My older brother is wanting to get himself and electric bike. Don’t ask, he’s just not for pedaling these days(He’s viewing the assit part of this as an easy way for him to get back into, i’m skeptical, but heyho, he’s a stubborn auld git lets get him out and see where we go from there). But he wants to get himself out and about for a bit on the trails(when I say trails I mean forest roads, with some camping gear attached.).

He’s been looking at this:

http://www.hallomotor.com/white-48v-750w-mosso-29er-mid-drive-electric-bike-9-speed-48v-12ah-battery.html

Any thoughts on the above? My take is it’s essentially a £4/500 bike with a motor on it? inc delivery he’s looking at £1400ish

Any comments on that motor, or recommendations on whats the best out there?

anyhow, I know nothing about electric bikes, so if you all could impart some wisdom, it would be greatly appreciated. 🙂

Absolutely no idea about e-bikes….but I did see a fat e-bike the other day….niche!

8fun motor? Don’t know how they measure up against Bosch, and spec/details on that link you gave seems scant to nom-existent.

Maybe try the pedelec forum?

*Edit would tend to agree it’s a 400 quid bike (at most) with an electric kit on it. The 8fun BBS01 kit + battery tops out at about a grand retail from what I see with a quick online search.

First things first. Get him to go for a ride on one. He might be surprised at how much effort he still has to put in.

Then ask him to ride it with the motor off, including up a few hills. Get him to consider how he would manage if he ran out of battery or there was some failure.

Then look at the various options. I’d go for something with the Bosch motor. They are widely used and well supported. I’d be looking to spend somewhere well north of £1,400 on it. I’d also be wanting decent brakes for slowing down the beast on descents.

Oh – and that bike appears to be well “outwith” the UK power limit for pedelecs, i.e. it would be illegal to use off-road and would need to be taxed, insured etc

Power and Speed

Maximum rated motor power 250W
Maximum speed with power assistance 25kmh (15.5mph in the UK)

forest roads, with some camping gear attached.).

(imagines being unfit and pedalling a flat-batteried 60lb bike +30lb of gear anywhere at all – and fails)

Aye, I’m well aware of the break down situation, I’ve already half joked with him about it. But in reality, I’ll be limiting any sort of distance until his fitness has improved as I know I’d end up being the one carting the stuff back.

On the point of how much effort is involved in peddling them, so is there a decent amount of resistance still in it? Would they help to slowly improve fitness? Say to the point to get him atleast started on a normal bike again? Like I said, that’s his view, but im skeptical.

Although I have said to him, ye buy something but the ultimate goal here is to get you back on a real bike.

You still have to pedal. How much depends on gradient and the power level the motor is set to. The higher the power level, the less duration (obviously). Like I said, until you’ve ridden one I think you’ll be a bit surprised at just how they work. I’d been expecting something like a motorbike throttle control and was initially stumped when I couldn’t find one 😉

My general thinking for him is to buy the motor and stick it on one of the older bikes he’s got in his garage, and if he’s happy he could then buy a better bike to transfer to. Brakes are something ringing alarm bells for myself too.

Interesting on the legal stand point too. cheers.

cheers SR, I was thinking motorbike myself. Any places around glasgow that sells them and does test rides?

MR cheers for the heads up on pedalec.

A way away but I know Spokes Cycles in Fife had a Trek electric demo bike.

By the sounds of it it may well suit him, subject to the caveats provided by Scotroutes, and as above, the bike you link to isn’t great. Aim for something with a Bosch motor. It needn’t be significantly more expensive, like this-

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=4552&g=685077&p=685084&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Electric%20e-Bikes&gclid=Cj0KEQiA5dK0BRCr49qDzILe74UBEiQA_6gA-hRDF2npIcx6Ie3MNDb-PJP3D3XlqA7hJzc-wqJ5FHUaAkaJ8P8HAQ

That’s equivalent to their £750 hardtail, with a good motor on it.

Or a hybrid-

http://cubebikesnortheast.co.uk/2016-cube-bikes/2016-cube-e-bikes/2016-cube-cross-hybrid-pro

cheers MB, I’ll pass that on. 🙂

somafunk posted a write-up of his experience on a demo bike, he ordered one but don’t know if he’s taken delivery.

Have a look at “add e” a slightly different take on electrifying pretty much any bike but without such a serious weight penalty normally associated with this type of set-up.

Mate of mine has had one since last spring. Basically a dutch bike, upright step through style, Bosch electrics. It also has Alfine style hub gears and hub brakes. Quality dutch style but heavy. The amount of assist given is chosen by buttons on the control panel on the bars, vary it from can’t notice the difference to wahey! Beyond level 3 of 6? you don’t need to put any real pressure on the pedals, only keep them moving. On hills you can choose to add more power by pedalling a bit harder, or just push the button until enough power is delivered. I think it’s a great machine. Without it he was struggling to keep up on 1 hr 12-15mph rides, now he’s good for 50+ miles. Bluntly, he’s old and fat, but still loves getting out and about, and the ebike will let him do that a lot longer.

My Scott Genius 27.5+ ebike is waiting on me at Bothy Bikes, I’ll hopefully head up the road t’morns night and collect it on thursday morning – can’t wait to give it a blast around the trails i know well up there.

Needless to say i’ll post up on STW once i’ve had a chance to get out on it.

I’ve just bought one in the sales for commuting and car use reduction. A Scott E-sub tour. They are now not much heavier than a substantial dutch bike. You’d be surprised who makes electric bikes these days. Lapieere, specialized etc. Bosch/yamaha/shimano all make decent crank motors.

I live in a second floor tenement and I don’t see carrying it up and down too much of an issue. Once you are under way weight is irrelevant. Once my Hubs are sorted if anyone in glasgow wants a test feel free. You will be converted.

If you break down you change plans accordingly, same as if you don’t have an ebike? They have more battery info than a car so going flat is unlikely without considerable warning.

Ben at Kinetics also does e bike stuff and will be able to help.

He can get better on that budget especially at sale time. £1500ish is where they get good. There are some good bargains around now but not for long.

After borrowing a E-bike for a couple of days last year, I can definitely see me buying one in the future.
Or maybe even if I do more commutes to work.

Oooft they are awesome.

Just did 12miles, and some light offroading in the park. Super comfy, great fun Not too sweaty. You can still push it though if you want but nice sustained cadence will still get heart rate up. And they make getting away from the lights a joy not a chore.

cheers all for the comments, appreciated. 🙂

My Mum has just spent a fair bit of time testing e bikes, looking for some assistance to keep up with my Dad and grandchildren.
There are some Glasgow dealers. Haven’t tried them, but Electric Bicycle Co in Edinburgh and a place in Dundee are Scottish e bike specialists, and were very helpful.

The main choice is between cheaper hub motor bikes which simply turn on the motor when you start pedalling or the more expensive mid mounted motors which have torque sensors delivering assistance proportional to your effort. The former feel like an electric scooter (you don’t need to put any effort in, simply keep your feet going round) while the latter feel much more natural and allow the rider to actually do some meaningful pedalling, if they want. My mum instantly disliked the feel of the hub/rotation sensor, but got on with the torque sensor mid motor right away.

There are some specialist sporty and MTB models, buy most of them are all very similar utility designs, usually with integral guards, lighting and rack. You’ll get different options like disc brakes and hub gears on more expensive models. They are all pretty heavy, but the ones I tried pedaled OK.

My mum has settled on the Ridgeback Electron+ from a local shop. Shimano mid motor, discs and hub gear for £2k, which is pretty typical.

Rode a Cube e-bike the other day with the bosch system on was a massive step on from what they were a few years ago. It’s not something I would consider buying but the boost until 17.5mph was impressive in the super sporty mode.

M8 bought a discounted Cube full susser the other month, and by god it’s good fun.. I will be buying one at some point, but maybe not soon.
He’s out on it all the time now, doesn’t complain about rainy rides anymore, goes out by himself (never did that before) & is happy to lend it mid ride to our m8 with MS, to keep him going.
Really good fun, just need to be lighter for lifting over fences!
A quick go on the cube was enough to convince my step-dad to buy a Carrera with hub motor, unfortunately it went straight back with a ‘problem’, haven’t heard any update from him lately.