willhenry

Weight is my main issue. I can't justify riding a bike that weighs over 40 pounds. It's the batteries...

There are some that weigh less, but then they cost more.

Frankly, looks are a big part of it for me too. So many of them look goofy... either like a squishy-looking loop frame hybrid bike or like a wannabe 50cc scooter. (Prodeco makes some nice looking mountain styled ones though)

If someone made a motorcycle-styled cafe racer e-bike with a 'gas tank' for holding wallet, keys, etc, I'd be all over it.

vincent713

Here's a vintage board tracker style ebikes I would love to have. Price is very steep!

Vintage Electric Bikes

vincent713

My guess would be there are not a lot of ebike manufactured in the US, less competition = higher price. Also, the cost of labor here is very high compare to other countries. Needless to say, a lot of US manufacturers move their plants to other countries. The place I got my ebike from is a huge ebike distributor in the US that imports massive quantity to keep it at a low price. Their ebikes are a few of the cheapest ebikes anywhere! The quality, option it has, looks, warranty, speed & range makes it one of the best "bang for your buck" ebikes out there IMO.

mulp

If you can ride a motorcycle faster than 32km/h, then you have the licence to ride an electric bike faster than 32km/h.

The electric bike might be difficult to register/license/get inspected. But no more so than building a chopper/easy rider.

Sunny2

My ebike does not have a speed limiter, I bought the motor and battery, added to my bike. I rode it recently on a hilly 50 mile ride, the battery still showed full. I know speed and time needn't be a factor in deciding to go with an ebike. The mid drive motor (Bafang 750w) gives me plenty of speed up hills, the battery (Samsung 50v 16.5ah) gives me long rides.

350htrr

Really, 50 miles and it still showed full...? How much of the time did you use the assist? Did you use it as a PAS or throttle? How fast did you go?...

vincent713

Keep in mind, lithium batteries are volatile, unstable and is not always accurate on the led display in conjunction to the current remaining capacity. I've been playing with RC helicopters for years which uses lithium batteries and I know how unstable and the danger it posses if not treated properly.

cruiserhead

Ebike are one of the fastest growing bike segments. They are very popular and companies like Stromer sell every one they make. The market is just getting going, it's probably the biggest change in the bike market since mtbikes

Chellspecker

Don't you just hate those people? I'm actually riding my bike to my job that I like, not just putting on spandex after I drive home from work in my BMW and zipping around the park for some much-needed stress relief after my horrible day at my stressful job. Yuppies.

powell

I don't want ebikes to gain popularity.
Where I live there are signs on every pathway - "no motorized vehicles" , now imagine every third bicycle has a motor on paths I ride , crackdown from bylaw would be only matter of time, is just simple logic.

Chellspecker

E-bikes are sandwiched awkwardly between Car Culture and Bike Culture.

Car Culture: The more money I have the better my car. Any other form of transportation but private vehicle is for poor people. Cyclists are in my way, taking up valuable road space. They are unpredictable, reckless and bothersome to drivers. If other drivers are anything like me, driving in traffic is a death sentence. I live too far away from work, the weather is too bad, the roads too slippery to ride a bike. I shop in big box stores and buy in bulk, for which I need a minivan or better yet, a box van or one-ton truck. I go everywhere with my family, we need to be in the same vehicle, it's the only place we talk to one another. I regularly travel long (100 miles or more) distance for vacations or work, not possible in a car. Biking is dangerous and scary, I have bad balance, I'm too fat/old/out of shape to ride a bike.

Bike Culture: I'm healthy and fit. I eat healthy and get plenty of exercise. I'm a rebel. F*ck drivers and their lazy-ass motors. I'm super hip and my bike is cool and retro, and looks like it could be from any decade other than the current one. I'm Edwardian, I wear a top hat and cape and ride a penny-farthing. I'm homeless, I stole this bike off someone and I can strap a ton of stuff to my bike, basically all my stuff. I'm sporty, I ride fast on my own power, my muscles are the only well-oiled machine I need. There's only spandex and carbon fiber between me and the road. It's a bit of a turn-on, to be honest.

E-bike Culture: Cool! An electric bike, no way! I'm kind of a nerd, I guess. There's this new, constantly-evolving, environmentally-responsible, sustainable technology, but it would take too much time to get into all the details and you probably wouldn't understand and aren't really interested anyway. In Europe blah blah blah... There's times when I'm passing all the struggling cyclists on the hill and all the smelly cars stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and it's a beautiful day, and I'm out and about in this crazy world, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a private kind of pleasure and I don't need anyone to approve or validate me. Am I the only one who understands how cool electric bikes are? I feel quite lucky to be riding my bike, and hey, no charge parking, baby. But steal my bike and you go to hell, 'cuz I can't really afford to get another one. I hope my battery doesn't run out before I get home.

PepeM

I really like the concept, but they are too heavy for when I want to pedal a bicycle and when I want assisted propulsion, a scooter does a far better job than any e-bike, for a similar or even lower price.

vincent713

Most ebikes come with pedal assist system PAS, I use this all the time and makes pedaling a breeze!

Reddy Kilowatt

I love, love, LOVE commuting to work on my Optibike Pioneer Allroad. It's a mid-drive eBike so it leverages its 24 gears and it would probably climb a tree if I pointed it at one.
I get to work refreshed, not soaked in sweat, and I see a lot of interesting wildlife en route. I've even discovered a few brooks on my ride that I never noticed in years of commuting by car. It costs me about ten cents worth of electricity (fuel costs) for my ten-mile commute.
I would say don't knock 'em if you haven't tried one.
Everyone who sees the Grey Ghost wants to get one, even folks who have cars that are worth more than an average house, and there are plenty of those kind of folks in these here parts.
Allen

Dave Cutter

I don't know how many times I've read or heard that. Like anything... if it's said enough it starts to sound true. But... if you travel much at all you'd swear America is an aircraft-centric country. And... if you live or travel to an area that has a subway system you'd know (by the crowds) that America is a mass transit-centric country.

Fact of the matter is... people in general love the freedom and protection of traveling around in their own little box (automobile). It's the box.... that separates cars from bikes... and that makes the car more desirable.

jon c. 

Small scooters have exploded with college kids here, but I think they're a lot cheaper than e-bikes and that's a huge factor in that market.

InTheRain

I'm also a scooter owner. It has it's uses. I prefer commuting with the ebike... 90 percent of my commute is on a beautiful, lightly used, MUP... no scooters allowed. If bike lanes are not available on roads to my destination, I'd rather be out in traffic on my scooter than hugging the edge or on the shoulder on my bike or my ebike. You're right though, I spent more on my bike ($1700) + conversion kit ($2300) than my scooter ($2100.)

I can carry more on my ebike than I can on my scooter.
I'm more worried about my ebike getting stolen than my scooter.
I prefer to ride my ebike over the scooter.
The scooter can get me to certain places much quicker than the ebike.
The scooter is much colder to ride in cool weather (less than 55 degrees) than the ebike.
My ebike has better lighting and visibility than my scooter.
However, both are very economical modes of transportation.

I'm happy to have both... as well as two cars in the family... AND I want a truck. Oh, and I have a carbon fiber bike that is the tool for long distance rides (25 - 200 miles.)

njt07

I specifically got a BionX because I don't have to register it at the DMV. Being stationed overseas, its very difficult to authorization for a 2nd vehicle. Its also faster to get around the base and I don't have to worry about finding a parking spot (of which there is never enough on bases...).

I think I'm starting to sway some people in my unit to at least thinking about getting one.

NoPhart

To answer this threads question, I think they are about to in 2016, but not for commuting!

I posted this in an introduction thread, but that I'd put it here as well, since ebike are what I am interested in:

I'm coming from a TW200 that I only owned for about two months. Bought it for some fun trail riding, camping and planned trips up the Eastern Sierra's for a little remote fishing, but after just one trip out into the dirt it was apparent that that little fat-tire bike was not designed for a 6'2" 230 pounder that used to race MX, TT & Scambles. From the videos I've watched, the Haibike Electric assist MTB's have more suspension than that thing (lol). On the street it was topping out at 45mph and I'd be searching for another gear while cars were passing me right and left. To be honest, it just didn't feel like a safe motorcycle without any throttle response or suspension to speak of. Great for riding slow off road and going to the local store from the camp site. Sold it in hopes of picking up a EFI Yamaha WR250R, but realized that KTM has a 390 Adventure coming and Honda may have a 250 Rally shorty after their Africa Twin 1000 release, so I was waiting to see what new 2016 models with fuel injection might be a better replacement for the TW200 when I came across the electric assist mid-drive MTB's.

I had recenty purchased my cheap Schwinn Ascension 29 (SA29) to play with and get some exercise on, but found out quickly that at 55 my endurance isn't what it used to be. Hills and headwinds take their toll. And I really crave trail riding over street or cement river bed bike trails, so the Hiabike Bosch/Yamaha mid-drives caught my interest big time. It's amazing what they can do with just a little electric pedal assist for climbing hills and weighing in at only about 47lbs. isn't bad. I'm sure the batteries will get lighter and increase range over time. I think I've actaully found a replacement for a trail motorcycle that I was going to carry on the back of my 4X4 Adventure Rig. At under 50lbs. each, I can easily carry two mid-drive MTB's.

While I wait for the 2016 Hiabike Sduro Yamaha based line to come out at a lower price point than the current Bosch, I just might slap a Bafang 8Fun onto the SA29 and see what the ebike experience is all about.

A new adventure begins...

Great to here about the wonderful range figures from the Bafang 8Fun 750W 48V with quality battery and surprised to hear the great range numbers coming out of the $750 Trail Maker.

What has attracted me to the mid-drive E-MTB is the quality and design of the new Haibikes with Bosch and Yamaha motors. Decent range figures finally arriving and bikes that just look and hopefully perform fantastic. As stated above, I'm coming from a whole untapped market of the aging populous that loves riding on two wells, but don't want to go as fast as I used to on a motorcycle, want to get exercise, appreciate light weight quality builds and need a little help in the bicycle hill climbing department; not to mention the expected fun factor of these new light weight E-MTB's!

Doc_Wui

I believe they are expensive in the states because ebikes are not popular. A bicycle store cannot be profitable selling small numbers of low priced bikes. They can make money selling smaller numbers of high priced bikes. The few large chains (Walmart and Target in the USA) that make their money on clothing, food, toys, and sporting goods do carry e-bikes online, but probably lose money on them. They do carry the inexpensive models as their target customer is the low end market.

Grandpa1946

Which is wierd. A quality ebike costs enough, that one is practically flaunting their income level!

vincent713

If I had an expensive ebike I wouldn't flaunt it. Bikes are easier to get stolen and also get jacked.

wpcouch

This is a great point! We introduced our eBikes last model year with very high hopes, but reasonably low expectations. We thought commuting friendly models would sell the best.

What was surprising, was that our "niche" eBikes (DUALe, Outfitter, LEBOWSKe, etc) sold out nearly instantly, and demand has continued to grow.

There is a very large and eager market for eBikes in the US that isn't necessarily interested in using them to commute on. We're selling to demographics that we never even considered a year ago. Hunters. Farmers. Outdoor guides. Rental shops. MTB trail maintenance. Parents that want to keep up with their fast kids on the trails. Many more that we've yet to find. Will the US eBike market ever look like Europe or Asia? Probably not, but it is gaining momentum very quickly.

fietsbob

LBS is doing Mid drive MTB conversions , often the buyer will be using it during Elk Hunting season.

raceboy

As a cyclist, I worked long and hard to get to the point where I can ride my bike just about anywhere and travel from 70 to 100+ miles per day. It's fun and I love it. As long as my health holds out, I plan on continuing so an e bike doesn't really interest me. I would like to tour across the country one day with my gf, who is not nearly the avid cyclist I have become. The thought is to get her an e bike so she can ride with me more easily and ride ahead or go back as needed for trip support.

Long story short, I would buy one...just not for my own use.