Looking to get the Mrs. an intro cruiser EB…. Know nothing about them so any recs appreciated. Not a commuter, just something she can get outside and cruise. Bike path/ road mostly. TIA.
Looking to get the Mrs. an intro cruiser EB…. Know nothing about them so any recs appreciated. Not a commuter, just something she can get outside and cruise. Bike path/ road mostly. TIA.
well if you get a bike with a mid-mount motor from an LBS they should take care of you so you will have service
You can buy something with a hub motor from amazon made out of Chinesium, it will be delivered in 2 weeks, it will be cheaper, no support probably no parts, the battery might catch fire in your garage
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
X Ecynic
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A bike with a mid mount motor will ride more like a normal bike, but with pedaling assistance. A bike with a hub drive motor is less smooth in it's delivery of power. Bikes with mid mount motors are generally going to be more expensive.
I personally wouldn't buy anything from a small / unknown / generic Asian brand. Too much risk of the batteries exploding / burning your house down. Those generic ebikes also tend to have really shitty components and ergonomics.
As with most things, you get what you pay for. That applies to the battery and motor, as well as all the normal bits and pieces of the bike.
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If not getting something from an LBS, I’d look at Aventon for a basic cruiser.Originally Posted by seano[emoji[emoji6[emoji640
Proceed with caution with other direct brands…as mentioned, there is so much sketchy garbage out there.
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I would take a look on-line at the Chinesium offerings at the price and what the spec's are for the price, its on-line so you won't be able to ride it, I have never ridden a hub drive but I understand they might suck ? Check the sizing will it fit her some of them only come in one size so it may not fit. She may not even like riding E-bikes down the road, i got a buddy who bought them for him and the wife, he ended up selling them within < 1 yr cuz she didnt like them, she is small so I don't think it fit her and he would rather ride his one-wheel board
Then go to an LBS to see what they can do for you, it will be a better mid engine, it will cost more 3000-4000 $, it will have better components, it will have a warranty it will be fixable and also they probably got a demo she can try out
I had a giant E commuter I won in a draw, I only had it for about 4 hrs before selling it on FB so I never really got a chance to do more than around the block but I thot it was well done, it was a real bike that I would expect from Giant
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
Yes giant have a nice full surpension do it all ebike. Simgle pivot, fenders, a rack and the lower powered yamaha motor at a decent price. That'd be a comfy do it all cruiser
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the Giant i won was a HT 2700-ish with a front fork which is all a road and trail rider will need
The guy who owned it died of brain cancer, he was 6'6" so it was an XL with an extender post, way too big fo small AZN man, I sold it and put the $$$$ towards a real mtn bike
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
So after a long period of ignoring ebikes I'm getting a little curious. My use case would be maximizing small ride windows to scoot up a boring fire road climb and get some laps in. Occasionally throwing on a Mac-Ride and getting out with a kiddo.
I know a few folks here have Transition Relays. Any thoughts after an extended ownership period? I currently ride an Alloy Patrol and this is essentially an e-version of that bike. The fire road grind is 2200 feet in less than 4 miles, seems like the battery would likely only be good for one lap?
Transition is selling off the Relays cheap and a few online dealers have them even cheaper.
https://northwestbicycle.com/pages/s...s-page?q=relay
You might also consider a cargo bike for her.
These Benno's are really nice with a Bosch mid drive.
https://upway.co/products/benno-boos...formance-udj22
This up way site seams to be a Pros Closet clone for eBikes.
I've got a Santa Cruz Heckler SL, which uses the same Fazua 60 motor and 430wh battery. If you're in decent shape and keep an eye on charge level / don't only use max assist, you should be able to do 2 laps. I just did a ride last weekend which was a mix of assist modes, and had 1% left with 4,300'. I've done several days at another nearby spot where I'm mostly in middle assist and do 5,000' (each lap there is 1,000').
I would try a full power and a midpower to see which you prefer so in an SC its 85 vs 60 NM
Last edited by XXX-er; 01-07-2025 at 12:24 PM.
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
Plus the full power gen5 bosch bikes w a 600w battery are only a couple lbs heavier now. Durable, quiet, rebuildable motor ftw
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It's more than a couple lbs, more like 6-8 lbs difference between mid power and full power (assuming both are carbon frames). My HSL is 44 lbs ready to ride with DH casing tires, a Vivid shock, EDC, Garmin, and flat pedals. The spec weights on basically every ebike are grossly inaccurate, and often are based on a size small frame without pedals and EXO casing tires - not what you'd actually want to rip on. I know the new SC Vala (with Bosch) claims it's under 48 for the top builds, but I'm willing to guess they're actually 49+ ready to ride, not to mention being several thousand more than those carbon Relays on sale.
Don't understand why people i fretting over the weight of a e MTN bike. Mine, with heavy tires and coil all sound is 54 lbs, no big deal, it descents and climbs great. 180/180 travel
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Jeez. 54#! Are you riding that thing locally? Round mtn? Parliament system?
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I got on the bathroom scale with my carbon Bullit 7 & 7 inch/ air shock/ Maxxis DD's and its 52-ish lbs which I don't worry about very much
its > 3yrs old now, hopefully the EP8 keeps going till something changes bigtime but there is really not much reason to up upgrade yet
The way I look at it one can buy a motor OR a bike that happens to have a motor and i wanted a Santa Cruz
but they are selling those mid power bikes so would that mean a group of fullpower/ midpower/ amish are all gona climb at very different rates ??
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
Weight still matters on an ebike if you want to ride it playfully, especially if you don't weigh 200 lbs yourself. Pumping and pulling for jumps on a 42 lb 150/160 ebike is totally different than a 52 lb 170/170 one. I've owned both. If you're just plowing down rocky chunk, sure, go for the pig. It's going to stick to the ground like glue. But it's going to suck trying to gap small rollers or pop and transfer into a corner. Horses for courses and all that.
I ride in mixed groups all the time. It's easy for the full power guys to toggle down into lower power, just like its easy for a full power to toggle down to ride with a guy on a normal bike. This Sunday I was in a group that had 1 fast XC racer guy unpowered, 2 guys on mid powers, and 2 guys on full powers. First couple laps all the ebikes ran in eco until the XC guy tapped out, then did a few laps with the full powers in mid and the mids in full, then last lap everyone was in mid power.
Great data point, thank you. When you're using a mix of power levels like that, do you still end up at the top quite a bit quicker?
As others have mentioned, ride characteristics are the biggest reason why I'm considering the SL route. I want it to feel close-ish to the bike I'm riding on those trails now. The alloy patrol is an absolute pig so slapping a motor onto the carbon version of it still only nets me 5-6 pounds. The trail system where I imagine this thing will see 80% of its use has nothing but steep, tight, twisty chunk. A lighter more maneuverable bike seems more likely to compliment my mediocre at best skill set. The other 20% of riding where this thing will see duty is full of moderate playful trails where pumping and popping is the name of the game.
That said, if I did want a bigass full-fat ebike in the 160-170 travel range, what screaming deals are ready to be had out there this winter?
I had ordered an Orbea mid power but the bullet showed up so cha ching, and i'm glad I did
IME the Bullit in a Mullet config feels way snappier than the 29x29 5.5 yeti it replaced
IMO ride as many different e-bikes as you can
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
Yes, definitely faster, even in the lowest assist mode. In the lowest power mode, I can climb at the same pace as my fit XC buddy without breathing hard or breaking a sweat. Keeping the same mode with just a bit of effort and I pull away. Full power and some effort I can do 4,300' in 2 hours (1:40 moving time, average heart rate 133 bpm). Looks like the last 5,000' mixed mode ride was 2:50 ( 2:10 moving time, avg 125 bpm). I'm also a dad with limited time, so ~2 hours is about the max amount of time I can consistently sneak away for weekend mornings without getting agro from my wife.
I haven't paid much attention to full power ebike sales since I sold my Levo, but I know for sure the Bullit EP8 is on sale (~$2,000 off). Transition Repeater EP8 is also on closeout for $2,500-3,000 off. That said, the Relay comes at 160 and can be run 170 in the PNW build, so you're not giving up any travel really with that bike, just max range & power.
I've noticed Bullit ^^ on sale for a long time but often it sold out, originaly they said it was 49+ but my scale sez 52+,
I would forget that and just get the cheapest build
I love tthe handling of mine
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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