Getting a new E-bike.

[darenhuang]

Hi, I am new to e-bike and decided to either build or buy one. I have done some research and need your advise.

First of all, my budget is around $800, I commute 14 miles round-trip to work, and maybe additional 4 miles at work for errands. During certain season of the year there is usually heavy rain fall, the bike has to be parked outside in the rain during my work hours. There isn't that many hills I need to climb, I can overcome it either by pedaling or walk the bike.

I've decided on the freway ebike, extreem trail maker, and building a conversion bike (will be based on specialized hard rock) my self. I picked rear hub motor because I want to have the ability to keep the 2X gear, and less maintenance.

Please give me an insight of which bike should I go with. I have listed the pros and cons of my considerations, feel free to add to it.


Freway Ebike, cost ~$900 shipped
Pros
fancy tech pack.
No building required. (I am new to bikes)
No hassles, ( don't have to pick the bike, battery pack, charger, kit, battery etc.)
Seems like more weather proof for me.

Cons
Only peddle assists mode available.
250W motor / small battery.
Motor seems to have cutoff problem.

Xtreem Trail Maker ~$800 shipped

Pros
300W motor
No building required. (I am new to bikes)
No hassles, ( don't have to pick the bike, battery pack, charger, kit, battery etc.)

Cons
Controller is at a wired spot. Hard to switch between modes.
only 7 gear.
Pedal assist not adjustable.

Build my own ebike. Cost ~900 total. kit ~$700 and a used bike ~200

Pros
Highly customize-able.
Donor bike quality probably gonna beat the right out of box ebike.
Lower cost depends on the kits.

Cons
Have to assembly my self.
A lot of work to do to make it weather proof.

 

[markz]

Welcome to Endless Sphere darenhuang

Please fill in your location.
Lots of other useful info in that thread as well, go ahead and read it.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66302

This is a worldwide forum, so please go to the User Control Panel, select Profile, and then enter your city, state/province, and country into the Location field (country minimum) and save it. Once done, your location will appear in every post so you won't have people asking where you are ever again. This will help people help you. Example: Wylie, TX, USA. or just USA, but country as a minimum, and country is the most important. There are many cities with the same name all over the world. Without knowing what country you are in it's hard to make any recommendations. Thank you.

I would suggest anything from EM3EV.com, or Lunacycle.com or ebikes.ca, buy the kit with the battery package and you are set.

Only question is do you want Direct Drive, Geared or Mid-Motor?
No hills, then DD is your friend, but DD has no freewheel with no power. Geared has freewheel. Mid-Motor is a little motor wrenching expirience required to bolt it onto the Bottom Bracket.

Either way, I'd say Direct Drive aka DD, or Geared. MAC from EM3EV is geared, they also sell batteries. Luna Cycle is good too, full package deals there. Same with ebikes.ca based out of Vancouver BC Canada. There are other places to buy, but I'd suggest a one stop shop, batteries and kit; all-in-one, INCLUDING a decent charger. So if you want to ride long distances with a 15Ah pack, then get a 5A charger. 10Ah pack, 3 or 4A is good. Battery Ah is like your gas tank. "A" is how fast it will charge, depending on your Ah.

DO NOT FORGET TORQUE ARMS

And please go for more power. Like Tim Taylor says from the TV Hit series Home Improvement, more power is better. I'd stay away from low power under 500W setups especially if your a heavy person or carrying lots of stuff.

Good Luck and have fun, and be safe!

 

[darenhuang]

Markz, thanks for the reply.

I am 160lbs + 20lbs carry weight. I do daily commute for ~14 miles. I am looking to get a rear DD hub. I like the less-maintenance concept of a DD.

I saw this 1000W motor on amazon with good reviews (4/5). What do you think about this?

http://www.amazon.com/AW-Electric-Bicycle-Powerful-Conversion/dp/B00YBWA5VC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448084806&sr=8-2&keywords=aw+26+wheel+kit+rear

Any suggestions for the weather issue? The bike might stay outside for 8hrs straight with heavy rain fall. I saw some people use waterproof spread, but I am not quite sure if it is enough.

 

[wesnewell]

That kit will work fine with a 10ah 12-14s battery pack. Use a bike cover to keep dry when parked. Not sure about shipping cost to HI though. Might find a better deal on ebay for the same kit.

 

[mark5]

He can get free shipping if he buys from Amazon. That makes it a good deal vs eBay sellers who ship free in USA but won't sell at all to HI and AK.

 

[darenhuang]

that amazon one looks like the same kit from http://www.yescomusa.com/
so I kinda got a pricing list in mind.



Golden pie 5 gonna cost ~$1100
MAC ~$1100
kit from amazon($250) + battery($450) ~$700
additional cost ~$100 for torque arm and flat prevention tire.

any insight if it is worth the extra $400 to get the better kit?

I kinda like the idea of putting controller into the hub as GP5 did which I don't have to worry about raining.

BTW, no one like the ready built ebike (freway, xtreem)?

 

[mark5]

I'd get the Amazon kit vs the others. Less money to lose if someone steals your bike. If you have $400 more to spend on the motor, put it towards the battery instead. If you can, take the battery inside so it doesn't get stolen when the bike's parked outside.

 

[markz]

I think you're best bet, is buy EVERYTHING from Luna Cycle they are based in Washington State I do believe.

Luna Cycle has fixed shipping, that is your very best bet, for EVERYTHING, motor battery and charger.

Why? Because WITH the purchases you can buy the beloved Satiator Charger for $225 which you will never have to buy another charger again in your life!
http://lunacycle.com/batteries/packs/
http://lunacycle.com/motors/conversion-kits/

*Note: If you buy the motor, buy it laced. Also if Luna sells the Cycle Analyst which is the best ebike dashboard ever, buy it. Dont forget the Torque Arms.

Lots to choose from, could even buy their frame bag to hold you batteries. I would buy from those guys right this minute, IF they would ship batteries into Canada but they cant. Everything else they can ship to Canada. Thats where I am from, 'Oh Canada! There are ways around it of course, I could do a forwarding service from a border town, ship it 100' North across the border and wait another week and drive down pick it up. Anyways Im rambling.

 

[darenhuang]

Budget is an issue.

I was planning on get everything done under $800. That is why I focused on amazon, which will have 10% off very soon + free shipping.

I looked at lunacycle, its a very good site, one stop shopping.

Not sure if the ebike-kit comes with LCD, product summary seems to say yes but the product description doesn't say anything.

How is magic pie and ebike-kit compare?

 

[Green Machine]

Hey Mark thanks for the positive words...

just wanted to tell you we started hazmat shipping batteries into Canada...so we can get you any battery you want.

Hit me up personally eric at electricbike.com