Hi!
I recently moved to Oxford, UK, and it seems like having a bike is a must due to the terrible public transportation.
As my daily commute is around 7 km, I started looking for an ebike. Initially, I thought that this bike would be a great choice: Tenway Ago X. Then, I came across these seemingly premium gravel bikes that are at 50% discount: Vitus E-Venon GR Electric Gravel Bike, Vitus E-Substance Aluminum Electric Gravel Bike. I also found this one which I would consider VAN RYSEL
Shimano Cues 1×11, E-GRVL AF Discover Electrical gravel bike – khaki. I think that these bikes would offer a better riding experience, even though they motor is not as powerful as the Tenway. Moreover, they'd still function as well without the battery assistance.
Since I've little to no experience with gravel bikes, and I never thought that would pay that much in a bike, I thought I would ask you guys for some guidance.
Edit: I'm 173 cm.
by Icy-Ad-3098
2 Comments
You may do well to cross-post to a UK-specific cycling/commuter sub if you don’t get any locals chiming in here. You guys have a pretty great cycle to work scheme that the rest of us won’t know much about. And I can’t say I recognise any of the brands you’ve mentioned… which either means they’re UK (or EU) specific, or possibly just the lowest end of quality (aka ‘bike shaped objects’) from big department stores. I’m not sure if it’s the same, but here in Australia I’d never buy a bike (or BSO) from decathlon. Certainly not for something as important as making it to work each day.
I personally wouldn’t buy a bike with an integrated/non-removable battery. Sometimes not easy to tell but I’m not sure about the Vitus, doesn’t say and doesn’t show any photos which suggest otherwise.
The main advantage of drop handlebars is on longer rides imo, If it’s primarily being used for a 7km commute I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity. If you do want to go on longer rides in your free time you may even run into range issues. Don’t bank on riding any ebike once the battery runs out, you can get home but it’s never going to be a good experience.
A mid drive is always going to be better than a hub motor, especially if that hub motor doesn’t have a torque sensor.
If you save a bit of money on the commuter bike then you could even consider getting a different non electric bike for leisure riding. These look pretty comparable to the Tenway on paper;
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Boardman-Boardman-MTX-E-8-8-2026-Electric-Hybrid-Bike_274885.htm?variations=colour:Grey,size:M&sku=1023491
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Boardman-MTX-E-8-8-Womens-2026-Electric-Hybrid-Bike_277705.htm?variations=colour:Mint,size:M&sku=1035389
Do check if your workplace offers any sort of cycle to work scheme, can end up saving quite a lot of money but sometimes limited to certain retailers.