LuckyLyndy

I would appreciate suggestions for a first time ebike that I can transport on my light trailer hitch.I don't need an aggressive position type bike. My scenario: USA, Honda Fit, Trailer Hitch, light off road, Types of riding, light gravel roads and trails, Mickelson Trail (Black Hills),Katy Trail (Missouri), lower Wisconsin and Michigan. Nothing too challenging, fire roads.
I am 72, 210 pounds.
Something that can carry enough for water, overnight camping. rear rack, panniers, or frame bags, etc.
Local dealers are limited to central Illinois. They seem to cater to commuters. Which makes sense.
TIA!

Rick_D

Budget, budget, budget.

I'd consider a Gazelle if you can pay the freight. Beautifully made, known reliable components, belt drives, serviceable.

Example:
https://mikesbikes.com/collections/g...-c380-mid-step

I'd think a hardtail with suspension fork will handle conditions you describe. I have a gravel ebike but it's not outfitted for racks and such. It would handle the roads/less challenging trails but not cargo.

Happy shopping!

LuckyLyndy

Thanks, Rick. That is an excellent bike, but a bit pricey for my first endeavor. I do like the mid-motor, and the belt drive.
I will be visiting friends in Salt Lake this month, and will see many different models.

veganbikes

A +1 for Gazelle. Spend the money now and get the bike you want now, the less you spend the more you spend. A lot of people will buy a bike they are less happy with to "save" money and then end up going for the bike they want after that so they are buying two bikes but not two bikes to own at the same time like many people on this forum would do but one after the other.

Belt Drives are super low maintenance and last a long time and an Enviolo hub is even less maintenance (aside from occasionally replacing cables and housing like you would on anything) and with a Bosch motor they are extremely well supported with little you have to do so in the end. They seem a little expensive at the front end but in the back end they are low cost bikes to own. You are buying parts with good support from a brand that also has good support so you really are spending less overall.

Try and find a local shop or try one when you travel and you will be happy. If you don't have a lot of great shops near you then Bosch is your friend where a lot of shops don't have any interest in servicing bikes with random no-name motors most shops will support Bosch or can easily get support for Bosch without having a ton of knowledge so it is a good way to go.

2old

I agree with the above and have a friend who rides her Gazelle "e" daily and loves it. The other consideration which may be valid is this is a 50 pound bike AFAICT, and you'll need a good bike rack (I recommend 1 UP).

PromptCritical 

I bought a Trek Dual Sport+ (https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/dual-sport-plus/) to use to get back in shape about a year ago (I'm 64 and down 60# to 240). It's a very good bike and served its purpose. I don't know much about various eBikes that are available, but there are two general powertrains. Hub motors and crankset motors. The hub motors are cheaper, but the weight makes the bike very tail heavy and also makes fixing rear flats annoyingly difficult. I only took mine off-road once and a more evenly balanced bike would have handled better.

Smaug1

You never said what your budget is, except that Gazelles are too expensive. (understandable; they're a nice Dutch brand)
Also, what's the story on your trailer hitch? How much weight can it handle and how big is the square?

I will recommend the Ride1Up Portola. With this bike and a Honda Fit, the trailer hitch is optional; you just fold it up, put it in a big Rubbermaid tote and slide it into your hatch. (if you can lift 60 lbs or so) I have an ongoing review thread on the bike here:
https://ebikesforum.com/threads/ride...a-thread.5915/

Even if you won't be lifting it, you might find the folding aspect to be nice when it's time for winter storage: just fold it up, remove the battery to inside your house and stick it in a corner of the garage or basement.

Aventon makes quality eBikes these days. Their Pace 500 model might fit the bill. They have local dealers but are not priced like Treks. Not quite the same quality, but I don't think you'll be disappointed, either.

You seem to be in central IL. I'm in SE WI. If you want to make a road trip up here, I'll offer you test rides on my fleet of eBikes:

• Ride1Up Portola: 60 lb, multi-gear folder
• Lectric XP Lite: 45 lb, single gear folder
• Juiced HyperScrambler 2: 120 lb. eMoped
• Electra Townie GO! 7D: 55 lb. beach cruiser
• Aventon Level.2: 70 lb. commuter

eBikes weighing under 40 lbs are quite rare. The average seems to be 50-70 lbs.

We'll ride downtown and get coffee or something. Drop me a line by personal message if interested.

Climb14er

I’m taking a very good look at the Gazelle Eclipse Ultimate C380+, it’s got most of what I’m looking for, price is on the higher side but doable. Haven’t decided whether to go with the chain or belt for here in Colorado.

veganbikes

If you are looking at the C380 it will be belt and if you are going IGH not having a belt is a non-starter for me. I don't care if the rest of the bike was exactly how I would spec it down to the T if it wasn't belt drive I would pass. There is no real benefit to a chain on an IGH e-bike. It is basically zero maintenance and easy enough to get these days. I will say if you are touring long distances more off grid it might make some sense to have a chain but I can pretty easily carry an extra belt and it weighs very little and if it wears much slower than a chain I really don't have to worry too much.

I think you will enjoy the bike.

mpetry912 

it's all about budget. an ebike in the 1500 range is about the bare minimum sorry to say. The "best cheap" off AMZN will just disappoint you.

The Gazelle as mentioned, or the Tern in various models, are very good choices and the Bosch motor / BMS are well supported.

one of the problems with the low end bikes is that if the electronics fail, they are not easily repairable.

Pro tip: You don't need to strain your back lifting your ebike onto a rear rack. Lock the rear wheel with the brake, pop a "wheelie" and put the front wheel into the tray, then lift the rear of the bike onto the rack. much easier.

/markp

veganbikes

[QUOTE=mpetry912;23213541

Pro tip: You don't need to strain your back lifting your ebike onto a rear rack. Lock the rear wheel with the brake, pop a "wheelie" and put the front wheel into the tray, then lift the rear of the bike onto the rack. much easier.

/markp[/QUOTE]

You don't have to even strain for anything, just get a Thule EasyFold or their new one or the Yakima or Küat rack with the ramp and just use the walk assist feature which most of the quality e-bikes have. The EasyFold ramp just makes it super duper easy or if you want it even easier Saris makes the Door Country which is an electric lift rack for your hitch but honestly I haven't played with one yet so I cannot recommend it from seeing it or using it but knowing Saris racks are cheap but generally pretty decent and if nothing else had good customer service (though it has been a while since I have had to reach out to them)

YankeeRider

Check out the Ride1Up Prodigy V2 - it has components like you'd normally find on bikes that are twice the price - Brose mid-drive motor with torque sensor, air-spring suspension fork, 4-piston hydraulic brakes, and options for Gates belt drive and Enviolo CVT shifting. Plus for an e-bike with kickstand, lights, suspension fork, fenders and rear rack, it's pretty light at 58-61lb.

https://ride1up.com/product/prodigy-v2/

cat0020

Lectric XPress e-bike launched as $999 torque sensor commuter electric bike

https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/lectr...electric-bike/



Here are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in April 2024

https://electrek.co/2024/04/08/here-...y-price-level/

Rick_D

From your article, Ride1Up CF Racer 1 looks like lots of bike for the money, and sub-30 pounds too if the spec is correct. I "can't even" with those 90+ pounders.

Feldman

I am a month and about 250 miles into owning a Salsa Confluence; a great value if the either dropped or flat bars can be made to work for you. Weighs @ 33 lbs un-accessorized. I flat out love this bike and I'm very spoiled from 55 years of road cycling and the other machines I have owned!

Doc_Wui

I've been to those places, Mickelson. Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, gravel roads, etc, with my beater ebike conversions. Poking along at 12 mph, I don't need much power. Rail Trails were intended for regular bikes, so ebikes can easily handle the grades. I doubt I would want to ride on a fire road.

I would recommend a torque sense mid drive bike, because it makes flat tires easier to fix in the field. Also more fun to pedal and should be easier to pedal w/o battery. The above lower cost models should work fine.

LuckyLyndy

I want a torque sensor as well.
I have not been on the trails north of Illinois. I may be incorrect, but it appears that more legislation is coming, relegating many trails to Class 1. Do they really have 'bike police' checking people's borderline Class 1 and Class 2 bikes?
Last time I was stopped on a trail was the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills. And that was just for having a paid permit to be on the trail. Was I EVER glad I had my receipt for paying in a simple box previously. This was on a regular bike.

fooferdoggie 

if you have hills to climb then the internal hub is not going to be great it just does not have the range. Trek has the older models for 1000.00 off.

veganbikes

Finding a "class 2" e-moped is easy enough, if the person is moving forward but not pedaling it is an e-moped easy to distinguish. What is tough is actual e-bikes which are class 1 or class 3 which are pedal assist only but so long as you ride them as you should when sharing the trails with anyone you are going to be fine. Throttled vehicles don't belong on bicycle or pedestrian or especially mountain bike/hiking trails.

LuckyLyndy

Agreed. I'm watching a You Tuber from Colorado, who is removing the throttle on his Velotric Summit, and programming it to be Class 1. Now if it was only a mid-drive, or had a through axle on the rear...

2old

For me (socal), the cadence sensor on my BBS mid is as desirable as the multi-sensor Haibike since it's used mostly on steep ascents and works perfectly. Also, of course you shouldn't allow throttles on e-bikes; otherwise we'd discover that the physically challenged, injured and/or older individuals would be enjoying the same areas that we entitled individuals use. What the hell kind of equality is that?

LuckyLyndy

Smaug1

You don't want to take a ride up to Kenosha (SE WI) and try my bikes out? It's ~3 hours from central IL. Make a day of it some time, it'll be worth it. We'll have a beer and talk eBikes for awhile.

You will learn SO much once you ride some of them. You will learn that some things you thought were important are not and other things you didn't think about ARE important.

LuckyLyndy

Smaug1,
Thank you for the invite. I'll have to consider it, though my brother did his Univ. of Illinois internship in Kenosha, and I wonder what trails you are riding up there. My brother did a photo journal study of AMC/Nash/Rambler American sedans, and most of them had the same dent in the trunk that ours had! I always wanted an AMX. I think he had an apartment right near Lake Michigan. The wind off of that water in the winter!
My rack is a Hollywood model, which was the only one that could handle my Easy Racer Gold Rush Replica recumbent. That bike goes past the sides of my Honda.
I saw you had a '72 Varsity. I had a Varsity in high school and loved it. It was stolen in college. My dad felt bad for me, and picked up a used Panasonic over Thanksgiving. It was an ugly pastel blue, but a better bike. :0(
I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I rented a BH (Spanish?) mountain e-bike while in Moab last month, and it was impressive.
https://www.bhbikes.com/en_INT/bikes...-0-ea802?c=srs

Rick_D

Thanks for citing BH. Never heard of them, certainly have not spotted any, and yet their lineup is very impressive, if murky as to what anything costs.

Per the website the company roots are from 1909, with bicycles being the focus beginning 1923.