Hi. I am interested in starting to ride. Particularly for daily campus commute in the city and it would be nice to use the same bike for leisure otherwise (not too hard trails etc). I've seen the Raleigh Volt 24" e bike on sale and yet I've seen people saying not to buy raleighs or bikes from makro/game on this website?
I used to ride when I was a kid (had one of those BMX bikes with reverse brakes for many years...a raleigh which held up well). Since then it's only been hiring bikes on holiday once in a while. I am not fit at all but I am young and do quite a bit of walking.
I am about 60kg and 175-180cm tall (and wear size 11s...dk if that affects bike riding). Not fit at all (7 minutes of indoor football has me finished). It's a major reason I'd prefer an e bike.
Campus is about 5km away...it's a 40 min walk and a 10-15 min drive. It is near the city centre so regardless of the bike safety is an issue. I'm also an unemployed student. Both these reasons have me wanting a bike that is cheaper. Also I might be carrying heavy textbooks in a backpack/on a rack at the back so weight might increase even above 80kg.
I wanted to know if the Raleigh Volt 24" e bike is a worthwhile buy. Both for my size/weight and long term use. Daily commute plus occasional trails. There's another Raleigh e bike called the Glide (29") that's usually cheaper but rn the Volt 24" is on sale.
Anyone used Raleigh e bikes? (these 2 and Volt 29" as they seem to be of similiar build and are the only ones available in SA...there's much nicer ones overseas) . I've seen people talking quite negatively about them on this forum but I don't think they've even used them.
If anyone has ridden them or knows of someone who has please tell me if I will be wasting my money or is it a worthwhile investment. I'd love for it to last me years but honestly I'd be content if it holds up perfectly for over a year of daily use. I'd also need it to be comfortable enough especially with added textbook weight and not give me any problems to fix.
Please assist.
