E Bikes

[Ronstar]

Anyone have an e bike? I'd like to get one so that I can bike a little farther and a little faster. I'm looking at getting a Specialized Turbo Como 4.0. Just starting research, so I'm not totally up to speed on e bike pro/cons yet.

 

[RobbieB]

I've built a couple using the Golden Motor kits.

 

[corn18]

We have 2 Pedego Interceptors. Love the ebikes. Lets us ride further and faster and still get a lot of exercise. I would recommend you visit ebikereviews.com EBR. They are a knowledgable and helpful bunch. And the Como is highly regarded.

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/

 

[Elbata]

I bought mine ~3 years ago--what's known as "Pedal-Assist". My wife's bike, she can just push a lever, and away she goes.

Certainly many more pros than cons. Pedal-assist bikes quit assisting once over 20MPH unless home-built like the previous commenter. A few pros:
1. I take long trips along the beach (sometimes 40-50 miles) and just call DW and she picks me up. Then we have a nice lunch somewhere.
2. With the e-bike, I like to say there are no hills. Even so, I still get a good work-out with the bike.
3. Even as time has gone by, I've not become bored with the bike. Still a lot of fun.

My main Cons:
1. I believe the battery replacement cost is ~$500.
2. There are different levels I can set the battery assist--The highest level is good for only ~40 miles.

 

[molly312]

I would be interested in brands. I have been looking at the Trek Verge 2. E-bike supplies are limited here due to their popularity and the manufacturers slowly getting back to work. I am especially interested in the help they give you going up a steep hill. I have 2 steep hills to get back home and just can't make it these days on my old bike. User experience would be appreciated.

 

[freetodream]

We purchased a Stunner step=thru assembled by Biktrix in Canada. It is a fun bike. Biktrix has great customer service but you can only buy online, has no dealers that I am aware of. You need to be sure of your purchase because return shipping is paid by the customer and is expensive @ over $100+ for shipping.

 

[ckelly78z]

I have built my 29" full suspension MTB into a nice 36V 500W Ebike that can be ridden either way easily because it retains all 24 gears. It is a front hub motor with a battery that fits into the bottle cage.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ebikeling-...var=442057554146&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

[rodi]

I don't have one... but want won. We did an e-bike (pedal assist) tour in Puglia last summer through the Valle d'Itria... It was my favorite activity of 3 weeks in Italy.

 

[Arizona1]

We bought 2 $1,200 each. Pretty fun but both lithium batteries went bad after 2 years. Too heavy to ride without assist even though they had aluminum frames. $600 each for new batteries so Went back to regular bikes instead. I’ll be in the back of the line to buy anything battery powered again.

 

[1242Vintage]

Bike guy here. Ride nearly every day and race (mountain, gravel endurance, cyclocross) in the “old guy category” a few dozen times a season.

Last year I demo’d a full-suspension electric assist mountain bike at a race with other e-bikes.

What a disaster!

The electric assist mountain bike was twice the weight (at least) of a conventional bike and at race speed the momentum was extremely difficult to tame in tight fast turns. I believe this failure was due to the position of the battery pack high up on the frame. At every turn the weight of the battery pack tended to keep the bike upright and limited the natural ability to lean the bike at speed into tight turns. Ran off the race track over the high side of banked turns a couple times.

Race was three laps on a closed course and I DQ’d after the first lap so I didn’t kill myself.

For now I’m sticking to human powered bikes.

 

[donheff]

I'm keeping my eye on them for future use. DW and I ride 4 or 5 days a week but we are getting older (I'm about to turn 72) and eBikes will keep us tackling the hills and having fun. My interest is a light weight, gravel or touring bike. We will probably dip our feet in the high end range to get light weight with decent range and styling. The longer we wait, the better the options and prices.

 

[street]

Can't help you but I was interested in your idea. I did do some research because I wanted to educate myself on really what an eBike was. I learned alot from the video.

 

[Earl E Retyre]

I wound up purchasing a Juiced bike and like it. The one I bought is pedal assist and also has a thumb throttle. It is a mountain bike style which is better for exercise than a beach cruiser style. It is close to the one on this link but I think mine was slightly different since it was a few years ago.
https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-s2

 

[aaronc879]

Where do you put a water bottle? I bike for one hour(12 miles) and go thru most if not all of a water bottle. This is while biking in the morning before it hits 70 degrees. I haven't tried it yet since my hip replacement but if I try the longer bike ride(2+ hours) then I have one water bottle and one gatorade bottle and can't imagine getting by with less. How do you manage for space with the battery taking so much in the most improtant spot?

 

[savory]

It's on our radar as we bike a lot and are getting a bit concerned about our abilities. We have some friends with them and getting around in our hilly part of WA is achievable by people who were beginning to have a hard time with a hill leading to their home. I have also learned in my advocacy efforts that the power assist bikes offer a good fitness experience which was researched in the UK in a large study.

Our greatest exposure to e-bikes were in Europe during a couple of self contained vacation bicycle tours. E-bikes are all over. Parks have plug in stations People, mostly older by observation, meet for lunch and plug in the bike, especially in the Netherlands. (The outlets in parks might be something to advocate for here now or near future).
You may want to look around websites coming out of Europe for information. Cyclechat is one I follow but have not looked at it specifically for e-bikes.

Hope you will report back if you buy one about your experience.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I would like an Electric Scooter, (Proper Adult Scooter not a Kiddie Scooter) but there are not many choices and the ones that are available are VERY expensive.

 

[Earl E Retyre]

Where do you put a water bottle? I bike for one hour(12 miles) and go thru most if not all of a water bottle. This is while biking in the morning before it hits 70 degrees. I haven't tried it yet since my hip replacement but if I try the longer bike ride(2+ hours) then I have one water bottle and one gatorade bottle and can't imagine getting by with less. How do you manage for space with the battery taking so much in the most improtant spot?

In my case, I bought a water bottle holder that attaches to the seat post of the bike. There are already holes there for that purpose. But I am not sure how I would attach 2 bottles.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Where do you put a water bottle? I bike for one hour(12 miles) and go thru most if not all of a water bottle. This is while biking in the morning before it hits 70 degrees. I haven't tried it yet since my hip replacement but if I try the longer bike ride(2+ hours) then I have one water bottle and one gatorade bottle and can't imagine getting by with less. How do you manage for space with the battery taking so much in the most improtant spot?

In my case, I bought a water bottle holder that attaches to the seat post of the bike. There are already holes there for that purpose. But I am not sure how I would attach 2 bottles.

The most common solution is to use something like a Camelbak pack.

 

[aaronc879]

In my case, I bought a water bottle holder that attaches to the seat post of the bike. There are already holes there for that purpose. But I am not sure how I would attach 2 bottles.

I didn't know seat post holders existed. Thanks. I think that is my best solution. Do they make e-bikes for very tall people? I have a 23.5 inch frame and still have to have my seat 6-8 inches up for a proper fit. I have not found an e-bike nearly tall enough for me although I haven't looked that hard.

 

[freedomatlast]

My wife and I each have BH Easy Motion EVOs. Bought both used for less than half the original price. Mine only had 129 miles on it when I bought it. We love them. Allows us to go farther and faster than we normally would while still getting a good workout.

These EVOs allow for four different levels of pedal assist or you can go with no pedal assist using a handle grip throttle like a motorcycle. I bought mine first and my wife wasn't too sure if she wanted one. I found a good deal on one her size, bought it for her, now she loves it and uses it all the time.

Battery performance is excellent and hasn't noticeably declined since we owned them. You can charge the battery on the bike or remove the battery from the bike and charge it indoors. The battery on the bike is lock protected. The lights are also excellent on the bike. The first night I got mine I went on a 40 mile ride after dark.

If you get a car carrier, make sure you get one specifically for ebikes since they are heavier than regular bikes.

 

[Earl E Retyre]

I didn't know seat post holders existed. Thanks. I think that is my best solution. Do they make e-bikes for very tall people? I have a 23.5 inch frame and still have to have my seat 6-8 inches up for a proper fit. I have not found an e-bike nearly tall enough for me although I haven't looked that hard.

I am not sure but I would have to believe you could find an e-bike tall enough. Perhaps this one would be good?
https://electricbikereview.com/easy-motion/evo-snow-29/

I also see this bike was recommended on the post below my reply by Freedomatlast.

 

[Ronstar]

Op here. Thanks for all of the great info. I’m digesting all of the posts and a lot of YouTube videos. I really need to go test drive one, or several.

 

[Willers]

We owned a couple of Trek Lift+'s because we live at the top of a mountainside in Colorado. We intended them as our "happy hour" bikes that we could use when we didn't want to work hard peddling up after a pitcher or two. We had them for 4+ years and found that we didn't use them enough to justify another two bikes (we had 4 others) and finally sold them this summer. They sold in exactly 1 minute after I listed them so they must be gaining popularity!

I can see why people like them (they do make the hills disappear). Just our experience but the Shimano Steps system in this bike worked great. After 4 years the batteries and electronics were still working like new. The battery was our biggest worry and it was a non-issue. One other note as someone else mentioned is that they tend to be heavy. If your battery dies you are going to work hard compared to a normal bike.

Ask around at your local bike shops. They'll know which have stood the test of time.

 

[Redbugdave]

How waterproof are the electrics and motors on these bikes? What if you wade it through 2 feet of water in a stream?

 

[freedomatlast]

How waterproof are the electrics and motors on these bikes? What if you wade it through 2 feet of water in a stream?

On most of them the electrical connectors are sealed fairly well and I wouldn't have an issue riding them in the rain. But I would not submerge the rear hub (where the motor is) in water.