mikejkay Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Anybody here, and I mean you Judge, know anything about Ansmann bikes? Specifically the FC1 Plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWO Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Think you will find that the judge has been a naughty boy and is not allowed to talk to us anymore. If the bike has not got a crank driven motor,our dear departed friend would not give it house room. Judge is holding court on another chat room that you have to pay to talk to him properly HWO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 HWO - 2015-12-08 2:24 PM Think you will find that the judge has been a naughty boy and is not allowed to talk to us anymore. If the bike has not got a crank driven motor,our dear departed friend would not give it house room. Judge is holding court on another chat room that you have to pay to talk to him properly HWO A pity. He is a fount of knowledge which is what forums, not just this one, are all about. During my research on bikes i have come to realise that electric cyclists are polarised on the subject of drive mechanisms. The Ansmann is a german bike so I hope that he, or anyone else, might have some constructive comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 We bought two of them off Cyclezee last year. One is an Ft11 and the other a City bike. Both are very well made and we are very happy with them. The guarantee is second to none and the quality of build is very high. The motor is near silent and ours have a range of about 30 miles depending upon how much we pedal (not much!). Ansmann no longer make them, they concentrate on making and selling batteries, motors and the electronics. As they are no longer made there are some bargains to be had. Speak to Jon at Cyclezee. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocro Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Like Judge I'm a big fan of crank motor systems( Kalkhoff owner) but for tootling about in urban environments and on mainly flat roads the front motor is good enough. The specs, build quality and warranties seem very good, I would recommend buying from an established dealer who will back these up though. I also like that you can get them with really large 28" wheels, which should give a great ride. The main downside for motorhomers with high cycle racks is the weight, it can be a struggle lifting them. http://tinyurl.com/hbct3tx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Yep Eddie is definitely in the naughty corner. If you want to get up hill and want a good range far better to spend your money on crank drive bikes, our Bosch powered Scott's are great on the steepest hills and dependent on power use have a range of between 45 - 100 miles. Looked up the FC1 you mention, has a front hub drive they give a nasty riding experance and you would probably need to walk up hills. They give a range of 40 miles, but have a 400 watt battery they must be very inefficent. Like any bike nevery buy before giving one a througher road test, go to a good e-bike shop preferably in a hilly disterict and try out as many as possible, you will come away not accepting anything that doesn't have a crank drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 mikejkay - 2015-12-08 2:54 PM HWO - 2015-12-08 2:24 PM Think you will find that the judge has been a naughty boy and is not allowed to talk to us anymore. If the bike has not got a crank driven motor,our dear departed friend would not give it house room. Judge is holding court on another chat room that you have to pay to talk to him properly HWO A pity. He is a fount of knowledge which is what forums, not just this one, are all about. During my research on bikes i have come to realise that electric cyclists are polarised on the subject of drive mechanisms. The Ansmann is a german bike so I hope that he, or anyone else, might have some constructive comments. I to miss the Judge but an expert on electric bikes, do not think so. He has owned a few high end ones and reads a lot but as far as I know is not in any way involved with the bike trade or is even an engineer so where the expert comes from not sure. Both him and Lennie seem to think that if a bike does not cost thousands it is no good. This may be true if you are into extreme off roading but how many are on here, not many I suspect. The motors are very low powered indeed so any half decent motor will work regardless of where it is. The pedelec forum is one Eddie was always on about so suggest this as good reading on the subject. I paste a section of an article that can be read in full if you go to the forum but reckon this bit sums it up pretty well. 'Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or crank drive?” I am going to really upset the entire internet now by letting you into a secret about electric bike motor placement: For most people it doesn’t matter! If it’s a decent bike with an efficient motor it will work just fine regardless of where they stuck the rotating bit. But just to stem the flow of comments that statement is bound to provoke, let me very briefly go into the pros and cons for each system. Rear wheel drive means you are sitting more or less over the drive wheel. This gives you great traction. This is good in slippery conditions, but because the battery is often near the back of the bike as well it can make it a bit back heavy for carrying. Front wheel drive means that when you’re pedalling there is drive to the back (from your pedalling) and drive to the front (from the motor) so you’re all wheel drive. This makes the bike feel more stable. You’ll hear talk on the forums about front wheel motors being prone to wheel spin but this only applies to bikes with poor control systems that don’t give the ride enough progressive control over the power. Good front wheel drive bikes are great in all conditions. Having a mid/crank drive (whatever you want to call it is fine) system means the centre of gravity is lower and in the middle of the bike for better handling. Putting the motor on the crank means you can use the bike’s own gears if it struggles on the hills. But you can’t fit a throttle (on most, although some crank drive systems are starting to appear with throttle control now) and they’re usually torque sensored so you can’t operate the motor unless you’re already pedaling yourself. The best advice is to try a few systems out and see which one you like best. If you can’t pedal (or don’t want to) then don’t go for a crank drive, but otherwise the choice is pretty open. The build quality and efficiency of your motor is much more important than it’s placement but shhhh! – Don’t tell the rest of the internet. They’ll have to go back to debating Mac Vs Windows instead'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 We have done a good few miles on our Ansmanns so far and the front wheel drive is excellent. They climb hills well and no doubt if we pedalled more we would get a lot more range. I have never experienced any wheel spin or instability, the drive "take up" is smooth. Crank drives are also nice to ride, I did test a few, but since we mainly use ours in the sunshine and on holidays it was difficult to justify the much higher price. That's the same reason I bought a Ford, the Rolls Royce was a superb drive but a bit pricey :-D H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I have to disagree hub bike are pretty useless on 1 in 4 hills & don't cope too well on 1 in 6 hills either. Did a ride earlier in the year after 30 miles to get back to the van had to go up a 1 in 4 our Bosch drives made it without problem and we still had enough battery power for another 20 miles. Front hub drives give an un-natural riding experience as they pull you along, rear hubs fair a bit better but nothing can compare with a good crank drive, there are some poor ones about a Shimano I rode was awful. There are some better hub drives e.g. Ansmann R29, BUT that is £3000 might as well buy a crank drive. These days crank drives are not that expensive particularly if you buy in Germany, saved a £1000 buying our two from a German dealer, only cost €20 each for shipping and arrived within 2 days of ordering and they have a pan European warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 mikejkay - 2015-12-08 1:45 PM Anybody here, and I mean you Judge, know anything about Ansmann bikes? Specifically the FC1 Plus. You'll find him on Fun these days after been asked to leave here ... If all things German and anti everything British is what ya want then good old Eddies ya man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 antony1969 - 2015-12-13 12:06 PM You'll find him on Fun these days after been asked to leave here ... If all things German and anti everything British is what ya want then good old Eddies ya man Like me Eddie is not anti-British just likes to get a good deal and not get ripped off by British dealers. The EU is a common market so what is wrong with buying from Germany where prices tend to be a lot lower. I saved £12k buying a Motorhome in Belgium, £1k buying bikes in Germany £140 buying a car stereo in Germany. What's wrong with making our hard earned cash go as far as possible especially when you are on a limited income as a pensioner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-12-13 10:31 AM I have to disagree hub bike are pretty useless on 1 in 4 hills & don't cope too well on 1 in 6 hills either. Did a ride earlier in the year after 30 miles to get back to the van had to go up a 1 in 4 our Bosch drives made it without problem and we still had enough battery power for another 20 miles. Front hub drives give an un-natural riding experience as they pull you along, rear hubs fair a bit better but nothing can compare with a good crank drive, there are some poor ones about a Shimano I rode was awful. There are some better hub drives e.g. Ansmann R29, BUT that is £3000 might as well buy a crank drive. These days crank drives are not that expensive particularly if you buy in Germany, saved a £1000 buying our two from a German dealer, only cost €20 each for shipping and arrived within 2 days of ordering and they have a pan European warranty. Well Lennie a hub bike costing thousands may be marginally better up a 1 in 4 hill but who cares. You do not say what your 1 in 4 was, on the road or off road, but if on road you will be hard pushed to find a 1 in 4 in euro land. I wonder how many will ride up one anyway, most seem to use their bikes for a gentle ride to the nearest town or riding in places like the Moselle valley, not to many 1 in 4's there. Looking at Eddie's riding tales they seem to be tootling around London or Benidorm, not much room there to justify a bike costing thousands, do not know about you as you seem to keep quiet about where you ride. Methinks an ego thing at work here, nothing wrong with ego buys I guess most of us have done them at some point, few years ago I bought a Merc C class instead of a much better car the Ford Mondeo, I was fully aware the Ford was better in every way except one, the wrong badge. Daft I know but I am ok with that and fully admit an ego buy, guess it is much the same with you and Eddie and e bikes. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I've tried a few hire bikes recently as I ponder whether I need electric assistance. There were several hire shops in Padstow and Wadebridge where they have started to introduce them on the Camel Trail. This is very flat, being the old railway line, so I didn't find I needed it, so tried the hill out of Wadebridge which is steep and long, followed by my keen cyclist son in law, in his Lycra and his £5,000 carbon racing bike. It flew up, most of the time in top gear, dropping to sixth for the last bit, he was puffing and blowing behind me, although he said he could have taken me at any time. (!) At 70 with a replacement hip, wearing wet weather walking clothes I wasn't out of breath at the top, so I'm sold on them. Interestingly they all use mid price rear hub drive bikes with drop in batteries for ease of maintenance and spares, just changing the rear wheel if there is a problem. They didn't rate the very expensive crank drive ones as they didn't think they were cost effective, being used two or three times day by a range of folk. Just an observation, I have no preference ( but reckon you could buy about five Chinese bikes for one top range German) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-12-13 12:57 PM antony1969 - 2015-12-13 12:06 PM You'll find him on Fun these days after been asked to leave here ... If all things German and anti everything British is what ya want then good old Eddies ya man Like me Eddie is not anti-British just likes to get a good deal and not get ripped off by British dealers. The EU is a common market so what is wrong with buying from Germany where prices tend to be a lot lower. I saved £12k buying a Motorhome in Belgium, £1k buying bikes in Germany £140 buying a car stereo in Germany. What's wrong with making our hard earned cash go as far as possible especially when you are on a limited income as a pensioner. Nothing wrong with getting value for money Lenny ... When people start belittling folk or insulting them because they buy ebikes he doesn't like then that's not good , a little like he continues to belittle and insult those who choose to buy Autotrails over on Fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Before this thread degenerates into a testosterone fuelled verbal shoving match can I get back on topic. :-) I have been looking for a reasonably priced replacement electric bike and grew more confused with every bit of information and opinion that I accumulated. I am big :-( 6' 1/2" and 111kg with disproportionally long legs. I live in Torbay up a steep hill (16.5% or in old money 1 in 6) and have knee problems and a heart condition. I looked at crank drive bikes but there is a question mark about having the the rear hub subjected to forces from both the drive and manual pedalling. Also derailleur gear changing is reportedly a problem with crank drive bikes. There is some disagreement as to whether the hill climbing ability of crank drive bikes is all that much better than that of bikes with other types of drive. An attractive bike, the Woosh Krieger, has a small frame with 26" wheels but is not recommended for tall heavy riders. It is also quite expensive. The Woosh Santana CDL is bigger, with a 50cm frame and 28.5" wheels, and therefore is suitable for tall riders but this one is not recommended for people of my weight! I considered high power rear hub bikes with 500w, 750w and 1000w motors, but was concerned about the legality of these, the fact that most appear to be put together by small businesses, and the size of the battery required to make use of the power. These bikes will undoubtedly go fast on the flat (illegally) but would they carry my 111kg up a 1 in 6 hill? Front drive bikes with rear gears give 2WD which makes sense and takes some of the strain off the gears. I looked at the Kudos Tourer which is available with the Shimano Nexus-8 gear hub but this bike is quite heavy and the battery was "only" 10Ah. Also, with advancing years I have come to realise that any little thing that makes life easier is worth having. The Tourer is a cross bar bike which is awkward to get on and with the Nexus-8 it is relatively expensive. The step through Woosh Sunbear seemed to fit the bill perfectly, albeit also a bit expensively and with the older Nexus-7 gear hub. Alas, although still on the Woosh website, the bike is no longer available! So, I have now bought an Ansmann FC1 Plus. It is big, 28" wheels and a 50cm frame. Significantly less expensive than the Woosh and Kudos bikes, probably because the dealer is selling off his stock. The FC1 has a three year guarantee and is German made with high quality components and included mudguards, battery driven lights, pannier, stand, shock absorbing seat post and a 6 speed PAS controller. It has an inconpicuous 250w front hub, a 8 speed Nexus hub on the rear and a 11.4Ah 36v battery with Panasonic cells. I am impressed with the quality of the bike. I took it out today and it rides beautifully >:-( The downside is it did not get my 111kg up the hill. However, it got significantly further than my previous bike and it coped with all the other little hills with no problem. I have come to the conclusion that no electric bike will cope with the combination of my weight and the 1 in 6 gradient. All is not lost, however, if I have to get off there is a little button that I can push that will power the front wheel and drag me and the panniers full of shopping up the hill. The bike is a pedelec and, as such, does not have a twist grip throttle The "throttle" is my legs. They have to keep going in order for the motor to provide power assistance. On the flat with PAS set to 2 I pedalled but with no effort. On slight gradients with PAS set to 2 a slight effort was required. I have yet to address the problem of getting the bike into the garage of my Hobby. I think that I will have to remove both the seat and the handle bars! With more use of the bike I expect that my legs will get stronger and, hopefully, my weight will get less, Who knows, maybe the day will come that I can cycle up the hill without having to get off and push B-) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 It's interesting to note that the Consumers Association ( Which ) have declined to test e- bikes ( or any bikes at all as far as I can see ) because of the extremely wide choice of types and constantly changing technology available - plus differences in personal taste. I'm not into them yet myself but when I do start to investigate I will tap the expertise and advice of a number of good bike shops. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Therein lies the problem I simply could not find a shop that sells electric bikes in my area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 ....Hopefully not a testosterone-fuelled response. Though I've crossed swords with Eddie on the subject of e-Bikes before, I agree with a number of his basic tenets, but not with the way that he believes his solutions are relevant for everyone else! I tried numerous bikes out before I bought ours some three years ago. Even the more expensive hub-drive bikes were not (IMO) as comfortable or capable as the (admittedly expensive) crank-drive ones I finally decided on. On the Kalkhoff I bought, I felt much more in control of the bike, and it's hill-climbing capability was palpably better than the hub-drive ones it tried at the same time. Combined with large-capacity batteries promising a decent range, it was an obvious choice. But this means the obvious choice for us. We tend to do relatively long rides, often in hilly country, and we could afford them. Others will have different requirements and/or financial constraints, and thus different choices will apply. However, I will support the superiority of crank drive, and also (at least partially) dispute the fact that no bike will cope with heavy weights up steep hills. Whilst I don't (quite) weigh 111kg, by the time I add the weight of the two well-laden panniers I invariably end up with, the load on the bike is not far off that. I've quite happily climbed hills up to 1 in 4 (in the Alps) in that state, often as part of a long ride. A good example in the UK is a circular ride from Umberleigh round the Tarka Trail, and back over the tops from Great Torrington. A ride of over 50 miles (Umberleigh to Barnstaple via the hilly back roads) with long stretches of hills (including one good stretch at 1 in 5) on the way back. Never a hiccough and never a dismount for hills. This with a road-legal 250W motor (and the big battery). Of course, with a pedelec, there is some dependence on the strength of pedalling that has to be assisted, but I would be disappointed if I couldn't do rides such as that above. As for reliability, both bikes are performing much as they did from day 1, with nothing except normal bicycle maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Ouch :$ Roughly how much were your bikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I paid something around £1800 each 3 years ago. E-Bike prices have fallen across the board in the interim, and the equivalent (upgraded spec) bike can be had for somewhat less than that now. Still quite a bit more than you paid, and I suspect you've got reasonable value for money with yours, if it largely suits your purpose. Technology changes rapidly as well, and if I were buying anew, I'd certainly want to do a good few tests before spending the amount I did. Having said that, we both think these have been one of our best ("luxury") purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 There is no doubt, you get what you pay for. Having said that, the Ansmann FC1 was retailing at about £1650 when Ansmann were still making them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 mikejkay - 2015-12-13 5:55 PM Therein lies the problem I simply could not find a shop that sells electric bikes in my area. Hi Mike How about the ' Bigpeaks ' store in Ashburton ? - Is that very far from you ? Haven't been there myself but their website looks ' interesting ' ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Thanks for that. I did look at their site but it seems to be not all that informative, particularly with respect to electric bikes. Chocolate teapot springs to mind. It irritates me that in this day and age websites can be so uninformative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 These have a showroom on a Honiton industrial estate...... http://electricbikecentre.co.uk/contact_electric-bikes.html http://electricbikecentre.co.uk/electric-bike-shops/devon/electric_bikes-devon.html Although, as I know nowt about electric bikes, I've no idea of the "quality" of the brand(s) they sell.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Missed that one. Thanks for pointing it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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