 905 with something new.

My requirements are:

An easy 20 mile range. By easy I mean it should manage this with no problem at all.

Excellent hill climbing ability. I commute in and out of Bristol and the route has over 1000 ft of elevation changes, including some very steep hills (Constitution Hill for those in the know)

Reliability and build quality. This is really important for me

Preferably front and rear disk brakes.

I've also heard that crank based bikes are the way to go, so I guess it should be crank powered.

Does such a machine exist ? The closest I've seen is the Raleigh Dover, but at a 3 speed I'm dubious as to whether it could cope with the hills.

Paul, A Wisper bike is probably a hard act to follow and I think a lot of readers here would dearly love to own a Wisper rather than the bike they bought.

I'm afraid I'm one who likes and appreciates the power delivery of crank-driven bikes, (a la Panasonic type) and I expect my future purchases will be from the Kalkhoff stable, either Panasonic, Bosch or their in-house Impulse drive system. Those with greater experience of ebiking than me may help you select an appropriate machine and don't get me wrong, I also own and ride a decent hub-drive bike too which is a pretty good ride and flies up most hills.

Hub drives to me are simple yet effective assisted cycling but my low-powered Panasonic crank-drive feels altogether more sophisticated in its application and is easier to live with day-in, day-out. It will climb any hill...eventually. Later more powerful examples of the same system do the job even better.

You don't say how much you intend to spend but don't rush as there's a vast choice out there now at all price points. Do some test riding; it's essential.

Enjoy the search,
Indalo

 

[flecc]

When the going is easy like on the flat, the Panasonic type of crank drive is harder work since a proportion if the effort always has to come from the rider. But as hills get steeper, the crank drive wins out since the motor being able to drive though lower gears multiplies the torque. Basically full power is available at any speed selected through the gears, while hub motors only have full power in the upper half of their speed range. When a hub motor bike drops below half speed the power progressively reduces, not what is wanted when climbing a steep hill quite slowly.

However, as always, it's important to try before buying since the characters of the two are very different.

 

[Paul Newport]

Thanks - my local electric bike shop is handily at the bottom of the aforementioned death hill so I'd obviously road test anything up there beforehand.

 

[Paul Newport]

The crank drive seems the drive for me. I don't think Bristol has the concept of easy going on the flat

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Paul


Our Bike Eat hills please come to Banbury for a test ride you will be amazed we are open 7 days a week

Thanks Frank

 

[Alan B]

The guys in Atmosphere should be able to sort you out, excellent service and a good range. Perfect circuit up Park Street to check the bikes as well. Good luck.

 

[eddieo]

The best of crankdrive bikes are clearly those powered with a Bosch centre drive, more then 40 major European manufacturers have adopted this system...have a look at bikes from Haibike, KTM, BH Emotion, cannondale, Scott, stevens etc..etc...You would be crazy not to at least demo one

Bosch Electric Bike Drive System. Future of ebikes?

and a bit of fun....these Germans so naughty!

Insane Electric powered Bosch speed pedelec E-bike - YouTube

 

[Kudoscycles]

Paul,the difference between crank and hub drive has been discussed so often it is almost impossible to take in all the info on this forum. With the hub drive you do need to be fit enough to go up hills at minimum 8 mph,that allows the hub motor to work at its optimum speed and deliver a lot of help to climb the hill,obviously gentle hills are better than steep ones.
With crank drive you can still efficiently go up the steepest hills and if prefered go up slowly. However if using a torque sensor it is important to look at the ratio between rider input power and the power delivery from the crank motor,Bosch have been changing this ratio to allow more power for less rider input to help tired legs.
We will be taking the BH Emotion crank drive bikes,Bosch powered to the Bristol green e-bike day on June 10,many of my competitors including the 'gang of four' will be there,so it will be a good opportunity to try many bikes locally,your city is infamous for steep hills,
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[devon_skylark]

My husband is very happy with his Raleigh Leeds bike which has the seven speed hub gear and Panasonic crank motor. He commutes a 30 miles round trip in very hilly south Devon, including very steep hills. With the 12AHr battery it still has power left at the end of the daily commute.

I was so impressed by it I have just got a second hand E-motion bike from ebay with the same motor and intend to try it for a long hilly trip this weekend with my husband on his bike.

 

[Atmosphere]

Hi Paul
Funnily enough we have a fairly good idea what will get up Constitution Hill easily

Another one you should consider is the BH Emotion NEO - using the Samsung system which has lots of torque. We have a demo you can try out along with others to see how it works
If looking at the Panasonics the 36v is much better than the lower battery versions for Bristol

Alistair

 

[hoppy]

Don't ignore the Tonaro range,Paul. Great advantage over other crank drives is full throttle control.Reliable, well supported, good value and excellent hill climbers. I know as I've had one over a year now and it's excellent. Best wishes!

 

[20ston]

just my twopenneth. 20 stone rider here, and i use a kalkhoff pro connect disc for touring.
8spd alfine gearing with panasonic crank drive.
see's me good for 40+ mile rides in the yorkshire dales and lake district.

 

[Tim]

Kalkhoff Agat

Having just tested an Agattu C8 HS Impulse (with the latest firmware which is now standard on all 2012 Impulses) on the big hills to the south west of Loughborough, I can wholeheartedly recommend this for both range and hill climbing. We're getting regular reports of 60 mile range on the Impulse bikes. One customer claimed 60 miles on High power, which is remarkable.

Anyway, this afternoon I took a 50cm HS (a little on the small side for me, but I was eager to get out and ride) and it tackled the bridge over the Midland Mainline near the Loughborough warehouse in 8th gear. Then I cycled through the countryside and to the other side of town to tackle Beacon Hill, the steepest hill in Loughborough - all the way up in 7th.

Finally, I headed out toward Charnwood Forest on Nanpantan Road, the last 1000 metres of which sees a 115 metre climb, or a little over 11%. I was surprised to be able to climb this, all 14st 11lb of me, in 6th gear. No speedo attached, so I wasn't able to check speed, but it didn't feel like I was dawdling. I've ridden the Panasonic, Panasonic Sport, Bosch (regular and 350W sport flavour) up this same hill and the Impulse was the easiest.

The latest software seems to offer really useful hill climbing, so I feel invigorated and compelled to recommend!


At the top of Nanpantan Hill about to return to base with a grin on my face