eBike Recommendations?

[MrSmee]

I would like to buy an eBike for DW. Needs to be a pretty upright configuration with a step through frame. She won't ride very hard or very much but I'd like to avoid junk. Ideally made in Taiwan or Korea. Any recommendations?

 

[COcheesehead]

There are classes of e bikes and how much propulsion they provide. Here is a link to understand them.

https://www.velotricbike.com/blogs/...vOmJkl8KxzvCcrVSTSGOw3KCguVSdBoIaAlrGEALw_wcB

 

[Philliefan33]

You really should take DW shopping at a few bike shops. There are so many variables that will affect the "feel" of the bike. Battery size / placement, mid-drive vs. hub drive motor, size, and geometry.

Total weight of the bike will vary greatly from brand to brand and model to model. One of my summer gigs is as a bike guide on multi-day trips; we have loaded many e-bikes on our trailer. There was one Specialized gravel e-bike that barely weighed more than the "analog" bikes. More often there have been beasts that require a two-person lift to get it into a slot on our trailer.

I am mostly familiar with Trek bicycles (the company I work for is affiliated with Trek). I've also carted around a lot of Aventon e-bikes and a couple of Rad Power bikes. Any of those brands, plus Specialized, would be a good place to start The Aventon and Rad Power bikes that I've encountered are the heavy beasts. If you only plan to ride from home, weight may not matter to you.

To avoid junk, you should expect to spend at least around $1200-1500 for an e-bike.

 

[Ronstar]

DW has a Specialized Como 3 or 4 - cant remember which. Great bike

 

[savory]

I cycle a lot and know my ebike days are not far ahead of me. During our current trip to the west coast to visit DD, she took us on an outing in the Portland area. It was a 20 mile tour on an ebike, provided by the tour company. We had a guide and we visited wineries, fruit stands, etc.

We thought this was a great introduction to ebikes. We know we would not purchase the ebike we rode since we plan to tour with them and the features of this bike is not our preferred touring design. It was a Gazelle brand with an internal hub.

We were relaxed and had several hours and different terrain to ride on. We know the experience would have been much better than a short store demo ride from a local store. It also allowed us to ask questions of the tour bike rental company employee vs a sales person.

DW and I could not have been happier with this type of hands-on introduction to an ebike.

 

[Luvtoride]

There are classes of e bikes and how much propulsion they provide. Here is a link to understand them.

https://www.velotricbike.com/blogs/...vOmJkl8KxzvCcrVSTSGOw3KCguVSdBoIaAlrGEALw_wcB

Cocheese, thanks for providing the link to that article on classes of e-bikes. Very helpful.

I’m on my HOA board of our condo community. We have just identified e-bike safety due to batteries exploding and catching on fire as a concern to address. Does anyone have any similar experience in this area? We will fully research this before adopting any policy or restrictions.

I would welcome any safety materials regarding batteries and charging them, which seems to be the biggest area of concern.

Thanks.

 

[punkinhead]

My wife and I just bought e-bikes last week and went with Gazelle Ultimate C380. My wife got the 380 which is a step through and I got a 380+ which is a mid-step with a more powerful motor. A mid-drive motor was a requirement for us. Hub drives don't go through the gear train so they have a very different feel than a mid-drive. Hub drives feel very unnatural to me while mid-drives feel more like riding a regular bike. We also really liked the belt drive with Enviolo rear hub which eliminate the derailleur and are maintenance free. I hate adjusting derailleurs. The other great thing about the Enviolo hub is that they can be shifted when stopped. That's nice for when you come to a stop but forgot the downshift to get started again.

 

[Badger]

Step 1: Go to a few bicycle shops and have her try a number of e-bikes for comfort, stability, ease of using the e-system, etc. Once you do a number of comparisons and talk to the dealerships as well as your own research of reviews on quality you will start to gain a bit of knowledge. You will then know enough to figure out Step 2.
It's a learning experience just like investing. What other folks have bought is fine for them and for you to use as a reference but may not be what is appropriate for you.
Besides it is fun trying out and riding all the new and different bikes.

Cheers!

 

[punkinhead]

Another thing to consider... My wife's bike is a Class 1 so the motor stops helping at 20 MPH. Mine is a Class 3 which means the motor helps up to 28 MPH. Some areas, although very few in the US, police this and don't allow Class 3 bikes on bike paths. I doubt I'll ever run into a place where it's a problem but might be something to think about if you live in a more regulation heavy area.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I have been considering this one:

https://www.vitilanebike.com/products/u7-step-thru-foldable-fat-tire-electric-bike

 

[ransil]

I have been considering this one:

https://www.vitilanebike.com/products/u7-step-thru-foldable-fat-tire-electric-bike

I have ridden those types, for a short run around the block or thru the campground they work, for riding a distance the geometry seen weird and is uncomfortable.

My belief is most Ebikes come out of the same factory in China , just different branding and options.

Aventon seems to be in more bike shops than others , most are mail order.
trek and other name brands do have their dealer networks but are high in price.

if you need dealer support buy from a dealer if you are a DIYer look at mail order

we have Rize ebikes at the time they were the best bang for the buck.

 

[arcyallen]

In the last three years I've put about 1100 miles on my Priority Current and love it. I ride mostly bike paths. It has the step through design and you sit up fairly straight. I had a hunched over stance on my last bike which killed my neck - this is much more relaxed.

It's not the cheapest on the market at $3300, but Costco sells it online for 20% off and they're still advertising another 15% off until yesterday (haha). It's belt driven which means no oil, no exposed gears, and a much quieter and smoother ride. Check it out!

https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/current

 

[Lewis Clark]

DW has a Specialized Como 3 or 4 - cant remember which. Great bike

My wife likes her Specialized Como 3.

 

[Taco]

After trying to keep up with my better half on her e-bike (a Pedego Ridge Rider), I broke down and got one too (a Specialized Vado 4). Both bought local - we wanted to go through a local bike shop and not buy online.

We are loving the electric bikes. My "acoustic" mountain bike has seen a lot less use.

We recently bought a couple of pannier bags, with thoughts of doing a multi-day trip on the bikes.

 

[MrSmee]

Thanks for all the great advice. I have a Rohloff IGH and Gates belt drive on my grandpa powered bike and love the ease of maintenance and lack of grease. Thought about getting a chain ring tattoo on my right calf just for nostalgia. Key takeway is to have her ride before we buy. We might look in at REI as well as the local bike shops. I doubt she will get $3000 worth of use out of it but maybe I can use the guilt to get her to ride. Also doubt she will ride on my weeklong tours but you never know. Step through design and upright posture are key for her though.

 

[eytonxav]

Look what popped into my Facebook feed after I looked at this post:

 

[MrSmee]

Look what popped into my Facebook feed after I looked at this post:

So. Did you buy it?

 

[aja8888]

Look what popped into my Facebook feed after I looked at this post:

Where's the engine?

 

[Philliefan33]

For safety, if your DW has not been riding regularly, remind her to keep the speed down on her new e-bike. They are great aides to getting more people out on bikes, but one downside is that they allow riders to go faster than they should.

If one rides a regular bike at 18 mph, she/he has likely put in a lot of saddle time to get to that level of fitness. Biking skills have been developed/honed along the way. But putting a novice rider on a bike going 18 mph is inviting crashes, because the speed comes easy without the necessary biking skills.

I’ve ridden with about 300 guests over the last few years doing multi-day excursions. Only about 20%-30% of the riders were on e-bikes, yet the e-bike riders account for over 75% of the crashes/accidents I’ve had to clean up.

 

[aaronc879]

If you want to keep the cost down try this: https://kbobike.com/products/beach-cruiser-electric-bike-kbo-oasis?variant=44283171733718

Barely over $1000 and it has better range than what you often get in $3000+ bikes. I have the Breeze from the same manufacturer and love it. 1245 miles last year and over 1900 this year while in Wisconsin where there are only around 5 months of bikeable weather. No problems with my $1100 class 3 e bike.

 

[eytonxav]

So. Did you buy it?

Won't fit in my garage.

Where's the engine?

You mean the motor, not sure, but might be in the hub.

 

[aja8888]

Won't fit in my garage.


You mean the motor, not sure, but might be in the hub.

That sure is a big hole where the 1200 CC Harley powertrain should live.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

That sure is a big hole where the 1200 CC Harley powertrain should live.

1200cc might be a bit much, Harley model 1 looked like this -

 

[GenXguy]

I have about 5000 miles on my Ride1Up 700 series bike over the last 3 years. Mine is the XR, step-over. But, I don't think I would get a step-through due to less frame support and some reports of wobbling with that version.

 

[brett]

Where we live it seems that there have been a fair number of fires cause by ebike batteries.

Not certain if this is a battery issue, a recharger issue, or both. Or if attributable to certain types/brands.

It seems to be getting more and more media attention.