I just came across a Facebook discussion on the Engwe group in which Engwe seem to be saying that you shouldn't use their bikes in rainy or humid conditions as it can damage the battery and motor. That doesn't leave many places where buying an Engwe bike would be a smart move!
😂 oh dear! Yes we’ve also come across websites where ebikes are being sold and they state they are not legal for UK roads 🙄 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍
I agree products require a good back up service to maintain the longevity. I have just bought a second hand electric Brompton. Private sale barely two years old knowing that the back up would be in place. The shock is the cost of a replacement battery unit (not that I need one) as a price sense checking before buying still expensive at £550.00. Then if you divide by the life usage it works out at £183.00 per annum for three years and if you get five years usage its £110.00 per annum / 52 = £2.11 per week. Your quote "I love my Brompton" 👍 Good points raised.
Hi thanks for watching and your comments. It’s really good (and thank you) for breaking down the cost of the battery as although initially seems expensive it actually isn’t too bad if you look at it weekly.
A good video with some interesting and relevant points. You didn’t mention it, but I’m sure you are aware that there are companies selling kits to convert ordinary bikes to e-bikes. I worked for nano Electric Bikes for a year and we made a nice kit for a Brompton that was very successful for many years. If anything happened to it, we could almost always supply a component, rebuild a wheel or repair the motor. I replaced parts in many older motors to get them running again. The kit used to be £850 and of course the customer supplied their own bike, which seemed a very sustainable system to me.
Interesting video as usual, l have converted two of my bikes to electric one a mid drive Bafang and the other recently with a hose kit on an extremely old Dutch bike front hub motor l am absolutely delighted with the results bonus l haven’t spent a lot of money and l am retired electrician so just tinkering about the batteries l use are 36 volt Bosch which are wonderful and easily adapted and not to expensive anyhow as always thank you for a fine video
@@veloworks9266 thank you yes they are super fun to ride especially as l have two new hips plus a replacement knee you probably have but if not take a look at the Bafang & Yose products made in China of course they seem incredibly well engineered to me and possibly make components for the bike you demonstrated although l don’t know this anyhow thank you for reply and one day hope to meet you and use your service we regularly used to use Jake’s Bike in Bristol unfortunately no longer in business bringing our bicycles from Swindon to his shop.
@@andrewmuirhead86 hi Andrew, thanks for the info and more nice comments. Do indeed contact us through the website if you are looking for servicing work one day 👍👍
Would you like to do the same Top Tips for ebike conversion kits? There are several highly reputable brands out there and many not so reputable. Your knowledge and opinion would be very much appreciated. If you do this, please include Grin Technologies from Canada; these guys know ebike kits, even multiple Brompton kits. Personally, I found a very decent bike with decent components - belt drive 8 speed Alfine hub gear in my case - and fitted a front wheel Grin Tech kit to it. As you pointed out on the Cube, I have excellent standard components that can be serviced and replaced, and Grin provides excellent after sales service and parts for their kits. And thanks for an excellent video on choosing an ebike. Your camera-person had her work cut out keeping up with you while zooming in for close ups but we got an excellent video in the end. These 13 minute vids must take hours of work before during and after so thank you.
@@SimonBrowneNZ hi Simon, thanks for the lovely comments about the video and watching it. We were also interested to hear about your experience. We have zero experience of ebike conversion kits… this is largely to do with our insurance company so therefore we aren’t the people to do a video about them. I hope you enjoy yours and happy cycling!
@@veloworks9266 I owned 2 ebikes before converting my road bike with a kit from Grin. The road bike is a standard bike with a Gates Belt and 8 speed Alfine hub; so maybe not so standard, but definitely not custom ebike build. The first reason for selling the ebikes and doing my own was WEIGHT. ebikes are heavy and in my opinion, more heavy than they need to be. My theory is ebikes start with a strong frame and add a powerful motor and battery. With the motor and battery added, the frame needs more strength so a heavier frame is made. This requires a more powerful motor that requires a bigger battery. This continues until we get todays ebike - HEAVY. I started with a standard weight bike and added 4kg motor in the front wheel and a 2 kg battery under the seat - plus a few wires. The motor can require 1000plus watts and the battery can provide 1000plus watts but I generally run up to 400watts. The bottom bracket has been replaced with a torque sensor bb and a motor controller has been fitted under the handle bars connected to the motor and the battery. The e-components are standard and can be sourced from a variety of suppliers - Grin provides them at a reasonable markup and Grin also provides excellent before and after sales service. Because the bike is standard any bike shop can service it, and because I put the electronics together - plug and play - I could easily replace any component from several suppliers. One other reason I moved / ran away from proprietary ebikes is the components are being upgraded each 6 months - smaller, faster, better - and after 5 or 6 years, when things need replacing, how can I guarantee the single supplier of the part will still have a part from 12 upgrades ago - esp. batteries and motors and specific motor controllers. With motors and batteries only fitting into a specific frame, and motors changing shape constantly, replacing motors later is going to be tricky. I reckon you would have a wonderful time converting a standard bike with a kit from Grin. And I'm here to provide any assistance. It really is easier than it looks.
@@SimonBrowneNZ thanks for sharing. We do work on certain brands of ebikes but our passion for bike maintenance comes from traditional non electric bikes. This is what really motivates me - working on these type of bikes - as there is more of a mechanical nature to the work. E-bikes and conversion kits is less about the mechanical process of fixing a bike therefore it’s less satisfying for me 😂 therefore we don’t have a passion for it but it’s great that you do 👍
Good video, agree with what you said. Am saving up for a good ebike and one main criteria is post purchase support; will get it from a bike shop and most shops are now selling ebikes from reputable companies along with the brands' non-electric models. As you said, longevity and support are important, worth the initial extra expence. Of course, the saving up part does try patience, as in do I save up for the Brompton electric, or get a 1500-2k pricex bike now...but would have to wait longer for the Brompton. So far, am resisting impatience. 😉
I “think” I’d only be interested in a pedal assist. The twist and go variety are so heavy they delete a bike’s inherent advantages, and there are some really great “twist and go” alternatives called motorcycles. That said, the SECRET to a more powerful e-bike is that they’re still sold as utility bikes, whereas even a cheap motorcycle isn’t. “Horses for courses”
Yes you’ve made a good point. If you want a twist and go you are better off getting a legal moped! Or motorcycle! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment 🙌
I would add look at the warranty on the ebike. 2 years is standard on the motor and battery, but warranties on the frame, fork will vary. Eg. Volt is a reputable brand and I am sure their Ebikes are top notch but one of the reasons I didn’t choose them was they only offered 2 year warranty on the frame. That suggests that their frame Is not that solid. 5 years on the frame is the minimum a manufacturer should Be offering IMO.
I just came across a Facebook discussion on the Engwe group in which Engwe seem to be saying that you shouldn't use their bikes in rainy or humid conditions as it can damage the battery and motor. That doesn't leave many places where buying an Engwe bike would be a smart move!
😂 oh dear! Yes we’ve also come across websites where ebikes are being sold and they state they are not legal for UK roads 🙄 Thanks for watching and commenting 👍
I agree products require a good back up service to maintain the longevity. I have just bought a second hand electric Brompton. Private sale barely two years old knowing that the back up would be in place. The shock is the cost of a replacement battery unit (not that I need one) as a price sense checking before buying still expensive at £550.00. Then if you divide by the life usage it works out at £183.00 per annum for three years and if you get five years usage its £110.00 per annum / 52 = £2.11 per week. Your quote "I love my Brompton" 👍 Good points raised.
Hi thanks for watching and your comments. It’s really good (and thank you) for breaking down the cost of the battery as although initially seems expensive it actually isn’t too bad if you look at it weekly.
A good video with some interesting and relevant points. You didn’t mention it, but I’m sure you are aware that there are companies selling kits to convert ordinary bikes to e-bikes. I worked for nano Electric Bikes for a year and we made a nice kit for a Brompton that was very successful for many years. If anything happened to it, we could almost always supply a component, rebuild a wheel or repair the motor. I replaced parts in many older motors to get them running again. The kit used to be £850 and of course the customer supplied their own bike, which seemed a very sustainable system to me.
Thank ypu for an informative video, really appreciate it
Great to hear. Thanks for watching
Interesting video as usual, l have converted two of my bikes to electric one a mid drive Bafang and the other recently with a hose kit on an extremely old Dutch bike front hub motor l am absolutely delighted with the results bonus l haven’t spent a lot of money and l am retired electrician so just tinkering about the batteries l use are 36 volt Bosch which are wonderful and easily adapted and not to expensive anyhow as always thank you for a fine video
Should be yose not hose
Hi Andrew thanks for watching. Sounds like you have it in hand! Hope they are a delight to ride 👍
@@veloworks9266 thank you yes they are super fun to ride especially as l have two new hips plus a replacement knee you probably have but if not take a look at the Bafang & Yose products made in China of course they seem incredibly well engineered to me and possibly make components for the bike you demonstrated although l don’t know this anyhow thank you for reply and one day hope to meet you and use your service we regularly used to use Jake’s Bike in Bristol unfortunately no longer in business bringing our bicycles from Swindon to his shop.
@@andrewmuirhead86 hi Andrew, thanks for the info and more nice comments. Do indeed contact us through the website if you are looking for servicing work one day 👍👍
Would you like to do the same Top Tips for ebike conversion kits? There are several highly reputable brands out there and many not so reputable. Your knowledge and opinion would be very much appreciated. If you do this, please include Grin Technologies from Canada; these guys know ebike kits, even multiple Brompton kits. Personally, I found a very decent bike with decent components - belt drive 8 speed Alfine hub gear in my case - and fitted a front wheel Grin Tech kit to it. As you pointed out on the Cube, I have excellent standard components that can be serviced and replaced, and Grin provides excellent after sales service and parts for their kits. And thanks for an excellent video on choosing an ebike. Your camera-person had her work cut out keeping up with you while zooming in for close ups but we got an excellent video in the end. These 13 minute vids must take hours of work before during and after so thank you.
@@SimonBrowneNZ hi Simon, thanks for the lovely comments about the video and watching it. We were also interested to hear about your experience. We have zero experience of ebike conversion kits… this is largely to do with our insurance company so therefore we aren’t the people to do a video about them. I hope you enjoy yours and happy cycling!
@@veloworks9266 I owned 2 ebikes before converting my road bike with a kit from Grin. The road bike is a standard bike with a Gates Belt and 8 speed Alfine hub; so maybe not so standard, but definitely not custom ebike build. The first reason for selling the ebikes and doing my own was WEIGHT. ebikes are heavy and in my opinion, more heavy than they need to be. My theory is ebikes start with a strong frame and add a powerful motor and battery. With the motor and battery added, the frame needs more strength so a heavier frame is made. This requires a more powerful motor that requires a bigger battery. This continues until we get todays ebike - HEAVY. I started with a standard weight bike and added 4kg motor in the front wheel and a 2 kg battery under the seat - plus a few wires. The motor can require 1000plus watts and the battery can provide 1000plus watts but I generally run up to 400watts. The bottom bracket has been replaced with a torque sensor bb and a motor controller has been fitted under the handle bars connected to the motor and the battery. The e-components are standard and can be sourced from a variety of suppliers - Grin provides them at a reasonable markup and Grin also provides excellent before and after sales service. Because the bike is standard any bike shop can service it, and because I put the electronics together - plug and play - I could easily replace any component from several suppliers. One other reason I moved / ran away from proprietary ebikes is the components are being upgraded each 6 months - smaller, faster, better - and after 5 or 6 years, when things need replacing, how can I guarantee the single supplier of the part will still have a part from 12 upgrades ago - esp. batteries and motors and specific motor controllers. With motors and batteries only fitting into a specific frame, and motors changing shape constantly, replacing motors later is going to be tricky. I reckon you would have a wonderful time converting a standard bike with a kit from Grin. And I'm here to provide any assistance. It really is easier than it looks.
@@SimonBrowneNZ thanks for sharing. We do work on certain brands of ebikes but our passion for bike maintenance comes from traditional non electric bikes. This is what really motivates me - working on these type of bikes - as there is more of a mechanical nature to the work. E-bikes and conversion kits is less about the mechanical process of fixing a bike therefore it’s less satisfying for me 😂 therefore we don’t have a passion for it but it’s great that you do 👍
Good video, agree with what you said. Am saving up for a good ebike and one main criteria is post purchase support; will get it from a bike shop and most shops are now selling ebikes from reputable companies along with the brands' non-electric models. As you said, longevity and support are important, worth the initial extra expence.
Of course, the saving up part does try patience, as in do I save up for the Brompton electric, or get a 1500-2k pricex bike now...but would have to wait longer for the Brompton. So far, am resisting impatience. 😉
I “think” I’d only be interested in a pedal assist. The twist and go variety are so heavy they delete a bike’s inherent advantages, and there are some really great “twist and go” alternatives called motorcycles.
That said, the SECRET to a more powerful e-bike is that they’re still sold as utility bikes, whereas even a cheap motorcycle isn’t.
“Horses for courses”
Yes you’ve made a good point. If you want a twist and go you are better off getting a legal moped! Or motorcycle! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment 🙌
I would add look at the warranty on the ebike. 2 years is standard on the motor and battery, but warranties on the frame, fork will vary. Eg. Volt is a reputable brand and I am sure their
Ebikes are top notch but one of the reasons I didn’t choose them was they only offered 2 year warranty on the frame. That suggests that their frame
Is not that solid. 5 years on the frame is the minimum a manufacturer should
Be offering IMO.
Totally agree. 5 years min is what you want. Great example of looking in more detail 👍 thanks for watching
Tip one: Do NOT buy an e-bike.