We bought the cheapest E-bike we could find on Amazon! E-bikes are becoming more and more popular but they do come with a hefty price tag. So Simon has done his research and found the cheapest he can find to see whether it’s just as good as the rest! How bad can it be? Will it set fire to his pants? 🔥
0:00 - intro
0:19 - E-bikes
1:16 - The bike!
4:55 - Trying the bike for the first time
7:14 - Hills
9:36 - Descending
11:27 - Different terrain
14:40 - Battery
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What do you think about Simon’s cheap e-bike? 🤔 Let us know in the comments section below! 👇
Wow! The last time i saw an e-bike go that fast across cobbles was on the Kapelmuur with Fabian Cancellara riding it!😂
I think that it weighs 27 kilos. I weigh 47. Were I ever inclined to buy it, how would I manage a monster like that? But it might be useful to someone with more kilos and less money.
That front light placement is terrible, look how upward it is positioned, all it does is blinding incomming traffic. Unfortunately more and more of these appear on the roads, not to mention the clueless riders who have them on in broad daylight. As for the e-bike part if you live in a relatively flat area you are better off buying a light road bike. It is quite easy to achieve 25 kph and there is no hassle with additional e-bike problems.
Simon will ride anything. I was amused!
The ley thong to remember is, you're coming down from a level of bikes (and fitness) that even most keen cyclists cannot imagine. For someone coming from an equally crap unassisted bike, this would be great. Let's be honest, it works. If it dies after 18 months, not the end of the world at that price, and someone may have been converted. Power to the people!
What did we learn? There is no bike bad enough to not bring a smile to the face of Si "cycling god" Richardson.
54 idiots liked this idiotic fanboy comment
okay, I see it was his own phrase.
Bikes of all shapes are fun! Nothing better than getting out on two wheels 🙌
I've ridden bikes like this and once you've ridden high end mtbs, these bikes feel absolutely horrendous. I personally can't have fun on them because the quality is so compromised. Only fit for the skip in my opinion, or for a non rider to use for canal cruising.
Not everyone can afford high end ebikes
It depends what you're looking for... I've had a similar thing, similar motor, battery in frame, 20" wheeled folding thing for nearly four years... yes it's crap, but I live with MS and it is the best wheelchair in the world, it's climbed Pyrenean and alpine cols, and with a trailer does my shopping... I can't even walk 10m without my crutches, yes it'll never replace your Pinerello, but it's WAY better than my wheelchair (which was more expensive)
Yes, definitely heard some people who struggle to walk say that it's a great mobility aid. One I know with back trouble says using a mobility scooter does mean getting out but it's limited in where it can go and sitting still for a long time is painful. The same problem would happen sitting driving a car. On a bicycle since they're moving there's less pain plus they're getting some physio and transport all in one. It would be upsetting to put up with the pain sitting still and go to the health centre for physio only to end up in a little horrid room where you have to sit on a stationery bike looking at blank wall peddling away.
I have an Ebike in the UK it has a throttle I use it as a mobility aid as I'm disabled. I'm not sure where he gets his information but as long as the motor does not exceed 250 watts and not faster than 15mph its not illegal in the UK to have a throttle. Electric wheelchairs have throttles.
@@bazd I think there was some stuff in the UK proposed rules early on, but yes, forcing users to have a cadence sensor and no throttle would make it impossible for other users. Plus we have people on escooters now, that would make them instantly illegal.
@@bazdincorrect the only throttle you can “legally “ use on an e-bike in the UK is a start assist which will go to 3.7 mph after that cadence must commence to engage up to 15mph… That said most police don’t care what e-bike you are on as long as you are not being a d*ck…..😂😂😂
He's a really obnoxious "man" (I use the term loosely). He has no idea what it means to be on a budget. He doesn't have to worry about theft either. Knows nothing about batteries but runs his mouth like he does. He knows NOTHING about electric motors and again, runs his mouth like he does. He doesn't even understand the concept of voltage sag and why the bars would go up and down. He paid 500 dollars for this bike and expects it to be his 5-10k Dollar bikes he doesn't pay for anyway. Personally, people like him are the reason everyone hates cyclists!!!
I bought an ebike here in Canada in the late fall of 2022 and didn't get much riding done before winter. It was $1500 CDN which isn't too much more than the bike in this video. It weighs 55 lbs. I did some modifications like adding fenders, better seat, shock absorber seat riser, riser for the handlebars, and a rack with bags on the back. Total I've spent was around another $500 CND on the mods. It has a 500w motor and 10 amp battery. I use it mostly without any assist since it's just there to help on hills and in case of a mishap so I can get home. I'm 63 years old and this is my first bike in over 40 years. I wasn't in great shape but was determined to get healthier and this (cheap) bike was my ticket. Over the course of 3 months last summer I rode over 1600 km, mostly without assist. I climbed hills that would be difficult to walk up using a low gear and full assist. If I hadn't been able to get a bike at this low a price, I wouldn't have gotten one and wouldn't have gotten the benefit out of biking. I even managed one ride of 101 km and still had half the battery charge.
You can't ride anything over 250 watts on the road in UK
@@BigBadWilfAgain I think 250 watts would be sufficient for the majority of hills that I tackle but there are a few that I would probably have to avoid since they are long and steep and I need that extra ooph to get up them.
@@BigBadWilfAgainCanada allows 500w and 32km/h.
1500 CAD is about $500 more than his bike. Quite a difference.
@@BigBadWilfAgain Do they enforce it. We have a lot of ridicules laws on the books and the local and even some of the state police ignore them. So the bike can travel faster and give you help on hills for cities like mine with longer roads all going up hill where all the important things are. Ridicules, I can see some busybody screeching to the Constabulary "oh my God here comes another one of those motorcycle gang members and it almost hit my dog who was chasing it....save us!
Hi simon im 80 years old bought this very bike about 5 years ago. Thought you might recognise the frame from Ancheer. I have severe knee arthritus but it has taken me up hills and to my favourite nature park and i love it. Cycled since i was 9 years old
I've got the 500w version of the Ancheer. Love it for getting around the city.
I don't think that I have ever seen Si smile so much during a review. I think he secretly loved it!
Hahaha Si is always happy when on two wheels! Riding a slightly hair raising bike can be super fun but only when you have the experience and skills like Si does.
I think it was the vibration
A cheap ebike got my above knee amputee ass back on the road, after 20 years. Yeah, fancy ebikes are better and lighter but an hour long ride on a Sunday afternoon can put a smile on your face
For someone on a budget who is old and has to ride up steep hills, this will be a a godsend. I'm buying one.
550 quid? That's 1,100 AUD or so. Nah, not in this pensioner's budget. 🤷♂
Totally agree with you. If this video put someone off buying the only e-bike they can afford then GCN has seriously failed.
It's not a bad-looking bike, either.
@@maxhugento be fair, if we're talking car replacement that's pretty good though if I understand correctly, australia's about as car-dependent as north america so...
@@blueninja012 Yeah, very car dependent. Australia covers roughly the same area as the 48 contiguous US states - but with about 7.6% of the population. 300 miles here is just "going to visit my sister tomorrow". 🤭
Some five years ago I bought the cheapest e-bike I could find at a national chain: it cost around £800, and I had the confidence that it had been thoroughly inspected before I took delivery. It is intended as a road bike for general use (rather than a pseudo mountain bike) so it looks a lot better than the one in the video, and it certainly does the job. The sight of that one being lugged up a flight of steps certainly resonates with me, my bike having apparently been built from cast iron drain pipes and requiring quite a lot of effort to lug backwards up the four steps to my front door, not something I relish at my age (now 72). But I certainly would not be able to cycle to my weekly volunteering stint without the motor assistance, the destination being some 500 feet higher than my home with some interesting hills on the way (but coming home is so much easier!) One dedicated cyclist said to me "it doesn't matter that it's an e-bike: what counts is that it's a bike and you are riding it."
i was just on another video about e-bikes and one comment read "who cares that 'some people consider it "cheating"'???? I just lost 25 lbs" LOL
The reason for the battery bar going back up at 7:47 is the battery percentage will be based off live voltage. After a high power draw, the voltage will drop and then recover after a short period of time. This was a common issue on the older evolve skateboards (gtx and earlier), usually referred to as battery sag. Evolve fixed it in the gtr onwards
I think it has to do with heat, and the battery heats up it can't provide the same voltage, and when it cools down some it'll go back up.
@@matt.3.14 No it's just as the previous poster stated; the display simply looks at the battery voltage and when a high load is applied the battery voltage drops (all batteries do this), and the drop can be significant depending on the cells used in the pack, so the display shows the overall battery level has dropped but when the load is removed the battery voltage recovers and the simple display reads this as a higher state of charge.
This also means the battery % is actually the higher "recovered" percent.
That's why the display should show actual voltage and not percentage bars. It's far more useful.
@@goldikova1 That'd work for me, I'm a EE. Average Joe it's just going to numbers with no context, and they'll be confused why the bike most stops working when it's only gone from 52V to 40V or whatever. :)
When you look at how in every riding clip Si is smiling it reminds me of cycling as a kid. Too often we get wrapped up in the unimportant elements of cycling and become grumpy about pot holes, something being 'off' or just not getting the numbers we want. But this is the groundfloor of cycling as a kid, enabling you to do something you couldn't without a bike and enjoying the process. Great video!
He's a big kid at heart! He just loves his bikes!
I started cycling again last year, having not been on a bike for 15 years. One of the things that makes it such a joyous part of my life is that I get the same enjoyment from cycling that I did as a child.
I dunno, I still feel like a kid when I cycle!!!!
this this this.@@simonmandrakejones
I definitely think that you're a bike snob. You proved it to be a great machine and it did everything that you put it through. It handled that hill effortlessly and I was amazed how it went down the steps (can't imagine anyone wanting to do that though). All in all a perfect machine for most riders, for the price. Judging by your smiles, you obviously secretly enjoyed and liked it.
Dont think that's a fair comment. If you get used to a certain level of anything. If you drive a Mercedes daily and then get given a shitty car as a holiday rental kia you'll laugh at it.
@@richardcook1987maybe, but they both do the same thing
@@tonycamplin8607 maybe. But driving cheap French car isnt as pleasant as a volvo or Mercedes. They're noisy and plasticy. Same argument applies to People who say "A casio does the same as a rolex" Yeah they do. But one is nicer.
@@richardcook1987 "Nicer" is a very vague metric. The Rolex is more valuable as a consumer product, but "nice"? If you're trying to accurately time multiple laps, then a Rolex isn't "nicer" than a Casio that's suited for multiple functions, including accurate lap timing. A Rolex is a piece of jewelry and status more than a practical timepiece. When everyone has cell phones that accurate synchronize time to the atomic standard, a Rolex becomes an ornament more than a timepiece.
@@richardcook1987 car snob!, Mercedes are shite.
This bike is perfect for those who need help getting up hills and getting to work or school. They get to their destination, pull the battery off and lock up the rest for the day or night. In total the bike does the job, but it has little value piece by piece so it won't be targeted for theft. Exactly what so many people need. Plus I saw you having fun with it despite it being a low brow clunker! 😊
All these people moaning about 15mph fall off and realise 15 is fast enough.
If an eBike review can ever be a "good mood clip of the day", this one is it.
E-bikes are a great fun :)
I've only got a ordinary bike eg no batt, But this review was excellent and fun thanks keep safe.
I agree with your closing remarks and while I love the idea of more people being able to access ebikes, I really think that the batteries should have to pass some kind of testing process from an external organisation both for the safety of people buying them and not giving more ammunition to people in the media who are constantly trying to discredit cycling.
[and not giving more ammunition to people in the media who are constantly trying to discredit cycling.] This is a crucial point! It is extremely rare that I see an e-bike rider following the protocols (let alone the law) of safe pushbike riding.
Note that all CE (the EU safety label) marks are self-declare, and have been so for years. There's no independent body who tests any electric devices being sold - unless it's also sold in other markets (like the US) where explicit testing is required. Whether self-declare is worse than actual testing is not a clear question. Also, if a device does fail even though self-declared, the liabilities for the producer/importer is considerable.
It's not just the media, more than one Fire Service have gone on record to express concerns over battery safety.
Those chinese batteries are the biggest thing holding ebikes back, you may as well have a gas tank with a lit match right beside it, over in china its a daily occurrence in the cities that these things are up in flames
In the U.K. they do need to pass safety standards and it’s a criminal offence to sell stuff that hasn’t. This is completely unenforced when it comes to online selling though.
I'm turning 70 this year and for most of my life from 6 to 66 I was an avid bicycle rider. One of these inexpensive ebikes is just what I need to get back on two wheels. Thanks for the reveiew.
yes, you can do it!!!
Fairplay to Si for looking at it objectively, not from an expert cyclist point of view. It shows the integrity that GCN have to not completely dismiss the cheaper stuff.
Battery meter goes up and down because under load there's a voltage sag and the controller shows remaining battery by voltage of the battery.
This , my 5000+ eur Stromer has the same . Percentage displayed on the computer , which goes up as you stand still and things cool down again .
he couldnt be bthered even finding that basicfact out.
@@jorismakyeah my 2000w bike does the same stuff. Can make it hard to gauge how long you can actually keep going when on low battery and the voltage decides to jump around.
Is it possible that the indicators are showing how much assisted riding time you have left based on the assistance level you select? Therefore, if you reduce the assistance level, the time goes up. Just speculating. I have know idea how the computer arrives at the battery meter indicator display value.
Reducing the assist reduces the load on the battery, in turn reducing the voltage sag, voltage sag in plain is literally the strain of the power being drawn on the battery, to put it in simple terms. You go full speed, voltage will sag, you dont, it wont. @@richardellingworth4484
Loving that GCN releases a video about a $60,000 bike, and a video about a EUR 549 bike, within an hour of each other. 😂
What can we say, we're very inclusive 😂
I like that they totally disrespect the ebike by ditching the spandex. NO, stupid ebike, you are not worthy of my GCN kit!!!
@@hogroamer260but if you wear spandex on an ebike you'll look like a total mupet.
Brilliant isn’t it! 😊
@@Aeronwor That's what I see when I see anyone with spandex that isn't in a race!
I think that the main feature of this type of bike is that they let you ride , in the city and a bit of offroad, without breaking sweat...and for that they are absolutely fantastic.
Or even 'breaking sweat' ...
I have a Carrera ebike bought 5 years ago. It is a life saver, literally. As someone who has always cycled and once been a member of the CTC, I have had many bikes. But this one is something else. I have near me, many vertical rise hills of between 1-5 and 1-7, according to Ordnance Survey. I treated myself to this bike at 69 years of age because it was killing me, and would probably have done so already, to get up the hills. Now I can do it with effort but ease and I have not, touch wood, had any heart attacks.
I did a 25 mile OAB yesterday and I saw 2 or 3 ebikes and maybe 50 acoustic. Judging solely by appearances (not a good thing to do, but it's all I've got) the people who were riding the ebikes would be unlikely to have been out without them. So I think it's good.
Stop using that stupid word to refer to standard bikes.
Are acoustic bikes the ones with really loud and clicky freewheel hubs? 😂
@@23Gears No, they're powered by lots of gasping and groaning!
OAB?
@@Ken_oh545 On A Bike?
The problem with the Amazon e-bikes from a bike shop perspective is we won’t (typically) work on them. We usually have problems getting parts from the manufacturer so if anything goes wrong in the motor or battery you’re usually on your own.
I converted one of my recumbents to electric and asked my local shop to do a bit to it, it wasn't until I explained that what I wanted done had nothing to do with the electronics were they even willing to hear me out, 40$ worth of work isn't worth risking damaging 1200$ worth of electronics and I don't blame them for not wanting to take that risk
Ive learned from the University of KZhead to deal with all my ebike needs. If the bike shop won't help me, I'll do it myself.
@@Stellar001100 that's how I learned, most of the maintenance on the ebike I do myself now, was a good excuse to learn some valuable skills that will save me thousands over the years as my fleet continues to grow
Will your shop work on something like the Cube Reaction Hybrid with the Bosch motor?
@azzajaybrah Any good shop should, yes. Cube usually aren't the best to deal with, but Bosch are generally really good and any Bosch service centre can service a Bosch system.
the guy that pulled up behind you at the bottom of the hill ....you're just lucky that wasn't Ronnie Pickering 🤣
If it was me in the car I’d say “get the £&@@&&@ out the £&@&£ way &&&7@@&” !!”
I'm certain that this is the same bike previously marketed (in the US at least) under the Ancheer brand. I recognise it because I bought one, and I was generally very happy with it, especially given the price - US$636 in 2018. For my purposes at the time, getting around my suburban neighborhood at a point where my circumstances didn't justify me owning a car, it was everything that I needed. It's the only e-bike I've owned, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I very much enjoyed riding it. I also saw the issue with the power meter fluctuating, but I believe it's because it's trying to give you an indication of how much longer the battery will last. If you drop down to a lower power setting, or you're not doing hill work, then you can ride further, and so the meter increases its reading to reflect that. I ended up moving overseas, and so I gave the bike to a friend. However, last year, 4 years after I bought it, I received a recall notice from Amazon on the battery. They reported that a total of 6 batteries had caught fire, and so the manufacturer offered a free updated replacement battery.
Wow after 4 years
I have said it before and I will say it again - Si just has a way with words and storytelling that makes his videos so unique and engaging. Such joyfully presented commentary and captivating content. Thank you!
Great to hear you love Si vides so much! Can you think of any videos that have stood out from the rest?
I agree
@@gcn When Si heckled Matt for not being able to clip in. Those were hilarious because Matt thought it was funny as well.
Absolutely charming person
You're his mum aren't you?😅
For me, bike = sport, e-bike = transport. My ride to work is 13.5 miles. Gravel bike is 60 min to work, 80 min to get home (800 ft climbing on the way home). E-bike is 55 min to work (so almost the same), but only 60 minutes to get home.
Get a torque sensor
I've got a similar cheapie. Paid $572 off eBay brand new over here in the states. Mine has a digital display but similar specs. Love it. BTW, I love Bristol. Miss it dearly. Thanks for another great video! End ebike snobbery!
As with all tech, it depends on what you use it for. If you want to give up the car for your 20 min journey to work, it's probably worth it. If you plan to do weekend cycling trips around the country,then you may need to invest in a top of the range bike.Having said that, one of the better reviewers I have come across.👌👌👌
Yes
Give it to Sam Pilgrim to really find it's limits 🤣🤣.
E-bike Party? 😉
Exactly what I was thinking! GCN should get him for a fun, silly, amazing review or challenge.
You should come down to LA. LA Esk8 rides through the city every Saturday.
Thought this as soon as the stair set of doom was mentioned
Thank you for showing e-bikes in a positive and balanced way, I commute on an e-bike and there is still a lot of bike snobbery out there for literally no reason as we’re all just cyclists at the end of the day.
E-bikes are a perfectly good way of getting out and about and enjoying your riding!
I ride an ebike but still am a bit of a snob. When I see people riding those tanks with motorcycle wheels, I look at them with the same disdain as those riding their golf carts on suburban streets. But when I'm on mine, I could care less what other cyclists might be thinking.
@@hogroamer260People like to customize their ebikes. I take it you're talking about Super73 bikes.
@Stellar001100 I don't limit it to any specific line, just any fat tire bike that I can hear humming down the road from 1/2 a mile away and that can't realistically be pedaled. Honestly, I don't really care, but those are more toys to ride than bicycles.
@@hogroamer260I have a fat tire bike and it does a much better job of absorbing all the horrendous bumps on roads around me. Yes they can't be pedalled without electric power but when you've got a motor it doesn't matter
I have the exact bike but it's branded Ancheer. Had it 2 years and l love it . To avoid that delay when you stop pedalling just touch one of the brakes . Motor cuts out immediately. Also the brakes are the opposite way around. Right hand lever is the rear brake . Caught me out until I realised . Never had any issues with it after I adjusted the gears after assembly . It's great fun to ride and gives me smiles per miles .
Wait; right hand brake is rear brake on all of my bikes. Is it different in the UK than the US?
@@granthaller9544 yes right lever is always front brake here in the UK . Easy enough to swap the cables over though .
Its great seeing these eBikes reviewed and highlighting what you get for your money. If you do economise there is usually - Lack of dealer support - Little in the way of warranty - low end components - Lower quality batteries. However many of the riders who get these eBikes are over 75Kg and that makes a massive difference on hill climbing - especially if you are carrying bags/panniers etc. In Brighton cheap tyres usually mean regular punctures and you would not want to change punctures on the rear tyre that often. When and if it does stop working do not be surprised if your local bike shop suggests taking it back to Amazon to get it repaired. The controller box looks extremely exposed and would be interesting to see how waterproof it is and usually the bottle bolts are designed to carry 500G unless they are reinforced so frame may get fatigued over time with the weight of the battery.
looks to me like a perfectly acceptable e-bike for daily commute.
Better to buy a normal bike and add a bafang kit.
E-bikes are great for commutes agreed :)
It absolutely could be!
@manoz6194 but any bafang kit is going to cost more than this bike alone.
Having spent a lot of time working on these over time it absolutely isn’t. It’s only as good as good enough to get started but it will be dead in a year or so of actually daily riding. The motors and controllers burn out a lot very easily. The parts can very readily become completely impossible to get. These manufacturers of the lowest cost ones do a really clever thing where they spec it only good enough to get past the warranty period. The electronics are also dangerously unreliable over time.
Most cheap e-bikes measure pedal activity with a sensor, which is basically a cadence sensor. They always have some delay in cutting the power, cause it doesn't actually know when you stop pedalling, it only knows it once the sensor doesn't get triggered for set amount of time. It's the same when you start to pedal, there's always some delay. It's fine for easy commuting though. The more expensive option is a strain gauge in the pedal, similar to power meters. That's instant and can also be used to control the motor power related to your power output.
My cadence sensor bike kicks on and off the power pretty much as soon as I either start or stop pedalling. It's just the one in this bike is probably poorly programmed and I doubt there's anything the suer could do about it because legal bikes are too locked down.
I was probably one of the first 25 e-bike owners on the hilly island of Malta in 2019. Every year after that I noticed more and more interest and investment in such a beaut invention. This year there are many more than ever enjoying riding with more and more e-bikes here. Congrats on your skill and courage especially down the steps and braking downhill. Found this very funny and glad it wasn't me testing it out.
Well done for braking and not breaking.
I'm riding a Decathlon ebike that cost me 699, it seems a lot better for a little extra money! Same weight, no disc brakes, and 8 speed, but rear suspension in addition to front, better motor control, speedo + odo, better tyres and the battery/charging system quality is far more confidence inspiring. Also, pannier rack holds the battery, so you can get bags on too - more practical! I use it on "eco" mode and it runs over 50km uphill with the motor on (the motor is off most of the time as my speed is over the cutoff speed on flat/downhill stretches in seconds)
The battery back went back to four bars because the voltage would have stabilised. If you switched off the bike after a ride and turned it back on, the display would show more volts if it had a voltage display
I can't believe you actually did that! 😂😂😂 Big thumbs up, as I could not stop laughing...but your summary is absolutely correct.
I love electric bikes. I got back into riding after I had a hip replacement, and I loved it so much that I bought two more, and it hits me out of the house to breathe in that British fresh air what more do you need 😅😂👍🏽
Broke my pelvis so they had to put it back together and replace my hip . Riding a recumbent now and would really like a motor for the hills I've noticed that I avoid some routes because of the hills. I am a life long bicycle mechanic and a new one is out of reach for now kinda ironic.
Its not often I need to pause a video due to tears of laughter, but this ticked the boxes. The joy, surprise and fear of finding out nuances on the go is what life's about. Well played.
I'm glad you found it so entertaining! For some more inexpensive bike content, why not check out 'Cheap bike challenge' on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/cbc
I have two inexpensive eBikes at home and one way I greatly improved them was by replacing the heavy coil suspension forks with inexpensive air forks. They are lighter and more adjustable. For a speedometer, we added a phone Mount and Mount our phones, which we use with an app to monitor speed, distance, average speed, heart rate.
So your bike cost 200, and your speedometer cost about £1000? 🙂
@@hamshackleton I already owned the phones and would have them regardless. Still better than overpaying for an eBike with a speedometer already included.
@@LebronPhoto1 YOU might have, but a lot of others do not. Myself included - what for. Nobody is going to want to phone me if I'm not at home!
@@hamshackletonhere in the U.S., home phones are becoming a thing of the past. I haven’t had a land line in over 10 years. The cell phones are our only phones.
@@LebronPhoto1 Here in the UK, we have our hard-wired phones for when the cell towers fail, coverage is very patchy if at all - or the mains power goes off - which happens all too often!
I must say I think for the price it wasn't bad. I have a cheaper E-bike and that was £2000 and I love it. Most battery fires seem to be due to modifications to the control unit, charger or the battery itself that the user had done so I heard when listening to a news article on the radio.
How much was it, I didn't catch that on the review?
This used to be called an Ancheer, even the paint job is identical. Plenty of good reviews on KZhead of it. Heavy but tough and totally adequate. It is easy to adapt to hand control as well.
I have a friend whose house was burned by a Li-Ion battery fire from a leaf blower she plugged in to charge in the garage before going upstairs to work. By the time she smelled the burning and called, she was displaced from her home for 18 months whilst waiting for 380k in repairs to her home. I'd love to add a couple e-bikes to what we already have to get my wife cycling more with our kids, but others' experience has convinced me that the only smart course of action will be to add in to the cost a 12'x15' shed for the corner of the garden that can store them safely away from the house.
Or you could take it off the bike sitting in the middle of your concrete floor of your garage, and then charge it. If it catches on fire it really shouldn't be burning the whole house down.
the lag and jerkiness of a cadence sensor takes some getting used to... however, it's not all bad, as they are a legal workaround to "no throttle" rules - just put it in a gear low enough that you spin out and slowly ghost pedal to satisfy the "motor only works while pedalling" One trick I've found to prevent unwanted motor activity is to pull the brake levers just enough that the motor cutouts engage without the pads touching. The battery level "fluctuating" is just battery sag - the level meter is really only a voltage meter, and you'll always have some degree of battery sag under heavy load - the voltage drops a bit and comes back up when the load is removed. The MFR can compensate for it somewhat to hopefully keep the rider from noticing, but this happens on all ebikes.
Thanks I was going to say the same thing about the battery indicator. I would imagine the technique for a "throttle" effect will only work on cadence sensor motors in the front or rear hubs.
Definitely value for money. I bought ADO a 20+ and absolutely love it. I would go for this bike too for a smoother road. E-bikes are fun for average people like me. Commuting, traveling, and exercising everything in one.
Good review of a 'normal' e-bike. Everything covered except anything about charging experiences and actually how long the full-charge lasted, although battery safety was mentioned.
Not even a mention of the super cool kick stand... Outrageous!
I love your review. My workplace has recently banned bringing personal mobility batteries inside due to the potential risk of fire from the junk at the low end of the market - the building contains irreplaceable historic collections, so an abundance of caution is entirely reasonable. We need a secure outdoor storage box for removable batteries. All the better if we can have an outdoor charging point in it. I've put in a couple of suggestions. Electric personal mobility has huge potential benefits, but the many drawbacks are becoming fairly clear, too. I wish I could look ten years ahead and see how we're adapting.
A quick multiply out might make you less keen: Let’s say you have 50 people at work using the charging box. Most people charge the battery every day, as this reduces the wear on it vs deep discharge. 1 in 1000 batteries will catch fire according to the video, and that’s whilst charging. There are 260 working days in the year. That box catches fire and destroys everyone’s batteries 13 times per year.
@@c1m1w eh, 0.01% is 1 in 10,000. Also, that number is unlikely to be a failure probability rate - otherwise you're assuming that all ebike batteries will explode and kill you if you wait long enough. Your 50 people aren't bringing in different bikes every day to roll the dice on, so if all their bikes are actually fine (Prob=99.5% approx), then zero fires per year.
This has been impacting disabled people who use mobility scooters and electric chairs too. It was a concern years ago and then most places got over it when they realised that the risk was actually pretty low with properly manufactured and regulated batteries (and maybe they realised they were being horribly discriminatory). But over the past year or so it's started to come up again and I think is linked to the questions people have about cheap e-bike and e-scooter batteries and home made/bodge setups
Thanks for commenting! Sounds like a sensible rule to us, we hope it's not causing more people to drive into work? 🚗
These days you can find a flame resistant ebike storage bag. In reality, as long as you dont abuse the battery (dropping it on the ground from waist height or above) you shouldn't experience a battery fire.
Presumably the parts that make it go are the battery, motor and some sensors/buttons/wires? What's stopping this type of kit being transferred to a better frame with better components. The rear hub could be rebuilt into a better rim of whatever size so the only limiting factor is the rear axle. Maybe that's something @GCN could do with this bike?
There are loads of vendors out there that do sell the parts to do this, with varying degrees of legality/performance and safety if you google it. A lot of deliveroo riders use that kind of bike. Take any old cheap mountain bike, put a kit on it and hey presto, throttle and 30 mph top speed. Totally illegal in the UK but no enforcement. I guess the main issues are mounting the battery and the motor controller safely and if the dropouts/frame are strong enough to handle the extra load from the motor. My hub motor e-bike has really beefy dropouts with anti-rotation tabs. There are also some reputable companies like Swytch that make proper consumer options too.
I bought my first ebike a few yrs back from one of the online startup companies. Spent $3600 US because I didn't want a crap bike. It was a meant to be a car replacement. It had mostly quality components (Sram Eagle, bafang mid drive, Tekktro brakes). But they cheaper out everywhere they could. Withing the first few weeks I broke spokes. Then I broke the rear hub. Then I cracked the frame. That was the first big hurdle. LBSs could do the small stuff, but nobody was willing to pull out the motor and all components and swap over to the new frame. The new frame lasted 2 weeks before it cracked. Again at a weld joint. 3rd frame. Spent my holiday swapping parts over. Now the battery no longer seems functional. Now I have a rigid steel bike with a mid mounted kit. Doesn't look as good, but much more reliable so far.
Excellent review Simon - thank you! I may be missing something but couldn't you just mount your Garmin on the handlebars to get your speed? You could find the mile range for your battery with average usage and note your distance covered on the Garmin to work out how much "juice" you have left to play with? There is an e-bike setting on Strava too so you don't have to fake any new PBs :)
Looks are reminiscent of the sort of bike my parents would've bought me from the Grattan catalogue...
I bought a £1000 e-bike from an cycling store on the net British ( not amazon). I upgraded the tyres , hydraulic brake Callipers , cables and levers all to Shimano ,front crank and rear mech! Cost me about 250 quid in parts and labour , the bike now is valued at 2500 if u bought the same spec bike from the likes of Ribble , Raleigh etc Thats always a good way to save money. Canyon ultimate for summer and e-bike for winter
What would have been interesting would be the cheapest fix for the fork. Also maybe a video about the cheapest e bike you would recommend/stand by as a starting bike for the budget conscious shopper.
The weight is not that bad, given that the bike has a motor. Take a fully loaded (front and rear panniers and a rack bag on top of the rear panniers) steel frame touring bike, and you'll end up with a similar number. Except that then you won't have a motor to make your life easier. I've ridden thousands of kilometres with such a setup. But what worries me more with this bike is the shifting quality of Shimano's most entry-level groupset, given the triplet chainrings and the fact that these bikes are often bought by people having little experience with derailleur gears.
I've found new cheap bikes (especially off Amazon) need to be tweaked by somebody who knows what they're doing, anyway. Once dialled in and maintained, even cheap Shimano groupsets give the average rider years of trouble free service.
Fully agreed, especially the final thoughts. Every time somebody rides an e-bike or e-scooter rather than a car, we all win. Less noise, less air pollution, lower risk to others in the event of a crash. Cars have terrible externalities.
Here in the US, our Amish communities have really taken to e-bikes. It used to be in the early mornings you would here the clop clop clop of amish takibg horse and buggies to work. Now its just the whine of e-bikes. I talked to the Amish onwer of a bike shop about their relatively recent adaptation of the ebike. He said it has really helped their senior population stay mobile and a part of the community.
Don't e-bikes have an 'illegal' motor in them? Maybe OK if you park it at the bottom of the garden where your landline phone is situated.
A lot of rubbish have this bike all for 41/2 years and my first bike was a Koga Myata 8,5 kg and i ride 20000 km a year so cut the Crap test !
Battery safety is difficult. I used to work for a laptop manufacturer doing test strategy for battery and power subsystems. There is a ton of engineering in the internal safety mechanisms, but literally, there is a one in a million occurrence of failures. And we were selling 10 million units per year. I am certain that even the best bike manufacturers don't implement half of the safeties in consumer electronic devices.
Nice video, as ever. I wasn’t really thinking of getting an ebike but now that I’ve seen this video I’ll probably just carry on using my own metabolism and skeleto-muscular system as the powerhouse for my bicycular transportation. :)
Yup! Even if there's days (rare for me) where the commute is a slog, it's vastly outweighed by the days where it's absolute glee. Cycling by your own power is like flying towards heaven.
@stephensaines7100 You do realize there are very rideable ebikes that you don't need to turn on?
Good Heavens no! Then perhaps try using a push bike. It's exquisitely easy to tell when an e-bike is being assist powered. The balance/muscle motions are distinctly different not to mention the give-away whir of the motor. In many cases, e-bikes are incompatible with push-bikes on shared paths and lanes.
@stephensaines7100 I have riden a "push bike" for 60 years. It was only ten months ago I ditched my trek hybrid for a Soltera 7. It is also a hybrid and actually outperforms the Trek (in manual). There is no whiring noise, even when turned on. Regardless, I don't think anyone is trying to fool anyone. For me, the motor allows me to travel further from home with the ability to always return if a knee or hip act up. I regularly ride 20 miles @ 16 mph. I'm not into racing but certainly able to keep up with most riders, ten or twenty years younger. It also offers the benefit to get to an appointment, if I'm running late and then I have the opportunity to ride back using my own "skeleto'muscular" system. It's the future of cycling. As everyday riders learn about their performance and how they can expand use/capabilities, you will see more and more of them. I believe the great benefit is they will bring more people into cycling, and there will be greater accommodations made on the roads for them - win/win!
And you can manually powerhouse your ebike as much as you want by changing the level of power assist.
Hi Simon, greetings from Australia, great video thanks, interesting and informative. How long did the battery last though, you mentioned 3/4 bars on the meter (batteries recover a bit at rest - so if border 3 and 4 it might jump back up to 4 for example) but how long and how far did it go on full charge? Cheers Jon
Love your site for bike info! I bought a Bafang BBS1 3 years a go and love it! Put it on my Claude Butler Hy-Brid and it performs faultlessly! Can do 80 miles on a full charge in the summer, and bought at the fraction of the price from a store!!!
Kinda think 'why is it bad looking '. Looks like a normal sportive bike with a big back to bottom tube. That battery looks a bit like it doesnt belong, but so does any bottle or anything you mount into your frame.
My main concerns is risk of fire when bringing a battery to my first floor flat to be charged (battery needs to be removable obviously) and how to leave it outside the shops without it getting stolen.
Kind of the same way as your high end road bikes. Kryptonite or Abus locks, if possible, go two chains deep. If you make your bike a hard target, they'll just go for the easier to steal bike. Unfortunately that's life these days.
I think part of the problem with the front suspension is that it was adjusted to be really soft. I think if it was tightened up a bit you might stop the topping out and it might give a slightly smoother ride. It may be fairly inexpensive and will definitely need adjustment work, and I can see some local bike shops NOT wanting to work on it. I would ask the LBSs in the area if they would work on this or any e-bike, but I would also do a lot of learning on how to make minor adjustments on my own and what tools I might need.
The problem is it was there. A rigid fork is a rigid fork a shit suspension fork is worse than rigid but so many low end bikes have then as a toysrus selling point.
A couple of months ago there was a massive house fire on my road. It gutted the house it started in and the two adjacent terrace properties. 3 families lost their homes and one man lost his life. All because of a dodgy escooter battery. It was horrific for everyone involved. Since then the council have sent around lots of fliers about how to safely manage e-vehicle batteries, but they need to be far better regulated, including those bought online. An individual may be happy to take the risk, but in built up areas, its not just a decision about a user's own safety, but about everyone else's too.
15:11 honestly i think the bms is just fine. i think the battery level indicator is just one of those cheap indicators that uses voltage to determine the battery level and that can be pretty inaccurate.
It looks OK. I’ve got a Burlington volt bike. Had it for just over 2 years. When going up steps I press the walk assist and it jumps up the steps. I was wondering about the battery meter the bars going down then up again. I would never return to a normal bike again. I wouldn’t buy a bike from Amazon though. Need to go to a reputable dealer.
Having had lithium polymer batteries for RC airplanes I would agree with your comments regarding charging. The RC community has seen a number of fires when charging doesn't matter which brand, expensive or cheap they can all do it. However use sensible practices and you can limit any danger to just the battery.
Great video! Honest, fun and showing off the city of my birth, the home of Sustrans. Thanks Si and GCN.
What I wasn’t really expecting was to see the bike literally kick Simon on his ass 🤣🤣🤣 is that a new hazard to be aware of when buying cheap e-bikes? 🤣
I think the bike was a bit angry about being bashed around so gave him a kick up the arse!
That's true, but isn't it an good ad? Kick ass e-bike!
@@BB-vh3cb literally!
Quite clearly, he hadn't fully tamed his new stead. It's frisky nature made it eager to run. However, over the day he showed his skill and managed to comprehensively reign it in. Well done Si. 😜🐎
My treck rail does the same thing. The pedal response is so sensitive it will occasionally try and take off on you...
I love my e-bike. I love non e-bikes as well. Last Friday I was riding my Hybrid over the Oberalp pass (Human Powered). Today I just chilled out on the e-bike letting the motor assist my sore knees. The e-bike is great for commuting and lets me ride as much as I want. It compliments my other bikes nicely.
The battery will suffer from voltage sag. Fairly common on lower end bikes. Fairly normal for it to look lower under load - then jump back up a bit over time. It's a reason why I'll always wait a few minutes for the battery and motor to cool before charging - and I always make sure I charge my ebike in full view of me - and with a smoke alarm directly above it.
Rising and falling effect under load is called the Puckett Effect. As the battery gets weaker, you will see the voltage drop increase under load, but when resting, the voltage will 'bounce' back up a bit. Watch it under load to tell where it really is.
@12:30 Quite clearly, he hadn't fully tamed his new stead. It's frisky nature made it eager to run. However, over the day Si showed his skill and managed to comprehensively reign it in. Well done Si. 😜🐎
Hahahaha it's fair to say he's learnt the ways of this beast 🐎
We need a video of it getting upgrades and match it against a high-end E-bike
That'd be great! And I would love to see a cameo of Jon Cannings mounting a Ghibli at the front to see how it deals with a velodrome.
Did the exact same thing, I bought a cheap e-bike from Amazon. Eleglide M1 Plus. The reason being that I wanted to get into cycling, loose weight and get fitter, and I didn't want to spend a fortune just to see whether I would like it. You defiantly get what you pay for, but now I love going out on the e-bike and I am going to save up for something better that I know I will enjoy even more. The electric part of it for me is the fact that I can go further and enjoy the ride more without exerting myself.
Yes this is exactly why I got an ebike. I was lucky that I was able to get it through the cycle to work scheme otherwise I wouldn't have been able to. But I've already saved money on commuting, found that I love cycling, and am definitely more active. Now that I know I love cycling, I can get a more expensive/better quality one next time without the fear that I won't like cycling.
I purchased a cheap ebike from Amazon as well. In the states I can use the throttle, so while I still pedal, having the throttle makes the bike a bit more predictable when I start pedaling (otherwise there is a lag before the motor kicks in, which is a pain). But it does make me bike more instead of taking the car all the time. The front forks are not very good, the battery mount was damaged on arrival (so the battery wobbles a bit), the brakes are weak (I'll upgrade to hydraulic soon), and the build quality and materials are less than desirable (with some rusting and cranks getting loose)... but it works and can be upgraded over time.
After too many years away from cycling I got myself the Decathlon est100... Absolutely love it. However a year and a half later I've not a domane AL2 road bike. Did a 70mile ride yesterday on it and absolutely love it. Less weight, and more manpower needed. But so much faster on the straights and descents. Ebikes are great for around town rides, for regaining the love of cycling without the need of a huge workout or more time walking and pushing than riding.
Sounds like you've had some nice bikes to play with!
@@gcn yes, very happy with them.. fairly new to the channel. Excellent content. Educational and entertaining
It will be interesting to see how this e-bike over the long term!! Have someone on the GCN team use it daily for a month or two and see how well it holds up as a daily commuter or evening rides after work.
Yes, that is the kind of testing and review information sorely lacking in all of the many e-bike reviews out there.
Eeeek we might have to start drawing straws for that one 👀
I’d happily ride it to work and back for a month & review it for you guys 😂 only 13 miles each way but some serious elevations & some real off road too 🧐
Yeah that's the real question, is the money you save a false economy, will you be throwing the bike in the bin after a year and buying another one. You're already taking a bit of a risk in terms of after sales support if you buy off a random Amazon seller.
I expect that the wheel bearings, the bottom bracket, the battery and the motor will last a year absolute maximum! The fork? 🤣 Just OMG. Tires? 6 months. Are those brakes even legal? I was seriously traumatized watching the decent of Constitution Hill
I have the Ancheer. Junky yes. But it still runs great after 3 years. Taped the shocks to stop compression. New seat. New tires. ✅
Great video. I think this is what cycling is all about; freedom and fun.
"Freedom and fun" is using your own muscles to fly with.
It absolutely is!
@@stephensaines7100No that's restrictive and not fun if you have a disability or something that makes pedalling too difficult. Don't make cyclists look like snobs with that ableist attitude
@@roseedge5626 I am partially disabled myself. Anything to add to that?
@stefan "Freedom and fun" is whatever we want it to be. Maybe it's using muscles for you, maybe it's riding with throttle only for someone else. That's what it means for something to be free.
Being illegal doesn't stop the thousands of various app delivery riders pelting round at 30mph+ whilst never once peddling clocked one yesterday at 35mph on my Garmin I was full gassing whilst he sat back on his phone after undercutting me.
Yeah, those guys are a serious menace. The delivery companies just shrug their shoulders and say "self-employed contractor" -- but I'm pretty sure I'd get fired if I flagrantly broke the law for the duration of my shift, with my client's name on my back.
Like a kid in a candy store, based on smile size, I think this was Si's favorite video to shoot 😊
Oh, I saw that goofy grin on your face whilst riding up the hill. You couldn’t have thought it was all that bad 😂.
Went car free last May. Got an ebike (bulls urban evo10) to help with a 24 mile round trip commute to my manual labor job. After transferring closer to home, it mostly collects dust. I use it probably 4 times per month to get to necessary trips way out to the suburbs like medical appointments or union meetings. I also use it to haul a kayak. I don't regret it, but for most trips I definitely grab my all city space horse or my IGH commuter. If I had to cut a bike out of my house, the e-bike would be the first to go.
You must be extremely fit or have no hills.
I’m surprised you actually managed to find a road legal e-bike on Amazon U.K. The vast majority are dodgy and would get any ordinary retailer hauled over the coals. Somehow Amazon is exempt from consumer protection law though - can’t imagine why…
How was the bike in the 'low' power setting ? Did the engine stop when you stopped pedalling or still does 2-3sec more ?
I had a throttle on my first E-Bike, and it was a handy tool when trying to cross any road/crossroads when you needed safety to get across, as the bike's weight always made starting from a standstill uphill prolonged. I miss them. Having said that, you can still legally buy them and fit them yourself. Plug and play
I think if more people knew how easy electric bikes make cycling more people would use them. I have done almost 2000 miles on mine since having it 18 months ago and the money saved on taxi fares has paid for it ten times over. The first time i rode mine i was able to make my eyes water from going so fast up hill.
E-bike fires aren’t 100% more than standard bikes (which would be just twice as many), they are infinity percentage more! Thanks for the great review!
I notice you deleted the Hyper 26 MTB e-bike. I have that very one & it IS a 250w road legal bike. Brakes are terrible, but everything else seems fine, and for under £600, it's a pretty solid bike. I also like the fact that the battery is integrated with the bike.
I have an Ebike arriving tomorrow, i bought 8n 5he black Friday sale. But I didn't know at the time that it is a cadence version and more bikes are now torque sensor. I quite like the idea I just have to turn pedal to get max power lol. Will i be ok or should I get the other version.
You make a good point on getting people out of cars and decreasing congestion. My worry about bikes in this price bracket is that they are more likely to be seen as throw-away items (because of their low price and parts being less likely to remain available). And with the resources used, that is really problematic.
Great point! Sustainability should be a huge aim with bikes. Do you find that you look into parts availability before buying a bike? 👀
As much as I love bicycles, l find them pretty expensive when compared to motorcycles. At the end of the day manufacturers are just concerned with the bicycle frame because all the other parts such as group sets, wheels etc, are pre manufactured and universal. While a motorcycle needs more engineering with all the different parts etc. My main point is that these bicycle manufacturers should make prices more sensitive to the actual value of the bike in question.
have you seen what high end Motorbikes cost? high end bicycles cost much less.
The thing is with e-bikes, that they are made especially for commuters. I've biked to work a long way (we have many hills), and after that have been soaking wet from sweat, *especially* in the winter months. After I bought an e-bike, I was always clean and refreshed when I got to work and my life changed as it completely changed that aspect. Not to mention they made the trips much faster and carrying luggage was an ease. So in that regard I believe they are much better, otherwise I love both.
A couple of weeks ago I was out riding my mountain bike, getting passed by all these e-bikes and I was thinking "I want to go up hill like that!' Then yesterday I was mountain biking once again and I saw some old dude at the north end of the trail, says good morning while comping on his cigar. I'm over the want of an e-bike now. I am nearly 60 and this is keeping me young. I don't want to be "that" old dude.
I like how Si is masquerading as a commoner, by wearing his sunglasses on the inside of the helmet straps. Sneaky!
👀👀