Advise on this e bike please

[Wish]

Hi.

I’ve been lookimg for my first ebike, well my first bike for 28 years.
I was considering a Vanmoof but reading the owners site on Facebook and giving it a miss, have a read, there are so many problems with them.

I’ve now come across this bike that I quite fancy. I like the look of it but know nothing about the spec or the quality. Sadly it’s got Mercedes branding on it which does put me off.

The bike I’m looking at is the Mercedes Benz EQ Formula E Team

https://nplusbikes.com/pages/mercedes-benz-eq-e-bi...

Would you be so kind to take a look at the spec and advise if it’s good value for money.

Edited by Wish on Wednesday 25th November 21:49

[threadlock]

Here's a highly-rated alternative from a small business here in Sussex: https://www.cairncycles.com/products/cairn-adventu...

I've got my heart set on one, one day.

[leyorkie]

Generally speaking any cycle with car branding is overpriced.
Some of those components fit on low end bikes.
But if you are looking for something different then off you go.
Not best value but just my opinion, looks nice.

[towser44]

Canyon have a decent range of e-bikes

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/e-bikes/

[Wish]

Any more options ?
I’ve been on evans cycles but all well above budget and most look like old bikes with added battery and motor.


What’s old or poor tech on the merc bike I added a link too?

[Richtea1970]

Id be very wary of those stats, particularly the estimated range of 60 - 100km.
They have a 36v/7ah battery, which is the same as my current ebike. I'm lucky to get more than 20 miles out of it.

There are much better bikes around for the money, Haibike would be a good place to start.

[Wish]

Cheers for that.

[Louis Balfour]

towser44 said:

Canyon have a decent range of e-bikes

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/e-bikes/

"An elegant carbon e-city bike that's equipped for anything."

Right ho. It looks to me like an early 60s Mobylette in need of some paint.

[MOBB]

To be fair they also do these :-) ;

[Barchettaman]

Louis Balfour said:

"An elegant carbon e-city bike that's equipped for anything."

Right ho. It looks to me like an early 60s Mobylette in need of some paint.

I’ve seen one of the Canyon e-hybrids close up and it was a pretty stunning thing. The battery and motor are really well integrated.

You might not like the colour scheme of that one, but don’t discard the brand entirely.

My wife and I have older-style Bosch e bikes, hers is a Decathlon, mine a Cube, but they’re both made by Derby Cycles.

The Bosch mid drive system is well-proven and rugged.

[Louis Balfour]

Barchettaman said:

The Bosch mid drive system is well-proven and rugged.

That's nicely proportioned.

[Jamesgt]

Some members on here have the Orbea Gain. They look nice. https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/road/gain/

Also on the ebike thread someone has taken delivery of a Babymaker. Cheap as and nice looking. Belt drive also.

[Pothole]

Jamesgt said:

Some members on here have the Orbea Gain. They look nice. https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/road/gain/

Also on the ebike thread someone has taken delivery of a Babymaker. Cheap as and nice looking. Belt drive also.

Cheap? Yeah, OK.

[Louis Balfour]

Jamesgt said:

Also on the ebike thread someone has taken delivery of a Babymaker. Cheap as and nice looking. Belt drive also.

This chap seems to have some opinions on it: https://cyclingtips.com/2020/04/meet-the-babymaker...

[Jamesgt]

Louis Balfour said:

This chap seems to have some opinions on it: https://cyclingtips.com/2020/04/meet-the-babymaker...

I’ve not opened the link but I’m going to bet rubbish?!

Just had a look. That’s an old article. I still think it looks like a nice bike. Would be worth asking that pistonhead member what he thinking of his.

Edited by Jamesgt on Sunday 29th November 07:37

[gangzoom]

Wish said:

Any more options ?
I’ve been on evans cycles but all well above budget and most look like old bikes with added battery and motor.

The 'tech' on all eBike is pretty much the same, a motor + battery, they also pretty much perform the same given any equivalent battery size.

Its the packaging/design that you pay for, the eBikes that look like normal bike with a battery stuck on offer the best 'value', and will perform as well as a £5k one.

You also end up paying more for other components, price of gear shifting hardware will range for sub £30 for shifters/gears/chain to £1000, thats the same for any bike E or not.

Decide what you want the bike for, and than set a budget. For me my eBike has become a car replacement, for pure 'fun' my 10 year old normal road bike is much better. But I do road riding not MTB so that may change things.

Overall any eBike will be fine for you if you haven't ridden a bike for 20 years+. Just don't for the absolute cheapest £500 jobs off eBay, they are awful bikes to start off with and not made any better by a motor + battery.

[boyse7en]

I disagree with some of that.
The difference between the £4k Fantic I rode and the £2k model I compared it to was night and day.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I wouldn't go near Evans. Have a read of some of the recent trustpilot reviews.

That Mercedes branded bicycle will be attractive to thieves

[Tron Kirk]

Loving my Vanmoof more every day. Not saying they're all perfect but most are probably delivered fault free.

[Wish]

Thanks for the comments.

Found cycle uk website, they have loads of bikes. Interesting to hear your thoughts on the Vanmoof . Did you buy it from the shop or was it delivered ?