Lightweight e-bikes, capabilities and transport

[decrep]

Can I make a request Rolfe? When you go on your trail ride, can we have plenty of pics please.

 

[Rolfe]

It's October. I'm going to be sticking to the tarred roads for a while! Although some of these have pretty nice views themselves. The B7059 is particularly attractive.

 

[Rolfe]

I've finally got a date, and it's a bit later than I'd hoped, but at least it's a date.

I thought I placed the order on Friday 18th at the showroom. But the promised build date kept not materialising and no money had left my bank account, so I read the bunch of emails that had come through a bit more carefully. One in the middle required me to enter my date of birth and click "continue", and then suddenly it all happened. Damn. Six days lost.

So this morning I got the email with the build date. The lad in the showroom said that although the web site says 2-4 weeks it tends to be on the four-week side. My estimated despatch date is in fact 6th December, which is in fact six weeks from me actually managing to finalise the order. Oh well. It's not as if the weather is great right now.

 

[MrPeaski]

I've been thinking about this. The restrictions on e-bikes are that the motor can't be more than 250 watts and it must cut out if the bike reaches 15 mph. We can forget the latter because being assisted to exceed 15 mph (other than by gravity) is not one of my ambitions.

So, no legal e-bike can have a boost of more than 250 watts. Mine has the 250 watt motor and the top assist level must therefore be 250 watts, same as the Aviemore bikes. My bike weighs about 13-14 kg according to the shop. I could do with losing a few kg but I'm not massive. Whatever advantages the Aviemore bikes have for off-road use (suspension, mountain bike tyres, stronger frames, bigger batteries), they're going to be heavier. Therefore, logically, they can't have more glorious spadefuls of assist than mine will have. (I wish I'd looked at the OS map and not missed the steep hill to test it.)



I was in Banff (the Canadian one) in June, but just for a couple of days on the way to the Rocky Mountain Express. It certainly has some mountains!

I'm pretty familiar with the scenery here, even not from the road because it's amazing the cart tracks you find yourself driving up to deliver election leaflets not to mention the Border rideouts I've done, but it will be interesting to see what it's like from that trail. I see it goes down the Fingland Burn, where I have definitely not been. (Even on the roads, I'm used to visitors sitting in my passenger seat mindlessly repeating the word "stunning" like a stuck record.)

Just a bit of clarity with the 250W motor limit, the 250W is its maximum continuous output, the motor is able to go much higher than this for brief periods. EG Bosch performance line CX has a rated continuos output of 250W but can go up to 600W peak for short periods.

The Mahle X35 is a good lightweight system, but its only niggle is that the battery and controller ar combined in a single unit, meaning that if one fails both have to be replaced, no problem whilst under warranty (2 years) but expensive (around £600 currently) once this expires.

Don't let this put you off as they are pretty reliable.

Also when you get the bike ask if the latest firmware has been applied (Q32024Sept) as only dealers with a special 'dongle' can do it.

I myself have 2 e-bikes, 2020 Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 Action Team (full fat mountain bike Bosch CX motor) and 2023 Lapierre E-Crosshill 5.2 (drop bar gravel bike with Mahle X35 system)

Have fun with it

 

[mystreet]

I've finally got a date, and it's a bit later than I'd hoped, but at least it's a date.

I thought I placed the order on Friday 18th at the showroom. But the promised build date kept not materialising and no money had left my bank account, so I read the bunch of emails that had come through a bit more carefully. One in the middle required me to enter my date of birth and click "continue", and then suddenly it all happened. Damn. Six days lost.

So this morning I got the email with the build date. The lad in the showroom said that although the web site says 2-4 weeks it tends to be on the four-week side. My estimated despatch date is in fact 6th December, which is in fact six weeks from me actually managing to finalise the order. Oh well. It's not as if the weather is great right now.

Should this post have been put in this one

Delivery delayed

Anyone else had their Cyberster delivery in the UK delayed from September, into October and now into November blaming a back log at the port?

www.mgevs.com

 

[Rolfe]

Just a bit of clarity with the 250W motor limit, the 250W is its maximum continuous output, the motor is able to go much higher than this for brief periods. EG Bosch performance line CX has a rated continuos output of 250W but can go up to 600W peak for short periods.

The Mahle X35 is a good lightweight system, but its only niggle is that the battery and controller ar combined in a single unit, meaning that if one fails both have to be replaced, no problem whilst under warranty (2 years) but expensive (around £600 currently) once this expires.

Don't let this put you off as they are pretty reliable.

Also when you get the bike ask if the latest firmware has been applied (Q32024Sept) as only dealers with a special 'dongle' can do it.

I myself have 2 e-bikes, 2020 Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 Action Team (full fat mountain bike Bosch CX motor) and 2023 Lapierre E-Crosshill 5.2 (drop bar gravel bike with Mahle X35 system)

Have fun with it

Thanks for that, all very interesting. I really don't know a lot about it, but taking everything into consideration (weight, price, step-through frame and general appearance) I'm pretty happy with my choice.

I keep looking at the OS map and seeing so many interesting tracks I wouldn't have wanted to take a normal bike on, but would tackle with a bit of help. OK, I'd rather be on a pony, but the practicalities of that are very difficult, and actually, the bike goes faster.

 

[siteguru]

Should this post have been put in this one

Delivery delayed

Anyone else had their Cyberster delivery in the UK delayed from September, into October and now into November blaming a back log at the port?

www.mgevs.com

Why? This thread (and that reply) is about eBikes, not the Cyberster.

 

[mystreet]

Why? This thread (and that reply) is about eBikes, not the Cyberster.

Tongue in cheek, delayed delivery

 

[Rolfe]

Her name is Hilda, by the way. The secondary reason is that she's from Lancashire and I had an Aunt Hilda who came from there and got pretty damn cross with anyone who assumed she was Yorkshire. The primary reason is left as an exercise for the reader.

 

[siteguru]

From Brunhilda?

 

[Archev]

Her name is Hilda, by the way. The secondary reason is that she's from Lancashire and I had an Aunt Hilda who came from there and got pretty damn cross with anyone who assumed she was Yorkshire. The primary reason is left as an exercise for the reader.

She’s the warrior that will transport you to your personal Valhalla at the end of many trails

 

[Rolfe]

It feels like you're riding a flying horse. So, a valkyrie horse. I went through the names of every valkyrie horse I knew (not many) and every actual valkyrie and they were all wrong (and pretentious). Then Hilda just came to me. Made perfect sense, expecially in the context of my slightly irascible English auntie.

 

[Archev]

I’ve been scammed. I took my “Giant” make bike to the Giant dealer in Stirling and asked them to check the charger / battery / bike for a fault. They phoned back later to say it’s not a Giant made bike??? So they won’t touch it.
I bought it second hand so I’ve no comeback.

 

[Rolfe]

That's terrible. Did it have a Giant logo on it? My Giant bike proclaims its parentage loudly from the crossbar.

 

[Archev]

That's terrible. Did it have a Giant logo on it? My Giant bike proclaims its parentage loudly from the crossbar.

It looked authentic to me all this time but apparently giant don’t apply transfer type logos like that. They spray lacquer over them.

 

[Rolfe]

It would have fooled me. I bought mine new, so unless Southwater Cycles were into fraud in 1999, I know it's genuine.

Jings. It still had the dynamo when that was taken. And the silver mudguards. 2019.

 

[Archev]

It would have fooled me. I bought mine new, so unless Southwater Cycles were into fraud in 1999, I know it's genuine.

Can’t really complain it’s been a bit of fun for not a lot really.

 

[Rolfe]

My Giant was £250 in 1998. Still running well. Pedal-power only of course. And I've spent a fair bit on it over the years, too.

Your difficulty is one reason I ended up favouring the Ribble over the Fiido. If anything goes wrong I know exactly where to take it to be fixed. Something that came from China in a box might be a lot less straightforward. (The overwhelming reason was the weight. I didn't actually weigh the Ribble when I tested it and they don't give an exact weight because there are two sizes, but I was hearing numbers in the 13-14 kg range from the saleslads.)

 

[Archev]

My Giant was £250 in 1998. Still running well. Pedal-power only of course. And I've spent a fair bit on it over the years, too.

Your difficulty is one reason I ended up favouring the Ribble over the Fiido. If anything goes wrong I know exactly where to take it to be fixed. Something that came from China in a box might be a lot less straightforward. (The overwhelming reason was the weight. I didn't actually weigh the Ribble when I tested it and they don't give an exact weight because there are two sizes, but I was hearing numbers in the 13-14 kg range from the saleslads.)

Oh how can you dis machines from China like that ?

 

[Rolfe]

I did start by thinking, the MG4 is working out fine, why wouldn't this be OK too. But the service provision for EVs is a lot more established. (Too well established, probably. Rip-off merchants. But at least they are there if there's a problem.)