Tips on selecting an e-bike

[Thealwas123]

Hey travel lovers,

I'm one of your kind. I 'm a travel freak and a cyclist of uncontrolled passion. My friends and I had planned for a mountain trip by the end of next month. But lately, I had an accident and got my right leg fractured. Now it's getting better. With this leg, I don't think I would be able to go for one. But my inner drive is forcing me to join them. Even I thought of buying a bike. As I'm currently off from the part time job, my financial status is a little tight. While discussing all this, my girlfriend suggested buying an electric bike. When surfed the internet, I got to know that its low cost and energy-efficient.

But none of my friends in the group have one. So we have no idea of how it will be. From the research I had I hope it will be a good choice and I have picked some models of e-bikes from an online selling site. Their brand is quite famous among people. Has anyone tried using an e-bike? Is it a good choice? Which model will be more efficient for my usage?

Thanks!

 

[darwin]

Check out juiced bikes for the price and features.

Juiced Bikes Forum

Discuss the brand, its products and upcoming models.

electricbikereview.com

That forum will tell you a lot from owners of different brands. Good luck.

 

[Bonefish]

In another forum, I was told to stay away from proprietary stuff, because you have to use there stuff (i.e. battery) if something goes bad. From what I understand it is best to buy a used steel frame mountain bike, and build your own from it using the electric bike conversion kits available on ebay.

 

[darwin]

You do save money that way Bonefish. Proprietary batts are expensive as hell. As far as brands go Juiced is a good brand for the features vs say a $6000 Stromer, the Juiced bike will run about $2k.

 

[Frogslayer]

What kind of mountain trip are you talking about here? Roads? Paths? Single track? How far do you need one pack to go? If you're riding with normies you shouldn't have to be too fast but you might need a large battery for hill climbing and range.

 

[JunkyardDog]

While you might be able to save a little money to begin with by building your own bike, you will have to become an electrical engineer first. That takes time, and costs a fortune. Just a basic knowledge of electricity is not enough when you are dealing with Lithium Ion batteries (I for one know NOTHING about how they work, how to hook them up, how to charge them, etc. Then you have to understand controllers and motors, and how all three have to work together efficiently and not destroy each other. Better to leave all that to a professional and buy a bike.

 

[Frogslayer]

While you might be able to save a little money to begin with by building your own bike, you will have to become an electrical engineer first. That takes time, and costs a fortune. Just a basic knowledge of electricity is not enough when you are dealing with Lithium Ion batteries (I for one know NOTHING about how they work, how to hook them up, how to charge them, etc. Then you have to understand controllers and motors, and how all three have to work together efficiently and not destroy each other. Better to leave all that to a professional and buy a bike.

This is just plain not true and against the spirit of the forum. Lithium batteries come with a battery management system which makes them stupid easy to use and safe. It comes down to changing a wheel, switching grips and levers, mounting the battery and controller and plugging in the wires. If you can run a powerwheels car you can run an e bike.

 

[Deleted member 26224]

While you might be able to save a little money to begin with by building your own bike, you will have to become an electrical engineer first. That takes time, and costs a fortune. Just a basic knowledge of electricity is not enough when you are dealing with Lithium Ion batteries (I for one know NOTHING about how they work, how to hook them up, how to charge them, etc. Then you have to understand controllers and motors, and how all three have to work together efficiently and not destroy each other. Better to leave all that to a professional and buy a bike.

What compels you to respond to a topic when you have no idea what you’re talking about?

 

[Deleted member 26224]

Hey travel lovers,

I'm one of your kind. I 'm a travel freak and a cyclist of uncontrolled passion. My friends and I had planned for a mountain trip by the end of next month. But lately, I had an accident and got my right leg fractured. Now it's getting better. With this leg, I don't think I would be able to go for one. But my inner drive is forcing me to join them. Even I thought of buying a bike. As I'm currently off from the part time job, my financial status is a little tight. While discussing all this, my girlfriend suggested buying an electric bike. When surfed the internet, I got to know that its low cost and energy-efficient.

But none of my friends in the group have one. So we have no idea of how it will be. From the research I had I hope it will be a good choice and I have picked some models of e-bikes from an online selling site. Their brand is quite famous among people. Has anyone tried using an e-bike? Is it a good choice? Which model will be more efficient for my usage?

Thanks!

I suggest renting an ebike first and seeing what you like or don’t like about it. There is no need to rush into anything especially after an accident. It is easy to waste your money with ebikes. Although a bit more expensive I’d be looking into established name brand ebikes that come with a good warranty. Specialized has put a lot into their product line...

 

[Chainlube]

Any rechargeable gizmo needs lots of use to get the max from the battery, so if it is intended for casual use expect to put batteries in it often. Batteries is a big expense.