E-bike buying advice wanted

[Davey B]

My winter hack has 28mm tyres as that is all I can fit with the mudguards, the other 9 months are dealt with by a GT gravel bike...hence the 40mm tyres. I'm about to try an e road bike. I reckon the trio will be perfect (I've used the MTB once in 2 years)

 

[AustinW]

Let us know how you get on, they get good reviews and seem like a lot of bike for the money.

I think for your needs they should fit the bill nicely.

Don’t forget to buy some pedals, I use Burgtec flat composites myself. You don’t want the disappointment of not being able to just unbox and ride.

Thanks, the bike should be delivered next week sometime. Pedals…. I had already ordered some. I just went for entry level Shimano, mainly as the rest of the crankset is Shimano.

 

[Pukmeister]

How are the new bikes ???

 

[AustinW]

How are the new bikes ???

The new bikes are great.

They arrived via FedEx more or less bang on time after I’d delayed delivery a few days as we were away. All boxed up and well wrapped, assembly took all of 20-30 minutes each: Seat post, ‘bars, front wheel, pedals and the peripherals like a bell and I could have pedalled it away, except the battery is delivered uncharged. So it was 7 hours later before we could ride under power.

And wow riding under power is great. 12ish mph on “eco” mode is almost effortless, a hill is flattened on the middle setting, and a steep hill on turbo can be accelerated up in any gear. It’s amazing. I haven’t played with Shimano app yet where you can change the amount of power of each setting amongst other things.

Downsides, I haven’t ridden much for a long time so those saddles are going to take some getting used to. I’m messing with saddle height and I think got it right as we did 10 miles on a rough ish cycle track on Monday without being too uncomfortable. The other thing is the fit between the battery and the motor doesn’t look like a good one. There’s a big gap. By design I think but it looks like a water trap to me unless there’s a drain in there.

We are taking them to wales soon for a proper test. Just some rides to the pub and stuff, nothing too rough and bouncy but certainly not all Road.

 

[Pukmeister]

They look fantastic, and a lot of bike for the money. The ergonomics look very comfortable.

I wouldn't stress over the battery gap so long as its held firmly and won't pop out by itself.

I'd wager if the design lets in water it also lets it out again somehow.

 

[Davey B]

If that's your own seat height with you sat on it...it's too low IMO. A good guide is to sit on the seat while leaning against a wall. Pedal round to the lowest point of the pedal and a tad more...so the pedal crank is in line with the seat tube. Put your heel on the pedal and your leg should be almost straight. If, when fully straitening your leg you hip on that side is up...it is a biut too low...if the hip is a bit 'down'...its a bit high. Hope that makes sense. (once sussed...it's a lightbulb moment when you ride it)

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/how-to-get-your-bike-saddle-height-right

 

[AustinW]

Yes my seat, yes I knew the seat was miles out. Photos were a few seconds after I’d finished assembling the bikes.

 

[g00ner]

@AustinW that Cairn looks like a good bike. I don’t want or need a full suspension so thanks for the link

 

[AustinW]

@AustinW that Cairn looks like a good bike. I don’t want or need a full suspension so thanks for the link

Don’t thank me, thank @Pukmeister he put me onto them via a link to the best gravel bikes for 2024. Page 2 of this thread (it’s too complicated to post a link on a phone)

 

[Udders]

@AustinW that Cairn looks like a good bike. I don’t want or need a full suspension so thanks for the link

Everybody needs full suspension! Your arse will thank you.

 

[Flintlock]

Spent nearly 5 hours on a full suspension emtb recently - have been hiring them out over the last 8 years now - amazing how they have advanced over that time. Going to have to take the plunge & purchase one myself

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

I’ve been idly toying with the idea of giving my granddaughter my electric MTB for cycling to work and buying an electric road bike because if I go east from home the hills kill me on my normal road bike and simply heading west towards the coast gets boring very quickly.

A trip to Ribble for some retail therapy is probably getting close but if I want to keep the weight low the price is well into motorbike territory

 

[sven]

I’ve been idly toying with the idea of giving my granddaughter my electric MTB for cycling to work and buying an electric road bike because if I go east from home the hills kill me on my normal road bike and simply heading west towards the coast gets boring very quickly.

A trip to Ribble for some retail therapy is probably getting close but if I want to keep the weight low the price is well into motorbike territory

I’ve had a Cannondale Moterra 3 carbon full suspension MTB for three years now and recently took delivery of a Ribble CGR AL E gravel bike.

The Cannondale has an 85Nm mid-motor and weighs about 26kg whereas the hub motor Ribble is nearly half the weight but also half the torque at 45Nm.

I live on top of the Pennines with steep hills in all directions and the Cannondale will take me up any incline with minimal effort if I’m feeling lazy and set it in eMTB or Turbo mode. The Ribble assists, but does need plenty of effort on really steep hills even on its maximum assist setting.

Most the time it provides just enough assistance to keep cycling pleasurable as I’m not getting any younger and its big advantage is that it’s light enough to ride at 20-25mph on level ground without assistance. The Cannondale is too heavy and has too much drag from its tyres to ride above the 15.5mph assistance threshold.

 

[Pukmeister]

I’m not getting any younger and its big advantage is that it’s light enough to ride at 20-25mph on level ground without assistance. The Cannondale is too heavy and has too much drag from its tyres to ride above the 15.5mph assistance threshold.

Same for me, my Giant Trance E+2 is about 25Kg and runs on 27.5"2.6 E-Wild tyres so is hard work to pedal above 15mph on road whereas my old Specialised Hardtail on 29er road tyres weighs nothing and goes like the wind in comparison. Neither is a road bike per-se but we all use them on road at times.

 

[Davey B]

I’ve been idly toying with the idea of giving my granddaughter my electric MTB for cycling to work and buying an electric road bike because if I go east from home the hills kill me on my normal road bike and simply heading west towards the coast gets boring very quickly.

A trip to Ribble for some retail therapy is probably getting close but if I want to keep the weight low the price is well into motorbike territory

I bought a road e-bike from a guy on here back in early May to help me get back into riding after a medical lay off...it was great for that. I used to live a couple of miles from Sven...so the hilly pennines...but where I now live is hillier and I seem to do at least 1000ft of climbing for every 10 miles or so...whichever direction I ride in. Specialized Creo Turbo...I managed 110 miles on the low setting, with 9000 feet of climbing...that'll do. Highly recommended if it gets you out riding more.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

I’ve had a Cannondale Moterra 3 carbon full suspension MTB for three years now and recently took delivery of a Ribble CGR AL E gravel bike.

The Cannondale has an 85Nm mid-motor and weighs about 26kg whereas the hub motor Ribble is nearly half the weight but also half the torque at 45Nm.

I live on top of the Pennines with steep hills in all directions and the Cannondale will take me up any incline with minimal effort if I’m feeling lazy and set it in eMTB or Turbo mode. The Ribble assists, but does need plenty of effort on really steep hills even on its maximum assist setting.

Most the time it provides just enough assistance to keep cycling pleasurable as I’m not getting any younger and its big advantage is that it’s light enough to ride at 20-25mph on level ground without assistance. The Cannondale is too heavy and has too much drag from its tyres to ride above the 15.5mph assistance threshold.

Thanks, you’ve confirmed what I’ve been reading about gravel and road e-bikes in that you have to make them work by doing an equal amount yourself. don’t mind having to do a bit of work but if I go towards your neck of the woods it’s a hard day out so I go into a kind of mental hill avoidance mode.

I’ve always complained about the weight of electric mountain bikes and don’t get any pleasure out of riding mine on canal tow paths or similar but a gravel or road bike would be a different matter and there’s also the small matter of having a much better range with one because it’s not giving the rider as much help.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

I bought a road e-bike from a guy on here back in early May to help me get back into riding after a medical lay off...it was great for that. I used to live a couple of miles from Sven...so the hilly pennines...but where I now live is hillier and I seem to do at least 1000ft of climbing for every 10 miles or so...whichever direction I ride in. Specialized Creo Turbo...I managed 110 miles on the low setting, with 9000 feet of climbing...that'll do. Highly recommended if it gets you out riding more.

Sounds ideal to me

 

[Pukmeister]

Weathers looking good for this weekend, I might visit some of the local South Downs trails on the EMTB around Walderton/Stoughton and up over Harting Downs on Sunday morning and get some fresh air and exercise for a couple of hours of single track.

I need to try out my new Garmin Edge Explore 2 cycle computer and learn how to use it, maybe have a play on the memory map website and try making a route. I'm told that "Talkytoaster" is the place to get improvements over the standard Garmin software.

Memory-Map Outdoor Navigation Apps | Ordnance Survey | Hema Maps – Memory-Map GPS Mapping Apps for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android. Navigate with topographic maps or nautical charts offline. Download it free today.

memory-map.com

https://talkytoaster.me.uk/

About Memory-Map​

Memory‐Map is a software development company focused on recreational mapping software tailored for outdoor pursuits. We’ve been developing mapping software since year 2000 and pioneered the use of portable handheld devices with full color mapping. Long before the iPhone, our software was on PDAs and Pocket PCs. Our robust modern apps run on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. We partner with premium map publishers around the world to provide a secure platform for use of encrypted content. We provide ongoing support and development to ensure our products evolve to keep pace in this fast developing environment.

 

[AustinW]

It’s a bit of a trek out for you Andy, but a nice one, I found Bike Treks at Ings in the Lake District to be the most helpful of all the bike shops I went in during my search. Mainly Specialised bikes though. They let us take two bikes out on a good test run - a heavy clunky Turbo Vado and a light Vado SL 4. The 4 was brilliant, better than the similar Ribble bike I’d tested previously but at nearly £3k was out of budget and £600 more than the Cairn Braves I eventually bought. The specialised Super Light’s look good too.

If you want to take my (or wife’s) Cairn Brave out for a short test run you can if you come up to Garstang. They are flat bar gravel bikes, but they do a drop bar version too but with a different spec and battery/motor I think. Range on “eco” is in excess of 110 miles, although I’ve yet to test it for anything like that distance, but reports from owners on Facebook etc suggest that sort of range is achievable.

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[sven]

I’ve always complained about the weight of electric mountain bikes and don’t get any pleasure out of riding mine on canal tow paths or similar but a gravel or road bike would be a different matter and there’s also the small matter of having a much better range with one because it’s not giving the rider as much help.

I ride along the Leeds - Liverpool canal towpath when I’m taking the long way home from work and found my eMTB frustrating as it was very hard work to ride above the 15.5mph assistance limit, although great once heading over the hills back home. The Ribble is a pleasure to ride on the tow path as it’s easy to ride at 18-20mph on the compacted gravel surface I just need to avoid the really steep hills once I turn for home