Get a grip woman!

Busy_Mee

Yes 1.65% for 2 years is competitive. We are able to lock ours away for longer because it is effectively mortgage money and our mortgage still has another 4 years to run ( until I am 60) 
The bikes sound great and well considered. I guess the question is how much you will use them. Have you had a go on an electric bike ? I have never been on one so don't know what they are like.

Debsnewbudget

why not have a look at buying the electric bikes second hand. Its the sort of thing people buy then realise they are not using.
I managed to pick up two folding bikes for us, over a couple of months. 

Karmacat

Debsnewbudget said:

why not have a look at buying the electric bikes second hand. Its the sort of thing people buy then realise they are not using.
I managed to pick up two folding bikes for us, over a couple of months. 

Very interested in the ebikes, but I'm even more interested in folding bikes!  Because of where I'd store it, I *know* I'd need a folding bike - but I've no idea where's a trusty place to pick one up second hand.

Suffolk_lass

Busy_Mee said:

Yes 1.65% for 2 years is competitive. We are able to lock ours away for longer because it is effectively mortgage money and our mortgage still has another 4 years to run ( until I am 60) 
The bikes sound great and well considered. I guess the question is how much you will use them. Have you had a go on an electric bike ? I have never been on one so don't know what they are like.

My two year thing is, as you allude to, because we are already spending gradually.

Re bikes - We rented bikes in NL on holiday last year and that was the final persuader for us - we had been looking for some time beforehand and there are a few things we definitely did and did not want. We plan to primarily use them with the Motorhome so that we can leave it parked up once we get somewhere. Also at home in the more clement weather, we are just about 1.5 miles from the nearest shop and that is ideal for a bicycle, as well as longer country bike rides (we live just off a couple of national cycle routes).

In terms of what they are like, you still work, but there is a little booster that you can turn up and down to either speed you up, boost on hills, or in some cases, take over. The ones we tried don't kick in until you start pedalling. We wanted hub (between the frame and the gears is a polymer belt instead of the chains) so not derailleur gears, a frame not wheel motor (our rationale is that a big bump could buckle the wheel with the motor, resulting in major cost, and they do look better imho), and a good fit because DH suffers with cyclists palsy and is large (tall) needing the largest frame size. I want a step through Dutch sit up and beg because of my old back injury. We have abandoned the front rack/basket but the back rack with a box and two panniers will hold everything we need for a shopping trip, and less for a grand day out.

Debsnewbudget said:

why not have a look at buying the electric bikes second hand. Its the sort of thing people buy then realise they are not using.
I managed to pick up two folding bikes for us, over a couple of months. 

Debs, we have been looking for second hand bikes for nearly 3 years and have not found something that meets our spec - especially in terms of size and style. The other issue with second hand has been the life and availability of some of the batteries. The ones we are going for are Bosch and fit into the frame with a weatherproof cover over them, so the chances of them suffering from water ingress is reduced and I would expect the life of this (new) generation to be 5 years or more. I hope you enjoy yours. I still really like Holland Bikes' range and I suppose our cooling off period lends itself to going that route but I am funny about tax - I like my purchases with VAT on to go to the UK Treasury (to fund our services, etc), rather than that of another country.

Debsnewbudget

Karmacat said:

Debsnewbudget said:

why not have a look at buying the electric bikes second hand. Its the sort of thing people buy then realise they are not using.
I managed to pick up two folding bikes for us, over a couple of months. 

Very interested in the ebikes, but I'm even more interested in folding bikes!  Because of where I'd store it, I *know* I'd need a folding bike - but I've no idea where's a trusty place to pick one up second hand.

We got ours from *bay
mine was from a guy who refurbishes bikes so he showed me what he had done to it.  We took the other one to the local bike shop for a check over

themadvix

Sounds like a very thought through decision SL. And they sound great too. I’d love to give one a try at some point. 

(On an entirely unrelated name-dropping note, I’ve met the inventor of the Brompton folding bike!)

Suffolk_lass

We stayed in a Van Der Valk Hotel in NL on our travels and rented some for 2 days - only downside was my slightly sore bum after 2 days! - well worth a try out themadvix

themadvix

Will have a look at them SL - cycling in the Netherlands has been on our list for a while. Why is there never enough time/money?!

Karmacat

Thanks debs, good to know.

Cycling holidays are great!  I don't think I'll be doing another one - I know I won't, to be honest, but they're huge fun. 

greent

Oooh - we've been discussing e-bikes for when we have a motorhome (has been our plan for a few years to get one at the very latest when DH retires, hopefully a couple of years before when the 'smalls' are easily able to cope being at home) - will be very interested in what you do My (half) sister's mum and partner have bought a wide-beam canal boat and plan to have 2 on there (they've had narrowboats for many years) when they're ready to move on (it's a bit of a fixer-upper)