Which bike.

[ianmrr]

Hi from Bo'ness, a small town west of Edinburgh.

I have been reading the forums for a while now and thought it was time to ask my questions

I have been told by my Diabetic specialist that due to poor diabetic control it is extremely likely that i will shortly lose my licence to drive which is fair enough as i don't want to kill anyone whilst commuting however it does leave me in a position of a 17 x2 mile daily commute (it's only 14 x2 by car).

I have ridden motorcycles in the fairly recent past so i at least have the ability or stability to stay upright but i also have a lung condition which can leave me fairly breathless and i am a couple of stone overweight (86Kilos)

I have access to a C2W scheme (Halfords voucher for £1000) and could put £300 -£400 on top of that if i am allowed to do that.

I would prefer a mountain bike style, something that is rugged enough for 170 miles commute and maybe a little more at the weekend.

I realise the law states 15.5 mph max but was looking for something a little speedier so i am not in the saddle for 90 mins or so before and after work.

So, is there anything in my price range that could do that distance @ perhaps 20-25 mph without (initially at least) much manual effort involved, i would have the ability to charge the battery at work but would prefer not to.

To summarise for those that don't want to read through the sob story bits.

Mountain bike style although i am not a style guru so more interested in doing the job rather that being worried about looking great
battery for min 35 mile without any assistance (initially)
would prefer to utilise the £1000 Halfords C2W scheme voucher (have read many conflicting posts as to whether you are strictly limited to Halfords)
Rugged for 8K annually (i do have an engineering background so maintenance wouldn't be an issue technically at least).

I apologise if the more active and knowledgeable members have answered all these before.


Regards

Ian M.

 

[trex]

you may have to go for a conversion. Besides your low budget, none of the mainstream manufacturers will sell you a bike to be ridden at 24-25mph and doing 8,000 miles plus a year.
The best motor for this sort of mileage is the 1000W direct drives. They are cheap and hard wearing, good for high speed and excel on relatively flat roads.

 

[Ronnyuk]

Hi, you will get loads of great info from people on here, and there is plenty of bikes in that price range which will get you to work and back, you could always charge at work anway and save you the electricity .

Poor diabetic control? you must be having hypo's to be threatened with your license so cycling may cause you issues too.

The bikes too look at

Kudos do lots of good mountain bikes in your price bracket, also available on C2W through http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Items/Brands/Kudos_Electric_Bikes/Kudos_List.aspx

Halfords also sell the Oxygen E-Mate but they have just put theprice back up as it was £1200 http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/oxygen-emate-mtb-13ah-electric-bike

Others will be along shortly to help you out

 

[Nealh]

Hello Ian,
Most eapc's will do the 2 x17 mile commute with a good 13- 15 ah battery, but achieving 24/25 mph as a constant on a road legal machine is not possible, nearer 17-20 may be possible and you will have to pedal quite a bit for that top end speed. Throttle only use with out pas eats the battery power and diminishes range, you will need to re evaluate your expectations if you go down the eapc route.
What terrain does your journey of 17 miles comprise of ; Hills ,road,track/trail, offroad ?

My Norco 700c hybrid is a conversion will get me 55mile range and 17- 21 mph.

Another quite good spec'd bike at a good price sub 1k was the Vita uno mtb, I only know the Oxygen 13ah cst mtb capable of 24mph top whack but to get that constantly will need considerable rider input as will any bike for top end.

 

[ianmrr]

Hi, you will get loads of great info from people on here, and there is plenty of bikes in that price range which will get you to work and back, you could always charge at work anway and save you the electricity .

Poor diabetic control? you must be having hypo's to be threatened with your license so cycling may cause you issues too.

The bikes too look at

Kudos do lots of good mountain bikes in your price bracket, also available on C2W through http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Items/Brands/Kudos_Electric_Bikes/Kudos_List.aspx

Halfords also sell the Oxygen E-Mate but they have just put theprice back up as it was £1200 http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/oxygen-emate-mtb-13ah-electric-bike

Others will be along shortly to help you out

Thanks for the info, yes unfortunately hypo's but mainly during sleep, if I choose to go this route then I will need to check blood sugar at least twice during my journey adding ten mins each way, the actual check takes ten seconds each but stopping, getting back pack off etc etc. This won't be too much of an issue given the consequences of not doing it could be kind of catastrophic (deadly).

 

[ianmrr]

Hello Ian,
Most eapc's will do the 2 x17 mile commute with a good 13- 15 ah battery, but achieving 24/25 mph as a constant on a road legal machine is not possible, nearer 17-20 may be possible and you will have to pedal quite a bit for that top end speed. Throttle only use with out pas eats the battery power and diminishes range, you will need to re evaluate your expectations if you go down the eapc route.
What terrain does your journey of 17 miles comprise of ; Hills ,road,track/trail, offroad ?

My Norco 700c hybrid is a conversion will get me 55mile range and 17- 21 mph.

Another quite good spec'd bike at a good price sub 1k was the Vita uno mtb, I only know the Oxygen 13ah cst mtb capable of 24mph top whack but to get that constantly will need considerable rider input as will any bike for top end.

Thanks, The terrain is either B roads (about 13/14 miles worth or dedicated cycle route about 15 miles worth I am told by a local cyclist (not seen the cycle route yet) then A road almost directly to my work.

Maybe being a bit too optimistic on top speed but this is a learning exercise and I am grateful for the information, I do intend to pedal as much as I can and I am sure that as my fitness improves (provided my lungs don't go in fire before hand) then the motor/battery will be pushed a little less each month.

 

[Ronnyuk]

Hi Ian,

On the straights you will be able to pedal fine even with limited lung power and zero fitness as that's the whole point of getting a E Bike

I am just waiting for my certificate so I can pick up my MTB 13ah so will let you know how it goes but at 85kg you are pretty much a lightweight compared to some of us.

Oh I should note...Don't expect a E-bike to be the holy grail, but if your route doesn't feature too many steep hills you will love it