Help buying first ebike

[neonplanet40]

Hi folks

I'm about to get my first ebike through the halfords cycle2work scheme (it's the one my employer uses). So I am looking at options with a max spend of £3000 (schemes max amount). I will likely be buying online as a quick search on thr cycle2work independent dealer check doesn't show much in my area (central scotland).

In terms of me: I'm male, 6ft 6inches and about 112kg in weight.

My usage will mostly be on back paths and cycle paths. I won't be on the main road. Weather conditions in Scotland tend to be temperamental haha. Some hilly terrain but not mountain biking. Im not super fit. So looking at an urban type ebike. I like the idea of it have mudguards and pannier rack etc.

So far, I have posted the following as options:

Haibike Trekking 5
Specialized Vado 3.0 IGH
Cube Reaction Hybrid Performance 625
Cannondale equivalent

But I'm getting pretty overhwlemed with specs etc and not finding much in way of reviews for many of these, so hard to compare.

So I'm just looking some advice from folk on here who perhaps can compare the bikes and tell me if they are all much of a muchness or not. And whether there are others I need to consider.

Thank you.

[bikes4two]

So do you have any current or recent cycling experience or is this your first time on a bike for many years?

Have you looked at https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?bikes - further down the page I've linked to is a list of UK places titled 'Local Help' which includes a number of locations in Scotland.

And whilst you're at it, maybe a look as https://wisperbikes.com/product-category/e-bikes/ -

If no suitable suggestions from this forum, try posting your question on pedelecs.co.uk which is of course dedicated to the ebike - a friendly informative site with many highly experienced members (and Wisper and Woosh post directly on that forum too and both are highly regarded for customer service which is more than is often said about Halfords unfortunately).

[Bonzo Banana]

A quick look at the Haibike Trekking 5 shows it has a total weight limit of 130kg including bike weight as well which I would of thought would put you above the weight limit of that ebike. While Yamaha mid-drive motors are probably one of the best for reliablility it is still a very proprietary motor system which requires professional repair. Looking at forums it would seem those close to the max weight limits of mid-drive motors get a disproportionately higher number of problems and failures. 75Nm torque added to your own with your weight is quite a lot of force on the drivetrain and I would think you would get a high rate of wear and many chain snaps.

While mid-drive motors seem best for e-mountain bikes and serious off-road use I'm still not convinced they are a great option for those who mainly stay on the road it seems un-necessary complexity to me and I hate proprietary systems with ridiculous repair costs.

Looking on the Halfords site I quite like their new B98 model but ultimately I would suggest going to a Halfords with a wide rang of ebikes and testing the models you are interested in or at least seeing them and sitting on them.

Also the Haibike only has a 38T front chainring so you won't have decent high gearing so it will be a slow ebike for general riding. The assistance is only to 15.5mph so many conventional bikes and other ebikes will be considerably faster due to better high gearing. It might take a higher chainring on the front but that would put the motor under greater strain. However on the positive side a front 38T front chainring and perhaps a 42T maximum cog on the rear means you will get all that 75Nm of that motor plus a little bit more for hill climbing.

[andyh2]

Synergy Cycles in Auchterarder look to be on the independent retailers list of shops doing the cycle2work scheme. They do a fair bit of high end custom build stuff, but they do e-bikes as well. I bought a hai bike trekking from them under the (now closed) Energy Savings Trust e-bike loan scheme. Synergy were very helpful and I was able to try several different e-bikes before making a choice. Turned out I preferred lower spec model with Bosch motor, rather than the Yamaha motored version. So I’d say definitely worth trying if you can. If I remember correctly they also do Raleigh, Tern and Moustache e-bikes.

[rareposter]

A quick look at the Haibike Trekking 5 shows it has a total weight limit of 130kg including bike weight as well which I would of thought would put you above the weight limit of that ebike.

Yes, you're going to be on or near the limit on a lot of bikes. The Vado has a structural weight limit of 300lb / 136kg (that's rider weight plus cargo weight, NOT including bike weight) so you'll be OK on that and out of the bikes you've listed, its the one I'd have chosen anyway.

[Bonzo Banana]

A quick look at the Haibike Trekking 5 shows it has a total weight limit of 130kg including bike weight as well which I would of thought would put you above the weight limit of that ebike.

Yes, you're going to be on or near the limit on a lot of bikes. The Vado has a structural weight limit of 300lb / 136kg (that's rider weight plus cargo weight, NOT including bike weight) so you'll be OK on that and out of the bikes you've listed, its the one I'd have chosen anyway.

The Vado is a very complicated bike though with its internally geared hub and I assume the Specialized motor is just a rebadged Brose motor which don't have a great reliability reputation. Also the internally geared hub has a maximum motor torque pairing of 50Nm and the motor is 50Nm so there is absolutely no gap between the two which surely can't be great for long term reliability either. It seems like another short life premium product. Great at the beginning when it works but then becomes an over-complicated nightmare with huge bills. Also the average efficiency of that hub is only 83% so a huge loss of power and the lowest gear is actually quite high so you won't be getting anywhere near that 50Nm. Also you get further losses with the gates carbon belt compared to a chain. The 50T chainring and 24T cog is basically the 2:1 ratio that the hub manufacturer recommends as a minimum ratio. Ultimately because of its configuration is actually quite a low power ebike, much lower than many cheap sub £1k hub motor based ebikes which will happily produce 40Nm or more. Just seems like another Specialized innovation purely for innovation sake a bit like that awful suspension stem they put on some of their road bikes that no one has spares for.

The Low Gear That’s Not That Low
The Enviolo hubs require a minimum front-to-rear sprocket ratio of 2:1. This results in a climbing speed of 8kph when you’re pedalling at 60RPM or a low gear of approximately 28 gear inches.

To put this into context, the climbing speed on many mountain bikes is often 30 to 40% lower. And even lightweight gravel bikes have a 10% lower climbing gear.

While this climbing gear is perfectly adequate for most urban uses, if you’re planning on cycling in hilly terrain without electric assistance (think 10% or steeper), the Enviolo climbing gear is likely not low enough.

[neonplanet40]

Thanks for the help folks.

I have another 4 to 6 weeks before ordering. So I have time to read around more. I was looking st the Cube Kathmandu which had a stronger motor which may help with my weight?

I haven't been able to find much else that can meet it specs for a similar price. But I may be wrong as I am a novice. I'd have to add money to get the Kathmandu as I'd like the Pro model, and it's about 3700 or so. I can use 3000 of that in the cycle2work scheme. 700 of my own money upfront.

I appreciate the continued support and help folks

[rareposter]

The Vado is a very complicated bike though with its internally geared hub

Enviolo hubs have a rock-solid reliability rating, they're easily as good as Rohloff and everyone raves about them for their indestructible nature. I'd actually say that the Vado is far and away the simplest bike there. Hub gear plus belt drive = virtually maintenance free drivetrain. That will go for 10,000km without needing a single thing doing to it. Efficiency - yes, fair point, it's less efficient than most other hub gears but it's on an e-bike so the motor overcomes any fractional losses. I've used e-cargo bikes with Enviolo hubs, they're dead simple to use and understand, the motor pops you up to 15mph easily, everything works. I wouldn't choose an Enviolo on a manual bike but on e-bikes they're amazing.

The motor - like most e-bikes, they're all proprietary but Specialized have a good reputation for support and warranty so I'd not be concerned about that in the slightest, no more than any other e-bike.

I picked out that one on the grounds that the OP isn't after performance, it'll cope with his weight (plus a little bit of cargo) which with most of the other bikes it's right on (or a fraction over) the limit and it's a very simple to use machine that fits all the OPs requirements, especially the fact that it's virtually weatherproof.