Fast commuter ebike - opinions please - see mod note post #25

Ferris

Hi Folks,



I am interested in getting an e-bike for a 50km daily commute (around the bay in Dublin). I have been completing the commute on a roadbike for a couple of months now and this is the scenario I find myself in.

- It takes too long (65min)

- I find myself getting jaded in day 2-3 of the week, I have changed diet / supplements etc. to mitigate this with limited success.

- I am getting shoulder pain on the drops so I want to get flat bars but this will reduce speed

- I hate headwinds

I have the CTW scheme available and I am supposing on what ebike would be suitable and so far have been attracted by the following bikes. I want a racy clean frame and have no need for suspension forks:



Giant Quick-e+ (€2.5k):

Pro’s

Nice build.

Relatively light / fast bike

400wh battery.

Mudguards+lights.

Nice integration of the battery and motor.

Con’s

Reviews saying that the Yamaha PW motor isn’t snappy enough.



Lapierre Overvolt Shaper 400 (€2.5k)(no reviews available):

Pro’s

Nice build but less integrated than the Giant

Relatively light / fast bike

400wh battery.

Bosch performance line motor supposed to be superior to Yamaha PW

Cons:

No mudguards+lights.



Raleigh Strada XL (E) (2.6k):

Pro’s

Sharp looking bike, very clean build

Relatively light / fast bike

400wh battery.

Integrated shimano steps motor with a Di2 internal gear hub – less maintenance and auto gears.

Cons:

No mudguards+lights.

A little more expensive



Does anyone have experience of the above bikes? All opinions are welcome apart from rule #5

ted1

Haibikes in Greenaer off Pearse street are worth looking at
http://www.greenaer.ie/fast-e-bikes/

Lumen

If your commute is flat and you average 25kph excluding stopping time then you're not going to save any time on a bike whose assistance stops at 25kph.

You may even go slower because it'll be heavier and less aero.

rubadub

Ferris wrote: »

I have the CTW scheme available

the law says the CTW scheme is for pedelecs with a max speed of 25km/h. There was some debate about this being the law for all pedelecs to be used on roads, I think it is an EU standard, but some said there was no listed limit in Irish law.

this relates to the scheme
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2008/act/25/enacted/en/print

‘ pedelec ’ means a bicycle or tricycle which is equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25 kilowatts, of which output is progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25 kilometres per hour, or sooner if the cyclist stops pedalling;

Ferris wrote: »

Lapierre Overvolt Shaper 400 (€2.5k)(no reviews available):

Pro’s

Nice build but less integrated than the Giant

Relatively light / fast bike

400wh battery.

Bosch performance line motor supposed to be superior to Yamaha PW

I think that bike has the less powerful bosch active motor

ford2600

Fairly sh1te forum for advice on electric bikes.

I'd send this OP in this thread a pm to see what he thinks. Or else try Uk/German forums etc
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84802550

cc

You wont really get there any faster with an ebike, it's more about less effort, after 25kph you do all the work yourself

Tenzor07

Go for one of these, the Porsche Specialized Turbo S

ted1

rubadub wrote: »

Ferris wrote: »

I have the CTW scheme available

the law says the CTW scheme is for pedelecs with a max speed of 25km/h. There was some debate about this being the law for all pedelecs to be used on roads, I think it is an EU standard, but some said there was no listed limit in Irish law.

this relates to the scheme
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2008/act/25/enacted/en/print

‘ pedelec ’ means a bicycle or tricycle which is equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of 0.25 kilowatts, of which output is progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25 kilometres per hour, or sooner if the cyclist stops pedalling;

Ferris wrote: »

Lapierre Overvolt Shaper 400 (€2.5k)(no reviews available):

Pro’s

Nice build but less integrated than the Giant

Relatively light / fast bike

400wh battery.

Bosch performance line motor supposed to be superior to Yamaha PW

I think that bike has the less powerful bosch active motor

I believe the 25kph limit was changed , someone linked it in a previous post

homer911

I have the 2016 model of the Lapierre Overvolt Shaper 400 (Its Black/blue as opposed to black/yellow). I got mine earlier this year in Cyclesuperstore and got it cheaper as it was old stock. They sold it with mudguards on.

If your commute is on flat ground and not broken up with lights, it really wont make any difference to your commute though (out of the box). My commute (10k each way) is stop/start and uphill so it gives me a big boost - being unfit and overweight I would not have considered a cycling commute without it.

homer911

Have you looked at Easy Motion?
https://easymotion.ie/collections/long-range-electric-bikes

TooObvious

I don't know a lot about e-bikes, but i do know washing machines, and my 12 year old Bosch has yet to break down!

Ferris

Whopper response folks, thanks.

I am not adverse to delimiting an e-bike at all, the rationale is to maintain 25km without having to kill myself twice a day, every day, that's where fatigue is defeating me currently. Also to get that speed on fatter tyres and on straight bars and a more relaxed geometry would help (I guess) the shoulder issue.

Ref. other options, https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=113227 says that the Shaper has the performance line motor. Haibikes look great but at the current pricepoint they have the same motor as the giant and are heavier with suspension forks. I like the turbo S obviously but 7k??

My commute has hills either end, most significantly Howth hill so it'll need to have a kick.

Ferris

Going to try out the Giant in the next couple of days.

Alek

My wife has Cube Hybrid Pro with the Performance CX motor and tends to pull a trailer with 2 kids up the mountains sometimes.

Let me put it this way: if you do not see yourself hauling cargo up the Sally Gap, Active line motor will me more than enough, and quieter.

homer911

Ferris wrote: »

Whopper response folks, thanks.

I am not adverse to delimiting an e-bike at all, the rationale is to maintain 25km without having to kill myself twice a day, every day, that's where fatigue is defeating me currently. Also to get that speed on fatter tyres and on straight bars and a more relaxed geometry would help (I guess) the shoulder issue.

Ref. other options, https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=113227 says that the Shaper has the performance line motor. Haibikes look great but at the current pricepoint they have the same motor as the giant and are heavier with suspension forks. I like the turbo S obviously but 7k??

My commute has hills either end, most significantly Howth hill so it'll need to have a kick.

Cyclesuperstore has a small test track - they will let you try out bikes, but not on the road

Ferris

Thanks, I'll give them a call.

rubadub

Ferris wrote: »

Ref. other options, https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=113227 says that the Shaper has the performance line motor.

ah right, that is the 2018 model, I had not seen that with the performance. CRC have the 2017 model listed and photographed with the active motor.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lapierre-overvolt-shaper-400-e-bike-2017/rp-prod148754

I am not sure how long the motors are meant to last, but you can select different power assist levels. I liked the idea of having a powerful motor and maybe going about in the second highest power, to possibly extend the life of it. Not sure if it would.

Tenzor07

Yamaha are bringing out some eBikes too...hopefully just road bikes! :eek:

http://www.yamahabicycles.com/

peasant

The main problem with your current choices is battery size...a 400 Wh battery will not get you there and back on one charge. Not if you're in a hurry and upping the assistance and especially not if you're thinking about delimiting it and cruising over 25 km/h for longer periods.

My bike has a 374 Wh battery (36V/10.4 Ah)...what Bosch would call a 400 Wh.
I don't have a Bosch motor but a Tongsheng TSDZ2 (assistance is comparable to a Bosch Active though).

I ride 7.5 km over hilly terrain one way and change assist levels between none and full all during the trip depending on incline/decline. I currently get 4 trips out of the battery which is more or less exactly 60 km. My average speed currently is just under 26 km/h. When I recharge the battery there may be a few more kms left on flat terrain...but not another whole trip to work at my profile.
The lower the battery gets, the more the higher assist levels put it under strain.

In Germany you could buy what they call a speed-pedelec (assist to 45 kmh), but they need insurance (cheap there at about 40 quid), mirrors and permanent lights and you need to wear a helmet and are not allowed on cycle paths...dunno what the situation is here.



In your situation you will need at least a 500Wh battery and a little less urgency or maybe spend 6k on a Riese and Muller Delite with two batteries
https://www.r-m.de/en-us/e-bike/delite/

EDIT:
The two battery suggestion was based on me (wrongly?) assuming that your commute is 50 km each way/ 100 km total.
But even if the total is "only" 50 km...you should still go for the bigger battery to allow for the odd longer trip/ cold weather/ full-assist bad mood kind of day

rubadub

^^good point, I missed the length of the commute. The bosch charger is quite light for the size of it, so bringing it to work & home again might be an option. Depending on your work you might want to remove the battery to bring it safely inside anyway. The cost of charging them is minimal, in case work thing you are doing it just to freeload on their electricity.

Says 600g or 800g, an that includes the "figure 8" plug which can be detached.

https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/charger/

Ferris

Good point about battery capacity. The commute is 25km each way. All 3 bikes quote a 85km range on mid-assist but that's makers claims obviously. Charging in work wouldn't be an issue, prob best to get a spare charger for work.

peasant

There are two ways to get high speed out of an e-bike:

-Or get a really light bike so that the unassisted pedaling doesn't get too hard

My bike for example is a real heavyweight (26 kg apparently) and once the motor cuts off it's like cycling into pudding on anything but a downhill stretch.

But up to assistance cut-off you'll get a decent turn of speed while still getting a workout. Hills are the real revelation...you still have to put in a good bit of work...but you will be moving like you never thought possible.

Get enough battery capacity so you don't have to feel guilty about using high assist and it really can be a lot of fun.
You can even take a "break" while still doing 24.9 km/h: Have it on full power and just pedal lightly just under the limit ...should take the sting out of some of the boring/windy stretches of your commute.

Bigus

What about a speed 45 from cyclesuperstore, 500 w ah and about 4 k €, ? 45 Kmh top speed .

However due to the political sh going on up the north , it seems all pedelecs are illegal until a new assembly passes some emergency legislation , hence chain reaction are selling ebikes in a fire sale at the mo , my personal choice would be a lapierre 400 @ €1609 rrp in the south € 2400, I bought one favourable price , it's great.
@ 1609'you could try it for a while and sell it on secondhand for profit if it wasn't up to speed .
Bosch motor , Bosch battery

Ferris

Great point about the fire sale in the north. Also ctw scheme includes chainreaction. What do you think of this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ghost-andasol-cross-2-e-bike-2017/rp-prod148463
Are ghost a good build, it has the Bosch performance motor but only a 400wh battery. Has forks which I don't need but says it's under 20kg which is comparable in weight

magicbastarder

all, just a reminder about the terms of use of boards.ie - no discussion on encouraging or facilitating anything illegal. so no talk about 'chipping' bikes in ways which would allow you to violate the law on them.

i've edited a few posts which mention this.
happy to take clarification on what the upper limit in ireland is, if such info is reliable.

We expect you to act responsibly in posting Material on Boards.ie. You agree, through use of this service, NOT to use boards.ie to:
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post Material that promotes or encourages illegal activity facilitate or encourage any violation of these Terms of Use

Feckofff

magicbastarder wrote: »

all, just a reminder about the terms of use of boards.ie - no discussion on encouraging or facilitating anything illegal. so no talk about 'chipping' bikes in ways which would allow you to violate the law on them.

i've edited a few posts which mention this.
happy to take clarification on what the upper limit in ireland is, if such info is reliable.

There is nothing illegal about "chipping" an ebike. It's like having a car that can exceed the speed limit. The responsibility is with the operator.

magicbastarder

from what i understand, it's considered a moped if it exceeds the specs of the law; so yes, you *could* argue that it's legal to do, as long as the owner never uses it on a public road again as a bicycle, which would render the argument slightly jesuitical.

Beasty

Feckofff wrote: »

There is nothing illegal about "chipping" an ebike. It's like having a car that can exceed the speed limit. The responsibility is with the operator.

You are discussing altering a bike in a way that would make it illegal on the road in the context of riding that bike on the road. As mb has said that violates the terms of use for this site. If you (or anyone else) wishes to discuss the mod instruction above or this response take it to PM. Do not continue this aspect of the "discussion" here.

Thanks

homer911

magicbastarder wrote: »

from what i understand, it's considered a moped if it exceeds the specs of the law; so yes, you *could* argue that it's legal to do, as long as the owner never uses it on a public road again as a bicycle, which would render the argument slightly jesuitical.

No problem. In the same vein it would be ridiculous to suggest that a moped owner doesn't need tax and insurance if he promises to never exceed 25Kph on a public road

Feckofff

Beasty wrote: »

You are discussing altering a bike in a way that would make it illegal on the road in the context of riding that bike on the road. As mb has said that violates the terms of use for this site. If you (or anyone else) wishes to discuss the mod instruction above or this response take it to PM. Do not continue this aspect of the "discussion" here.

Thanks

Are you giving legal advice? Stating that something is illegal with out any supporting evidence certainly sounds like legal advise/opinion to me.

peasant

As an aside...
Would anyone have any idea what it would entail in terms of insurance cost and motor tax cost to properly register a speed pedelec in this country?

Tenzor07

peasant wrote: »

As an aside...
Would anyone have any idea what it would entail in terms of insurance cost and motor tax cost to properly register a speed pedelec in this country?

I have never once seen an ebike with a licence plate or a tax disc apart from in Switzerland...

rubadub

Feckofff wrote: »

There is nothing illegal about "chipping" an ebike. It's like having a car that can exceed the speed limit. The responsibility is with the operator.

The OP was also talking about the cycle to work scheme, it would be illegal to buy a chipped bike on that scheme under the current law (which I posted earlier). I am not sure about the legality of delimiting of an ebike that does pass their rules, or any other. Also I am not sure if it just worries about speed, or if power is also an issue.

Someone said the law had changed, but nobody has linked to any (other than my own link early on). But I think they were referring to the law on speed rather than the current cycle to work scheme law. I am not sure if the law has changed in relation to speed or if any law existed in the first place, the claims I saw were that there were no laws in place at all for speed on pedelecs. If this is true then chipping a pedelec (which requires to be pedaled) could well be legal (might need a power limit), but to me would seem an unlikely oversight.

I see on carol nash's site
https://www.carolenash.com/news/1512-what-is-a-scooter-moped-or-motorcycle

a moped is legally defined as any low-powered motorcycle with an engine capacity no greater than 50cc, and a max speed of 28mph. They can legally be ridden on the road with L-plates once you have passed CBT training, rather than needing a full motorcycle license.

you mentioned a car being legal even if it can go beyond the limit, but this would suggest some vehicles do have upper limits. Of course they might be wrong about the law, I would rather see links to www.irishstatutebook.ie -searching it "pedelec" only appears in relation to the cycle to work scheme.

The alleged 25km/h limit is quite low, even in the US it is higher. Seems to me it might have been based on the upper limit of bikes at the time of introducing the law, rather than what is really a reasonable limit. I was saying in other threads this has backfired as people delimit and can get stupid speeds. While if the limit was more reasonable they would likely not have bothered and just lived with a reasonable limit, both since it is illegal but also since it is costly.

Earlier it was mentioned that going beyond 25km//h would drain the battery fast. I was not sure if this meant as it would always be powered, or if going faster than that is less efficient on the battery. i.e. if you cycled 50km at 25km/h is it going to use less battery than going the same 50km at 30km/h. I expect the motor would have a preferred speed and cadence. I think the bosch prefers to be going at relatively high cadence.

The bosch system rotates ~2.5times per rotation, so you have a smaller cog on the front than normal. It seems some bike designers have (stupidly) matched regular gearing, and have ignored the fact you have extra power. So a bike might have a 15tooth cog, equivalent to 37.5 front ring, which might match a unpowered bike but should be higher. This means in its hardest gear it is extremely easy to get to 25km/h, so you will easily get to that speed, then power cuts out and you get into a loop of easily getting to 26km/h, being difficult to maintain it on a heavy bike, and so lowering back down below 25, then power kicking in again. I wonder if this constant stopping & starting is healthy for a motor, and if the initial inertia would zap the battery even more.

The smaller cog size on the Bosch (and others) also means it is susceptible to "chain suck", especially as it has extra power. This is where the chain does not release itself off the front cog as it is experiencing huge forces and tends to stick to the teeth. If you had some odd gear setup meaning your front cog rotated 2.5 times per turn you would also want a small cog, but this coupled with the power of the motor is really high force "per tooth", and the chain. MTBers might see this due to mucky cogs. Some e bikes designers have had to have chain tensioner type devices fitted to stop the chain wrapping up upon itself (chain suck). Many would be solved by simply fitting a larger front cog to begin with, so the force is dispersed over more teeth, but also this is wise as the high power means you can go at a lower cadence at higher speeds. So even on a heavy mountain bike having a 50 or 52 front ring coupled with a 11T back ring is reasonable since you have added power, while ordinarily it would only be like that on a road bike.

A 45km/h lapiere was mentioned
https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=101614

this bike is equipped with a Bosch Performance 350W motor enabling you to get around at 45km/h without polluting. An approved helmet is needed.

I have seen 45km/h ones on sale on other sites, but I think CSS are more reputable and less likely to be selling something which is illegal to use on the road. They mention helmets which are obviously not legally required on bikes. So I wonder if this is a sneaky indirect hint that it is classed as a motorbike. It is not a MTB and is obviously intended for on road use. People criticized the shady sellers on adverts or donedeal etc who implied their bikes were road legal. I was asking if there is actually any legal obligation for people selling cars or motorbikes to inform buyers that they must have full tax. insurance, helmets etc before they can legally sell them.

peasant

rubadub wrote: »

Earlier it was mentioned that going beyond 25km//h would drain the battery fast. I was not sure if this meant as it would always be powered, or if going faster than that is less efficient on the battery.

Neither really.
In my experience you won't get to top speed (45) on the lowest assist level.
You either need to notch it up to turbo...or find yourself a nice downhill stretch.

At least that's the case on a non-aero heavy touring bike in a gentlemanly seating posture

CramCycle

Feckofff wrote: »

Are you giving legal advice? Stating that something is illegal with out any supporting evidence certainly sounds like legal advise/opinion to me.

MOD VOICE: As stated in the post, take it to PM if you have an issue. Do not respond in thread.

Ferris

Hi folks, thought I’d update this thread. I got my new bike on thurs and rode to work on Friday. In the end I went for a cube hybrid with a 500wh battery and a Bosch performance CX motor.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/cube-reaction-hybrid-hpa-pro-500-e-bike-2017/rp-prod157984

I am very pleased with it, the bike is beautifully put together. The brakes are very powerful and the gear setup works well. It’s a big bus compared to the road bike of course but, apart from the saddle, it’s very comfortable. I wasn’t counting on how solid and much safer it would feel in traffic too.

The motor and battery setup is great, totally intuitive. It matches your effort to 4 different levels; eco, tour, sport and turbo. The cutout at 25km/h is a pity, especially as the bike is clearly capable of much more. I was mostly in eco/tour with turbo for through howth village. You can get to 25kmh easy on the flat in eco. Then just use the gears as necessary. I only used 2/5ths of the battery over 56k.

Minor drawbacks? The charger lead has a 2 pin plug on it but it’s a standard a/c lead, similar to tv power cables. Also there are no mounting points on the frame for bottle cages etc. Also chain reaction were poor to deal with on the bike to work scheme, it too them a long time to ‘recieve’ the payment from my employer.

Overall very pleased. Thanks again for all the advice, especially rubadub, my eventual choice was based on your good advice.

loyatemu

IMO e-bikes are potentially a great solution for getting people who wouldn't otherwise consider cycling out of their cars and onto 2 wheels. The govt should consider increasing the BTW limit for them to encourage uptake; this probably wouldn't cost a huge amount.

rubadub

Ferris wrote: »

a cube hybrid with a 500wh battery and a Bosch performance CX motor.

strange they call it a hyrbid, looks like a MTB and even their description said it.

"Cube's Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500 E-Bike is a genuine mountain bike that..."

Ferris wrote: »

I wasn’t counting on how solid and much safer it would feel in traffic too.

I find this too, on windy days it is also very stable. I do not have to worry much about potholes or kerbs etc. I was behind a guy speeding along on a road bike the other day who was darting about like mad on a cycletrack dodging all these little "obstacles" which I just ignore.

Ferris wrote: »

I only used 2/5ths of the battery over 56

WIth my bosch the first bar takes a while before it disappears, but the last one goes pretty quick, i.e. it does not appear linear, so your first "2 bars" might actually get your a further distance than your last 3. You will get to know it yourself but just do not leave yourself stuck somewhere. I am pretty sure mine seems to show an extra bar sometimes, i.e. I get off and it is on 2, then after a few days I turn back on and it shows 3. I did this the other day but luckily I brought my charger with me, it was on 2 bars almost right after I left.

The spec on the cube says it has a 15tooth front cog, as mine had, and the cube has no additional protection about "chain suck" which I spoke about in a previous post. So I reckon you might eventually suffer the same. This is the cog I got 6 months about and have had no chain suck since

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FSA-Unisex-Replacement-Chainring-Systems/dp/B01N3PH7SC/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1510501301&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=bosch+e-bike+systems%2C+black%2C+size+20th

CramCycle

There are two of those Cube e bikes on my commute, not a hope they are only getting assistance to just 25kmph. One of them goes up the hill in Bray at north of 30kmph with no noticeable effort and I often see him coming upto Shankhill and I am tipping 35 and losing distance on him.

Ferris

rubadub wrote: »

WIth my bosch the first bar takes a while before it disappears, but the last one goes pretty quick, i.e. it does not appear linear, so your first "2 bars" might actually get your a further distance than your last 3. You will get to know it yourself but just do not leave yourself stuck somewhere. I am pretty sure mine seems to show an extra bar sometimes, i.e. I get off and it is on 2, then after a few days I turn back on and it shows 3. I did this the other day but luckily I brought my charger with me, it was on 2 bars almost right after I left.

The spec on the cube says it has a 15tooth front cog, as mine had, and the cube has no additional protection about "chain suck" which I spoke about in a previous post. So I reckon you might eventually suffer the same. This is the cog I got 6 months about and have had no chain suck since

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FSA-Unisex-Replacement-Chainring-Systems/dp/B01N3PH7SC/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1510501301&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=bosch+e-bike+systems%2C+black%2C+size+20th

Thanks for the advice about the linearity, or lack thereof, of the powermeter.

I have an 18T connex from cog on the way. Thought I might as well change it while the chain is new.

Ferris

CramCycle wrote: »

There are two of those Cube e bikes on my commute, not a hope they are only getting assistance to just 25kmph. One of them goes up the hill in Bray at north of 30kmph with no noticeable effort and I often see him coming upto Shankhill and I am tipping 35 and losing distance on him.

Obviously can’t speak to them but The assistance doesn’t seem to stop at 25km/h, it seems to level, therefore you can push them faster, although it’s like trying to push a barn door in a gale. I was at 35km/h Friday afternoon - with two road bikes drafting me.

Edit: Tested my assumption that there was assistance above 25kph this morning by turning off the assistance while above the limit - no difference - I was wrong, there is no assistance above 25kph.

rubadub

Ferris wrote: »

Thanks for the advice about the linearity, or lack thereof, of the powermeter.

That is my one, they could well have fixed the issue on your model, if they considered it an issue. Just watch out for it. I just drop to eco if I think there is a danger of running out, its a horrible hog of a thing to cycle with no power at all.

Connex are meant to be the best brand of cogs, just would have cost me a lot with postage. On amazon I bundled it with something else to get free postage.

I see they are on amazon now though, none when I got mine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connex-Bike-Pinion-20-Teeth-Silver/dp/B00NZ51MEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510511368&sr=8-1&keywords=connex+bosch

Ferris

What size did you go for? I guessed at 18T.

rubadub

Got the 20T, I wanted large to stop the chain suck, but also since I usually only used the higher gears on my other bikes. I am not going long distances.

With the 15T I was mainly on the smallest 3 cogs on the cassette. So it was a bit of a waste of the cassette and the smaller rings wore out quicker. I would actually go for a 22T next time. Connex only goes to 20T.

20T is equivalent to a 50T ring on a regular bike. This might sound a lot for a mountain bike but it seems like the guys designing the bikes forgot the fact that the bikes have motors! Also seems connex did not take it into account, on a lighter e-bike with thin tyres I expect people would want higher than 22T.

If the battery runs out I can still cycle fine with the 20T.

Though I did read that the bosch prefers to be going at a fairly high cadence for efficiency.

Ferris

Ah right, prob should’ve gone bigger than but I’ll try it out anyway. I’d imagine the small front cog is for low ratio for going up steep trails for people who actually go off-road.

rubadub

Actually looking at yours again I see it has 29" wheels, mine are 27.5", so you might be better off with the 18T. They were surprisingly cheap. I read of some people flipping them when worn out too. I also got a e-bike chain supposedly stronger to take the higher torque.

I changed my knobbly MTB tyres too which also made quite a difference, while freewheeling I can go for ages, lot of momentum with the weight behind it.

homer911

I cut the two pin plug off my charger and added a proper 3-pin

CramCycle

homer911 wrote: »

I cut the two pin plug off my charger and added a proper 3-pin

You do seem more grounded since you started using the electric bike.









I'll get my coat.

Ferris

rubadub wrote: »

I changed my knobbly MTB tyres too which also made quite a difference, while freewheeling I can go for ages, lot of momentum with the weight behind it.

I may look at this too - once my finances get back to normality:eek:. What tyres did you swap to?

Annie get your Run

Ferris wrote: »

Hi folks, thought I’d update this thread. I got my new bike on thurs and rode to work on Friday. In the end I went for a cube hybrid with a 500wh battery and a Bosch performance CX motor.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/cube-reaction-hybrid-hpa-pro-500-e-bike-2017/rp-prod157984

I am very pleased with it, the bike is beautifully put together. The brakes are very powerful and the gear setup works well. It’s a big bus compared to the road bike of course but, apart from the saddle, it’s very comfortable. I wasn’t counting on how solid and much safer it would feel in traffic too.

The motor and battery setup is great, totally intuitive. It matches your effort to 4 different levels; eco, tour, sport and turbo. The cutout at 25km/h is a pity, especially as the bike is clearly capable of much more. I was mostly in eco/tour with turbo for through howth village. You can get to 25kmh easy on the flat in eco. Then just use the gears as necessary. I only used 2/5ths of the battery over 56k.

Minor drawbacks? The charger lead has a 2 pin plug on it but it’s a standard a/c lead, similar to tv power cables. Also there are no mounting points on the frame for bottle cages etc. Also chain reaction were poor to deal with on the bike to work scheme, it too them a long time to ‘recieve’ the payment from my employer.

Overall very pleased. Thanks again for all the advice, especially rubadub, my eventual choice was based on your good advice.

Can I ask (and apologies if this is a stupid question ) if the e-bike is heavier than a road bike, are some of the benefits of the engine not outweighed (!) by the difference in weight of the bikes? Or does the assistance the engine give make the weight of the bike irrelevant? Although I believe you can turn off the assistance (is that right?) and if so would the bike be very heavy to cycle?

Pigeon Reaper

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Can I ask (and apologies if this is a stupid question ) if the e-bike is heavier than a road bike, are some of the benefits of the engine not outweighed (!) by the difference in weight of the bikes? Or does the assistance the engine give make the weight of the bike irrelevant? Although I believe you can turn off the assistance (is that right?) and if so would the bike be very heavy to cycle?

E-bikes are heavier than a normal bike. A good e-bike might be 20KG which means going up hill unaided is hard. On the flat you'll notice it's slow to accelerate but once up rolling it's like a normal bike. When you switch on the power, even the lowest setting will more than make up for the extra weight. The higher settings can make uphill climbs feel like cycling downhill with a tail wind.

I use the e-bike for pootling around at the weekends or for short trips. I tend to use my normal bike for commuting as it's faster. After 200km+ a week on a normal bike it's nice to take it easy sometimes.