Lost trying to get into E-Bikes, so many options, looking for guidance

[Miro]

I tried BIONX ebike,
what s annoying with torque sensor /pedal first/ ebike - you approach traffic red light and stop BUT you forgot swich to low gear, you are on the smallest sprocket on the back, light change to green for you but you are in high gear - very hard to start pedalling.
BIONX allows to use throttle once you reach 5km/hour - very annoying
Yes I ride throttle ebike - Eplus E+

 

[EVDan]

Unfortunately, Van Moof as a bike manufacturer has gone "poof". It's an tough evolving market!

 

[biknut]

Hello everyone,

I have been doing several days of research here, but seem to be going in circles trying to narrow down a first E-Bike. Thought I would just create an account and hope you experienced riders might be gracious enough to recommend some bikes for further research based on my criteria.

The main wishes: a bike that feels like a bike instead of a scooter, when the assist is not being used, to feel like a proper bike. Capable of assisting up a decent grade incline but we only really ride on bike paths and casual road rides. Price ideally would be around $2,000 or less.

I have read many comments and complaints that say stay away from the online shops such as lectric, Aventon etc. and go with a brick and mortar Trek, Specialized for the customer service. Which I definitely see the value but the trade off is around $1,000 more. I do tend to subscribe to the buy once and save in the long run instead of now. I’ve read that some companies also might quickly abandon a model and the e parts that go with it. But are the others that bad at customer service?

I have also come to believe that a torque sensor is what I would like. But is that only for high end bikes? I can’t really find any info on that type of sensor.

I guess I am kind of lost. Anyone have any bike suggestions or critiques?I have one possible bike on my list but I don’t want to influence anyone’s thoughts. I would be greatly appreciative of any experienced commentary.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Aventon would be the perfect bike for you. They're just as good or better than most other brands in your price range, and they have brick and mortar stores all over the place.

 

[FrankR]

I know it's an old thread, but I will leave my two cents after a couple of years in this ebike world.

When people ask me for advice, I first find out if they are able to service the bike themselves or not. If they are handy and like to tinker, my advice is different than if they want turnkey fun - with zero maintenance.

If you want little to no maintenance, and can afford the prices, best bet is to find dealers in town - assuming they are rated for good service. You will definitely pay more, but if you can afford it, they will maintain your bike.

If you buy online, you may or may not get help, depending on the brand. There are a bazillion "brands", with many of them selling the Same stuff from the same Chinese OEM - with their logo. When you buy online, you at least want to determine:
- that the company generally is rated for decent service - as in, at least responding to your inquiries
- that they keep parts available online - so that you can reasonably quickly find the right spares.

Beware - there are some brands out there with very attractive prices. But - good luck getting them to answer your email, and even more good luck getting a part out of them.

 

[EVDan]

There seem to be quite a few of us who are on the hunt for our 1s e-bike who find all the options daunting. Count me in that number. After 3 months of roaming multiple websites I still haven't made a decision but have come to several potentially useful conclusions for those 50+ age folks in the search who just want nice bike that will help them ride a bit longer, further, get up the steep hills without dismounting and are not comfortable doing a lot of our own wrenching ...

Regarding torque vs cadence sensors -- hot topic. But there definitely seems to be a trend away from cadence to torque sensors. Both work fine.

There is no substitute for a test ride! Buying a bike on line that you have not ridden in your size is foolish gamble. Who wants to unpack a bike, assemble it, adjust it, ride for a week only to learn it isn't right for you then clean it so it looks like new, repack it, take the giant, cumbersome box to shipping drop off, pay the freight, (and in some cases a restocking fee)?

Of course buying local will limit your options but most will still have lots of options. Its worth spending a day, driving 3 hours if necessary, to a bike store that stocks a few seem to meet your criteria. Most bike shops will let you take their bikes for a half hour or longer ride. Get it adjusted for you, get out there and pedal for half hour. Then try another one so you have something to compare with.

Once you have picked your bike, take advantage 14-30 day trial periods most all manufacturers offer. Ride you new e-bike a lot the 1st two weeks so you know if you made the right choice. If not, take it back (no need to rebox it, pay freight...)
.
After sear surveying the e-bike landscape, reading hundreds of reviews, and riding half a dozen bikes I have a strong impression that Aventon makes quality, reasonably priced bikes that will fit almost every average Joe & Jane's needs and they have a broad network of local shops (over 1000), So does Trek but a comparable Trek will cost almost twice as much.

My problem is that after having ridden 6 different bikes, I found that while they were different, I like them all! Top ones for me (looking for bike that will be ridden 80% on roads, 20% gravel / trail, weighs less than 45 lbs & will fit in the back of my Kia Niro() are the Aventon Solera.2, Trek Dual Sport +2, and Propella 9S Pro V2. The bike that looks the best to me on paper is the Velotric T1-ST, but so far I haven't found one locally, so that is holding me back. Also I can still hop on my Specialized Sirrus Carbon road bike or my Specialized Pitch hardtail Mtb so I' m not in a rush.
Happy peddling!

 

[Jackson Ford]

I think it depends on the individual and how hard they want to work, but due to the weight of an average ebike, if used mostly without power, it would require significantly more effort to pedal.

That’s the nice thing about an eBike with multiple PAS levels, however. You can dial up as much added assist as you want, whenever you want.

I'm struggling with your comment "You can dial up as much added assist as you want, whenever you want." I have a couple of Heybike Mars bikes. The riding situations are as follows: Going downhill, you can pedal harder and go faster than the motor would have the bike go. Going uphill, I find that the bike will do slightly less than the PAS speed and that pedaling doesn't help at all with the speed, or only marginally. On level ground, I dal constantly but don't reach a speed much greater than the PAS speed, maybe 10%. I guess YMMV depending on your leg strength, but maybe some bikes function differently?

 

[Smaug]

I'm struggling with your comment "You can dial up as much added assist as you want, whenever you want." I have a couple of Heybike Mars bikes. The riding situations are as follows: Going downhill, you can pedal harder and go faster than the motor would have the bike go. Going uphill, I find that the bike will do slightly less than the PAS speed and that pedaling doesn't help at all with the speed, or only marginally. On level ground, I dal constantly but don't reach a speed much greater than the PAS speed, maybe 10%. I guess YMMV depending on your leg strength, but maybe some bikes function differently?

It's just that on the fat tire bikes like yours (I had its brother model, the Ranger) the tires are so draggy and take so much power to turn at speed that our miniscule leg power is not doing much of the work.

I found on my Ranger that I could pedal it comfortably on flat ground (pavement) at about 10 mph. At 13 mph, it was a LOT more work; not sustainable by me at 20+ mph, my maximum input only made a very small difference in the speed.

It's just the tires. You can get a small improvement by replacing the knobbies with a street tread. You MAY be able to put narrower tires on those wheels too; maybe 3.5"? I wound up selling mine as I didn't like how inefficient it was. When I would eventually run my battery out unexpectedly, it would be a tough ride home!

 

[m@Robertson]

It could also be the controller on the bike is just plain weak. The Sondors 20" fat tire bikes were quite zippy with 20a controllers. A 25 mph bike when you lifted the speed limit in the display settings.

 

[Jackson Ford]

It's just that on the fat tire bikes like yours (I had its brother model, the Ranger) the tires are so draggy and take so much power to turn at speed that our miniscule leg power is not doing much of the work.

I found on my Ranger that I could pedal it comfortably on flat ground (pavement) at about 10 mph. At 13 mph, it was a LOT more work; not sustainable by me at 20+ mph, my maximum input only made a very small difference in the speed.

It's just the tires. You can get a small improvement by replacing the knobbies with a street tread. You MAY be able to put narrower tires on those wheels too; maybe 3.5"? I wound up selling mine as I didn't like how inefficient it was. When I would eventually run my battery out unexpectedly, it would be a tough ride home!

Good to know. It has been a problem-free bike for the past year, but next time I'll try a different concept.

 

[ronaldsauve]

First of all, I agree with m@robertson comments, all e-bikes will be heavier.
But I find tha Aventon has dealers all over the US, so there might be a dealer close to you. That means that if service is needed your dealer could help you. They have a pretty good reputation. And for your wife, I might suggest their Level 2, that you can get in a step through, if that is what she would prefer. It, along with all of their newer models has a torque sensor, so it will have a more natural “bike” feel. It is very positively reviewed. And Aventon bikes come with a 2 year guarantee, which is pretty good.

 

[Greg47]

My opinion on the Trek Cruiser Go, don't touch it. No gears, a 5.7Ah battery (if diving 250 Watt Hours by the 46V battery charger spec is correct), and I'll assume the hub motor is quite tiny.

I have both a mid drive and a hub drive bike and both need to ridden always with some assist. The Shimano mid drive (no throttle) is by far the most natural and easy for an older person to master as you just pedal like a regular bike, and the amount of boost just smoothly comes in without notice, the amount determined by whatever mode you have selected. ZERO thinking is required.

Regarding your earlier comment "when you hit the throttle and the bike jumps".... my 750W rear hub doesn't do that if properly programmed. It will do it if you put the PAS in "5" (max power) on the display and slam the throttle. It's programmed so the throttle response is the same as the PAS setting. On "1" its a very tame take off on throttle only. I generally use "2" for flat surfaces. You can even program it if you want so the throttle doesn't even work till the bike attains some forward movement.

From what you are saying I'd strongly recommend a brand name (Bosch or Shimano) entry level mid drive, no throttle, 7 or so gears, decent battery e.g at least 13 Ah. Yes, you are going to pay a little more for the brand name components.

those are nice units, but Don’t turn up your nose at Bafang mid drives either. I Put a 250w on my wife’s old Schwinn mtn bike and she loves it. Rides it almost every day. She’d quit riding completely before that. I have hub and mid drive (conversions) and definitely like the mid better.

 

[10at6]

Tagging for future purchase. Good info

 

[Calsun]

A great depends on whether the person is looking for an e-bike and have not ridden for decades or the person is an avid rider who wants the assist of an electric motor to deal with wind or step hills or someone is looking for a utility bike to use in place of a car as much as possible. Weight is also important if planning on using a bike rack. My first e-bike was a Class II that weighed 70 lbs and relied heavily on the motor. My second bike was a Class III road bike that weighs only 27 lbs and rides like a regular road bike with its pedal assistance.

I would recommend a bike that uses normal bike tires as that will be a good indication of how much fun someone will have pedaling them around and not be 100% dependent on the motor and battery charge level.

Watts are not nearly as useful as Newton Meters in knowing if the motor on a bike will produce sufficient power to get a rider up hills.

REI is a good place to shop for an e-bike as they service what they sell and have a broad range of bicycles available and are continually introducing new models.

 

[Stan]

I shouldn't even jump in here because I ride differently than most. I get real bike riding. My son and grandkids ride competitively all over the world and their bikes can be lifted with one finger and cost as much as a good car. They have to put weights on them to race in most races. I however use my bikes in the country and on my farm and my knees are bad so I don't pedal at all. I am very happy with a full suspension fat tire bike. I have a mid-drive and hub drive, and both have their purposes. I use the mid drive 1500w to pull a dog trailer and hub drive to do light nature trails. I have the assist programed for a 0 setting so I can use assist if I want (never do) or just throttle or both. Remember a mid drive requires the chain and gears to be engaged at all times. Very powerful but jumpy, especially with a twist grip. Hubs are smooth and quiet but less torque. People will roll their eyes, but if I had a wife, I would look at a step through 750w hub drive Wallke.

 

[Jbangs]

Good Morning!
I'll toss in my experience and what worked for me. After all the research and confusion ebike world can lead you down, I bought a Trek Allant7 plus. It was a great bike and I really liked it. Torque sensing mid-drive, local shop support. But, above my and your price range. I bit the bullet and was happy with my choice. I rode it for almost a year and I just could not get the fit dialed in. It was the XL size and advertised to go up to my height person ( I'm 6'5" ) but I could not get the bars up where I wanted them even after changing bars. I was limited by the Brake cable length. I just did not want to re-cable the whole brake and shifter systems so I gifted the bike to my daughter and started over. I went with the motor kit idea for a bike that was already in my stable that I had already done the bike fit issues. I did business with electrifybike company out of Utah and was very happy with their service. I got the TongShen motor kit which is a torque sensing motor, 52volt 15 ah Shark battery and did the work myself installing. If you work on bikes at all it is not a hard install at all. I will admit that it is not as clean a look as a factory ebike due to all the wires involved that are zip tied tight to the frame. I have had the bike operating now over a year and have taken it on multiple supported and self supported tours. It does fit into the $$ mode you want with battery and motor being about $1100. I now have a second set up with a commuter everyday rider that I put on kind-of a beater old steel frame bike I had. Works great for that!!. I guess my final advice is how ever you choose, I would go with Mid-drive, torque sensing to give you that "real" bike feel. Good luck with your choice and then ride the hell out of it!!

 

[arthurdent18610]

Hello everyone,

I have been doing several days of research here, but seem to be going in circles trying to narrow down a first E-Bike. Thought I would just create an account and hope you experienced riders might be gracious enough to recommend some bikes for further research based on my criteria.

The main wishes: a bike that feels like a bike instead of a scooter, when the assist is not being used, to feel like a proper bike. Capable of assisting up a decent grade incline but we only really ride on bike paths and casual road rides. Price ideally would be around $2,000 or less.

I have read many comments and complaints that say stay away from the online shops such as lectric, Aventon etc. and go with a brick and mortar Trek, Specialized for the customer service. Which I definitely see the value but the trade off is around $1,000 more. I do tend to subscribe to the buy once and save in the long run instead of now. I’ve read that some companies also might quickly abandon a model and the e parts that go with it. But are the others that bad at customer service?

I have also come to believe that a torque sensor is what I would like. But is that only for high end bikes? I can’t really find any info on that type of sensor.

I guess I am kind of lost. Anyone have any bike suggestions or critiques?I have one possible bike on my list but I don’t want to influence anyone’s thoughts. I would be greatly appreciative of any experienced commentary.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

I've seen a few reviews of this ebike & for the money & the spec it's looks perfect for the first time buyer. https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...m gearbox&txt=The bike is launching at $1,999

 

[LightningP38]

Hello everyone,

I have been doing several days of research here, but seem to be going in circles trying to narrow down a first E-Bike. Thought I would just create an account and hope you experienced riders might be gracious enough to recommend some bikes for further research based on my criteria.

The main wishes: a bike that feels like a bike instead of a scooter, when the assist is not being used, to feel like a proper bike. Capable of assisting up a decent grade incline but we only really ride on bike paths and casual road rides. Price ideally would be around $2,000 or less.

I have read many comments and complaints that say stay away from the online shops such as lectric, Aventon etc. and go with a brick and mortar Trek, Specialized for the customer service. Which I definitely see the value but the trade off is around $1,000 more. I do tend to subscribe to the buy once and save in the long run instead of now. I’ve read that some companies also might quickly abandon a model and the e parts that go with it. But are the others that bad at customer service?

I have also come to believe that a torque sensor is what I would like. But is that only for high end bikes? I can’t really find any info on that type of sensor.

I guess I am kind of lost. Anyone have any bike suggestions or critiques?I have one possible bike on my list but I don’t want to influence anyone’s thoughts. I would be greatly appreciative of any experienced commentary.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Giant has a model priced at $2,200. My ebike has a cadence sensor, and I like it. It gives me the control I want.
Torque sensors are usually on more expensive bikes. The Grin website say a rear hub drive is preferred over a mid drive setup, for most riders. Go to Grin Technologies website to learn about torque sensors.