# Electric bike for 78 year old woman - any advice, pointers or good websites, please



## Mandragora (16 Nov 2014)

*Edited to add update: We've now decided NOT to go with an electric bike, on the grounds of weight and manoueverability. Thanks to all for your suggestions and help, though, as ideas and discussion from here have really helped us think things through clearly.*

_Hi there,
My mum loves cycling, has done it (slowly!) all her life, but is now getting to the point where she wants to continue doing it, but the effort, especially of cycling in anything other than a light breeze, is beginning to be too much for her. My brother and I are considering getting her an electric bike for Christmas, but don't really know where to start with research and narrowing choices down.

A bit about her:
She is, naturally, quite cautious and I would think she would worry about falling off anything that wasn't very well balanced and simple to use.
She will want to use it mostly on the flat (she lives in Lincolnshire), and mostly for rides of 3-10 miles at most.
She will fret if it needs a lot of mechanical attention.
She has a power point in the garage.

Our budget is reasonable - we could go up to £1k if we had to, but we're after 'best value' rather than necessarily the cheapest. Reliability, simplicity and ease of use are the key things. Mind you, if it's cheap,too, so much the better!

Any help, suggestions or ideas of where we could start, would be greatly appreciated._


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## Sara_H (16 Nov 2014)

I would let her try a few out before you make a purchase. Although the electric assist is fab, the handling is heavy and cumbersome and may be too much for an elderly woman.
After my experience with my electric bike (whoosh santana) I've often thought that a electric folding bike maybe easier to handle.

If your Mum happens to be visiting anywhere near me in the future (Sheffield) she's very welcome to have a go on mine.


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## vickster (16 Nov 2014)

If around London, there are two sellers of electric bikes at Hampton wick near Kingston. Might be worth a visit


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## jefmcg (16 Nov 2014)

sounds like you need to find a shop within 3-10 miles of her home. Cars are complicated machines, but no trouble if you have a competent mechanic to tend to it. It would be a good idea to have the same for her bike, so it can be regularly checked with ease.


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## raleighnut (16 Nov 2014)

Why not consider fitting an E-kit to her existing bike at least then she'll be familiar with the bike, or they can be fitted by a shop (for about £100 extra) and if using a front wheel kit the mechanical issue should not arise in that
1 You can take the wheel off and fit the standard one back on easily.
2 There isn't much you can service in the motor, battery or controller without specialized equipment.
I fitted a kit to Maz's Dawes 3 yrs ago, no problems to date and mine (on the trike) is very similar but a later refinement to the cabling makes it easier to fit.


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## Mandragora (16 Nov 2014)

vickster said:


> If around London, there are two sellers of electric bikes at Hampton wick near Kingston. Might be worth a visit




Thanks for this - she's in Lincoln, but I'm in Devon. Added to that is the fact I'd like it to be a surprise, and you can imagine some of the complications we're getting into! I'm toying with the idea of hiring one for her for a day or two (will need a ruse to do so) and seeing how she gets on with it. I hadn't thought of the E Kit idea, though, so thanks for that - will look into it too. I have found batribikes in Skegness, and there's a local dealer for her, for maintenance etc - anyone got any experience of them?


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## Poacher (16 Nov 2014)

Batribike are based in Sturton by Stow, about 8 miles NE of Lincoln. I haven't any direct experience of them, but AFAIK they have a good reputation.
They're importers of their own brand bikes and trikes rather than retailers, but have several outlets accessible from Lincoln - including Lincoln Bikes just off Doddington Road, in the SW suburbs of Lincoln itself. They offer test rides, so probably worth a look. There's a couple of stockists in Devon, at Honiton (good for antique shops!) and Topsham (home of the wonderful Bridge Inn - the only pub the Queen's ever visited) so you can maybe check out the quality before committing on the long journey to Lincoln (and no need for the extra 40 miles or so to Skeggy!!!!)


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## slowmotion (16 Nov 2014)

I've only played with one owned by a friend. What struck me is how amazingly heavy it is lug around when it's not being ridden. As @Sara_H says, that _might_ be a problem for your mother.


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## Mandragora (16 Nov 2014)

Sara_H said:


> I would let her try a few out before you make a purchase. Although the electric assist is fab, the handling is heavy and cumbersome and may be too much for an elderly woman.
> After my experience with my electric bike (whoosh santana) I've often thought that a electric folding bike maybe easier to handle.
> 
> If your Mum happens to be visiting anywhere near me in the future (Sheffield) she's very welcome to have a go on mine.




That's a really kind offer. I think I'm going to have to talk to my brother - he does love a surprise, but I can see the sense in at least getting her to have a test ride on some at a local outlet. She may hate it when she tries it, or love it - there's no knowing, really - though discussing it with her does raise the risk that she'll turn it down because she doesn't want us to 'waste the money'.


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## coffeejo (16 Nov 2014)

What about doing it in reverse? Get her something small, possibly linked to cycling, to open on the day but also make up a "gift voucher" for an electric bike so you can do the trying and buying after Christmas and still retain the surprise on the day?


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## Pale Rider (16 Nov 2014)

woosh - the make @Sara_H has - is reckoned to be a good budget brand.

The owner - Hatti - has recently introduced the Petite bike for smaller/lady riders, because she was finding the bigger bikes hard to handle.

woosh have shops in Southend and Cambridge and, most importantly, will offer a decent test ride.

http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/?petite


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## steveindenmark (18 Nov 2014)

Ask the same question on this site.

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

You will get more informed answers. 

Powerpedals are in Devon. They provide excellent service and Jannie loved her Tonaro Compy.

Steve


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## Mandragora (18 Nov 2014)

Thanks for this. Further subtle investigation has revealed that she'd actually tried out an electric bike a couple of years ago, and even then, sadly, it was too heavy for her to manoeuvre around the garage. Since then she has lost strength in her shoulders and arms, so, as Sarah_H and Slowmotion both thought, quite rightly it turns out, *it's a non-starter.* We've decided to stay with conventional bikes.

We now think that what we'll do is 'prepay' an amount at a very good bike shop my brother knows of, within 50 miles, take her for a day out, eventually ending up at the cycle shop. We'll tell her that the bike's already been 'bought' and that what she needs to do is try out from a selection that we'll get them to suggest (having previously had the prices removed), and pick the one she likes best. If we don't convince her it's already been bought and paid for and we can't get a refund for it, there's no way she'd actually commit to choosing one; and any vouchers for any cycling outlet would end up back with us within six months on the grounds that we both love cycling and deserve them more, somehow. We know she'd love a newer bike, we can both afford what we're trying to give her, but a lifetime of always putting everyone else first makes it really hard to get her to accept that she's 'allowed' to have it.

Having mulled it over, to me it seems that choosing a bike such a personal thing, I think that once we can get over the initial hurdles where she'll be reluctant, it will be far more sensible (and nicer) to involve her in it, and let her have the final say. All we have to do is convince her that all the ones we'll get brought out for her are the same price. If she thought that one was even a tenner cheaper, that'd be the one she'd choose.


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## Mandragora (18 Nov 2014)

steveindenmark said:


> Ask the same question on this site.
> 
> http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/
> 
> ...




Thanks, Steve - those are great sites. Both would have been ideal for us, if that was the route we'd chosen. I'm tempted, anyway, to go along to Powerpedals as they aren't a million miles away from us, just for a look-see!


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## ufkacbln (18 Nov 2014)

Can I be very naughty on a cycling forum??

Is it the cycling or mobility that is the greater ambition

For the trips she is planning a small mobility scooter is within your budget and offers a more stable platform as well

Even more sacrilegious is the fact that as a long term investment the scooter may be a better bet

We have used one of these for a number of years


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## Mandragora (18 Nov 2014)

It's the cycling. If I suggested a mobility scooter she'd honestly kill me, and find the strength in her arms to do it if necessary, but thanks for the thought anyway! She walks the legs off me any time we go away together, and I'd say I'm pretty fit.


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## jefmcg (18 Nov 2014)

Mandragora said:


> It's the cycling. If I suggested a mobility scooter she'd honestly kill me, and find the strength in her arms to do it if necessary, but thanks for the thought anyway! She walks the legs off me any time we go away together, and I'd say I'm pretty fit.


I think that's right. Most people don't want one of those until they need it, plus the adage "use it, or lose it" applies. The longer she keeps moving, the longer she'll be able to keep moving.

And it's quite possible she'll never go through a stage where one would be useful to her. Neither of my parents could have used one.


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## 0lonerider (18 Nov 2014)

my mates mum has a viking e.bike, she bumped into her friend (70yo) shopping and she was riding one and offerd me mates mum ago n she loved it and ordered one the next day!


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## Steady (20 Nov 2014)

0lonerider said:


> my mates mum has a viking e.bike, she bumped into her friend (70yo) shopping and she was riding one and offerd me mates mum ago n she loved it and ordered one the next day!



I know the OP has now decided against the idea of an e-bike, but the Viking is a very "cheap" way to dabble in e-bikes, and fantastic value, I think Tesco still sell them.

The Viking e-go gets re-branded a lot, Sports Direct sold off their versions for £250 in the Summer and my Dad (78yrs old) picked one up.

He at time was a daily cyclist of low mileage to the allotment etc and beginning to feel it, and beginning to feel his slow speed and the impatience of driving was getting to a point where he felt forced off the road. Once he got the e-bike he was back to doing the odd longer casual ride with me and the allotment trips were a lot easier for him, he hasn't looked back since getting one!

I worried about him being on the e-bike, but he took to it like riding it without issue, and made me feel silly for every worrying about it. His balance can be poor, and whilst the bike is 21kg heavy (and heavier when he throws a trailer on for the allotment) he never had any maneuverability issues. The only concern I ever had about it, which he adjusted to well being used to motorbikes was that the brakes were viciously sharp!

Unfortunately he's now had two major operations, but plans to get back on the bike, which I think if he didn't have the e-bike he wouldn't consider it at all and would have gave up riding.


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