Looking to buy first e-bike need advice
Posted by adventures_702@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 20 comments
Me and my husband are looking to buy our first E bikes we live in Las Vegas so there’s Desert terrain here. We would really love something that has a good long range and it’s gonna be great for trails. We also live in a condo upstairs where we will have to carry the bike upstairs so I don’t want anything too heavy so far I was looking at a velotric summit 1 or 2 someone recommended a heybike mars 3.0. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I have no idea I’m a total noob lol budget is 2 k ish
InfluenceEfficient77@reddit
The best deals right now are on lectric bikes. Certified and around 600$ cheaper than competition.
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
Are these good for off road ?
Tight-War-8013@reddit
The xpress is built like a normal bike, and will be good as long as you aren’t trying to take drops or something. Some offroad tires would probably be a good idea. If you are talking about can it handle dirt and gravel, I think every bike can. If you mean really soft suspension it doesn’t have that, but you can always run lower tire pressure. If you mean can it gear up and down like a mountain bike, yes it can, and many can.
InfluenceEfficient77@reddit
Just be mindful that unless you have an actual mid drive electric mountain bike, and you're going on actual mountain bike or single track trails, people will at best give you dirty looks, at worst you will get a citation. These are more like dirt scooters than electric mountain bikes.
Tight-War-8013@reddit
There’s usually zero distinction between electric bikes being allowed on trails or not. Mid drive still gets you a citation just like a hub would. Have you seen an xpress? It literally just looks like a basic bike, yeah you can see the hub, but the mid drives aren’t fooling anybody on the trail.
InfluenceEfficient77@reddit
I mean mountain bikers definitely know. But if you're not causing them emissions they won't make it a big deal. They don't want to get the trail shut down. But it's usually the hikers and the horse people that cause all the fuss.
And to them there are certain features that definitely make an e-bike stand out.
As an anecdote, I have a custom 1.5kw e-bike in a mtb frame with three batteries tightly packed and normal MTB components. I ride this thing everywhere and very few people even notice. My GF has a class one fat tire lectric bike. She constantly has people bitch at her If she ever goes on a sidewalk on a busy street. Maybe it's because she has fat tires and I have normal ones, maybe it's because she has a fatter frame and a larger bike overall. Or maybe she's an easier target for them to complain as a female..either way, neither one of us really give a shit though and cops don't either here
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
What about a velotric summit ?
pkgriff@reddit
I just bought a bike at my local shop yesterday
It's great! 48 pounds, I think. Urtopia, in case the name didn't copy over
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
Oooo
JeremyFromKenosha@reddit
heybike are garbage, and the Mars are like 65 lbs. I had a slightly higher end heybike, the Ranger. You don't want to be hauling that up the stairs at ALL; they're huge & heavy. I guess you don't have a garage or shed or anything?
The lightest eBikes you can get are going to be around 40 - 50 lbs. Here are some decent ones:
Worth considering is how you would get them up into your condo. Are stairs the only option? If so, is it a straight shot up the stairs or are there tight turns to do? I ask because many eBikes have a Walk Mode, where you can hold a button down and it'll power the rear wheel at like 3 mph. Then, you can just roll it up the stairs next to you. (as long as there aren't tight turns)
Worried_Document8668@reddit
what exactly do you call trails where you live?
trail can mean many things and need different bikes
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
Like mountain biking ish some paved, but some hills and rocks like the kind that you would go hiking on it’s Vegas so everything’s just pretty dry and dusty and dirt, some gravel, etc.
Worried_Document8668@reddit
well it depends on how deep you want to go into the off-road part.
for actual rockwork and more complicated terrain you would have to look into a middrive mtb geo Like an aventon ramblas.
if you don't want to go that far, you could pick a hubdrive like a summit.
most important thing is trying different frames in person
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
I just don’t wanna be limited to staying on paved roads, I wanna be able to take it anywhere
Relative-Display-676@reddit
for you
for him
They both weigh around 50lbs, can be serviced by at any REI store. Similar everything so you both will be familiar with each other's bikes.
Go to store and try them out and see what size will fit you.
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
I literally went to the REI and they acted like I had a horn growing out of the middle of my forehead when I was asking them about E bikes they didn’t have any in stock and really couldn’t answer any of my questions. Have you had any experience with them yourself? Just wondering if it’s a one off
Relative-Display-676@reddit
Yeah I've had my bikes serviced by them in the past. Never had a problem. Guess it varies by location.
The other thing you can do is visit local bike shop and try their ebikes. If you find one that you like, look for it on Facebook marketplace or upway.co and see if you can snag it at a discount.
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
I did check out upway glad to hear someone else bring it up wanted to make sure is reputable
adventures_702@reddit (OP)
Was just worried about having to order something online without checking it out in person first you know
Dependent-Garden8623@reddit
Consider step through/foldable/lighter weight. Definitely go fat tire.