E-Bikes
This has probably been done before but can't find a thread, I'm interested in buying an E-Bike, the £1000 carrera hybrid from halfords, any pro's & con's will be appreciated.
Comments
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Weight. To lift onto a rack, etc; and to pedal on your own once the battery goes flat because it was further than you thought!
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We are on our 3rd set of Ebikes over a 12 year period. They have developed into really good bikes, there are many types out there and at very differing prices.
We have 2 types on the go at the moment 20" folding fairly cheap bikes circa £500 each. They have twist throttles and have a range of about 30 miles if used on low power and flat ground.
Last October we bought new full sized bikes that have a much greater range 100+ miles at the economy speed and flat ground.
Haven't any knowledge of the bikes in question however as a user of 12 years I would take your time in choosing them and being quite sure of how much use you will get from them and what kind of use do you intend. Is it to be just for fun about 10 miles at a time or are you thinking serious distance 30+ miles. If the latter then you need to be sure that the batteries are up to the job. These bikes are heavy and when the battery goes flat not all of them are easy to peddle. Our new ones are but the folders are not.
If you ever go off grid while camping how are you going to charge the batteries if they don't have a good life in them, this was one of the reasons that we changed to the current bikes.
Ebikes can be heavy I suggest that you don't take the shops word for how heavy they are and weigh them yourself. We did and they are about 1 kg heavier each than the information said 21 kg to be precise. How do you intend to carry these bikes is another thought, we are just in the process of changing back to a caravan and this was our main concern.
Lots to think about, they are though great fun to have and a brilliant aid to anyone who is struggling with an ordinary bike.
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If you have previously cycled with full sized bikes then they could be a good option. They are heavy (not much difference from most e-bikes) so probably a two man job if you have to lift them anywhere. My disappointment with electric bikes (we have two folding Pro Riders) is that even using the highest gear does not provide much resistance when peddling!!! Therefore my advice would be to go for a modle with a good range of gears. As TG says best to have a look round at whats available.
David
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The Carrera Crossfire-E is the bike I'm thinking of, The weight dosent bother me as I consider myself relatively fit even of the battery runs out, I will be using it for fun mainly with a distance of 20 miles round trip to start off and take it from there.
When in the caravan I'll mainly have electric to recharge so will be fine there, Ive read around 30 reviews on this bike and only 3 are negative, its a big expense and hope to get a good 5 yrs out of it if not more, where I live its very hilly and I'm not getting any younger so when I go rot a bike ride I can do the first 10-15 miles with the legs then maybe use the battery for the last few miles, obviously the mileage will increase in time.
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The bike in question is one featuring a rear hub motor drive, thus the wheel torque this motor can develop is limited to just that value. Located as such it can't take advantage of the 8 speed gearing, so is inherently not ideal for very hilly areas. The extra torque above the motors, needed to climb the hills comes from the rider, via the gears. The probability is that the bike design is optimised for flattish terrain and for that it could be well suited.
Other bike designs feature a crank drive motor, the torque from this can be multiplied by whtever gearing is between this and the rear wheel.
That crank drive, with the benefit of gearing to increase the climbing torque to the rear wheel make such bikes far more suitable for use in hilly areas.
With electric bikes my advice is don't jump to buy your first ride model, initially all are likely to impress. Try a few others and importantly in the role you intend to use it. They are far from equal, often being designed for rather different types of usage.
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