hmls

Hello, I'm hoping I can get some help with finding an affordable e-bike. I'm mostly looking for something to extend my range for cruising around town and running errands. I live in San Diego and there are hills between me and pretty much anything. They aren't San Francisco hills, but I'm from Florida so they are big enough to keep me from biking places! I'm leaning toward mid drive and would really like an IGH (I had a Townie with and IGH and really appreciated it. Sadly it was stolen...). I want something with a nice, solid rack for grocery runs and the like. I'm also trying to keep it under $2K, but could be convinced to spend a little more.

The Ariel Rider M-Class seems to meet my requirements, but I'm definitely a little concerned about buying a bike online without riding it and with no real info on the company. Does anyone have experience with this company? I'm a little worried about quality and customer service. Also, I've never ridden a bike with small wheels like that or a bike with shocks. Are the front and seat shocks enough to mitigate the rougher ride from the smaller wheel size? The streets in my neighborhood are pretty crappy.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Heather

2old

It would be invaluable for you to test ride a "hubbie" (Electra, owned by Trek, has a nice looking but probably underpowered one for about $1500 and there's bound to be a store locally) in order to determine whether a hub-powered bike is feasible. Most individuals would recommend a mid-drive for relatively hilly terrain, and with the bike market booming, you'll be fortunate to find one with full suspension for less than $2500. Front suspension and a seatpost system should be available from Trek, Specialized or Giant within your price range, but I haven't checked lately. Be good to try one and go from there. I met the owners of Ariel a couple of times years ago and they were affable Turks living in China to work closely with their supplier, but reports on their bikes have been both good and bad, so beware. Juiced is out of San Diego and Tora, the owner is smart and successful, so you might try to visit them. They have a fairly pwoerful bike well within your price range they released recently. Look at their site.