[Closed] Electric bikes - advice

The CTC magazine had something on electric cycles recently, may be on their website.
Edinburgh Bike Co-op stock some, send them along there.
Helen Pidd reviewed the [url= https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/28/tesco-hopper-urban-electric-folding-bike-review ]Tesco £500 folding electric bike[/url] in the Grauniad last Saturday - heavy and cheap short cuts, to summarise.

Hi Pook

Not all e-bike batteries are fit for purpose. The cheaper ones will be unable to hold enough charge for commuting in a shorter time than the more expensive ones (Bosch and the control gear seem to be some of the best but batteries are £300!). You may find that the replacement batteries for cheaper electrical gear are also as expensive come replacement time.
They will all be heavier than none powered bikes, the cheaper ones will leave you with a 40kg bike to pedal when the battery expires.

Canal paths and the like - If there are no hills involved, does it really make sense to go electric? Just pedal. Surely not that hard for even the least fit.

Not that I really see the point in them anyway generally, even where hills are involved. Only exception is if you could add a motor to a full DH rig and have your own uplift 😀

That isn't a particularly good quality bike- we saw a lot of that sort of thing when I worked in a bike shop and the bike part doesn't stand up to any abuse, let alone the electrics. Giant do one for about £1000 that may be on sale- that's the cheapest I would consider.

That bike is a little cheap and cheerful.

Check out the mid-drive ones like Kalkhoff if you want something that will last.