Recommendations

[Rockhaggis]

Hi
Finally moving from standard bike to E-bike.
Geological tectonic shifting has pushed up the hills around my location.
That and getting on a bit, I'm now looking for some battery assistance.
Looking for recommendations based on the following criteria:

Max budget £2000. Though of-course less would be acceptable.
Power ( the ability to climb hills ) is far more important to me than range or speed.
Mid-drive motor.
Rear rack, that can accommodate panniers. With front as well would be a bonus.
Comes with mains charging equipment.

Any specific recommendations, particularly relating to the grunt of the bike would be much appreciated.

Duncan
Scotland

 

[Az.]

Welcome
Is DIY an option?

Power ( the ability to climb hills ) is far more important to me than range or speed.
Mid-drive motor.
Rear rack, that can accommodate panniers.

TSDZ8 from Woosh

 

[thelarkbox]

DIY with a comfortable bike equipped to your needs with GOOD brakes would be my best suggestion.
If you detail the hills you need to conquer (length/gradient) some of the chaps in the know may suggest a hub drive instead saving cash both upfront and in chains etc and perhaps service costs too down the rd..

When first looking myself virtually every 'article' google found suggested a mid drive was superior in every way.. Yes they can take advantage of the bikes gears to climb at the expense of drive chain wear, but for example a local climb thats allways defeated me ( not an athletic cyclist btw) i crown at 8mph sat in the saddle with my hub drive while the hills i would get up hot n bothered i sail up crowning at over 12mph and i ended up with a basic rear hub kit from Yose on my not at all sporty bike (see icon)..

If set on an off the shelf bike with the system/battery built in for a sleeker look be mindful that most of these are closed proprietary systems many employing battery communication to screw you down the rd with extra reasons to buy new batteries Yes i am jaded but its a terrible market for consumers Hence the preference for diy based on a quality bike.

The bolt on look may not have the same aesthetic appeal but with generic parts anything goes wrong the worst case is a simple buy and replace job, and the less sophisticated the system the easier it is to diagnose without the dealers special software.

 

[AndyBike]

Its funny you get the same if you join a gaming.computer forum and are thinking of buying a new computer. The usual answer is that you should never buy one out a shop, but gather together components and build it yourself.

This is fine for people who know about these things, but the downside is A. You dont have the experience yourself to build such, and B. should it go tits up you're left with a headache trying to figure out whats wrong, in something you have no experience of.

Buy a bike from a shop and you have a years guarantee at least. Anything goes amiss, and to be honest problems that might happen, but usually happen from new, and you have the guarantee option.

I'd suggest something like a hardtail, and you might look towards urban or touring types, as they usually have a rack and built in lighting.
Component wise for £2k its not going to be the best, but theres always a compromise somewhere.
I would say Bosch, as they appear to be the industry leaders.

Canyon bikes are a very well known and respected company, with dealerships pretty much across the world.

An example - again £2k isnt a lot in the Ebike world, this example is a little bit more, but not too much

Pathlite:ONfly 4 mid-step

Make your touring plans a reality with our most accessible e-touring bike. Ergonomic, powerful, and comfortable off-road or on the asphalt – the great outdoors is waiting.

www.canyon.com

Or Haibike, which also has a good reputation, though truth be told they are a known for being a bit fugly

https://www.haibike.com/gb-en/p/trekking-3-htbp1/

More up to date with more powerful motor, slightly larger size of battery, faster charger

 

[Az.]

Its funny you get the same if you join a gaming.computer forum and are thinking of buying a new computer. The usual answer is that you should never buy one out a shop, but gather together components and build it yourself.

The big difference is that gaming computers usually have open architecture with easily replaceable components. When something goes wrong out of warranty with proprietary e-bike then you are FCUKed.

...but you are right. Time spent on build and experience should be taken into account.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Hi
Finally moving from standard bike to E-bike.
Geological tectonic shifting has pushed up the hills around my location.
That and getting on a bit, I'm now looking for some battery assistance.
Looking for recommendations based on the following criteria:

Max budget £2000. Though of-course less would be acceptable.
Power ( the ability to climb hills ) is far more important to me than range or speed.
Mid-drive motor.
Rear rack, that can accommodate panniers. With front as well would be a bonus.
Comes with mains charging equipment.

Any specific recommendations, particularly relating to the grunt of the bike would be much appreciated.

Duncan
Scotland

It's not mid drive, but it does have a 20 amp controller and a heavy duty motor for climbing hills and good battery capacity. Depends what you are using it for, it's ideal for roads, light trails and tracks, not good for heavy duty mountain bike centre "black runs"

Gran Camino MTB electric bicycle from Woosh

The Woosh Gran Camino, a 27.5 electric mountain bike with hydraulic brakes 36V 15AH/17AH battery from Woosh. Price range: £1379-£1459. Great bike for trails.

wooshbikes.co.uk

"has one of the most powerful rear wheel motors on the market"

Also has the @Woosh support and customer service

 

[saneagle]

Its funny you get the same if you join a gaming.computer forum and are thinking of buying a new computer. The usual answer is that you should never buy one out a shop, but gather together components and build it yourself.

This is fine for people who know about these things, but the downside is A. You dont have the experience yourself to build such, and B. should it go tits up you're left with a headache trying to figure out whats wrong, in something you have no experience of.

Buy a bike from a shop and you have a years guarantee at least. Anything goes amiss, and to be honest problems that might happen, but usually happen from new, and you have the guarantee option.

You don't have to build anything when you install an ebike kit. The analagy is more like buying a new PC and installing it in your bedroom, then connecting it up to a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. Actually, I'd say that an ebike kit is easier, especially something like a Woosh TSDZ8 kit, because you don't need to do any settings, just install and connect wires.

 

[AndyBike]

You don't have to build anything when you install an ebike kit. The analagy is more like buying a new PC and installing it in your bedroom, then connecting it up to a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. Actually, I'd say that an ebike kit is easier, especially something like a Woosh TSDZ8 kit, because you don't need to do any settings, just install and connect wires.

I hope you are keeping in mind that some people who ride a bike cannot even fix a puncture, or adjust their brakes or gears to take up any slack. Present them with an electrical system that needs to be bolted on, maybe with an adjustment to the dropout, possible chain adjustment/shortening/lengthening and plugging in electrical bits and they'd likely be just as lost.

 

[saneagle]

I hope you are keeping in mind that some people who ride a bike cannot even fix a puncture, or adjust their brakes or gears to take up any slack. Present them with an electrical system that needs to be bolted on, maybe with an adjustment to the dropout, possible chain adjustment/shortening/lengthening and plugging in electrical bits and they'd likely be just as lost.

That's what crank motor kits are for. Why else would anyone fit one?

 

[guerney]

Its funny you get the same if you join a gaming.computer forum and are thinking of buying a new computer. The usual answer is that you should never buy one out a shop, but gather together components and build it yourself.

This is fine for people who know about these things, but the downside is A. You dont have the experience yourself to build such, and B. should it go tits up you're left with a headache trying to figure out whats wrong, in something you have no experience of.

You can be gung ho with ham for hands and still successfully upgrade a graphics card on a PC. But if you make a mistake, you'll have ruined your PC or a part thereof, or sustain Mortadella sausage finger damage, not burned your house down. Not usually anyway, depends on how filled with flammable fluff and grease your super duper graphics card's air cooling contraption is.

 

[sjpt]

That's what crank motor kits are for. Why else would anyone fit one?

You know what you are doing, and are very generous with you time to help others know too.

I sort of know what I'm doing (be it building a PC or installing a conversion kit (***)).
However, I do know that many people are very far from being brave enough to do any of this (even though capable),
and many others (though very intelligent) are not capable of these tasks at all.

As guerney suggests above, it they get the PC building wrong it could be expensive;
if they get the ebike building wrong it could be dangerous.

(***) I was even knowledgeable enough to stop autocorrection have me installing a "conversation kit".

 

[Az.]

I hope you are keeping in mind that some people who ride a bike cannot even fix a puncture, or adjust their brakes or gears to take up any slack.

That is not good, is it? Every cyclist must learn some basic maintenance IMO, but at the end of the day it is up to a person to make a decision - buy an e-bike or maybe invest some time and energy into DIY. We just give best advice we can.
BTW front wheel conversion is super easy.

This thread:

Carrera Vengeance Conversion

2 threads going. Hi guys, I'm m new to the ebike world and I want to do a conversion on a Carrera Vengeance. I am buying the Vengeance new and would like recommendations on what motor I should get. Some people said I should buy a used bike but I figured why buy a used bike when I can buy a new...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

is a great example of what can achieved with a little guidance.

 

[joelectric]

Maybe not the best bike for you but a cracking deal for full suspension mtb reduced to £1999 from £5k
Raymon TrailRay 160e 10.0 29 Electric Mountain Bike Deep Red

 

[matthewslack]

Maybe not the best bike for you but a cracking deal for full suspension mtb reduced to £1999 from £5k
Raymon TrailRay 160e 10.0 29 Electric Mountain Bike Deep Red

There's usually a reason for such a big discount, but all I can see in this case is the 'unknown to me' brand names of the bike and the battery.

Yamaha 85Nm motor, huge 720Wh battery, all sizes available, decent enough forks etc... The same website has better known brands at much smaller reductions with inferior spec.

 

[AndyBike]

Maybe not the best bike for you but a cracking deal for full suspension mtb reduced to £1999 from £5k

It was never £5k, google puts it in the £3.5k group, but still a very good saving.
The 'RRP' strikes again.
I just got a couple of Rab fleece jackets for the nephews as xmas prezzies from SportPursuit, which claims to be RRP of 120, but in reality they sell retail for about 70. Still quite a good saving, but this 'reduced from' can never be trusted

There's usually a reason for such a big discount

See above ^^

Paul's Cycles though is a really well known place thats been going since the early 90's. They always had an advert on the back of all the mtb mags from bitd.
They specialize in previous seasons bikes at discounted pricing.

 

[Nealh]

For a product to truly be a bargain it is needed to be seen as selling at the 'RRP' , otherwise it is just sales gimmick/con to sucker in the gullible.