tested loads - very confused ....any advice welcome

[ghouluk]

Hi all,

firstly apologies in advance for the barrage of questions I'm looking to buy my first electric bike, after riding the smart ebike (which was brilliant but fundamentally flawed in a number of ways) i'm convinced.

right - here goes, firstly about me, i'm 6'1 and around 105kg (cough) about 20 years ago i was riding semi-pro downhill and managed to have a fairly spectacular crash where i lost a toe and the feeling in my left foot. I ride a fairly lightweight XTR MTB (santa cruz nomad) and a dahon folder currently, but find i go out less and less now hill and my rapidly aging and fattening body are incompatible - the ebike is for enjoyment, fitness and social reasons, not for commuting or for off road work. I'm also looking for a second ebike for the misses, so hoping to get something where batteries and specs are similar. ideal budget is around about a grand for each bike, but can go up for something good

so far i've tried the following

smart ebike
batribike granite
moustache samedi
swiss flyer something or other
fast4ward peak
freego hawk/eagle
ave ch special edition
a couple of other high end crank drive bikes i can't recall.

now i'm somewhat confused - firstly i don't get on with the crank drive bikes, i think because they are too sophisticated, and my camber is weak left side (maybe non existent) which seems to lead to the motor pulsing on and off as i pedal, which is annoying and means you get start resistance almost every turn while climbing. The exception was the swiss flyer bike which was excellent, but at 3k is a bit of a budget buster

so i took those out of the mix, and road the peak, the granite and the ave some more - each has its strong and weak points.

the batribike is the nicest to ride, the motor is strong, especially when climbing, and the display is good (there is also a step through version for the better half) the downside is that the forks are junk and are already appearing to bend/creak under my weight (sure thats more to do with my bulk than quality of the fork, but you see what i mean) it also looks like an electric bike (for better or worse)

the peak is the most like a normal bike, the pedals suffer from something of a sophisticated sensor (i think) and hence i don't get full climbing power out of the bike except by using the throttle, which is annoying. its very light for an ebike (21kgs) and isn't bad off road - the battery and range are smaller though, meaning i'd have to buy a matching one for the wife or watch her pedal off into the distance

the ave ch is a thing of beauty, the motor is sweet, the way the drive works is fabulous, the equipment levels are great (discs, carbon fibre seat post, frame lock, etc) however its a step through design, which i don't like as much, and is another 300.00

After some great test rides, I'd almost decided to buy two of the ave's but then work went mental, so had to take a day out to think, and am now back to undecided/buy two of the batribike or a peak again........yes i used to be indecisive, now i'm not so sure

anyways thats the saga, advice or opinion gratefully recieved.

cheers in advance

Rob

ps one thing i will say is that the commercial community for pedelecs is great (in direct opposition to the normal bike community) - no one rubbishes anyone else, and everyone is happy to spend time on you with test rides - absolutely impressed, and an indication of why the internet doesn't always win.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I think that you'll like the BH Emotion Neo series or the Ezee Torque. Both have nice powerful motors and smooth translation of pedal power to motor power. The Ezee torque is very nice to ride as well. You'll see what I mean if you try one

 

[ghouluk]

ta for advice - will see if i can find one to test nearby (though its over the top of budget really, but budgets ARE for blowing )

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If your budget's a bit tight, the Kudos Ariba and Tornado are not bad. They also have nice powerful motors.

 

[JuicyBike]

ps one thing i will say is that the commercial community for pedelecs is great (in direct opposition to the normal bike community) - no one rubbishes anyone else, and everyone is happy to spend time on you with test rides - absolutely impressed, and an indication of why the internet doesn't always win.

All those bikes you mentioned... They're all rubbish!
You should try one of ours.

 

[ghouluk]

All those bikes you mentioned... They're all rubbish!
You should try one of ours.

hehe very good actually as an addendum to the comedy i tried to try one of yours, but my only local retailer who stocks your bikes didn't have one to try, and told me they were the same as the freego, and i should try one of those and if i liked it the juicy bike would be the same..as i had the chance to try the freego elsewhere i passed on the offer tbh..they did offer to get one if i definitely wanted to buy it, but i'll never buy a bike without riding it, I'm just weird that way, so told them i definitely wanted to buy a bike, but found that riding was always different to seeing, so couldn't say 100%

Now if you tell me where i can try one within 45 minutes of odiham, or you want to buy me a tank full of diesel to get up to buxton, i'd be more than happy to

 

[JuicyBike]

We have a stockist at Romsey about 40 minutes from you.
Nice people who will be able to show you bikes from several manufacturers.
Hope this helps.

 

[flecc]

i'll never buy a bike without riding it, I'm just weird that way

Not weird, eminently sensible. That's the way everyone should use to buy an e-bike, it would save a lot of disappointment if they all did.

 

[ghouluk]

If your budget's a bit tight, the Kudos Ariba and Tornado are not bad. They also have nice powerful motors.

sadly neither of them seem to be available for a couple of months - you can test but not buy - don't really want to miss the whole of the summer

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Poor old Kudos. They must be losing thousands in lost sales.

 

[Taff]

Following on from d8veh's advice, I'd strongly suggest you test ride a Neo Cross.

Have a look at my thread (link below) which is giving feedback on this bike which I've had for a couple of weeks. It's a great bike to ride assisted or unassisted. I've also given feedback on other bikes I tested as well under different threads.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/14551-i-have-brand-new-bike.html

 

[Jonah]

If you haven't already tried them, you should try out the Kalkhoff range. They are only 45 mins away from you at Hampton Wick (50cycles). They're a bit over your budget - but not quite as much as the Swiss Flyer. They are commonly regarded to be one of the best quality e-bikes around and a good benchmark for you if nothing else. Might do you a deal if you bought 2.

 

[mountainsport]

I think that you'll like the BH Emotion Neo series or the Ezee Torque. Both have nice powerful motors and smooth translation of pedal power to motor power. The Ezee torque is very nice to ride as well. You'll see what I mean if you try one

d8veh,

I totally, totally agree with you i've test ridden this bike over six times now, and i find that this bike is of quality. If this bike was fitted with a throttle control device, i would definitely be more than happy to part with my money.

Mountainsport

 

[ghouluk]

heh! well seems like your predictions were spot on - went down to the official opening of the aldershot shop today, and with your recommendations ringing in my ears i added the bh emotion neo cross to my test list, and was immediately hooked - what a bike! fast, light, manouverable, oh yeah and did i mention fast

managed to get a good deal on an ex-display one and an oxygen diva for the misses (after trying quite a few bikes, she absolutely fell in love with that one)

top day's riding afterwards, only spoiled by a puncture in the oxygen, which had the silver lining of me being able to race the last 4 miles home on my own to pick up the support kit

thanks for all the advice, and especially to the guys down at aldershot for patient testing of endless bikes, coffees and best of all sorting out a deal.

 

[jackhandy]

Did I read this right - You have far less power in your left leg than the right & didn't like the pulsing effect that torque-controlled drives gave, caused by this; but you're chuffed with the Neo, which is also torque-controlled?

If so, that's most interesting & would bear confirmation when you've been riding a bit longer.

I like the Neo Extrem: Very sporty ride & responds very quickly to pedal pressure: As d8veh said, the Kudos Arriba is very similar, both in torque response & sporty ride, but not yet available

 

[Deleted member 4366]

They use torque sensors to sense pedalling, but do not have the proportional response of the Bosch and Panasonic systems. I think that they use speed-control controllers that driven by torque, so a much more continuous response.

 

[ghouluk]

that makes sense, as one of my questions was how could it have a torque sensor and work in the way that it did for me - i'd also say that there is a damping effect in the on/off of the motor, which stops it from cutting in and out in the same way (at least thats how it feels to me) as the moustache and the swiss flyer did. It also doesn't require you to overcome the power needed to trigger the sensor on each turn of the cranks when climbing (which was a function of the on/off of motor, but doubly annoying) instead seeming to assist a smooth cadence, rather than requiring it.

either way, i rode it and loved it - 50 miles so far, and enjoying it a lot.

Slightly dissapointed with the range i'm getting out of it compared to the oxygen we got for the wife, but will charge it a few more times and see before whining to the shop.

the kudos looks like a great bike! but the fatal flaw of not being able to buy it made me cross it off my list.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The Oxygen has a much bigger battery and lower powered controller, so i'd expect twice the range from the Oxygen. If you let the motor do a lot of work, then th range would be correspondingly lower. On a hilly route, with power from only one leg, I'd expect a range of about 15 miles from the Neo, or double that if flat. To get the ranges quoted by the salesmen, you have to pedal quite hard and avoid hills.