BuffsVintageBikes Posted May 27, 2022 Share You guys can chat to Mark at Marks Bicycle Workshop in Bellville as well, he's started offering standard bike to ebike conversions with front or rear hub drive motors and his prices are pretty reasonable. I spent 2 weeks testing his personal mtb conversion and was very impressed with it. 100km+ gravel ride possible on a single charge 🤙 ChrisF and Zebra 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnsmith Posted May 27, 2022 Share 20 hours ago, Sid the Sloth said: My dad has a lekker Specialized Turbo X commuter he needs to sell as well. Does the job very well. https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/commuter-e-bikes/558083/specialized-turbo-x-large-2016-unrestricted Oooh, you are making my life harder. That's a decent price, and I like that it's derestricted. My main reservation with this one is the L size, I'm 193cm so I really prefer an XL, especially if I'm going to spend lots of time in the saddle. How tall is your dad? I'm under the impression that direct-drive motors add resistance when you ride without the electric assist on. Is that true in this case or have Specialized worked some magic? (Regen is nice but not a critical feature for me since I don't really have many nice hills to roll down on my commute) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ouzo Posted May 27, 2022 Share clearly my definition of affordable is different Vetplant and MTBRIDER1234 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vetplant Posted May 27, 2022 Share 9 minutes ago, ouzo said: clearly my definition of affordable is different Have you seen what the price of fuel is these days....? It is almost like going Solar at home; At some point it will become unaffordable to NOT make the switch... Schnavel, The Ouzo, MTBRIDER1234 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid the Sloth Posted May 27, 2022 Share 25 minutes ago, jnsmith said: Oooh, you are making my life harder. That's a decent price, and I like that it's derestricted. My main reservation with this one is the L size, I'm 193cm so I really prefer an XL, especially if I'm going to spend lots of time in the saddle. How tall is your dad? I'm under the impression that direct-drive motors add resistance when you ride without the electric assist on. Is that true in this case or have Specialized worked some magic? (Regen is nice but not a critical feature for me since I don't really have many nice hills to roll down on my commute) We are short, but the bike is too big for him. I’m not sure if large or xl would be better for you haha. He’s actually owned an xl as well… bit of a wheeler dealer like me. It doesn’t add resistance when it’s not on apart from the gravitational resistance. You’re welcome to come try it if you’re around Newlands, no pressure at all. jnsmith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 27, 2022 Share 2 hours ago, ouzo said: clearly my definition of affordable is different It’s all relative. called ooh-aah shopping. ooh, that’s nice; aah, look at the price. jnsmith and MTBRIDER1234 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted May 27, 2022 Share On 5/26/2022 at 10:12 AM, jnsmith said: Anyone who has a commercial eMTB and wishes they'd gone with a conversion instead? Or vice versa? I have gone ‘vice’, if not ‘Vera’s’, and I ride with a lady with a Giant LIV, and she has ‘fooled’ her e-bike controller now, but prior to that she could not keep up with my Bafang after-market install onto my older 26” Spez MTB. Very happy I extended life of an old MTB, A-N-D got next-level (mid drive) performance, to boot, for very little coin. cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnsmith Posted May 29, 2022 Share So I went to try out a Giant Talon E+ at Olympic Cycles yesterday. I've ridden on Bafang converted bikes before so I have an idea of how the motors work. I found the Giant SyncDrive so much better, that I think it's worth the extra money. I know it's not as fast as a BBSHD, but I don't need ultimate speed, I really like the feel of it! I'm busy doing my sums at the moment, I'm at the point of pulling the trigger and going for that one. Not exactly the ideal commuting bike, I guess, but it's a hard-tail so it's pretty versatile on Cape Town roads. I do wish we had better cycling infrastructure. Vetplant, MTBRIDER1234, mikkelz and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuys Posted May 30, 2022 Share I just recently got a 2019 Trek Super Commuter 2nd hand for R35k. I commute 21 km one way , so 42km total per day. It is standard limited to 45km/h (its a special category, thats not very common). It has a lot of resistance once you hit that limit and it was a bit infuriating. Certain sections it helps a lot if you can keep up with traffic at around 50km/h or you want to chase for the green light .... So I got a Speed Box delimiter locally and it works. If its really 25km/h, thats very low. With 32km/h one can still work, depending on how much resistance there is once motor cuts out. I suppose the newer models are much better in that regard. But if its a model that can be derestricted, its definitely something to consider. So far I really enjoy the commute on the ebike, but you need to be wide awake with traffic and pedestrians especially when you go way faster than they expect. ChrisF and jnsmith 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 30, 2022 Share 1 hour ago, Kuys said: I just recently got a 2019 Trek Super Commuter 2nd hand for R35k. I commute 21 km one way , so 42km total per day. It is standard limited to 45km/h (its a special category, thats not very common). It has a lot of resistance once you hit that limit and it was a bit infuriating. Certain sections it helps a lot if you can keep up with traffic at around 50km/h or you want to chase for the green light .... So I got a Speed Box delimiter locally and it works. If its really 25km/h, thats very low. With 32km/h one can still work, depending on how much resistance there is once motor cuts out. I suppose the newer models are much better in that regard. But if its a model that can be derestricted, its definitely something to consider. So far I really enjoy the commute on the ebike, but you need to be wide awake with traffic and pedestrians especially when you go way faster than they expect. Correct. The 32km/h, with NO drag above this works nicely. I am regularly doing sections at 40 to 45km/h, with absolutely no motor drag. Gearing being the only limiting factor for going faster. jnsmith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 30, 2022 Share 13 hours ago, jnsmith said: So I went to try out a Giant Talon E+ at Olympic Cycles yesterday. I've ridden on Bafang converted bikes before so I have an idea of how the motors work. I found the Giant SyncDrive so much better, that I think it's worth the extra money. I know it's not as fast as a BBSHD, but I don't need ultimate speed, I really like the feel of it! I'm busy doing my sums at the moment, I'm at the point of pulling the trigger and going for that one. Not exactly the ideal commuting bike, I guess, but it's a hard-tail so it's pretty versatile on Cape Town roads. I do wish we had better cycling infrastructure. Just a thought .... Bafang has the "mid-drive" motor as well as the "hub drive" motor .... The mid-drive motor in the Darrvin feels and responds in a very similar way to the Giant. I have not ridden the hub-drive, but apparently it has a vastly different feel to it. Might work okay for a commuter, but certainly have heard some complaints from MTB riders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnsmith Posted May 30, 2022 Share 22 minutes ago, ChrisF said: Bafang has the "mid-drive" motor as well as the "hub drive" motor .... The mid-drive motor in the Darrvin feels and responds in a very similar way to the Giant. I really liked the Darrvins, I tested both a Crest and an Evolve. It's just that the frames only came up to size L and I really need XL. The dynamics were nice (the motor was similar to the Giant, a bit more peppy if anything, though I thought the Giant was a bit smoother). But I can't get over the size being too small for me. Even with tweaks in the seat height and handlebar stem, I could feel I was on a bike that was too small, and it wouldn't be comfortable. The Giant comes in XL, otherwise I probably wouldn't be considering it. Though this is more of a me problem than a problem with the bike as such. If anyone shorter than me is looking for one, I'd definitely point them to Darrvin to try out. Value for money is pretty great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 30, 2022 Share Correct size is super important ! ENJOY the Giant jnsmith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Racing Bikes Posted May 30, 2022 Share Take a look at our Charge range. Both of them 😎 https://titanracingbikes.com/bikes?jsf=jet-engine&tax=range:102 We don't like to quote prices, but taking a look around shows the E-One is selling for around R25K and the E-Two for R20k. Hub driven, 32km/h limit and back with our multi-user warranty. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnsmith Posted June 3, 2022 Share @Titan Racing Bikes - thanks for the prod, I actually did see some Titans on the web, but my challenge has been finding anywhere with stock of something in my size! I took delivery of a (used, bought here on Bikehub, shoutout to @BarnardM) 2021 Talon E+1 in XL, and I'll say this, it's amazing. Unfortunately it caught me at a time that everyone in the house is sick with colds, so apart from a (really) quick ride around the block, I haven't put it through its paces yet. All in all I'm very satisfied. It looks versatile enough that I can use it to get to the office in the week, and hit the trails on the weekends. ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted June 3, 2022 Share CONGRATULATIONS on your purchase. While stuck at home, play with the Giant Ride Control App. NOTE - "Location" must be ON on your phone for the app to work (no error message when Location is off, the app just does not work) Will you be using it on trails at all ? Or purely as a commuter ? Gravel bike tires have a LOT less drag on tar, and far better for a commuter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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