Thinking now is it all worth while ?

[budsy]

Well having been on this very forum which is good reading up on e bikes im beginning to think should I bother at all ?

I went to Halfords and I said to the guy that id like to try a cple ebikes out for myself before I buy .. and he said you would have to just buy one online ..this without trying any bike out and I then thought to myself and said no way and walked.. and they wont get custom with that attitude , never even got to try one of their bikes out but I forgot to say i then had held my notes all inside an elastic band was £2000 in cash ...and showed to him and I said .. ill now take my custom elsewhere ..wanted see look on his face with such .

Anyhow with much of what ive read on here its making me think im as well staying with normal non electric bike I have had for a number of yrs as not had one problem and gears are in the hub . Just was looking into electric as aids for going up hills but I get by without though at times difficult becoming ..just seems to many problems with e bikes im beginning to think reading up on them ..and how old or new are them problem e bikes ?

as no way im willing to be spending big money on a bike that im not so sure about , regards will it break down in say 6 months or a year ?
this when the bike I have had for 20 yrs has never let me down at all .

 

[soundwave]

anything can fail no matter how much you spend on any bike but i have not had any motor problems with my bosch motor bike and it is 5 years old and have a dongle to remove the speed limit and have 2 batts now.

you got 2 years warranty motor wise so best to try kill it b4 it ends just depends what conditions you ride the bike in every day and what you do to look after it long term.

a bike with a £1500 fox fork is going to cost £150 to service each year if you cant do it your self it adds up fast and the tools are not cheap.

 

[nigelbb]

There are no issues with buying online. If you order online you legally can return the item for any reason within 14 days but I see that Halfords are now offering 90 days for returns. https://www.halfords.com/help-and-advice/customer-services/delivery-and-returns/returns-information/

 

[RoadieRoger]

Any of the Suppliers that appear on this Site are worthy of your money . Look at Woosh , Juicy etc., they regularly answer queries on their machines and those of others . They must have a machine that appeals to you .

 

[sjpt]

Unfortunately useful life of an electric bike is likely to be relatively limited; maybe 10 years. Our push bike is a bit over 25 years old (electric tandem, shared electric sole, shared non-electric solo) and my son is still riding my 40 year old Claude Butler (probably only the frame is original by now).

One reason is that technology for 'ordinary' bikes has not advanced much over that time, but for electric there have been, and I think will be for a few years yet, significant (not just marketing) advances. That means that even a 10 year old electric bike working as it did when new is still very dated (in a meaningful way).

 

[cyclenut1952]

Well having been on this very forum which is good reading up on e bikes im beginning to think should I bother at all ?

I went to Halfords and I said to the guy that id like to try a cple ebikes out for myself before I buy .. and he said you would have to just buy one online ..this without trying any bike out and I then thought to myself and said no way and walked.. and they wont get custom with that attitude , never even got to try one of their bikes out but I forgot to say i then had held my notes all inside an elastic band was £2000 in cash ...and showed to him and I said .. ill now take my custom elsewhere ..wanted see look on his face with such .

Anyhow with much of what ive read on here its making me think im as well staying with normal non electric bike I have had for a number of yrs as not had one problem and gears are in the hub . Just was looking into electric as aids for going up hills but I get by without though at times difficult becoming ..just seems to many problems with e bikes im beginning to think reading up on them ..and how old or new are them problem e bikes ?

as no way im willing to be spending big money on a bike that im not so sure about , regards will it break down in say 6 months or a year ?
this when the bike I have had for 20 yrs has never let me down at all .
[/QUOTE

 

[cyclenut1952]

Unfortunately useful life of an electric bike is likely to be relatively limited; maybe 10 years. Our push bike is a bit over 25 years old (electric tandem, shared electric sole, shared non-electric solo) and my son is still riding my 40 year old Claude Butler (probably only the frame is original by now).

One reason is that technology for 'ordinary' bikes has not advanced much over that time, but for electric there have been, and I think will be for a few years yet, significant (not just marketing) advances. That means that even a 10 year old electric bike working as it did when new is still very dated (in a meaningful way).

Could I ask where do live?

 

[Ocsid]

Whilst a big advocate on test riding a few e-bikes before buying, I can't see it adds anything at all to knowing how reliable any will be?

Test riding reveals how the bike, the drive and the drive's electronic management feels, and here there can IMO be big differences.
I found cadence based power control "odd", not "cycling" but best described as being "motorised". Great if that is what you seek, but I just wanted something to make cycling less physically demanding, on hills and against a headwind, without a fundamental change in the nature of cycling.

Testing just one example of whatever type is likely to "impress" and has the danger of giving no hint how the differences might appeal, in particular how the control algorithms replicate more conventional powering.
Not that this helps much if you can't now actually get a few test rides, but as said if the purpose you had was to determine how reliable it will be years on, I don't think the testing will help at all.

To technically achieve an experience extending "normal cycling" by seam free feeding in power, inevitably requires a level of complexity, and typically any complexity hits reliability.

 

[cyclenut1952]

Whilst a big advocate on test riding a few e-bikes before buying, I can't see it adds anything at all to knowing how reliable any will be?

Test riding reveals how the bike, the drive and the drive's electronic management feels, and here there can IMO be big differences.
I found cadence based power control "odd", not "cycling" but best described as being "motorised". Great if that is what you seek, but I just wanted something to make cycling less physically demanding, on hills and against a headwind, without a fundamental change in the nature of cycling.

Testing just one example of whatever type is likely to "impress" and has the danger of giving no hint how the differences might appeal, in particular how the control algorithms replicate more conventional powering.
Not that this helps much if you can't now actually get a few test rides, but as said if the purpose you had was to determine how reliable it will be years on, I don't think the testing will help at all.

To technically achieve an experience extending "normal cycling" by seam free feeding in power, inevitably requires a level of complexity, and typically any complexity hits reliability.

The reason I asked was as a complete ebike novice and after much research I purchased 2 folding ebikes last December. I purchased from Oxygen who have given outstanding point and after sale service.

 

[Woosh]

I found cadence based power control "odd", not "cycling" but best described as being "motorised".

I agree mostly to this view.
With the cadence sensing system, you still have to pedal, but you can decide how much you want to pedal, choose your own cadence and in most circumstances, don't need to change gear. You use the electronics to adjust the motor's output to suit you.
The torque sensing system makes you choose optimal cadence and gear compulsory. You have to change gear, pedal faster and harder to go up a hill. The more you input, the more you get out of the motor.
The additional benefit of a cadence system is less wear and tear on the motor and transmission.

 

[Amoto65]

the bike I have had for 20 yrs has never let me down at all .

The difference is you will probably use an electric bike way more than a normal bike, plus don't forget people are way more likely to post about a problem than if they are satisfied so it gives a bit of a false perspective.

 

[Tarka]

I think retailers are limited in what they can offer at the moment. After all would the op like to have a test ride on a bike not knowing who has had their grubby hands and coughed all over it?

There is no shortage of info on every size, type and reliability of bike available with the convenience of having it delivered straight to your home.

 

[sjpt]

Could I ask where do live?

Winchester

 

[sjpt]

Whilst a big advocate on test riding a few e-bikes before buying, I can't see it adds anything at all to knowing how reliable any will be?

Can be. In the bad old days of UK and US car manufacture (*) I had failures during test drives in cars in both those countries. Maestro and I forget which US car, both were notoriously unreliable even by UK and US standards of the time.

(*) reminiscent of current UK and US quality in virus protection.

 

[budsy]

Cheers for the answers folks much appreciated .

As ocsid said I also prefer to cycle without all motor
although with the aid of hilly parts via gears and a motor
would be a good help when going up hills.

Though I do prefer gearing inside the hub of a bike , id also like a rack on
the back of bike to hold a pannier .

Would like also a suspension on the bike possibly front handlebar area of bike
along with also suspension under seat .

Would be cycling mainly on roads but all types of terrain, also prefer the upright position
for handlebars and a Trapeze type frame in which is between the conventional
cross bar and a step through frame would be type bike id possibly go for .

 

[Alyrpal]

I bought a bike labelled as Trapeze but didnt know what it meant. Later the supplier labelled it as a ladies bike. Loads of different bike makes out there meeting your spec, mainly German companies. UK based suppliers seem to think no-one wants mudguards, lights, racks or stands which seem to be standard on German bikes. Getting a test ride can be problematic because the shop or whatever may not have your size in stock.

Al

 

[budsy]

I bought a bike labelled as Trapeze but didnt know what it meant. Later the supplier labelled it as a ladies bike. Loads of different bike makes out there meeting your spec, mainly German companies. UK based suppliers seem to think no-one wants mudguards, lights, racks or stands which seem to be standard on German bikes. Getting a test ride can be problematic because the shop or whatever may not have your size in stock.

Al

Interesting Germany well they always have been ahead of Britain with many things
as for bikes Germany shall be alike that of Holland I guess .

Im happy enough for now with bike ive stayed loyal to now for the past 20 plus yrs
and for now im in no rush for a bike.. this bike I still use today was built by Raleigh and copied from the Dutch style of back brake in the hub

ive come from way back with a bike with no gears at all on a bike
to that's of 3 speed old dutch bike with Sturmey Archer gearing
and the with back pedal to brake .. and then as now the 7 speed Nexus
gearing inside the back wheel of the hub is the gearing again taken from
the Dutch style and no probs in all that time .

Possibly the converting the bike I have would be the best way for me to go ?
but again I aint any engineer or sorts

Im In no big rush and that's when you can rush into buying and regret it
much best to take your time over any move u make , when it comes to parting
with good money > as e bikes are expensive today .

 

[budsy]

anything can fail no matter how much you spend on any bike but i have not had any motor problems with my bosch motor bike and it is 5 years old and have a dongle to remove the speed limit and have 2 batts now.

you got 2 years warranty motor wise so best to try kill it b4 it ends just depends what conditions you ride the bike in every day and what you do to look after it long term.

a bike with a £1500 fox fork is going to cost £150 to service each year if you cant do it your self it adds up fast and the tools are not cheap.

Well cheers for this info as u have saved me some good £s

ill do well without then lol.. as no way id pay around £150 a year to maintain a bike
this when the bike I have although non-electric costs me next to zero to maintain
this apart from the odd lubricating on parts only

and that's what I call as > "cheap as chips "

 

[budsy]

I bought a bike labelled as Trapeze but didnt know what it meant. Later the supplier labelled it as a ladies bike. Loads of different bike makes out there meeting your spec, mainly German companies. UK based suppliers seem to think no-one wants mudguards, lights, racks or stands which seem to be standard on German bikes. Getting a test ride can be problematic because the shop or whatever may not have your size in stock.

Al

Ye weird as it is but them womans bikes should be more so for guys
think where the bar goes all along the top of bikes for men, and u know what a mean

a slip on the top bar and "Ouch" a possible hospital case , who was it whom invented
" The mans bike " ?

And the thing is many years ago this > and the manufacturers all went
to make up " The man bike" this with the steel bar along the top of the frame
and many thousands of people went for it crazy or what

 

[Woosh]

it was done at the time when aluminium alloys were not as rigid as now. You could make lightweight frame with a trapezoid. The bigger the triangle / trapezoid the stiffer the frame.