Tilt

If second hand prices rise much further then some of them will not be far off their original price when new .......... I still think the biggest issue / reason lies with these online retailers with massive stock, although people forever buying cars that they are probably struggling to afford doesn't help.

@ADOKS13 I will have a look in my manual asap. I do not think you need anything special. I have a 55 plate which has been on variable for ages. I can reset mine but iirc I have on occasion, had to try it a few times before it worked. Possibly due to old switches, who knows. I've had mine nearly 12 years now and done it myself a good few times in between garage visits. Maybe assuming you have maxidot ??????

I have considered this previously as I was adamant I was going to treat myself to a newer car this year after waiting and making do (and saving up) for a number of years after selling the Audi, which I had for about 8 years from 3 years old from new. I have now had the Octavia for coming up to twelve years. Listening to the radio the other day was an advert for Spottycar stating that they had 15000 approved used vehicles available for sale. What with all these online car sales companies I'm wondering do they all have their own stock??? Cos if they do, it is no wonder prices have rocketed. I do not believe it is simply a supply and demand issue without taking stockpiling into account. Am I wrong? I know (led to believe) that part of the issue is with silicone chips and brand new car availability so a lack of used cars hitting the market, but I think this in only a small part of the reason. I was hoping to get something similat to when I purchased the Audi, ie few years old in top condition and about half it's retail price. No chance. What would have cost between 12 to 14 grand tops was 18/19 grand last time I looked. Gutted that I have waited and saved up, to no avail. Long live the Octavia, Lol (and fingers crossed)

My initial thoughts were to be using the emtb for commuting as well as a good bit of off road-ing on the weekends, however, upon receiving delivery of the Scott Strike I decided it was a bit cumbersome to be weaving around traffic on that, so decided to get a dedicated commuter also. I was torn between front suspension vs no suspension and drop bars vs straight bars. The options were the Crossfuse (as mentioned) a Boardman ADV 8.9E and the Specialized Vado 1.1SL I then ruled out the Crossfuse as decided I still like the rigidity of a road bike feel and it was then a difficult choice between the other two. One with the Fazua Evation motor and a 250wh removable battery and the other with Specialized's own motor (I think) and a fitted 320wh battery. I was worried about the low torque figure of the Vado's motor but no worries with it at all and the issue with the Boardman was that it switches into a sleep mode after 8 hours of non use and you have to unlock the battery (every time 😲) to switch it back on again inside the battery compartment. Lovely looking bike though. https://www.halfords.com/bikes/electric-bikes/boardman-adv-8.9e-mens-adventure-electric-bike-2021---s-m-l-xl-frames-439310.html?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Cycling>Bikes>Electric+Bikes-_-Cycling>Bikes>Electric+Bikes-_-439310&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istFeedId=62b447cf-331e-4fec-a47a-9985ff72d404&istItemId=iqmqalmal&istBid=tzpr&_$ja=tsid:|cid:17632096466|agid:|tid:|crid:|nw:x|rnd:7066468719643833467|dvc:c|adp:|mt:|loc:1007418&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqMGPzvjZ-AIVVeDtCh3iZQT7EAQYAyABEgKLgvD_BwE Obviously in the end decided on the Vado (from Evans local as mentioned) and after many hours sorting the cabling (on both bikes) I am pleased to say that I am loving it and look forward to getting on it in the mornings. Bars chopped a little on both bikes now, bar ends fitted on both too, new carbon (probably plastic) bottle cage on the spez and made my own little bracket for the computer sensor to fit on the fork without using unsightly cable ties. Oh, and I have just purchased a new 105 CS-R7000 11-30t cassette for the vado as not requiring such low (44T / 11 speed 11-42t) gears that it came with. Should allow me to utilise more gears so the cassette lasts longer and a smoother gear change too. I think my first stop for the Strike will be the chainring swap from the supplied 34T to an E-Thirteen steel 38T and then consider a cassette swap from there. Possibly to the 105 CS-R7100 11-34t. These are both all steel. NOT an easy job though unfortunately, though with it being the Sram it should have a self extracting crank arm. Funnily enough my mate texted last night that his Cube (I think he changed his mind again, Lol) has arrived and that he too has done the same and purchased a commuter bike as well......... And other mate should be getting his replacement within a week or two. I will put a few more pics up of the Vado for anyone interested. Lovin it.

Really enjoying my commute on this thing... This is the Strike. Not the best picture tho

Well, second ride at the weekend ............... 🚲 ............... Ooh, my blummin sit bones. Need some new shorts at least, Lol. Never really thought of a sprung seat, but (pardon the pun) I've just mended a bike that was left by a student at work, for our gaffer to use. It has a sprung seat and feels quite comfy, and as you can ride an emtb much faster along rough ground ......... well I may have to invest in one. A pretty good hard(ish) ride and definitely wanting to upgrade / alter the gearing at least a little. Best I can see atm is upping the chainring from 34T to 38T. Should be doable. Need tools though I think. I think currently we are stuck with the very limited choices of 12 speed cassettes with 50 or so teeth. Looking into it a bit more. One bar end fitted, just the other one to fit now. Well, I like them and they give your forearms a way to relax.

Have you thought or is it possible for you to fit a bigger front ring George??? Could this help prevent using the small ring so much ??? just a thought.

Went on my first serious (ish) ride on my Strike 940 today ............ On my own, as waiting for my mate to move house and take delivery of his Orbea Rise. Few niggles and I have chopped the bars a little and cut some of the cabling down too. I think Scott just put the longest cables on it they could find. It certainly put a smile on my face though. Looking forward to getting it out again. Checked out it's climbing ability and I still cannot understand why these bikes need such a huge cassette. I tackled a very steep 100yd gravel slope using the 34T / 25t combo. (I think that equates roughly to a 39T / 28t) In Emtb mode. Very easy with just the 25 cassette ring. I guess if you are out of power the 50t rear may come in handy but I already want to swap it, and possibly a larger front ring too. Interested to hear others thoughts on this??? I will get some pics up eventually but still excited as have just ordered a Specialized Turbo Vado SL4.0 from Evans. This for a commuter bike. Should be at the store for me by next week. I wasn't trusting delivery company delivering it to my address after what I went through with Tredz and TNT......

I will get some pics up asap. It is not a flashy bike at all. I'd say stealthy, but it's huge.............. I managed to get my saddle bag bracket fitted to the underside of the seat yesterday (same as my old mtb) and the bag sits quite nicely. It will reduce dropper movement a bit but still plenty of drop for me. Never needed a dropper post before anyway. I also came to realise that if I fit the bottle cage pump holder facing the wrong way up (so it curves upwards instead of downward around a round frame as usual) it fits lovely with the pump sitting alongside the bottle rather than the frame. Perfect. Just need another one to replace on my road bike now, Lol.

I've joined the club (health club forum) ............ didn't know I had to but eventually found it, Lol. I recently joined the e- bike club too with the arrival of my Scott Strike 940 2022. (some will be aware of the story of the first one being 'lost in transit / it was a Vauxhall actually / bike that went missing, then miraculously appeared. So, wondering if anyone else has cut their handlebars down??? (I know Amanda was intending to do it). I did it on my Spark and just wondered if anyone else had. My bars are almost 800mm wide and will defo make them a little shorter.. Anyone felt the need to fit a longer Ahead Stem.??? This one is very short. Also @Tech1edo you still have your Crossfuse??? still enjoying it??? I am thinking of getting a hybrid too and this is the one that stood out to me. The battery and charger will be compatible with my Strike too, the battery can be fitted to the Strike and coupled with the Powertube for extra mileage. Any other thoughts or advice, and buying advice for bike bags ................ where do you attach your pump for instance etc etc be greatly appreciated.

e-Velo bike ((((replacement for Tredz bike lost in transit on Wednesday))))) arrived safe and sound yesterday morning, delivered in a Fed Ex liveried van. ((seems they are taking over TNT I think)). However, discussing the events of Wednesdays missing delivery with the Fed Ex driver, he tried telling me that the scanners that they use are THAT POWERFUL that it can read other items at the same time or instead of the intended item and that that would be what happened ................ seriously, Lol ................ If that were the case then how come it was signed for at the uni with a FAKE NAME ............. I smell BS ......................... A lot of it. I just have to hope that Paypal are happy to cancel the order from Tredz and hoping they get the bike back from TNT. Thanks again for your input guys.

@olduns Thanks. I had the same inclination, mostly based on the fact that it was reported as missing. If I accepted it and signed for it they could say it never went missing. I don't think it ever even made it to the Uni ............... (otherwise how'd they manage to get it back. Fake name signed for it. I think it was stored somewhere and the driver was hoping he might not get found out. Or the whole delivery company is dodgy. Need to keep my eye on it now to check it gets back to Treds. And make sure I get payment cancelled. Nightmare. Cheers for input.

@roottoot @Phil-E @olduns @Gaz And anyone else's thoughts..........be much appreciated. When I got home there was a FedEx header saying 'sorry we missed you' and that I had missed either a delivery OR a collection. I was baffled not expecting anything to do with FedEx. So, a guy turns up in a van around 6pm, NO writing on the van at all (Reg no Y12 RGS roller shutter tailgate) with the bike from Treds in the back......... Question, taking into account what has gone on and that I reported it missing / incorrectly delivered (stolen IMO) would you accept delivery of it or not??? And not forgetting I have confirmation of order and delivery of e-Velo's bike order. Delivery tomorrow. (what's the betting they either turn up with both OR try and deliver the one from Tredz instead. Cheers guys.

Well, I contacted eVelo to confirm that all was well with my order ..................... it is. I now need to take a day off work for delivery. But guess who they use for delivery .................... I bet you guessed right ........................ . Apparently only TNT will deliver packages of this size ...................... I say 'deliver', but what I mean is they at least 'offer' to deliver ................... (I'd say Lol but at the moment i'm quite annoyed)

Unbelievable................ TNT have delivered the bike ................... to completely the wrong address ........... apparently. According to Tredz (I had to get the info through them) TNT delivered the bike this morning to an L Appleby at Nottingham Universities Clifton Campus. Not my name and not my address. Tredz have spoken to the University, or so they say, and guess what, no-one there named Appleby. To say i'm annoyed at the moment is an understatement. Just ordered a replacement from eVelo . I hope they use a better delivery company. I have opened a review with Paypal credit for them to sort it. Tredz are useless IMO. Telling me it will take up to 3 days just to get an answer

Austrian company........ bit nearer to you I guess, Lol. Scott are now a Swiss company I believe. Thinking originated in USA though.

And finally ................................. Lol. After all this looking I have come to the realisation that we (my mate is after one, too) are not going to be able to actually see any FS emtb's in store, I did more searching online and found a few Scott's available in my size. I was looking at either the Scott Genius (really like the look of these) there was a Genius 10 available about £5500 and also noticed the Scott Strike 40 at £4249. Bit of a coincidence that my old FS is a Scott Spark 40. I would have loved to test ride both of them but obvs not possible so I decided that the Strike should do what I want. General difference was Carbon vs Alloy frame and 625wh vs 500wh battery then slightly better suspension with even more travel 160/150 vs 140/140. Most of the rest is the same really.so.............. I purchased the Strike, only available in a midnight blue. Unusual colour for a bike but I think I will like it. I did like the matt black and gold of the Genius but thought the travel may be more than I need and of course the extra grand and a half, Lol. Awaiting email confirmation of delivery date, it should be 23rd....................... 🚲

Also, any of you familiar with the SR Suntour XCR 34 suspension forks??? Are they much good, particularly for half decent off roading??? I'm not even sure if they are air or spring. I think they are air??? Won't be as good as the Recon's on my Scott Spark 40...... And they are Rockshox lower end I believe.

Moving the magnet out wouldn't make any difference though would it? Rotational speed would still be the same. Changing the wheel size would affect the speed though, fair enough. I think my mate has the 'speedbox' fitted. Simply press the 'Walk' button on your handlebar control and 6.2km/h will appear, meaning the tuning chip is active and the 25km/h restriction is removed. To turn the chip off, you simply press 'Walk' again and 1.6km/h will appear. Lots of food for thought for me guys, thank you.

@Gaz Thanks mate. If you look at the first pic in his listing you can just see something zip tied underneath the swing-arm, just rear of the motor. Someone just stuck the magnet on the front wheel OR they had another computer fitted too. You can just see the magnet in same pic. He has now deleted the listing so either sold it, decided NOT to sell it OR expecting me to buy it tomorrow......... Hmmm. Probably contact him in the morning.

A little update I went to have a look at the bike today and intending a test ride. I checked out the property online first and was nicely surprised that it was a decent property and area and they had lived there for about 15 years. Indian English family mum dad and son. twas the sons bike. Well, two almost flat tyres and them not having a pump (any kind of pump it seemed) put a damper on the test ride. I took my shock pump but never expected flat tyres. I took it up and down the street very carefully but told them I needed a proper ride to even consider an offer. We have agreed that I will return tomorrow with a tyre pump for me to take a proper test ride. (I intend letting the air back out of the tyres before I return the bike. I will tell them that the tyres are loosing air ........ I'm not daft, Lol) Not the best looked after bike, needs a full service ideally. I can probably do the forks (I do my Rockshox Recon's myself) and do the brakes but I ended up taking my Ario rear shock to Evans for them to do .......... so expenses to pay out. Gonna see how it goes / feels tomorrow (weather permitting) . The other thing is that it has been de-restricted. The seller advertised this and to be fair a mate of mine says these need de-restricting as once the assistance cuts out at the usual 15.5mph, you are then left fighting against the motor / gearbox (something like that. The issue is that it has not been set up correctly as it doesn't display the correct speed. It displays slower than what you are going. I need to find out what has been done regarding this. @Gaz @olduns @roottoot or others. Anyone know how the bike works out it's speed, how it is supposed to work, at least. Cheers guys.

Don't make that mistake when you order the kit will ya ............

If it helps, I had a warning for low coolant level and so bought a bottle of Volkswagon G13 coolant ........ It is still in my cupboard unopened, as before it arrived I realised just removing and replacing the cap had re-set the warning light and it's been fine ever since.

@Gaz Thanks mate. The one in the link isn't full suss though. Having said that, I always think a used bike that is a few years old is worth about 50% of it's retail. That is if it is in good condition.

Any reason that you would / wouldn't buy or at least consider buying this bike. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115389722533 It's on ebay local to me. (so other than it being miles away from you, Lol). I have mailed the seller and it's a 2019 and he bought it 2nd hand (not happy about that) He has good feedback but only sold 3 items / PS4 games... I have said I want a viewing and will not buy it without this but main concern is the battery being 3 years old. Talks in progress at the mo. Cheers.