Lightweight e-bikes, capabilities and transport

[Rolfe]

Split from the thread in the MG4 forum about sleeping in the MG4. Derail (caused by me!) split to its own thread.

The completely different story is that I have just ordered this.



I decided it was the e-bike I wanted after seeing a rewiew of it on the Fully Charged Show, and after trying out a different e-bike at the Everything Electric Show in Harrogate. I wasn't thinking much about taking it in the car, as I thought - and still think - that a folding e-bike might be necessary for that, or else fit a bike rack that needs a towbar, and now we're getting beyond what I really want to do.

However I was watching the unboxing video on the web site, and noticed something. It's not sold as having a quick-release front wheel, but nevertheless the way the front wheel fixes on suggests that it might be quite easy to take off.

The bike I had up till 1999 was a pain in the neck to get into a car because taking off the front wheel was a major exercise. Since I bought the bike I have now it's been easy. Off with that wheel, lift rest of bike into car, remember to put the wheel in too, off you go. And I've found it easier to get it into the MG4 than into the Golf or indeed the Peugeot which was the Golf's predecessor.

I'm now wondering whether it might actually be possible to do the same thing with this e-bike. If the front wheel comes off as easily as it seems it might, the only issue is the weight. The whole bike is 17.5 kg. Maybe 16 kg without the front wheel? There are several videos of girls picking the thing up, though they might be trained weightlifter girls for all I know. It's true I can get a 16-17 kg suitcase into the car without too much trouble. The bike would be more awkward, but I wonder if it's possible. I'd need to be sure I could get it in and out unaided, because although I could get help here, I couldn't rely on finding help wherever I wanted to get it out again.

If it could be lifted in and out, it's definitely doable, with the obvious proviso that it would have to spend the night outside the car because I need the load bed to sleep on. Same thing for my ordinary pedal cycle of course, and that has always been in the back of my mind, but having an electric bike for some of the rides I want to do would be a major plus.

Going back to my thoughts about the Corrie Yairack pass, an e-bike like that should eat most of it for breakfast, with the only issue being that series of hairpin bends near the top. It's an old Wade's Road, so it's not exactly a deer track that would need an off-road bike. I wonder how easy it is to GOAP with an e-bike? Also, it charges in 3 hours on a 3-pin plug, so it should be possible to recharge it from the car.

I'll see when I get it, probably towards the end of this week, and I can try some dirt track rides around here to get used to the thing.

 

[Archev]

The completely different story is that I have just ordered this.



I decided it was the e-bike I wanted after seeing a rewiew of it on the Fully Charged Show, and after trying out a different e-bike at the Everything Electric Show in Harrogate. I wasn't thinking much about taking it in the car, as I thought - and still think - that a folding e-bike might be necessary for that, or else fit a bike rack that needs a towbar, and now we're getting beyond what I really want to do.

However I was watching the unboxing video on the web site, and noticed something. It's not sold as having a quick-release front wheel, but nevertheless the way the front wheel fixes on suggests that it might be quite easy to take off.

The bike I had up till 1999 was a pain in the neck to get into a car because taking off the front wheel was a major exercise. Since I bought the bike I have now it's been easy. Off with that wheel, lift rest of bike into car, remember to put the wheel in too, off you go. And I've found it easier to get it into the MG4 than into the Golf or indeed the Peugeot which was the Golf's predecessor.

I'm now wondering whether it might actually be possible to do the same thing with this e-bike. If the front wheel comes off as easily as it seems it might, the only issue is the weight. The whole bike is 17.5 kg. Maybe 16 kg without the front wheel? There are several videos of girls picking the thing up, though they might be trained weightlifter girls for all I know. It's true I can get a 16-17 kg suitcase into the car without too much trouble. The bike would be more awkward, but I wonder if it's possible. I'd need to be sure I could get it in and out unaided, because although I could get help here, I couldn't rely on finding help wherever I wanted to get it out again.

If it could be lifted in and out, it's definitely doable, with the obvious proviso that it would have to spend the night outside the car because I need the load bed to sleep on. Same thing for my ordinary pedal cycle of course, and that has always been in the back of my mind, but having an electric bike for some of the rides I want to do would be a major plus.

Going back to my thoughts about the Corrie Yairack pass, an e-bike like that should eat most of it for breakfast, with the only issue being that series of hairpin bends near the top. It's an old Wade's Road, so it's not exactly a deer track that would need an off-road bike. I wonder how easy it is to GOAP with an e-bike? Also, it charges in 3 hours on a 3-pin plug, so it should be possible to recharge it from the car.

I'll see when I get it, probably towards the end of this week, and I can try some dirt track rides around here to get used to the thing.

Looks like an impressive bike to me. He appears to fit the front wheel with a Quickly Detachable bolt from one side so I guess removing and refitting it will work well making the bike lighter for loading / unloading.
The bike I rented in Aviemore was unbelievably easy to ride around Aviemore and all round Loch An Eilean. The footpath round that loch makes anything those two cycled look like a flat motorway.
The really steep uphill bits had me showing off a bit spinning the back wheel as I overtook puffing and panting other riders.

 

[Rolfe]

There's a more detailed unboxing and assembly video on the manufacturer's web site that explains it in more detail. However, the Yorkshire guy said something very important. Keep that plastic thing you pull out at the start (from the disc brake assembly) in case you want to take that wheel off again, say to put the bike in the car. Good shout.

I need to take the wheel off or the bike is too long to fit inside a hatchback. You need an estate car to get a complete bike inside. But I did notice it was easier to get my present bike into the MG4 than into the Golf. The load bed is slightly longer. The question is, can I manage to lift the rest of the bike into the car. I guess I'll see when I try. But that guy just picked his up with one hand! (Yes I do know about the strength difference between males and females, but it was still impressive.) I still wonder if the girl in this promo shot was a weightlifter. And how long she held that pose for.

Was the bike you hired in Aviemore an off-road bike though? This isn't, they call it a "gravel bike" meaning it will do dirt tracks, but it's not for real off-roading. It's exactly what I want, because the pedal cycle I have now is the same sort of thing. Practical for road work, but also can be taken on rough roads. I'd only looked around about e-bikes and hadn't seen anything I really fancied, until I saw the review of this and it just clicked. Two numbers stood out for me. 17 kg, and £1,090.

 

[Archev]

There's a more detailed unboxing and assembly video on the manufacturer's web site that explains it in more detail. However, the Yorkshire guy said something very important. Keep that plastic thing you pull out at the start (from the disc brake assembly) in case you want to take that wheel off again, say to put the bike in the car. Good shout.

I need to take the wheel off or the bike is too long to fit inside a hatchback. You need an estate car to get a complete bike inside. But I did notice it was easier to get my present bike into the MG4 than into the Golf. The load bed is slightly longer. The question is, can I manage to lift the rest of the bike into the car. I guess I'll see when I try. But that guy just picked his up with one hand! (Yes I do know about the strength difference between males and females, but it was still impressive.) I still wonder if the girl in this promo shot was a weightlifter. And how long she held that pose for.

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Was the bike you hired in Aviemore an off-road bike though? This isn't, they call it a "gravel bike" meaning it will do dirt tracks, but it's not for real off-roading. It's exactly what I want, because the pedal cycle I have now is the same sort of thing. Practical for road work, but also can be taken on rough roads. I'd only looked around about e-bikes and hadn't seen anything I really fancied, until I saw the review of this and it just clicked. Two numbers stood out for me. 17 kg, and £1,090.

The Aviemore bike was perhaps stronger. It had front suspension and slightly more aggressive tyres. Off road it was certainly spectacular.

Mind you it was the end of the season and the guy had a whole bunch of them and was offering them for about £2000 so that he could finance the following year’s replacements.

 

[Rolfe]

That's not the sort of bike I'm interested in buying. But then I don't really want to go off-road as such. Tracks and well-defined paths.

 

[Rolfe]

I wanted something light, and about half that price!

 

[DixieTGS]

I need to take the wheel off or the bike is too long to fit inside a hatchback.

If the bike doesn't have a quick release already, ask the supplier as on older bikes I think it was just 10 to 20 pounds to replace the axle for a quick release one. I'm not sure if that's the case still, especially with disc brakes.

The other thing to bear in mind is with disc brakes a friend told me it was quite fiddly to align the discs correctly after inserting the wheel. I don't know if that is still an issue on the latest bikes, so again ask the supplier. It's not a problem I have with rim brakes.

 

[Rolfe]

I've watched a number of reviews which include assembly and nobody has mentioned a problem with alignment. One review on the web site said their bike arrived with a slightly bent disc that had to be fixed. The thing about rim brakes is that unless they're fitted with a release mechanism to allow the wheel to be taken out easily, they're another obstacle to getting the wheel off.

The axle doesn't look like anything I'm familiar with on ordinary bikes, although having said that it's been a long time since I disassembled one. It looks like a simple procedure to take that wheel off and on, and the Yorkshire guy's review talked about taking it off to put it in the car, though I'm not sure he actually did that.

There are people talking about carrying the bike up and down stairs, and in the most recent one I watched the guy just lifted the entire thing out of the box to start assembling it, apparently with one hand. So we'll see, I wasn't thinking about putting it in the car when I decided to buy it, but when I watched the assembly video I started to think, why not?

Here's how I carry my pedal cycle at the moment. Admittedly this photo shows the "too easy" configuration, because the front mudguard, the bit that gets in the way, isn't there. (The bike was being taken to the shop to have new mudguards fitted because the front one had irretrievably fallen off.) But I can certainly do it with the mudguard fitted, and did on the way home from this trip too.

I can't remember the frame size of this bike, could be 19", but I don't think the e-bike is any larger. Could be smaller.

Point is, even in camping mode, the Ikea box is in the footwell and the cool box is on the passenger seat. There is definitely room to put the rest of the stuff (flight bag, air mattress, sleeping bag and so on) around or on top of the bike. It just has to be possible to get the bike out without killing myself.

 

[DixieTGS]

And looking in your photo where the forks are, there's another reason for getting seat covers.

 

[Rolfe]

I've got seat covers and a boot liner, and the boot liner also has sections that protect the rear seat backs. I am thinking what to do about protecting the lip of the tailgate when I'm taking the bike out and in. My Golf picked up quite a few scratches from that process.

 

[Archev]

I've got seat covers and a boot liner, and the boot liner also has sections that protect the rear seat backs. I am thinking what to do about protecting the lip of the tailgate when I'm taking the bike out and in. My Golf picked up quite a few scratches from that process.

An old towel or similar tucked under your boot liner. Fold it over the boot sill to protect it when loading and then over the bike to protect the inner face of the tailgate from the bike when Shutting it down.

 

[Rolfe]

Good advice.

I was just scrolling through review videos (main take-home message, you may want to get the range extender battery) and found, shock horror! It's the bike The MacMaster reviewed and liked. I actually watched the video months ago, and had no idea it was the same model. (OK, his is the gents' bike, but that's the one nearly all the reviews cover - the ladies' bike just has a step-through frame and more curvy handlebars.)

 

[decrep]

Being able to lift it when you're over the center of gravity is totally different to when standing behind it. There's going to have to be a big element of drag, to slide it out of the back, and put it back in. I think this will be an exercise of finding the best ergonomics, to make that possible, without wear on the car. I'm wondering about foam rollers, but I think the pedals would be a problem.
Good luck working it out when you get it.

 

[Archev]

Being able to lift it when you're over the center of gravity is totally different to when standing behind it. There's going to have to be a big element of drag, to slide it out of the back, and put it back in. I think this will be an exercise of finding the best ergonomics, to make that possible, without wear on the car. I'm wondering about foam rollers, but I think the pedals would be a problem.
Good luck working it out when you get it.

Yeah it’s not a lift you can make very comfortably. My Daughter used to cycle a lot and still does occasionally when I look after her dog. She removes the front wheel and loads the bike exactly as Rolfe has hers in the picture. Daughter thinks nothing of loading up, driving miles to meet friends and cycling fifty miles or more then loading up and driving back.

 

[Rolfe]

I'll just have to see what's possible when I get it. It may turn out to be wildly over-optimistic.

 

[decrep]

By the sound of it, you're using the back wheel to roll into the car, that just means you have the full weight while you lift it to the back. Sounds doable

 

[Rolfe]

I don't think that's what I do actually. I just pick it up by the frame and get it far enough into the car that I can go round to the side door and pull it the rest of the way.

There's an extra wrinkle though. With my present bike I turn the thing upside down so that it's sitting on its saddle and handlebars to remove the front wheel. Nobody is doing that with the e-bike. I see the technique and it's clever, but you end up with the bike sitting on its front forks and the back wheel, so you're starting from a different place.

 

[decrep]

if you can get the back of the bike in the car, it may be possible to undo the front wheel while it sticks out the back?

 

[Rolfe]

I think getting the bike in forwards once the wheel is off is probably easier. Lightens the bike if nothing else.

 

[decrep]

Here's an idea, that may help your camping and bike transport.

If you can find a sliding tray that fits in the boot, it would help with loading the bike in. (not upright obviously). But could work as an out side table for you kitchen stuff.
A tent thingy that went over the hatch would extend the car to the rear.

As long as the tray doesn't interfere with your sleeping space, and can be installed without too much hassle.