What to look for - Bike for occasional use tootling around France

[Louise]

Hi

Sorry - I'm sure this is a newbie question ... but I could really do with some advice.

I'm looking for an e-bike which is reasonably priced (£1,000 or less) which I will be using roughly 10 times a year when on holiday in France. I'm just not as fit as I used to be, and could do with a bit of help for the distance, and a boost to get up some of those hills so we can still get out for the day. From doing a fair bit of googling, it seems like I should be looking for something with a few different power settings, and something that will keep going for some distance (which I think means several settings, decent voltage and lots of amp-hours. What I don't know is what is a decent amount on volts, and what is lot's of amp-hours (for the amount of money that I have to spend?

Any help would be much appreciated - answers to the above (or any other advice for someone like me) - even any recommendations for nice women's bikes that would do the job for me.

Thanks in advance

Louise

 

[Nealh]

Nearly all ebikes are 36v though there are some 24v, so stick to 36v. Diy builds vary but 36v is common with 48v - 60v often used. Battery wise 8.8 ah to 17.5 ah packs are available but generally 15 or 17.5 ah packs will give 45 - 60 miles range dependant on a few factors such as terrain ,wind, rider input and tyres/pressures used.
For 1k have a look at Halfords for local no quibble guarantee, other wise online retailers to look at are Kudos and Woosh.

Other recommendations I'm sure will follow.

 

[Woosh]

Hi Louise,


I have 5 step through bikes that are within you price range.
They are fitted with different motors to suit different weight.
The Bafang SWX suits smaller riders, up to 14st, the SWX02 up to 16st and the BPM for riders over 16st. The crank drive motor can cope with up to 15st.
Could you give us your height and weight?

 

[OldBob1]

Hi Louise,
If you are only going to use the bike in France I would try out as many different bikes over here to find what type suits you, then when in France find a dealer over there that can supply, service and maintain the bike you like.
Bob

 

[Louise]

Great ... thanks for the advice. I think I'll try and find a retailer over here in France for the ease of repairs etc if we have any problems, but good to know what we are looking for.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

These ones look pretty good for the money:

http://www.idealworld.tv/gb/pp/e-life-voyage-6sp-36v-250w-electric-folding-bike-20inch-wheel-373973?query=fh_view_size=24&fh_location=%2f%2fidealworld%2fen_GB%2fcategories@lt;%7bidealworld_1002%7d%2fcategories@lt;%7bidealworld_1002_11345%7d&fh_sort=-onair_iw%2c-salescash_iw%2c-hasimage_iw%2c-new_iw%2c-salesunits_iw%2c-average_overall_rating_iw%2c-stock_iw

Yesterday they were £499 as a TV special. An hour ago, they were £549, now they're £699. Keep watching Ideal World on the TV listings until they bring them back, which is normally about every 2 weeks AFAICT. At £499, they're a steal.

 

[RobF]

Great ... thanks for the advice. I think I'll try and find a retailer over here in France for the ease of repairs etc if we have any problems, but good to know what we are looking for.

Given the French Connection it would make sense to buy from Decathlon.

I'm sure their cheap Chinese ebikes are as good as any of the others.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-811556-electric-bikes

 

[Danidl]

Hi

Sorry - I'm sure this is a newbie question ... but I could really do with some advice.

I'm looking for an e-bike which is reasonably priced (£1,000 or less) which I will be using roughly 10 times a year when on holiday in France. I'm just not as fit as I used to be, and could do with a bit of help for the distance, and a boost to get up some of those hills so we can still get out for the day. From doing a fair bit of googling, it seems like I should be looking for something with a few different power settings, and something that will keep going for some distance (which I think means several settings, decent voltage and lots of amp-hours. What I don't know is what is a decent amount on volts, and what is lot's of amp-hours (for the amount of money that I have to spend?

Any help would be much appreciated - answers to the above (or any other advice for someone like me) - even any recommendations for nice women's bikes that would do the job for me.

Thanks in advance

Louise

... Have been going in and out of supermarkets here in France over the last week and there is no shortage of these bikes in the likes of eleclerc and intermarch saw some pretty nice ones in carrfour at 700 to 800 euro, although there were cheaper.. Or even Nordauto. my advice would be to buy from one of these when you come over. Customer service and protection is pretty good and they look very standard
Nordauto had a very cheap one, I think 400 but don't buy it as it has a lead acid battery type but their more expensive range 600 all have lithium ion batteries and you can select the battery size.