Hundreds of E bike companies??????

[Headhunter]

Does anybody but me thinks its strange that there are literally hundreds of e bike companies popping up everyday. And they ALL seem to use the same components? I am in the market for two this spring, but the different companies are mind boggling.

Most of the ebikes I looked are HEAVY 75 to 80 LBS. Seat heights are high unless it's a step through. And now they have 1000 watt motors. I was going to go with a folder but they still look heavy and awkward. I was thinking of putting two e folding bikes in the back compartment of my 4 door Jeep Sahara.

I am looking in the $1200 to $1700 dollar range. But the choice of companies is crazy. I know RAD was one of the very first ones out there. What are you guys using?

 

[RKins]

Lectric seems to be a good brand. My Sister and BIL have a pair of folding bikes and are happy with them except the weight - 65lbs each.

 

[Scooterfan]

Have the Radrunner...rode it on the hills of Lopez Lake (CA) this weekend. Pedal assist works great and battery time is awesome. Hefty frame holds a big guy like me. The battery is 750w and certainly the newer 1000w would have more power, but for me, the RAD is sufficient. Paid around $1,200 (on sale) and for a lower end bike, I'm happy. Whatever you end up doing, they are a real game changer IMHO

 

[Jim]

I am looking in the $1200 to $1700 dollar range. But the choice of companies is crazy. I know RAD was one of the very first ones out there. What are you guys using?

Here is some info and pictures of the one I bought a couple of months ago. It's not a high end bike, but it's plenty fun to ride and seems to go a long time between charges.

 

[Headhunter]

Here is some info and pictures of the one I bought a couple of months ago. It's not a high end bike, but it's plenty fun to ride and seems to go a long time between charges.

Hi Jim thanks for the pictures. Yep there are hundreds of different companies at this time. My wife and I have been riding Harleys for over 30 years. Yes she rode her own, a custom FXDWG. Then later a highly customized Duece. We just gave them up in the past 8 years. We traveled the USA by motorcycle for many years BEFORE motor homes. But a man has to know his limitations. Now we Travel in our Tiffin and go riding on trails with our Kawasaki Teryx 850 side by side and of course our Jeep Sahara.

I am leaning toward the fat tire bikes, with at least a 750 to 1000 Wat motor. Becauase Mem, my wife is only 5'4" seat hight is a concern. I figure I can get a dual bike rack that will fit into the 2in receiver hitch on the back of my Jeep Sahara, my tow vehicle. But dang these bikes are HEAVY. Still looking.

HH

 

[10thtp]

I’m looking at the spec on the lectric base model not the .2. It says about 46 lb with battery. Battery wt 7 lb. 39 lb w/o battery. That might be manageable. Anyone have this model? Is it useable or just too light weight. Getting a bike on & off the rack is my big problem.

 

[ARD]

Hi Jim thanks for the pictures. Yep there are hundreds of different companies at this time. My wife and I have been riding Harleys for over 30 years. Yes she rode her own, a custom FXDWG. Then later a highly customized Duece. We just gave them up in the past 8 years. We traveled the USA by motorcycle for many years BEFORE motor homes. But a man has to know his limitations. Now we Travel in our Tiffin and go riding on trails with our Kawasaki Teryx 850 side by side and of course our Jeep Sahara.

I am leaning toward the fat tire bikes, with at least a 750 to 1000 Wat motor. Becauase Mem, my wife is only 5'4" seat hight is a concern. I figure I can get a dual bike rack that will fit into the 2in receiver hitch on the back of my Jeep Sahara, my tow vehicle. But dang these bikes are HEAVY. Still looking.

HH

I have a Specialized E bike and being solo, I had to figure out how to get the bike on my Kuat rack. Luckily, you can buy a ramp that attaches to the rack and it makes it a whole lot easier. I believe you can buy a ramp for the Thule racks as well.

 

[gibsito]

I was reading about e-bike conversion kits and saw a way to resurrect the old Specialized Hard Rock that's collecting dust in my garage. It's a 35 lbs. bike (with front and rear racks and full water bottles) and is built like a tank. I used it for recreational riding and long-distance touring since 1998, until I started using a lighter road bike in 2018.

I've got a Bafang kit on order (BBS02, 750w motor and 20ah battery) and will do the install in the next few weeks. These conversion kits aren't cheap (with battery it ran just over $1,000) and if you don't already have a bike that you'd like to convert it could be less expensive to just get a whole new e-bike, although I do wonder about the quality of the less expensive ones. Some people look for these old rigid-frame mtb's on Craigslist and pick them up for a few hundred, then add a kit to it.

The kit weighs 12 lbs. and the battery weighs between 7 and 8 lbs., so the whole package (minus touring gear) should weigh in at about 55 lbs. Still quite a bit of weight, but when I'd need to lift it I could remove the battery first, dropping it down to about 47 lbs. When I used it for touring the whole package (complete with 4 full panniers and a dry bag on the rear rack) weighed about 85 to 90 lbs. Of course I would remove the bags before ever attempting to lift that.

 

[10thtp]

I was reading about e-bike conversion kits and saw a way to resurrect the old Specialized Hard Rock that's collecting dust in my garage. It's a 35 lbs. bike (with front and rear racks and full water bottles) and is built like a tank. I used it for recreational riding and long-distance touring since 1998, until I started using a lighter road bike in 2018.

I've got a Bafang kit on order (BBS02, 750w motor and 20ah battery) and will do the install in the next few weeks. These conversion kits aren't cheap (with battery it ran just over $1,000) and if you don't already have a bike that you'd like to convert it could be less expensive to just get a whole new e-bike, although I do wonder about the quality of the less expensive ones. Some people look for these old rigid-frame mtb's on Craigslist and pick them up for a few hundred, then add a kit to it.

The kit weighs 12 lbs. and the battery weighs between 7 and 8 lbs., so the whole package (minus touring gear) should weigh in at about 55 lbs. Still quite a bit of weight, but when I'd need to lift it I could remove the battery first, dropping it down to about 47 lbs. When I used it for touring the whole package (complete with 4 full panniers and a dry bag on the rear rack) weighed about 85 to 90 lbs. Of course I would remove the bags before ever attempting to lift that.

Thanks for the reply. That would have been a good option however, I gave our aluminum Trec bikes to our son a couple of years ago. I’m starting with blank sheet. Appreciate it.

 

[gibsito]

You're welcome, 10thtp. If you don't mind, please update this thread once you decide on something to let the rest of us know how your experience with it goes. These e-bikes are quite a game-changer for many people and are very interesting to me. The little folding e-bikes looked like a great option, but I didn't look very deeply at those since I already had a bike to convert. On a side note, I saw an article the other day (just saw the headline) about a new e-bike motor being released that was lighter than all the others. I'd imagine as the technology advances for these things they will eventually lose some weight, hopefully not at the expense of quality.