Shetland woman looking to find my perfect Ebike, Need Help Please!

[Benjahmin]

I'm a newbie and II converted this bike late last year. It is an ezee kit, so now has a motor in the front wheel and battery in the rack (supplied with the kit) at the back.
I am a carpenter and live in hilly west Wales. I did it, I'm sure your chap could. I am smaller than you, but the hill climbing power of this machine is amazing and I'm sure it will do what you want. The only time that front wheel spin has been a problem is on very steep inclines when standing on the peddles, so pulling up on the bars. Or on wet grass.
I've put in a before and after for you.

 

[Chainring]

Hullo Shetland Wife. You seem to be searching for the Holy Grail - an attractive, practical ebike at a reasonable price! I have had a Woosh Santana since May 2013. My wife has owned her Viking Prelude about the same length of time. (Parkers of Bolton). It's lovely to ride, with wide handlebars and the right rake to the forks, but I wouldn't want to convert it. My Santana is really comfortable to ride, but I have found I just don't need all those gears. A Big Bear with the battery in the centre and 3-speed would be ideal, but then - you could get the Ezee Primo! I have looked at the Biba cargo bike and Bobbin Shopper, with an eye to a conversion, both giving room for a large battery and having 3-speed hub gears. I have looked at the ODK bike, from Juiced Riders, but it's too dear. The Ezee Sprint 8, with front basket and flowery frame would seem ideal for your artistic temperament! As a form of transport, electric bikes are clever and they WORK - they are not a gimmick. Keep reading-up, and don't rush it.

 

[JohnCade]

Of course she could put on a front basket and paint some designs on the frame and panniers of any bike if that's what she likes. I reckon the BB step through is pretty close to a Dutch style bike in looks as it is and a basket and panniers would complete the job. The other thing about Dutch bikes is that they don't tend to have very powerful motors for obvious reasons.

 

[Shetland Wife]

Wow thanks everyone for all the input and advice. I have a lot to think about. Thankfully after asking friends on facebook I have found 3 people with 3 different electric bikes here in Shetland all of which have offered me a go. So that is going to be the first thing I do as soon as the weather allows.

Also after speaking with my husband he does fancy going the kit route. His thinking is if ever it all goes wrong at least I still have a bike I like So I will certainly keep you all updated on what I think of the bikes I try and our progress on this adventure. I am sure we will need your invaluable advice as well.

 

[Croxden]

You seem to be getting there much quicker than I did, it took me two years. The problem with that is the price keeps going up.

 

[Shetland Wife]

I am very keen to regain some freedom after far too long in the house. Not to mention once I get something in my head I am the type to stick with it till I get the result I want. So fingers crossed by the end of spring I will have a shiny new ebike that I love.

 

[flecc]

Also after speaking with my husband he does fancy going the kit route. His thinking is if ever it all goes wrong at least I still have a bike I like

And there's another advantage of the kit route. If a fault does crop up, your husband who fitted the kit will be much more familiar with its parts and so will more easily follow advice from here in fixing it. In your remote spot that's a valuable asset.
.

 

[Nealh]

Good to hear you can try some bikes locally SW.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Shetland Wife,

Welcome to the forum.

So far I don't think that you have mentioned a budget?

We have complete bikes and kits to suit most requirements with the eZee Sprint Primo from £795 with the 11Ah battery although we are out of stock of the stepthru version until we get another shipment in about 5 or 6 weeks.

Another complete bike with stepthru frame that may be of interest is the Ansmann FC1 Plus priced from £1095. Ansmann have an exceptional warranty, 3 years on the battery and 4 years on the motor.

When it comes to kits we have 3 brands to choose from starting with Ansmann at £799, eZee £895 and Heinzmann from £1160.

You can find more information on our website via the following link http://www.cyclezee.com/index.html

 

[Keith Palmer]

Try conv-e.com for a good UK conversion Kit

 

[D C]

Try www.conv-e.com for a good UK conversion Kit

Four new posts all recommending this!!!!

 

[Shetland Wife]

Hi again everyone. So we have ordered a bike I love and hope to convert. Any input on if this will be useful to convert would be great. Thanks so much to everyone. We are well on the way to me getting out and about again. http://www.viking-bikes.com/products/Heritage/6750-Kensington.html

 

[Nealh]

Good looking step through, it would be a shame to ruin the looks and lines with a bottle/downtube battery. Keep the build simple with a front hub and a rear rack battery can be disguised with panniers to give a clean easy fitting option. A cd kit would interfere with your gearing and nice chain guard may have to go. Kit wise UK sourced from Oxydrive, Cycleezee and Woosh.

 

[Shetland Wife]

Thanks Nealh I love the looks of it and funny enough have already bought Panniers that I love also so your advice is useful thanks very much. Now my next step is to save the money for my electric conversion kit

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Don't put your battery in the panniers. It'll probably wear through unless it's bolted to something. Much better to get a rack battery and fit your panniers over it.

 

[trex]

woosh will have 15AH rack batteries in next week. They come as a complete kit, rack, battery, lock, controller box.

 

[Shetland Wife]

Hi again everyone I am looking into conversion kits and I have done a good bit of talking with the folks at Panda bikes. I was wondering what you all thought of, of this kit??? http://www.pandabikes-shop.co.uk/upgraded-kit-36v-frog/4588195158

Would it suit me with my size and weight and what I am wanting to do just leisure rides mostly?

 

[trex]

yes, can't see anything wrong with it, other than the location for the battery. Heavy weight perched high up on the saddle post, the bike tends to fall over. Other than that, it looks very good for the money.

 

[Shetland Wife]

Thanks trex. I will keep that in mind about the weight issue. It certainly seems like a good deal and they have been very very helpful when speaking with them. They do have the bottle battery kits too but not sure how that would be with my bike.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

On the surface, it looks like a good kit for the money, but I have a couple of reservations. The frog batteries are designed to be fitted to the seat-post. On OEM bikes, they install a pair of plastic halves, which go inside the clamp to spread the load. All the after market ones and kits that I've seen, didn't have these pieces, so the clamp only clamps on each side of the seat-post. To make it tight enough to clamp can crush the seat-post. Also, all the non OEM battery supports were made from a single layer of steel, and they split at the corners after not too many bumpy miles. Some are reinforced with strengthening pieces at the corners, but you won't know that until you see it. Maybe the supplier knows the problem and has covered it. You could ask him/her.