Mel B Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 It appears that my original thread about our new electric bikes has been pulled due to comments by some parties on it so this is to update the situation, but first a bit of the original thread to give the background. After ordering our new Pro Rider E-Wayfarer electric bikes last Thursday they arrived today and what lovely bikes they are! Below is where we got them from: http://www.proridermobility.com/detail.asp?productID=334 We haven't ridden them yet as by the time we'd done our running around today it was getting on a bit so we'll have a go tomorrow once the batteries are fully charged, however so far we are very, very pleased with them as they are even better than we expected. We've had a sit on them and found them very good as the seating position feels more like a standard type bike, due in no small part to the longer frame size and height adjustable handle bar, therefore they are not as 'hunched-up' as a lot of folders ... I can see that we'll definitely be able to ride further/for longer as they should be very comfortable. The red one is a very nice shade and the silver one that we thought would be a bit 'bland' and therefore didn't order originally* isn't actually painted but very highly burnished and looks extremely 'posh', certainly looking much more expensive than it was (*we ended up with a silver one as a box marked as containing a red one actually had a silver one in!). In addition to other things, they have: - Height adjustable handle bar post - most folding bikes have fixed ones - The handle bar itself can be twisted to give the most comfortable position for the controls etc - again a lot are fixed - Front fork suspension (adjustable) - Rear seat post suspension (adjustable) - this means the seat doesn't 'tip' so you have to remove the seat/post to take the battery out which is easy anyway, but I'd rather this than have a harsh ride! - Large rear carrier (carries 25kg!) with spring clamp and side bars so that if used with panniers they won't flap into the wheels - Stand with positive locking clip to prevent it being accidentally 'tapped' out of position - Rear servo disc brake - Folding pedals (not all folding bikes have these believe it or not) - Extremely bright front/rear LED lights - 36v 10amp battery - 250w motor AND Well, we've had a go on them this afternoon and what lovely bikes they are. - We found that the seat angled can be adjusted to suit the riding style/comfort and can also be moved back/forth too to get the optimum position. - As I suspected being able to have the handlebars higher than many other folders due to it's height adjustment made for a much nicer ride as I was in a better upright seating position so more relaxed. - The power is something to behold! With a motor the equivalent of no more than 2.5 100w lightbulbs, it fair whizzes along, we've found that the lowest setting is more than sufficient for a little bit of assistant so when it comes to going uphill the higher settings should make it child's play. Even without using the power assist at all they are very easy to ride with very little resistance so when I stopped pedalling I still travelled quite a way (on the flat), much further than our old normal folding bikes. - The tyres are a cross between mountain bike and road, so going on tracks shouldn't be an issue, and being nice and chunky the bikes feel very stable. THEN Aaaaarrrrrghhhhhhhh .... oh woe is me!!!! As someone on another forum (yes, I am 'ambidexforumous'! ) had questioned the weight of the bikes the other day, I got the scales out and weighed one without the battery or seat and it came out at 19.8kg! I initially didn't realise they were the weight they were when we got them as I hadn't actually tried to lift one myself. Not a happy bunny at all! It means that we cannot carry both of them on the rack if we want to which is a real nuisance as we tend to use bikes several times a day, travelling from one place to another with the camper, then having a ride round, so packing them away/getting them out from under bed each time would be a real pain. When we rang to order them before we did so we checked with the chap that they were 15kg and he confirmed this, hence why we ordered them otherwise we would have looked for something else. Anyway its not the end of the world as I've been in touch with the company and they arranged for a courier to collect them today and they'll give us a full refund once they have them back. Really a shame as they were very, very good bikes but no good for us as they will be too much hassle and all that'd happen is that we wouldn't want to be bothered to get them out so they'd end up not being used. Hubby liked them so much he even 'suggested' changing the camper for one with a bigger garage/underbed area to accommodate them ... seems a bit extreme though!!! So we're now on the hunt again ... there aren't many lightweight folding electric bikes out there, even for 5 times the price, but we think we might have found some ... I'll let you know once we've checked them out a bit more. AND FINALLY THE CURRENT SITUATION After much emailing and phone calls we have finally got some more folding electric bikes which arrived today. We got them from www.bikes4u.biz (same as www.bikes4u.com), they are 'Evora' 20" folders and weigh in at 18.5kg complete with battery, just under 16kg without, so the weight is CORRECT!!!!! They cost £499 each and we were told to order them 'on line' via the website, and that there would be a £10 delivery charge, however when we did it and completed it actually didn't charge for 'standard' delivery! We went for the silver ones, basically polished allow with a lacquer on top, as we thought they'd be less prone to show any scratches etc - very smart they are too; the decals showing them as 'electric' aren't overly obvious either which is good. They don't have any suspension but we can add seat-posts if we need to. We've tried them today and they are very nice to ride, partially as they have a 52 tooth chain ring, instead of the usual 40/42 teeth, so when going at a higher speed you can keep up with the pedals so your legs aren't 'flailing' around! The power assist is very good as it just kicks in depending on the amount of pressure you're putting into pedalling yourself, or you can just use the twist throttle on its one, but I also found that just pedalling them without any power at all was a breeze. They are a different design to the Wayfarer ones as the battery is inside the frame so they are not as long (no battery to accommodate behind the seat post) and are not obvious electric bikes so hopefully less 'appealing' to a would be thief, this design also this makes them lighter and a smaller size when folded too - in fact when stood next to our existing 'normal' folding bikes they are virtually identical in size. The downside of this design is that the battery is smaller at only 6.6amp, but as a replacement/spare is 'only' £150 we might get one to have a 'back-up' one fully charged - we'll see how we get on first though. Based on the measurements we'd been give of the bikes when folded I was planning on raising the bed base an inch or two to be able to get the bikes under there on their sides, but I was planning on doing this anyway to get some air flow under the mattress to stop the condensation we get, it wasn't a major issue. However, what I didn't realise was that with the handlebars being height adjustable they can be removed from the stem totally and this reduces the folded width so they actually fit under the bed as they are! I'll still have to do something about the condensation but won't have to raise the bed base as much as I thought I might. With buying 2 bikes we got a couple of free carry bags too and the bikes fit in these nicely so it will keep them safe from getting scratched and protect the underbed area too. We tried putting one of them on the inner runner of the bike rack and after adjusting the securing arm a bit it went on with ease, similarly when we put it on the outer runner. The rear lights aren't blocked so no issue there - with the batteries and seats on the bikes weigh 18.5kg, without under 16kg, so 32kg max, 3kg below our 'allowable' bike rack capacity. They are currently in our 'expensive' shed (aka the conservatory! ) until we sort out insurance for them - hubby has been in there tonight 'admiring them' ... he's very impressed with how well made they are especially as they are very much at the budget end of the scale. So, hopefully we have finally got what we wanted ... I can now stop thinking/ dreaming / having nightmares about blooming e-bikes! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter21 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Hi Mel You'll have a lot of fun with them. Let us know when they are used on tour....with pics please.. But what about the dogs? We found that our range rapidly outstripped that of our three mignons ( as the French call them) and we had to buy a dog cart, which does the job, if you don't mind looking a bit crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 well lets see if we can discuss this is peace without the usual attacks eh Mel look a lot better then last ones! but lets see how reliable they are and 6 amp pretty small batteries, the range will be limited, but it depends on level of your input and what level of assistance you want from them.. http://www.bicycles4u.com/product/evora-electric-explorer-20 On old thread I suggested yo look at the similar style bikes to ones you have ended up with (batteries in frame) from Kudos and Woosh, the Woosh is actually a chinese centre drive sytem not a hub motor sytem and is interesting, worth trying I think. hub motor bikes will never climb hills as well as centre drives, that drive through the gears. both have 8 amp batteries and around 18Kg http://www.wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-cd http://www.kudoscycles.com/product_info.php?products_id=273 cheap shocks unnecessary on a road bike, you really don't need them and most rubbish unless decent spec, they just add more weight and are a joke. While the above bikes not my kind of thing and have never tried them the the companies have good reputations for support as known brands and retailer have a regular presence on pedelec forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Bikes will be great Mel am sure you will have plenty of fun on em and Judge is right hopefully Frank won't add his piece to it and cause us all grief , here's hoping anyway ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Glad youve managed to get what you want at last Mel :-) they look great, just the job for tootling around on, like us if we dont have the dogs with us we cant go far anyway, and if we want to, we take the van. We dont even take our folding Raleigh,s with us since we changed the van!( no bike rack) we do have bags we could put them in and store somewhere ! but under our bed is out as that is full. Happy bikeing :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 They are nice, I like the way the battery is not so obvious. I am always concerned when leaving mine that a thief will take a more positive approach to trying to borrow them on a permanent basis. Enjoy them, I love mine. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 a consideration when buying from the 100's of e bikes on offer on ebay and the like is, have the company a reputation and are they likely to be around a year or two down the line when you may need parts or a battery. Many just buy a container full from china and have a punt..some of these eventually turn into successful businesses....but not many! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Hi Eddie We did very, very seriously consider the Kudos and the Whoosh but had to rule them out, not from price I hasten to add, but because they didn't meed our needs. I've read up about all sorts of bikes of different makes and prices The Kudos have an 8amp battery but the actual motor itself is only 220w, whereas the Evora with a 6.6amp battery has a 250w motor, we therefore decided we'd prefer a bigger motor for more 'oomph' as we can always have a spare battery to offset the lower capacity one. As for the Whoosh, indeed the Zephyr CD was very interesting especially since it has suspension front and back, but it has some downsides for us: you could only charge the battery in situ which couldn't be removed easily either, requiring messing about taking bolts out to do so, and leaving it in meant 2 bikes would be too heavy for the bike rack, so that ruled it out from the start. If we had been able to take the batteries out and charge them on the run easily we may well have bought them. We even considered a couple of second hand Go-cycles at £750 each (mark 1) which were being sold fairly locally to us - fantastic design but some severe limitations such as no way to know how much power you have (no display), and isn't a 'true' follder, more a dismantler which then brings it's own problems - where can you safely leave it parked up and on return be sure to find that your wheels have not been nicked! The other problem is that you can no longer get the NiMH battery for them and if it does you have no choice but to upgrade to the new version and kit to convert it to use it, at over £400!!! 8-) I've spent hours and hours and hours looking, reading, thinking ... dreaming (nightmares!) about blooming e-bikes and at last can just get on and enjoy what we have, for the money we think they are very good, but obviously they're not the best e-bikes in the world however they didn't cost thousands of pounds either, and for us should be more than sufficient for our needs. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Oops - just realised that I put the wrong web addresses for the company we've got our new electric bikes from, these are the correct ones: www.bicycles4u.biz www.bicycles4u.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 JudgeMental - 2014-04-17 11:13 AM a consideration when buying from the 100's of e bikes on offer on ebay and the like is, have the company a reputation and are they likely to be around a year or two down the line when you may need parts or a battery. Many just buy a container full from china and have a punt..some of these eventually turn into successful businesses....but not many! Very sound advice Eddie, and certainly something we've considered when looking at bikes. The company has been trading for a while, since 2002 in fact. One 'bonus' we didn't realise is though is that, although the bikes come with a pretty standard 3 year warranty on the frame and 1 year on the rest (excluding consumables), they actually have a 2 year battery and motor warranty! :-> A lot of the more expensive bikes don't have this. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomag Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Hi Mel I bet you have got a lot of people watching this tread to see how you get on with your new bikes in the next couple of months [as you seem to have done all the research ] if they work out well I can see a lot of people ordering them you should ask the company for commission. Do you plan on using an inverter to charge the battery`s or just mains Regards Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hi Tomag I've put some info on this thread about how we intend to charge the bikes when away: charging e-bikes I'll certainly let you all know how we get on with them - we'll be taking them to Peterborough show and will give them a really good try out there and report back. As an aside, I had a play yesterday with how to put them under the bed base in our van and had planned to raise the base by an inch or 2 to accommodate them, however I've found that by removing the front wheel (takes about 10 seconds on each one) and then securing it to another part of the bike with a couple of straps, the width of the bikes is reduced, so that once I'd put them in the storage travel bags we already had (which are a bit smaller than the ones we got with the e-bikes) they then slot under the bed base on their sides without any modification to it at all. :-D This means that the only thing I need to have a shuftie at is putting something under the mattress itself on top of the bed base to prevent condensation which we get in cold weather which will be easy to sort now I don't have to raise the frame up too! :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adiebt Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Have great fun with them ! We both went on a shop to the supermarket on ours today ( loaded the panniers to busting ! ) , felt very self righteous ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomag Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Thanks for the reply Mel as we have a LMC 640 TOURER they will go under the beds through the back doors so no problem there just wait to hear how you get on with them and the charging of them as we do not need them at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Mel B - 2014-04-19 5:52 PM This means that the only thing I need to have a shuftie at is putting something under the mattress itself on top of the bed base to prevent condensation which we get in cold weather which will be easy to sort now I don't have to raise the frame up too! :-> Mel, have you looked at the Froli Star Bed System it's a bit cheaper if you buy off German ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 Hi Lenny, yes I've looked at the Froli system but it is expensive for what we need and I'm not sure how well it would work - our van is unusual in that the transverse bed is also a second dinette if required, so to get at the bits and pieces in the under bed side seat boxes we have to go through a hatch in the top of them (although there are some drop down fronts too but that would mean moving the bikes out every time we wanted to retrieve something) and I don't think a 'normal' type of bed support system would work. I know people use some of the grass/reed beach mats under the mattress base but don't know how well they work, however I actually have a couple (somewhere!) as I've tried them in the past but found they tend to move around, however if I use some sticky Velcro to hold the in place at least I would be able to 'peel' them back if I need to get in the bases so I might give that a go ... I've nothing to lose by trying. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulRead Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Nice Have great fun with them ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've obviously not tried or indeed even seen an Ebike. I tend to remain a trusted pedal cyclist. Do they make any noise, no one ever mentions this? either for the user or the pedestrian who might not hear one approaching. What approaching warning sounds do they have if any? I always rated hills as part of the day by walking up them as a different world then opens up and enables the person to look over the hedges. Considering their cost and weight is it possible for a standard pedal cyclist to be towed, thereby a cost saving ? Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hi A BELL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Caddies104 - 2015-05-20 9:41 PM Hi A BELL!! Spot on!lol Will the more expensive centre drive bikes are near silent. Chinese twist and go hub motor bikes can be comparitivily noisey. As a confirmed cyclist I feel sure you would prefer a centre drive e bike Eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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