E-bike

[Colin170CR]

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

We are a similar age and background, making a tracker with cow-horn handlebars, remember it well. Do you recall the "ape hanger" bar craze after Easy Rider?

 

I have never owned a new bike and was doing up & selling bikes for a living at the age of 11financed by the money I collected doing a paper round but being a "Junior Agent" I earned 1/2p per paper delivered out of the 6p collected from the customers, my pay was 75p a week which I deducted from the £3 collected from the customers (if they paid 😞) but critically I had the free use of €2.25 +ve cashflow for 7-14 days to finance my buying and selling.

 

I would buy a bike and immediately advertise it for sale in that Fridays paper, had to make sure that all the repairs were done and hope that it sold or I would have to hide when the guy came to collect the takings.

 

I never had pocket money and have always had a business on the side of one kind or another whenever I wasn't self employed or running my own business. The pushbikes got me started.

 

I have used my Dawes extensively since I got it in around 1990 including 500kms from Canberra to Sydney, an all that time it has only needed brake blocks, tyres, chains and one rear sprocket set, last year the Shimano STI 7 speed changer finally broke and I after a worldwide search on the interweb I finally found a new old stock one (it was second hand 🙁) in Japan that cost me more than a new bike would have cost but I cannot put a price on the attachment I have to something that has served me so well.

 

Even now when I ride it the STI gear selector seems state of the art

 

Ape hangers - yes. I seem to remember the Raleigh chopper bikes had them as well. After push bikes I built myself an NSU Quickly moped based on bits I found from the same dump as I used to build the track bike. The moped was similar to the one below the most important features of which were, 3 gears (instead of 2 on the std model) & a long seat & foot pegs for a pillion on the back (girls) - even though I was not supposed to carry passengers on L plates. Cars followed soon after so the moped didn't last long & my time on 2 wheels was over - until now.  

  

 

I never had pocket money either. I don't think it was a "thing" or even expected back then. None of my mates had pocket money either. My paper round & a Saturday job in an old fashioned hardware store was my only income until I started work as an apprentice at 16. I kept the hardware store job on until I was 18 because the shop owner said he'd double my money if I passed my driving test at 17 which would allow me to deliver orders in his clapped out Thames van - remember them? I crammed 5 lessons in & passed my driving test 3 weeks after my 17th birthday.

 

Canberra to Sydney is some ride. The furthest bike ride I ever did was to Southend in Essex & back to Kingsbury in North London (a round trip of approx 100 miles) - in one day. I went via the A406 North Circular Road, A12 & A127 dicing with lorries & other traffic all the way (no M25 to take the bulk of the traffic in those days). I arrived home really late at night to a very angry set of parents who had no idea where I was, or where I been. Later that night my appendix burst & I was carted off to hospital for an emergency operation & blood transfusion. That got me off going to school for around 4 weeks😉. 

I have Shimano 3 x 6 speed on our Falcon's but they are the more common twist grip variety which compared to my old Simplex 5 speed, which had a lever on the down tube to operate them, are state of the art to my eyes as well.

 

Now I have more time I have toyed with taking up a home based hobby. Fettling some push bikes or small capacity mopeds or motor bikes in my garage might be an option. Looking online restored versions of my old NSU moped are selling for £500+. I saw one going for £2,800🤑

[Ootohere]

 

 

[Ootohere]

Thunder & lightening and warm wind and rain.  Wunderba.

 

Edited 2 August, 2020 by Roottoot

[Ootohere]

Windy very very windy thank goodness for pedal assist.

[MikeTheThinker]

Nice piccies, George!

[Tilt]

59 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

Windy very very windy thank goodness for pedal assist.

 

Reminds me of an old tv program.................. 'Wish you were here'.........Lol. Jealous.

[Ootohere]

[Ootohere]

I am waiting on the delivery this week of a new e-Bike that i can carry on the roof of my EV.

I was looking for a lighter and simple e-bike, so I ordered an Orbea Gain F40.  This is the flat bar bike with just 1x9,

i did think about a drop bar one but decided not for me as i would be more on the tops than the drops, but i would not have minded the Gravel Bike version with the wider tyres. 700x40.

I have a dropper seat post of the correct size for a Orbea & will use a stem riser as i usually fit.

 

I tried riding my pushbikes last week, fat bike, fattie6 and just 26" trail bike and am really not going to be riding them anymore other than the lightest one i have which can go in the car or on my roof carrier.  Getting lazy and like the pedal assist.

The Orbea will go in the car easily as well.

Many EV charging places have height barriers which means the bike needs to be in the car or on a rear rack. 

The heavier e-Bikes i have really need carried on a towbar rack as lifting them onto the roof & off is a PITA.

They can go in the car with the front wheel off but not always with other stuff being carried.

 

 

 

 

Not me reviewing....

 

 

 

Edited 14 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Ootohere]

Bike arrived, set up for now and tried out.

Happy with its weight, simplicity and quality. I will get out an do some miles on it tomorrow.

Got the App on my phone and registered but still have not got the bike to pair with my phone using Bluetooth.

[Colin170CR]

23 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

Bike arrived, set up for now and tried out.

Happy with its weight, simplicity and quality. I will get out an do some miles on it tomorrow.

Got the App on my phone and registered but still have not got the bike to pair with my phone using Bluetooth.

 

Excuse my ignorance on this subject, but why do you need to pair your bike with your phone?

[Ootohere]

@Colin170CR

You can get updates for the bike by email.

Different Manufacturers have Apps and you can have the bikes settings available to change on your phone before riding or during.

You can have the phone visible and get your speed, power, maps / navigation for a ride.

You can set an e-Bike and use GPS and say how far and how long you are riding and how much power you want spare.

It regulates the power and helps be sure you use it to get the ride in and not run out.

You can trace your bike if it was stolen and someone powers it up & many other things.

 

You get the battery condition / health, motor temp etc etc.

You can change the Max Speed that you get assistance from the bike and go from the UK legal limit on the road and go to the US speed say for riding offroad.

You change the circumference of the wheels and fool the system.

 

 

EDIT.

Success, thanks to good old Youtube.   Heading Offski once the Fog lifts.

(I have the handlebar shifter)

 

 

 

 

Edited 20 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Colin170CR]

19 hours ago, e-Roottoot said:

@Colin170CR

You can get updates for the bike by email.

Different Manufacturers have Apps and you can have the bikes settings available to change on your phone before riding or during.

You can have the phone visible and get your speed, power, maps / navigation for a ride.

You can set an e-Bike and use GPS and say how far and how long you are riding and how much power you want spare.

It regulates the power and helps be sure you use it to get the ride in and not run out.

You can trace your bike if it was stolen and someone powers it up & many other things.

 

You get the battery condition / health, motor temp etc etc.

You can change the Max Speed that you get assistance from the bike and go from the UK legal limit on the road and go to the US speed say for riding offroad.

You change the circumference of the wheels and fool the system.

 

 

EDIT.

Success, thanks to good old Youtube.   Heading Offski once the Fog lifts.

(I have the handlebar shifter)

 

 

 

 

 

Wow. All too testicle for me. That said I am looking at either electrifying our existing 18 speed bikes or, buying some new e-bikes to poodle around on. I'll probably go new & for a folding design to make carrying them around inside the car easier & more secure. I just found out that the Superb with an electric tailgate cannot have a rear boot mounted bike rack. Roof or a tow bar mounted bike racks are my only options. Although I have roof bars & bike mounts roof mounted is no good for height restricted car parks & a tow bar just for a bike rack is far too expensive. A folding bike would probably be cheaper than the tow bar for the Superb!! 

 

[Ootohere]

@Colin170CR All that stuff in not necessary.  

The front hub conversion is fine.

People are putting them on all sorts of bikes and trikes now.

£500 as was is cheaper now and very good.     

 

There are good folding e-Bikes now without needing to spend thousands.

My tow ball mount e-Bike carrier is a real PITA just because of the weight to put on and take off so it stays on now.

It and 2 e-Bikes carried really is quite heavy.

 

Hence i got the latest bike i did for being easy to take places when not in a big car.

 

Only issue was is just how unused i am to a rigid bike with road bike wheels and tyres.

So i was home after 8 miles and fitted my 30 odd year old Brookes saddle and a flexistem is on order.  

So it is sorted now for taking to use when charging my car up at charging places.

Heading for grub etc as now that i save on fuel i spend more on eating where usually i don't while travelling about by car.

 

PS

On the camper van subject from the other section.

 

I have one leg so need auto's.

My last van for camping was a Transit Semi hi roof MWB that i fitted out as a tin tent.  A 51 Plate.

The lady that had it bought an Ex Demonstrator before she should have been allowed to as Ford scrapped these Durashifts.

She was disabled and had hand controls and had side windows fitted and had cages in the back and slept on top of the cages, this was to carry huskies for sledge racing.

It cost her thousands trying to fix the gearbox and i got a bargain then it cost me a couple of thousands and i sold it to a guy that hired out 

wigwams.   He found a brand new gearbox, she and me had paid for acctuators. (Ford found the issue with the Durashifts and scrapped the demonstrators and never admitted for years which was tough on the owners of the ones not scrapped.)

He had no issues with the new gearbox which cost only £850 i believe and he drove the van for years.

 

Anyway i left it looking like a works van, put on the orange beacon and parked in pub carparks at harbours etc and with a Blue Badge showing on streets and never once was moved on.

 

A bike or bikes went in the back, tinted windows, cork tiles floor, portapoti, camper sink etc. No insulation meant i could wipe down the condensation on the roof.

It took power washing and sand blasting and painting inside to try and get rid of the smell of tripe or whatever the huskies got as food.

I had a Captain Cabin pullout bed with drawers below, and that was about it. I toured Scotland with that and towed a trailer with motorbikes.

Edited 20 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Tilt]

17 hours ago, Colin170CR said:

 

Wow. All too testicle for me. That said I am looking at either electrifying our existing 18 speed bikes or, buying some new e-bikes to poodle around on. I'll probably go new & for a folding design to make carrying them around inside the car easier & more secure. I just found out that the Superb with an electric tailgate cannot have a rear boot mounted bike rack. Roof or a tow bar mounted bike racks are my only options. Although I have roof bars & bike mounts roof mounted is no good for height restricted car parks & a tow bar just for a bike rack is far too expensive. A folding bike would probably be cheaper than the tow bar for the Superb!! 

 

 

Just a thought, although maybe not practical but is it possible to fit and use a boot mounted bike rack but whilst making sure the boot is not opened whilst these are fitted???

 

[Colin170CR]

8 hours ago, Tilt said:

 

Just a thought, although maybe not practical but is it possible to fit and use a boot mounted bike rack but whilst making sure the boot is not opened whilst these are fitted???

 

 

Might be possible but I'm guessing the electric tailgate mechanism is not powerful enough to handle any extra weight & may not even be able to coup with just the bike rack on it's own let alone with any bikes! I don't want to run the risk of knackering the rear tailgate mechanism so I think folding bikes inside the car is the only real option or, shell out for a tow bar &  bike rack. Alternatively stick the bikes on the roof & look for parking without any  height restrictions. 

[Ootohere]

@Colin170CR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Colin170CR]

1 hour ago, e-Roottoot said:

@Colin170CR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting.

Would that Swytch kit work for a non-disc brake set up as well? I guess it should. However, bringing the bike to a standstill from full speed with older style less efficient centre pull brakes might be a bit hairy!

As much as I would like to get the tools out & get the satisfaction of doing such a conversion that Swytch kit seems to cost around £749? That around about the same price as some of the cheaper e-bikes out there which makes it a borderline decision whether to buy a new bike or convert the old ones.

 

The other problem is that my old Falcon Majorca bikes (circa 1986) have no suspension so converting these to e-bikes might be a short lived love affair as my advancing years crave a bit more comfort - even for basic cycle pathway & none off road use. Certainly the wife would want a softer ride for her derriere. 

 

A pair of new folding e-MTB bikes (which I can fit inside the car) with full suspension, disc brakes, LED lights etc can be had for around the same price as the Swytch kits which is probably the route I would go. I don't need the highest quality / mega expensive bikes as they will only be used occasionally albeit more so than the existing bikes which still look in mint condition after minimal use in the last 35 years!  

I can then consider selling the matching his & her Falcon Majorca's to offset the cost of the new ones. The search goes on I think.

 

Thanks for the info. 

 

[Tilt]

@Colin170CR Can you point me to these e-MTB full suspension bikes that can be had for that price please. I'm interested. Cheers.

[Ootohere]

You are braking from the same speed if you usually go about 12-15 mph or even 20mph + down hills.

The assistance is only up to about 15.5 mph.  (If UK legal...)

A bike might be heavier and if the brakes are poor when going down hills without assistance or in the wet they will still be poor / dangerous.

 

The e-Bikes in Halfords are actually OK these days.

There are e-Bikes in Decathlon worth giving a look.     Full Sus cheap e-Bikes might well be a big mistake to land yourself with.

 

Folding and Full Suspension and e-Bike are few and far between and if advertised and cheap then buyer beware.

Then that would be cable disc brakes, another thing to be aware, there are good ones and terrible ones and ones inbetween..

 

Front Suspension and a suspension seat post or sprung saddle works for some.

As to folding bikes or cheaper e-Bikes the weight to put in cars need considered.

Bikes the batteries easily come off are the solution to lifting them easier or going on bike racks.

Edited 22 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Colin170CR]

18 minutes ago, Tilt said:

@Colin170CR Can you point me to these e-MTB full suspension bikes that can be had for that price please. I'm interested. Cheers.

 

Hi. 

 

Have a look on Amazon via this link E-bikes

Be careful not all are electric or foldable bikes which is what I searched for with rating above 4 stars. 

 

If you don't need the folding design then this link might be better & offer more choice more bikes

 

 

[Ootohere]

They can be just terrible.

What comes out the box can be scary.  The wiring and connectors.   They surely are not all a rip off, but i have yet to see ones that are not.

[Tilt]

@Colin170CR I will have a look at them but the cheapest front suspension (hardtail / NON full suss) I was looking at was circa £2000.

 

The best Decathlon one doesn't look bad but demand for these (the quality ones) bikes has gone through the roof due to lock-down......

 

I guess it depends if you are serious rider... Thanks though.

[Colin170CR]

6 hours ago, Tilt said:

@Colin170CR I will have a look at them but the cheapest front suspension (hardtail / NON full suss) I was looking at was circa £2000.

 

The best Decathlon one doesn't look bad but demand for these (the quality ones) bikes has gone through the roof due to lock-down......

 

I guess it depends if you are serious rider... Thanks though.

 

Hi. Have a look at this one. It's a foldable full suspension 21 speed E-bike for £749 + £20 delivery. Oppikle 26'' Electric Mountain Bike

I was looking at it because it's a foldable design. There are other non-foldable designs at similar prices. 

Amazon search criteria is notoriously cr$p so you you have to sift through manually to find what you are looking for.

 

Also, see this Best 10 e-bikes under £1,000

[Colin170CR]

7 hours ago, e-Roottoot said:

They can be just terrible.

What comes out the box can be scary.  The wiring and connectors.   They surely are not all a rip off, but i have yet to see ones that are not.

 

Understood but with some careful research some more cost effective models can be found. I won't be using an e-bike on a regular basis so top quality models with stratospheric prices are not possible for me. Which is also one on the reasons I drive a Skoda instead of an Audi, Jag or Aston  

[Ootohere]

There is no need to buy top quality or over the odds, but no point buying rubbish if there are ones at value / Dacia type prices & not much more and someone or someplace that you can deal with.

It is horrible when a bike arrives with wheels that need truing and rubbish tubes used & no bike shop wants to touch them.

It can be false economy buying the cheapest.

 

I see almost new and only used a few times e-bikes for sale at bargain prices and others asking a crazy price.

Usually his and hers.

Edited 22 September, 2020 by e-Roottoot