My sister is recovering from major spine surgery and wants to get an ebike. Needs to be lightweight so she can lift it onto a rack/into a car and with an upright riding position. Those are the most important criteria but ability for very light off road and a decent bit of grunt if she gets fatigued would be useful. An obvious choice is the Spesh Vado SL but maybe not enough power? I don't know much about the lower power ebike motors in terms of ride characteristics or reliability, warranty etc so any pointers or suggestions appreciated
Might be better with a bike with add on kit like the tongsheng mid drive? This can make for a light bike overall. My kitted bike was well under 20 kg IIRC
the tongsheng IME / IMO makes for an ebike experience that is 90+% as good as a built bike with a BB motor and is much cheaper and it means you can have almost any bike
Isla bikes do an e-bike, might be worth a look? I rode a customers, they use a Mahle motor, not sure if that’s the same as the Spesh ones?
My Mum has mobility issues and Specialized modified a Creo for her to have more upright riding position
(before seat post was cut). She isn’t the biggest or strongest and can lift it onto a rack on the back of the car. It’s the same frame as their gravel version - can fit some bigger tyres when needed. Worth chatting with them as they were super helpful.
None of the e-bikes are truly lightweight vs a normal bike I don’t think. Just lifting a 34lb enduro bike onto the roof of a car is fairly hard work - if she’s had major spine surgery this might be a problem.
Could you get a towball rack instead - would make life a lot easier getting the bike on the car for her?
Yeah no way my Mum could lift her bike onto the roof. She can get it onto a boot mounted rack on a Fiesta or the tow ball mounted rack on their campervan.
I meant a towball rack, she won't be lifting a bike over her head anytime soon!
That Creo is a good shout ahsat, she's a roadie at heart so something she might be able to convert back to drops sometime in future might well interest her
Given lightweight, Isla is a great shout - see ejimi, allegedly 13.8kg. Motor not the same as spec, its a hub motor and no suspension, motor rated at 40nm. Haven’t seen any warranty or repairability info, when I was looking at one for the missus.
https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/bike-test-islabikes-ejimi
Issue will be grunt, but the harsh reality is if you want light grunt go orbea rise m Ltd
Pros - real mtb, 60nm so nearly full power, 16.9kg(*figures vary)
Cons - non rebuildable motor, varying motor warranty support, 7 grand if you’re lucky. 1k for a new motor out of warranty.
Anything (*to the best of my knowledge), with more grunt than the rise will be a few kg heavier.
I’d establish maximum weight and take it from there.
I remember looking at racks that allowed you to fit the bike on the rack, then the rack itself would do the lifting. Think I saw a towbar mounted version and a roof version. I was looking at options for our tandem mind you, but I wonder if something like that might be worth considering as well?
That Creo is a good shout ahsat, she’s a roadie at heart so something she might be able to convert back to drops sometime in future might well interest her
I’ve had a go on it (it’s too small for me!) and it feels like a road bike and my Mum rides it at a woman’s road club, and has done a few km centuries on it! My Dad has the dropped bar version. Both of them in their mid 60s with health issues and they drop me on the climbs. No doubt, if your sisters mobility allowed, it could be converted back to a standard road spec having invested in a decent carbon frameset to start with.
The other reason she went for this, on our suggestion, is it being geared in the BB. A number of road options have the motor in the rear hub which would have been a nightmare for my Mum to deal with if she got a rear flat. Also makes the back of the bike feel very heavy to lift (my 79 year old neighbour has a battle with his), but Mums is more balanced when needing to carry it.
Not a bike recommendation but may be helpful.
There are a few manufacturers that make rear mounted racks that have a ramp so you can just wheel the bike up onto the rack using the walk function.
Atera being one of them.
Other bit to add is that we’ve been impressed by the support from Specialized. They haven’t had issues with the motors, and they ride year round (except in the worse of the rain and cold), but have taken it in for software upgrades etc - and importantly have treated my Mum as a cyclist (not a 60+ year old woman who doesn’t know what she’s on about!).
An obvious choice is the Spesh Vado SL but maybe not enough power?
The motor has more than enough power, I've the same one in my Kenevo SL.
You ought to also look at the towbar racks where they have a ramp so she can wheel the bike on.
Define very light off road? For a slightly leftfield but upright solution, how about a Brompton? Fold up into the car instead of needing a rack. Remove the battery to make lifting easier. The p version is lighter but spendy with titanium parts. She’ll get most of her money back if she ever sells it.
“For a slightly leftfield but upright solution, how about a Brompton?”
Having ridden my Brompton off-road a few times I really can’t recommend that - unless the off-road is tarmaced cycle paths!
The Islabike ones look good.
I’ve got a Moustache Samedi ebike which is a hybrid - Adjustable stem and swept bars can give a very upright position. Bought it as an ex-demo with 30 miles on the clock for £2k which for a Bosch motor, Deore drivetrain and hydro brakes is great value. Like all e-bikes it ain’t lightweight
I got my wife an Orbea Vibe. It's a hub gear and limited to 45mm tyres, but is light for an e-bike and looks like a 'normal bike'. Short in the TT, so upright. The Gain is the drop bar version.