I'm looking to buy an e-bike, need some advice.

E-HP said:
He didn't ask for DIY advice either, but everyone wants to go off topic. Sorry, I'm just not opposed to someone having fun riding around on a store bought ebike. Seems fine, and not something that requires coercing or insults to motivate them to do otherwise, even after he wisely attempted to defuse them, "Not a lots of money, but no capabilities either" and provided his reasoning. When did listening go out of style on this forum?
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"Not a lots of money" - yes it is good to read with understanding. Buying an expensive e-bike with proprietary technology and build in obsolescence is a false economy. It is our job to give good advice and present OP with options to choose.

Front wheel conversion is easy. Always there is an option to pay somebody to convert bike.
 
Not even attempting to address the actual question posed by the OP comes off as arrogant and just hijacking his thread as an opportunity to evangelize. He may decide on DIY in the future, but I could see where he could be turned off enough to avoid coming here for advice. He's just asking for advice, and I'm certain the experienced folks here could actually look at the specs of the examples he provided and render an opinion based on their experience, although it does take a few minutes to go through the links.
If it was you grandmother, and she was on the other side of the country but wanted to try an ebike, are you going to tell her to find an old used bike and buy a kit and start wrenching? Or tell her go buy one because you has no abilities. I'm sure she'd be proud of her grandson for being so blunt. If the OP were handicapped and couldn't convert a bike, due to arthritis or other ailments, then would you provide the same advice? Maybe, maybe not, but why ask and find out, and miss the opportunity to lecture?
 
Buying a closed system bike is a recipe for helplessness. There will be problems; there will always be problems. If you have no idea how the bike is configured, and it has been designed specifically to resist attempts at owner servicing, you will be at the mercy of the dealer (if the dealer even cares enough to exploit you for profit). It's a trap. And it's not okay to suggest to folks which exact trap to fall into, just because that's what they asked. Sometimes the asked question is the wrong question.
 
E-HP said:
always answer the question posed first, before answering the questions that weren’t, or should have been, asked
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Nobody will listen to a person that can't even be bothered with the questions posed first. There are literally thousands of registered users that were only on the forum for a matter of days, and with very short posting histories. I'd be interested in knowing how many asked for support and got it and went off on their merry way (hopefully most), versus how many were bullied off the forum for asking the "wrong" question, while the person providing "support" asked no questions, but only judged.
 
At work, I don't coo to customers to persuade them to buy what I'm selling. I investigate, diagnose, and solve bike problems. That tendency will carry over here, for better or worse.
 
Chalo said:
At work, I don't coo to customers to persuade them to buy what I'm selling. I investigate, diagnose, and solve bike problems. That tendency will carry over here, for better or worse.
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Clearly you have more to contribute on threads like these if you were willing to share specific information that you've acquired to form your opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that not every factory ebike manufacturer and model has been in your shop for repair. But you've see many that don't provide support or are just built like crap. You could actually look at the examples provided by the OP and state factually that you've had experience with X, Y, and Z and to avoid those. That would be helpful information that could influence his decision.
My neighbor has had his factory bike for almost 4 years, and he commutes daily to the UC campus where he works, 18 miles round trip, almost every weekday, rain or shine. So about 4k miles per year. That's a lot of miles. My guess is he'll maybe need to change out the battery someday, but from what I can tell, he's gotten his money's worth. I think he may have also gotten in on the rebate the county was offering for getting an ebike, which is being encouraged here. Actually with the rebate, it's almost a no brainer if you're looking for an ebike. There ARE good factory ebikes out there and a lot of them won't break the bank. Are they as good as a DIY built specifically for the rider? No, but it's his first ebike, and there's nothing preventing from building a tailored fit "offroad" ebike, if he gets the bug.
 
E-HP said:
Clearly you have more to contribute on threads like these if you were willing to share specific information that you've acquired to form your opinion.
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Rad Power Bikes (the bike shaped ones anyway) are not too spendy, so far not too big an ordeal to work on, somewhat future proofed, and they have pretty good performance. They're not relevant to the OP's requirements. In a just world Rad Wagon/Rad City, not Arrow, would be the NYC delivery bikes of first resort.

Juiced bikes are good value for money, but can be unnecessarily fiddly and time consuming (read expensive) to service.

I just can't make a case for any other major brands I've worked with. Specialized and Trek are totally hopeless, unsupportable black boxes that will become a curse to anyone who tries to live with one long term. Pedego has some reasonably elementary models, but at inexcusable prices. Almost all the sub-$1500 choices from any brand are department store style crap. Ancheer for example makes understandable, supportable, open system bikes that are just so extravagantly cheesy that even their low prices are extortionate in context.

I have yet to see a complete e-bike with mid drive, internal cable routing, and torque sensing that I wouldn't advise someone to run, not walk, away from. They're simply boondoggles to get you hooked before they break the bad news to you. And the news is bad. Like cut your losses and try something else bad. Might as well go for a low miles economy car bad. This isn't the way to a better future.

I'll have even more insights after doing Bosch official service training starting next week. The commercial shop where I work has finally caved and started stocking some e-bikes.
 
Best of breed is the motto I follow when buying stuff I want to keep. My oldest vehicle now is a 2007, I bought new. I still have it.

Ebikes on the other hand, I would find a value (cheap) make/model that uses regular OTS controller, and other stuff. So when a part breaks, one can pick it up quickly.
Battery on a ebike is the item I would look at for the powerlevel you are considering given local laws.

Not sure if you are able to import a bike, aka buy off aliexpress and get it shipped. Your options would increase vastly.
 
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Chalo said:
I'll have even more insights after doing Bosch official service training starting next week. The commercial shop where I work has finally caved and started stocking some e-bikes.
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Forced to drink the Koolaid, LOL. The fact that there's service training seems pretty positive by itself.

Rad bikes are one most popular bikes I see, specifically the Rad Runner, for parents with one kid. The Rover step thru's are popular too, for single riders. I also still see the old original Rad bikes, that just looked like a kit added to a regular bike; still going strong. For two kids, I occasionally see the Rad Wagon, but I think the Yuba's hold that market. The Spicy Curry, with that small rear wheel and mid drive will take two kids in the back, up a 15% grade no problem. You wouldn't be able to build that bike from a conversion, because the geometry would be all wrong. If I still had little kids, I'd get one, rather than messing with a conversion. All of the cargos, except the occasional Rad Wagon are mid drives, out of necessity. That said, I've seen both BBS02 and BBSHD cargo bike conversions, more rare, but they're out there.
The ebike community here seems to be very word of mouth. The popular bikes are popular for a reason. Cream rises to the top. That's why I think the Gazelle bikes are likely a decent choice. I see a lot of them, and riders of all ages. The Aventon's are also popular for a geared hub bike. The Juiced bikes are popular, but that's a different type of rider, with that Class 3 mentality.
 
satsujjjj said:
Hey, I'm looking to buy an e-bike and looking for general advice and stuff. My budget is from 1.6k to ~2.2k euros. I live in NL and I'm looking to buy a bike here, so EU laws.

Here's a list of e-bikes that I'm currently looking at:

www.gazelle.nl

Paris C7 | Gazelle

De Gazelle Paris C7 biedt een krachtige motor en een ergonomisch ontwerp, perfect voor stadsverkeer en dagelijkse ritten. Ervaar het rijcomfort zelf!
www.gazelle.nl www.gazelle.nl

hermanbeleeffietsen.nl

Scott Sub Active 10 eRIDE Rack (Unisex) - Herman Beleef Fietsen

Scott Sub Active Eride 10 Rack, een sterke E-bike met een hoge actieradius. Meer Weten? Bekijk hem hier bij Herman Beleef fietsen!
hermanbeleeffietsen.nl hermanbeleeffietsen.nl


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Any other models I should take a look at? out of these ones, which ones would you get if any?
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look at Lectric
 
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