UKC

I'm thinking of buying the other half an electric bike and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or views? The model I had my eyes on was the carerra crossfire-e.

I've no experience with e bikes so any views gratefully received.

Thanks

In reply to Steve27:

You can probably do better for the money

possibly the best womens electric bike on the market ( i bought one for my wife a few years ago its amazing.)

http://www.cytronex.com/bikes/quick_5_feminine.html

is £1400 not so much more than the "cheeper" heavy halfords bike.

go and test ride both and make your mind up.

In reply to james wardle:

Thanks for the tip, I'd looked at a few but I'd missed that one - I'll take a look

In reply to Steve27:
From my experience they are a realy good compromise for general cycling and commuting. They look to have some good deals at bikehaus in Gatley near Stockport and they've started selling on "that website" recently.

In reply to Steve27:

on thing to remember about any electric bike is they don't really like being off road. All Hub motors don't like being bumped about too much. so if you are thinking of more of road than gravel paths. then an electric bike probably is not the right choice even if it looks like a mountain bike.

In reply to Co1in H:

"That website"?

In reply to james wardle:

That's fine, it'll be used daily as a commuter on road and paved cycle paths

In reply to james wardle:

Except.

http://www.stealthelectricbikes.com/stealth-b-52-bomber/

There's a few fat bikes with motors about these days.

D

In reply to james wardle:


Have to disagree. Simply not true as a blanket statement! Maybe hub motor ones (no experience of them) but certainly not all ebikes. You obviously have never taken a proper mountain ebike for a spin on the rough stuff. Far more capable that I could ever handle!

There are many electric mountain bikes makes and models that are fully designed to take the full off road experience.

In reply to Steve27:

There's an electric bike shop just down the road from one of our offices http://www.cyclingmadeeasy.co.uk/

I went in out of curiosity and it was quite an eye-opener - everything from full-sus Scotts to fat bikes, regular hard tails, hybrids and road bikes. They sell a lot of the mountain bikes to bike guides who use them for nipping backwards and forwards between the front and tail enders of groups and swear by them apparently

In reply to Steve27:

Not in the market for an e-bike at the moment, as my daily commute is longish but completely flat. If I were to move somewhere hilly I would probably go for a vivax in-frame drive unit fitted to a proper race bike. The electrical engine sits inside the frame and acts directly on the crank shaft:

http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/unternehmen/

CB

In reply to Steve27:

My wife has this one :

http://freegoelectricbikes.com/product/product&product_id=158

She uses it for a 4 mile each way commute and the battery is over half full when she gets back. It is 'assisted' rather than fully powered - so it effectively flattens out the commute.

The nice thing about it is it doesn't look like an 'e-bike'. Also because it is lightweight (almost half the weight of most) it rides like a normal bike even without the assist.

In reply to Removed UserAnOrange: How d'you charge it? Does the battery remove for charging or do you need a plug near where you store it?

In reply to Steve27:

a tip for an electric bike is, dont get one, just cycle its better for your health, your wallet, the environment .....
e bikes are cheating and lazy

In reply to Pesda potato:


Surely an electric cycle powered by sunlight from my roof is better for the environment than a manual cycle powered by the medium rare steak I had for tea the night before?

I suspect Solar PV > Battery > Bicycle is more efficient than the equivalent process of oil derived fertiliser + sunlight + fossil fuel powered irrigation > Food > fossil fuel powered distribution > fossil fuelled cooking > eating > muscles > bicycle...

Heck, even a modern efficient car with 6 adults in it is more energy efficient than 6 adults walking, and drivers greater efficiency - per person mile - at 15x the speed.

In reply to Pesda potato: meanwhile back in the real world e-bikes are great for commuting. It reduced it from being a drag and inconvenient to easy and convenient.

Tons are sold locally to me, I dont think any rate especially good or bad - Focus?

In reply to Pesda potato:

>

E-bikes are good for people who want to get into cycling. They can start off using the assist a lot, and progressively use it less and less, and then finally sell it and trade up to a proper manual bike.

They are also excellent for the elderly, particularly those who perhaps want to give up their car. My Grandad used to have an early power-assist on his ageing sit-up-and-beg, and it did wonders for his independence once his knees were no longer up to pedalling a regular bike.

And more generally...in the end they are less lazy than going by car, because you'll pedal at least some of the time!

In reply to Pesda potato:
What a sweeping statement - you must be healthy, young, fit and active to make such comments. I have worked for many years with others less fortunate. Did you consider the reasons why some people buy ebikes before you posted? Like mobility issues, disability, general health and old age, or even just to make their life easier?

I hope you never have health problems, disability or other mobility issues like others less fortunate than yourself often do and still want to try and continue cycling. Those that do carry on are often trying to do so for a fuller and healthier life.

In reply to Steve27:

ebay

In reply to Pesda potato:

That's a bit harsh. My mum's partner, in his 60's and not the slightest bit interested in any form of exercise who lives in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales has just bought one. The legals of e-bikes now mean you can't engage the motor if you aren't peddling. He now regularly cycles 10 - 15 mile round trips to the shops for his paper or a pint of milk rather than jumping in the Land Rover. Despite the motor doing the bulk of the work, he still has to pedal. His health has improved and he has lost weight!

You might call it low impact cycling but I am well in favour if it gets couch-potatoes doing some form of exercise.

Similarly I would be wholly encouraging of commuters using e-bikes rather than filling my lungs with car emissions. Bring on the e-cycle revolution. It can only be a good thing for cycling as a whole.

In reply to Steve27:

Ebikes are also great for getting people out of their cars , improving their health, and improving the environment, both from pollutants and living space point of view.