Suggest an E-bike for me
 

Hello,
I'm in the market for my first ebike after riding a friend's ebike last weekend.
I currently road bike (typically 2000 mi/year consistently) and my commute is bikable (only 5 mi) but i dont commute much. The hope is the e-bike will get me bike commuting more often as the weather here is usually good. Also i live near some hills so i would like the ability to do some mountain biking / dirt trails. Mostly non technical stuff. So front suspension/hard tail seems like a good idea.
Budget is flexible, up to $3k or 4k ish.
Seems like there are lots of options... i was looking at Rad, looks fun but it seems a bit heavy. I saw some canondale stuff at REI and online some sites were talking about aventon but i never heard of them before. So not really sure, any input is appreciated. Thanks.

To me, you're an excellent candidate for a mid-drive hardtail. Since you're in SJ you should have lots of options. You might start by test riding Trek and Specialized. I have a 2018 Haibike with a Yamaha motor and it's fine, but the technology has improved since. Avoid any hub drive IMO since the ride quality (unless the motor is small, 350w or less) is horrific off road. I've ridden 35 - 50 pound DIY or OEM mid-drive e-MTB's for six or seven years and they rock. There are hub proponents here and individuals who will try to sell you on what they sell, but ride a bunch of bike store bikes and make up your mind. Giant, Norco and others make great possibilities. It's hard to go wrong with the current crop.

First, do you have secure storage to leave your $3-4k investment unattended?
Is your work neighborhood safe to leave your $3-4k investment locked or unseen by you?

For first ebike purchase, I tend to recommend going cheap to try it out, figure out your routine for security & riding before committing more budget.
If ebike isn’t for you, at least you didn’t spend big budget.

Sure, converting a MTB might seem easy, IME source & purchase all the parts & battery to try to dial-in everything & secure onto the bike take lots of trial & error.
Likely a complete, capable ebike purchase can be less costly & less hassle than a conversion, plenty to choose from under $2k.

Two good possibilities:

Hub Drive - Aventon Aventure.2: ($1900) https://www.aventon.com/products/ave...42255489466563

It's a fat tire eBike, so it's heavy, but those tires will make quick work of any trails and would also be fine on hard packed sand. It's got a rack & fenders, so commute-friendly. They advertise "up to 60 miles" on a charge, which means 30 miles going pretty fast or maybe 45 if you're more reasonable and do more of the work yourself. It has a torque sensor, so it'll feel natural even though it's got the hub motor. (most hub motor bikes now have a cadence sensor, which takes off to your set speed when it senses that you're pedaling) The sensation is that it takes away a lot of the weight. Price increases in about a week. I think as long as you're not trying to go 20+ mph up hills this will provide plenty of power.

Aventon is one of the earlier internet sellers of eBikes. I have one (Level.2 commuter) and the quality is good. I bought it at a local Indian motorcycle dealer. (they started carrying eBikes when they couldn't get motorcycles to sell during COVID, and the eBike section of the shop is growing while the motorcycle section is shrinking) Best Buy is now carrying Aventon online now; I don't think they're in stores.


Mid Drive - Giant Explore E+ 2 GTS ($2900) https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/ex...us-2-gts-28mph
This one's mid drive, which uses the bike's gearing (rather than a hub motor's). It'll go through chains & sprockets faster, but this is considered the higher-end option. For serious hills, this is probably The Choice. The tires are narrower and running higher pressure, so it'll be more energy efficient, but won't handle loose surfaces as well as the Aventure.

Giant, I'm sure you know about.

You might like to try a gravel e-bike with perhaps a suspension stem to take the edge off the bumps.
The Kona Rove HD has a hub motor and torque sensor for a reasonable price (review) and is relatively light (<45lb) for an e-bike, or if you need more power for steeper hill climbing you might like to test ride one of their mid-drive models such as the Kona Dew-E (review)

I should have mentioned that all of the major manufacturers (Trek, Specialized, Giant, Kona, Santa Cruz .......) have mid-drive bikes exclusively. The reason for this is the bike is a fairly svelte 50 or less pound vehicle, not a 65 - 85 pound behemoth with a rear wheel that has an unsprung weight in the neighborhood of 25 pounds. Hub drives are fine for street or light trail riding, but murder for off road activity or hills.

Hub drives are also a PITA with flats. Many times you can just pull the tube out and patch, but not always.

One last thing: down here in socal, my LBS rents e-bikes and will put the rental cost toward a purchase. Maybe there's something similar in your area.

There’s some contradiction in the specs between “a commuter” and something that can go on trails, even non technical. Some features I’d consider critical for a commuter are a rack, a kickstand and lights (fenders would be highly recommended in some climate, but maybe not in CA).

The good compromise for me would be “equipped hardtails with gravel tires”. They are often categorised as “touring e-bikes”, but this category also includes bikes with very upright position and more comfort oriented. The advantage of having gravel tires is that they will be OK on the road and off-road, as long as it’s not too technical. The best ones in this category to me would be the Orbea Kemen (available in 2 versions, one more road, and one more off road - that would be my favourite choice), the Cannondale Tesoro Neo X (although the version in your budget would probably be “too basic”, but derailleurs and cassettes are easy upgrades), and the Specialized Turbo Vado (and if you want to lean on the gravel side, the Turbo Vado SL). The Turbo Vado is also available with an internal geared hub and belt (instead of derailleur and chain), which would be a positive point for maintenance.

Hello, I just purchased the RadRunner 3 Plus. I love it. It's excellent in the hilly area I live. I use it to commute daily and to meet up with friends. Most importantly, get some good locks (U lock and others). I triple-lock my bike and ensure it's in a lit and well-traversed space before leaving it to enter a restaurant. Also, I was completely new to E-bikes and this bike has been very straightforward I like the thicker tires as it allows for some grace with potholes and other unpredictables in the road and paths. So far it's been awesome for me. And it's within your price range/ they have some sales going on. just thought I'd throw out a suggestion of a bike I'm enjoying.
-Fellow New e bike rider :)

+1 for the specialized Vado, have had one for 3 years now and really like it.

/markp

Hi quadripper,

On the high-budget end:
Bergamont E-Vitess, Simplon SilkCarbon TQ.
On utube there are some Beramont reviews, and one for a Simplon with a Rohloff hub.

Thanks and good health, Weogo

I concur with the person who says going cheap may not be a bad idea. I rode the turbo vado sl 4.0 and liked it a lot; they are now $3000. Recently road a Trek Domane 5+ AL; a 29 or so pound pedal assist bike which is pretty amazing for the price (3500). Instead bought a velotric Thunder 1 ST which is a hybrid style 36 pound aluminum frame bike with a smallish battery, 8 speed shimano altus (which to my amazement shifts almost as good as the 105 on my Canyon road bike) and a torque measuring rear hub drive. They claim 52 miles on a charge. Best I have done is 40 miles, but that thing really flies on the eco setting (there are five settings).

Anyway, it is not real fancy but it gets the job done well; it is reasonably comfortable for an aluminum bike with no carbon fork. 700/40 tires help a lot. They have a decent warranty. I was impressed with how smooth power is fed to the motor. I live in SW Florida, so no hills but lots of wind. In eco setting (lowest assist) I can comfortably pedal at 16+ mph into the wind; 19-21 with the wind at my back.

It is not a specialized Turbo vado SL, but then the price is $1700 less than the $3000 on sale price of the specialized.

It is a bit bit. See the attached photo. The black bike behind it is my canyon endurace AL7, size 52 CM.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0bdea9276b.jpg

velotric pedal assist
 

I ride a road bike, am 81, and spent lots of time thinking of a pedal assist bike. Looked at a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.9 and really like it but the price of $3750 was a bit stiff for what you got I thought. Must admit however, the mid drive motor was a gem. Trek Domane+ AL5 is a pedal assist version of the Domane AL5 (aluminum frame, shimano 105 components). It was a pretty good road bike. Fast, light (29 pounds or so), and pretty nimble. If you are looking for a road bike and dont want to spend six or seven thousand, it is a deal.
I wound up buying a Velotric Thunder 1 ST.. It is an aluminum hybrid with a shimano altus 8 speed (which has really impressed me with its smoothness and accuracy) and a smallisbattery with a hub drive in rear wheel. However, it uses a torque sensor to meter power to the motor and is really smooth and progressive. Range is not great; they say 52 miles; I usually get 38 to 40 miles but that is not bad. It has five settings and I usually ride the lowest setting. I live in SW Florida so no hills, but wind is a major issue, especially for my 80 year old legs. Pedaling along at my normal cadence I average 16 or so MPH into the wind; 19 or 20 with the wind at my back. It is reasonably comfortable. It is a bit big (see the photo with my canyon road bike behind it).. However, hard to beat $1299 for a decent bike with a really good warranty.

Bill McKay
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1f4b806276.jpg

Sorry for the duplicates. It has been a while since I have posted and I forgot how to do things. Anyway., pedal assist bikes are fun. I had intended to keep my road bike and switch bikes. Now I am not so sure although I really love that Canyon.

Trek just released an aluminum Domane+ that has a hub drive that they claim does not suck. It goes for about $3.5K, which for an e-Domane is significantly less expensive.

To OP: We picked up a Cannondale drop-bar road/gravel ebike with 105 level components and aluminum frame, along with Bosch mid-drive for my wife a couple of years ago, for about $3.7K at REI. It is worth keeping an eye on their deals (that one is long gone, or I would recommend it.)

I recommend VVolt.

They also are on their second generation it appears. First generation was 250w front motor. It works but it has some problems on extreme hills. second generation is 350w-650w peak. This should help greatly on hills.

I also mainly road bike and I much prefer road bikes. the Vvolt is mainly a hybrd/mtn setup.

I use it if I'm feeling too tired/lazy to use my actual good road bike.

I think it should also be possible to install drop bars on the vvolt if you really wanted to. It would be a bit of work though, especially the hydraulic brakes.

Belt drive plus nuvinci/enviolo CVT hub should be much much reduced maintenance. For getting around town it works superbly.

Any updates, quadripper? It's been a month and a half and you've had some good feedback here.

Hi Smaug,
i went to a couple LBS and rode a few bikes. The guys at the bike store talked me out of the electric MTB, said i should get a regular MTB because then i would not worry about mtb trails with restrictions for electric bikes.
then i realized my primary motivation was commuting, and i rode a pretty peppy e-commuter and liked it. I dont really do any mountain biking currently.
i got an Aventon Level 2 (hub motor) and now im doing basically 100% of my work commutes on the e bike, and have a pannier for my stuff. Pretty happy with the decision, much more fun than commuting in a car.
i like that i can cruise at 20mph with low effort and get to the office without getting sweaty.
time will tell on reliability but no complaints so far.
Any tips on maintenance? Anything more complicated i should worry about than keep the chain lubed and tires inflated? Thanks.

Thanks everyone for the valuable input. I probably could have looked at more commuter ebike options but i went with what the LBS had available.

Fancy that; the Level.2 is the one I got too! I have 350 miles on mine so far. It needed the typical shift cable adjustment after a month or so (as cables stretch a bit when new) but other than that, tires and chain, it has needed nothing. I got mine after seeing it at the local Indian motorcycle dealer; I saw they had a sign that they have eBikes, so I ducked in. I didn't expect them to have anything of quality, but the Aventons are NICE.

I'm a little surprised at how easily it rolls. The tires seem kind of fat, but are rated up to 60 psi and are marked as being for moped duty. I keep them at 50-55 psi; haven't had the guts yet to pump them to 60. I'm also impressed with how smooth and strong the hydraulic brakes are. I commute on mine most days, occasionally taking another eBike to keep the battery active.

Like you, I found that it is easy to cruise at 20 mph, even in PAS 1. This morning, I was going up a very slight uphill against a 10 mph wind and going 17 mph in PAS1. No sweat, but a decent amount of work.

I posted a couple videos and a lot more detail on the bike and how I wound up setting it up in this thread in an eBike-specific forum.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3b36957ab.jpeg
Current set-up, with Topeak MTX rack and trunk bag w/fold-down panniers, Selle Anatomica saddle, Suntour NCX suspension seatpost and Mirrcycle bar-end mirror. Generic phone holder from Amazon.