[Anonymous]

Unfortunately I am having to take a look at changing to a e-bike now I am struggling with hills and old age. I have been looking at a carbon Ribble Endurance SL E. Has anyone any recommendations regarding ebikes or any experience of the aforesaid model? I understand Andres has recently acquired one. Any advice to offer?

[Andrés Mederos]

Hi Ken

When it comes to value for money and Ebikes the 2 bikes to look at are the Ribble Endurance SLe or the Orbea Gain both use the Ebikemotion X35+ system. The system is also used by other manufacturers such as Cannondale, Bianchi, Wilier etc. The limitation of the Ebikemotion system is torque output which is limited to 40 Newton metres, so it’s assistance on the steep hills rather than a goped. The advantage of the Ebikemotion system is the bikes are lighter, with the top of the Range SLe hero only weighing 10.5 kg which is awesome for a road Ebike.

I’ve tried some of the other systems such as Fazua and Bosch and they are ok whilst you have battery but when it runs out you have 15 kg of bike to lug around.

There are Ebikes which throw out up to 90 newton metres of torque, so if you’re really struggling it’s good for up to ~50 miles, but after that just not fun.

So at the end of the day you need to compromise power output vs bike weight. For me 40 Nm is enough to get me up the steepest hills and both bikes (Orbea Gain and Endurance SLe) make riding hilly routes much more fun.

The main notable difference between the two bikes is the stopping power of the hydraulic disc brakes which I highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks Andres for this information. You have encapsulated in a few paragraphs the information that I need. I am after a bike that assists me up a hill and light enough for me to cycle 50 miles or so under my own steam. I am confident I can physically cope with this mileage with no assistance on a flat route. Would 40Nm be adequate to assist me to cycle up a hill like Pendle for example?

It is a bit of a minefield when you first start looking for a Ebike so I am grateful for the information. I thought a Ebike would keep me going for a few more years and enable me to continue to enjoy the Sunday rides.

[Andrés Mederos]

Hi Ken, it’s too difficult for me to tell you the amount of assistance you require in newton metres. Essentially it doesn’t matter as much the weight of the bike when you have charge in the battery. The Fazua system bikes throw out 60 n/m vs the 40 n/m of Ebikemotion such as the Boardman but when the battery runs out you have a 15.5 kg bike to ride on.

The Boardman Ebike is a very cheap Ebike and a great value from Boardman as usual.

The ideal answer would be try before you buy, though it’s not that easy to arrange. Ribble did have some dates to try them recently though. You could always have a quick go on mine when I’m out on a group ride on a steep hill.

Here is a link to the Boardman offerings for you to look at:

https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/bikes/e-bikes/

[Andrés Mederos]

As a comparison a Trek Domane Alr5 is an aluminium road bike and weighs 10.05kg, my Ribble Endurance SLe Pro weighs 11.5 kg (Ebikemotion) and the Boardman Advance 8.9e weighs 15.5 kg (Fazua)

Without the battery my Ribble Endurance Sle rides like the Trek Domane. My least favourite would be the Fazua system bike without a battery.

Whereas if you aren’t riding very far and the Fazua battery lasts the the 60 n/m vs 40 n/m gives 33% more power.

[Anonymous]

Hello Andres, To update and bring this topic to conclusion -I have now taken delivery of a Ribble SLe and found that it has exceeded my expectations. I can climb any hill with ease, allowing me to cycle to places which I thought I would never be able to cycle to again. I return from rides fresher, but above all it has given me the desire to get out cycling again. if I had not bought this bike I would have stopped cycling because I was not enjoying cycling, finding it to arduous due to health problems. Riding this bike has literally turned the clock back to how I felt 10 years ago. I hope to return to group riding shortly. Thankyou for you input. I did think it would be a good choice before your comments. You just nudged me in the right direction.

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