From transforming daily commutes to bridging the gap for non-cyclists, e-bikes are the most significant evolution in cycling since the mountain bike—and that’s a win for all.
Are there any clear winners in this space to consider? Shopping for ebikes feels like going on amazon to shop. Lots of options of dubious pedigree
Shimano for gearing and Bosh for the motor is my preferred combo in e-bikes. It’s reliable and easily serviceable, and parts are easy to get.
I’m looking to maybe get a new bike somewhere next year, since mine is a hand down that’s quite old and I want to treat myself. I think I will go with Canyon.
It’s reliable and easily serviceable
Until the day any of your electronics break and you realize Bosch serialized all of their parts so you are at the mercy of getting it repaired from an authorized Bosch service center at their absolutely ridiculous prices. And once your particular motor gets it’s support discontinued you are completely screwed unless someone successfully reverse engineers it
If you care about repairability then the best option is to do a DIY conversion of a regular bicycle, as there are still completely open motor controllers and BMSs available for conversions
I don’t think you know how e-bikes work, since you advice me to build a motorcycle. Don’t you think anyone that is able to do it, should be able to order some spare parts and replace them?
Whatever you get put a suspension seat post on it if it doesn’t have one. I’ll never ride a bike without a suspension seat again. It’s relatively cheap and easy to swap out the post but I’m sure a local shop wouldn’t charge much to put it on for you.
I got a Lextric XP 3, it was pretty cheap but it’ll get up to 30+mph and can handle well over 20 miles of range if you keep the pedal assist at like 3. I got a second charger to keep at work so I can just keep the pedal assist maxed out and not worry about range. It is foldable but it’s a heavy bastard, pedal assist does most of the work while riding but going up stairs is a pain if there isn’t an elevator. It also has a fixed seat post with some stiff springs, they do nothing, suspension post made all the difference. Overall i’d buy it again at that price point.
In Europe:
gazelle is solid, but just okay for the price. They generally have very bad shock absorbtion in my testing. Many of them have a fork with no shocks making for an extremely jarring ride because ebikes are heavy.
Norta for great bang for your buck
Flyer for a bit more expensive but very good quality
Riese & muller for when you just have way too much money to spend.
Stromer for speed pedelecs (45kmph vs the normal 26kmph)
Then there are a ton of bikes with the standard Bosche Active Plus (performance is better), 500Wh battery (625Wh power tube is best). They are probably all fine, but use the same parts in general with just a different frame.
Belt driven instead of a chain if you want extremely low maintenance. The cost of a belt replacement is approximately 3x a new chain and the chain has to be replaced 3x as often, so it comes out about the same.
I got an Aventon earlier this year and it’s been great. Two of my friends in another state coincidentally also got Aventon bikes, each a different model than mine, and they also love them.
However my wife’s family got some cheaper Chinese-made small fat tire folding e-bikes and they’re also pretty good, and cost a lot less.
Rad Power is what I see the most when I’m out riding around.
When I was researching, some folks said “buy from your local bike shop so you can take it back there for maintenance” which seems like good advice for folks who aren’t comfortable doing their own maintenance. I also watched a lot of videos on YT for models I was interested in, and videos by the same person so I could get a sense of what they said about bikes at all. I’d be particularly skeptical of people who never have anything bad to say.
This biggest concern I have with my ebike is theft, and that concern is keeping me from doing everything around my area with my bike that I would do if my family had a second car for me to take out instead. I find myself waiting u til our one car is available to do things where I would have to leave my bike out of view for very long.
When I was researching, some folks said “buy from your local bike shop so you can take it back there for maintenance” which seems like good advice for folks who aren’t comfortable doing their own maintenance.
As someone that used to work as a bike mechanic, that’s incredibly silly advice. Your local shop should be able to do maintenance on any bike for a fee, and unless they offer some sort of servicing plan, won’t do it for free just because you bought from them (unless it’s a warranty issue).
I think the bigger issue was more about being able to go local for warranty service, instead of having to ship your bike somewhere far away, which would be costly and be a PITA.
But you’re absolutely right about regular maintenance. I gave the wrong idea about the reason in my last comment.
(And now I’m sitting here thinking “omg, I sound like ChatGPT.”)
A good u lock and a cable for the wheels is enough to prevent theft. Unless you mean there aren’t any bike racks to lock to
It takes 27 seconds to cut a ulock with a battery powered angle grinder. https://youtu.be/hjYXD9pyupg
That being said, I do use a ulock and cables when I lock up my bike. It stops opportunistic thieves, but not determined thieves.
I’m still in the shopping phase too so I don’t have direct experience with this but I’ve read that sticking with known bike brands is a good policy. Just be ready to spread your wallet wide open.
I also read that for the purposes of getting it serviced, go with a local bike shop. Some will not do work on brands they didn’t sell.
Yes absolutely. Others mentioned some of these: Gazelle ( i have one and it’s amazing), Riese and Müller, Stromer, Tern, Bulls, Cube, Urban Arrow, and many others. Anything with a Bosch motor is probably worth considering.
Shimano gearing, Enviolo hubs and Rohloff hubs are all good.
Look for a brand and model that doesn’t skimp on brake quality.
Build it yourself. Otherwise prepare to spend thousands. Buying a conversion kit and a lithium battery pack is by far the most cost effective option, and it’s not hard to assemble. Swap the wheel from whatever bike you have laying around, attach the battery pack and throttle, done. Takes 20 minutes. ~$500
And personally I’ve found that beach cruisers make the best eBikes. My initial thought was that a mountain bike would be ideal because it has suspension, but in my personal experience I found that even with suspension, a mountain bike is too hard on your back for long trips because you’re constantly hunched over. Beach cruiser is the way to go.
