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To cut a long story long
I wanted to get a returned boardman hybrid to ACTUALLY commute on. Crazy I know. So got a voucher for 1600quid. Turns out the halfords website is a liar and the don't actually have any. So have plumbed (plummed?) For one of these
Now having a bit of buyers regret, anyone ever seen one in the wild or cocked a leg over one? Decentish battery but HEAVY, bet the wheels and tyres will be shite. Hey ho. Panic bought but open to being pleasantly surprised.
Looks OK for the money. Bafang motor is well known brand. 95Nm torque is plenty and unlikely to be fully utilised on a road commute so plenty of headroom for the odd steep climb. E-bikes are heavy. Depends on how long your commute is…
That's pretty heavy! But you don't really need a commuter to be too nimble.
A 522wh battery is big and will account for a fair bit of that weight. The plus side is, it should last longer, due to the fact that you'll put fewer charge cycles on it.
And being removable it should be easier to replace if necessary. And charge.
I am having hints of buyers remorse about my ebike commuter, what with its 252wh, non-removable battery, which is starting to show signs of degradation. Even if it is a dainty 17.5kg...
I would have bought the step through frame!
Similar weight to my folding e bike which has a 350wh battery, rear rack and metal mudguards.
Mid motor rather than a hub motor is OK. Does weight really matter that much for an e-commuter? Suspect not, my meat power commuter is weighty and that bowls along just fine once rolling. Might be one of those bikes you are initially ambivalent about which ends up being a real favourite. Give it a chance I say.
Mid motor rather than a hub motor is OK. Does weight really matter that much for an e-commuter? Suspect not, my meat power commuter is weighty and that bowls along just fine once rolling. Might be one of those bikes you are initially ambivalent about which ends up being a real favourite. Give it a chance I say.
Plumped. It’ll be fine I’m sure.
That looks great value. Plenty of FS ebikes are more weight
looks interesting, personally id have tried the new ADV 8.6e with the hub motor for a 100 quid more
had the previous iteration with the fazua and it was a perfectly fine bike
Boardman ADV-E 8.6 Electric Adventure Bike - S, M, L, XL Frames | Halfords UK
Weight only matters if you need to lift it up stairs or similar.
the truly great thing about a heavy ebike is that you can fully load the pannier with shopping or whatever and you don’t notice it when riding.
40mile range seems a bit pessimistic given the battery size, but maybe that's on max assist.
I would have bought the step through frame!
The only downside of my step-through is it's a PITA once loaded up with groceries*, normal bikes stay put between your legs when you stop but the step through just want's to fall over unless you grip the bars and keep it vertical and once it's lost it's balance holding the bars doesn't help because they want to spin and the harder you pull up on the lower/falling side the more they want to spin.
*and if you can't load a utilitarian bike up with groceries it's missing the point IMO.
You can send it back and cancel if you just hate the sight of it out the box.
IDK the commuter has to be practical but it also needs to give you some joy - you're riding it every day. An e-turd like that would get me down.
Pauls Cycles accept Halfords Cycle 2 Work, but they charge 5% for a non-sale bike and 15% for a sale bike.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/pages/schemes/
So as examples...
would need a voucher of ~£1206
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/electric-bikes/gt-egrade-bolt-electric-gravel-bike-teal__8147
would need a voucher of ~£1436
Without pedals, the GT bikes are just under 15Kg.
My longest two rides on my Bolt so far are a fraction over 34/37 miles, with 2250/2350 feet climbing respectively, both ~2.5 hours long. Used 81/86% battery respectively, longer ride had more sustained climbs (Brockbridge to Old Winchester and Wheeldy Down), so more use of custom 150/250W assist on the steeper bits. With heavy me (96Kg); 2 bidons; kit; bits on bike; bits in pockets ~115Kg total (bike limit is 138Kg plus bike).
From the Halfords range at ~£1600, I'd probably choose the new Boardman MTX 8.6e for the option of 700x50mm tyres
The Boardman 8.9e has the option to replace the Fazua motor/battery with a ~£90 cover and ride it as a "normal" bike, but it's £1800
Cheers all, my commute is 15 hilly miles, so the battery life advantage over the lighter boardman ebikes might be significant. I don't mind the look of it tbh but just a bit trepidatious about unknown brand and quality. But will give it a whirl. The hub motored noardmans di look pretty decent but thought a bb motor would be more winter friendly. I guess we'll find out soon enough.couldve cancelled the voucher and upped the value a bit but would mean another 6-8 weeks faffing and just couldn't be arsed.
Was going to slate the GTs on looks but the bolt isnt too bad actually.
If it was a particularly hilly commute, I'd choose that Ebco, otherwise the lighter Boardman as I think it would ride better above the 15mph limit