Advice on ebike for my wife
 

Hi, I'm new to the forum and although I've read quite a few reviews I'm still confused...

I'm a road bike rider in my fifties and typically ride 25-40 miles on a ride through the "rolling" countryside of Oxfordshire. I normally average about 16-18 mph. My wife has a road bike but NEVER uses it - she has an upper back twinge which makes a road-bike position uncomfortable, and she struggles on any sort of hill due to lack of cycling fitness, and wouldn't want to go more than 12-15 miles...so I cycle alone or occasionally with a friend :-(

I realise that I'll probably have to dial back on the average speed whatever I get her, but I'd like to find an ebike that will, as far as possible, enable her to keep up with me in comfort (probably leave me for dead on the hills) for a decent distance and in comfort.

No particular budget in mind...I'd rather get quality that she can really enjoy rather than compromise for the sake of saving money.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

ebike for your wife
 

Check out Lamere cycles, they do some pretty sweet ebikes, some of their stuff is crazy (all carbon, super light) but they do some more mild mannered ebikes that can haul ass for over 40-50 miles. I rode one and I almost **** myself it was so quick, she will surely leave you in the dust by the end of your 25-40 mile ride.

I have an ebike with a Shimano motor. Not suggesting that over any of the others, but my impression is that it's a little cheaper. After you get one, learn about the batteries. I've been wondering how much the replacement batteries would cost with those bikes that use proprietary batteries. My bike has a bog standard battery, and a new replacement would be very expensive. Fortunately, you can get rebuilt.

A lot of them come with kickstands. Because they are heavy, I would worry about it falling down and damaging something.

This is like any other bike, go to some shops, and try some bikes. They are quite spendy. It could be just the thing to get your wife to come along, I wasn't riding, now I am.

Good luck.

https://howtoebike.com/ultimate-elec...-buying-guide/

A restricted mid drive pedelec ebike in the UK is going to have a 25km/h (15.5 mph) limit on the assist. While she could go faster than that through her own input, it's not exactly easy for someone who is a little unfit or not really much of a cyclist.

On the other hand, something like a Shimano esteps 6100 or a Bosch active line is going to help her get to that speed very quickly in all but the worst conditions, and maintain that 25km/h speed without any difficulty. You'll find that her average speed on an open road will be pretty close to that number, the motor really helps to flatten the hills and knock out the effects of a headwind.

Something like a Gazelle orange or a Merida Espresso would be just about right.

For comfort, a commuter style, which is more upright, should suffice (you might even be able to modify her bike). Since e-bikes are popular in the EU, you should be able to locate good dealers for OEM bikes (Specialized, Haibike, Bulls etc). FME with a Haibike and friends with Bulls and Felt, most seem to be very well developed. Lastly, look at the tutorials that ebikesca has on their site (maybe you'll decide to DIY) and check pedelecs.co.uk.

Would you consider a folding ebike?

The Tern Vektron S10 has a Bosch active line motor and the geometry could be better suited for riders with back problems.
A work mate lent me his one when i was working in Munich earlier a month ago. We were rolling around the outskirts of Erding (country town out side of Munich).
I only ride road bikes generally but this bike was really comfortable.

In the UK, with what I consider a restrictive speed limit on commercial ebikes, you might want to consider putting a motor on an existing bike. There are a number of shops that will do that for you, and most will build one that will keep up with your road bike. If you start with a good light weight bike, and go with a smaller battery, you're looking at 10-12 pounds of added weight, somewhat better than the overbuilt 50-55 pound e-bikes commonly sold.

I'm not talking about monster kits either. Just the same 250W motor, which is legal, and most of them can do 18-20 mph unfettered on 36V. Hardly earthshaking speed.

Look at any of the better brand cruiser bikes. The upright riding position should be comfortable for her.

-SP

For back problem as people mentioned an upright riding position e-bike is best choice. As such riding position gives little pressure on her spine. Cruisers or dutch style bikes will be perfect.

Check bike to have nice saddle to give extra comfort. And a suspension seatpost will make her ride more comfortable.

Some e-bikes that I can think of are

- Electra townie : Nice Cruiser
- Tern Vektron
- Ariel Rider M-Class

Sorry forgot to mention. If she won't climb hills a hub motor will work too. In that case pedego can be ok for her too.

Raleigh have recently launched a range of ebikes sold at Halfords so you can get it serviced anywhere, as others have said an upright bike would work best, the Raleigh Felix is an example of a good step through with a quality Bosch motor

Haha, tell the Amish of Holmes County, OH that their hub motors wont climb hills!! Most of them have hub motors because they climb hills and have throttles.

Also you can look on youtube for the Electric Pete channel and see him conquer Cadillac hill- a 28% grade... on a hub drive Evo Cross. Just in case there is any doubt about hub drives and hills. :)

-SP

Depending on what's going on with her back (has she seen a doc?) she may find a very upright position is actually uncomfortable and compresses the discs, especially on bumps.
A "slight" forward position can open up the back and absorb contact better. She may even find a recumbent to be most comfortable or a crank forward bike. I suggest she try several different styles and figure out what works best for her, in terms of her body. If she's not comfortable sitting on it or in it for long periods, she's not gonna ride with you no matter how much power a motor produces. Once you know that, you can then search for a quality e-bike in that design - or have a quality kit installed on a bike she likes. Fit is everything, regardless of whether it's an e-bike or regular.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/tu...-650b/p/133845

My wife's previous limit of riding was around the 10km mark? at around 15km/h

Since getting this bike, she loves to ride, the bike has a maximum range of 100km ( so they tell us ) and the bike , pedal assisted has a maximum speed of 25km/h.

We ride everywhere together, it's a fun bike to ride.

Last year, I bought my 80 year old father in-law a step-thru Chinese ebike from eBay.
$1299 USD delivered to my door, I assembled it myself.
750w, 48v 14AH battery.
https://i.imgur.com/jperU6O.jpg

Father-in-law never was not bicycling much before the ebike.
At 80 years old, I'm just glad that I got him out of the house and able to be moving on his own.
I showed him the operation, rode with him on my own bicycle just to make sure he gets familiar with the controls.
Now 9 months later, he's been riding it to local grocery store (about 2-3 miles away), a
and a local fishing pier (about 5 miles away) with his modified fishing gear carrier.

Advice from a lady
 

Not sure if you have decided upon an e-bike yet, but if I could offer a few words of advice based upon my own experience with my 2 e-bikes (both of which are 250w 20mph limited - one a hub drive, the other a mid-drive):

Look into a nice comfort bike for her, one that has an upright riding position. Have her try out a number of this style of bike and select one that fits her the best. Then go get a front hub conversion kit, and take the 5 to 10 minutes it requires to remove the bike's front wheel and replace it with the motorized wheel. Get a quality kit that comes with at least a 20 mile range battery. I would strongly suggest that you get a kit that has both the throttle and pedal assist. Not just the pedal assist.

Most people assume that an e-bike equals a walk in the park for someone who is out of shape and hasn't ridden in a while. That's not the case, nor has it ever been. She is going to have to ride the bike, but she's not going to have to worry that much about hills, or getting tired when she is far from home. The bike will take care of those instances for her, and if she has a throttle then the bike can also act as a standalone conveyance in case she needs it to handle a leg cramp or has a "too tired to pedal at the moment" situation occur.

She will enjoy the new freedom a front hub has to offer (they have great torque that's breathtakingly immediate), and while she probably won't be outpacing you anytime soon, she'll have a much easier time riding with you without having to overextend her physical abilities, and will be able to easily go for longer distances at the same time she is building her own endurance

Once she gets her riders legs back, and if she wants.... then see if she'd be interested in a quality manufactured ebike with a mid drive. It won't go as fast as a hub off the line, but most today are manufactured with a much longer range battery for extended rides.

From my own experience, me and my wife have purchased the kahlkoff include 8 premium 3 years ago.
I can only be positive.
We use it for everything, including travelling.

I can garantee you that my wife would have never done that before.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...015fc50cf8.jpg


It has a nexus 8 speed rear hub, a gates belt, and you can make between 100 and 200 km depending on a charge (depending on the mode used).
We have after 3 years no problem so far.

It is easy to maintain 25 km/h , and that not only on the flat. The motor stop at 27 km/h , and it is like facing a wall then . beware of that.
The riding position is very comfortable, but totally different as with a road bike of course. You are sitting high , with nice view in front of you.

The only con is that the bike is big in dimension and heavy, as all Ebike .

We have choosen open frame, but it exists in all frame variante

Farady has a 40% off sale on their e-bikes for labor day weekend. The step through models are absolutely beautiful.

I rented a Pedego Interceptor...the rear hub motor cruiser...and it scaled hills, ahem, mountains like nobody's business

I met a lady maybe in her 70s on a bike trail in northern Wisconsin recently. She had a rented Specialized electric bike. A local bike shop sells and rents them, even delivers them to your cabin or condo and picks them up when your vacation is over. She loved everything about it. Said they were about $4,000 new, but the rented ones sold for half that at the end of the season. Next day I stopped at that bike shop (riding my 1970s Falcon) and had a nice visit. The manager had worked for Trek and thought the world of Trek, but said in his opinion Specialized was head and shoulders above the rest re: e-bikes. I took my first ride on one and came back with that smile that very few first rides have ever inspired. Wow!

A spouse who's not really taken up bicycling could have an epiphany on one of these. And experienced riders like many of us could be happy with one in years to come.