Let's help out the Amazon ebike buyers
Posted by funcentric@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 51 comments
We know they're crap. We don't recommend them as a community for a whole bunch of reasons. Many buyers seem to have an arbitrary $1,000 budget just b/c it sounds like a nice round number. Majority of $1,000 ebikes are just overpriced $700 ebikes. People with a low budget are often way better off with an escooter which has way better value, meaning you can actually get something legit for $700 or way less. Escooters have lower maintenance, fit people of more sizes, are easier to transport, easier to store, and can be shared more easily. We know all this, but...
...there are indeed some people who do recognize this but still want an ebike for whatever reason. They don't plan to keep it a long time, perhaps not even long enough to need maintenance and they are convinced they'll be getting exercise. They need more than the 20mi range that most budget escooters will offer and ebikes are their solution. They're fully grown adults with a good head on their shoulders and don't plan on going faster than the 28mph legal limit and more often sub 20mph. They don't plan to go offroad or expect ridiculous performance for a budget Amazon bike. No suspension, no hydraulic brakes. Just the basics. Those folks where a bike is a bike and not their life. Their bike won't be their prized possession. Just a means of getting around and if it gets stolen, it won't be the end of the world. What Amazon bikes have you personally yourself purchased and ridden that you can recommend for folks like this?
I'm discouraging people from commenting who haven't personally purchased and ridden an Amazon bike, but if you must and can't help yourself, please disclose that you didn't actually ride it before and are commenting out of suspicion or best guess.
rollin_a_j@reddit
The Jaison ym1 was a fantastic buy at $400 imo.
My bike is purely for a 3 mile round trip commute, I don't off road, and faster than 28 mph isn't really needed for me.
On the off chance my bike totally craps out I can just buy another.
Live-Rest7258@reddit
Did it got 28 mph?
rollin_a_j@reddit
Yes
Live-Rest7258@reddit
Anyone have any suggestions in looking for a Amazon ebike for work , and maby skip the dishes I want something under 800$ and I want it to go atleast 30/40 mph
funcentric@reddit (OP)
Please start your own thread. This sub isn't for responses to personal requests for recommendations. $800 is about half the price or less for something that gets to 30mph FYI.
precocious_necrosis@reddit
The elitism of this and other bicycling subs is so frustrating.
I bought and ride the (at the time) cheapest ebike on Amazon. $350 delivered to my door.
It's fantastic for the price and does absolutely everything I hoped an ebike would do. It has perfectly functional brakes, perfectly functional shifter, perfectly functional fenders, and every other feature a commuter bike needs.
Would I like to have a torque sensing drive? Sure. But the cadence sensor is fine. It's functional. That's the number one deficiency of the bike.
I'll ride the piss out of it and fix all the normal bike things that break until I don't feel like fixing it anymore. I could replace every component of the bike piece by piece for years and still be ahead.
zestypotatoes@reddit
Which one did you get?
FaithlessnessRich490@reddit
See this is great I think this is what most people are looking for when they come to Reddit they're looking for an actual experience of these bikes and that is not what you find on this subreddit anymore.
It's just people repeating b* that they heard other people say.
For example you absolutely positively have to have hydraulic disc brakes or you're going to die.
That gets repeated on here all the time. every once in a while somebody who has rim brakes will speak up. Who has actual experience with it, and they get downloaded to Oblivion because it doesn't agree with the hive mind.
de1hagar@reddit
This how I see it also.
Imaginary_Ring9171@reddit
Hi. My son saved up enough for the ridstar at~$1100. Obviously not the best option. If I were to chip in ~200 what would be recommended in a similar style. Thank you.
funcentric@reddit (OP)
My goto brands in no particular order has always been Aventon, Velotric, Lectric and Ride1up.
FigNinja@reddit
By the way, another good reason for wanting a bike over a scooter is that you want to carry stuff beyond what would be comfortable in a backpack.
My baseline is going to be something with safety certified batteries. In that price range, I'd probably point people at Lectric or Ozark Trail from Walmart. You might go a little over $1K, but far short of $2K. Lectric has a good reputation for standing by their bikes. And Ozark Trail is a Walmart brand. They're not going anywhere anytime soon, unlike a drop shipper Amazon Seller.
geoffpz1@reddit
Tuttio 26... $1,200 and it goes 40 in the desert, over washboards. Is it heavy, yes, and did I throw some mods on there, Yes, but out of the box, it works. I think I am $1,400 all in with suron seat, new gooseneck and new rear shock. If you get the 1 motor version($800 or something at walmart) it goes 30 easily. If you are under 5'10 I would go for the 24" version. As I said, it is heavy and I am right at the limit 5'11, in the crotch area, so in hindsight, 24" would be good. $$= heavy and parts are swappable. $$$$$ you get carbon fiber(which is good), but cannot customize or swap anything if you need to...
vacax@reddit
Wild take. What's your justification that a $1000 budget is insufficient?
funcentric@reddit (OP)
Based on what's available on the market. I think those with $1,000 budgets are just making up a number. It sounds good in their head. Arbitrary and has nothing to do with what's actually available that's decent quality from a reputable company that will conduct their own overseas quality control. Instead, people are looking at ebikes from random sources like Amazon, Walmart and generic sites betting on self quality control which we know is a conflict of interest. Some legit ebikes are on sale DOWN to $1,000 which is legit like the Soltera 2.5 or 3.0 now and Velotric had a folding one for quite low too when on a real sale.
The difference in quality and reliability between most $1,000 ebikes and $1,300 I would argue are extensive enough to spend the extra $300. You'll need some money for tax and accessories anyway. So if the budget is truly hard at $1,000, that's more like a $700 ebike which is truly junk just based on the numbers.
beagles4ever@reddit
I'm not going anywhere close to an ebike that isn't on some kind of closeout deal for less than 2500:
If you can tell me how you can build a quality bike for less than:
<500 for the frame, fork, and paint
<500 for the battery
<500 for the motor
<500 for ALL THE OTHER COMPONENTS COMBINED (wheels, tires, tubes, spokes, hubs, complete drivetrain, handlebars, brakes, and other doodads, etc.)
<500 for shipping, taxes, assembly, marketing, storage, warranty repairs and replacements, etc.
Without cutting corners somewhere and likely into safety . . .well, I just don't believe you.
So - that's my bottom line on the cheapest decent e-bike I would even consider.
So I ignore all the "What's the best e-bike on the market, I have 1000 for the budget" posts.
Harrybawlsax2@reddit
Cry me some tears Mr. $.
beagles4ever@reddit
Did this sound like a cry?
I’m not made of money, I’m made of common sense. They not only have to do all of this, they have to make a profit in the process. And they have to amortize all of their CapEx costs - which - if they’re competing in this space, are necessarily going to be considerable, because to achieve anything close to the economies of scale required to do all of this is going to be massive.
If you don’t care about the product (or the customer) sure - you can thrown any kind of crap out there, slap some graphics on it, put up an Amazon store and call it a day. But I guarantee that bike is shit. You’ll spend far more trying to keep it up than just buying a decent bike in the first place which is why I recommend an absolute floor or 2500 (and more realistically, 3000+ for something dependable. I’m not even going to call these good bikes - these are lower mid tier.
There’s a reason sooooooooo many companies are going bankrupt between the legacy and euro spec brands and the white label and Alibaba drop ship shit. Because it’s EXTREMELY challenging. Most of the companies have been supported by big bets by venture capital taking a flyer on a nascent business segment. Those days are near an end. Turns out that e-bikes are built on extremely mature technology that has had almost all the efficiencies that can be gotten milked out of them. The new parts (motor, electronics, battery cells, BMSs and control boards…only add more expense, not less).
So yeah about 2.5 -3k is the floor for a lower mid-tier e-bike and no, I can’t recommend anything out there for less than that - they’re almost certainly cutting major corners or floating on debt that will sink them sooner rather than later.
toodamcrazy@reddit
It all comes down to what people use them for....there is no way I'm spending that kind of money on a bike that my wife and I ride a few times a week. I have had my 1k bike for 4 years now and my wife's $450 bike for 2 years and we love them.
It all comes down to how people use them.
Harrybawlsax2@reddit
Peace brother! Don’t have a stroke over this🙏…but I appreciate your time and opinion on cheap e-bikes.
Dangerous-Ad-354@reddit
Im 55 and bought an Amazon e-bike for $700. 2 years in and 900km on it and I haven't done anything to it other than ride it. Is a $5k e bike better than mine? Probably not, for what I use it for. I like to go for 20km rides down a country road and stop at my buddy's house for a beverage. Im not trying to maintain a 50-60km speed on a major road or riding in mountainous terrain. The bulk of these subs are filled with folks whose vanity is destroying their financials. I'm sure a number of people actually use/appreciate a $5k bike but alot of us just want to get a little fresh air and stretch their legs a bit without spending the equivalent of what we paid for our kids first car.
toodamcrazy@reddit
Perfectly put
TheShortBus5000@reddit
Wore two rear tires off a 26" Ancheer off Amazon under $600. I put a big old wide bottom seat on it and some fenders. Hasn't needed any real work except for the headlight burning out. It's heavy. It rides rough, but it does what I want. It gets me outside.
Desperate_Tune_981@reddit
Bought a Philodo H8 3 years ago. Caught it on sale for $850. No issues for the 700 miles I owned it.
Sold it last year and the current owner is still riding it with no issues.
Exotic_Carpenter_874@reddit
I purchased a UrLife E20 off Aliexpress as well. Dorky looking step through city bike. Piece of crap. Insanely powerful motor, wheelie inducing torque, the slightest movement of the pedals will cause a torque spike that tries to buck you off the bike. This sucks when adjusting foot position while leaning and turning. It was only $250 bucks online and I would not recommend it to anyone. The only cheap ebike I would advise against.
Alone-Cartoonist-379@reddit
As others have mentioned, " your miles may vary" with Amazon ebikes. My first one was $599, and it great until a had an issue with the motor not coming coming on at all anymore. Took a month to get a replacement battery/ charger which was no help. Customer service was no help either with only a "take it to an ebike repair shop?" Suggestion. Store #1 "We don't with on that model/make ebike" Store #2 "We only work on ebikes that we sell" Store #3 " You will find its almost impossible to find someone to diagnose/ repair an Amazon Ebike made outside the USA. " The Revelation struck me that I had the equivalent of a 70lb Gillette razor, a throw away at r time of failure. I also realize that for not a lot more money I could have gotten a USA based ebike with great service after the sale.I went with the XP1 from Lectric Bikes, super pleased for just under 1k, free delivery , easy set up. I believe they have a product called the XP light which retails for $799. Based on my own anecdotal evidence I would recommend that for anyone who was trying to get a budget e-bike that cost just a bit more than an Amazon bike but comes with an all-important proven track record for customer service.
Exotic_Carpenter_874@reddit
I purchased a CyberVelo EK11 for a whopping $354 on AliExpress. 20” fat tire moped style. 48V 30AH Hailong with Lg cells. Bafang 1000w peak 750w nominal hub motor, 7 speed Shimano Tourney. Capped the top speed at 20mph to make it legal class 2 and extend range. Full suspension. Added a rear rack for a Super73 and milk crate to haul cargo. It’s amazing.
anyuser666@reddit
Got this Keteles K800 two years ago and nearing 7000 miles
Exotic_Carpenter_874@reddit
I bought a Pexmor 26” 21 speed mountain bike with a 48v 500 watt hub motor. Shimano Tourney drivetrain, Kenda tires. Added a rear rack, insulated cooler bag, Schwinn bike trailer. It’s been awesome! I haul my kids around in the trailer, we can have picnics at the park. It’s class 2 with throttle and 20mph top speed, and has a range of about 30-40 miles with a 48v 13ah Hailong pack. Any snob that thinks you have to drop five grand on some thief-magnet class 1 with Shimano Ultegra components… enjoy! I dropped under 500 bucks and have put hundreds of miles and hours of quality kid time on it. Go ahead and judge, I couldn’t care less.
fishhead631@reddit
Amazon ebike buyer here ($1100 delivered to my front door) going on 3 years, 1200 miles. No issues (hope I don’t jinx myself). Amazing bike. Yes, I’d buy another one tomorrow if I had to.
Dry_Recover_8475@reddit
Paid 450$ for my ebike and have over 1000 miles on it and only had to repair one inner tube lol id say my "cheap" ebike has worked out just as well as if id spent thousands of dollars. Its a bike, its electric it goes from point a to point b. Spending thousands on an ebike is absurd to me.
Sad-Distribution8789@reddit
First bike I got was an Amazon bought Amyet EB26 and when I moved up to a more powerful one I felt so confident in the Amyet that I handed it down to my wife. Sometimes you’ll get a great bike, sometimes it’s a thrown together mess, but $1000 as a round number to get a first time or run around e-bike is a great start
LMhood@reddit
Freesky swift horse pro is 1500 with shipping off Amazon and I love it
Diagnus@reddit
I bought a cheap ZDZA ZA04 on Amazon for like $600 CDN after my scooter got stolen mainly to figure out if I wanted to go back to a scooter or stick with an e-bike... It performed admirably but I just upgraded to a velotric discover 3 after realizing an e-bike is better for me.. but the cheap bike served it's purpose and I'm going to pass it along to one of my kids.. so to me if was worth it...
EqualVast5973@reddit
I got my ebike on Amazon, it was a tad over a thousand. I have put close to 2 thousand miles, the customer service has been amazing. It is a FreeSky Bike. They have several to choose from. I got the one that fit my needs.
I cruse about 20 mph seems like a nice balance and doesn't eat my battery. Its a pavement princess. The few hills I have it does fine, but I live in illinois, its pretty much flat.
I bought a spare battery from there web site, and it works amazing. You can read through the reviews of there bikes, there all pretty good. I even saw a youtube guy do a review of the bike I bought, and he put it through some paces, and at the end, he said, I just cant find any thing wrong with this being your first ebike. I believe him.
I did change the front Sprocket to a 58 tooth, it got rid of the ghost peddling.
ActualOpinion1435@reddit
Lol fr the slower you go on the throttle the faster the torque is
Jimger_1983@reddit
I purchased a Vivi M026TGB E-bike off Amazon in 2024 for like $650 delivered. It was my first E-bike and I didn’t want to spend too much in case I didn’t like it. I still have it and it still works. The cords connecting the battery are starting to show some wear. I didn’t realize it was crap until I upgraded to an Aventon. Biggest complaint about the Vivi is the pedal assist was quite jerky. It kicks completely on or off in a noticeable way where the Aventon’s drive is smooth and seamless. For a first E-bike and cheap intro to riding e-bikes the Vivi was fine.
electrolysishub@reddit
Bought a concord from Wal-mart and I love it. 🤷♂️
Reelair@reddit
I haven't purchased a bike directly from Amazon, but I purchased one used that likely did. I heard all the bad things about cheap bikes and wanted to see for myself. I looked for the cheapest bike on Marketplace. I found a "Frike" with a 250watt, 36V hub motor. I paid $200 for it, in very bad condition.
After a lot of work, about 12 hours labour, I got the bike in good working order. People often talk about no parts availability for these cheap bikes. All the bikes use generic parts. I was able to find everything I needed on AliExpress, from new LCD display, brake levers, to head light. These bike sellers aren't making OEM parts in their factory. They make these bikes on a checklist, picking the part they want. If you're resourceful, you can find the parts dirt cheap online.
As for all the mechanical issues the bike had. Those can all be traced back to poor assembly when purchased. I assume these bikes require some assembly and tuning upon assembly. I found loose brake discs and calipers. Also had to replace the rear derailleur (used a Shimano I had on hand).
In the end the bike is a lot of fun for $200 (probably $300 after I got it going). This is only because I'm handy with bikes (been working on my own bikes for about 40 years), and resourceful in sourcing things. If you don't understand basic bicycle maintenance, or unwilling to learn, these bikes aren't for you. Everything is easy to do, and easy to learn if you watch videos online. So not out of reach for anyone. All you need is a few basic tools and the willingness to learn.
FaithlessnessRich490@reddit
Have you bought a Amazon bike if you haven't then you're no help. You're just a parrot on Reddit.
If everybody was no experience on these bikes with just STFU on these things and let the people who have experience speak up then there wouldn't be any problems.
theoriginalchrise@reddit
I got a vivi "mountain" bike package for $450 off Amazon and upgraded the brakes (+$90 and a must imo) and have no complaints. Is it as good as the more expensive ones. No. Is it good for commuting, shopping, hitting the trails? 100%
appleaddct@reddit
I got my son a Jasion Retrovolt. $700 shipped. His cousin had one and loved riding it.
About 13 months later, the bike just turns itself off while riding. You can turn the battery off for about 30 seconds, then get another 3-4 minutes of ride time. Support has been slow, but responsive. They indicate the battery needs replacement. We’ve gotten maybe 30 charge cycles out of it. Not the advertised 500-800.
$280 for a new battery from them. I’m concerned a new battery will not solve the issue and now I’d be out an additional $280.
starkruzr@reddit
I had a Ridstar dual motor that was a joy to ride. first thing I did when I bought it was replaced the brakes with hydraulics. did a superb job of getting me around (and STOPPING) until it got stolen like every other e-bike in Austin.
hysys_whisperer@reddit
Not Amazon, but I've got a Heybike Mars foldable that I picked up for like $800.
Thing has held up well so far, and hauls my fat ass up hills just fine.
I've only gone through 1 set of brake pads, and no chain/derailleur/crank maintenance to speak of other than oiling what needs oiled regularly. Tightened spokes around 100 miles in and haven't had to since that point. I did put flat out in the tires, but they came with armor, so haven't even had to swap a tube yet. I have the tools for it, so when it happens it's fine. I'll watch some YouTube videos and the 10 minute job will take me 2.5 hours, but that's OK. That's how you learn.
st174ar@reddit
Wildeway fs11 - $735 shipped
Hidden-Sky@reddit
I would list mine, but I can't even find it anymore.
I bought an Outroad ebike a little less than 2 years ago, and I've got about 2500 miles on it.
Motor was reported as 500W, 36V 10.4 Ah battery.
Frame is solid. The bike is on the heavy side. It weighed about 70 lbs stock.
The frame appears to be the same as the Outroad X1 non-electric mountain bike which they currently have listed.
The one I purchased came already built as an ebike. Possibly was a third party seller, using the frame and adding on the electrical bits.
I paid about $500 out the door ($330 + $150 shipping)
I selected this bike for two reasons:
-Steel frame, to avoid cracking under weight, as I was carrying cargo around regularly -It's a class 2 electric bike -Listing said it was UL-certified all around - the bike, the battery and BMS. I don't know if it was common to lie about that, but it's been 2 years and it still works fine.
Everything else about it - the suspension, derailleurs, tires, brakes, shifters - I already planned on replacing relatively soon.
The stock tires wore down in 2 months, I replaced those first (Schwalbe commuter tires), that cost about $100
I also replaced the mechanical disc brakes with hydraulic disc brakes, which set me back $60-100 (I don't remember)
Rear derailleur was bent at around 5 months, I replaced that for about $40.
I had to replace the rear derailleur again at 2,000 miles, as the second one also got damaged. I also replaced the shifter at the same time, that cost $30.
I've replaced the chains two or three times, call that $60.
Last month was the biggest bill. I noticed my fork/steerer was wiggly, the whole thing was squeaking when tightened down and the suspension had a wobble in its cylinders.
I think it cost me $300 to gather all the right parts - new fork ($100, but they normally go for $160), new headset ($40), new stem ($40), and some nuts and bolts and fender washers and PVC pipe for a makeshift headset press and crown race press ($30).
I completed that particular repair yesterday.
So after about 2 years, the bike has cost me $1100 total. Replacements were about $300 per year, but I also consider those replacements upgrades as I'm sure the stock parts were as cheap as possible.
Still rides good. Actually better than new, with the upgraded fork. The battery is showing some age, I think I might barely squeeze 15 miles out of it on full PAS.
stormdelta@reddit
The way I put it, it's basically a gamble since the main issue with them is quality control.
Non-standard parts can also be an issue, but that's more if you're buying the crappy "moped-style" bikes and unfortunately even expensive name-brand bikes can be bad about this too, e.g. Bosch is incredibly proprietary making it difficult to use off-the-shelf parts.
IM_The_Liquor@reddit
Not from Amazon. But I do have a cheep ‘chinesey’ E-bike that I picked up for about $1000 Canadian dollars. Honestly, I’ve been mostly happy with it. Sure, it weighs a ton. It’s not the most efficient to pedal. It looks like a dirt bike… but it’s comfortable. It works well on rough bush trails where I would normally ride, it performs just fine on pavement, it’s comfortable for my older, sore back, haemorrhoid riddled ass to sit on for hours on end, it’s got plenty of range, and if I really needed to, I could pedal it home unpowered without killing myself.
geoffpz1@reddit
All 3 of mine were sub $1300, 2 $900 ish to make them go, all Amazon specials. Imho, home build works fine for pavement and local stuff. Foldables take up too much trunk space, so you won't fold them if you are hauling Anything else. Fat tires are good if trails are in your wheelhouse and if you like tinkering, just go into it knowing low cost bikes are a platform to build on and expect to change stuff.
Prestigious_View_401@reddit
This is a weird take. If we become civil and reasonable, how are other subs going to joke that people in the ebikes are not snobs who hates e-bikes unless they are $2000? You might as well tell us to stop telling overweight people to get a regular bike too for 2 mile trips. /s
Neat_Clothes_248@reddit
Tbh I really think it's all about usage. If I'm like 2 miles away from work and that's my main need I'd get an Amazon bike
My buddy at work bikes every day from some random ebike on Amazon and loves it no problems