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Waits to get flamed.... yes I know this is Mike Ashley aka Satan.
Very cheap ebike for commuting or gentle gravel tracks. Might help somebody out.
im not sure if that is a good or bad idea
How easy would it be to add some gearing to that?
Hmm, rigid singlespeed ebike. Interesting.
Wonder why they bothered with internally routed cable brakes lines
Non-removeable battery with 25-28Km range, no doubt based on "low" assistance and a pancake route. Despite limitations, it's the best looking new Muddy Fox bike I've seen in decades. 😆
Looks like the battery slides out the bottom of the downtube. Not that I can see it will be A. easy to change or B. buy off the shelf replacements.
https://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-electric-avenue-hybrid-bike-700516#colcode=70051603
Still too slow for my canal commute 🙂
How easy would it be to add some gearing to that?
Depends on the width of the hub motor... if they used a generic one or a wide singlespeed specific one
Might fit 2/3 speed screw on freewheel.....mech would need a bracket hung off the axle nut
Or you could add a triple up front and a tensioner.
Batteries will be removable somehow, the cells will be 18650s and replaceable by someone with the tools. It doesn't say how many Ah the battery is....
However you could just fit an external 36v battery in a bag to it for more range or if the battery dies.
Even the cheapest ebike conversion kit 36v 250w with a 13Ah battery is going to cost over £450 in the UK
This includes a bike....and is neater than a conversion.
Seems ok, and if you have a pile of bits in the spares box you could do some changes and drop a bit of weight off it.
Probably looking at a 15 mile range, which will be the maximum taking into account that the statistics of that are lightest rider/minimum of clothing/ flattest roads/no wind/summer etc etc, so add some hills and it could be only 10 miles, or 5 there and return, which isnt good.
Im tempted myself. Maybe something for the shopping, city visits.I always feel a bit uncomfy leaving a £5k ebike locked in the city, even if it is in a busy area and im away from it for only 30 mins. For the money, I'd certainly spend more than that on a pair of forks.
If I lived in a town that would be perfect for a lot of bits. As it is it would probably do for commuting given the short charge time, might even manage the shops and back depending on how realistic the capacity is once its loaded.
I'm almost tempted to buy one just to keep at the office for lunchtime dashes to town and the like.
so add some hills and it could be only 10 miles, or 5 there and return, which isnt good.
Or, alternatively, perfect for getting people out of cars who use them for sub-5 mile journeys, which is loads and loads and loads of journeys.
This is what e-bikes should be about - replacing short car journeys. Unfortunately all the emphasis seems to be on allowing lazy MTBrs to have a day in the hills without breaking a sweat.
This is what e-bikes should be about – replacing short car journeys.
Absolutely. I’m ignoring your next sentence, because it’s not either or (and the comment about not breaking a sweat out in the hills suggests you haven’t given it a go). Ebikes can transform how we get about day to day locally, and be a riot of fun. You could argue that the later might also encourage the former.
all the emphasis seems to be on allowing lazy MTBrs to have a day in the hills without breaking a sweat.
But but but... but it's FUN! 😀
ps. I just used mine to go to the local Lidl. There n back in my lunch break without so much as breathing heavily and on the pavement past all the cars queuing at the extremely inconvenient roadworks on the road to Lidl. Perfick. Although I'd worry less about leaving a £500 MFX outside the shop, that's for sure.
pps. I'm not lazy. But I don't object to being called it. I really don't give a toss 😛
Yeah, IHN didn't say anyone was lazy, he suggested(?) that's where the marketing is aimed. Bit different methinks
so add some hills and it could be only 10 miles, or 5 there and return, which isnt good.
People spending £550 on an ebike probably won't be doing much more than 5 miles anyway.
If it was front hub motor I'd snap it up as it's cheaper than a lot of aftermarket kits.
Thats potentially a game changing ebike for a lot of people - mainly due to the low cost.
For that price it's perfect for the 'retired and wanting to get out' crowd. Also for the likes of me for short journeys to the shops and back.
You know I'm almost tempted with that. It would be ideal for riding into the Village or for sticking the shotgun seat on and using it to drop jr off at school, saving a car journey.
Yeah, IHN didn’t say anyone was lazy, he suggested(?) that’s where the marketing is aimed. Bit different methinks
I'm not sure I agree with the second half of that which makes it kind of hard to read IHN's comment that way*.
I think that if you only read/view the mtb press which is largely concerned with fun in expensive bikes yeah, the bits about ebikes are about having fun in the hills but equally when did you last see a cargo bike or touring ride review on PB or here (I think there was a cargo bike in FGF a few weeks ago mind).
OTOH read the cycling uk magazine or a touring website etc and you'll find much more "this is useful".
It's like saying that there's no marketing for 7.5t lorries in top gear mag.
*you're possibly right but it also too closely echoes a lot of anti-ebike sentiment here.
Yeah, IHN didn’t say anyone was lazy, he suggested(?) that’s where the marketing is aimed.
I know what I said 😉 And, full disclosure, I initially wrote 'fat, lazy', but decided against it as being a bit too inflammatory.
I'll happily admit that I do have a problem with eMTBs - they take something that's perfectly possible and accessible (for most people, I realise some people need the assistance for mobility/health issues) and make it more expensive both in terms of cost and resources used to make and use the bikes. And people buy them, in the main, because they're easier to pedal than a normal bike, regardless of the environmental cost. That, by my definition is laziness.
Anyhoo, I'm sure I've offended enough people for one afternoon, I'll leave that there.
OTOH read the cycling uk magazine or a touring website etc and you’ll find much more “this is useful”.
I think it's very true that the Cycling UK mag is much less of a sucker for the latest marketing guff than *cough* other publications that could be mentioned.
As I said and crossed out, not offended at all. Not (that) fat or lazy and as I've saidprevoiu... nowboredecplainingtheend
Might be OK for my old man who is 75 !
Even if the battery is removable, a concern for me would be I'd have to charge it each time I used assistance for getting me home up my short moderately hilly ~5 mile commute. Right now I'd choose that Carrera 9-speed folding bike over this every time.
These are a bargain compared to the cost of what many Transport Authorities are looking to spend on urban mobility e bikes as part of their hire schemes
Ordered one last night for Mrs C - being delivered next Tues apparently, thanks for the PSA. Seems a bargain for what she'll use it for, the lack of gears is actually a bonus for her. The range looks fine, we live less than 3 miles away from where she works and it's fairly flat. She has no interest in conventional bikes but is excited about this one arriving, if only to use to commute occasionally or the odd ride to the pub. Will review when it arrives 😉
Will review when it arrives 😉
Don't suppose as part of that you could see how [long] it copes with a few hills and or a big heavy rucksack (difficult to tell if there are mount holes or just drain holes from the image!)
eople spending £550 on an ebike probably won’t be doing much more than 5 miles anyway.
I dunno, those deliveroo folks get about are 100% e assisted these days.
It arrived on Tues gone as promised, just needed the bars straightening and pedals fitting before it was ready to go. Looks....... OK if I'm honest. Built it up, lubed the chain and stuck the battery on charge then left it in the garage until Sunday.
Come Sunday Mrs C had nipped to the shops with her Mum so I pulled the seat up and rode it up the road, loads of assistance on 'high', felt very easy. Although we ordered a small frame, it looks roomy for that size. The seatpost doesn't go all the way down into the frame for smaller folk, the bottle bosses interfere. Clearly too small for me (6' 1") and my stupidly big feet caught the front wheel when cornering. Mrs C's first ride was to the pub on Sunday afternoon, she liked it a lot. Particularly going up the gentle hill up to our house on the way back when she stuck it in high and cruised away from me on my old fashioned human powered bike. We only did 3.5 miles on Sunday but it didn't use any battery charge according to the simple display. No real hills around us without going further afield but I'm sure the battery would soon drift down left in high up and down steep stuff.
Overall - thumbs up. Nice and simple, doesn't feel too heavy even when trying to manouver it out of our stuffed garage on it's back wheel etc. Doesn't really look like an electric bike so I didn't feel edgy leaving it locked up outside the pub. Great for Mrs C 'cos there are no gears to change.
If I still had my old commute I'd buy one of these instantly tbh
@chrispoffer how is this going? I just got the same bike on a month free loan through the CTC and after one 7km ride I'm thinking of taking it back.
Massively over geared for riding anything unpowered & even on high assistance it's barely, if at all better, than an unpowered singlespeed.
Like many above I thought a nice simple bike with added motor would be ideal but thinking this is more likely to put people off riding than encourage them.
I cant imagine why you would ride it unpowered, but ref the gearing - its just a standard freewheel by the looks of it, ahould be a doddle to change?
It's on hire, I'm not going out and buying modifications for it.
FYI. (£299 diy) Found this, no idea if it’s any good, but you’ll recognise the brand, it was the torque sensor bb that is making me feel like experimenting.
@thepodge sounds like you've had a really different experience with yours. If I'm honest my other half has probably only ridden it half a dozen times. My son's ridden it more when he's been with us, probably 15 or so times. He loves it, much more than the human powered bikes he could ride.
I had a go a month or so ago riding it around to my Mum's which is about 2 miles of flat. It goes really well in medium or high - although I didn't try it unassisted. Can't see why you would? The assist does cut out gently at 15.5mph as it should, doesn't feel rough. For us it's very much done the job, got my wife out on a bike occasionally which she hasn't done for years and made my son smile. Without assistance it's just a really heavy, cheaply made single speed - but the point is it has an electric motor! 😁
Thanks for that, I only tried it unassisted because I was going 20m from shop door to main road, hadn't even sorted saddle height at that point. Stopped at the junction, adjusted the saddle, thought "that was hard, I'll set off in easy to see how it goes", made no noticeable difference so put it straight into boost & did feel a change but less noticeable between off and boost than any of the other ebikes I've tried between any of their settings never mind across their whole range.
On this it seems like the motor is canceling out the weight of the added components so overall it's no better than a cheap unpowered singlespeed, it's not adding anything to the experience.
I'll ride it a bit more this week but doubt I'll hold on to it for the full month hire.
Pure Electric was doing this singlespeed electric bike for £799 in the London shop (but no Cycle2Work scheme accepted).
https://www.pureelectric.com/collections/electric-bikes/products/pure-flux-one-electric-hybrid-bike
At that money, I think you'd be better buying a kit and fitting it to a decent bike. Other than having a motorized back wheel, its a BSO.
Or EBSO rather.
FYI. (£299 diy) Found this, no idea if it’s any good, but you’ll recognise the brand, it was the torque sensor bb that is making me feel like experimenting.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183787448638/blockquote >
Needs a special fork.
Is front wheel motor
Is 36v ....
Plenty reasons not to buy that.
What's the concern with a 36v system? I'm new to all this so still on a learning curve.
My current theory with this bike is it's massively over geared & I'm pedaling it up to and above the assistance limit. I need to attach a speedo to test this. I've always found motors to work better if you sit and spin so mashing a high gear singlespeed perhaps isn't working properly.