Heavy eBikes

bicicle

New member
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Joined
Jan 18, 2023
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12
6'
180lbs
60 years
Been riding since I was a child. I own six bikes. I ride for fun first and exercise second.
Looking to purchase a e bike cruiser for some of those longer rides with bigger hills. My plan is to only use the assist maybe 10% of the time when faced with a steep incline.
My heaviest bike is an older, single speed Phat La Salle, which I only use for short rides. It weighs 48lbs, which is the same weight as an Electra Townie Go which I rode in the REI parking lot. It did not appear heavy but there were no hills. https://www.bikeride.com/electra-townie-go-7d/
My other choice is a Ride1Up Cafe Cruiser, which weighs 65lbs. https://www.bikeride.com/ride1up-cafe-cruiser/
I cannot locate a shop that sells them but I just found a "slightly" used one for sale in Denver (which is an hour drive) for $1000 (new $1400). Before I make the drive, I thought I would get your opinions. Has anyone ridden an ebike that heavy and do you find yourself using the assist most of the time to compensate for the weight?
Thank you!

iu
 
The company did a great job designing it. Too bad they are now defunct. Form before function;)!
 
I ride a Lectric XP 2.0 step thru.....on flat ground.....I do not use PA.....gears only......I switch to PA 1 for small inclines.....PA 2 for hills.....PA 3 for my driveway....which is steep. I have you beat my ten years.....have a new knee and hip and ride for exercise when weather permits. I ebike weight 64 lbs.......good luck....safe riding.
 
Most ebikes seem to weigh 60+lbs, many 10-30 lbs heavier. I prefer fat tires for stability, comfort, and terrain but they're harder to pedal. I pedal only about 30% of the time but pedal with pedal assist, just change gears accordingly, and still get a decent amount of exercise while getting outdoors. I live in Denver btw, huge ebike community here.
 
6'
180lbs
60 years
Been riding since I was a child. I own six bikes. I ride for fun first and exercise second.
Looking to purchase a e bike cruiser for some of those longer rides with bigger hills. My plan is to only use the assist maybe 10% of the time when faced with a steep incline.
My heaviest bike is an older, single speed Phat La Salle, which I only use for short rides. It weighs 48lbs, which is the same weight as an Electra Townie Go which I rode in the REI parking lot. It did not appear heavy but there were no hills. https://www.bikeride.com/electra-townie-go-7d/
My other choice is a Ride1Up Cafe Cruiser, which weighs 65lbs. https://www.bikeride.com/ride1up-cafe-cruiser/
I cannot locate a shop that sells them but I just found a "slightly" used one for sale in Denver (which is an hour drive) for $1000 (new $1400). Before I make the drive, I thought I would get your opinions. Has anyone ridden an ebike that heavy and do you find yourself using the assist most of the time to compensate for the weight?
Thank you!

Curious if you bought this Cafe Cruiser. ive been heavily researching ebikes for a couple of months and have finally zeroed in on this one…
 
I was hoping to gain some knowledge on riding heavy ebikes before I dedicated a half day to test riding one. I may try another forum.
 
I actually live in Denver and my Rattan weighs 65lbs. Im 51 yo male with some health issues and I can make it up any hill I've encountered downtown with very little effort, most I could do throttle only if I wanted. It's a LM750. I wouldn't recommend that brand myself just because it arrived with a broken display and battery issues which took them 3 months to fix. Idk if that's common with Rattan or if I just got a bad bike but if I can make it up any of the hills downtown pedaling a cheap Chinese 65lb fat tire bike I don't think you should have any issues. There are also several new ebike stores in Denver that allow test rides so maybe you could schedule several instead of making an hour drive just to REI
 
I was hoping to gain some knowledge on riding heavy ebikes before I dedicated a half day to test riding one. I may try another forum.
I’m a new member here, and like you we have not bought an ebike yet but went yesterday to test ride a couple. We tried the Lectric XP 3.0 and the Mokwheel Mesa Cruiser to get an idea of which style we preferred (cruiser hands down). My experience is that riding a heavy ebike is a breeze. I am 62, my husband is 68 and the weight is not even a factor unless you are trying to load it on a carry rack. Only thing I would suggest is a step thru instead of step over if your concerned about weight
 
Ya, unless you are loading the bikes on a rack, the weight is a non issue. You dont feel that weight while riding. I have a fat tire bike and it weighs in with battery at 70lbs. I did have to upgrade my bike rack to accept the weight of these new bikes, they all are quite heavy compared to non-ebikes. I have stopped riding my non ebikes these electrics are great!
 
Wife/I (67/71; 140/240; 5'6"/6' exercise 70%) bought Aventon Levels (64 lbs) 9 months ago. Ride pretty nice, usually use pas 1 or 2 so we pedal most of the time with help on hills and a little additional speed. Currently in FL on RV trip and riding 25 mile trips 2-3 times per week= fun. Loading bikes on rack attached to back RV bumper is easy; hold rear brake, pull back on handle bars and wheelie bike and set front tire in rack than just lift back of bike onto rack and secure. Bought a no name rack that says good for 200 lbs so no issues on the first 1500 miles of our 3500 mile journey.
 
Forgot to mention: we live in Erie, CO and bought from a dealer. My opinion: if you're really handy, especially with electronics= buy used and save big bucks OR like me= buy from dealer so they'll take care of issues. So far we haven't had any issues.
 
Pedal assist on low makes an ebike ride like a bicycle, weight-wise. You won't find ebikes anywhere near the weight of analog bikes unless you go with very deep pockets and buy a bike with small motor, smaller battery and which provides minimal assist. That is just the way it is with respect to adding motor and battery weight.

I had this very minimalist bike for a time. It had a 400w (peak output, not continuous) mid drive and if I remember correctly a 36v 6ah battery in the down tube. 400w peak is not a lot but it was fine for flat land and mild grades. Distance-wise, range was short. And after all that, it weighed 39 lbs. Which is still 20 lbs more than my 59cm road bike from 1984. It WAS very close to riding an old-school bike, which was a neat feeling, but it was a poor performer as an ebike, with very little of the versatility you should otherwise expect.

IMG_20200604_155933 (1).jpg


Weight comes with the game unless you want to hamstring your result..
 
I own a Heybike Mars ,about 75 pounds .Mostly ride PA to keep my joints moving.Don’t have many issues riding in Florida.Not many hills ,however living on the coast we do get some heavy winds ,either coming or returning.Usually ride about 25 miles at a clip every other day.I am 83 years of age and the weight does not see to be a big issue.I prefer the fat tires for comfort and work well in the sand.Usually get bout 38 miles on a charge before it starts slowing ,so far good machine.1100 hundred miles and no issue.If going on a longer gaunt i’ll carry an extra battery to make the return trip easier if needed.
 
Last summer, I contacted Ride1Up as I wanted to test ride before purchase. They gave me the name of a shop half way to Denver but when called, I was told they did not carry Ride1Up. My plan was to wait until Spring to purchase a bike but I happened to check out Craigslist and saw the Cafe Cruiser for sale fpr $400 off list. I spoke with the seller but decided to start this thread. His phone number has been removed from the add and he has not contacted me via email so I will keep looking or purchase a Electra Townie Go from REI so I can (hopefully) have future support. I have never purchased a new vehicle and only one, new, hybrid Schwinn back in '05.

I appreciate all of your responses and happy pedaling!

P.S. There was no need to register on another site.:)
 
Last summer, I contacted Ride1Up as I wanted to test ride before purchase. They gave me the name of a shop half way to Denver but when called, I was told they did not carry Ride1Up. My plan was to wait until Spring to purchase a bike but I happened to check out Craigslist and saw the Cafe Cruiser for sale fpr $400 off list. I spoke with the seller but decided to start this thread. His phone number has been removed from the add and he has not contacted me via email so I will keep looking or purchase a Electra Townie Go from REI so I can (hopefully) have future support. I have never purchased a new vehicle and only one, new, hybrid Schwinn back in '05.

I appreciate all of your responses and happy pedaling!

P.S. There was no need to register on another site.:)
 
I am in Westminster and have bought a Ride1up Prodigy XC. I know you are looking at a different model but I can give you and idea
 

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