Replacement ebike

[Michael Price]

Hi all
Currently I have an old Powacycle Salisbury that I have had since 2011 - the bloke I bought it from said it was 14 months old - so it is probably 10 years old - cots me £220 - bargain of the century!!!

Anyway - my wife has said that, as it is getting a bit old now - maybe I should think about getting a new one

WOOOO -- NEW BIKE!!!

anyway - I need some help because I have a lot of miles under me on a ebike - but it is very old - 200W motor (yes 200 - that used to be the legal limit) so things have changed

I have a few ideas of what I want
a) battery inboard - having the weight hung out over/beyond the rear axle may have seemed like a good idea to Porche in the 1980s - but really?? - preferably in front of the rider - or directly under
b) Don't car much about hub or crank motors - but am I right?? - or are crank motors too new??
c) motors again - I know what mine can do on the rides I go on (17Ah on 26V battery - gives just over 30 miles - old 10AH battery does 14-18 miles) - but how much is the motor - is it efficient - are new ones better???? so do I need 17AH or is 8 or 9 Ah OK nowadays??
d) Power selector - my wife's Carrera has low medium and high - seesm like a good idea - also allows you to switch the power off easily - unlike mine -so I want one of those
e) Throttle - I love mine but only use it to start off - especially after an akward block thingy on paths to stop motorbikes etc - but I guess I will manage without it.
f) Mudguards and carrier - I often ride around with cameras or laptops ina backpack - to the idea of the back wheel throwing rain, mud, grit, gravel and goose poo (canals - work it out) seems likely to be good for my stuff - and as a retired IT technician it is me that would have to fix it - so full mudguards it is - and a rear carrier - 'cos shopping (why take the car for a small shop????)

Cost - I was looking for something around £1000 - maybe I need to look at £1200 - but it that reasonable>

or should I just look at my current bike and replace some bits and hope the rest keeps working and they parts remain available??



So - my current favourite seems to be the cheaper Raleigh ebikes - I may ask the local bike shop for a test ride - Whoosh also seem to do something that looks OK



Any help would be appreciated

thanks

Mike

 

[sjpt]

a) Low central battery clearly best, but battery on rear rack not too bad if you aren't too sporty. (eg our Raleigh Motus step through)

b) Main advantage of crank is that they are more efficient on hills as they are taking advantage of the gearing.

c) New motors are better; not sure by how much. Bosch Range assistant will give an idea of what to expect on any ebike, Bosch or not. https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/

d) I find power selector really helpful (4 on Raleigh Motus solo 2nd hand Bosch, 5 on Woosh converted tandem). I'd hate to be without one.

e) Throttle on the tandem, but we never use it and I don't miss it on the solo.

f) Mudguards and pannier. Absolutely for our kind of riding. Almost all our shopping is by bike; much more weight on the back than the battery.

You'll be lucky for £1000, depending what range you want and how big your hills are. (bigger batteries are more expensive). You didn't really say what sort of riding you do. Woosh are good value and very helpful. Look at Kudos too (https://www.kudoscycles.com/), I don't know what their customer service is like.

 

[Michael Price]

Good point
I mostly ride on roads - but if I see a path or canal I tend to just wander along it. My normal ride involves about 14 miles of roads and 5 or 6 miles of footpaths - including one steep hill of about 100 yards up gravel (which I sometime get to the top of!).
I tend to base my tyres on the basis of being puncture resistant (marathons) but fairly smooth for road use - or smooth round the middle with some lumps outside to help with rear grip on paths.
I also avoid mud and stuff when it is wet or muddy to try to keep cleaning to a minimum - and to keep my clothes mud free (I generally ride in jeans and a t-shirt - hi-vis jacket if needed - it worked in the 1970s when I learned to ride so it'll work now!)


So - that should give you an idea - I'm not going to be passing Chris Froome any day soon - even in his hospital bed!!

 

[georgehenry]

Crank drives often make you work harder for the assistance, not bad in itself but different from a hub drive.

You should test ride the ones you short list before you buy.

Crank drives wear the transmission out a lot quicker than a hub drive.

I have both and love both but for relaxed riding on the road prefer my old rear hub drive. However my crank drive is better off road and will climb steeper gradients more easily.

Ebikes lose a lot of value when bought brand new so maybe keep an eye out for a newer second hand bargain.

I bought a second hand old Oxygen for spare parts from the classified section off the site for £100 that turned out to be in very good nick and I now ride it to work and back.

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/the-tale-of-a-£100-second-hand-electric-bike.33079/#post-467114

 

[Dewey]

Consider a good used or cheap new bike for under five hundred quid and have a local bike shop convert it using a BBS01 or TSDZ motor kit with downtube battery which you ought to be able to get for about 700-800 from Brighton ebikes or Woosh in Southend. I converted a step through with a BBS01 kit in 2016 and its still going fine. If you want to buy a prebuilt ebike from a shop I like Bristol Bicycles E-City as they're light and you can spec many options, though the battery is on the rack and they don't have a throttle, or I understand Wisper will sell you a prebuilt ebike with a throttle after a bit of bureaucracy see https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/throttles-allowed.33843/#post-488358

 

[Michael Price]

Lots of good advise
But I have been looking at Raleigh Array crossbar - looks good and they sell it at my nearest bike shop. Have asked to take it out ona test ride on Monday
Then just have to sell my old Powacycle!

 

[Eagle]

A Woosh Camino (arriving mid-August) with 17 ah battery at £1099 would be one option:

Camino MTB electric bicycle from Woosh

The Woosh Camino, a very sturdy electric bike with hydraulic brakes 36V 15/17AH battery from Woosh. Price range: �£1049-�£1119.

wooshbikes.co.uk