What's Stromer really bringing to the table?
Posted by footsnax@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 11 comments
I've been looking for a very specific bike that nobody seems to be making, and the closer I get to finding exactly what I want it just seems to add a hundred dollars to the price with a very marginal upgrade.
Then I found the ST1 and was thinking... this is so basic. It's 90% of what I want but it has the same range and speed I'm looking for and finding in a dozen other bikes. It's missing a dozen more features that bikes half the price list as standard. There's videos of people complaining about the dimensions and seat and factory tires.
Why is this $12,000?
stormdelta@reddit
Test riding a Stromer is what convinced me direct drive hubs could be a great riding experience, even though I ultimately went DIY. They do seem a bit pricey for what they offer, and of course I never like proprietary designs period.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
I'm legitimately getting very close to the DIY phase myself. I've been on a months long hunt and it just seems like nobody is making the bike for me.
Just feels like everyone is making bikes for one specific camp. There's glorified PAS that are speed limited so hard they're only offsetting the weight of the battery, or they're just exactly close enough to the legal definition of a moped that they're still a bike.
All I want is long range with uncapped speed on PAS2 with a high torque throttle so I can cross streets faster and an adjustable seat. This does not seem like a lot of boxes to check. The headlight and everything are gonna get replaced anyway.
My ten pound Giant that was born in the 90s is faster and has infinite battery life and doesn't even have a kickstand, I'd rather take that anywhere outside of ten miles. All I want is a comfortable distance bike that would turn a weekend trip into a day trip without essentially just being a motorcycle, but apparently the market for that is exactly me.
subhuman_indep_777@reddit
What's wrong with Wired or Magician or other brands that allow the speed limit to be removed?
footsnax@reddit (OP)
I'm too picky because I've already doubled the cost of my starter ebike with replacement parts and mods just from trying to figure out exactly what I want. If I'm dropping multiple thousands into my next bike I want to be damn sure about it, and nobody seems to be making exactly what I want, let alone at a reputable level of quality I want.
stormdelta@reddit
If you have a decent budget and bike knowledge, DIY can work quite well. I'd already cycled as primary transportation most of my adult life before I built my first e-bike right years ago, prioritizing reliability and low maintenance.
Where people run into trouble is the bottom of the barrel DIY kits that don't have torque sensing or bad build quality.
DongRight@reddit
That better be a cargo bike...
Hopeful-Driver-3945@reddit
I have a Stromer ST3 and ridden a ST1 and many colleagues have one. We lease them through work as it has a lot of tax benefits in Belgium.
There are many local alternatives here, not all are sold elsewhere.
Klever, Ellio, Aska, Opium,...
They're speedpedelecs that truly go 45km/h and have about 50-60km of range at that speed. Many Chinese bikes are cheaper and faster, albeit less reliable. But none of them are legal.
They're overpriced for what they are but I pay 4500 net for a 9000 euro bike over 3 years with insurance and some maintenance included.
atlasraven@reddit
So, are you saying if you commute 10 km to and from work everyday, then you are paid (0.37x10x2= 7.4 euro) per day, in addition to normal work pay?
Hopeful-Driver-3945@reddit
Yes. I currently get 14,06 euro per day to cycle to work.
atlasraven@reddit
I get that it's supposed to appeal to white color commuters but 48V and modest speed w/o suspension I find boring. The range is nice but the design is low risk and lacking innovstion.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
Yeah I really don't see anything beyond higher tolerances and being pretty. I was honestly just curious if it's just expensive to be expensive, I haven't heard anything special about them other than they're just nicer.
If they're asking half the price of my car I have waaaaay higher expectations than "feels more gooder than the other options but still can't hop a curb and same range and speed as an unpowered bike"
Credit where it's due, from looking at bikes that check a majority of the boxes I'm hunting, it is very pretty. It just doesn't check most of the important boxes.