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Hi everyone hoping I can get some decent answers to if I'm going mad or not.
Used to commute daily on road bike /cx bike and have not rode for a while on the road because levo sl has taken over.
Have been thinking about getting another ebike, cx bike, gravel bike.
The commute is ten miles each way been looking at every thing.
Suggestions welcome and as cheap as possible 😉
I bought an e-gravel bike for my commute. Mostly road but with some light gravel tracks as options. But it was not
as cheap as possible 😉
In fact I deliberately went for a decent model because my commute is 50km each way - and if I'm going to be doing 100km round trip I'm doing it on a bloody nice bike with a range to more than cope with that, not something that's as cheap as possible...
Anyway, if you want the budget end, go for this: [url= https://www.halfords.com/bikes/electric-bikes/boardman-adv-8.9e-mens-adventure-electric-bike-2021---s-m-l-xl-frames-439294.html?_gl=1*z8zs0l*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjA5MTE0NTkxNS4xNzQ4MjAzNTU4*_ga_VK44BRER97*czE3NDgyMDM1NTgkbzEkZzAkdDE3NDgyMDM1NTgkajAkbDAkaDAkZHMyUVE2ZF9GVTdvTU5KZllQZWQ2Y2ZXY1NYM1UybXh1dXc.&plpPlacement=3 ]Boardman ADV[/url]
Disclaimer: I'm very lucky in that I have route options on quiet roads and gravel tracks and a genuinely lovely ride. Train is not far off 2hrs once you factor in connection time, walking to and from the station at each end etc and car is 1hr but it's an hour of sitting in a car. So 2hrs on a bike is just me-time and I love it. I would probably not think like that if I had to ride 30 miles across London or a similar big city at rush hour. Plus work facilities are excellent - secure indoor storage with charging, showers and lockers.
I bought an ado air 20 pro folding ebike for my commute. 15 miles max one way but I can use the tram for a significant chunk of the trip so that's why I bought the folding bike. I sometimes finish work after the tram has finished so that's where the motor helps out. Dual speed belt drive means the bike can get up to 20mph if I push the pedals. The motor does enough to flatten out incline and maintain the 15.5mph.
Would I buy a non folding gravel e bike for the commute? Possibly but I would limit my options to sub £1k (Merlin offerings we always and option} as at the end of the day it wouldn't be ridden further than my commute is and I already have a gravel bike which does nice days out without the weight of an e bike and any battery range concerns.
I have the flat bar version of the Boardman 8.9 above. Got it a year ago for an 8ish mile each way, it's been a game changer for me. I've taken the car in maybe 5 times since getting it.
Use one of these for twice weekly commute to central London which is 140 km round trip. It’s done about 11,000 km now and paid for itself in 10 months in train fare savings. Basically the same as the Orbea Gain and the Ribble CGR AL-e but cheaper. Colour (70’s Porsche brown) not to everyone’s taste but I wanted the understated branding to avoid the attention of London’s less savoury end of the population. https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/lapierre-e-crosshill-5-2-2023-electric-bike
Electric G-line Brompton. Well you did say all suggestions welcome. It’s a nice bike and rides well. And you can put it on the train if you don’t want to ride. Luggage carriage is the best.
I've just picked up a Wisper Tailwind for my 30 mile round trip daily commute. I've had enough of commuting by bus and train so thought I'd buy something with a bit of electric assist to take the sting out of the mainly uphill ride home. Only had it just over a week, done 2 days commuting on it last week and it's great. It's a bit heavy would be my only criticism so far.
I got one et these six months back. It's been reliable and fun so far.. My cycle to work is usually short and steep downhill, it's a slog uphill so the e helps with that.
Got a Kona mmm... Dew-E DL, or something, couple of years ago? Only a 7 mile commute but a bit draggy on the way home so didn't ride it much before, and the e-bike has totally changed that. I'm very lucky in that work has great facilities and most of my urban commute is segregated cycle path, all of which helps even more.
Thank you everyone for the answers, I did see the Boardman adv e and the Ribble but have just seen a GT on Paul's cycles seems a bargain GT bolt for £1250 but understand GT have gone bump.
Are these type of bike more manageable past the 15.5mph cut off? ie on my emtb at 15mph it’s like hitting a brick wall. I assume a lighter bike and lower rolling resistance means these commuter bikes don’t have the same issues ?
while for cycling, im still strongly against "e"..... there has always been an element for commuting which i recognise, current commute is c.25miles, probably a little more when i take avoid the duel carriageways and i cant see how i would cope with both ways..
If you’ve got secure storage at work, I’d try pumping up your tyres on the Levo SL and doing it on that. My commute’s only three miles and I do about half of it off-road with some jumpy moments and I do it on the big Levo running the same tyres I use for MTBing, just pumped up to 30psi. On the flat I pedal that past the limiter if I’m in a hurry.
If you got a second set of wheels and put near-slick commuter tyres on them, I don’t think you’ll find the Levo SL is noticeably slower or less comfy than a dedicated commuter or road ebike as everything legal cuts out at 15.5mph and below that (hills or headwinds) the motors will pull you to a similar speed.
Are these type of bike more manageable past the 15.5mph cut off? ie on my emtb at 15mph it’s like hitting a brick wall. I assume a lighter bike and lower rolling resistance means these commuter bikes don’t have the same issues ?
No, same thing on mine. 🙂 I did toy with the idea of messing with mine (I understand it's fairly straightforward to tell mine it's in America where assistance goes up to 20mph), decided not to which, in light of how vexed I get by DeliverUberJustEats zipping past at 20+ on cyclepaths, I'm glad I didn't. 🙂
I've had a Bolt for ~6 weeks, been able to ride it regular for ~4, as I annoyingly caught a respiratory infection the day before it was delivered.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/gt-egrade-bolt-electric-gravel-bike-teal__8147
IIRC it was ~14.7Kg as it arrived without pedals, with just under 9Kg on the rear wheel, not such a surprise as it has a Mahle motor within the rear hub. My carrying strength since long covid for just over 2.5 years is pathetic, I struggle carrying a 12l bucket of water one-handed between my fish tanks and the bathroom, but I just about manage to carry the Bolt up and down our one flight of stairs between our front door and our first floor flat. ~2.2Kg heavier than my Voodoo Marasa and ~6Kg heavier than my Cube Attain GTC.
So far, I've been relying on high-max custom assist modes in the app for each of the three levels (100% gives 100/175/250W). Now I'm over my infection, I've dropped level 1 down a bit to 75% (75W), unless I'm feeling good I'll use level 2 for short low gradient inclines and level 3 for climbs >3%ish and longer than ~0.5 miles.
Yesterday I did my longest ride so far, 34 miles and 2200 feet climbing, generous use of 2/3 assist and it used 81% battery. Kitted up with bits in pockets I'm ~98.5Kg, Bolt with two bidons was ~16.Kg.
The "drag" feeling when you suddenly exceed the 25kph UK legal assistance depends upon the level of assistance I was in at the time, at 75W level 1 it's quite subtle, but suddenly losing 250W level 3 is huge almost as if the bike has developed punctures on both tyres.
I'm shocked at how few Strava segments there are around here for ebikes, the number of riders on segment leaderboards with public rides (maybe many don't have rides public through fear of security for an ebike?) is often low and top tens are often littered with speeds most likely to be motorbikes and/or those riding chipped ebikes getting assistance to ~20mph.
Great bike, medium fits me pretty well, with my short legs only ~72cm BB to saddle top. I might switch out the 9cm stem at some point to extend the hoods reach closer to that of my Cube, which has an 11cm stem.
Absolute steal for £1249 plus postage, you won't find many GRX 400 hydraulic bikes under that, even without a motor.
“Are these type of bike more manageable past the 15.5mph cut off? ie on my emtb at 15mph it’s like hitting a brick wall.”
On most bikes it isn’t extra drag at the cut-off, it’s the feeling of losing assistance. It’s not like pedalling in still air and then hitting a massive headwind, it’s like pedalling with a massive tailwind and then the wind dying.
If you can pedal a normal bike with the same tyres along a flat road at 17mph then you’ll be able to do the same on an ebike unless it has a horribly draggy motor after cut-out (my Levo doesn’t).
A bike that fades out the assist near the limiter will feel easier to pedal past the cut-out than a bike that literally cuts out. But it’s almost all feel rather than facts.
If I still commuted (33mls),I would have been all over a fully kitted out e-gravel bike.
It would have been a proper game changer over the dark months.
Thank you again everyone, pumping the tyres up on the levo sl or a spare set of wheels might work but I am close to pulling the pin on the GT Bolt, does anyone know if you can fit mudguards and a rack to the GT?
Is the 15mph limit thinking on a commute bike being an issue just thinking about it the wrong way?
If your ride is only 10miles each way, you can ride to work on a fully sit up and beg hybrid, fully guarded up, with a rack, and your lunch, and some pannier for a bit of light shopping on the way home.....at the 15mph limit....IN YOUR NORMAL CLOTHES! No getting sweaty, no having to change into lycra or bike specific clothing. Go for one with a hub gear and you can get the chain encased too so no oily trousers. Think of the time saved with the changing faff, and the leaving clothes at work faff. OK - if you have to be fully suited and booted or if its a biblical rainy day, it might not work quite that simply - but for most people, most of the time a short/medium e-commute just means a heavily assisted bimble and at a very tolerable speed. It's about adopting a normal person mindset, rather than a frustrated cyclist mindset. It's hare and tortoise - the sweaty man gets to work and rushes to the shower and he's still in there faffing with his pants and drying between his toes when you cruise up 5 or 6 mines mins later, lock up and wander straight to the coffee machine.
Think Amsterdam/Copenhagen utilitarian commute like a human in human clothes, not a sweaty mamil - what's not to like!
I'm currently only running a rear Beavertail XL guard off the Bolt's seat stay bridge, with the standard clip around base of seat tube.
Lots of T25 screw mounts on bike...
1x Seat stay bridge facing forwards
2x on each seat stay ~2.5" apart up uppermost side, lowest one vertical of brake caliper
5x bottle cage spaced pairs (standard uppermost side of downtube; seat tube; underside of downtube near BB; underside toptube near seat tube junction; uppermost side of toptube near iWOC button)
2x on each fork blade ~4.5" apart on outermost side by caliper
1x on fork crown facing forwards and backwards
Plus an exposed ~3mm single mount point just above rear hub axle on each seat stay
So it probably has proper mudguard and rack mounts, but I'll let you decide that, never fitted either!
Forgot to mention on previous post, I switched out the wire bead Nanos for 35/40mm folding bead Marathon Supremes for the summer, think they're a little quicker on the lanes I use, not ventured on anything offroad so far to see how they fair but I expect on hardpack they will be fine.
You already have a Levo SL so why not use that?
My commute is 13.5 miles each way, normally ridden on my road bike, when the weather is bad ill take the Levo or the van
Tomorrow forecast is rain and 30mph winds where i am, van is having new side windows fitted so ill be taking the Levo
I do have a spare set of commuting wheels for the Levo rather than using my Hope wheels with Maxxis Maxgrip compound tyres (wear quickly on roads!)
Simple set of 2nd wheels, slick tyres, correct size rotors and a magnet fitted to the rear rotor means i can swap the wheels in 2 mins and not wear out the £55 each Maxxis tyres
I paid just over £100 for the 2nd set of wheels
The levo sl was me blowing my redundancy money, so Sram axs, wireless dropper and electronic flight attendant suspension so maybe a bit much to commute on ?
Just looking into all options this afternoon does not help Pauls cycles doing interest free credit.
I commuted for a few years on a full sus MTB with a second set of wheels and slicks. i found
- if hubs aren’t the same disc brake spacing can be different enough to need adjusting.
- you need to pay careful attention to chain wear to avoid messing up two cassettes.
- the gearing is likely wrong for road use so you end up wearing out the smallest cogs on your cassette quickly
Without telling you you’re wrong do you really want an e bike for a 10 mile trip? Thats only slightly more than I used to do every day and it’s a good distance to build/maintain fitness. Might be different if really hilly or as mentioned above, if you’re going to ride in normal clothes and not shower.
I used to commute daily on a various normal bikes all year round and that was on a nice journey around 8 miles each way, the route from where I am at the moment to work is not that nice busy roads and busy junctions hence thinking ebike for a bit of a kick if needed.
I have been looking today at bikes like I have had in the past Boardman cx team, Giant Defy, Genesis Vapour etc more confused than ever lol.
As said by someone above running the best bike is not really a option and changing the wheels would be a pain, so looking at other options.
Thanks for all the advice.
I'm shocked at how few Strava segments there are around here for ebikes
A few ebikers around here took great offense at me taking their koms on my (not e) gravel bike.
Without telling you you’re wrong do you really want an e bike for a 10 mile trip? Thats only slightly more than I used to do every day and it’s a good distance to build/maintain fitness.
I did only a bit more than that for years on a regular bike and all it does is teach you to ride that distance while getting dull enough that you're knackered and bored of riding by the time the weekend comes around.
On the other hand, I can do 3x that distance on an e-bike (admittedly not everyday, we're in the office 2 or 3 days a week now) and still be fresh for regular rides.
I did only a bit more than that for years on a regular bike and all it does is teach you to ride that distance while getting dull enough that you're knackered and bored of riding by the time the weekend comes around.
I don't think there's a one size fits all rule here. I did nearly double that distance for years, and rode (both days) every weekend too. Didn't get bored. I still actually ride 25-30km every day.
Thats a very good point, when I commuted daily I could not be bothered to ride on weekends and its a 10 mile each way trip now, so would take it out of me over time, maybe three days a week on a light ebike or gravel bike, I have honestly confused myself today lol
A few ebikers around here took great offense at me taking their koms on my (not e) gravel bike.
😂 Nice to see it work both ways.
IN YOUR NORMAL CLOTHES! No getting sweaty, no having to change into lycra or bike specific clothing.
The ability to wear full waterproofs (without sweating like you've run a marathon wearing a bin liner) is an added bonus. Tempting for that reason alone.
Problem: Bicycle theft isn't treated seriously enough for me to ever feel safe running errands or commuting on one.
Solution: https://www.piaggio.com/gb_EN/models/piaggio-1/
It comes with storage, lights, everything you can imagine... and drivers don't harass you because you're not 'in the way'. You can still filter past traffic when it's congested. Insurance will actually pay out if it's stolen, rather than argue about where you left it locked. 👍
The big thing I'm still trying to get my head around after ~5 weeks is that even on days I feel really fatigued, going out for say an hour is no problem, especially with assist levels set to max (100/175/250W). I'll still be able to cover approx 12-13 miles on an essentially flat route and not affect fatigue levels tomorrow.
On my hybrid or road bike in the same circumstances, it would be a struggle to cover approx 10 miles max and I'm unlikely to feel much better the next day. Plus the hill home would be an absolute slog in easiest gear.
The big thing I'm still trying to get my head around after ~5 weeks is that even on days I feel really fatigued, going out for say an hour is no problem, especially with assist levels set to max (100/175/250W). I'll still be able to cover approx 12-13 miles on an essentially flat route and not affect fatigue levels tomorrow.
You get there on a unassisted bike after a while too, but I appreciate that it's not for everyone, and it does take a certain level of perseverance/pig-headedness.
I bought a s/h Carrera Crossfuse. It was about £700. Bosch Active line plus mid mount motor. 400wh battery. I tend to ride in on Eco, and back with a bit more assist.
I have full sks guards, a rack, bar bag and wired in lights. I have also swapped to an Alpine rear hub. It is an excellent all weather commuter.