Is the old saying, you get what you pay for true in ebikes?

[Orcasprout]

I think I would have to do all that on a more expensive bike

you are correct. I endorses all those changes you made. I would consider those upgrades to be standard in my world

 

[Smaug]

There are good options at low prices, as long as the costs are cut in a smart way.

Then, there is going too far. I have two examples from my experience:

1) Sailnovo. Cheapest eBike on Amazon when I bought it at $500. 36 V, Single speed, 14” wheels, short seat post, Twitchy steering geometry, low capacity battery built into the frame. It was not a good bike. They’re $320 now and are about worth that. Don’t give one to a kid; they will 100% crash it, as it goes into a death wobble the moment a hand is removed from steering. Can’t pedal it more than 10 mph nor can pedaling help the electric for more than a few seconds at a time. Very heavy for its performance level too. It’s a piece of junk.

2) Lectric XP Lite @ $800. ($750 not on sale) Single speed, but the right compromises were made. All components are good except the stock seat. It can be pedaled at 15 mph at a comfortable cadence at PAS 3 or 4. Class 2 limited, but it’s torquey enough to climb pretty well and has a 48 V battery. Great little bike unless you’re doing a lot of hill climbing; then it’s geared too high. The icing on the cake is that it’s the ONLY folding eBike that’s actually light enough to reasonably carry and load up reasonably often.

You can spend $1000 or more and get a piece of crap, or you can spend $800 and get a good bike.

It’s really not that simple!

 

[pagheca]

A week ago, during a rather challenging off-road ride on a very bumpy and hilly steep track, I swapped my bike for my "ebike mate's".

I have a Trek Powerfly 7 full suspension.
He has a Trek Powerfly 4 front suspension only.

Two models with the same frame, motor and battery, but with different accessories, mine being more expensive.

I, a novice, immediately noticed the lower quality on this demanding road. From the brakes, to the comfort, to the gear ratios, etc. He immediately said: "Wow! This is much better!".

I also noticed that my bike (the Powerfly 7) accelerates much faster downhill, as if the rolling coefficient were lower (he said it's because I'm... heavier than him and my bike itself is heavier. I reminded him of Galileo's experiment on the Leaning Tower of Pisa... we argued hard for the next few kilometres as we are both quite nerdish astronomers - we looked like The Big Bang Theory... ).

This doesn't mean that what you pay is what you get IN GENERAL, but I'm very happy that when I was about to buy the model 4, they offered me an upgrade for about $1000 with a big discount, and I took the deal.

Obviously I have fairly high requirements, given the type of routes I wanted to cover, the gradients and elevation gains, and the difficulty of finding parts here. So I had very few brands and models to locally shop from. But in short... the difference in quality is obvious, and my friend is thinking of upgrading now.

 

["A"]

Here in NYC, thousands of delivery folks on cheap (under $2k) ebikes, they operate 24/7, in all weather.
Likely all abused and throttle operating all (if not most) of the time, 30-80 miles per day.
If those cheap ebikes are not reliable, I doubt they would be used by the delivery folks, since their livelihoods depend on their ebikes.
In the last 6-7 months, I've seen more and more Lectric XP in NYC traffic, that's under $1K.

Personally, I ride my ebike about 12-16 mile per day, 3-4 times a week, all in NYC traffic.
So far, with 2 years ownership of my Fiido T1 cargo bike ($1499), even the recalled model, I've got about 2700 miles on it.
No, I don't take it off-pavement much, occasionally on grass or gravel, but only short distance.
I've ridden it in the rain, snow. It's been reliable as a doorknob, not even a flat tire. And I've received a replacement Fiido T1 for free.

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I've had good experience with nearly a dozen of cheap ebikes and I can say that they are moslt trouble-free.

 

[Rambo_Of_PA]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I've had good experience with nearly a dozen of cheap ebikes and I can say that they are moslt trouble-free.

Proof that the ugly duckling can also be the swan....

 

[Smaug]

[...]
Personally, I ride my ebike about 12-16 mile per day, 3-4 times a week, all in NYC traffic.
So far, with 2 years ownership of my Fiido T1 cargo bike ($1499), even the recalled model, I've got about 2700 miles on it.
[...]

Maybe I'm an outlier, but I've had good experience with nearly a dozen of cheap ebikes and I can say that they are moslt trouble-free.

Just curious, do the brakes squeal?

My experience has been that constantly-squealing brakes is an indication of a lower quality bike. A little squeak here and there is fine, but constant squealing points to the manufacturer not caring to look into it and fix it if it's not a functional issue.

 

[pagheca]

the keyword here is "requirements"

 

[penndan]

You pays your money and you takes your chances

 

["A"]

Just curious, do the brakes squeal?

My experience has been that constantly-squealing brakes is an indication of a lower quality bike. A little squeak here and there is fine, but constant squealing points to the manufacturer not caring to look into it and fix it if it's not a functional issue.

I try to use brakes as little as possible, but if they do squeal, they don't really bother me, just make pedestrians/motorists to pay attention while I'm braking.
Squealing disc brakes usually cased by dirty rotor or brake pads, Brillo or steel wool usually fix the squealing.
Manufacturers usually don't have control of how customers use or keep the brake rotors/pads clean, therefore not much they can offer in solution.

You pays your money and you takes your chances

Yes, I've taken many chances and also I've been working on bike shops since I was a teen.
There aren't many problems on a bike I can't fix with the stuff I have accumulated in my basement over 3 decades.

Proof that the ugly duckling can also be the swan....

Aesthetics isn't my forte, I figure while I'm riding I can't see the bike anyway.
I stopped racing over ten years ago, utility is my priority for cycling, fitness & recreation come next.

 

[JerryB]

I am far from an ebike expert but I can tell you that my $999 Lectric XP 2.0 is an excellent bike for me and meets all my needs. It came fully assembled.....currently has over 700 miles on it.....rides well for my exercise requirement and has never had a problem. Expensive doesn't mean problem free......my buddy just bought a $80K Ford diesel truck.....it is beautiful and the speedometer is not working. I rode my $999 ebike over to his house to see his new broken $80K truck.....then we had a beer.

 

["A"]

Not an ebike, but it's a cheap electric vehicle that's been used and abused.

Two years after buying my $2,000 electric truck from China, here's how it looks now

Two years ago I bought an electric mini-truck from China and imported it to the US. Here's how it's held up ever since.

electrek.co

 

[Smaug]

Not an ebike, but it's a cheap electric vehicle that's been used and abused.

Two years after buying my $2,000 electric truck from China, here's how it looks now

Two years ago I bought an electric mini-truck from China and imported it to the US. Here's how it's held up ever since.

electrek.co

Micah is such a fun guy. I love reading his stuff.

I wish those were street legal. Up here in Wisconsin, there are many rural areas where golf carts and ATVs are street legal and can be licensed. Sadly, not in my area.