Check out the all-terrain Mate X electric bike

[weepiper]

"I would like a complicated mechanical machine which also has the added manufacturing complications of an electronic motor and battery, which will carry me several miles through busy traffic safely without parts slipping or breaking and with brakes which will actually stop the combined weight of me and the bike in all weathers. And I expect not to pay more than a week's wages for it, and for it still to achieve all of the above."

 

[sim667]

There's no accelerator, as in a throttle based one. It requires you to pedal for the motor to kick in. There's three different speeds you can select though, low, medium and high. You're welcome to come and try mine out in Barnes sometime if you want to see how it feels.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind if I'm ever over that way.

 

[mrs quoad]

Sweet.

I'm assuming it doesn't have an accelerator? I'm kind of looking for a proper crossover between bike and ped tbh.

A bloke goes past our place on an actual pedalling moped every day. At a reasonable lick.

I have no idea what it is (google isn't being much help) but it looks FUCKING APPALLING.

 

[Crispy]

"I would like a complicated mechanical machine which also has the added manufacturing complications of an electronic motor and battery, which will carry me several miles through busy traffic safely without parts slipping or breaking and with brakes which will actually stop the combined weight of me and the bike in all weathers. And I expect not to pay more than a week's wages for it, and for it still to achieve all of the above."

A friend of mine paid about a week's wages for some terrible Chinese e-bike a couple of years ago. The seat post literally snapped in half while he was riding it, and he came perilously close to impaling himself on the stump.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

A friend of mine paid about a week's wages for some terrible Chinese e-bike a couple of years ago. The seat post literally snapped in half while he was riding it, and he came perilously close to impaling himself on the stump.

A member of my club bought a pair of cheap carbon handlebars direct from some site in China. They were fine for several months, right until they snapped whilst he was descending a mountain in Mallorca at approx 50mph

 

[weepiper]

A friend of mine paid about a week's wages for some terrible Chinese e-bike a couple of years ago. The seat post literally snapped in half while he was riding it, and he came perilously close to impaling himself on the stump.

And let that be a warning to you all.

Honestly, I work with a lot of E-bikes all the time and I've seen some horrors at the very cheap end of the scale. You get what you pay for, and if what you've paid is less than £900 or so then what you get is a heavy, slow, badly-braking lump with irreplaceable drivetrain parts because of the motor design and weird-ass thick spokes that no local bike shop will be able to replace for you when they inevitably snap. So, a bike that will last you maybe a year, then it's going to be dead.

 

[DownwardDog]

Why can't bike shops replace thick spokes?

 

[weepiper]

Why can't bike shops replace thick spokes?

They're not bike standard items. We can't source them from any of our suppliers, the ones I'm thinking of

 

[Nivag]

They're not bike standard items. We can't source them from any of our suppliers, the ones I'm thinking of

The ones on offroad motorcycles are thicker.

 

[dylanredefined]

"I would like a complicated mechanical machine which also has the added manufacturing complications of an electronic motor and battery, which will carry me several miles through busy traffic safely without parts slipping or breaking and with brakes which will actually stop the combined weight of me and the bike in all weathers. And I expect not to pay more than a week's wages for it, and for it still to achieve all of the above."

This 1000 pounds + because I'm lazy getting passed by old &fat people on them feels with either incandescent rage or jealousy.

 

[RubyToogood]

I am going to test ride e-bikes next week. I'm still not sure whether one would work for me or not. I have a bicycle and a motorbike - I'm going to have to replace the latter in some form but not sure an e-bike would quite replace either. But I think it's worth a look.

I'm also not sure where I'd keep one, I have to carry my bicycle up steps into the house and I don't fancy doing that with an e-bike, they all seem very heavy.

I've also been looking (online) at electric motorbikes and scooters. I haven't yet found anything that is the sort of sturdy commuter I can lug heavy things around on and I'm not sure that will ever exist. Electric motorbikes is a very early market and they're all like £20k and kinda sporty. What is about to go big I think is electric mopeds for the Deliveroo type market. I would be a bit depressed about getting one of those but it might have to be the way to go.

 

[Nivag]

I've also been looking (online) at electric motorbikes and scooters. I haven't yet found anything that is the sort of sturdy commuter I can lug heavy things around on and I'm not sure that will ever exist. Electric motorbikes is a very early market and they're all like £20k and kinda sporty. What is about to go big I think is electric mopeds for the Deliveroo type market. I would be a bit depressed about getting one of those but it might have to be the way to go.

Unfortunately one of the companies I thought would make some progress with electric motorcycles is closing due to funding issues.
Alta Motors Ceases Operations