Don't buy Lectric Ebike

[Unsettled]

I'd say don't buy an e-bike in the US period. Here's why:

E-bikes in China are fantastic. I spent 16 years in Beijing and it's the best way to get around the city, bar none.

Because Chinese cities are set up for EV traffic with seperate EV lanes.

Because the cost of e-bikes and their parts are much cheaper in China since there is no need to import.

Because there are e-bikes shops all over the place with knowledgeable guys who can fix your EV quickly and cheaply.

That's EVs in China, absolutely the best way to get around in a city. But let's look at owning an e-bike in the USA.

1. Maintenance: E-bikes take more of a beating because they go faster and are heftier than normal bikes. They have a lot of parts that wear out and specialized parts, like sensors, that are not stocked in the US. Most of these vendors import a mass quantity of e-bikes off alibaba or the like but they don't warehouse all the parts you're gonna need for it, wherein China they are readily available at a nearby EV shop. Even a great quality e-bike is going to need maintenance with some associated part a couple times a year if you're using it daily.

2. Road Systems.: The way roads and bike lanes are set up in US cities combined with the high speeds allowed on those streets makes using an e-bike quite dangerous and something I wouldn't even consider doing in most US cities. I'm currently hold up in a US town that has reasonable sidewalk space that could work for e-biking, but it's a town. A regular bicycle makes more sense for that. Beijing is a huge mega-city and with a decent 20ah LiOn battery, you can get traverse it from east to west and back again safely. But with our road systems, I don't know if there are too many US cities I'd dare to try that in.

3. Cost: The e-bikes sell for 3-10 times what you'd pay for them in China. And even the highest ends of those come with low-wattage motors and small batteries. I don't think there are any on Amazon with 20Ah batteries, mostly 10-13Ah. I met this dude in the US who bought an e-bike for over $2000! And it had the small battery and crappy electric motor. In China you can buy a superb e-bike for $400. And cheap but decent ones for under $200 or even $100 USD. This dude shelled out big for an e-bike but what's gonna happen when there some problem with a sensor or the control box, like some component burns out or something? Local bike shops won't know what they're looking at, nor will mechanics. An US electrician maybe will figure out the source of the problem, but then what? Waiting two months to get the part shipped from China -if you can even find it online?

I love e-biking around Beijing and other Chinese cities that are set up for them, but here in the US? Just save yourself the expense and headaches and go with an analog bicycle.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yeah we dont need smartphones and tvs and radios and solar charge controllers either.

We're just not set up for that stuff here.

:dodgy:

 

[Unsettled]

We're not set up for e-bikes, at least most cities aren't.

You need big full lanes dedicated to EV traffic.  Even if an area has sidewalks or little bike paths, an e-bike isn't that useful since you can't go whizzing down them at high speeds.  I was in Orlando a couple years ago, my gosh.  Little narrow bike lanes a couple feet wide astride two lanes of high speed traffic and a curb?  Deadly.

Even in more rural places it's dangerous.  People drive really fast in the US compared to other countries and most roads don't have bike lanes.

I guess like Portland, Oregon, and some other US cities have decent infrastructure for bikes.  However, unless those are road-width lanes, you're better off using a regular bike.   EVs and pedal bikes only work together that way.  Otherwise you're just stuck behind bicycles at bicycle speeds.  So just use an analog bike.

Chinese cities were traditionally designed around large volumes of bicycle traffic, so when EVs came along everything worked.  It's also the reason EV commuting doesn't take off in many other places around the world.  Just not set up for it.  You'd have to design the city from scratch to make it work like a Chinese city for EV traffic.

And, as I mentioned, we're not set up for it with parts and technicians.  You buy an e-bike here at an exorbitant cost and then what when you need parts?  You're like scouring alibaba to no avail looking for the part or spending weeks dealing with some remote US vendor or driving it to some shop 200 hundred miles away that doesn't have the part specific to that model either.

In China EVs are for regular, working people to do their daily business with.  In the US, it's more something for the hobbyist.

 

[tx2sturgis]

My point is that most nomads/RVers are not using an e-bike for 'urban commuting' on busy streets and crowded bike lanes. We mostly arent riding them in 'cities'. Some do, of course. Ant they find them adequate, one would assume.

My e-bike that I've been riding for more than 3 years has never even SEEN a bike lane.

Nomads, campers, RVers are mainly using them in rural or remote areas, campground get-around, grocery-getting, shooting pics and video, short errands, go visit other campers, or maybe even a backup parts buggy when the main vehicle won't start, wont move, etc. Oh yeah, exercise also! Can't forget that part.

My 60+ year old knees and muscles appreciate the motor assist when riding up a long steep incline, thank you very much! Analog bike? As opposed to what? A digital bike? What is that?

Dismissing an entire class of bicycle that we use for recreation/exercise/mobility/errands because American cities aint ready for them is just a bit short-sighted. Or so it seems to me.

 

[NctryBen]

Well, seems fishy to me... first thing a company should have is a good customer service department. And a good number of parts on hand. Is there even a product ever made that didn’t have issues? Even Tupperware had issues! And they’d replace anything defective hardly a question asked. But from laundry equipment to kitchen items like stoves and fridges... they’re on it for having parts and service. Camping equipment... quality stuff if fails... it gets replaced! Would love to hear what Levi and company has to say... even howa... Bob always preaches to go on the road we need a properly funded emergency fund... same applies to businesses I would think. I’m guessing the whole pandemic thing hasn’t made it to simple. But, come on... don’t lose our trust.

 

[bullfrog]

You would think with fuel prices so high there would be a large market. Seems like an American company should be able to get a grant to develop a quality American electric bicycle if nothing else for the increased general public health benefits. Cities like Tucson Arizona are making bike only pathways around the entire city.

 

[nature lover]

The neighborhood of Pine craft is really a village within the city of Sarasota. Thousands of Mennonites and Amish are there every winter and about 2 thousand stay over the summer also. Since the carriage and horse are not real practical in a city the major form of transportation is electric tricycles. They are everywhere. And they fit in well with the neighborhood there are signs up warning about this traffic and there’s rarely a problem. It’s not unusual to see dozens on one roadway as you travel.

 

[Unsettled]

You would think with fuel prices so high there would be a large market. Seems like an American company should be able to get a grant to develop a quality American electric bicycle if nothing else for the increased general public health benefits. Cities like Tucson Arizona are making bike only pathways around the entire city.

It's the exhorbinant initial cost of the e-bikes that is holding people back.

I would love to see an American company outdo the Chinese on a large scale with small EVs with shops and services at a price that brings them to the masses here -rather than container loads shipped in from China.

If that happened, and more people would be on them and more infrastructure would be developed around their use.

I've lived in a bunch of parts of the world and haven't seen them take off anywhere close to what goes on in Chinese cities.  In Beijing, I could pull the bike out of my house and go from one side of the city to the other back with it.  Haul it in the door and plug it into charge.  No traffic jams, looking for taxis, dealing with the subway... just out the door and GO.  Oh and none of the parking hassles either.  Hitting a small store?  Just lock in 10 seconds right by the entrance.  Outdoor bar or restaurant, park it right by your table. 

In Beijing I lived near a massive farmer's market and you can shop on the e-bike!  Tell the vendor what you want and they plop it in your basket.  Same way in the old neighborhoods.  I could pull the e-bike outside and get everything I needed going around the alleys by my house.  Vegetable vendor, cig vendor, meat, alcohol... you just pull up and they plop it in your basket.  I'm out the door and back home again with all my shopping done in 5-10 minutes.  

I had a coworker who lived in my neighborhood and commuted by car.  I'd usually beat her car with my e-bike coming or going to work -cuz no parking issues, traffic jams, etc.  She was like "Damn, why am I driving a car at all and paying through the nose for parking?"

E-bikes have their EV lanes, but if that's congested there's the sidewalk or the road itself if the traffic is slowed down.  Small-scale EVs are an amazing method of transport so, yeah, I'd like the see it take off in the US and elsewhere.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

E bike are growing very quickly all over the world, the idea that they only work in Beijing is ridiculous, I don’t own one but can see the benefits when riding my 32 year old cannondale becomes too difficult, or if I had to commute longer distances. They seem to fit in perfectly well with other bikes. If you buy from a reputable bicycle maker, an established dealer, I am sure parts would be easily available, and service would be good rather then buying the cheapest no name product out there. Friends of mine own Treks, very pleased, they are very well built another friend owns some other cheap version I rode it it is garbage and you can feel how poorly designed it is. The original poster didn’t say parts weren’t available he just wanted an extended warranty, it is always unfortunate when something breaks a day after but that’s life, it has nothing to do with the quality of the bike or the service from the dealer. In parts of America people are still driving large 4x4 pickups to commute, so electric bikes may take a few decades before they become respected, but that does not mean everyone has to live in Jurassic park.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Seems like an American company should be able to get a grant to develop a quality American electric bicycle if nothing else for the increased general public health benefits. 

Worksman Cycles builds bikes and trikes in the USA (mostly USA made) but if you order one with electrics, most of that stuff is sourced from China.

https://www.worksmancycles.com/recreational-bikes.html

They even build antique style 'high-wheelers'....wonder what it would take to electrify one of those?

https://www.worksmancycles.com/high-wheelers.html

 

[RonDean]

Are US (or many other countries) roads bike-friendly? Hell no. That includes standard bicycles OR electrics. And that includes everything from city streets to freeways to rural 2-lanes with ZERO bake lanes. I've been scared silly many times. Heck, walking isn't exactly safe either. We decided to design around 4 wheel autos many years ago. It would take many years to reverse it now. That's sort of a different subject than "electric" bikes.

Electric vs 100% peddle bikes is another subject. Many of us want or NEED a little assistance from time to time. What should I do once my knees or other parts start to go? I think electric motor assist is a fine idea. I wouldn't mind following a separate thread from Nomads telling us what they know about different brands vs DIYs. What about issues to be aware of once we HAVE decided to go this route. Other options? Maybe electric scooters? Other ideas?

 

[USNvet]

Are US (or many other countries) roads bike-friendly? Hell no. That includes standard bicycles OR electrics. And that includes everything from city streets to freeways to rural 2-lanes with ZERO bake lanes. I've been scared silly many times. Heck, walking isn't exactly safe either. We decided to design around 4 wheel autos many years ago. It would take many years to reverse it now. That's sort of a different subject than "electric" bikes.

Electric vs 100% peddle bikes is another subject. Many of us want or NEED a little assistance from time to time. What should I do once my knees or other parts start to go? I think electric motor assist is a fine idea. I wouldn't mind following a separate thread from Nomads telling us what they know about different brands vs DIYs. What about issues to be aware of once we HAVE decided to go this route. Other options? Maybe electric scooters? Other ideas?

I've been thinking about buying an ebike more for offroad, dirt road, and around camp use. So it looks like the no license option means a 750watt max motor, otherwise I may need a motorcycle license and have to register the bike as such, although I think some cheat by just not saying anything.

For offroad use, 4" wide tires seem to be the way to go, and the fold in half option would make it an easier fit in my van. Most are now rear hub drive, which means the motor will assist if desired, or I can peddle all the way myself and use the motor for a little help climbing hills. For steeper hills, or mostly all trail and mountain use, center hub mounted motors will allow down shifting gear ratios to let the motor do much more work, as the rear hub models are not affected by shifting and are stuck in direct drive only. I think the center hub types are way more expensive, but there are DIY kits available. A downside to electrics is they weigh 2-3 times as much as a motorless bike, so peddling without the aid of the motor will be more challenging!

I've been looking at this one, and note that buying direct saves more than the $200 discount offered on Amazon:
https://wallkeebike.com/products/wallke-x3-pro-folding-electric-bike (watch the video on that site, if you have any interest in this style ebike)

or there is a cheaper version using the same folding frame, but cheaper brakes, electronics, lack of fenders, and a smaller motor:
https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Tot...60f08&pd_rd_wg=AMk4c&pd_rd_i=B09GLV6BKH&psc=1 (must be popular because they've raised the price by a hundred bucks over the past month)

or maybe something easier to step through, but doesn't fold:

 

[bullfrog]

The step thru feature will allow you to get off much easier and keep yourself from falling with the bike especially if carrying cargo on a rear rack. RadMini makes a folding step thru with 20” tires. This is important if your inseam is less than 30”.

 

[user 16179]

I've been thinking about buying an ebike more for offroad, dirt road, and around camp use. So it looks like the no license option means a 750watt max motor, otherwise I may need a motorcycle license and have to register the bike as such, although I think some cheat by just not saying anything.

For offroad use, 4" wide tires seem to be the way to go, and the fold in half option would make it an easier fit in my van. Most are now rear hub drive, which means the motor will assist if desired, or I can peddle all the way myself and use the motor for a little help climbing hills. For steeper hills, or mostly all trail and mountain use, center hub mounted motors will allow down shifting gear ratios to let the motor do much more work, as the rear hub models are not affected by shifting and are stuck in direct drive only. I think the center hub types are way more expensive, but there are DIY kits available. A downside to electrics is they weigh 2-3 times as much as a motorless bike, so peddling without the aid of the motor will be more challenging!

I've been looking at this one, and note that buying direct saves more than the $200 discount offered on Amazon:
https://wallkeebike.com/products/wallke-x3-pro-folding-electric-bike (watch the video on that site, if you have any interest in this style ebike)

or there is a cheaper version using the same folding frame, but cheaper brakes, electronics, lack of fenders, and a smaller motor:
https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Tot...60f08&pd_rd_wg=AMk4c&pd_rd_i=B09GLV6BKH&psc=1 (must be popular because they've raised the price by a hundred bucks over the past month)

or maybe something easier to step through, but doesn't fold:

The four inch wide tires are used on fat bikes. Very heavy and sluggish to accelerate. Cushy yeah, needed.....not at all. As far as an "off road" bike goes the most popular sizes on Mountain Bikes (off road, right?) are very close around either side of 2". 2.1 maybe in particular, since that's what I use. ;-)

 

[bullfrog]

I like the wide tires on sandy areas and loose dirt roads as they seem to be more stable to me.

 

[eDJ_]

I live near a large University campus and see more e Unicycles anymore. No problem carrying them around like a brief case when not using them.

e Unicycle

 

[flylo]

I bought a pair of Evercross scooters last year from Amazon for $499ea ($699 now) & they've been been great. They have 3 speed transmissions & 1 year warranties. https://escooternerds.com/evercross-electric-scooter-review/ Here's a review but I'd recommend them highly.

 

[deryk_the_gypsy]

This is my 2nd DIY EV. The first was a folding aluminum mountain bike with a 1500 watt Bafang mid drive motor. I had a spinal cord injury a few years back and sitting was uncomfortable so went the recumbent trike route! I was more then happy with previous motor so I installed the same Mid drive. Fuel prices are on the rise so decided to add the 100 watt panel as a sun shade/recharging the 2 batteries.

 

[John in Montreal]

Bikes need more frequent maintenance.

 

[deryk_the_gypsy]

if you like to tinker, then it isn't a big deal and it can save you some gas by using the ebike and a trailer for heading into town for supplies. I do it because I enjoy the exercise and the motor solves the hill problem so it is all fun!