Philodo H8 as a starter e-bike
Posted by Boonkmax@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 37 comments
Hello!
I’m looking to get my first e-bike. I want something powerful enough to get up to speed but I still do want to pedal when I want. Saw a lot of people saying good things about Philodo and the H8 seems to stand out as a good contender. Anyone have experience with them, the bike, or any other recommendations around that price point?
Looking at about $1200 with some wiggle room. Want about 30 mph with a good amount of range, good build quality of course.
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated, thanks!!
s0rce@reddit
I would suggest a single motor with regular sized (1.5-2.5") tires. Fat tires and dual motors is very heavy.
>28mph is illegal in many places and really needs safety gear so may not be a good first ebike unless you have motorcycle experience.
You won't get good build quality for $1200 and 30mph.
chuckwolf@reddit
I don't know PapaBlueShirt documented over 15000 miles each on an H8, and a Jumbo and currently has over 6500 miles on his Forester, that's pretty good reliability
SeattleElectricBike@reddit
That's one dude. On the whole, these bikes are terribly built and not built to last. I've had a couple get dragged into the shop with catastrophic things wrong with them in a pretty short time frame.
Independent_Memory41@reddit
Im looking into ebikes for the first time, and while I have done a bit of research, someone with your name should be pretty informed id gather. But you havnt done anything but slander the place with no reason aside from ime* is there a notable reason you hate these bikes outside of people bringing it into your shop to get fixed?
SeattleElectricBike@reddit
Honestly, you should have a conversation with a local dealer. Any bike worth having is going to be available from a local bike shop and will be serviced by them as well. Go in knowing what you want the bike to do for you and your budget and start from there. I know it's old school, but it works.
As far as my distaste for this bike in particular, it's part of a huge pile of these bikes that aren't worth the money or the time of ownership. They're walmart bikes with motors on them and there's probably something out there in the same price point that won't be shoddily built for a quick online sale.
yeffyonson@reddit
There are whole Facebook groups of Philodo owners with similar experience as PapaBlueShirt. I had 3k miles on mine with no issues before selling it to a friend.
They have 7k miles currently and only thing it needed was new tubes because of a puncture.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
Won’t be doing anything too fast around other people, I really don’t live in the most bikeable space, just something fun around the neighborhood, bringing it with me on my car, camping, stuff like that. I’ve been in the hospital for a month, unfortunately still am and I’d like to build my strength back with something like this
sanjosethrower@reddit
The bike you mention (and the ones chuckwolf has almost certainly suggested) are not legally electric bicycles in most of the US. Riding it on the public roads can lead to it being impounded and you being charged with riding without insurance.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
As long as I go slow right? I’m in SC and they don’t seem to like em to much here but cops are quite lenient here as well
sanjosethrower@reddit
If you are involved in a crash, are you prepared for the legal liabilities? Your car and home insurance are likely to fight paying if you were on an unregistered motor vehicle. Some states consider riding a motor vehicle without insurance to be a driver license forfeiting offense. Many states require a more expensive form of insurance as a consequence.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
I mean no but I’m not planning on going fast on public roads, just slow there on the sidewalks and faster in private trails and stuff. Every now and then I’ll open it up at night through the neighborhood but I’d like to keep it civil
sanjosethrower@reddit
Riding it on public roads exposes you to the risks I said, no matter the speed you are going. And as it’s not legally an electric bicycle it almost certainly doesn’t ever belong on sidewalks.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
What would make it a legal e bike? I’m also curious on your recommendation of e bikes, you don’t seem too on board with this one haha
s0rce@reddit
You can't exceed 28mph capabiliity.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
As long as I stay below that though I’m good right? I know in SC the law is 750w and can’t exceed 20mph, but the one I’m looking at can go above that and can qualify for moped laws. I’m a little confused on that part
s0rce@reddit
No. If you can exceed it then you need to register and get insurance. It's not a speed limit
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
So would I register it as a moped then? I haven’t heard of registering an actual e bike and when I look it up I don’t see much on the dmv page. I’m sorry I’m asking so much I just want to go about this the right way
s0rce@reddit
You might not be able to. You can try. It's easy easier to just get a legal ebike
sanjosethrower@reddit
What state are you in and I can find us the specifics.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
I’m in South Carolina
sanjosethrower@reddit
SC Code 56-1-10
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
So I suppose if I want to go about this legally then that’s my limit, but if I’m not stupid then I can go above that and use that extra power where no one can be bothered wink
arenablanca@reddit
It seems to weigh 96lbs. It probably pedals ok with at least some assist but it weighs almost twice as much as better quality brand name bikes so just keep that in mind. I just mention this since you mentioned you want to ‘pedal when you want’.
chuckwolf@reddit
75 lbs, it's the full suspension Forester that weighs 95
SeattleElectricBike@reddit
That "bike" is illegal pretty much everywhere. I wouldn't put my worst enemy on that thing, to be honest.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
Well what kind of bike would you suggest then? I’m interested in e bikes, very very new to them, I’m looking for any recommendations!
SeattleElectricBike@reddit
The best advice I can give is to head to your local shop and see what they recommend. Asking randos on the internet is always a dicey situation.
We are big proponents of mid drive ebikes with Bosch or Shimano motor systems. They last longest, go the furthest and are easier to get the bike worked on since it's going to come on a bike shop quality bike.
chuckwolf@reddit
Depends on if you're in Europe or the US, in Europe/UK the H8 is still 48 volts, in the US it's a 60 volt bike with a 5000 watt peak, that can hit 40 mph if you push it, right now it's just the hard tail version of the Forester.
If you do get it, ride it in single motor mode most of the time, it will still do about 33 mph in single motor which is an automatic ECO mode locked to 1200 watts continuous, dual motor unlocks the full 4000 continuous, 5000 peak and full 40 mph+
Be aware the gearing of the H8 sucks with only a 42 tooth front chainring, actually 3 front ones a 28, 36 and 42, and a 14~28 tooth freewheel, you will be ghost pedaling at any speed over 20 mph.
Now if you don't need AWD and dual motors consider their Hunter model
Which is an excellent first bike
PHILODO Hunter 52V Full Suspension Electric Bike – PHILODO BIKES https://share.google/CnDB1PN1P1ZLvcK0N
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
Oooo that hunter does sound pretty good, and cheaper and more what I’m looking for! Any concerns for going with that option? I do want to do some off tossing stuff but nothing crazy, and I really don’t know how important a dual motor is… this is all new to me
chuckwolf@reddit
Go for the Forester, it's basically the lower powered single motor version of the Forester, you can always upgrade later on if you get the itch for more power.
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
Gotcha I think I’ll go with the hunter then, thank you so much! Could I theoretically put a bigger battery in it to give it more power or upgrade some other parts on it or does it not work like that? I’d like to mod it too if I can
chuckwolf@reddit
If you're looking for range check out the Jumbo, it's got dual batteries and AWD but it's only 48 volts, 46 amp hours total, ignore the listed price, there's a $970 discount at checkout PHILODO Jumbo Dual Motor Dual Battery Full Suspension Electric Bike – PHILODO BIKES https://share.google/HMr8s5JaEstY5ZwSM
Boonkmax@reddit (OP)
Hmmm might not do that, just the hunter. Anything else should look out for on it in your opinion?
TheSharpestHammer@reddit
Philodo is one of the very few cheaper DTC Chinese ebike brands that has a decent reputation for quality and customer service. Still not going to be on the quality level of more reputable companies, but you probably won't be totally screwed if you get a lemon.
From everything I've read about them, you're looking at a bike that will probably work fairly well out of the box and actually has the advertised specs and (importantly) I believe a UL listed battery, but will feel cheap and have some quirks.
chuckwolf@reddit
I own 2 of their bikes the original 48 volt H8 and the Forester, and the quality is excellent, had great customer service from them for any issues I've had.
TheSharpestHammer@reddit
That's good to hear. I did a lot of research on them when I was looking to upgrade my ebike, and the general opinion was that people were pretty happy with them overall, but there was a sizeable minority of the population that had weird issues and QC problems, as well as a general opinion that they did not feel as "refined" or tightly fit and finished as more expensive brands. Still seems like pretty good bang for your buck, though.
chuckwolf@reddit
The first batch of the 60 volt bikes had an issue with the part of the controller that it would stop sending power to the front motor, or send a limited amount, but that's been fixed, and they sent out replacement controllers to anyone who contacted them about the issue. I actually own what's probably the first Forester, preordered it they say they put it up for preorder after 2 months the original controller had the issues with sending power to the front, replaced controller and now 6 months later it's stronger than ever and holding up great.
Btw I opened the old controller to see if I could tell if I burnt something out, but was surprised when I discovered the 60v controllers are potted, filled with solid silicone, just like Wired does now