300+lb E-bike
Posted by AttentionHelpful3996@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 43 comments
I’m currently looking at Aventon E-bikes. From what I’ve read they have good quality batteries that don’t explode. They are also on the more affordable side. My only issue is they say the total payload should not exceed 300lb. I’m around 320 and trying to get back into cycling.
Has anyone over 300 lb bought an Aventon bike and not had issues? Or what sort of issues would some extra weight cause?
Does anyone else have recommendations of other bikes that would accommodate a heavier weight limit? I currently have a cheap e-bike but am afraid to charge the battery and catch my apt on fire.
_SnesGuy@reddit
I'm with you here. I was 350. I'm down to 280 now. But I ride a lectric xpedition dual battery. Had it for 2 years and 2k miles. Had my big ass, plus a wooden cargo box and 70lbs of groceries on the bitch. EZ. of coarse I've modded it over the years
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Awesome! Thanks for the info. And glad you’re enjoying it!
SecretAsianMan42069@reddit
The aventure is like 375 but my kids are huge now and I think we do 450lbs on the way to football games. I'm not paying $80 to park
Knosh@reddit
I mean aren't their batteries just the same Reention batteries everyone else is using and white labeling?
Aren't their suspension forks just the same Trama/RST/Suntour forks that everyone else uses?
I own cheap bikes and ride cheap bikes.. I think I'm just saying don't fall for the marketing. There's a point where ebikes clearly get higher quality, and it's $2000+
_SnesGuy@reddit
Yeah but like lectric ain't that much more and hook you up sometimes. The other day on my bike over two years old, I fucked up my crank arm. I emailed them to try an buy a new crank, they sent me one plus the crank tool for free. Just swapped it out yesterday.
JustAnAgingMillenial@reddit
I'm a big guy too and went with the Velotric Nomad 2 over the Aventon. It's Very comparable to the Aventon but with a higher weight capacity. I was zipping around on it all last summer and can't wait to get back out this year.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Great! Thank you. That seems to be highly suggested so I’m definitely looking into it
Reasonable-Habit4406@reddit
Oh my brother, your the unicorn they be testing their bikes. I'd get one with a year or more warranty. Plus all the insurance.
TieDownWaffle@reddit
aventon aventure has a 400lb load rating
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Thanks!
unseenmover@reddit
you could be denied a warranty claim..
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
That’s a fair point
gladfelter@reddit
The bike will be fine, but you'll pop spokes on the rear wheel. If not replaced promptly, the rim will eventually fail.
You can minimize that by not jumping curves, avoiding potholes, and by buying a parallelogram suspension seatpost. But at some point you may have to have a custom wheelbuilder rebuild your wheel with double-butted spokes and a tandem wheel.
Prefer fat-tire ebikes and mid-drive ebikes. Fat tire ebikes have bigger rims and more float thanks to the tires. Mid drives put less stress on the rear wheel and it's easy to replace or rebuild a mid drive rear wheel since it's like any other bike wheel.
Bermnerfs@reddit
I am 320lbs and was considering an Aventon Ramblas ADV. I think they probably are a bit conservative on their ratings, I doubt a few lbs over the limit would make a huge difference.
Just make sure you are riding smart, don't try climbing steep hills on the smallest cassette cog if you go with a mid drive. They take advantage of the gearing making them a great option for heavy riders, as long as you make sure you downshift to the larger cogs before starting a climb. You want to keep your cadence up so you're not overloading the motor and battery.
The frame, wheels, and fork will all handle your weight fine, as long as you're not catching big air and hitting drops regularly.
If you're really worried about the weight limit, check out one of their mid-drive fat bikes which have a much higher rating. I do highly suggest you stick with a mid-drive at your weight, especially if you're planning on tackling a lot of hills.
Ultimately I decided to build my own E-MTB using a 750W Bafang BBS02 mid drive kit and a NS Surge Evo 4130 chromoly steel frame. No regrets here, I beat the hell out of it on technical single track, blasting thru root and rock gardens and it's handled it all with ease.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Thanks for this! I just really want this investment to last a long time and didn’t want to buy something that would break if I was over the limit. But honestly just looking to use it to ride to work and back about 5 miles each way and some other shorter rides to get me back into riding.
Bermnerfs@reddit
If you're mostly riding pavement for short trips, and don't deal with many hills, a hub drive might be fine. They're a bit simpler and lower maintenance, but you also don't take advantage of the bike's gearing to maximize torque to the rear wheel which is critical for climbing hills as a heavy rider.
I have a large 10 speed cassette on my mid drive with a 48T largest cog and the only limit to my climbing ability is traction. When I am running on the largest few cogs the motor basically sounds like it's completely unloaded, it's barely doing any work at all despite moving my big ass up the trails.
I wouldn't worry about breaking the bike due to your weight, I would worry about overheating the motor, and the best way to avoid that is with a mid drive and learning how to shift correctly.
Ideally you will also want something with really durable wheels, good quality and durable pedals, strong handlebar and stem, and a saddle made to carry a heavier rider. Typically you find these things on e-mtb's and e-fat bikes.
If you're looking at Aventon, have you considered the Aventure M? You could also take a look at some of the offerings from Lectric, Troxus, Ride1Up, and Velotric. They're all similar to Aventon and seem to make nice bikes.
If you really want to get something that's guaranteed to be high quality, have a warranty, and a local service and support network, Aventon is pretty good for this, or you could look at an e-bike from one of the big bicycle brands like Giant, Specialized, Trek, Kona, Canondale, Norco, Orbea, Marin, Polygon, etc. You'll pay a premium for one of these brands, but you know you're getting a well designed e-bike with solid warranty support.
Human-Acadia-5109@reddit
I'm not 320, but after having my new bike for a month, no doubt these things can hold the advertised 450 iirc pounds.
https://wiredebikes.com/
they're heavy, but so are you
regieshiki@reddit
Problems with extra weight is you can be top heavy. Same with kayaking. Much easier to fall. Instead of trying to find recommendations on bikes that work, it be a win win if you improved your diet. Then you can have a wider variety of options
slomobileAdmin@reddit
Diet. Amazing. I bet no fat person has ever thought of that before, or heard it suggested every day by strangers. But on the topic of being top heavy, that is a real thing. When pedaling aggressively, especially around tight curves, or pumping side to side, it's easy to push a tire off a rim and even get little pebbles inside. Or even bend the bottom bracket out of alignment with the rest of the frame. As if you were standing on it. Because you were.
Prestigious_View_401@reddit
Can you shut the hell up? You’re in a e-bikes sub not a weight loss one.
slomobileAdmin@reddit
Same weight here. Not specific to any machine. Things I've seen fail under my weight are: frame cracks where tubes are opened to insert batteries or other features. Suspension pivot bushing wear. Suspension fork seal blowout, oil loss, nitrogen loss. Grease displacement (use moly). Pedal bearing balls falling out. Use cages, RS, or shielded. Tube pinch punctures. Chain line wear at all components. Skipping teeth under hard pedaling. Chain jamming. Tire bead unseating on foldable tires. Motor overheat from starts without pedaling. Down tube bending at steerer tube. Fork tube bends. Crank arm attachment failure. Spun axle in dropouts (get a good torque arm). I've had spokes fail, but it's usually a good thing because they are cheap and easy to replace compared to frame cracks. Spoke failures aren't usually explosive events unless multiple nipples pull through the rim. Think of them like a fuse protecting the frame. Rims will flat spot or taco a bit to let you know your limits. I prefer 32 reinforced spoke holes over 36 unreinforced. Double butted. Cross the spoke pattern the maximum number of times you can for the given hub/motor and rim combo. Choose 2 smaller diameter motor/hubs over 1 large if you can, to get longer multi cross spokes.
ROYteous@reddit
As a few other have suggested, check out Velotric. I have the Nomad 2x and it's a quality bike on the same level as Aventon. The wife has a Aventon Aventure 2, so I've been able to directly compare the two. I'd say I like the Velotric a little more for a few reasons, even though they both trade blows with things that I like more. All pretty minor things though.
Aventon has more choices of bikes that have a lot of nice security features that would be nice to have. Although, Velotric did just come out with the Discover 3 and Discover M, which has some really good security features, as well as on the fly class switching. So I'd expect they will be rolling out the same updates to the rest of their bikes over the next year or so.
The Velotric bikes also tend to have a higher peak wattage and torque rating, which would likely be helpful with getting you going and climbing hills.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
I’ll check them out. Appreciate the info!
Routine-Ad-5739@reddit
I have a Velotric nomad 2 which is good for 500lbs. I'm 320 and my bike does well so far. Totally happy with it.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Awesome, thank you!
Gary_Fisher21@reddit
VELOTRIC Nomad 2 if you are looking for an alternative. Love mine!
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Do they have UL 2849 rated batteries?
Gary_Fisher21@reddit
The batteries are rated IPX7 with a UL2271 certification. The battery cells have a UL2580 certification
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Thank you!
ROYteous@reddit
This is what I was going to suggest. They have a 500lbs payload capacity.
Userscreename@reddit
I got the Velotric Fold One Plus and it also is great for commuting
2shado2@reddit
Check out Velotric.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Thanks! I’ll check these out
2shado2@reddit
👍
East_Worldliness2287@reddit
You have an e-bike already ? Why wouldn't you use it lol?
godzillabobber@reddit
320 should be ok on a 300 lb capacity. You'll probably start losing weight as you start to enjoy riding. I think the Aventon cargo bikes have a higher capacity.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
That’s what I’m hoping for lol I’ll check out the cargo bikes
CommercialSignal7301@reddit
Your weight should be within the margin of safety, but the wheels would be the weakest point regarding your weight. If it’s a hub motor, just go easy on the throttle and get used to pedaling more. If it’s a mid drive, see if the wheels are at least 32 spokes and use the widest tires that will fit.
AttentionHelpful3996@reddit (OP)
Ok thank you!
cclifford85@reddit
Start with a regular bike. After 6 months, you won’t have an issue.
Ok-Type-8917@reddit
You could check out what Lectric has.What is the maximum rider weight? - HelpDocs https://share.google/HSjCj6jz2U2wO2WZD
chrispark70@reddit
You're gonna have to pay the big man tax. When you buy the bike, get the wheels (or just the rear wheel if that is all you can afford) re-spoked with heavier gauge spokes. At absolute minimum you should get the wheel trued and re tension the spokes every couple months until you and what you are wearing and what you carrying combine to bring the bike's weight down to its certified carrying capacity.
The wheels are generally the weak spot, but the whole frame may not be strong enough. Bumps will cause the seat to move. I'm 215 and this happens to me.
You have to keep in mind that when moving, much larger forces than the forces the bike experiences at rest with you sitting on it are experienced. Hitting a bump, for example, will cause your weight to go up (as in towards the sky) and then back down. This will generate a lot more force on the frame and wheels than just riding flat and not hitting a bump (when you see a bump coming, you need to lift all or most of your weight off the seat anyway). It is these dynamic forces that are so bad for the bike.
Prestigious_View_401@reddit
I don’t know about aventon but TST R9 can do 400+ pounds https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP9LtP3jChFY7-hTqwE/