Smaller & Lighter eBike

[Kevin Smith]

My wife recently took a tumble off her Freego Wren she has had for perhaps 10 years and uses at least weekly. She loves the bike but being 60 I think she has a little less strength than she once had and the Wren is quite a large and heavy bike, hence a wobble became a crash. She needed a few stitches but without a helmet it would have been much worse. Being only 5' tall and a light build my thoughts are to replace it with something physically smaller and lighter, but still with a 24" wheel for greater downhill stability, and for the potted roads as they are. Any thoughts welcome on suitable models or perhaps even a conversion that will give a range and performance equal to her Wren and my Freego Eagle. Thanks

 

[sjpt]

Look at Isalbikes: https://www.islabikes.co.uk/pages/technical-support

though I'd be slightly wary as
(a) they have stooped manufacturing
(b) they use a proprietary system (Mahle SmartBike Systems X35+, 250W, Max Torque: 40Nm with Islabikes tune)
(c) they have 26" wheels (I thought they were 24" but I was wrong)

 

[Woosh]

how much does the old bike weigh?

 

[Kevin Smith]

how much does the old bike weigh?

25kg apparently including the battery, which is the same as my 26" wheel Eagle. Its also not much smaller physically.

 

[Woosh]

Your wife can have a lightweight lowstep which weighs about 12kgs, add 5kgs for a light weight conversion (XF08C).

 

[saneagle]

My wife recently took a tumble off her Freego Wren she has had for perhaps 10 years and uses at least weekly. She loves the bike but being 60 I think she has a little less strength than she once had and the Wren is quite a large and heavy bike, hence a wobble became a crash. She needed a few stitches but without a helmet it would have been much worse. Being only 5' tall and a light build my thoughts are to replace it with something physically smaller and lighter, but still with a 24" wheel for greater downhill stability, and for the potted roads as they are. Any thoughts welcome on suitable models or perhaps even a conversion that will give a range and performance equal to her Wren and my Freego Eagle. Thanks

You have to look at where the weight is. When you buy a lightweight bike, it's lighter because it's stripped of junk and has some lighter parts. The Wren is heavy because it's been made comfortable. If you want, you can make it the same as a new lightweight bike, by chucking the heavy seat and seat pin, and replacing with lightweight (less comfortable) ones, then do the same with the handlebars and stem, then chuck the wrack and mudguards. Next, chuck those big heavy tyres and get lightweight ones that'll puncture more easily. Finally, you should be able to find a smaller/lighter battery for it that will have the same energy as the lightweight bikes, or you can swap out the present cell-pack for a 30-cell one that you can get from Ebay or Aliexpress.

If you do all that, you should be able to get down below 20kg and she'll probably hate it, the same as she'll probably hate the same things on a new lightweight bike.

 

[AndyBike]

If you do all that, you should be able to get down below 20kg and she'll probably hate it, the same as she'll probably hate the same things on a new lightweight bike.

The buzzbikes H700 i got is 20kg, and thats the bike buzzbikes use in London in their hire set up. And they only do the one so it has to be at least reasonably comfy.

downhill stability

Any bike, no matter the wheel size has downhill stability. But are you meaning downhill as in down a hill on a city street, or Downhilll as in the term more commonly used to denote a level of offroad mountain biking ?

As to weight, more often than not its going to be an around about weight, and unfortunately when it comes to Ebikes, its the nature of the beast.
Of course the weights kept lower are due usually to a smaller battery, not as capable motor and really only for pottering about the city on short journeys.
But comfort can be down to saddle, leg length(saddle height), reach, stem height, width of bars etc, which are all down to perhaps a bit of customization of the parts all bikes have. But also how long youre going to be sitting on it.

Lighter equates to smaller battery usually, which equates to less range, or its limited in its capability in where it is intended to be used, which will be city and short journeys.

Example - Hummingbird Electric 2.0. Weighs about 11kg, but has a tiny 160wh battery.
Its light, its folding, but its still expensive at £5k

 

[Woosh]

You have to look at where the weight is. When you buy a lightweight bike, it's lighter because it's stripped of junk and has some lighter parts.

you'll have to forgo the (usually cheap) suspension fork (saving 3kgs) and replace the old battery with a new and much lighter battery (saving another 2-3kgs). 10 years ago, posh batteries were made with 2000mAH cylindrical cells. Now it's made with 5000mAH cells. You'll upgrade the gears to cassette and brakes to hydraulic. It will add up to nearly a new bike + conversion kit.

 

[peterjd]

You might consider something like the Temple Step Through. It is quoting a weight of 18.9Kg which I assume is all up. Not the cheapest around but........? Peter

 

[Kevin Smith]

You might consider something like the Temple Step Through. It is quoting a weight of 18.9Kg which I assume is all up. Not the cheapest around but........? Peter

Thanks, I'll take a look. A lighter weight, shorter reach and and hopefully lower c of g is I think the crux of what we're looking for.

 

[saneagle]

Thanks, I'll take a look. A lighter weight, shorter reach and and hopefully lower c of g is I think the crux of what we're looking for.

Who's going to fix it when it goes wrong?