chalex

I have the Juiced CrossCurrent Air (two models ago) and it's holding up well. A friend has the CrossCurrent S (one model ago) and he likes it and he does almost 30mi one direction commute to work. My commute is only around 5mi one way. You should be able to find some random YouTube videos from owners of these bikes.

Mine goes only up to ~19-20mph by throttle only; and I get around 20mi range in "S" max assist mode, ~28mph with hard pedaling. Have never tried going further. I think the X has a bigger battery by default. You can contact Juiced support and ask them questions directly also.

D14ROCKS

Great websites Thanks for posting.

iik

If you are still looking and could be considering 2019 models and you are selecting an e-bike for the city mostly, Cowboy or VanMoof S2 could be good options.
Both are connected e-bikes, and you can manage them with your smartphone.

Cowboy’s price is quite a bit lower - 1990 euros, but VanMoof S2 has its own advantages.
Two are quite comparable and it is a matter of preference at the end.

If you search for "Cowboy vs VanMoof Electrified S2: Connected City e-Bikes", you will come across a good review

iik

There is also an interesting upcoming French e-bike brand called Moustache.
They assemble e-bikes only, are growing nicely and export to 20+ countries.
If you search for "How Moustache Became the French Champion of Electric Bicycles?", this could also be of help.

JeffreyD

My favorite bike is now a Trek CrossRip e-bike (Class 3) I purchased in 2018 ... touring, road, trail ... solid machine and has a quick recharger that can refill in about 2 hours at any 110 outlet (cost 5-10 cents in electricity). Comes with a rear rack, front and back lights, kick stand. Cost about $4200. 500-watt Bosch battery. Less than 50 lbs total weight with the battery. Low gear, flat terrain can go about 60-70 miles. Turn off on down hills or flat roads and get more miles.

One of our son's and his wife bought Juiced e-bikes on the web for about $1200 each. These have a feature with a simple 'click' of button to propel up to 28 or 32 mph without pedaling.

Check with PeopleforBikes for laws in each state about e-bicycles because varies. Some local towns, counties have enacted restrictions on e-bikes too.

Natomashomeboy

Still contemplating getting a e-bike front wheel kit or get a whole e bike, , gonna check out some of these sites.

iik

​​​​​​Natomashomeboy why are you debating this question, if I can ask?
are you concerned about costs of a new e-bike?
or you just would like to use your current bike as e-bike?
Thanks!

DougG

In Michigan, Class 1 bikes are allowed by default on all public trails unless specifically prohibited. All other classes are not allowed unless specifically permitted. As an example, there are two very popular rail-trails in my area. One permits both Class 1 and Class 2 bikes, but not Class 3; the other allows anything that is pedal assisted (Class 1 or 3), but not Class 2. And of course there's a lot of confusion and misinformation about this since I have never seen anything posted on any trail I've been on. Adding to that is that you can't tell a Class 1 from 3 unless you look to find some sort of tag on it. The Specialized Vado that I'm planning on buying this year comes in Class 1 and 3 variants that are identical in appearance, and besides, who's checking?

The whole distinction between Classes 1 & 3 seems bogus to me anyway. My car will do over 100mph, but it's still allowed on a street with a 25mph speed limit. I plan on getting a Class 3 bike, but on the trails that are busy with a lot of slower bikes and dog walkers, I'm responsible enough to watch my speed. Besides, there are plenty of riders around here who blitz along the trails at 20+ under pedal power alone!

Natomashomeboy

No concern about the cost but more about adding another bike to the fleet and more of a space issue than anything, Im leaning towards adding a kit to my Giant that I love to ride.

2old

DougG, I've always thought that e-bikes should be regulated by speed rather than "Class", but the group (People for Bikes) that developed the system and are having it adopted chose this one. Moot point though since there is no enforcement.

social suicide

I have a Juiced Ripcurrent and have ridden it close to 50 miles and still had 50% left. But that included at least 10 miles with no juice on flats and gentle downhills. I once passed a guy in full kit on a gravel grinder... he was doing about 18mph so I passed him doing 29mph. Behavior like this ruins it for everybody but I get to be an ass just once.

Leisesturm

I owned a Turbo Passat in the 90's. Top speed of 150. I had it up to 135 exactly once. Most of the time it was 80mph cruise with the occasional 90+ blast. No speeding tickets. Speed limit of 55mph and sometimes 65mph. Why do e-bikers tie themselves in existential knots over the minutiae of Class III hardware?! No one is putting a gun to your head to nail on every trip the top speed that can be reached by your particular motor/controller combination. Very few if any commercial Class III bikes can actually reach 28mph on level ground. They don't have to. All a bike 'has' to do to be considered Class III is be able to exceed 20mph. A pretty low bar. Things don't really get difficult for an e-motor until 25mph. Juiced Bikes are not exactly what I consider 'commercial'. Reviewers have, however, gotten honest top of the Class (III) performance out of them.

You cannot get real top of Class III operation without some excess capacity in the motor which under some situations will allow for exceeding (gasp!) the strict definition of Class III. Any other category of road vehicle user would just shrug and get on with it but cyclist have to look the gift horse in the mouth and quibble with how the magic is performed. Go ahead and spend $3K or $4K or even more for a bike that can only get over 25mph if you can match the motor watt for watt. That doesn't sound like fun to me and I don't even own an e-bike. If I did, however, I would expect it to help me significantly exceed what (watt) I can do on my own.

2old

There are many Class 3 ebikes that can reach 28 mph easily, but don't exceed that by much because the assist shuts off at that speed. I've been up to 30 mph or slightly faster on a couple of Stromers with vigorous (for me) pedaling.

browngw 

Last fall, after test riding many, I purchased a Giant with Yamaha motor in the BB and an 8 speed Shimano gear set. With its 400Wh battery it can 100km (60miles) at the "normal" assist position (50%). I am still amazed at how easy the riding is with only 250W and 60 Nm of torque. Although limited to 30km (20mph) and you must pedal, it is easy to scoot along at that speed for hours. Try as many as you can and see what level of assist you actually require. My neighbor bought a cheap Chinese one with a 750W hub motor and throttle and it feels less powerful and is heavier and uses more energy. It does have a throttle, but he claims he doesn't use it! I rode it and no way it is producing 750W.
My advice is ride as many as you can and understand the limitations.

Lawrence Rhodes

You might consider an electric moped for the hills and keep riding your regular bike on the flats. For instance the Zoom electric scooter can be ridden in California with a moped license and M1. It is 2k dollars and 60 miles range. Better deal in my opinion. It can be lead or lithium. Lithium is a 400 dollar upgrade. Lead Gel will get you 3 or so years and 300 dollars to replace. The Zoom can tackle San Francisco hills. Also there a ton of stand up scooters that will do 60 miles. EMOVE Cruiser Electric Scooter will do 60 miles in a package you just scratch you head at. How something so small go so far. There is a review on youtube. Just search:EMOVE Cruiser Electric Scooter. So many choices and of course you could go to Luna Cycles and DIY.

cat0020

I bought a cheap eBay ebike for my father-in-law for under $1200 shipped in 2018.
It’s nothing fancy, 7-speed, step-thru, folding frame, fat tire, front suspension, 500w motor, 48v battery.
It gets ridden 4-5 times a week, maybe 10 mi. per ride max.; he charges the battry abotu once a week.
Good enough for him (nearly 80 y-o) to ride to his favorite fishing spot and back with minimal pedaling.
He’s enjoying being outdoors, getting more physical activity, seems happy with what he has.

Depending on the type of riding you plan on doing, $5k budget maybe overkill.

I commute within NYC metro myself, among NYC traffic, 20 mph is plenty to keep up, 30 mph is just suicidal.

I have been commuting with my folding bike in NYC metro since 2013,
last month I got myself a 350w folding ebike from eBay $1100 shipped to my home:



I can easily fit the folding ebike in the trunk of my car, into subway, trains..
I've put about 80 miles on it and still have 25% battery remain.
Granted that I don't use full throttle, just PAS at the lowest level.

mlau

Which model is that? Looks nice

Lawrence Rhodes

https://www.voromotors.com/products/emove-cruiser This scooter comes with an optional seat. For the money it is more or less an electric moped. Very small with good performance. Tubeless tires 62 mile range and a price well under your limit.

I am enjoying the energy of the enthusiasts here. Everyone seems serious to get the best technology bang for buck. Myself I found a Sun recumbent to DIY some Luna parts on it.

cat0020

Qualibike Dolphin 20mph 350W Hub Motor 36V Samsung Battery 20'' Foldable Bikes

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264570788405