Electric Bikes???

Buy the electric bike you like and can afford. You will love it. I have a Magnum Cruiser & put over 400 miles last season in Florida. E-bikes are heavy. Mine is 60#. You can remove the battery for loading/unloading the bike rack. My battery is 48 volt & 500 watt and weighs 10#. I have rode over 30/35 miles & still a lot of battery power left. There is a button to push if you want 0 peddle assist. Just peddle it like a regular bike. It has 8 speeds to shift too & 1 to 6 peddle assist's to chose from.
Wish I bought it sooner....

ajriding wrote:
You are on the wrong forum to be asking about MTB's but i know a thing or two...

You get what you pay for.
Specialized are very good e-bikes, you really can't go wring there. Treks are good as well as all the Name brand bikes you see at real bike shops.

My friends have the $6,000-8,000 priced models and love them.

The similarities in all quality bikes are the motors. There are only a few who supply the motors, and the bike frame is specific to the manufacturer (Specialized or Trek), but the rest of the parts are 99% going to be from Shimano or Sram for drivetrain/brakes, and whoever for wheels, and Sram or Fox for suspension.

I assume by Trail Riding you mean dirt walking paths, or do you mean real mtb trails? If real trails, then look into getting a fatter tire (3.6 to 4 inches wide) vs the regular 2.6 that will come on most e-bikes. Bigger tire is less chance of flatting that 47lb bike, and more traction and comfort.

If you want to go the budget route then you can still get rear wheels that have the electric motor in them, and these will retro fit into any bike, or just buy the complete bike with that rear wheel.

For security, be careful, they can get stolen. Do not use braided cables to lock them. Use a manly heavy industrial chain and quality disc lock, or better to get a bike lock, like the NY lock, that has a guarantee to not get stolen even in NYC. More likely whatever it is locked to will be cut than the lock. Keep them inside and out of sight.
ABus or Kryptonite are quality brands found a a real bike shop or online.

$6000 to $8000 for a bike and the all use the same components! WOW. My Rad Rover was Only $1400 and I never have a problem. Be aware there is a bike shortage, it may take a month or two to get one.

Another vote for RadPower. I have a Rad Rover, has fat tires. My dad has a Rad City. He’s 97 and put close to 5000 miles on it in the last year. He is 97!

wa8yxm wrote:
Beleive it or not they make conversion kits.
Basically and electric powered FRONT wheel. the rear wheel is not affected so you can pedal assist.

I'm leaning that way as there are some excellent used light weight bikes that can be converted. The e-bikes I've seen and rented are heavy.

I'm not worried about the e-bike police chasing me and putting me in e-bike jail for having a throttle. :B

mich800 wrote:
The one thing that could frustrate you is these bikes are very heavy. So the non power part of the ride may not be as enjoyable as you think. Assuming it is a trail that is not entirely flat. But try it out and see if it works for you. Cycling is very good for weight loss and easy on the joint providing you fit the bike correctly to your body. Good luck on your rehabilitation.

Mine is the heaviest one Rad Power Bikes make. I would have liked to have gotten a lighter bike but none of them had the weight rating above 300 lbs that I needed to carry me and a couple bags of groceries. It'll be mostly local neighborhood streets and sidewalks and maybe city parks. If i have to i can use the motor to get up to speed then take over pedaling, but I should be able to get up to speed on my own since it is has 7 speed gearing. I'm just mainly concerned about being able to get back home on the bicycle if I poop out and the knees can't take it any more.

It's also been 40 years since I last rode a bike, so for now there won't be any trail riding. It'll probably be a couple years before I'm back to camping again. In the next year I'll probably have both knees replaced and a turbinate reduction between both knee surgeries. I think I'm going to hate the turbinate reduction more than the knee surgeries. They are going to cut and grind bone away then remove the excess tissue covering the bone in my nasal cavities to open them up more so I can breathe better through my nose. They'll also fix my deviated septum while they're at it. Then it will be 2 weeks of sponges packed in my nostrils. Even though a can breathe partially through my nose I still wake up every morning with my mouth as dry as the Sahara Desert. As soon as my first knee heals ill be working on my enclosed utility trailer camper build so I can retire and live on the road full time. Thats why I figure it'll be about 2 years before I go camping again.

My dad had both has knees replaced 10 months apart and did pretty well. He was 68 when they did the first one. I'll be turning 60 when they do my first one.

Big Katuna wrote:
Our friends bought a pair of foldable fat tire ebikes for $900 each.

They have had the most several months and used them several times weekly on long rides. Very happy.

Www.lectricebikes.com

I have one and really like it. They are good well-built bikes at an incredible price point, and the company has excellent customer service.

Bought the first production run of the Sondors Smart Step below, a foldable e-bike from one of the larger direct to consumer manufacturers. Parts are readily available which was an important consideration? Shipping was also included via UPS, and comes mostly assembled so was quick and straightforward. Though don't have enough miles yet to determine long term reliability?

I bought a RAD City in 2017 and a RAD City Step Thru in 2018. We love them, inexpensive and amazing customer service.

For heavy people or people with bad backs/knee etc. the Day 6 semi recumbent bikes have bids rated for 400 pounds. Also large frames.

You can get either mid drive (motor on front crank) vs hub motor. Mid motor lets you use the gears powered by the motor. You can shift under motor power

The are not as heavy as they look.

Day 6 clicky

From the FS web page-


Where are e-bikes currently allowed on national forests and grasslands?


Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes and electric mountain bicycles (eMTBs) are allowed on approximately 60,000 miles or nearly 40 percent of trails on national forests and grasslands. These vehicles are also allowed on thousands of miles of roads on national forests and grasslands at maintenance level 2, 3, or 4.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/e-bikes