Which electric bike shall I buy?

GrannyJen said:
So ....

Popped down to the Bike shop today to have a look and a ride on a Gazelle .... only to have a look....

and came home having ordered 2 * Specialised Turbo Como 4.0 :shocked

The moment I sat on it it felt just so right and for Jo and her arthritic knee(s), well, she just fell in love!
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Brilliant.
I’m sure you will both love the bikes.
I’m tempted about buying one for myself.
Waiting to try the Specialized Vado SL.
 
soulstyledevon said:
Brilliant.
I’m sure you will both love the bikes.
I’m tempted about buying one for myself.
Waiting to try the Specialized Vado SL.
Click to expand...

I liked the Vado but being old and rickety I felt just a little bit more hunched over the handle bars than with the Como.

The Gazelle had the same very swept back handlebars of my Pashley, which I was trying to get away from, and the frame felt just that bit bigger and more ungainly.

I liked the Treks but did not feel as relaxed as on the Como. It was really just sit on it and fall in love.
 
GrannyJen said:
So ....

Popped down to the Bike shop today to have a look and a ride on a Gazelle .... only to have a look....

and came home having ordered 2 * Specialised Turbo Como 4.0 :shocked

The moment I sat on it it felt just so right and for Jo and her arthritic knee(s), well, she just fell in love!
Click to expand...

Awesome. So LEJOG planning starts now. :thumb :thumb :thumb
 
kurienp said:
Awesome. So LEJOG planning starts now. :thumb :thumb :thumb
Click to expand...

This is East to West ...

I don't think I can persuade Jo to think about another LEJOG for another 20 years .... she did say at the time "Never again".... so I was giving it 50 years :D
 
@GrannyJen , you did leave with 2 bikes but i guess also with empty pockets...:D
 
We love our Moustache Samedis - I've got the X Road FS version. Great on and off road - even taken it thru the jump park with the kids! Have got a crate on the rack and 2 panniers that clip on the sides really easy - plus a short bungee tow rope for no2 son when it all gets a bit much!

moustachebikes.com

Samedi 27 Xroad FS 7 - Moustache Bikes

moustachebikes.com moustachebikes.com
 
Hi. I have had a trek 7 mtb for over 2 years, my advice for a lady rider especially, is decide where you want to ride, road, gravel tracks, steep downhills, rough ground etc. Most electric mountain bikes are much heavier and more difficult to manoeuvre, they have wide handlebars to compensate but this can be tiring on the shoulder girdle. You also need to take into account the extra weight, it is a trade off for help on uphills compared to having to brake constantly on the downhills as you build up a lot of speed very quickly. A hard tail Emtb once bounced off line is very difficult to handle. I have the bruises to prove this!!
 
Polomint said:
Hi. I have had a trek 7 mtb for over 2 years, my advice for a lady rider especially, is decide where you want to ride, road, gravel tracks, steep downhills, rough ground etc. Most electric mountain bikes are much heavier and more difficult to manoeuvre, they have wide handlebars to compensate but this can be tiring on the shoulder girdle. You also need to take into account the extra weight, it is a trade off for help on uphills compared to having to brake constantly on the downhills as you build up a lot of speed very quickly. A hard tail Emtb once bounced off line is very difficult to handle. I have the bruises to prove this!!
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This where my full suspension comes in - feels so much more stable than my previous mountain bike
 
dadnickdad said:
This where my full suspension comes in - feels so much more stable than my previous mountain bike
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Very true, but the extra money has to be weighed up against the areas where you are going to use them, eg Peak District V south downs
 
Polomint said:
Very true, but the extra money has to be weighed up against the areas where you are going to use them, eg Peak District V south downs
Click to expand...
Agreed, but the whole ride experience is different I think with full suspension - it feels agile and always in control which seems crazy for such a big bike. You sail over pot holes etc and don't even bat an eyelid. Since lockdown I've hardly used the car and think I will continue that way & I can cart a weeks shopping no problem - I did 75 miles on one charge, mixed use and plenty of lazy turbo....fully loaded. Next add will be a trailer I think. Can just about get it up and on the T6 rack for when we do start getting back to normal - but its reignited my love of bikes and I've found a lot of new areas and tracks that I didn't know existed - so much fun flying thru a forest then pulling up to the supermarket the other side to get the food shop!
 
GrannyJen said:
A big consideration but if we were to do it by E-bike then we would be doing it very leisurely, probably looking at about 30-40 miles a day, circular progress, possibly a half way stop with time in the van allowing the batteries to get charge.

I can echo the praise being given for the moustache range of e bikes. I have had one for over two years now and I have an range of c100 miles on mine so no issues with charging at all. When I am travelling, I carry a pannier for my drinks, snacks, waterproofs etc and also I can carry my charger. When I stop for a leisurely lunch, I can plug in the battery for a quick charge up if necessary. When I was in Italy last year, it was common to see people eating outside at restaurant tables with their batteries on charge and I have found pubs here very happy to oblige .. although I have only done it twice! When I forget to get sufficently juiced up. It all tops up very quickly I find.

There is an excellent stockist in Yattendon near Newbury https://www.velospeed.co.uk/. The stockist there has several bikes to try out .. you can go out for a good test run and there’s plenty of advice and guidance.
Click to expand...
 
sorry about that .. I couldn’t get the text in the right box .. too many thumbs I think!!!

Two penneth worth ..a little late but still ....

I can echo the praise being given for the moustache range of e bikes. I have had one for over two years now and I have an range of c100 miles on mine so no issues with charging at all. When I am travelling, I carry a pannier for my drinks, snacks, waterproofs etc and also I can carry my charger. When I stop for a leisurely lunch, I can plug in the battery for a quick charge up if necessary. When I was in Italy last year, it was common to see people eating outside at restaurant tables with their batteries on charge and I have found pubs here very happy to oblige .. although I have only done it twice! When I forget to get sufficently juiced up. It all tops up very quickly I find.

There is an excellent stockist in Yattendon near Newbury https://www.velospeed.co.uk/. The stockist there has several bikes to try out .. you can go out for a good test run and there’s plenty of advice and guidance.[/QUOTE]
 
HB19 said:
sorry about that .. I couldn’t get the text in the right box .. too many thumbs I think!!!

Two penneth worth ..a little late but still ....

I can echo the praise being given for the moustache range of e bikes. I have had one for over two years now and I have an range of c100 miles on mine so no issues with charging at all. When I am travelling, I carry a pannier for my drinks, snacks, waterproofs etc and also I can carry my charger. When I stop for a leisurely lunch, I can plug in the battery for a quick charge up if necessary. When I was in Italy last year, it was common to see people eating outside at restaurant tables with their batteries on charge and I have found pubs here very happy to oblige .. although I have only done it twice! When I forget to get sufficently juiced up. It all tops up very quickly I find.

There is an excellent stockist in Yattendon near Newbury https://www.velospeed.co.uk/. The stockist there has several bikes to try out .. you can go out for a good test run and there’s plenty of advice and guidance.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]

Thank you but too late :)

I placed an order for two specialised Como 4.0 bikes Wednesday.
 
Quentin SF said:
Slightly off-topic, but the bike I really want an excuse to buy, but haven’t quite found one yet, is the Tern GSD.

Bikes | Tern Bicycles

www.ternbicycles.com www.ternbicycles.com

At about 4 grand, these are expensive, but enormously flexible - see the little animated GIF on their page - and very nice to ride. Slower, but otherwise more capable, than many motorbikes, which makes the price seem a bit less extreme! And you can ride them over pedestrian bridges, and, of course, without a license. :)

Since you can put six paniers on these things, and, with two batteries, have a range of over 100 miles, my dream is to do a camping tour of the Lakes and Scotland on one...
Click to expand...

Going to test ride the Tern HSD next week.
Yes, I’ve caught the ebike bug. My wife’s bike has blown me away, how good and much fun it is. I took it out last week and couldn’t stop smiling...

I was looking at the Riese and Müller Multi-Charger. But, the shop has said the Tern is the most versatile bike they sell for general city/commute riding.
I’ve had a look and the Tern is an interesting bike.
 
soulstyledevon said:
Going to test ride the Tern HSD next week.
Yes, I’ve caught the ebike bug. My wife’s bike has blown me away, how good and much fun it is. I took it out last week and couldn’t stop smiling...

I was looking at the Riese and Müller Multi-Charger. But, the shop has said the Tern is the most versatile bike they sell for general city/commute riding.
I’ve had a look and the Tern is an interesting bike.
Click to expand...
WOW!! They look AMAZING :bananadance2
 
Milo4 said:
I have a Tern GSD and use it to do the school run with a 10 and 7 year old on the back. It’s quicker than the car for the 12 mile round trip and the kids love waiving to everyone en route
View attachment 62103
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Thats great Milo.
I have the school run starting in September and will be using the bike for drop off and pick ups.
How do you find the Tern...?
Is it powerful enough when loaded...?
 
Yes it has lots of power and because the motor is crank based you still get the benefit of the gears to ensure you are in the most efficient part of the power band. The only slight negative is that when the motor disengages at 15mph the drive train has a noticeable drag, so you go from cruising along nicely to suddenly no assistance which can be annoying. There are hacks available to deal with this if it really annoys you
 
I saw one advertised called Speedbox. Looked pretty easy to install
 
I would check that any modification to the 15.5 mph works with the automatic rear hub gearing on the Tern cycle you noted above as I read that there was incompatibility with the modification. Derailleur gearing should be fine.
 
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