Electric Bikes???

[raychris1]

The better half and I are looking at Electric Bikes. We have our Mountain bikes and they do a good job. We are getting close to retirement and are looking at electric bikes for campground use and trail riding. She is looking at a regular looking MB but with the extra electric power if we need it. I am concerned about the price and the possibility of theft if we leave them at the campground. We have looked at Specialized bikes but they start at around 2700 for the kind she likes. Any suggestions on brand would be helpful. Most of our bikes have been Specialized so we are kind of partial to them. We will be looking at the other major brands as well. We bought the standard foldup bikes at Camping World and we do not care for them.
Thanks
Ray

[corvettekent]

We bought two Rad power bikes 4 years ago (Rad Mini). They are still going strong.
https://www.radpowerbikes.com/

[p220sigman]

I don't know much about the e-bikes, but if you prefer the geometry of the Specialized bikes, you will probably like their e-bikes. My suggestion is to ride as many as you can and see which is most comfortable and easy to ride for you. Regardless of the name on the bike, it has to be comfortable. We are a Specialized family except for my wife. She preferred the geometry of Trek so she has two Trek bikes.

As was said early, go to your local bike shops. You are going to need service after the sale and with an established relationship, you are more likely to get quicker service and for minor issues, may get free service.

[Big_Katuna]

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

[K_Charles]

We got schwinn mountain bikes about 30 years ago and they don't work as good as they did going up hill. Dr says it's not the bike it's our age so I have been looking for a class 1 electric bike for on the road in the country. Because it's up hill to get home I don't go more then a few miles a week at home but do ride in campgrounds or on the level like canal trails. What should I be looking at?

[dedmiston]

My wife and I are close to 2,000 miles on our Specialized Turbo Vado biles. They were spendy, but we've really got our money's worth out of them.

[Big_Katuna]

Day 6 has semi-recumbent well built ebikes.

[ajriding]

Pedal assist is different than motorized. You will mostly find only pedal assist bikes now, and some trails are open to them while most are closed to motorized bikes. If you are in 70's and riding the wrong trail I bet you are treated different than if 20 and riding with a motor...

[fj12ryder]

cptqueeg wrote:
One caveat is on National Forest e-bikes can only be used on trails open to motorized vehicles.

Yeah, I was thinking that most MTB trails are for non-motorized bikes. Not sure about most paved biking trails, like in an urban setting.

[cptqueeg]

One caveat is on National Forest e-bikes can only be used on trails open to motorized vehicles.

[ajriding]

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.

[way2roll]

I've been an avid cyclist and part time bike mechanic for decades. I appreciate that E-Bikes keep people biking past a time or a different kind of riding rather than hang it up. They've come a long way. If you are brand loyal, Specialized makes a great bike. My wife has 2 of them. Most of the components are usually the same across your top tier brands so at that point it really does come down to brand loyalty. Many small manufacturers have come in as start ups and do E-bike specific models. However, in buying from a local shop, a familiar brand (like Specialized) offers support you may not get from a smaller start up. I encourage people to buy from local bike shops when possible and you reap rewards in service and support by doing so while helping local economy.

As far as theft, well, just like anything else, out of sight, out of mind and lock them up. No different really than any other bike. I have bikes that cost close to $5k. A thief, especially at a CG, likely can't tell it from a $300 wal Mart bike. E bikes are heavier and thus likely more difficult to put in a bin or secured somewhere inside. It's problem with all bikes really. There is a company out of Canada that makes a hitch mounted bike shed of sorts. Pretty cool but pricey.

Cheers and keep riding!

[Dick_B]

My wife and I have four electric bikes and have put literally thousands of miles on them in the past few years. Our goal each year is 2000 miles. We have them because, at 80* years of age, we cannot pedal the normal bike like we used to and the electric takes about half the load off.
Some comments:
electric bikes are much heavier than non-electric
You should have a local dealer that can work on them.
Mine's a center mount and DW has a rear hub motor.
Pedal assist requires the pedals to be rotated to turn on the motor
Cruise allows the motor to run without pedaling. Handy at the end of the day.
Lithium ion batteries are better than wet cell.
Many e-bikes are pegged at 20 mph. Plenty fast for us seniors.

[Marcela]

I have a few bikes, a trike, a mtb. And bought a ebike Specialized Vado 5.0 about 2 mos. ago. Now have over 800 miles on it. It is a fantastic tool. You get what you pay for, no way around it, so have to decide what you want and do it. Depreciation on bikes is a bite.

I frequent electricbikereview and there is a lot of help and info over there. Good luck.

[wtmtnhiker]

I have done some research and Pedego is likely the brand I would choose. Decide what class of bike you want based on where you intend to ride. For example the carriage roads in Acadia National Park only allow class 1 ebikes whereas outside the park it does not matter.

[micpib1]

I have a Pedego Fat Tire Mountain Bike that I have been pleased with. I wish I would have got a bike with the suspension on both the front and the rear. I have never ran out of battery power on any ride, probably 25-30 mile range and then it charges fairly quick. My bike has allowed me to go places and see things that I would have never been able to with a conventional bike. I try to pedal anywhere I go just for the exercise. Just my two cents worth. JH