Ebikes... I'm a hairs breadth from buying, advice please (UK)

My feeling is he didnt mean an external (friction) motor, the Bafang kits I have seen are hub driven.

 

lol, this is what I like to hear.
What spec/power motors did you try?
A little info on the bikes would be nice.

I've decide to up my budget £3K to £4K.
This means I need to go try some out and be very sure of what I am getting.
I'm thinking I should get an off road with at least 750W and be insured etc with a decent ebike helmet for road use because I know this is what I will be happiest with. I have a full license, or at least I used to, the category vanished from my license! I need to wrestle the DVLA into putting it back on.
However, if there are 250W bikes that kick ass ...

I might get 2 bikes to avoid complications, a powerful off road and a dedicated tourer ...

 

https://www.cyclerepublic.com/scott...tm_source=digidip_net&utm_campaign=partnerize

I was thinking something like this .

 

Which one(s) did you find easy to wheelie?
Trying to figure out some basics.

 

You can only buy ebikes in yorkshire

 

Ebikes? Step up your game.

 

lol, thats wonderful.
A shame its too complex for mass production/public use.

 

The reply from NCM about servicing the Moscow Plus motor came.
They simply said they dont do spare parts and didnt have the courtesy to answer the question directly.
Thats warning enough to steer clear of them.


With my new budget I'm looking at the Giant Stance E+ 1 2019 model at a bit over £2.5K, around £500 less than at release last year.
I figure a good trail bike is a fair compromise between a mountain bike and a tourer. Not up to very steep climbs and falls so I'll leave those out but a fun, stable and quick bike, strong uphill, efficient.
It has a Yamaha crank Syncdrive motor that boosts up to 80Nm and a 500Wh battery with Panasonic cells I believe.
There is an aftermarket 700+Wh battery for it.
There are mods to allow boost beyond 25kmh which would be great off road.
I'll no doubt get a better saddle.
Specs are good enough for me for a few years.
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/giant-electrifies-trance-and-stance-for-2019/
scroll 3/4 down to find "Giant Stance E+"

Also considering the Giant Trance E+ 3 Pro 2019 (for £2800).
https://www.mbr.co.uk/reviews/electric-bikes/giant-trance-e-3-pro
But they arent happy with the suspension suggesting the E+ 2 Pro instead (at £3200).
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/biking/electric-mountain-bike/giant-trance-e-plus-2-pro
Both have the slightly more advanced Yamaha Syncplus Pro motor.

If anyone is eagle eyed enough to go over the spec differences and consequences between the ""Stance E+ 1"" 2019 and ""Trance E+ 2 Pro"" 2019 it will be much appreciated.
Ignore the Trance E+ 3 Pro unless you think its viable.
If you feel I shouldnt be looking at a trail bike I'm happy to hear what you think, I'm not used to having so many choices!

 

I was looking for bike availability in the UK and came across the Giant Trance SX E+0 Pro 2019 model which I accidentally clicked on
Uh oh.
A bit over 4 grand with a 20% discount but I want one, with 2 power packs.

https://theloamwolf.com/2019/03/24/review-giant-trance-e-sx-0-pro/
https://ebike-mtb.com/en/giant-trance-e-0-sx-pro-review/

 

Good choice , loads of money but you get what you pay if you know what I mean . If you are going to use it loads it's worth spending extra . Some might tell you that you can buy very cheap bikes and they are fine for light duties but not for bouncing around Rocky tracks .

 

Just be aware that the model you are looking at is a hill descent focused bike with the geometry and suspension to match , so it will be less suited for long road work .
Basically it's a specialized tool meant to excel at 1 job so any other usage will be slightly compromised .

 

Thanks, a slight compromise doesnt matter much, I wont be pushing the boundaries very hard apart from maybe battery life so will probably get another battery when it starts to get low.

I've had the bike since last Friday, it is awesome. I paid less than the stock price.
Apologies for the late response, I forgot about this thread after a wall fell on my house!

My hill is seriously steep yet this bike goes up it quickly in mid gear, mid power.
Braking down my hill is smooth/strong/predictable and grip exceptional. I wont be going off road until the wet weather ceases but I dont forsee any problems.
Grip on flat wet grass is exceptional.
Suspension copes with kerbs as if they arent there.
Gearing is nice and wide, I havent used the first 4 gears yet and it easily exceeds 15mph in top gear.
I love the pneumatic seat post with release on the left bar.
This bike will go anywhere.

I took it on a 20 mile trip to a garden centre via road with long and short long hills, mostly using Eco mode, occasionally bumping power a notch for short sharp hills.
It is so simple to operate, the controls are perfectly placed and intuitive.
The journey was done without breaking a sweat.

The saddle is seriously uncomfortable.
I've fitted a gel cover for now but I will probably change it.
Another downside is the cost of chain gear, it is reported to do around 500 miles per chain off road.
It should get a fair bit more on road but its not exactly cheap.
Off road it works out at approx 20p per mile just in chains + cogs!

Around 25 miles on the clock saw the battery meter drop to 80% full. This last bar will be non linear, ie has more miles with a new battery.
It is at 40% now after 50 miles, so road performance isnt bad, it should do over 70 miles before going into permanent eco mode. I expect 1/2 this off road.
It has decent off road distance with the new battery. When it ages a spare will fill the gap.

Loving it so far

 

That bike looks awesome..... Don't know about their bike tires but Maxxis used to make great go-kart tires.....I'd expect the same quality though. Congrats on the purchase!

 

Cheers.

 

An interesting bit of info I just came across
http://www.giant-guildford.co.uk/gb/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-panasonic-e-bike-batteries/23652
My battery can supposedly charge to full rate for 1000 charges and drops to 80% during the next 800 charges.

The bike hasnt seen a lot of use with the ultra crap weather we've been having in the UK but I managed to sneak a few dry days in.
I took it up a very long/steep hill I swore not to because it will stretch the chain, because I was bored and fancied a different route.
It sailed up without using full power or highest gear. I was surprised how easy it was even though I was quite tired before starting.

Today I took it out in 40mph+ winds for a 20 mile trek and it was a breeze (only chance I'll get to use it this week with the continual rain)
Its surprisingly stable with very fast side gusts, it kept within about 0.5m of the straight line, I wasnt worried about scaring car drivers.
1/2 of the journey was mostly tail wind. Coming back it was full in my face, I wished I had goggles.
Power was bumped up one notch for parts of the return journey, the wind was no trouble.