Sub £1000 bike for a 7 mile commute on canal towpath. Less sweats needed!

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Hi

I’ve been looking to pedelecs to ease a 7 mile (each way) commute which sees me getting to the office in a nice sweat even in subzero temperatures.

My budget is sub-£1000. The commute is fairly flat along a canal towpath for the majority of the ride so needs an MTB or strong hybrid as it’s a little lumpy in places (not especially muddy however).

The Kudos Alamo looks very retro smart and I love this style. I prefer the traditional lines to an MTB but can it cope with a towpath day in day out?

Eco expedition is on offer at £689 at the moment and is good value despite its shortcomings also a bit more robust-looking.

Others I’m eyeing are the Gtech e bike, Greenedge CS2, Falcon spark (bit fugly), cyclamatic CX3, Aerobike x-ride and Woosh Karoo to name but a few...

you can see my dilemma, there’s almost too much choice!

If anyone has any experience of any of these, good or bad I’d be grateful to learn of it.

I need to jump in fairly quickly as I return to work on Wednesday and would like something sorted by the following week.

Cheers

Andy

 

[topographer]

You want one with a few gears, a decent battery, hydraulic brakes and reliability, so that narrows it down to the Karoo, the CX3 or the Expedition. Actually, I don't know about the Expedition's reliability because you don't hear much about it...The Falcon's behind the seat post battery is archaic.

And what about http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cube-cross-hybrid-pro-400-for-sale.30036/ ?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Expedition bike has a bottle battery with a screw-on connector that's not up to the job of frequent battery removal. Sooner or later a wire will come off, which can lead to disastrous consequences. Also, those batteries are not particularly waterproof. It would be a good bike for dry weather and the battery connector is no problem if you never take the battery off. On the plus side, you get a KT controller.

I don't see the Gtech as a serious choice, It's OK if you don't have hills and you're already pretty fit. I think any normal cyclist would find the lack of gears and the 15 mph limit too restrictive for commuting.

 

[Viv4]

Go in and try some bikes at Nationwide https://www.nationwideebikes.co.uk/
They are close to the canal, very helpful and have bikes to suit all budgets. You can demo quite a few without any hassle.

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

You want one with a few gears, a decent battery, hydraulic brakes and reliability, so that narrows it down to the Karoo, the CX3 or the Expedition. Actually, I don't know about the Expedition's reliability because you don't hear much about it...The Falcon's behind the seat post battery is archaic.

And what about http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/cube-cross-hybrid-pro-400-for-sale.30036/ ?

Great advice thanks. I’ve pretty much reduced it to the Alamo/Stealth or Karoo with a strong leaning to the latter. Will check that cube out tho he’s no price up there.

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

The Expedition bike has a bottle battery with a screw-on connector that's not up to the job of frequent battery removal. Sooner or later a wire will come off, which can lead to disastrous consequences. Also, those batteries are not particularly waterproof. It would be a good bike for dry weather and the battery connector is no problem if you never take the battery off. On the plus side, you get a KT controller.

I don't see the Gtech as a serious choice, It's OK if you don't have hills and you're already pretty fit. I think any normal cyclist would find the lack of gears and the 15 mph limit too restrictive for commuting.

I was concerned about the waterproof issues of the expedition when I scanned their user manual. Seemed to be very hydrophobic!

Good shout re Gtech, tho that’s pretty much where I’m at. Reasonably fit with a canal path that’s pretty level. I think it’s out tho. Karoo looks better and better but need to find a dealer which may do the cycle2work scheme as I’d save 40% on the Kudos’

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Go in and try some bikes at Nationwide https://www.nationwideebikes.co.uk/
They are close to the canal, very helpful and have bikes to suit all budgets. You can demo quite a few without any hassle.

Saw these guys but they seemed to have what I’d politely term “old school” bikes unless I had £3k to spend. Shame as they’re so local as you said!

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Ok so I had a quick try of the Halfords Vulcan and their Crossfire. Both seemed great but the Crossfire is more suited. Not sure about it as I’ve heard some stories about cutting out but surprised me anyway

 

[Viv4]

Saw these guys but they seemed to have what I’d politely term “old school” bikes unless I had £3k to spend. Shame as they’re so local as you said!

Not so, they have some lovely bikes for all tastes and definitely not just old school. Drop in for a coffee and a look round, there is no hard sell. I’ve sent several people into them and the feedback is very good.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Ok so I had a quick try of the Halfords Vulcan and their Crossfire. Both seemed great but the Crossfire is more suited. Not sure about it as I’ve heard some stories about cutting out but surprised me anyway

The Crossfire cannot be derestricted, so don't come back here asking about that if you decide to buy one. They all seem to cut out at some point, so don't think it won't happen to you. The Bafang system on the Vengeance doesn't suffer from that.

 

[Woosh]

if you can stretch your budget a little bit, the Woosh Rio MTB with 13AH battery @ £1,069 may be worth a look. Bafang high torque SWX02 motor, 17A controller, hydraulic brakes front and rear, GXP bottom bracket, Ounce crankset, lightweight 100cm suspension fork with magnesium lowers etc..

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rio-mtb

There is also the crank drive Woosh Krieger @ 1,029 with automatic gear shift sensing. May also be worth a look.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?krieger

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

I wasn’t looking to derestrict anyways but thanks for the tip, I won’t “come back here and ask” about that :|

I’d prefer a hybrid over an MTB as there’s a bit of road commute. - @Woosh are you saying you think Karoo wouldn’t be up to the towpath job even with trail tyres?

 

[Nealh]

I wasn’t looking to derestrict anyways but thanks for the tip, I won’t “come back here and ask” about that :|

I’d prefer a hybrid over an MTB as there’s a bit of road commute. - @Woosh are you saying you think Karoo wouldn’t be up to the towpath job even with trail tyres?

Don't over look the possibility of derestriction as you may well soon get fed up with the treacle affect of the 15.5 mph cut off.

 

[Woosh]

@Woosh are you saying you think Karoo wouldn’t be up to the towpath job even with trail tyres?

it's not that, the two bikes I mentioned have excellent front suspension (the Karoo's fork is rigid), wider rims and tyres and more powerful motors. The Karoo is perfect for riding without power. It is lightweight, its 8-speed gear range is the same as you would with a normal bike and a wide GXP bottom bracket, same kind of kits you would expect on a normal bike. You have 6 assist levels plus level 0 which is no assist but the throttle is available should you need to flatten a hill. It's perfect for the regular cyclists who do not want to arrive sweaty.
The Krieger is a crank drive, the weight distribution is perfect for an electric bike, which is concentrated near its centre of gravity, resulting in a bike that is not only responsive because of its crank drive motor but also feels and handles like you would expect with a normal bike. It's fun to ride but the drawback is the higher weight, the Suntour front shock adds nearly 3kgs to the bike. The other advantage is that you get a wider torque range through its gearset.
The Rio MTB is in between, nice and comfy to ride, perfect for commuting but the weight of the rear motor spoils the fun a little.

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

The Karoo is perfect for riding without power. It is lightweight, its 8-speed gear range is the same as you would with a normal bike and a wide GXP bottom bracket, same kind of kits you would expect on a normal bike. You have 6 assist levels plus level 0 which is no assist but the throttle is available should you need to flatten a hill. It's perfect for the regular cyclists who do not want to arrive sweaty.

That last sentence perfectly sums up what I’m looking for.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Damian.Doherty]

I've been riding my Woosh Rio for over 6 months now, I commute to work and back everyday and the bike has been flawless.....not even a flat tire!

and the good folks at Woosh level of service is second to none!

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Sadly woosh don’t accept my companies ride to work scheme (Halfords) and whilst I liked this bike the most, I can’t ignore an effective 40% discount [emoji45]

 

[Damian.Doherty]

Really? That's a shame, I take it you are on the Cycle2work scheme?. I was lucky that my company are on the Bike2Work scheme which Woosh do work with and Hatti was excellent at guiding me through all the back and forth to get all my ducks in a row quickly and painlessly.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Just a suggestion but the Wisper SE bikes are almost within budget at £1,099 and will handle the tow paths well with their 1.95" tyres. They are available on the Halfords scheme.

 

[aardvark5]

My advice is that even if your canal towpath/commute features 5% very bumpy pathway then you need an MTB unless you're willing to get off or ride very slowly. Both my road bike and hybrid would be killed by some of our canal towpath.