2nd hand e-bike advice please

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Hi All

I'm considering getting an e-bike to commute into my office in Liverpool City Centre. It's about 15 miles round trip and I'd like to do it to help improve my fitness (I REALLY need to get healthier quite urgently) but I'm not really upto doing it on the conventional bike (I know it's a ludicrously small distance to many on here but that's where I'm at - 35 years since I thought nothing of a 100 mile trip on the old velocipede!) so I'm thinking electric would cut the travel time a bit and make it do-able.

I'm self employed so not eligible for the bike-to-work scheme so I'm looking at 2nd hand to keep the costs down a bit - I found this e-bike gem on eBay but I can't quite see where they've hidden the battery...

But what should I be looking for in terms of spec? Any gotchas I should be looking out for?

Cheers!

[indigostr]

It may need a new front tyre too as it looks like the seller has been doing burnouts and shredded the knobblies off. Have they missed out that ‘if you don’t die using this bike’ , ‘ it won't be worth anything less if you use it for a few months and sell it as it is’.

I was intrigued so I clicked the utube link. Ffs. This must be a windup. Or the seller is ... very honest. Honest.

[Driver101]

That bike would be sore on the inner legs.

[dhutch]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

I found this e-bike gem on eBay but I can't quite see where they've hidden the battery...

Lovely!

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Think that eBay one amuses you lot as much as it did me!

But joking apart, what should I be looking for in terms of power, motor types etc? Any pitfalls I should be looking out for?

[GT72]

That's not a ludicrously short distance, and is similar to my regular commute - for me it's a really good workout when pushing on. Surely if you desperately need to get healthy, then getting an e-bike defeats the object. If there are other valid reasons for getting one, then fair enough, but if you're wanting to improve your fitness then surely the answer is to just cycle to a pace that matches your current state of health.

Start by taking your time, it's not a race, so what if it takes you 70 mins when you first start out. Perhaps have a few 3.5 mile rides at the weekend first. And also build up the distance. You could just go one one way at first - cycle in on a Monday, cycle home on a Wednesday. Then do there an back in a day, but just twice a week. Gradually building up over time. I just don't see how commuting on an e-bike will improve your fitness.

Have a go on a normal bike you might surprise yourself.

[Mr Ted]

You still have to work when riding an e-bike!

Where they really score is they enable your average person to cycle a useful distance without getting disillusioned because its too hard or exhausting, then, as fitness improves, back off the assist level.

There are basically 2 types of bikes, hub motor or mid motor where the motor is part of the crankset, these climb better than the hub motors as they are using the gears.

To be honest they are all so well sorted now that you cant really go wrong with any of them, two things to bear in mind are; availability of spares and, with a secondhand bike, the condition of the battery.

[PushedDover]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Hi All


I'm self employed so not eligible for the bike-to-work scheme

How self employed? Ltd Company?


I am and set up the Bike to Works scheme easily enough. Bought a B'Twin Hybrid, which you would be fine with for a 3.5mi ea.way ride. Or a https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-811556-electric-bike...

or - in-keeping with your own Ebay beaut..... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Btwin-Electric-Bike-48v...

[dhutch]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Hi All

I'm considering getting an e-bike to commute into my office in Liverpool City Centre. It's about 15 miles round trip and I'd like to do it to help improve my fitness but I'm not really upto doing it on the conventional bike so I'm thinking electric would cut the travel time a bit and make it do-able.

But what should I be looking for in terms of spec? Any gotchas I should be looking out for?

Cheers!

Dont know a huge amount amount ebikes, but an alternative might be use the train in conjunction with the bike.

I commute from the Wirral into Liverpool and using the train breaks the journey into two 2 mile rides.
The Merseyrail trains are very manageable for bikes, no booking/reservation needed, bike/wheelchair doors clearly labeled.


Daniel

[Pot Bellied Fool]

GT72 said:

That's not a ludicrously short distance, and is similar to my regular commute - for me it's a really good workout when pushing on. Surely if you desperately need to get healthy, then getting an e-bike defeats the object. If there are other valid reasons for getting one, then fair enough, but if you're wanting to improve your fitness then surely the answer is to just cycle to a pace that matches your current state of health.

Apparently, they do help : https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/11/2... : but I was similarly sceptical at first.

Of course I'm doing other stuff but thought this might be a way of getting some benefit out of my commuting time. I have a conventional bike in the shed (doesn't do me much good in there!) but the time taken would probably kill it as an option.

Though I've just checked Google Maps and there's not that much in it between bike & car according them - might be worth a try after all...

[Pot Bellied Fool]

PushedDover said:

How self employed? Ltd Company?

No, used to be but pure Sole Trader these days so not eligible which is a bit of a shame for the scheme.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

dhutch said:

Dont know a huge amount amount ebikes, but an alternative might be use the train in conjunction with the bike.

I commute from the Wirral into Liverpool and using the train breaks the journey into two 2 mile rides.
The Merseyrail trains are very manageable for bikes, no booking/reservation needed, bike/wheelchair doors clearly labeled.


Daniel

Thanks Daniel, yes, I could do that quite easily and worth thinking about I think. I live only minutes away from a station on the Southport line so very do-able.

I currently pay £3.50 for all day parking so that'd go a long way towards a ticket.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

GT72 said:

Perhaps have a few 3.5 mile rides at the weekend first. And also build up the distance. You could just go one one way at first - cycle in on a Monday, cycle home on a Wednesday. Then do there an back in a day, but just twice a week. Gradually building up over time. I just don't see how commuting on an e-bike will improve your fitness.

Have a go on a normal bike you might surprise yourself.

You might quite be right

I've not had the bike out of the shed much this last year (year from hell) but when I did, that sort of distance was certainly do-able. Think I was getting fixated by the thought of the e-assistance helping cut the time down a bit. And the thought of a new electronic toy of course!