Does anyone know about electric bikes?

[Housekeeperbatcocoa]

I watch a YouTuber who has just got one and it looked amazing! It would be brilliant for getting to and from work rather than relying on my car all the time.

https://uk.himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-electric-fat-bike is the brand but apart from that looking super cool i have no idea where to start!

It's three miles from my house to work, down country lanes mostly.

I have a budget of around £1k so any recommendations?

Dont' buy a cheap home-made or modified one. Those are the ones with high fire risks.

I've got a Swytch kit on my bike. It's brilliant. I cycle about 8 miles.

https://www.swytchbike.com/

I have a raleigh one, I love it

I commute to work on an e-bike - it’s just under 8 miles. An E bike means I can do it every day and don’t have to get changed when I get there.

For commuting, the bike you have linked to looks like a disaster, sorry :D

You don’t want or need suspension like that. Most importantly, go for a reputable brand with a CE marked battery. Gazelle, Haibike and Raleigh Motus will be good places to start.

I meant to say, they are fabulous! I’ve hardly used my car since I got mine. It’s just as quick as the car in morning traffic.

They're brilliant.
Go to somewhere you can try several out. Find out the pros and cons of different types. Folding are good if you want to put it in a car. Some are for mountain biking. So choose carefully.

Even for commuting on very rough country lanes?

Will check out those brands, thank you.

Absolutely avoiding a home made one!

How about this one?

https://threepinpower.com/products/eleglide-m1-electric-mountain-bike-for-sale-uk?currency=GBP&variant=44400045654336&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwqZSlBhBwEiwAfoZUIB_EcVAwZj7j8vAbMSshqjTb6JkA6yocBpzs2bNxdM7fOzqRrEtIXhoCwjUQAvD_BwE

I have a cube. Great for all Road surfaces. Bought it on the cycle to work scheme and saved the tax on the full cost of the bike.

Check if you can do a cycle to work scheme. And don’t buy cheap - if they break the cheap ones are hard to fix so better getting one that can be repaired - maybe see if you have a local bike shop and what brands they recommend

That bike can be used in pure electric mode which means it’s illegal to ride in public in the UK.

I love mine

Sorry. I forgot to say mine is a Batribike

I looked round an ebike shop and they recommended Raleigh as best value. Unlikely to get one for less than £1k though.

My battery totally died after 2 years of everyday commuting 3 miles. It bacame far too expensive to replace and i didn't like the idea of having to replace it every 2 years so i went back to ordinary pedal power. i think they're great for fun rides but not really for longevity.

Fatbikes aren't for off-road! They're for cruising around with a boombox. They're really popular with teenage menaces here and are normally souped up to go over the speed limit. The electric mountain bike looks much more sensible

I work for a private individual, not a company sobI think cycle to work is available to me unfortunately.

Any employer can do the cycle to work scheme, if you look up the various companies that do this, pick the one that covers the shop you like, then take the idea to your employer.

One of my employers only offered C2W if you had remaining contract of at least 1 year. I needed a bike sooner than the potential contract renewal date.

Fatbikes aren't for off-road

Yes they are, oversized low pressure tyres were originally used for riding where a normal tyre would get bogged down, like beaches and snow and heavy mud. They’re certainly not very efficient on the road.

But to the op, I would have a look at what decathlon are offering, they’re pretty good at the budget end of things and I’d choose them over Halfords or some unknown Chinese brand.

For three miles, is there a reason you need an electric bike? I know I’m not answering your question, but just in case you haven’t considered that’s it’s a reasonable distance to cycle.

My guess is that most elec bike owners use them for travelling distances < 3 miles. That would be the norm.

I love my ebike, I can happily do 12 miles plus on it a day with no worries. Mine is a Kalkhoff Agattu, I bought it second hand for £800. It's 6 or so years old, but the battery is really fine (40-60 miles range depending on how much of the time I'm pulling a loaded trailer dead uphill!). It had done 1500 miles or so when I bought it, I've done another 1k approx in the 8 months that I've had it.
I really think depending on your circumstances they're a great alternative to a lot of journeys that you'd otherwise end up making by car

@CindersAgain it means you can carry much more of a load, get places faster, not be put off by serious hills (good luck commuting 3 miles on west Wales hills without getting to work sweaty), pull a trailer with a couple of kids in it etc etc

I also know plenty of (mostly older) ebike riders who really aren't cyclists. Surely it's far better if someone uses an ebike instead of a car, rather than thinking they 'should' cycle on a regular bike