The e-bike that does everything

[tomoufc]

As a single father of three I would NEVER have put a child on the back of a bike.

Hope you're not passing judgement here: we can't all afford a car

 

[saneagle]

Hope you're not passing judgement here: we can't all afford a car

You have to understand his frame of reference. He rides a crank-drive bike, which unsurprisingly scares him to death.

 

[tomoufc]

Depends on how badly surfaced - some are comprised of well surfaced big broken planes of concrete jagged up at random troubling angles, worse than some downhill mountain runs.

I'd imagine their wide...

Kenda 24”x 2.4”

...tyres would fare better comfortwise than my 20" 1.75", which make traversing the aforementioned crevasse riddled jagged angled broken concrete canal path blocks very uncomfortable. I wouldn't touch canal paths with a barge pole - safer faster and more comfy by road.

Thank you. Each to their own. I personally like cycling by canals. Of course I ride on roads too - who doesn't?

 

[sjpt]

Listed here as 250w in case of doubt:

ENGWE L20 Affordable Utility E-bike 250W 140Km Range Front And Rear Cargo Racks | UK Stock Fast Free 3-5 Days shipping

ENGWE L20 Electric Bike 20*4.0 Fat Tyre 250W Motor 15.5mph Max Speed 48V 13Ah Removable Battery with Front and Rear Racks, 87 mi Mileage, Shimano 7-Speed

st3ike.com

Be aware with almost all ebike adverts, especially if the say 'up to'. The range they quote is with minimum assist, light rider, perfect roads, good weather, etc etc. Realistic range with normal conditions and moderate assist is likely to be about 1/3 of the quoted range. That one still looks sensible.

 

[pedalfettal]

@tomoufc

I've a fat-tyred mini ebike for sale. Perfect for canal-paths.

Send me a pm and we can parley. I can bring it up to you in Tod (from Brighouse).

 

[Ghost1951]

Be aware with almost all ebike adverts, especially if the say 'up to'. The range they quote is with minimum assist, light rider, perfect roads, good weather, etc etc. Realistic range with normal conditions and moderate assist is likely to be about 1/3 of the quoted range. That one still looks sensible.

Not being argumentative (what me? Never) but I think saying expect 1/3rd quoted range is maybe a bit harsh. I agree with he rest of what you say.

EDIT:

I weigh a bit less than 12 and a half stones, am 73, live in a very hilly area and I can still get 40 miles out of my more than three year old 13Ahr, 36 volt battery, and I am doing that without hammering myself. It is summer though, so I have no cold issues eating into the range.

 

[Ghost1951]

Those big ute bikes are not going to be very pleasant on muddy trails!!

I think you'd be better off with a 250w fatbike with 20" wheels, of which there are loads on Amazon and Ebay.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ENGWE-Electric-Adults-Step-Through-Bike/dp/B0C7818373?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2ZYRBV1GGSW5K&th=1

Listed here as 250w in case of doubt:

ENGWE L20 Affordable Utility E-bike 250W 140Km Range Front And Rear Cargo Racks | UK Stock Fast Free 3-5 Days shipping

ENGWE L20 Electric Bike 20*4.0 Fat Tyre 250W Motor 15.5mph Max Speed 48V 13Ah Removable Battery with Front and Rear Racks, 87 mi Mileage, Shimano 7-Speed

st3ike.com

Engue bike different model review and realistic range test. She doesn't get as far as she had hoped.

 

[Az.]

MeloYelo offers

Many of your e-bikes are illegal in UK.
None of your e-bikes is suitable for OP.

 

[matthewslack]

If you can try out some bikes before you buy it will help you make the right decision for you. Friends? Romans? Mancunians?

At minimum, a rear hub bike and a mid-drive, on the actual terrain you plan to ride, ideally heavily loaded. Comfort and controllability need to be assessed, as well as adequate degree of assistance.

Heavy loads and steep hills tend to point you at a mid-drive. Nothing will stop you riding more quickly than hard work when you need it to be easy, and nothing is more encouraging than finding it even easier than you hoped.

I am biased by the bikes I have experienced, and their very happy riders and child passengers, so I can't say there isn't a hub drive solution that might work, but I struggle to see it. The critical point is your heaviest load up your hardest unavoidable hill in rain when you are tired.

If you are essentially intending car replacement levels of bike use, I would up the budget and look at Tern GSD and Momentum PakYak, at least as far as getting a proper length test ride. If nothing else, that will show you how high the bar is these days.

 

[pedalfettal]

If you can try out some bikes before you buy it will help you make the right decision for you. Friends? Romans? Mancunians?

Todmorden is a town in the Pennines. The enclosing hills have very steep slopes, however, most of the habitation of the town and surrounding townships/villages is on the flat.

Really several machines are required: One for family duties - shopping, kindergarten, and errands - hub-driven fat-bike/cargo-bike; another for off-road in the countryside - mid-driven hill-climber.

My mini fat-ebike offer still stands - I don't mind transporting it across the borough for someone to try it out.

 

[saneagle]

I am biased by the bikes I have experienced, and their very happy riders and child passengers, so I can't say there isn't a hub drive solution that might work, but I struggle to see it.

The problem is your limited experience. I guess you haven't tried a 250w SWX02 or MXUS XF08C at 48v and 22 amps? We can get 20ah 48v batteries now for £300, so torque or power from a hub-motor is no longer an issue. It's not like the old days when we were stuck with 36v and 12 amps.

Also, I'd like to remind you that the Heinzmann 250w hub-motor system can tow 300kg up a 13.1% hill.

CargoPower Bicycle Drive System - HEINZMANN Electric Motors

The CargoPower system developed specially for cargo bikes features innovative technology, a robust design and excellent reliability.

www.heinzmann-electric-motors.com

There's also the 48v Xiongda 2-speed motor that's like a winch when it comes to steep hills.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/windmeile-Xiongda-2-speed-bicycle-electric/dp/B0CKY53ZP7?th=1&psc=1

Note that the Xiongda motor needs a special controller that's available from that supplier. The controller automatically or manually reverses direction of the motor to change gear.

 

[matthewslack]

The Heinzmann and Xiongda are probably too specialised to consider here.

Your hub motor suggestions may well do the job, but the OP really needs a representative test ride to know that. Without that, mid-drive is less risk because gears can be changed to suit, so a workable outcome is pretty much guaranteed.

I have seen locally rear hub cargo bikes with riders on the verge of a medical incident due to inability to get up the last hill, so given the loads and hills in this case I remain unconvinced by a hub solution.

Is Telford near Todmorden....?!

 

[saneagle]

The Heinzmann and Xiongda are probably too specialised to consider here.
Is Telford near Todmorden....?!

Hmm! The thing about hub-motors is that they're are many different types to meet different needs. Sure, if you're average weight riding on average roads for commuting or touring, most common hub-motors would work for you, but the moment you bring in special requirements, you need the motor that does it; however, OP has brought in some special requirements of hill-climbing with heavy weights. In that case, they need a slow wind motor running at 48v and around 20 amps with a medium sized hub-motor or just about any hub-motor at 48v in a 20" wheel.

Yes, Heinzmann and Xiongda are special motors, but they meet special needs as a better alternative to a crank motor.

According to Google Todmorden is about a 10 hr bicycle ride from Telford or about 100 miles away. We could meet half-way. I've got two 960wh batteries, so that gives me 19wh per mile for the 50 miles each way, which should be doable.