Need an electric bike for my wife
 

My wife can’t ride a bicycle very far and wants to go with me when I ride my Roubaix on paved trails. She has asked me to find a pedal assist electric bike for her. She wants a throttle she can use without pedaling as well as the pedal assist.
I know zero about these except I won’t order one from Amazon.
One of my lbs has several priced from about $1100.00-$12,000.00. I am looking towards the lower end.
One that looked interesting is a Giant Roam E+ GTS. They have 2 of that model that are slightly different. One has a SyncDrive Core, 50Nm, Powered by Yamaha Motor and EnergyPak 400Wh battery.
The other has a Giant SyncDrive Core and Giant EnergyPak 400, 36V Lithium-Ion battery.
I have no idea what the difference is between them. Both are priced the same.
Is this worth looking at?

It seems you are pretty new to ebikes. I'd recommend an entry level ebike for her to start with: such as the Aventon Aventure etc.

Very new as in our first.
I have a trail I ride around a local lake that is a 6 mile loop. I usually ride 2-3 laps. She wants to ride with me and will use pedal assist a lot. I don’t want to limit her to a bottom tier bike that I will need to upgrade soon.
The Aventon Aventure looks very similar to the Giant at my lbs.

Does the Giant have a throttle? Let her test ride it. You should ride it too.

I will check it out as soon as I can. I only saw it online tonight and wondered if it was worth checking out.

With regular bikes, having light/durable components makes a big difference, along with the weight. You want to be perfect,

With an ebike, having a motor covers up a lot of flaws. That's why there are so many satisfied customers of the $1000 genre. The inexpensive mechanical disks will stop. Even the dreaded Shimano Tourney will eventually shift into gear, You can replace the seat and put on better tires. In short, avoid the clunkers, but you don't have to knock yourself out with ebikes.

I have an Aventure, I think the Aventon bikes are a great value, which is extra valuable because of their support through local bike shops. But for your wife I would actually recommend the Aventon Level 2, it will be lighter. If you're used to riding conventional lightweight bikes, the weight and bulk of a Aventure feels a little like a moped. And added to that is the difficulty of loading onto a rack for transport, if that is necessary for you.

I would recommend trying bikes at your local shop and avoiding the e-mopeds. A good pedal assist bike with a quality mid-drive motor and good torque will make it quite easy to ride and you won't need to work hard if you don't want but you can ride it more places. Throttled machines tend to be not allowed on many bike paths and places like that and for very good reasons.

I wasn’t thinking about carrying it. I have a Jeep Wrangler and carry my bike on s carrier that is strapped to my spare tire. It’s sort of like a car trunk carrier.
Will that carry an E-bike or would I need a receiver mounted carrier?

She wants pedal assist and a throttle.
She isn't a cyclist but wants to come along with me. I’m not as serious as some of y’all but 10 miles would be way too much for her. 5 might be too.

That is why test ride bikes at your local shop. I have known a lot of people who said I need a throttle because they have zero self confidence when it comes to riding and have no real idea of what e-bikes actually are so they think they need it and then they try the right bike that has a good motor and good torque and they say "I don't need the throttle". I think if she actually got to ride some quality stuff from say Bosch and Brose and Specialized and such she would find something she likes and it won't have a throttle and she will be riding more often. There is so much stuff out there and so many different e-bikes as well as a ton of e-mopeds so it is hard to chose and there are certain things you see a lot of that seem great until you actually get to ride stuff.

My bike racks were not rated for the weight of an eBike (especially a biggie like the Aventure), I suggest you research the specs on your specific rack. As for me, I needed a rack that would carry my Aventure and my wife's Electra ebike, also not exactly a lightweight. So I just bought a Vevor double motorcycle rack with a ramp. I haven't even had a chance to test it out yet. It requires a 2" hitch and is supposed to be good for 600llbs...but even the rack itself is heavy, probably every bit of 40-50lbs.

My Jeep receiver is 2”. I have seen receiver carriers that hold the bikes by under the wheels like a motorcycle carrier rather than hanging it on the top tube like with mine.

1. Most "bike shop" bikes don't have a throttle (they're trying to be Class 1 --- look it up if you're not familiar). This is so they can be used on SOME bike trails. A throttle is nice since it can assist in starting on a hill etc.
2. Lectric e Bikes, one of the largest "e" suppliers in the US has several models in the $1K range that are good starter bikes. With the exception of their single speed, they're probably too heavy for most bicycle racks.
3. There are some e-bikes in the $1K range that are < 40 pounds (Propella and several others),and can be accommodated by a bicycle rack.
4. Individuals who own or work at bike shops will try to mislead you into thinking they are the only viable option. We have many members who can refute that BS.

The bikes that do not require pedal assistance are the Class II ones and these are prohibited from bike paths. These also will be a much heavier bike. The ones I first bought weighed in at 70 lbs each and so I needed a very heavy duty hitch mounted bike rack that cost $700. I replaced the two with Class III pedal assist that each weigh 27 lbs and so are much easier to lift up onto a rack.

The pedal assist bikes can provide a 30-50 percent power boost and this helps a good deal on hills or with strong headwinds. They feel in general more like a regular bike and one can adjust how much assistance they provide with different modes. Suggest renting one for your wife to see what it is she really needs and wants before buying anything.

The answers I am getting is why I ask here instead of just going to a shop.
Thanks guys!

Check your local laws about ebikes. An ebike with a throttle is legal on bike paths when a person has a physical disability. It's good to have if your wife gets too tired and can't make it back under her own power, but it could cause issues about it's legality if she's not considered disabled in some form or fashion. I have breathing issues from having covid, so I require a throttle. I avoid bike paths where a throttle isn't acceptable, as I'm not considered disabled. I make sure to obey the local laws. Also, an ebike with a throttle isn't classified as an e-moped, and that's a point of contention among the members of this section of the forum.

There's opinion, and then there's classifications. These guys dispute almost EVERYTHING! The funny thing is I'M the GRUMPY OLD MAN!!! :roflmao:

It'll skate by weight wise if its just hers and yours and you get something halfway decent. My wife's is 60ish lbs and with a 20lb road bike it'd be under the usual 100lb limit of many rear racks, might want to call the dealer to ask on a tire mount. We spent 1300 on it since she wanted a commuter, I'm not overly thrilled with it but she loves it and it does the job. Looking back I wish I'd spent the extra 600 for something mid-drive, just for ease of removing wheels, changing flats on the road. I plan this summer on getting her slightly narrower, more puncture resistant and lighter tires, just debating swapping the rims for something tubeless to really save weight and make it much more flat resistant. Probably less an issue for your wife if she only rides it with you, but something I wish I had considered more.

It's a good idea to check your state and local laws as stated above. In socal, Class 1 & 2 are permitted on bike paths unless specifically prohibited, but all classes are prohibited from off road trails (which isn't very effective since only a few places are policed). I think TX may be more "wide open".

Here's a sample that I found, without going in too deep, for ebike laws in Texas. They sound about right,...

A quick Google search shows multiple sites stating the laws. Looks pretty easy going compared to some states (who would have expected that?). Also, it's completely LEGAL to ride an ebike on bike trails in TX except where local authorities decide otherwise. That's a weight off of some people's shoulders. It's still highly recommended to check with the local authorities for conformation.

"One that looked interesting is a Giant Roam E+ GTS ... I have no idea what the difference is between them..."

For the Giant Roam E+ GTS the only difference between these two models is just the frames: the one with the higher top tube has what is called a “step over” frame, the frame with the lower sloped top tube is called “step thru.”

Everything else for both of these two is the same. Both are Class 1, 20mph assist cutoff and without a throttle. Both with aluminum frames, Yamaha motor with Garvin controller, moderate Shimano Altus/Alivio 1x9 shifting, good Tektro hydraulic brakes. The Energypak battery is Giant proprietary China-made orTaiwanese – a spare would be about as expensive as Yamaha or Bosch batteries. Hopefully the Suntour fork has travel lock-out, 63mm is not enough suspension travel to help out. Neither has headlight, tailight or horn.

Keep in mind that for a throttle-less ebike all you have to do is keep spinning the crank to keep the motor engaged – you don’t have to work a lot at pedaling. As said, your wife should test ride an ebike before buying.

Downside with a lot of ebikes, like these two, is a flat black or satin black paint job – black doesn’t help with conspicuity.

Aventon Level 2. Got one for my girlfriend and she loves it!

The eBikes you find at your LBS will most likely not have a throttle. They focus on Class 1 eBikes. I think your wife will find that she doesn't use the throttle at ALL, once she gets used to an eBike. However, if you don't get one with a throttle, she will always wonder and you will be accused of not honoring her wishes.

I can put in another vote for Aventon. I have a Level.2, which is a somewhat aggressive commuter bike. Quality is excellent. More her speed would probably be their Pace model (for a faster, heavier one) or Solterra (lighter, slower). Slower means 20 mph max. assist, which will probably be plenty fast for her. (assuming she's not a "cyclist" or speed demon)

Aventon sells locally; go to their site and look up local dealers. Near me, an Indian motorcycle shop carries them, and Best Buy. I don't think Best Buy keeps them in stock; they just serve as a shipping hub and have pretty bad customer service.

I would feel comfortable recommending Lectric and Ride1Up as stand-up brands that sell direct-to-consumer. I have a Lectric XP Lite and have used their Customer Service just to ask for a free accessory that I JUST missed when I purchased... They cooperated cheerfully, which I wasn't expecting. Now that I think of it, an XP Lite might be perfect. It has the single speed simplicity, and the lack of gearing is not an issue, since the motor will help her get up to speed. It folds, but doesn't HAVE to be folded. It's lightweight for a folding eBike at 46 lbs. Not too heavy to fold up and put in a car's back seat in a big Rubbermaid tote. (Most folding eBikes out there are 60+ lbs. and the folding is more for space saving in the garage than portability.)

Here is my in-depth review on the Aventon Level.2: (will be indicative of the things you can expect from other Aventon models)
https://ebikesforum.com/threads/aven...w-thread.3764/

Here is my in-depth review on my Lectric XP Lite:
https://ebikesforum.com/threads/lect...ad.2712/unread


One last option. I consider this high-end, but not $10k high-end:
https://www.prioritybicycles.com/pro...33056754368589

↑ That one has a Gates carbon belt drive, which lasts 3X as long as a chain with almost no maintenance. (oil change in the hub every 3k miles) It is available with a CVT or Shimano IGH.

Wife and I just got Denago City bikes at the local Giant shop. PAS with a throttle. 28 mph assisted. 20 throttle only. Love them so far.

Another data point FWIW -- I bought my GF a Zundapp Z802, a cheap Class 1 ebike with hub motor and front and rear derailleurs (24 speeds). It was €1000 on Amazon.

She loves it!! It is remarkably nice for the money, nicely finished and equipped, comfortable, looks nice. The drive system must be Bafong but it works really well, and has a nice control panel. The bike is a lot lighter than my R&M Multicharger but has good racks and carrying capacity perfectly adequate for commuting and grocery shopping. Front suspension and hard tail. Aluminum frame.

Was a very good purchase; I could have bought almost 5 of them for what I paid for my R&M, and it is not 5x worse.
You want Class 1 by all means because you care about unrestricted access to bike path and bike infrastructure. Unless you have no bike infrastructure at all where you live. Forget the throttle.