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E bike for wife

Old 08-11-20, 08:35 AM
  #1  
Sorg67
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E bike for wife

I ride a bit faster than my wife. Thinking about an E bike for her. Nothing fancy. Something comfortable that would help us ride at a similar pace.

Suggestions?
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Old 08-11-20, 10:05 AM
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I bought my wife an Electra cruiser, it allows us to enjoy longer rides together and has increased the speed that we ride. Careful though because it has led to the purchase of two new e mountain bikes and now in our retirement years she has started riding the single track with me as well.
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Old 08-11-20, 10:30 AM
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Nothing better IMO than having your wife along for the ride. Fortunately/unfortunately my wife doesn't need "e" power to keep up (we ride un-electrified on weekends and one night during the week). There are many options, both DIY and OEM. Tell us the requirements and we can provide more assistance. In general, if the terrain isn't hilly a hub system as above will suffice; otherwise a mid-drive may be indicated. Look at the thread "DIY Systems" as well as others in the forum for ideas.
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Old 08-11-20, 11:27 AM
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Go to a Bike Shop, both of you, and test ride bikes ,,

Best are the Mid Drive Motors from Shimano (STEPS) and Bosch, that require the frames to be built with motor mounts.
Shimano Alfine IGH have Di2 options integrating with the motor (power cuts when you shift)
Bosch-Rohloff e14 does similar..
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Old 08-12-20, 01:57 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions. We used to ride together 25 plus years ago. She has not ridden in a long time. I only assume I will be faster.

We are thinking of getting her an inexpensive bike and seeing how it goes. Then if she likes it and is slower as we expect then look into an e bike.

She would need something small, light and easy to handle. She is 5' 0" and about 110 lbs.

We are in Florida and do not have a lot of hills.
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Old 08-12-20, 04:07 PM
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Make sure you don't get such an inexpensive bike that she doesn't think it's fun; a rental for a couple of rides may help. Of course, this is not the best time to procure a used bike, but you might look anyway..
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Old 08-13-20, 11:36 PM
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This video show some of the latest. [ other videos ]

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Old 11-13-20, 05:32 PM
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Bought my wife a regular bike for now. We have gone on a few short rides. If we have fun and she gets comfortable riding we will look at an ebike
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Old 11-14-20, 02:15 AM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by Sorg67
Bought my wife a regular bike for now. We have gone on a few short rides. If we have fun and she gets comfortable riding we will look at an ebike
Lightweight isn't in the realm of ebikes just yet, except for expensive ones. That said, your standard ebike today is similar in weight to a beach bike, so if she can ride one of those unassisted, she'll be thrilled with one that is assist.

I'd suggest you look at the top three (Giant, Specialized, and Trek) to see what models your wife likes, then have her try them. It will, without a doubt, put you both on equal footing for staying together during your rides. (Actually, she'll have the advantage, but unless you get your own ebike, she will always have the advantage for easy speed)

Last edited by momsonherbike; 11-14-20 at 02:19 AM.
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Old 11-14-20, 06:23 AM
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The issue with kits is that regular spokes and tires can't handle the additional weight, frame flex, and speed of an ebike. The additional weight is because the frames are stronger. Ebikes don't need to be lighter, they need to be more durableand safer than regular bikes. The components need to be stronger not lighter. Yes, you could go with a kit, but why not go with a bike designed for the increase stress of an ebike. Hell even the professional riders are using ebikes now in their training regiment.
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Old 11-14-20, 07:47 AM
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I bought my father-in-law a cheat Chinese e-bike for $1400 last year, he's in his late 70's, 5'2, 110 lb max., takes the e-bike to go to the local store, fishing about 2 miles away. His cycling radius is about 4-5 miles from home maximum, mostly just do loops in neighborhood with minimal car traffic flow, all pavement, somewhat hilly terrain.
Fat tires make the e-bike heavier than need be, but does provide extra comfort & stability for the elderly that may be less steady on controls.
I put about 25-30 miles on the e-bike before handing it off to F-I-L, battery was down to about 2/3, I used mostly PAS at low level, I suspect that F-I-L use mostly with thumb throttle only to propel forward.
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Old 11-14-20, 05:06 PM
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If my wife didn't have ebikes, she wouldn't be riding. I'd be doing far less too. The two of us usually accumulate about 800-1000 miles together. This year, with covid scare limiting activities, we just crossed 2050 miles on joint rides while I have about 800 miles solo, Today's ride was only an hour, with some stiff cold 15mph gusts in 45F weather, She turns 70 next year and loves to ride. She also loves theatre, concerts, dining out, and travel..We'd be doing that if it weren't for covid.
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Old 11-14-20, 05:19 PM
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Newbie here trying to absorb any useful info. Thinking about an ebike so just watching for now.
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Old 11-15-20, 05:03 AM
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My wife is about 5' 1".

She has a Trek Verve 2 and loves it.

These bikes tend to have a rough ride, I am going to put a Thudbuster on hers. The tires it comes with are too big and crude, IMO. I am going to get her Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. We also replaced the saddle for one with a hole in it. She likes it.

If you have a Gazelle dealer, give them a try. Stay away from Specialized. I like long rides, which means I don't like bikes with small tires.

In the $2K-3K range, you will get a mix of desirable features, but not all of them. So you will want her to do test rides to see what she likes best.

https://www.gazellebikes.com/en-us/g...98%2C181%2C196
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Old 11-15-20, 08:40 AM
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Same situation here. We ordered a Liv Thrive E+ Ex Pro (mouthful). It is not expected in until March. There are a lot of nice e- bikes out there but we also have the issue of her being just under 5 foot so she needs an XS. She would have preferred a pure road e-bike but nothing out there at the moment with the range she wants anywhere close to her size. The Liv is a commuter type bike so it should serve her purpose well.

You just have to decide what features are important. Range, type of motor, speed, smoothness of power delivery, wheel size. Also what type of bike? Road, commuter, mtb, cruiser.

Good luck!
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Old 11-15-20, 08:53 AM
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Also just looked at the Gazelles. They look nice but unless it's a typo both the small and mediums frames are exactly the same dimensions. So they are saying that one bike fits a range of 4'10"- 5'10". Probably not an issue if you are of average size but for those on the smaller side it seems really odd.
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Old 12-16-20, 02:31 PM
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I have Electra Cruiser and I really love it.
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Old 12-16-20, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by alloo
The issue with kits is that regular spokes and tires can't handle the additional weight, frame flex, and speed of an ebike. The additional weight is because the frames are stronger. Ebikes don't need to be lighter, they need to be more durableand safer than regular bikes. The components need to be stronger not lighter. Yes, you could go with a kit, but why not go with a bike designed for the increase stress of an ebike. Hell even the professional riders are using ebikes now in their training regiment.
I wish people would quit saying things like this. Simply not true. From what I see most lower end ebikes are using the same wheels as standard bikes. Tires can be "ebike rated", but when ridden at speeds less than 20 mph tires see no more stress than a strong rider would experience. Components like brakes and derailleurs are exactly the same stuff. As for being heavier a lot of that is driven by not only the motor/battery but the low buck construction techniques used with entry level bikes. Shaving a couple of pounds off an ebike is simply not as important, so the manufactures seem to take advantage of this to reduce cost.

As you will find most of the suggestions in this thread are for high dollar bikes. Rayleigh makes some nice ebikes that would work perfectly for you. Aventon and Juiced Bikes are a couple of others that seem popular. A kit will give you a great bike at a substantial savings, but constructing a kit is not for everyone.
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Old 12-16-20, 04:01 PM
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I would look at the Specialized Como line. Really comfortable and lightweight and reliable with good support behind it.
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Old 12-21-20, 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Go to a Bike Shop, both of you, and test ride bikes ,,

Best are the Mid Drive Motors from Shimano (STEPS) and Bosch, that require the frames to be built with motor mounts.
Shimano Alfine IGH have Di2 options integrating with the motor (power cuts when you shift)
Bosch-Rohloff e14 does similar..
Yeah, totally agree that Shimano is the best choice. I used it myself and it is the most convenient e-bike I've seen
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Old 12-23-20, 06:25 PM
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I just bought an Electra for my wife. She can’t wait to ride it!
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Old 01-02-21, 07:21 AM
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second this- so many factors, I’ve rode smaller motors with less effort due to weight. Wheel size etc
Originally Posted by fietsbob
Go to a Bike Shop, both of you, and test ride bikes ,,

Best are the Mid Drive Motors from Shimano (STEPS) and Bosch, that require the frames to be built with motor mounts.
Shimano Alfine IGH have Di2 options integrating with the motor (power cuts when you shift)
Bosch-Rohloff e14 does similar..
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Old 01-09-21, 10:22 AM
  #23  
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Just an update on the Electra I bought for my wife. After five years of riding her hub motor with the throttle , she claims hills and ease of use/stability is much better with the mid drive Bosch that is on the Townie. We did a ride up the coast last weekend(her third ride since she got it) with multiple small hills and sweeping turns. She loves it and although she still lags behind a bit on the flats , she quickly catches me on the hills. Also I just realized it has hydraulic brakes that she claims are easier to use with her arthritic hands. We have not charged the bike yet and have 35 miles on the odometer, the little gage says the battery is still charged. So far , this bike is a decent bike and I look forward to many more miles .
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