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My brother is setting out to buy a electric bike for commuting to work. He has 20km one way to work. What suggestions for bikes is there?
Patrik
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You haven't gotten any replies because you haven't given us much to go on..
What is the budget? Is he in shape? Is it flat or hilly? Is showing up a little sweaty a problem? Does he plan on carrying much?
Let's get practical for a second, this is going to be a winnowing process. He prob doesn't want to spend 8K for a Heritage, so out it goes. Those huge tires suck too much power for his commute, forget them, or plan on carrying 2 batteries. These are more complicated than regular bikes, so it's nice to have a shop that can work on them. If he gets a crappy ebike, they may not be willing to work on it. We got our ebikes at bike shops. That will cost more, but we have a place to take them when something goes wrong. And something will go wrong.
What is the budget? Is he in shape? Is it flat or hilly? Is showing up a little sweaty a problem? Does he plan on carrying much?
Let's get practical for a second, this is going to be a winnowing process. He prob doesn't want to spend 8K for a Heritage, so out it goes. Those huge tires suck too much power for his commute, forget them, or plan on carrying 2 batteries. These are more complicated than regular bikes, so it's nice to have a shop that can work on them. If he gets a crappy ebike, they may not be willing to work on it. We got our ebikes at bike shops. That will cost more, but we have a place to take them when something goes wrong. And something will go wrong.
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And of course, location matters, What works here in the US may not work anywhere where people are smart enough to use the metric system.
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Thanks for replying!There are some factors that I can give you.My brother is in good physical condition. He works out regularly. He wants to use this commuting as exercise. So sweat is not a problem. I'm not sure about budget. The way to his work is up hill and downhill. We live in Sweden. Just wanted to know some suggestions
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Thanks for replying!There are some factors that I can give you.My brother is in good physical condition. He works out regularly. He wants to use this commuting as exercise. So sweat is not a problem. I'm not sure about budget. The way to his work is up hill and downhill. We live in Sweden. Just wanted to know some suggestions.
The ebike market has expanded, with all sorts of bikes. You can have fast road style bikes that don't look like ebikes. At the other extreme, there is the R&M Heritage that can come with a belt that doesn't need cleaning or oil, internal gearing, dual batteries and dual shocks. In between there is about every thing imaginable.
R&M is one of the best. But someone should be selling Gazelle bikes where you live, and they are very nice. The global brands like Trek or Specialized sell ebikes, but they tend to be a bit generic (in the $2K to $4K area).
He will want a big battery. Hills use up a lot of energy, as does the cold. If he rides when it's freezing, or below, he will likely need to carry a spare battery.
My bike has panniers, and I am thinking about using my Barley saddlebag this year, to get some more storage space.
I'm not a fan of suspension forks, unless you need them to soak up big bumps. I use a suspension stem.
One of the questions you guys will face is whether to get a rear hub motor, or one in the middle. Me and the wife have motors in the middle, they are able to use the gearing to be more efficient. But a lot of guys use rear hubs, and they are ok.
So your next step is finding out what's available where you live. Not much point in mentioning Ribble if nobody imports Brit ebikes...
Then you need to get over the sticker shock... Yeah, they are expensive, but in my distinctly unhumble opinion, they are worth it. I spend almost as much on bikes, as I do on a car. I buy cheap used cars, I just don't see the point in spending a lot of money on them.
If you can, test ride before you buy. Sometimes you get on a bike that you thought was going to be just what you needed; but it turns out to be completely different from what you expected. Don't ask me how I know.
There are also more mundane considerations. I keep my bikes in the garage. Which means I keep the batteries in the house (in used steel ammo containers). You don't want lithium to get too hot or too cold. The trend is towards integrated batteries, and they are usually harder to get on and off than the ones that mount on the exterior of the frame.
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One addition to the excellent information above; if Sweden is like most of Europe and has a 250w max on ebikes, it is advisable to procure a mid-drive, since a "hubbie" doesn't provide enough assistance in steep terrain.