Well I’ve saved my pennies and I now finally have enough to get an Ebike. after HOURS of watching youtube videos, reviews, etc. I think I’ve narrowed my choice to these two options.
-
KEQJSK Electric Bike 1000W Motor. The things I like about it. It looks like a traditional bike. and it will fit on a bus’ front bike rack. But it only comes with a 48v 15AH battery. But with the savings I would make up on this I could easily buy two extra batteries. And it’s the lightest of the two. My other choice is
-
Wallke H6 Pro. Now I’m a heavy guy. and this bike is designed for the heavier rider. Plus it comes with a 40v 40AH battery pack. And you can upgrade with an extra internal 20AH battery so you would end up with 60AH total. at HALF the cost of the other 60AH models, the Aniioke A8 Pro Max, and the Eahora Juliet. Plus I like the fact that it folds into a somewhat compact size.
The downside to this model is you can’t take it on buses, although I can take it on our local subway. But with the range this models provides I wouldn’t need to take transit as much. Another downside is the weight. This thing is HEAVY. it comes in at 90lbs minus the battery.
So those are my current choices. Which would you choose?
The problem with that philosophy is this is such a new field, that there really isn’t any “reputable” companies out there. They’re all brand new. They’re all making their names. I’m sure in a few years it will be different but right now that’s the current state.
That is definitely not the case, there are many well established, reputable ebike makers (Trek, Specialized, Fuji, Cube, Tern, etc.) but the bikes you linked aren’t.
If you’re looking for a budget option, go with something from REI. If you don’t have enough, keep saving, or consider taking a well made regular bicycle and using a decent conversion kit.
I’d at least like a company I know I can contact. My first ebike was from Ariel Rider, and the battery failed 15 months after I bought it. Which sucked, but at least I could get support to buy a replacement battery, even though they didn’t sell that model anymore. The company also had support that helped me spec the right brake pads, etc. for maintenance. It’s still running fine now, chewing through tires, but if I had to buy one again, I’d probably pick a bike I could get serviced in a bike shop instead of fussing around with email support and trying to do the grease monkey work myself.
You touch on an important point - maintenance. Getting a noname brand throws you into unknown territory when it comes to maintenance and you’d very likely have to go DIY when things start breaking. Brake pads are just one good example. Can’t find spares? Replace the brakes… that’s another $100-200.
Personally if I were trying to get a bike on a budget I’d get a throttle-only, no frills kit with Bafang or Shengyi from a reputable DIY shop that has good warranty like Grin (ebikes.ca) and slap that on a decent second hand steel frame bike. I’d also save money on picking up a smaller battery. Should something fail, Grin would take care of it. The steel frame would prevent any problems around the dropouts area and maintenance would be easy since most decent bikes sold in NA have pretty standard parts. Some mix of Sram, Shimano, Tektro, TRP, etc. Shimano for example is cheap and very reliable.
ebikes have been reasonably common for around 20 years. It’s just that they only got super popular in the last 5-10 years.
I almost bought one in 2006 but ended up buying a Trek mountain bike instead. I don’t really regret it though, I still ride the MTB today and I can’t even remember the name of the ebike maker so that ebike probably would’ve been toast years ago, never mind being able to source replacement batteries.
That’s just not true. There are companies that have been doing ebikes for over a decade now (Trek, Pedego, etc.). Heck even Rad is pretty old. There are also ebikes system manufacturers that have proven track records whose systems have gone through several generations of development (Bosch, Bafang, Shimano).
No way, there are definitely reputable, well established ebike companies out there. Most of them are the same ones who make reliable bicycles like Specialized and Trek. Ebikes aren’t really that new at this point, in fact the first electric bike was invented in 1895.
What makes a fundamentally good ebike though, is that underneath the motor and battery is a good, solid bicycle. Buying some cheap, fly by night no-name bike ups the odds that something breaks while you’re riding and you end up with a life altering injury. Worse yet, the poorly manufactured battery Alphabetsoupcompanyname used is more likely to catch on fire and that 15AH battery is now an incendiary bomb that burns your building down.
It’s really, really not worth it to gamble on random Amazon ebikes, go to your local bike shop or an REI instead.
Rad Power.