Used Ebike from Craigslist - worth it?

I'm looking to get an ebike for my 14 mile flat commute. It's open and mostly flat so I'd like to be able to go 35mph.
I've been looking into building my own, but I ran into this bike from a local guy who builds lots of powerful ebikes. He's the owner of SV Ebikes so he's experienced in building these.

What're your thoughts on this bike? I found out through emailing him:

• It's a 96v System
  4000W motor and controller
  Battery is 27ah and has BMS
  Charger is a "supercharger" (96v 5A)

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/d/san-jose-powerful-electric-bicycle-40/7071862778.html

The size fits my body, and it's full suspension which is what I want. It is used though, which makes me worry about reliability I guess.

Let me know your thoughts.

imo, no not for used, i would compare it to sur ron and cyclone tw ebikes (imported).

http://www.cyclone-tw.com/ebike.html

https://lunacycle.com/sur-ron-x-bike-black-edition/

obviously, that is his asking price but i would need it to be substantially lower otherwise i will go with new sur ron or imported cyclone tw (you gotta check shipping cost).

You could build that bike yourself for $1000 less using new or mostly new parts. You probably don't want a sur-run for the road (or at all). I recommend building a bike yourself.

DO NOT BUY THAT EBIKE!

You can do much much much better with $3500 then that thing.

Find a suitable bicycle to build on. Full suspension (FS) All Mountain, rigid fat, FS fat, cross country, whatever you like. Look for a used bicycle on Pinkbike.com plenty on there.

Then choose your motor.
MAC motor is a great geared motor.
Leaf 1500W from Leafbike is a great motor.
BBSHD or CycloneTW are great mid drives for hilly area's, steep hill riding, cargo, lots of weight.
MXUS 3000W is a great motor for application where you want more speed and more power.

yeh but if he wants a cleaner look then sur ron or cyclone-tw ebike would be a good choice. also, you can put road tires on the sur ron. if i had $3500, I would do 10kwH EV battery + 20kW motor + fat tires... somehow :lol:

That Sur-Ron is a Great Bike ... For off road , or a road where there are never any Law Enforcement Officer's around.

He will be riding a route that will have at least 1 , most times more than 2 LEO's watching the commuters, him Included ! ... Each Way .
That Sur-Ron would be ticketed and perhaps even impounded real quick .

He needs a bike that looks like a bike, not a motorcycle without licence plates and all the other DOT Mandatory parts installed .

So Back to something that has obvious pedals . The more it looks like a normal bike the better for him.

ScooterMan101 said:

He needs a bike that looks like a bike, not a motorcycle without licence plates and all the other DOT Mandatory parts installed .

So Back to something that has obvious pedals . The more it looks like a normal bike the better for him.

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Agreed. If full suspension is a prerequisite, I think an out-of-date dual-sus MTB (generally the older they are, the more they tend to look like bicycles) with a big inside-the-frame battery pack would be a good low-key and very rideable option. No dual crown forks or motocross styling. I suggest getting an Old Man Mountain or other suspension compatible rear rack with some panniers (even if they’re usually empty) to play up the commuter bike appearance.

If you can live with a suspension seatpost instead of a rear swingarm, and a short travel fork (less than 100mm), then you can appear to be riding a plain old bicycle.

If you get a goofy motorcycle thing like the one from the Craigslist ad, then you’ll earn not only unwanted attention from the cops, but also resistance from other cycle commuters if you use bike facilities. If that’s really the way you want to go, be mentally prepared to register and plate the bike if necessary, and stay off of bike paths and lanes.

you could build something for $1500 that doesn't weigh 100lbs; i recommend you do it

nice battery on that thang tho.

okay, normal, DIY bike. but for 35mph, dont hesitate to go for a heavy build. at those speeds, weight does not matter as much as wind resistance for which a heavy or light bike matters little. also, even though your route is short, going 35 mph for a battery designed to go 15 miles is going to destroy the battery. you still need a big battery imo.

Sounds like a nice thing. its not a bike though, its a motorcycle with pedals, usually illegal to ride on the street.

Not that any of us on ES give a shit about that. 8)

The main issue is that used batteries are worth $0. My advice is figure out what a new battery will cost, then subtract that from the price you'd pay for a bike with a good battery.