# Looking for my First E Bike



## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

I am looking to purchase very soon ( in the next week or so) my first E Bike, this is more out of necessity more than pleasure. Following an unexpected Stroke early April last year , I still have a bit of a weak right side and so I am looking for an E Bike that will help me get around at work better and quicker and get me there and home ( normally a good 10 to fifteen minute walk each way) I dont need anything flashy or mega expensive ( on a budget of about £600 ) I just need something that will not need a great deal of hard peddling or effort to make it work for me ( its not a work out I am after ) due to a weaker right leg, especially since its also a bit hilly on the way home, but I need it mostly to get around my work site which is huge and I am not up to all the walking anymore. I have seen many E bikes for sale and I am thinking of a folding 20inch wheel one which would be more practable for me. But I have no idea what I should look for or dismiss, I never knew there were different types of drive hub..crank etc..some pedal assist some a mixture of Throttle and gear assist. I have norrowed down a few, including a couple called E Life on 'IdealWorld' of all places , and a similar one on Proridemobility website ( slightly above my budget though) Given my needs , what should I be looking for as far as the motor drive etc. Can anyone advice me on this?


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## keithmac (16 Jan 2017)

Have a look on here, spend a few hours reading up and maybe post the question on there as well.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/


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## keithmac (16 Jan 2017)

Also what total mileage per day and what terrain (flat/ moderate or steep hills?).

Youd be looking for a hub drive if you want a folder, don't go for less than 36v battery and 10ah+.


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## Pale Rider (16 Jan 2017)

Crank drives are above your budget, so you can dismiss them.

That leaves you with a hub drive, not a problem, they work perfectly well.

A legal ebike in the UK can now only have a start assist throttle.

It does what it says on the tin, works up to about walking pace to enable you to balance the bike and get going.

Presumably the commute is short as you can walk it in 15 minutes.

This means any ebike will do a few return journeys without having to recharge the battery.

Pedal assist control on budget ebikes is simple, turning the pedals activates the motor.

That will also work fine for your purpose.

A problem with your relatively low budget is the quality of the bike.

The cheaper Chinese bikes are much of a muchness, many come from the same factories and are sold in the UK with different company stickers on them.

They are not the best quality so may not be reliable - not very handy when you rely on the bike to get to work.

Buying from a local retailer is wise because you will have somewhere to take the bike to sort problems.


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## cakeface (16 Jan 2017)

Hi minstrel sorry to read about your health problem. I can't offer any advice on which bike to buy but is your company part of the government Cycle to Work scheme? It may allow you to look at something of better quality for the same outlay. I'm assuming you are based in the UK. Good luck with whatever you choose.


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## welsh dragon (16 Jan 2017)

I wouldn't buy anything like that from ideal world to be honest. No lighter than other ebikes, and the mileage you can expect is far from great. If they say 25 mile range, then you probably won't get that much.

You have to narrow down what you want to be honest. Are you competent or willing to do maintainance on the bike? If you want somethimg simple to look after, with little maintainance, have a look at a second hand Gtech. You can pick one up on ebay for around £650.00. I know it isn't a folder, but is it set in stone that you need a folder?

It has a simple carbon belt, no gears so maintainance will be easy.

Do you live in a hilly area? Are you going to use the bike for anything else other than riding to work. You should make a list of what exactly you think you might need, and go from there.

And remember, you get what you pay for. If you don't spend enough, you could regret it fairly quickly. Good luck.


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## Pale Rider (16 Jan 2017)

welsh dragon said:


> I wouldn't buy anything like that from ideal world to be honest. No lighter than other ebikes, and the mileage you can expect is far from great. If they say 25 mile range, then you probably won't get that much.
> 
> You have to narrow down what you want to be honest. Are you competent or willing to do maintainance on the bike? If you want somethimg simple to look after, with little maintainance, have a look at a second hand Gtech. You can pick one up on ebay for around £650.00. I know it isn't a folder, but is it set in stone that you need a folder?
> 
> ...



The Gtech is a good thought.

Small battery, but that wouldn't matter for a short commute and may be a benefit because it makes the bike light - for an ebike.

If the OP can stretch the budget via Cycle to Work or some other means, this Ebco folder at £849 would be a reasonable choice.

I've ridden a couple of Ebco bikes and they are better quality than the Chinese cheapies.

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/3642...currency=GBP&gclid=CMjOgMq0x9ECFW0o0woduVgPUg


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## keithmac (16 Jan 2017)

He says he has to ride it round his huge work site as well..

Gtech will do 30 miles on a charge on the flat, just depends on the hills?.

You have to push the pedals round 1/4 turn to set the motor off though so as someone mentioned above a thumb throttle equipped bike maybe the best bet?.

I do 6 miles a day on my Gtech, other than charging the battery I don't need to touch anything else ( Carbon Drive is built for winter commuting!).


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## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

keithmac said:


> Have a look on here, spend a few hours reading up and maybe post the question on there as well.
> 
> http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/


Thanks...Ive just tried joining that forum...several times..nightmare, keeps coming back with some message about answering all the fields at registration, even though I had...I gave up in the end


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## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

cakeface said:


> Hi minstrel sorry to read about your health problem. I can't offer any advice on which bike to buy but is your company part of the government Cycle to Work scheme? It may allow you to look at something of better quality for the same outlay. I'm assuming you are based in the UK. Good luck with whatever you choose.



That would have been a great..but unfortunately they dont...and alas..as I technically almost live on site being about 10 min walk away I wouldnt qualify I dont think, but many thanks for your input.


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## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

keithmac said:


> He says he has to ride it round his huge work site as well..
> 
> Gtech will do 30 miles on a charge on the flat, just depends on the hills?.
> 
> ...



I did look at the Gtech..nice looking bike, but out of my price range tbh..but thanks for your input Keithmac.


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## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

Pale Rider said:


> The Gtech is a good thought.
> 
> Small battery, but that wouldn't matter for a short commute and may be a benefit because it makes the bike light - for an ebike.
> 
> ...


That is a great Bike...and if it was only a couple of £100 cheaper it would be perfect...but 8 months on half pay can make a dent in your funds..budget is about £600 max ...but many thanks for the link.


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## MidnightMinstrel (16 Jan 2017)

http://www.proriderleisure.com/Leisure/electric-bikes/um30-elite-electric-hybrid-bike.html

A bit of a stretch on my budget ( well a large one tbh) ...but has anyone on here come across one of these E bikes before ?


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## Pale Rider (17 Jan 2017)

MidnightMinstrel said:


> http://www.proriderleisure.com/Leisure/electric-bikes/um30-elite-electric-hybrid-bike.html
> 
> A bit of a stretch on my budget ( well a large one tbh) ...but has anyone on here come across one of these E bikes before ?



On the plus side, ProRider and Urban Mover are brands that have been around for a while.

I would worry about the quality, the cheap Chinese bikes are no longer dreadful, but they do tend to suffer from niggly faults, particularly electrical.

They can need a fair bit of setting up, stuff like tensioning the spokes, fettling the brakes and so on.

That's where a local bike shop comes in handy, a competent mechanic could turn a badly put together Prorider into a half-decent ebike in less than an hour.

You certainly won't do significantly better for the budget.


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## MidnightMinstrel (17 Jan 2017)

They're Chinese? ??...the sods claimed they were British !


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## keithmac (18 Jan 2017)

Uk importer but the bike will be of Chinese origin.

To be fai if their 5 year warranty is true then you should be fine.


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## welsh dragon (18 Jan 2017)

On another forum someone said, "if you have never had or ridden an ebike, then you will probably be happy with whatever bike you buy, however as you look into them more and more, and experience using it, you will prpbably want or wish that the one you bought had has other accessories or motors, or whatever". In other words, the more you use it, the more you read up on ebikes and become experienced, then of course you would want/wish you had been able to buy something better. This of course applies to any bike user, just ask anyone on this forum who rides a normal bike .

I have no doubt you will enjoy the bike whichever one you decide to buy, and an awful lot of ebikes are made in china but nowadays they are made according to the sellers specifications. Therefore don't be put off buying a chinese manufactured bike.

And you never know, you may get the bug and want to go further than just your commute to work and back. I hope you get the bike you want.


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## Phil Fouracre (21 Jan 2017)

Yup! You never get it right the first time 
Bought an ebike to recuperate from an accident, then moved on to converting our pre existing tourers, now on to two new full suss mtbs, and converted them. Magic!!


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## User269 (21 Jan 2017)

keithmac said:


> Uk importer but the bike will be of Chinese origin.
> 
> To be fai if their 5 year warranty is true then you should be fine.



Whether it's a British importer, or a British owned company, and regardless of whether it's been designed in the UK or Germany, it's most likely to have benn made in China, along with most other things. And there's nowt wrong with that in terms of quality. If it wasn't the case, we wouldn't be able to afford it.


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## keithmac (21 Jan 2017)

I agree, Chinese products can be of good quality. 

They are built to a price, so if that's high enough and the quality control is stringent then happy days.

If not then you can end up buying rubbish unfortunately.


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