Choosing dutch type e bike for mostly flat terrain on a budget of £$1.5k

[Mhacha]

Hi folks,
My wife is looking for her 1st e-bike & keen for a Dutch upright type.
We are both mid 50s. She wants to join me on mostly flat greenways . The route we most want to go on is along a towpath from our home to the city of Belfast, about 50k return.
On a budget of £$1.5 k have so far seen trek verve+1 low step . Any recommendations welcome? Thanks all.

 

[Base]

Slane Cycles has a C'dale for that price with a Bafang hub-drive. could not find any other bikeshop in Belfast and surrounding with stock of e-bikes in this price range.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

This one looks to be good value. Review is from ebike tips a sister magazine to Road CC a long standing UK cycling mag so usually fairly accurate with reviews:

Engwe Mapfour N1 Air

If a desire to cover every base possible is applied to e-bikes then Engwe is perhaps the result. We've looked at several of their models already which are summarised briefly in the next paragraph, but suffice to say they span a huge range of designs. Newest and potentially most groundbreaking is...

ebiketips.road.cc

If you look through their reviews you might spot another candidate they review a lot of different styles of bikes. Good luck.

 

[Base]

looks good for that price point indeed

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Friends do not let friends buy Bafang.

 

[Base]

Just had the pleasure to do a testride with such a mevice hub motor. Rides just fine, pickup is responsive

 

[stompandgo]

I had never heard of Mivice until now. They have a number of options that look good for conversions or entry level e-bikes.

 

[stompandgo]

OP, take a look at the Velotric Discover 1. They're including a free rear rack for Prime Day.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Friends do not let friends buy Bafang.

Why not? Generally reliable and easily repaired. What's the problem?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If you like to learn things and willing to do electrical and mechanical work, you should be fine without proprietary components and warranty.

A quote from another thread.
Buying a Bafang means you are left alone, cannot count on warranty, have to learn terms such as "UART" and be running around the e-bike with a multimetre. Good e-bikes do not require any of this. That's why they are more expensive.

Bafang (which is a synonym of "Chinese garbage" for me) has entered the EU via a backdoor by building a motor re-assembly line in Wrocław Poland.

 

[Base]

Why not? Generally reliable and easily repaired. What's the problem?

Did not read the other comment. I do know that a few bigger brands in E-bikes use Bafang motors and drive-units with either their own badge or Bagang branded. Also know that a former brand I worked for switched from Mahle to Bafang for a few model line ups because the service center in the Benelux is better in service than the Mahle one. For sure, there are pro'd and con's but in the end the retailer which sells the consumer goods to an end consumer is the one who commits to the warranty on conformity. So it doesn't matter or should not matter which brand is on the part/consumer goods, the dealer should and wil handle these warranties. And yes behind the screens there is always a gentlemans agreement between dealer, oem and the brand who delivers the parts. Thats commercial warranty between the oem and parts distributor.

Some part brands give dealers the option to claim warrant and support direct via a service hub, which cut out a lot of time, but in the end the consumer warranty always runs via the dealer. Anything else directly between oem or parts brand and end consumer is basically a service and legally cannot be called warranty (cause that triggers a lott of ifs and buts).

In general, most parts brands suffer more or less in the same % in bad series with more warranty returns and indeed some brands are more prone to crappy products in certain areas than others, mostly caused by price and timing pressure.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

A quote from another thread.
Buying a Bafang means you are left alone, cannot count on warranty, have to learn terms such as "UART" and be running around the e-bike with a multimetre. Good e-bikes do not require any of this. That's why they are more expensive.

Bafang (which is a synonym of "Chinese garbage" for me) has entered the EU via a backdoor by building a motor re-assembly line in Wrocław Poland.

They score very high in repairability. Which is something all motor brands could do a lot more about. Looking at you Shimano. Bafang and Yamaha tend to score highest on being able to repair and for spare parts. Bafang are a massive company and produce a wide array of motors, hub and mid drive. Is this just plain old anti Chinese? If so we're kind of all screwed with so much new EV battery tech coming from there.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

They score very high in repairability. Which is something all motor brands could do a lot more about. Looking at you Shimano. Bafang and Yamaha tend to score highest on being able to repair and for spare parts. Bafang are a massive company and produce a wide array of motors, hub and mid drive. Is this just plain old anti Chinese? If so we're kind of all screwed with so much new EV battery tech coming from there.

The issue is you have to repair Bafang.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My Vado SL is over 4 years old since the purchase. It has 18,283 km (11,363 mi) on the odometer. The single repair was replacing the drive-side crankarm, which I did myself with an 8 mm hex key. Yes, I paid the equivalent of £3,400 at that time. That included a Range Extender and all the necessary cables. No need to repair. If, however, the e-bike failed, I had a reliable local technical support 20 miles away, and excellent transferable 2-year warranty as well as the lifetime frame warranty. I wonder what Bafang e-bike can provide the same quality and service.

 

[teskow]

DA! Hey your favorite brand e-bike and the motors with belts, bearing and sprags have needed their share of repairs of which the ordinary person cannot even do.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

DA! Hey your favorite brand e-bike and the motors with belts, bearing and sprags have needed their share of repairs of which the ordinary person cannot even do.

You do not need to repair them. At least not for 11,000 miles or 4 years.

 

[teskow]

I hope you are right because I have one of those 90 Nm motors in my bike.

 

[Gionnirocket]

You do not need to repair them. At least not for 11,000 miles or 4 years.

Liar... You know you had failure far before that.
My Bafang on the other hand have 12k, 4k and 3k Miles without a single motor issue.

A quote from another thread.
Buying a Bafang means you are left alone, cannot count on warranty, have to learn terms such as "UART" and be running around the e-bike with a multimetre. Good e-bikes do not require any of this. That's why they are more expensive.

Bafang (which is a synonym of "Chinese garbage" for me) has entered the EU via a backdoor by building a motor re-assembly line in Wrocław Poland.

And yes. Poland is the "back door" of Europe... and everyone knows a synonym for back door.