You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Wife has a 5 mile each way commute.
What's out there that's light, looks like a bike and doesnt weigh the same as a small car?
Just needs to take the edge off when the weathers decent and be perceivably easier than her 26lb mtb.
Turbo Vado/Orbea Kemen type I guess but less money?
Can she fit a small or medium GT eGrade? The flat bar frame is the same as the drop bar version, so quite short in that configuration (which might be useful to you). I've just got one to take the edge off a 19 mile hilly commute and make me leave the car at home more often.
Paul's Cycles have them for a crazy £1050 +£35 post. I occasionally make my own frames and it would have cost that just to buy the Mahle kit and a big steel down tube from Reynolds!
As above, I bought the eGrade Bolt (grx400 hydraulic X35+) from Paul's for a bonkers £1249 a month ago. With 2006 Time ATAC XS Carbon pedals and before adding lights/bottle/mudguards, my medium was ~15Kg.
For the last two weeks or so after my two week respiratory illness subsided, I've been using custom 100% assist for levels 1/2/3 (100/175/250W). I got 37 miles and ~2300 feet from ~86% battery with very generous use of level 3 on inclines on Friday, despite me being a hefty ~98Kg kitted out to ride.
It's been a game changer for me, enabling me to do routes I used to do quicker on my non-assist road bike before long covid.
A work colleague got the GRX one, which is what made me buy mine 🙂. Nice frame and carbon fork. Decent wheels (slightly chunky in the spoke department). Basic but good durable kit for commuting - Shimano hydraulic discs, Microshift Advent clutch mech / shifter, square taper with decent cartridge bb. WTB tyres are wired but decently light and comfy. I've swapped them out for heavy Schwalbe Marathon plus as I need the puncture proof reliability. The WTBs aren't listed as tubeless ready but might work (rims looked ready taped for tubeless).
Not much difference in time going in as I'm over the speed limit most of the time - just slightly fresher feeling. Coming home it cut 15 minutes off and noticeably less frazzled!
This is a medium. Slightly small for me at 5' 10" but still workable with a long stem and leaves the option for my Mrs or brother to also try it.
Why electric? Any kind of road bike will already feel *way* easier than a mountain bike.
Good to know. In Canada so those Paul's deals might be out of reach but gt dealer locally.
Electric as we live up a not-i significant hill, so the e assist might be the difference between riding and driving.
Electric as we live up a not-i significant hill, so the e assist might be the difference between riding and driving.
Can't help with bike choice but can confirm that for me the e-bike is the car-replacer, even with access to some really nice road bikes. I live up a hill too.
Have you looked at any of the Trek / Electra low power commuters? The Hyena hub drive is pretty basic compared to Bosch / Mahle etc but it does the job well enough. Something like this, but there are Trek options too:
(Could potentially get you a bit of a deal at your local Trek dealer)
Just as food for thought...
My wife loves her ebike, and rides it for preference on her commute, but i never realised she cannot do even a simple drop-off down a kerb. She literally has to stop, dismount, push the bike over the edge, then get back on. For any kind of drop.
When her bike dies and she's looking for a new one, i intend to steer her toward a step-through style to make this process easier.
This will narrow choices, but be worthwhile.
I mean 'never realised' because until recently, I'd never gone on a bike ride with her - we hired bikes on holiday and she took a tumble trying to turn to avoid dropping down a kerb of barely anything.
Her knee is still a bit 'iffy'.
Orbea Vibe here. Was riding it yesterday and it reminded me why it's such a brilliant thing to own. I tend to use mine on the lowest setting to tootle around on, but am very happy to boost it up to the 65% or 100% when needed. I've never run the battery fully down but the range at 100% is over 100km.
Full power does rinse the battery, but we also live 200m up the hill from town and it's nice to have the option. Only thing I'd say is for the hub type motor, it does like you to be spinning. I have a 51 tooth cassette on the back so even on the very steepest hill, I'm making best use of the motor.
Lots of bikes with the Mahle motor cheaper than the Orbea, but always on offer.
In the spirit of completely ignoring the question; would a cargo bike not be better? Obviously any bike would get up and down a hill and a short 5mile commute, but a cargo bike might also solve all the inevitable "I'd ride to work today but need to ............. after work" scenarios that inevitably stop non-cyclists from actually getting on a bike in the morning.