Is the Trek Lift+ a good electric bike?

[ben]

Hi,

I was just at my local bike shop test riding an ebike. It was my first ever ebike ride, and I thought it was great! The bike I rode was a Specialized Turbo Vado.

When I told the salesperson the bike was too expensive for me, he suggested a Trek Lift+ that was used as one of their demo bikes. He offered it to me for $1500. The ebike supposedly has less than 50 miles on it.

My main issue with that electric bike is that it doesn't have any suspension, which was something I was hoping to have, considering my commute might be somewhat bumpy (not off road bumpy, just Midwest freeze-thaw-cycle-potholes bumpy).

Also, after doing my test ride on the Specialized Turbo Vado, I'm less inclined to convert my existing MTB, as I found that the hydraulic brakes really are quite more powerful and the speed of an ebike is considerable.

Any ideas?

 

[carlos]

I would say convert your existing bike into an electric bike even though you said you don't want to. I used to live in Indiana and know exactly how bumpy it can get (3 foot wide by 1 foot deep potholes). You are really gonna need those shocks when the snow melts!

 

[charles]

If you had the money for the Specialized I wouldn't talk you out of it. If it's above your budget then don't be scared of converting your current bike because of the brakes. It's easy to upgrade to hydraulic brakes (especially if you already have mechanical discs). I just updated the brakes on one of my bikes and put SRAM Guide RE which stop amazingly well and were well priced ($145 CAD per set x 2). They come pre assembled and bled so you just fix them to the bike and your done.

 

[ronaldrodgers8031]

My concern would be the age of the e-bike. E-bike batteries lose their ability to keep a charge as they age. I had to replace the e-bike battery due to age, not due the number of charges. To my understanding the Lift+ was in production from 2016-2018, so it is at the age that the battery will need to be replaced. Otherwise I like the specs on the bike, I would concern buying the bike, but the battery issue would be a no go for me.