Urban Mover Powabyke

[Griswold]

I was thinking of perhaps buying an Urban Mover UM36 - 2007 Model.
Are these any good?
I hear on this forum of dire support from the company.
Is this still the case?
Are batteries readily available? parts etc?
I see there is a new model out UM36X is it any good?
I still have my Powabyke Commuter with suspension forks - which are adjustable for hardness!
Still havent bought a lithium battery yet - the price is astonomical for what it is - I could put down a large deposit on a Wisper 905se or UM36X for this?
Any info?

Regards

Chris

 

[flecc]

Hi Chris. That Powabyke lithium price is quite good in fact. The similar eZee one is £280, the similar capacity BionX one £450, so Powabykes £285 I think for battery and charger is as good as it gets.

I haven't heard of any improvements on the UM support, and it's unlikely to be anything like as good as Powabyke's for years, if ever. I would take some convincing to buy one. I know nothing about the new model or new batteries, and since no-one else has asked, I think most lost faith after the support fiasco of last year.
.

 

[Griswold]

Thanks

Thanks - the prices though are £350 for the 20 mile one and £250 for the Lite version - unless you know where I can get it at the £285!
I want also want a bike I can take to Center Parcs - cant see the Powabyke fitting easilt on a cycle carrier!
Regards

 

[flecc]

You're right, £350 it is, I was getting mixed up with upgrade prices. Its' still good for a battery and charger though. It's £280 battery plus £75 charger, so £355 from eZee, and the BionX is £450 for the battery alone.

Powabyke do a new one at 28 kilos now, pretty revolutionary for them, though at the price they are up against stiff competition.

Perhaps a second bike like the Powacycle Salisbury at about £500 would be the Center Parcs answer.
.

 

[MazB]

I just been looking at going to Center Parcs - nearly £500 for 3 days
think I will have to look at Hoeseasons LOL.

I have the UM55 and I love it, does me for what I need not powerful at all and probs doesnt go the distance as some.
But I am dreading the day I need to call UM for any reason whatsoever, probs when I need a new battery, and its probs going to be a nightmare unless they seriously improve their customer service.

Maz.

 

[MaryinScotland]

I'm another user of Urban Mover UM55, with NiMH battery. I've had the bike 16 months, had no problems with it. I probably wouldn't buy another, because I'd like something with a more sophisticated control system, but the UM has been a decent £700-worth. (One of the lightest e-bikes around when I bought it, which is important to me.)

I didn't get the optional torque sensor with mine, so when the pedals are turning, the motor gives all it's got (whether you want it to or not!). The twist-grip can give you graduated power, including letting you walk while the motor pulls the bike, but the twist-grip at maximum only gives you part of the motor power (10mph max as against 15mph in pedelec mode).

My ideal electric bike would let me choose the amount of assist. Either all the power controlled by a twist-grip, like Heinzmann. Or a pedelec with off/ low/ high power controls, accessible as you ride.

Mary

 

[Haku]

I've had a UM36 for almost a year now, very much enjoyed riding it, waited about 3 months after putting a deposit on one because I wanted the lithium battery version, which turned out the original lithium-polymer batteries had bad problems and a significant amount were recalled because the battery manufacturer came clean and said they couldn't reliably get 12Ah into that pack, so for most of the time I owned the bike I was using a prototype lithium-ion battery which didn't get me very far and had to take the charger with me most times - but I could still use my bike which was the important thing.
The good news on their battery front is they've sorted it, now they're offering 9Ah Panasonic li-ion batteries which I was given a few months ago and it's not let me down once, in fact I haven't been on any journeys long enough to completely drain it - but I will when the weather gets nicer.

Customer service wasn't so great, several times when calling the company direct I was promised callbacks which never happened, though through emailing I did get direct help from the founder of the company who is a nice guy and has a passion for the bikes & business as he enjoyed showing me the new innovations at their main warehouse in Cheltenham when sorting out my battery problems, plus I also enjoyed talking to him and seeing the place and protoypes etc.

Their new range of UM36's the UM36X is matt black and they do a larger frame which I could have done with as I had to go and buy the longest seatpost possible for my UM36 to be comfortable, along with buying an adjustable stem (which the new UM36X also now has).
But the biggest loss of their new bike is the throttle, whilst I find it's a bit cranky to use I really like having it there - the first half of the twist does nothing, the 2nd half of the twist makes the bike go (variable speed) but only after cutting the motor when you're pedalling and waiting 3 seconds, on top of all that the throttle only gives you 10mph max


Despite the problems I've had with the battery and customer services, I ride it literally daily as I have no car and I love riding it, if I spend a day without going out on it then something doesn't feel right.

 

[hillside]

Some UM36x questions

New here, hello! And I live in the Swiss Alps (near skiing mecca of Laax, Graubuenden).

To shorten a trip I'll do with some regularity I could use a hiking/biking trail to a neighbouring village (by car almost twice the distance as you have to first go down to valley floor, then climb again,. about 26 km).

Recently Swiss TV, a consumer magazine and 'Velojournal' reported on a test by a univeristy lab looking at a variety of bikes. The Swiss-built Flyer (biketech.ch) did very well and is also very popular here. And quite pricey.

A UM44 didn't do too badly (battery didn't last the whole road test; only one level of powered support). But it was given not so good marks for the components used (without specifying they meant wheels/spokes, brakes, gearing &c).

My yearly use would hardly go beyond 500 km or a good 300 M. A one way trip is 7.2 km with a level diff. of 270 m going and 130 m returning.
A Biketech Flyer costs CHF 3500 and up, an UrbanMover UM36x costs CHF2290 (approx. BPs 1130) - yep the guys in the middle pick your pockets! Batteries here seem very pricey too (CHF 900 ~ BPS 440).

Any advice? - Thanks from the hillside -- RM