For anyone with small kids - https://www.revvi.co.uk
I keep umming and arrring over these!
I like the look of the Sterling Babymaker Pro that I see on indiegoo which looks and sounds good at £1000 and doesn’t look like an ebike. I also like the S3 which does look different but good specs at a much higher cost.
Luckily there is a Van Moof store in Berlin and so will go and check them out once the lockdown eases.
I also have a Boardman Hybrid and I now have the conversion kits to think about!
Thanks
For anyone with small kids - https://www.revvi.co.uk
That’s interesting as I thought that they hadn’t been released yet...can you point me in the right direction Scott?
Cowboy looked good but I don’t like how they look
I have to say my top two choices are now the Van Moof and the Ampler Curt. So it’s style vs classic looks.
Let me know how you get on with the S3
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Well reviews is probably a misnomer, but an example:
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/04/meet...llion-dollars/
It's just a matter of time...
I’ve been looking at an ebike to help my recovery of a torn Achilles. I used to ride a road bike but fancy a mtb to ride along with my young family. I know it is probably overkill for trail and canal path rides but Haibike do a full sus bike (fullseven 1.0) for just over £2k which could be bought through the cycle to work scheme. Has anyone had experience of this bike or is it better to go for a hard tail in this price bracket?
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I think the effort required varies across the motor brands, and even which generation of motor is in your bike.
I find my Shimano E8000 motor not that difficult to pedal above the cut off, well not much more difficult than any 40lb+ mountain bike on knobbly tyres is.
My home brew TSDZ2 motor is different again, as the cut off appears softer, but it’s also on a lighter base bike.
I test rode a Fazua equipped electric road bike before the lock down (a Focus Paralane2) and I loved the cut off on that, where the motor completely disengages and then you’ve got no drag at all. You can also remove the battery and motor completely turning your bike into an analogue one. They’re a bit less powerful than the Bosch and Shimano etc systems, but still plenty for what most people need.
If I was buying another e-Mtb tomorrow, I’d be looking for a Fazua equipped one I think, although they’re quite rare. Either that or the Specialized Levo SL, I’m starting to favour the lower weight rather than the out and out grunt. Mind you, the ‘full fat’ e-Mtbs are still great when you’re looking at a few hundred metres of draggy muddy off road climbing to get to the down hill bits.
Haibike were one of the pioneers of e-Mtbs and they’re well regarded, and you probably wouldn’t go far wrong with one.
For trail and canal path riding, a hybrid like the Boardman offerings might be better though?
One thing I’ve noticed after over 30 years of mountain biking is that e-Mtbs are quite service heavy, Ive had to turn the spanners more on the full sus e-Mtb in the 6 months I’ve owned it than any other bike. I’d say if you see your riding developing beyond the towpath, then you might get more out of the full sus Haibike, and buying the cheapest bike you like and replacing the components as they wear out isn’t a bad way to go.
Chain reaction cycles often have offers on their Vitus offerings, which come in around £2k.
One other thing to consider, e-bikes do go wrong, the charger on mine went and sourcing a replacement outside of the dealer network was complicated, so I did rely on the local shop I purchased it from sorting me out. I’d say with an e-bike and their propensity to have failures with motors and batteries when ridden off road in water and muck would have me feeling happier knowing I could take it back to the local bike shop rather than having to package it up and send it somewhere to be looked at.
Another reason the DIY route is attractive for me, it uses easily sourced and replaceable components.
Thanks, that’s really good info to look into..
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Done it: I've bought my self an electric bike. An electric version of the Koga World Traveller. Koga is a Dutch high-end brand. My model is a standard e-bike from Koga, but they also offer a bespoke line. You name it. they will build it for you. I can collect the bike next Wednesday. The guys at the shop are up to their ears in the work. Due to the Covid situation, they've sold more bikes than ever. In fact, they've already (week 21) hit the 2019 total sales figure!
About the bike: its frame is built-to-last. When you give it a try, you'll notice that the frame and bracket are super-stiff. This bike has not damping in the fork or seat pin. It's like a racer. Luckily, the shop has a very modern fitting kit, including a 'which saddle works best with your bum' test. Always a good thing. Price-wise, the bike is simply expensive. I can deny that. But, insurable for 3 yrs against theft and accidents, so no worries about that.
This Covid thing made me rethink 'certain certainties', so to speak. I had driven my BMW 118i for only 100 kms in 9 weeks. And only because I thought "it would be good to use the BMW for once!" That car costs me -insurance and tax- more than 100 euros/month. All other costs not taken into account.
Since mid-March, I've done hundreds of kms on my bike. I lost weight and I feel better than I've felt in a long time. With the gyms closed, cycling and walking are a very welcome exercise now! On top of that: I managed to sell the car for only 500 euros less than the original purchase price last year. And yes, we still have my wife's company car. I'm not without wheels. That convinced me to buy a very well-built electric bike.
This picture is from the Koga site. I will post some pics when I've picked up the bike next Wednesdaay
The bike comes with a Bosch Performance CX 70 Nm motor and a 500 Wh battery. A Rohloff hub + Gates belt drive were also an option, only that would add 1150 euro...
(Check this blog for info about the Koga World Traveller: https://www.cyclingabout.com/new-bik...-touring-bike/ )
Last edited by thieuster; 22nd May 2020 at 13:38.
I toyed with the idea of one of these but at 60 mph it’s motorbike territory.....
https://www.onyxmotorbikes.com/
Get one of these
https://m.made-in-china.com/product/...744461172.html
Dutch (motorway) law differentiates 2 sorts of e-bikes. The one I've shown and the faster, so-called 'speed-pedalec' bike. The first one has cut-off switch when you reach speeds higher than 28 km/hr. You can go faster, but then you are 'on your own': the motor doesn't support your efforts any longer. The speed-pedalec has a top speed of 45 km/hr, some even have an 800 or even a 900 Wh battery! One needs to wear a helmet (not mandatory on normal and e-bikes!) and there's a license plate on the back to make sure that you're properly insured. Normal e-bikes have the engine in the middle, most speed-pedalecs have the engine mounted onto the hub of the rear wheel.
I was in northern Germany in the summer of 2018 and you can spot those speed-pedalecs everywhere along the East Sea coast! Personally, when trying to buy a speed pedalec, I would opt for a German brand. Stromer and Klever and Riese & Müller are brands I spotted regularly there. Mind you, they are expensive!
(Small sidestep: never, never buy an e-bike with the engine mounted onto/into the front wheel's hub! Trying to corner a front-wheel drive e-bike often results in accidents: falls. Dutch A&E nurses and practitioners can tell you hair-raising stories about e-bikes with front driven wheels).
I’ve not heard of Koga before but the Pace BX is a nice looking bike. It looks like it would take a beating.
https://www.koga.com/en/bikes/e-bike...bx.htm?frame=H
Very simple: Koga only makes first class bikes. No exception. Look up: Alee Denham, who's currently cycling from Argentina to Alaska on his Koga.
Kogas come at a price. They are also the 'inventors' and builders of the TeamNL Olympic track cycling bikes. Ko-Ga is an abbreviation of the original builders' names: mrs Kowalik and her husband Gaastra, living in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. The also own another brand, even more expensive: Idworx. Bikes (price-wise) in the small-car-territory. Despite its higher price, Koga has nearly sold out all its 2020 bike. Every Koga is hand-built by one technician. Like Aston Martins, the signature of the technician is proudly attached to the bike. Certain models and sizes are so popular that you have to wait 4-6 weeks before the bike you've ordered is built and delivered!
It's my first Koga. It's an aluminium frame and it feels very stiff, transferring a pedal movement into speed. It feels as if the energy from the legs is not absorbed by the flexibility of the frame. I was handed a test bike for a day and you could feel the difference of transferring the power to the road compared with other bikes. Even compared with my current (non electric) bike: a Rih. Another Dutch niche brand.
They look like very nicely built bikes, but... They seem to be doing the same as a lot of other ‘high end’ city bike companies such as Riese & Müller et al, which is taking a nice frame set, undoubtedly manufactured to their design in Taiwan (no bad thing), selecting from the usual pool of off the shelf components, assembling it properly and marketing it even better.
Signatures on bikes? Rocky Mountain were doing that 20 years ago, but it’s nice to see companies that appear to care and are passionate about what they do.
I purchased the annual print edition of e-Mountainbike a couple of weeks ago, there’s a few articles on ‘city SUV bikes’ and the new breed of step through electric bikes aimed at commuters and the family leisure market. The prices are somewhat eye watering, £9900 for a bike sporting off the shelf components. Kettler, Moustache, Nicolai, the aforementioned R&M, they’re all making bikes in the same way.
That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, and the more people out there cycling the better as far as I’m concerned.
Your Koga will likely last for a long time, and a rigid bike will always put the power down efficiently, it’s how bikes were made before we started putting squishy bits on each end! I’m sure it will bring you a lot of pleasure.
I’m a bicycle nut, been doing it since not long after learning to walk, and after a bit of a sabbatical have found renewed enthusiasm for electric bicycles. I’ve converted one bike, and purchased an off the shelf one, both mountain bikes. The home made one has proven to be far more reliable over the last year. I’ve had far more trouble from the factory built one, to the point where I’m not sure what will happen to it when the motor, battery or battery management system goes pop out of warranty.
The motors, batteries, chargers and battery management systems are still the weak points in e-bikes, which is unfortunate given that’s there reason for being. Watch for water ingress on the Bosch motor, although to be fair it looks quite well encased in that Koga motor housing.
It’s hard to see where even some of the mainstream manufacturers like Spesh and Giant are getting their prices from. Take a £4K full susser, add a few grands worth of motor and battery and RRP of some models is near £10K. Motorbikes are cheaper!
Converting your own bike is a good idea. Santos, like Idworx, offers an add-on electric motorization. The Pendix e-drive in the middle of the bike is rather well-known (it has been mentioned on the forum). New is the Alber Neodrive, a rear-wheel conversion, complete with gears. There are cheaper options. These two are the ones my bike shop sells.
https://www.neodrives.com/en/
https://pendix.com
My other half looked at R&M but she is too short for any that interested her. She ended up with a Bergamont, which is excellent quality, but she doesn't ride it enough as she likes her Rohloff hubbed Thorn, and is fit as * for a 60 year old so doesn't need the assistance really. She only bought it because I got an eBike, a Moulton and was suddenly cranking up the hils faster than I had previously been. The fasteners on the Moulton have gone rusty despite being kept indoors. The Bergamont is pristine. The Moulton was only £500 less than the Bergamont. Both have 8 speed hubs. Derailleur being the work of the devil. The only things she has changed has been the saddle and the pedals. Selle(?) and DMR v12s respectively.
I collected the bike and took it for a 40 km spin through the King's back garden. The Royal Palace' woodlands are open for cycling and walking between April and September. All on dirt roads. Since it's the driest Spring ever overhere, the dirt roads are more like 'dust roads'. I took the pic at the halfway point, near an old hunting lodge in the forest.
The power of the battery and motor is unbelievable! And, indeed for safety reasons, the power cuts off when you hit 28 km/hr. I love it.
Something I found out: Bosch' motors make more noise than Shimano's.
Two 'upgrades' on the bike: a small mirror. It may look as if I'm an old geezer when I need a mirror on my bike, but it is really very useful! Second: the saddle. My bikeshop offers a 'fitting': you need to sit down on a pressure plate and the computer analyzes the distance between the ischial bones (the correct word? Needed to look that up) and comes up with a saddle suggestion. In my case: a German made Terry saddle. When buying a bike, the pressure plate analyses and the saddle(!) is FoC.
It's really a lot better than the softer saddle on my previous bike! Added to that: when I'm not convinced or satisfied, I can bring it back and change it for another saddle without costs. For now, I'm happy with the current choice.
Last edited by thieuster; 27th May 2020 at 21:49.
De-restrict it, get a Badass, your world will get even better.
https://www.badassebikes.com/en/bada...4-bosch/a-147/
I am thinking of going down route of converting an MTB with a 1500w rear motor
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1500W-48V...UAAOSwcuNeFUmE
anyone done it guy an Youtube seems to be having a bit of fun with it !!!
https://youtu.be/YtF_16RA2Jo
Last edited by TKH; 29th May 2020 at 10:28.
It's not legal on anything but private land so limited in its use (unless you tax and insure it).
Last edited by SlipperySam; 29th May 2020 at 12:26.
That Koga is a thing of beauty. It's good to see a bike with mudguards and rack. It suggests it might be ridden in the rain with shopping attached, or perhaps even going cycle touring!
If Ebikes and Escooters are restricted to 15.5mph/25kph before RTR apply then so should all road users including horses, carriages, bikes, tricycles et al. Usain Bolt can run at 27mph/43.5kph so he should be fitted with a number plate, pay tax and insurance. Nanny state bollox.
They’re not restricted to 15.5mph, you can go as fast as you like one one. You just can’t have motor assistance above that speed, just like Mr Bolt
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Actually we have two. And your nanny state b***** was an opinion expressed on a forum with which I am free to disagree, especially as you stated it without apparently knowing what the limitations were, before reiterating it once it was explained to you.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Other much more dangerous things are on our roads with little or no licensing requirement. For example, 16 year olds can drive a tractor on the road. There are more. The Nanny state is inconsistent. One sensible rule change I can think of is the A2 Motorbike license the other is the Class Band B/C changes for trailers and 3500kg+ a few years ago.
Last edited by Harry Smith; 29th May 2020 at 18:11.
By all means feel free. You've been trolling this thread, promoting a device that make the bike illegal on the road without licence and insurance, and blaming the rules because you don't like them even though you did not understand them.
So I may be a smart-a but I called you out and you've shown your colours, which is good enough for me.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Not sure how I got here but I am now so...
Must admit that I thought e bikes were big heavy ugly things for lazy sods and now I just discovered the Bianchi Aria E Road. And I want one.
My self-justification for looking at them is that I'm not enjoying cycling when it involves battling against a headwind and when I see the last 8 miles of my ride are going to be into a 20 mph wind (which is often) I don't go. Might this actually make me cycle more and therefore have some health benefits...or am I just being a lazy sod?
I'm intrigued but it feels a bit like giving in.
ignore me, wrong thread.
On second edit, perhaps not. I agree with SJ, I see plenty of cyclists around here who lack basic bike skills simply due to a lack of experience. I cannot imagine them in control of an electric bike that is overpowered. Imagine not riding a bike since you were 15yo and going out and buying a bike capable of 30mph+ and marvelling at the freedom you felt as a kid; somebody is going to get hurt.
Last edited by mondie; 29th May 2020 at 21:24.
Going downhill yes, but they had to get up there first. I know, my village is at the top of a hill and electric bikes have meant that we cycled as a family last September around 150 miles, on top of the 20+ a day going to work and back for me, whether permitting, whereas we probably rode less than 20 the year before, despite a keen teenager (who doesn't need an electric bike, but enjoys riding Mum's when it's available).
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I will. My wife says the band of weather conditions in which I'll go out is tiny, and it is. Where I live, the prevailing wind means that whichever route I take, I face a steady uphill slog for at least 6 miles at the end into wind. It sometimes stops me doing the 20 miles before that. That's what I was hoping to overcome.