Lightweight e-bikes, capabilities and transport

[siteguru]

I guess the Ribble has the battery pack in the frame (where it says Ribble)?

 

[Rolfe]

The Fiido's battery is in the same place. It just so happens that they have fitted it with the range extender battery as well for that photo. But both bikes' main batteries are integrated into the frame.

 

[decrep]

looks like the ribble has a full set of derailleur gears, could be much easier to pedal.

 

[Rolfe]

They both have a full set of derailleur gears, but the gearing is very different. The Fiido is much higher geared - to the point where several people reviewing the bike declared that they'd prefer to replace the chain wheel to lower the gearing.

Note the huge difference between the chain wheel (52 teeth) and the largest of the derailleur cogwheels (32 teeth), compared to the Ribble where they're the same size (42 teeth). The Fiido is 9-speed (11 to 32 teeth) whereas the Ribble is 11-speed (teeth numbers not stated in spec).

 

[Rolfe]

I've been to Clitheroe and had a test ride on the Ribble, which I liked very much. Its gears appear to be 11 to 42 teeth, so although it won't have as high a top speed capability under pedal as the Fiido, it will have better pulling power at low speeds. Suits me.

It's an older design and doesn't have the display that the Fiido has, but there is a phone app that will do it all, all you need is a mount on the handlebars for the phone. It's missing a few bells and whistles (literally), but most things wbe easy to add. Shopping list.

Bell
Lights
Basket
Kick stand
Phone mount
Chain guard

A bit daft that it doesn't seem to have at least a front light, but easy to rectify. The chain is a pain, completely unguarded, I already have oil on my clothes. The sales guy seemed to think one could be fitted so I'll ask the local bike shop.

So it's already several hundred pounds dearer than the Fiido, and I'll have to buy it some accessories, but none of that is a dealbreaker. It's a better bike I think, and it's significantly lighter, and I'm quite keen on buying something made in England that I can literally take back to the shop for after sales service.

I rode it as an ordinary bike at first and was very impressed. Except I never got the saddle high enough, and before very long the saddle turned out to be some sort of Chinese torture. (When I got on my own bike this morning I sat down and winced.) But that isn't the saddle it comes with apparently and I'd pretty much resigned myself to getting a decent ladies' saddle anyway, so I'll see. It has a higher step-through than my own bike but I'll get used to it. (The Fiido is the same, I think it's to make room for the range extender battery.) One thing I've never been used to is not having any visible indication of which gear I'm in, and this is really compounded once you're using the assist, but they say you get used to that too. (Again I think the Fiido is the same.)

The assist gives you wings. It's going to take time to get used to how to operate it, but I was sailing up hills that would have had me sighing, then gasping, then getting off and pushing. Due to a misreading of the map I missed the place where he said don't go that way unless you really want to give it a real workout, it's steep (and I would definitely have tried it) but one thing at a time. For sure I must get on better with a 250 watt motor and a 1:1 gear ratio than a 250 watt motor and a 1.6:1 gear ratio, logically.

One thing that struck me was the safety aspect if you have to cross a busy road on an uphill gradient. If you have the bike set up right (low gear, high assist) you can get across fast and under good control, rather than slowly and maybe wobbling. On the other hand if you're stuck at the bottom of a hill in a high gear you're just as stymied as on any other bike. I don't yet know what sort of a gradient I'll be able to get it up in bottom gear on maximum assist, but I'll experiment.

The wheels are bigger and maybe narrower than my present bike and probably the Fiido, which makes it seem more of a road bike, but it's marketed as a hybrid so it should be OK. I didn't get a chance to try it on a dirt track, but one thing at a time.

Something that pleased me a lot was that my legs were slightly tired this morning. I'd had a bit of a workout but without really realising it, without having to do an intensity of exercise I found too strenuous. Excellent.

Obviously I ordered one, and I should have it before my birthday next month. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Archev]

I've been to Clitheroe and had a test ride on the Ribble, which I liked very much. Its gears appear to be 11 to 42 teeth, so although it won't have as high a top speed capability under pedal as the Fiido, it will have better pulling power at low speeds. Suits me.

It's an older design and doesn't have the display that the Fiido has, but there is a phone app that will do it all, all you need is a mount on the handlebars for the phone. It's missing a few bells and whistles (literally), but most things wbe easy to add. Shopping list.

Bell
Lights
Basket
Kick stand
Phone mount
Chain guard

A bit daft that it doesn't seem to have at least a front light, but easy to rectify. The chain is a pain, completely unguarded, I already have oil on my clothes. The sales guy seemed to think one could be fitted so I'll ask the local bike shop.

So it's already several hundred pounds dearer than the Fiido, and I'll have to buy it some accessories, but none of that is a dealbreaker. It's a better bike I think, and it's significantly lighter, and I'm quite keen on buying something made in England that I can literally take back to the shop for after sales service.

I rode it as an ordinary bike at first and was very impressed. Except I never got the saddle high enough, and before very long the saddle turned out to be some sort of Chinese torture. (When I got on my own bike this morning I sat down and winced.) But that isn't the saddle it comes with apparently and I'd pretty much resigned myself to getting a decent ladies' saddle anyway, so I'll see. It has a higher step-through than my own bike but I'll get used to it. (The Fiido is the same, I think it's to make room for the range extender battery.) One thing I've never been used to is not having any visible indication of which gear I'm in, and this is really compounded once you're using the assist, but they say you get used to that too. (Again I think the Fiido is the same.)

The assist gives you wings. It's going to take time to get used to how to operate it, but I was sailing up hills that would have had me sighing, then gasping, then getting off and pushing. Due to a misreading of the map I missed the place where he said don't go that way unless you really want to give it a real workout, it's steep (and I would definitely have tried it) but one thing at a time. For sure I must get on better with a 250 watt motor and a 1:1 gear ratio than a 250 watt motor and a 1.6:1 gear ratio, logically.

One thing that struck me was the safety aspect if you have to cross a busy road on an uphill gradient. If you have the bike set up right (low gear, high assist) you can get across fast and under good control, rather than slowly and maybe wobbling. On the other hand if you're stuck at the bottom of a hill in a high gear you're just as stymied as on any other bike. I don't yet know what sort of a gradient I'll be able to get it up in bottom gear on maximum assist, but I'll experiment.

The wheels are bigger and maybe narrower than my present bike and probably the Fiido, which makes it seem more of a road bike, but it's marketed as a hybrid so it should be OK. I didn't get a chance to try it on a dirt track, but one thing at a time.

Something that pleased me a lot was that my legs were slightly tired this morning. I'd had a bit of a workout but without really realising it, without having to do an intensity of exercise I found too strenuous. Excellent.

Obviously I ordered one, and I should have it before my birthday next month. I'll keep you posted.

That all sounds positive then. I thought you’d be hooked on the hilly bits. They are a bit of a revelation. Happy miles ?

 

[Rutsy]

Your new bike should come with a bell. I believe it's a requirement (Pedal bike safety regulations).

I've not looked at the specs. But the Ribble is likely to have better quality branded equipment fitted (chain, gears,etc) compared with the Fiido.

 

[Rolfe]

I was surprised the test bike didn't have a bell. I kept coming up behind people and having to sort of cough politely. From memory the web site did mention a bell. Sounds like the test bike wasn't actually legal!

The equipment on the Fiido isn't bad at all according to the more knowledgeable reviews, but I agree, I'd have more confidence on that score with the Ribble. I think I'd have been fine if I'd got the Fiido (and it really is a lovely colour!), but two things really sell me on the Ribble. It's significantly lighter (maybe as much as 3 kg) and it has much better gearing for hills. Plus I do think it's likely to be better made, and the company's main showroom is only 180 miles away. The bike will be built for me in England, not shipped in a box from China.

The Ribble is actually available in a wide range of nice colours, but if you don't take the standard colour it's about £400 more, and a longer delivery time. I don't hate the standard colour, and I'd rather keep the money maybe to go towards the range extender battery if I think I need it. It's quite pricey at £550.

One thing about that dark berry colour, it's unobtrusive. It's not so likely to catch the eye of the light-fingered, so maybe less likely to be clocked as an expensive e-bike. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty on the ball to notice it isn't just an ordinary bike.

There are a lot of great bike rides round here. I intend to use the nice days we do get in winter to ride first the 7-10 mile routes I did on my old bike, then extend further afield. The 26-27 mile round trip to the bike shop in Peebles should be doable. If I find I'm using the assist so much that I'm coming to the end of the battery in a day, I'll buy that range extender in a heartbeat. (They say up to 60 miles with a 90 kg rider. I'm not 90 kg and I don't have ambitions to ride 60 miles in a day. But it's quite likely I'll be more profligate with the assist than the super-fit 90 kg young man who was probably their notional test rider.)

 

[Rutsy]

The bell is only required when a bike is sold new. It's not a legal requirement to have one on a bike.

 

[Rolfe]

I wasn't clear about the legislation. I remember having to request a bell as an extra when I bought my present bike in 1999, so it must have come in since then.

 

[Archev]

I was surprised the test bike didn't have a bell. I kept coming up behind people and having to sort of cough politely. From memory the web site did mention a bell. Sounds like the test bike wasn't actually legal!

The equipment on the Fiido isn't bad at all according to the more knowledgeable reviews, but I agree, I'd have more confidence on that score with the Ribble. I think I'd have been fine if I'd got the Fiido (and it really is a lovely colour!), but two things really sell me on the Ribble. It's significantly lighter (maybe as much as 3 kg) and it has much better gearing for hills. Plus I do think it's likely to be better made, and the company's main showroom is only 180 miles away. The bike will be built for me in England, not shipped in a box from China.

The Ribble is actually available in a wide range of nice colours, but if you don't take the standard colour it's about £400 more, and a longer delivery time. I don't hate the standard colour, and I'd rather keep the money maybe to go towards the range extender battery if I think I need it. It's quite pricey at £550.

One thing about that dark berry colour, it's unobtrusive. It's not so likely to catch the eye of the light-fingered, so maybe less likely to be clocked as an expensive e-bike. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty on the ball to notice it isn't just an ordinary bike.

There are a lot of great bike rides round here. I intend to use the nice days we do get in winter to ride first the 7-10 mile routes I did on my old bike, then extend further afield. The 26-27 mile round trip to the bike shop in Peebles should be doable. If I find I'm using the assist so much that I'm coming to the end of the battery in a day, I'll buy that range extender in a heartbeat. (They say up to 60 miles with a 90 kg rider. I'm not 90 kg and I don't have ambitions to ride 60 miles in a day. But it's quite likely I'll be more profligate with the assist than the super-fit 90 kg young man who was probably their notional test rider.)

Looking forward to tales of Caliban and ? Ribble Bike ?

 

[Rolfe]

I'm waiting for her to tell me her name. My present bike doesn't actually have one, which is probably an omission.

 

[Archev]

I'm waiting for her to tell me her name. My present bike doesn't actually have one, which is probably an omission.

Probably just prefers travelling in cog nito ?‍ OK - is that jacket handy
I’m off to the MacRobert Arts Centre for some adventure films from the Banff film Festival. Should be some extreme cycling there.

 

[siteguru]

I was going to suggest maybe calling her Tribble ... but one of those looks more like Trump's hairpiece! ?

 

[Rolfe]

?

 

[Rolfe]

Just looking at this.

Cross Borders Drove Road - Scotland's Great Trails

Route type/direction Linear. Traditionally, droving traffic headed south from Little Vantage near Harperrig Reservoir to Hawick, but the route is equally enjoyable in either direction. Overview Steeped in history, this … Read more

www.scotlandsgreattrails.com

The trail passes within 400 yards of my house. I have ridden bits of it, although I've tended to stay more on the tarred roads for obvious reasons. It's set up as a footpath/bridleway but it says some sections are suitable for bicycles. We'll see how far I get.

I see it's actually possible to get to Peebles (where the bike shop is, about 13 miles) almost entirely off-road by that trail, thus avoiding the bloody A72. I wonder. If it's a bridleway then there shouldn't be unopenable gates or stiles. They wouldn't force riders to jump. Only very short sections are marked as footpath rather than track, short enough to GOAP. I'd like to ride it (on a pony) but nobody is hiring out horses for that. I've generally felt it would be an awful slog on a bike. But the motor on an e-bike is half way to having a horse to do the work for you.

 

[Archev]

Just looking at this.

Cross Borders Drove Road - Scotland's Great Trails

Route type/direction Linear. Traditionally, droving traffic headed south from Little Vantage near Harperrig Reservoir to Hawick, but the route is equally enjoyable in either direction. Overview Steeped in history, this … Read more

www.scotlandsgreattrails.com

The trail passes within 400 yards of my house. I have ridden bits of it, although I've tended to stay more on the tarred roads for obvious reasons. It's set up as a footpath/bridleway but it says some sections are suitable for bicycles. We'll see how far I get.

I see it's actually possible to get to Peebles (where the bike shop is, about 13 miles) almost entirely off-road by that trail, thus avoiding the bloody A72. I wonder. If it's a bridleway then there shouldn't be unopenable gates or stiles. They wouldn't force riders to jump. Only very short sections are marked as footpath rather than track, short enough to GOAP. I'd like to ride it (on a pony) but nobody is hiring out horses for that. I've generally felt it would be an awful slog on a bike. But the motor on an e-bike is half way to having a horse to do the work for you.

Sounds good. There’s some very fine scenery visible from the road so what can be seen from the drovers' route will indeed be spectacular.
The Banff Mountain films tonight were breathtaking and included one about sailing to check the Greenland glaciers and skiing in the mountains there. They stripped out the two diesel engines etc and fitted electric motors and solar panels.
They were complaining about lack of sunlight and charge in the battery.
Where have we heard this before ?
Couldn’t believe the lack of chargers on the ice flows.

 

[Rolfe]

The bike I hired in Aviemore was fully road legal and massively capable on or off road. The power only came in (in glorious spadefuls) when pedalling.

I've been thinking about this. The restrictions on e-bikes are that the motor can't be more than 250 watts and it must cut out if the bike reaches 15 mph. We can forget the latter because being assisted to exceed 15 mph (other than by gravity) is not one of my ambitions.

So, no legal e-bike can have a boost of more than 250 watts. Mine has the 250 watt motor and the top assist level must therefore be 250 watts, same as the Aviemore bikes. My bike weighs about 13-14 kg according to the shop. I could do with losing a few kg but I'm not massive. Whatever advantages the Aviemore bikes have for off-road use (suspension, mountain bike tyres, stronger frames, bigger batteries), they're going to be heavier. Therefore, logically, they can't have more glorious spadefuls of assist than mine will have. (I wish I'd looked at the OS map and not missed the steep hill to test it.)

Sounds good. There’s some very fine scenery visible from the road so what can be seen from the drovers' route will indeed be spectacular.
The Banff Mountain films tonight were breathtaking and included one about sailing to check the Greenland glaciers and skiing in the mountains there. They stripped out the two diesel engines etc and fitted electric motors and solar panels.
They were complaining about lack of sunlight and charge in the battery.
Where have we heard this before ?
Couldn’t believe the lack of chargers on the ice flows.

I was in Banff (the Canadian one) in June, but just for a couple of days on the way to the Rocky Mountain Express. It certainly has some mountains!

I'm pretty familiar with the scenery here, even not from the road because it's amazing the cart tracks you find yourself driving up to deliver election leaflets not to mention the Border rideouts I've done, but it will be interesting to see what it's like from that trail. I see it goes down the Fingland Burn, where I have definitely not been. (Even on the roads, I'm used to visitors sitting in my passenger seat mindlessly repeating the word "stunning" like a stuck record.)

 

[Archev]

I've been thinking about this. The restrictions on e-bikes are that the motor can't be more than 250 watts and it must cut out if the bike reaches 15 mph. We can forget the latter because being assisted to exceed 15 mph (other than by gravity) is not one of my ambitions.

So, no legal e-bike can have a boost of more than 250 watts. Mine has the 250 watt motor and the top assist level must therefore be 250 watts, same as the Aviemore bikes. My bike weighs about 13-14 kg according to the shop. I could do with losing a few kg but I'm not massive. Whatever advantages the Aviemore bikes have for off-road use (suspension, mountain bike tyres, stronger frames, bigger batteries), they're going to be heavier. Therefore, logically, they can't have more glorious spadefuls of assist than mine will have. (I wish I'd looked at the OS map and not missed the steep hill to test it.)

Aye the bike in Aviemore was from the Haibike manufacturer. It was in 2017 that I hired it. I’ve had a Quick Look on Easygo Linlithgow’s website as they sell / service that make among others. I don’t immediately see a weight for the range of machines but the prices are scarey.

 

[Rolfe]

I see what you mean. But you're paying for all the other things. Big battery, suspension, mountain bike robustness and capabilities and so on. If the bike is road legal, you're not paying for more power.

The sales guy at Ribble spoke about riding a 400 watt mountain bike, and how powerful it was. But that bike wouldn't be road legal.