Mel B Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hi Guys We've got the chance of a couple of electric bikes (to use when we go away in our motorhome ... gotta keep Brian happy :D ;-) ). The bikes in questions are Powabikes - namely the Salisbury and the Windsor (male and female version) with lithium batteries. Does anyone have these, or have considered buying them, and if so what do you think of them please. Ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyTom Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Powacycle (see below) bikes are mid-range quite decent bikes from a well established company and this is the most important thing to consider when buying an electric bike. It's all very well going for something cheaper or something that, on paper, may appear slightly better. The reason I say this is that a vital consideration when considering an electric bike is replacement batteries. If your cheap bike maker has disappeared, you're snookered. Flavour of the month a couple of years ago was the eZee range but if you'd bought one you'd now be looking at £400 for a new battery as the agency changed hands and the new firm seems to be holding customers to ransom. Powacycle seem well established as a brand and I would certainly recommend them. There's a good E bike forum here where you can learn a lot http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/ A friend of mine has the Windsor with the lithium-ion batteries and she's delighted with it. Although you mention Powabyke, this is actually a different brand. The Windsor and Salisbury are made by Powacycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hi Tom Yes you're right, they are Powacycle Windsor and Salisbury models - I originally posted too quick! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Elswood Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Apart from the fact that a person may have physical disabilities or limitations, what's wrong with pedalling for exercise? I have seen a few in use on campsites etc. and they look heavy and cumbersome in comparison to a conventional bike. The lightweight bike in my opinion would more than offset the facility of having electrical assistance for a normal healthy individual! Having said that, they must be very helpful for persons who unfortunately are limited with their physical capabilities. Sorry but I can't help with the selection of models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Tom is spot on......These are a reasonable and cheap intro into e biking. a little slow and heavy but well regarded over on pedelec forum. We have Wisper e bikes, better but a lot more expensive. As long as batteries were initially conditioned properly (fully charged, then run till flat. Repeat this cycle 3 times) Plus if not in use, charged for an hour once a month, all should be well. But there is the risk with secondhand e bikes...... have the batteries been looked after properly. Makro were doing these on offer for £399 recently plus vat I guess. so unless dirt cheap probably better of with Makro and the guarantee. I use my e bike daily and its a liberating experience...sailing past the lines of stop start traffic. no noise, no fuel ,no hold ups, and no parking charges. And most importantly excercise and great fun home and away! :-D Just seen Bob's post....A lot of fit people use e bikes for fun and commuting, simply because they flatten out the hills and take the grief out of cycling and allow you to arrive at destination in a reasonable condition.*-) They offer assistance where it matters...on hills. We travelled in areas in Italy and Switzerland last year that I could not of dreamed of on a conventional bike..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Elswood Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-12-20 8:20 PM Just seen Bob's post....A lot of fit people use e bikes for fun and commuting, simply because they flatten out the hills and take the grief out of cycling and allow you to arrive at destination in a reasonable condition.*-) They offer assistance where it matters...on hills. We travelled in areas in Italy and Switzerland last year that I could not of dreamed of on a conventional bike..... Sorry Judge, but having been a 'roadie' (cyclist) for most of my life I tend to forget( even now) that perhaps they could be useful!! I still maintain that a reasonably fit cyclist on a good lightweight bike (not a gas pipe special!!) would do the hills easier than on one of those lumbering monsters!! I admit they could be fun though!! at a cost !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hi Mel B and All Electric bikes, dishwashing machines, satnavs all come under the same category - if you haven't got one, you can't see any possible reason for having one: we have all three. On the question of electric bikes, we have the Salisbury and Windsor which we originally bought for our campervan but we use them all the time now, they're fantastic! However, please bear in mind, I am over seventy, overweight and live in a flat part of Shropshire; but, when in Italy, we can still do over twenty miles a day, the batteries being recharged with an inverter in the van. Best of luck, Mel B and best wishes to all at Christmas and a prosperous New Year - happy travels! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Mel, 2 of the best things we have bought in recent years. I bought a Ladies Powabyke Shopper SH and was so impressed OH bought the Mens Powabyke Eurobyke SH also. These we have used as normal bikes but when we get to an incline you still have to pedal but get extra power from the motor on the bike. You can if you so wish just use the motor but that is not what we bought them for. We live in a fairly hilly area and have found them to be excellent at home and also when away in the van. Must also say that both bikes have new batteries - not the Lithium ones though. I would not hesitate to replace them when the need arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Hi All. If you are thinking about going down the electric assist route at a resonable cost, it may be worth considering converting your own bike to electric assist. It will add about 8kg in weight, but you keep a bike that you are happy with. There are several kit suppliers around,this one is worth looking at,they have a good range of kits. (alienocean home) www.alienbikes.co.uk When in to them click on to electric bike kits. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 We bought electris bikes, and they were allright to start with, but they were the cheap Chinese type and soon went wrong, and to be honest we lost interest. (Available free to anyone who wants to collect them). Points to watch, don''t buy cheap ones, and if like me you are bit generously proportioned, 6'3'' and 18 stone, they are not very comfy after 15 or 20 mins. We actually bought two very nice, old fashioned ordinary bikes with Sturmey Archer 3 speedgears and mudguards and so on, not those suedo mountain bikes with loads of gears, and the seats handlebars and saddle in the wrong place, and we find we can get about quite well. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Mel B - 2009-12-20 6:34 PM Hi Guys ...........The bikes in questions are Powabikes - namely the Salisbury and the Windsor (male and female version) ............. Please pardon the off topic, but do I gather that one is the male and the other female? If so, can you explain which has which gender attributed, and far more intriguingly, why? It's just that I am having great difficulty imagining what may be the intrinsic maleness, or femaleness, of either. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Salisbury is a gents frame, and Windsor (for ladies & old codgers) a step through (no crossbar) the significance of the names is beyond me :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-12-21 6:58 PM Salisbury is a gents frame, and Windsor (for ladies & old codgers) a step through (no crossbar) the significance of the names is beyond me :-S Judge, I have the Powacycle Windsor - hopefully I am a lady but not an old codger only being in my 60s which as everyone knows is the new 40s. Seriously though, Mel, the lithium battery on the bike is great and does not "have a memory" and therefore doesn't suffer power loss from constant shallow charging. In France this year I regularly covered 30 miles using a combination of pedalling, power assisted pedalling or using just the throttle - over all sorts of terrain. The battery still had plenty of charge left but was put on charge overnight ready for the off again next day. I personally think the Windsor is a great piece of kit. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 All Lithium batterys have a "memory" that is why it is important to condition them properly or else......... *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-12-21 11:03 PM All Lithium batterys have a "memory" that is why it is important to condition them properly or else......... *-)[/quote Judge are you certain alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-12-21 11:03 PM All Lithium batterys have a "memory" that is why it is important to condition them properly or else......... *-) Good morning Judge and all! I can only quote you the blurb that came with my bike re the lithium battery "They do not suffer memory effect so there is no permanent power loss in the event of regular shallow charging. Lithium Polymer batteries can be charged up to 500 times" and to say that I fully charged mine on the day of purchase and have charged it after every journey no matter how long or short. It always fully charges and has taken me 30 miles or so after say a previous journey of only a few miles plus a charge. I'm not a techie person but I know what I see. Another statement from Powacycle is "LPX batteries also have a very low discharge rate of only 5% per month while in storage. Therefore there is no need to keep recharging batteries if the bike is left unused for several months over the winter period". This I also know is true from experience. So I still believe I have a damn good bike with an excellent battery. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-12-21 11:03 PM All Lithium batterys have a "memory" that is why it is important to condition them properly or else......... *-) Eddie, rechargeable lithiums do not have a memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 All I can go by is what i have learnt over on electric bike forum. and there is some very knowledgeable people over there...... Once a battery has been conditioned properly shallow charging is fine. but unnecessary charging after every short trip is unnecessary. quote from pedelec forum: Re: lithium batteries No, they do have to be conditioned, usually two full charge and discharge cycles, since that evens out the electrolyte in the cells to achieve full capacity from new. Then they can be used with part charges and indeed prefer that to full discharging. If left idle they must be charged at least once every three months at the latest, so every month or two is safer to avoid forgetting to do it. If they are left idle long term like that, don't store in a warm or hot place, a cool place is better for longer life. End quote this is interesting as well: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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