Stop the e-bike snobbery! You don't need a $5k bike to have fun

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SwollenMexican@reddit

A $400 scooter/bike that goes 10 mph an hour was the most fun i had 😂 sitting down like those grandma at Walmart just chugging along.

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YobaiYamete@reddit

I don't get the people who want to go super fast on them. Mine goes 28 and by the time I hit 20 I'm on the brakes and in fear for my life

My friend is insisting on finding one that goes 60+ mph and I"m like, bruh at that point just buy an electric motorcycle lol

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Mysterious_Lesions@reddit

I bought one that can do 55 kph. Not because I want to do that speed, but more for the fact that I'm heavier and I know bikes at higher speeds have large batteries and longer range.

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The_Grungeican@reddit

i'm looking at one of those fat tire ebikes for a similar reason. i'd like a more normal one, but i don't know how well it would hold up to my weight.

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The_Grungeican@reddit

i think it comes from people not really riding bikes much when they were younger. we had some decent hills where i grew up, and we had a handful of (what were at the time) new speedometers.

cut us trying to see who can get the top score.

20-25mph is the upper end of speed you want to actually ride at. i've been faster, but manuverability and stopping distances become major considerations when you're hitting 30-40mph. if you eat it at those speeds, you're going to wish you had some leather on.

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Pocketnaut@reddit

Mine goes 28 and it's fine for most things once I got used to it but I'd LOVE to be able to go 45mph just so that If I'm forced to hit the road I can keep up with traffic

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kashuntr188@reddit

My escooter can go 45km/h. But it is so much more fun around the 20-30 mark. I just cruise and I don't have to worry as much.

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blueskyredmesas@reddit

I'd say most people I've talked to operate their ebikes at scooty-puff Jr. speeds and that's a good thing. It means people are out just seeing the world.

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SwollenMexican@reddit

I have a moped style ebike and I get it.. it goes 35 mph top speed but im 99% at like 12-17 mph tops

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payscatdis@reddit

gif

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SlapShotSlim@reddit

Awesome!!

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Professional_Ad_6462@reddit

What makes me think e bikes for a majority in the U.S. are more toy ( like snow mobile, jet ski) than exercise and as the sole transportation likely rare.

I live in Europe where the salaries are generally lower than the U.S. I rarely see a sub 1k bike and quite a few high end like R&M cargo bikes with kids in tow. Many Europeans combine an e-bike and park and ride public transport.

Far easier to justify the purchase if it’s your daily driver. My wife takes the kids to day care then go work on her cargo bike. She is a mechanical engineer she wouldn’t be caught dead on these two wheel Roman candles.

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AmnestyWhisper@reddit

I purchased my core bike and my upgraded fork for a strong deal, slapped on a tsdz8 and its been incredible for less than $1200. Honestly more fun than my sv650 which I have had the pleasure of riding in the SD black hills during the 3 warm seasons.

I have a Schwinn Axum comp $250 with a used marazochi Z1 fork $175. Just put on my first solid tire and its incredible.

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davey-jones0291@reddit

Cycling in a nutshell. Imo it's a form of sly media advertising but hopefully im wrong. It goes across road mtb ebikes pretty much equally but hasn't been as bad in the last year or so. Ride bikes have fun. Its not a pissing contest.

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idosillythings@reddit

It's not snobbery to warn people off buying fire bombs to store in their house or apartment.

Due to import costs, even budget e-bikes in the U.S. costs a little over a $1000.

If you're paying less than that you're taking a real chance on the battery.

Wow, 100 incidents a year in a city of tens of millions, very convincing stuff! Maybe we should all ditch our cars and ride horses again since car fires are more common than horse fires!

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idosillythings@reddit

If you wanted to just mischaracterize any data presented to you, I wish you would have said that and just saved me the time.

100 incidents a year in a city of tens of millions

Are those tens of millions of people all riding e-bikes, and cheaply made e-bikes that don't follow safety standards? The sample size isn't tens of millions. While private ownership is difficult to track, it's roughly assumed somewhere in the 10k range last I checked. Citi Bike operates a fleet in New York around 5k strong so doubling that doesn't seem crazy. Let's make it a very large 100k just to be extremely optimistic. With that, we're looking at 1 e bike out of every 1000 sold to go up in flames in New York alone based on that data.

Maybe we should all ditch our cars

Yes, cars are dangerous. It's why you need a license and have it registered with an insurance company to legally operate them. How does this help your argument again?

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labranjaymes@reddit

Yeah sure, lets make up data to disprove my data. Here's the report from New York City on citibike usage: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bike-share-usage-data-report-q2-2025.pdf

12 million rides last year alone. Those are the public ones too which are cheap and rode into the ground. How many people burned to death on those bikes?

Crazy what a single, ten second search on google can do.

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idosillythings@reddit

Where did I say anything about number of trips? I said they operate a fleet of around 5k. Looks like I was wrong on that. I was searching how many e bikes there are total in NYC and messed up on the fleet number.

According to Citi Bike themselves, there's around 27k spread across New York City. Regardless, the number of trips is irrelevant to the number of fire incidents.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/citi-bike-is-expanding-into-a-number-of-new-neighborhoods-in-nyc-by-fall-2025-121624

I'm not sure why you think Citi Bike e-bikes are "cheap."

They're custom designed and literally made to be abused by an unknowledgeable public, people such as yourself.

Fleet vehicles are not made cheaply. If they were they'd cost more in the long run to replace and repair constantly.

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labranjaymes@reddit

Not sure if you know what custom designed means, but I can assure you tens of thousands of bikes that are mass produced to look and behave the exact same way is not "custom designed".

I mentioned trips because it shows how durable modern ebikes can be. You can ride one forever and it won't catch fire because we have regulations on how they are allowed to be produced, as reported by your original article.

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idosillythings@reddit

I can tell you exactly what I mean by custom designed. They were designed by the company to hold up to a lot of wear and tear by a lot of different people who don't know what they're doing and don't know how to take care of bicycles. They are fleet vehicles "custom designed" to be abused and be able to withstand it.

At no point have I said that modern e-bikes can't be durable. This entire conversation is about cheaply made batteries and cheaply made e-bikes that don't follow those regulations.

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labranjaymes@reddit

Yes, and although there is no federal regulation on ebikes a large (and growing) portion of state and local laws require some sort of regulation to ensure the safety of ebikes.

I was wrong on the Citi Bike number. According to them it's around 27k.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/citi-bike-is-expanding-into-a-number-of-new-neighborhoods-in-nyc-by-fall-2025-121624

There's no real way to know the private number. The DOE says that there were around 1.1 million sold in 2022.

Around 2.2 million sold in the U.S. in 2025. That's roughly .67 percent of the U.S. population.

If we say that that same percentage of people in New York City's estimated population of 8.4 million, we end up with around 56k e-bikes.

I'm willing to admit to being wrong here, math isn't my strong suit.

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idosillythings@reddit

To address your edit, you seemed to have read the article looking for a way to refute it, rather than actually reading it.

The numbers I cited from the article are for "e-mobility" batteries specifically.

1,2,3...out came the straw man.

You linked one article, and it's essentially a blog post from UL, not an independent third party. Do better.

If you want to trust numbers from their propaganda arm, poor choice, but your choice. I don't need to detail shit for you.

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idosillythings@reddit

1,2,3...out came the straw man.

It's not a strawman. You claimed that I am using a specific source to show that standards work. That's not what I claimed with my link to that source. I used it to show the number of e-mobility battery fires.

I only called attention to the effectiveness of certain standards when someone attempted to use the same source to show that battery fires had decreased, which again, is seemingly proof that the standards are in fact working.

So, I'll ask again, do you have any information that shows that the data presented is wrong?

I don't need to detail shit for you.

If you're saying that data presented is not trustworthy, to be taken seriously, then yes, you do. Do you have any data disproving the claims?

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Impossible_Till8158@reddit

And how many of those are from cheap faulty batteries vs worn out receptacles, extension cord use etc?

Hate to break it to you but most batteries, name brand or not, are from the same factory.

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idosillythings@reddit

The fact that fires have decreased after manufacturers have been required to follow specific manufacturing codes would seem to point towards faulty batteries or housing.

Something being made in the same factory doesn't mean they're being made to the same quality standard, as they aren't coming off the same line.

It's the often misunderstood thing of "this same factory makes all of these same bike frames."

That doesn't mean the frames are being held to the same compliance standard.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

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gr8tfurme@reddit

It's a big enough issue that a massive battery recall played a large role in sinking RadPowerBikes.

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bradland@reddit

When evaluating risk, you have to consider two dimensions:

How likely is something to happen?
What is the outcome that it does happen?

Cheap e-bike batteries have such a bad reputation for fires that some housing authorities are banning e-bikes altogether. These fires are rare. However, you have to consider the second dimension. If an e-bike battery causes a fire in an apartment building, the results are catastrophic.

E-bike battery fires are not like a burning piece of wood. If you've never seen one, you should search for some videos. Lithium battery fires are violent, explosive events that frequently shoot burning cells across the room. Even if the battery remains self-contained, the fire shoots out like a rocket engine as the cells burn off.

The other problem is that they tend to burn for a long time. Each cell heats up and pops off in sequence. If the whole pack goes up, that can take hours. So you end up with this hot, explosive fire in your home/apartment, and no one can do anything about it.

When the fire department comes, they might be equipped to move the battery, but they might not. The fumes are extremely toxic. Often times, they douse it with water for a long time, which floods the area.

The consequences of an e-bike battery fire are off-the-charts bad. The leading reason people recommend against super-cheap no-name e-bikes is safety, not snobbery. Buying an e-bike with a UL listed e-bike battery is important.

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Ok-Many4195@reddit

And those toxic fumes can knock you out or give you lung problems in less than a minute. The proper response is to always put some distance between yourself and it as soon as possible.

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FixedMessages@reddit

It's not a "complete non-issue" - a mechanic shop in my city recently burned down because of an EV battery.

Not saying it's a frequent issue by any means, but the problem isn't the frequency of battery fires, it's the severity - you really can't put out a battery fire, so when they happen they tend to be devastating. With that in mind, I'm going out of my way to do everything I can to minimize that risk, even if it means spending extra money to buy from a reputable place. But I'm aware that even that isn't a guarantee, it's just an extra safeguard.

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ScumfrickZillionaire@reddit

Wouldnt a mechanic shop be more likely to encounter faulty batteries than other locations?

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FixedMessages@reddit

Yes, of course. They'll have more batteries due to having more vehicles than an average residence, and people with battery issues will bring them to a mechanic so there's more chance of them being compromised. (Though I don't believe the battery was a known issue in the fire I'm talking about.)

That doesn't change the point that battery fires are not a non-issue.

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footsnax@reddit

They'll have more batteries due to having more vehicles than an average residence

That's kinda the point they're making though. More batteries means higher probability one will blow up. Five people in a room increases the likelihood that one of them has blonde hair.

It's the same thing with EVs, it's only news that they catch fire because it's news. I've known more people that were killed in gas powered car accidents, that doesn't make them any more or less dangerous. Same thing with analog bikes, but if someone gets killed on one it's a bike accident. If an ebike battery catches fire in someone's garage, it's the bike's fault and now it has become news because it's new.

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Disastrous_Bed_1149@reddit

I’m pretty certain the fire hazard is from aftermarket batteries and unsafe charging.

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RosieDear@reddit

Let's be clear. So you say if I buy a Bike with a full UL approved Electrical system and battery.....and it's $800, it's less safe than a $1400 bike with the same UL Approval?

Or, to use your exaggerations - the UL Approved lower priced one is a FIRE BOMB? I think it's time to call UL because they surely wouldn't want their mark on Fire Bombs!

Note - I dealt my entire life with equipment that could EASILY burn peoples houses down. Think Woodstoves or similar. At the start none were UL Approved. Same BS happened...people claimed unsafe and all that, standards were set and every model was then UL Approved.

Do you know how much it added to the price of the appliances? ZERO.

No one is claiming you might not get better specs on certain parts at higher ends. But any claims that.
1. UL Testings means the thing has to be expensive.
2. If it's not, the UL testing means less
3. These are Fire Bombs just waiting...

Are over the top, IMHO. Out of millions of bikes stuff is gonna happen. In the vast majority of cases it is, as with airliners "human factors". Take a UL bike and lay it in a puddle for a few hours (yes, people do this) and it won't be as good as before.

It would save more property, IMHO, to teach people safety than to tell them they get it when they spend more.

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idosillythings@reddit

It's so weird how offended people get over this stuff.

I'm not saying that affordable e bikes can't be safe. But the likelihood of getting one that meets safety and manufacturing standards at well below the average price is small.

In terms of affordability, costs have to be cut somewhere along the line. When you start getting into entry level e-bikes from reputable brands, the majority of the cost is going to be coming from frame and battery manufacturing as things like brakes and drive trains have already been cut down to the minimum the brand feels confident putting out there.

To get well below market average the cost cutting then begins moving to battery and frame manufacturing cuts.

True. And most who CAN afford better generally pay more to avoid the downside risk. Some of us are just cheap and we like to live dangerously.

From what I'm reading most of the bad batteries.....I mean the really bad ones (1% catch fire) are long gone.

But to put it into perspective....that's still1%. Do I want to buy that lottery ticket?

Not really. I think I'd park that ebike in my garden shed....not in my garage.

And if I felt my thighs getting warm while riding I'd be ditching that ebike to the side of the road in a hurry.

I hope I'm correct with this. I don't want anybody to lose their life or even their garden shed from an ebike battery fire.

Yep. Figure. Another 5-600 for a decent bike and you’re starting to get out of the range of disposable trash and into a semi-functional bike.

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iwouldratherhavemy@reddit

Another 5-600 for a decent bike and you’re starting to get out of the range

Mostly because we only have one planet with limited resources and it pains me to know that two months of fun is going to around in the form of garbage for decades to come. Disposable culture is gross.

Add to that the increased scrutiny that fires from junk batteries place all ebikes under and it becomes a problem that impacts all of us.

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TrippyDaveXB1@reddit

its really not that deep dude chill tf out

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Shoehorse13@reddit

LOL. Buddy don't ask questions you don't want answers to. Feel free to move along if you don't like what you're hearing here. Seriously you won't be hurting my feelings any..

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Euphoric_Row4547@reddit

If anyone is being snobbish it's you.... most people who invest in ebike kits and batteries generally run them until they can't be run and or sell them to someone else who's gonna do the same. This is reddit where people get autistic hyper fixations so maybe go bitch to your neighbors about how you hate their attitude instead of the people on here doing absolutely nothing

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TrippyDaveXB1@reddit

can literally say the same fucking thing to you and all the other E-karens on this sub. Buddy.

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BadluckyKamy@reddit

Ask a firefighter or anyone that works in the ER what they think about cheap ebike, not saying to get a crazy expensive one just to get one that have basic quality control and safety

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whattteva@reddit

This. NYC had enough of these fires (some claimed fatalities) that many buildings end up just banning PEV's altogether; essentially the actions of some cheap skates ruined it for the rest of us.

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BadluckyKamy@reddit

My insurance company said that my home insurance could be VOIDED if I had a cheap lithium ebike battery without certification (or a cancelled fire claim if it catches fire)

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Fishing_Dude@reddit

Which is stupid if they only call out the bikes because there's 1000s of different products out there with lithium batteries that aren't UL listed

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whattteva@reddit

You do realize that most products don't have lithium batteries with the amount of energy that ebikes and escooters have right?

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david-saint-hubbins@reddit

You pointed out OP's argument is an example of survivorship bias. That's true.

ask a firefighter or anyone that works in the ER

But in the same breath, you're arguing by citing essentially the exact same kind of selective bias, just in the opposite direction. A firefighter or people who work in ERs only see the people who get hurt or killed, so they're not exactly a reliable source for unbiased risk assessment.

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thewimsey@reddit

A firefighter or person who work in ERs only sees the people who get hurt or killed, so they're not exactly a reliable source for unbiased risk assessment.

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Lithium_Lily@reddit

Yeah the helmet is pretty awesome. It's also very comfy and the large fits my huge head (i wear a 3xl in motorcycle helmets and even then some brands still don't fit)

I don’t believe this. All lithium ion batteries carry fire risk. The consumer who doesn’t follow the rules of not charging unattended is the larger problem. If there is thermal run away it happens initially over long period. Battery swell or loss of range suddenly is an indicator of fire risk. Most manuals spell out charging standards. The “Chinesium bikes” are capitalist importers not manufacturers. If you follow basic li-ion charging safety there is limited risk(fire bag, no unattended charging, check temperature while charging for differences from last charge).

The braking and tires yeah that’s a problem but scooters have 0 traction with road tires and yes accidents happen but I’ll recommend a crappy e-bike for e-mobility before a scooter unless you ride a bus then scooter is easier. I believe in a bigger tire and crappy brakes over a fast scooter.

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sticky-fingered@reddit

When something has to meet safety standards of western countries there’s much less chance of it burning you and your neighbours house down. If it’s designed and produced as cheaply as possible and not having to hit safety standards…..I hope Lady Luck is on your side. Yes any battery can burn. I’m only buying one that has met safety standards so my insurance might actually cover any problem.

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glity@reddit

Who monitors the standards? Which government agency has that power and funding to manage compliance?

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thewimsey@reddit

I don’t believe this.

Some people don't believe the earth is round, either.

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glity@reddit

So am I wrong or is the other guy. I don’t just make statements I use logic.

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ogreality@reddit

I charge 4 12volt 5a li-polymer batterys everyday and on fast charge, for rc cars, same risk, just keep and eye your cell voltages

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theuberdan@reddit

Any lithium battery can carry a fire risk, this is true. But a poorly made battery with cells that have poor QC will ultimately have a higher risk of it. Pair it with a poorly made BMS and you increase your chances even further. It's not to say you can't have a quality cheap battery. But there's a reason theyre cheap. Even if it's solely because they skip out on certifications.

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Knosh@reddit

But if the battery is the only holdup...

You can take most Chinesium bikes, identify the model of the battery(generally a Reention of some type) sell it for $200-$300 and get somewhere like FTHpower to rebuild you the same battery with Samsung cells in the US.

I have seen plenty of expensive bikes break down on this sub. My $400 ebike is UL certified, has been critically reviewed and there are people riding them with over 2k miles and counting.

Value can be a very subjective thing. I wanted something I could huck to flat and ride over baby heads in dry river beds so I bought a bike that spent over a decade riding down the sides of mountains and slapped an e-bike kit on it. I've always wrenched on my own bikes so I'm not concerned with a bike shop refusing service because I have a DIY kit on the bike. I also know pretty much everything about servicing and diagnosing the motor, so I don't need to find any place to have it serviced. I could spend several thousand more to buy a nice e-bike designed to do the same thing, but the increase in value to me would be negligible.

At the end of the day, if you get value out of it it doesn't matter what other people think.

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tulsadog@reddit

I think you need to split these into 2 categories. Tools and toys. Toys are inexpensive, fun, and if they break you throw them out. Tools are built for a purpose, held to a higher standard and a higher quality. Depending on what you do, your budget, and skills you’ll find something that fits you.

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Dangerous-Cash-2176@reddit

$400 GoTrax Transit e-bike has given me zero problems.

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dodonpa_g@reddit

Honestly, 30-35mph is the fastest an ebike should go. If you want to go faster go buy a motorcycle. Also, Don't spend more than $1500 on an ebike because you're already getting into used motorcycle territory.

My bike cost $950 and it's awesome. Just make sure to check brakes and tires often

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jkissla@reddit

My first e-bike was an Aventon and I will purchase another one soon

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Background_Gur6691@reddit

Would you fly in a $500 airplane sold by a dropshipper on Temu? I sure as hell wouldn’t.

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Iron_Oxhide@reddit

I went the DIY route and bought a mid-drive kit for $1500. I've been migrating my kit to a nicer frame every couple years. I've put 14,000km of all season riding on the kit so far across 3 frames. I think I found its forever home on the latest frame, a 20 year old Norco I picked up for $250. Sure I paid a fare bit more than $1000, but it absolutely crushes any ebike in its price range.

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blueskyredmesas@reddit

It's easy as hell to get a name brand 500w for $1000 now and they're fine - if its from a brand that's established.

Cost isn't a good measure of outcome though - quality maybe. But it's not as if a $1k bike always catches on fire or suffers a critical break within a year and a $5k is a golden boy that will never ever fail and is always the bestest bike ever.

At the end of the day it’s mass produced gear. You’re trading price for refinement, fit and finish, range consistency, long term durability, etc.

If it works for your use case, that’s kinda the whole point. And if it doesn’t, just return or exchange it and move on. Not everything needs to turn into a flex contest.

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lastblackman@reddit

Who's saying you need a $5k bike? There's sooo many option for ebikes that arent $500 dropship bikes, without having to spend $5000, come on. You don't even have to get one new! There's sites like Upway where you can get used bikes with prices that drop to sub $1000. Or Marketplace or Ebay. And if you get a decent brand, you can still get it fixed at a bike shop.

People are warning against $500 dollars ebikes because they have no quality control! Regarding every part of the bike, the battery, the brakes, the frame, the tires, the wiring, EVERYTHING. I don't care if you have one and rode it 5000 miles with no problem, we know as a whole they're unreliable and dangerous. To the point laws and insurance plans are changing for us all.

If you're ok with that kind of bike, go ahead. But don't try to lie and act like the only options you have are some Cannondale mid drive monster you can take down the side of a mountain sideways.

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Hot-Translator-5591@reddit

Looking at eBikes, it looks like the best option is a Bafang rear wheel kit with a certified battery.

For $600 you can convert a decent bike to electric.

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Insufferable_Twit2@reddit

I suppose I got lucky: my $230 hub conversion on a “normal” bike, powered by my Ego (trimmer/lawnmower/chainsaw) battery, is still going strong after a few years, as a (fair-weather-only) commuter bike. It’s a bit of a monstrosity of course and probably deserving of snobby ridicule, but I’m old enough to be immune to ridicule and I feel like a little kid when I’m riding it ;)

I enjoyed your comments. I own the proverbial cheap Chinese junk. I paid $749 for a 29” bike PUJH 48v 17.5 AH. My Bike has over 1,000 miles and no issues.

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SadZookeepergame5639@reddit

Still riding my Kristall / CmaceWheel RX20 (not the max) 2+ years and 9000+ km later... on my 2nd front tyre, 3rd rear tyre (4th soon), replaced forks, bars and headstem (with folding BMX kit)... I was a late xmas pressie from my missues in 2023 (got it in 2024). Came in at under $2000 AUD...

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Soggy_Ruby@reddit

Welp, my Lectric express with a laptop bag bungie corded to one side gets me to wrk real well

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4Looper@reddit

I’m riding a sub-$1000 hub-drive bike with 4000km on it and zero issues

And therefore none of these cheap garbage ebikes off Amazon ever have issues! Your one bike proves that battery fires never happen! People dont recommend buying cheap ebikes because they come with a ton of risks - battery fires, brake failures, ect ect. They get to that sub 1000 dollar price point by cutting costs. QC is the first cost to get cut buddy.

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probablyTolley@reddit

I ride an Aniioki because I'm a bigger guy, another guy at works rides a cheaper foldable brand and his tires puncture along the canal multiple times a month, other than that the bike is fine.

I'd say if you're getting a cheaper bike just immediately get thicker tires or puncture strips or whatever inside.

They are technically bikes. Many have working pedals, and even if they don't they are still a form of bike. Bike in that case meaning a two wheeled vehicle.

Legality aside, personally I don't see a problem with them riding on bike infrastructure so long as they are going bicycle speeds and riding safely. The only issues arise when reckless riding and excess speed for the situation is introduced.

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thewimsey@reddit

illegal emotos aren't welcome in the sub

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Unusual-Scarcity6536@reddit

Wrong. Learn to read.

Have you had any issues with the battery pack loosening up from the frame? How many miles are on it?

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Hotdammzilla3000@reddit

Under 100 , but no loosening, battery has a lock, come out easy, locks in place fine, battery dosen't heat up when charging and the charger gets little warm, this model is the full suspension with the 26x4.0 tires, top speed about 35 and a range of 65 miles.

The wife's is the racer hardtail, 20.x4.0 top speed about 28 and range about 55miles.

Only issue, had to adjust the back brake, no problem.

Nice feature I wasn't prepared for is the throttle response, it is instant, I've only been through 1and 2 while pedaling, nice smooth transition.

Biggest problem, their customer service SUCKS! LIKE BADLY. But I guess terrible customer service is universal.

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Vegetable_Network310@reddit

It's just snobbery. Chinese manufacturers are making the batteries, the controllers, the motors and the bikes. They are not subbing anything. So the bike is inexpensive.

Doesn't mean that it's trash.

It's envy writ large. A communist country beating the USA at their own game pisses the USA off.

Hell yeah. I'm receiving my $660 (Canadian $ before tax ebike) tomorrow and it is a 500 Watt nominal rear hub motor, 48 volt battery, 27.5 inch wheel bike and it will probably ride great until some a hole steals it.

I love escooters and ebikes.

I hate the snobbery.

One thing I don't like is the weight of these bikes. I know. Lighter materials....higher cost. I'll accept the compromise.

Ebikes and escooters are great. Especially for people without much money.

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haoqiebike@reddit

A 1000+ yuan electric bicycle is sufficient for commuting, but if you want to go on extreme adventures, you'll need to choose a better configuration!

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Soltea@reddit

Because people are buying so much dangerous trash and waste? It's not a ""flex contest"" to want an ebike that shops will work on, can get parts for and that won't burn your house down in the night.

The premium bikes also are really nice to ride, but not everyone appreciates that in any way (at least on this sub).

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JAK49@reddit

I have a $5,000 reputable Cannondale e-bike and even still it’s a toss up getting a shop to work on it. Let alone getting unique parts ordered for it, even from the shop that sold it to me. Partly that is because I live in Alaska. But there was an entire summer I couldn’t get a battery. My LBS couldn’t order it. Cannondale wouldn’t ship directly because they aren’t consumer direct. Couldn’t get any other business to air mail because of it being a battery.

Same with trying to get my hands on a shift/brake lever after it broke. Because it had e-bike specific functionality built onto it like the “horn” and engine cutoff I couldn’t just get an off the shelf part. Took a month to get one.

I can see the appeal of simply strapping an engine and battery on a bike shop bike. A majority of the parts you need are available at the shop when you need to fix things.

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Conservadem@reddit

Cannondale e-bike

True, but there a lot of people on this subreddit that don't acknowledge that there is a middle ground between a $400 Amazon POS and a $5000 premium bike. This space is mostly occupied by "nicer" DTC brands that shops will actually work on, which is basically Lectric, Aventon and Velotric in the US. These bikes aren't sexy or high end at all, but they'll get you where you're going, the battery won't burn your house down, and shops will work on them.

It makes sense though, a lot of the posts on here are either "look at my very expensive bike" or "my Amazon emoped broke, help me fix it."

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thewimsey@reddit

True, but there a lot of people on this subreddit that don't acknowledge that there is a middle ground between a $400 Amazon POS and a $5000 premium bike.

I'm just not seeing that on this sub; people are more than happy to call out $5000 Gazelles as overpriced and underpowered for the US market.

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Smooth_Tell2269@reddit

Ramblas aventon fits that category. Great bike for 2600

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turnthepaige420@reddit

after doing research and reading a lot and asking a lot of questions on this sub I ended up with a velotric I bought it from the closest bike shop to me 8 months ago, which was around 25 or 30 miles away just because the advice of people saying have a relationship with the bike shop so you know that they will work on it and be able to find parts for it. 65F I live in the country. If anything ever happens in my car, I know for a fact, I will still have a way to get around.

if I remember correctly, it was on sale for 12 or $1300 . I did buy a helmet also even though it feels weird to wear one but better than having my brains all over the road. they even gave me some kind of device for free that if you get in an accident and you don't get back up, it will send help. I forget what it's called.

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After-Tomatillo-6426@reddit

The issue is, that on the super cheap, no name bikes the batterys are often legitimately a fire hazard.

Otherwise cheap bikes are fun but often have "hardware store bike" level components, i mean shifters, brakes, suspension that are just meant to last for a while.

Shops often refuse to work on them because of that and, that some of the parts might just break when you have to take them off for a repair.

I bought a cheap department store bike here in the EU and repaired/replaced a bunch of parts with better used parts myself, if a shop would have done it i would have certainly paid double its worth in parts and labor.

You can buy a cheap bike, but factor in the cost of maintaining it, get the brakes adjusted by a mechanic or learn it yourself (they are often set up wrong, killed my pads and discs within 200km like that) and at least make sure the battery and electronics have proper certification and the thing is street legal on your country.

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nobikeno@reddit

Never has the phrase “you get what you pay for” been more true!🤪🚴‍♀️

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78Anonymous@reddit

I did a complete build for £1200 with a 20Ah battery.

I'm all for sub-1000$ e-bikes, for KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE.

You can probably get a hell of deal if you know what you buy. Most people looking for a bargain don't, and this causes accidents, distrust of e-bikes in general, and e-waste.

When I am asked for a budget bike, I always say to have a look at used bikes from big brands, when you can almost always be certain of a minimum of things to go right.

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OpossumBalls@reddit

Buying $400 ebike > $4000 beater car

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Lordly_Lobster@reddit

I think the issue is what happens when the electronic parts fail.Like any consumer electronics they do break. And if your only recourse is an email address for "customer service" you could be out of luck.

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RicardoNurein@reddit

$0

Where are you seeing these people that say you "need a $5k bike to have fun"?

Note - I was a tech journalist for many years covering drones and similar tech - and used 100's of batteries in addition to those in all my other tech since the 1990's - never had a fire or even a smoking battery. But I do try to be safe....don't want to damage a 500K house with a $40 battery.

Oh, and I noticed many $700-$1200 ($500 used) eBikes have full UL Approved batteries so that one doesn't float (that is, buy a 3K bike due to UL).

Traditional_Youth648@reddit

There’s too much of an imaginary class war, there is a minimum budget for e-bikes I’ll recommend for a reason, having been an independent bike mechanic, Most sub 7-800 dollar e-bikes you find on Amazon are flat out dangerous, brakes are dangerous, tires are dangerous, battery’s are poorly made and can be a legitimate fire hazard. There’s exceptions, I like lectric and gotrax!

I’ll recommend someone get an e-scooter, or look at used e-bikes, or look at a nice commuter pedal bike, but I’m never gonna apologize for telling someone to avoid a blatantly dangerous product

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MildlyAgitatedBovine@reddit

Used Cero M1 for $250. It folds and only has a glorified laptop battery but it beats every minute of being in a car...

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FullMeltAlkmst@reddit

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DrWarlock@reddit

Most people are happy that somebody is out on a bike any capacity. The more DIY and unique the better I think.

The only real concern with e-bikes is importing un-certified batteries that don't meet standards. Those ones are legitimate fire hazards.

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novasilverpill@reddit

instead of one $5k ebike i have four $1.25k ebikes.

i love all of children equally.

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BIG_SCIENCE@reddit

LOL. North Americans are so tribalistic.

First it was regular bicyclists who were the angry gatekeepers. Screaming at ebikers that they were cheating!! You’re ruining cycling for everyone they would say!

Now it’s rich people riding in 10,000$ e-bikes looking down on those who have 2000$ bikes??

Small dick energy

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Hotdammzilla3000@reddit

Yeah, sadly yeah, you forgot the part, on a custom bike rack connected to a GINORMOUS lifted custom truck........

And how many parking spaces they need at Walmart, not hatin', it is what it is.

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TopRepulsive4766@reddit

You said it buddy. And yes North Americans are the worst. But I see this in other areas as well. I think it's almost an instinct with some people (a primal one).

And of course this is prevalent on many other forums as well.

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BastianHill@reddit

My girlfriend has been gifted her passed fathers ebike. 0 euro, a lot of memories and it's even a good bike. It's just a front hub (Bafang) Amslod, but it's flawless for 6000 kms now.

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Strayed_Wolf@reddit

Recently my Portola from Ride1up was my best purchase, rode on it all winter and i live in Canada, still no maintenance needed.

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stonerbobo@reddit

100%. It's literally insane the levels of cope and bullshit I see here. I have a $500 Hyper ebike from Walmart that kicks ass. I've also rented and ridden the fancy $5K Bosch bikes for days all over on vacation. I was expecting to be blown away based on the shit you read here. You know what - it felt pretty much the same riding it....

Some guy at a repair shop unprompted starting telling me about how my bike probably sucks, how for example the good bikes have mid-drives now and my bike from 2024 obviously wouldn't.. then I pointed out the mid-drive motor to him 🤣

Also, this idea that ANY cheap bike has a battery that is going to catch fire is fucking stupid. Hyper for example is a trusted brand, I believe they will do basic QC. Like every cheap bike is not identical, every brand is not the same, maybe some are bad but many aren't.

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SilentRaindrops@reddit

This reminds me of way back when smartphones were pretty new and a few coworkers saw me using my $99 inexpensive centro phone while they all had expensive blackberries. One made a snide comment, can you even send email with yours? I said of course, does yours even have a touch screen or use a stylus to write? How about IR to use a remote control? No more trying to flex from them. I still miss that phone, plasticky squeaky case and all.

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M1ngTh3M3rc1l3ss@reddit

They've forgotten the diy origins of the hobby. Freds gonna Fred.

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Reelair@reddit

I have no issues with budget bikes. I just think people need to be reasonable with expectations. One expectation is to be able to fix it yourself.

Biggest complaint about budget bikes is nobody will work on them. If you buy one, yiu should know how, or be willing to learn, how to fix it, and be resourceful in finding replacement parts.

Most bikes are built from generic components. Learn to identify, then find them on AliExpress, and you'll be fine.

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Hotdammzilla3000@reddit

Yes, this is an important point, non proprietary parts, we purchased 2 Qlife ebikes and honestly, we are really happy with our choices, yes the parts are not high end shimano, but they work well and easily swapped out for better parts when needed, batteries are UYL listed, they charge with no issues and advertised as waterproof, I'll just take their word, overall build quality is very good.

So spending around $1300.00 for two bikes to have fun on isn't bad, and being older, they remove so many obstacles riding a bike creates. Yeah, there's some down sides, weight and lower end components, there's gonna be some gives to keep the price point down, so ok.

Hey, if a person's got f#@k you money, knock yourself out, ain't judging, I'll be me and you do you Boo.

I'm just happy seeing people getting involved with ebikes.

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mil0wCS@reddit

I bought a Chinese ebike off eBay for $400 and it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I liked the bike so much I bought 3 of them and gave one to a friend of mine.

It’s definitely not a flex contest. I thought the same thing for a while.

I figured anything under $1000 cant be that bad. After 8 crappy e bikes I broke down spent 5k on two summits. Theres a massive difference in quality and reliability that cannot be argued against.

Having a shop willing to work on it, when repairs fall beyond your understanding, can mean the difference between going in the trash and getting back on the road.

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plumzki@reddit

I get shit for having a fatbike here in the Netherlands, but I don't cause any trouble on it, I have it because it's a comfortable commute to work and most importantly, it was the cheapest ebike I could get at the time.

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I mean, I understand the perception fatbikers have, at least here there are a lot of youths on fatbikes causing trouble and a lot of people with fatbikes who show no respect for their surroundings, but don't hate the bikes, hate the people acting like dipshits, a lot of people like myself got these things before all the hate started, and I'm not now going to throw away 900eu because suddenly people don't like the thickness of my tires.

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Classic_Midnight3383@reddit

What about e-bike converter kits anyone had experience with them

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leobeosab@reddit

Totally get what you are saying and I agree. but there are some truths to the fire hazard issues on cheaper bikes.

This was the fuse holder on my $1800 Freesky. They had a 40amp fuse on 12awg wire. The controller has a max of 30amps.

There was a short in the motor and the fuse holder caught fire and never blew. Even like this it would still pass current and spin the motor a little.

I've since beefed up the wiring and fuse holder along with only using a 30amp fuse and it's been working great.

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Pale-Independence637@reddit

I have a one too I go grocery shopping with it.

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its-not-that-bad@reddit

You literally claimed to have spent $6k on an eBike in your last post...

So tell me, who is your daddy and what does he do?

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Big_footed_hobbit@reddit

Because their life is empty.
Same thing with cars. A f250 for the city.

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True but people should be encouraged to buy from reputable companies, for safety and so they can have their bike serviced when need be.

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GlumTowel672@reddit

For real, if you can work on these things the sky is the limit. Plenty of reliable kits for sub 1k. I’m about to get a cyc motor for an mtb I’ve built and it looks like it’s more powerful than >95% of the premade market as well and I’ll have <3k in the bike.

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UT07@reddit

Let's not get too hung up on the price. Here's the first question to ask: Does the bike adhere to local law? The great majority of cheap bikes do not.

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Professional_Bar_377@reddit

Just block the noise. There will always be some dude who has to flaunt in your face how crappy your bike is compared to theirs. Well good for them, happy for them and happy for myself. I have an hiboy ex6 ($850) which yeah is not fancy but it gets me places and saves on gas so can not care less lol.

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mikeatx79@reddit

I worked at a bike shop in high school, have always road bikes with Shimano 105 or Ultegra groupos; when I decided to buy an ebike I went to Trek and Specialized and ended up with a $6000 Specialized with GRX 12x1 Gravel bike that I’ve put thousands of miles on.

I don’t need the motor, it’s just a nice to have but makes the bike rather heavy. Riding a 12 lbs road bike versus a 60 lbs Chinese ebike is an extremely different experience. There’s a reason bike shops do not work on department store bikes, they’re basically meant for small kids and to be disposable not repairable. I’m seeing a lot of people having a hard time finding anyone to repair their broken $1000 e-bikes.

At the end of the day, it’s more about frame geometry, drive train durability, maintenance parts, etc. I will or

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NOVOJ@reddit

Currently riding the Funhang EB-S1 from Amazon. It was about $450 with $100 shipping so I usually say about $600 total. Thing goes 25mph and gets me where I need to be. I am enjoying it but won’t lie, I would love something a bit faster. Sadly if cops ever pulled me over going faster than I already am they would have that right to say I have to get it registered which blows.

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Demon_613@reddit

This is a cheap e-bike legal to use in canada
It a 5th wheel discovery
I bought mine last year around july and i did approximately 1200km of going to work and back
I had the following add on from amazon
- CXWXC cargo rack
- WSDCAM rear light (loud horn and flasher also)
- fincci set foldable slick 26x 1.95 tires
- akatate light (5 led) good for night time
- touring bike seat

I think it's mostly if you're going to recommend something online then you want to be able to trust it and unfortunately a lot of the cheaper bikes can have issues with poor craftsmanship and reliability. I have heard of lots of cases where people's garages or houses caught on fire because of the battery and the charger. I would hate to be the one to recommend that to somebody. If you want to take that risk be my guest but I wouldn't do it personally.

That being said, there's a lot of solid bikes on the market that don't cost 5K. I got mine mine for around $1,200. It's UL listed and reliable. You can get something for cheaper if you look or are handy and want to make your own, more power to you.

Stop validating crappy and dangerous bikes that dont even respect the legal requirement or straight up lie on it, because "most of the time it does not burst in flames while you sleep" is not enough! Get a AT LEAST a brand that is localy sold by local shop.

Your insurrance will probably raise a lot in the near future because of crappy bikes and then those will be banned from many locations that cant get insurance covering fires from e-transport

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beagles4ever@reddit

Look, no one says you sub-thousand dollar bike is going is definitely going to blow up in the first year. But the odds of something going wrong are high.

The facts are thus:

You can’t get to sub-1000 without cutting corners in reliability of safety. You have to get a frame engineered to handle power, a battery, a BMS, a controller, and then you have to get all the other components - wheels, tires, tubes, handlebars, brakes, shifters, drivetrains, headset, grips, seatpost, saddle, etc. Now you have to paint the frame, assemble the bike (correctly), ship it, pay import duties, pay for the marketing, pay for all that labor that went jnto making the bike account for overhead costs, etc etc. you have to warranty this thing…oh, and you have to make a profit and not go belly up in the process.

It’s not possible. It means sourcing parts from the lowest bidder - if you think they’re using stainless steel bolts and a quality alloy frame…well good luck on that.

First at sub 1000, a good battery will be over half the cost of the bike. Want to guess where the bulk of their prices are getting cut from?

Also, on a bike everything is a piece of safety equipment. The wheels, the tires, the bolts, the brakes, the frame…etc a failure in any of these is going to be a very bad day.

Consider the longevity of the company. Consider the serviceability on the bike (no local dealers, can the LBS even source a BMS or a controller if something does go wrong). Will they be in business to supply proprietary parts.

It’s just beyond belief that you can trust such a bike.

I don’t think anyone here has said you have to spend 5000 on a bike. But for me, I would say on a new bike not at a close out sale - my rock bottom end I would consider is 2 - 2.5K for something reasonably reliable.

So good luck with it. Enjoy it while it lasts and I hope for your sake nothing does go wrong. But a LOT of people have learned another lesson than you going this direction. And it is intended to be good advice, not gate keeping, to tell you to consider all this before deciding to roll the dice. Maybe you keep rolling 4 or 11 for a long streak- it happens, or maybe the next roll comes up craps (happens more often). And now you’re stuck with piling huge repair costs into a cheap bike (or worse).

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trevor_plantaginous@reddit

I've had Specialized, Aventons, lectrics, ride1ups, and juiced - hub drives/mid drives throttles/no throttles.

My experience is at about 3k miles is about where I start to notice the difference between a high end and a lower end bike. Right now I have a specialized turbo Vado 4 with about 6k miles and it rides like factory new. With the exception of brake pads I've literally had to do nothing. I have a lectric xp4 750 with about 2k miles and it's starting to need some work. You just start to see the impact of cheaper components - the brakes need to be bled frequently (cheaper brakes get air in the lines), cassette is showing some rust, bolts need to be tightened or replaced (they strip easy), spokes start getting loose, tires will need to be replaced, etc.

IMHO - if you are a weekend rider just cruising around for fun and errands there's no reason to spend big money on a bike. You can find something great that will treat you well for 3k miles. If you are truly using it as a commuter in all weather long miles every day a higher end bike will be more reliable in the long term.

Personally my 3 favorite bikes I've owned were the juiced rip racer (single speed), the ride1up roadster (og version single speed belt drive), and the lectric lite 2 jw black (single speed belt and genuinely portable). They were/are indestructible and I think with the electric assist gears are often overrated and just add an additional layer of maintenance. Cheap gears and derailers are what cause people the most headaches on cheaper bikes - with a single speed it eliminates that point of failure.

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JeremyFromKenosha@reddit

It depends on what your expectations are.

I'm a cyclist too, so I expect to be able to reasonably pedal the thing up a hill, which cheap eBikes are usually AWFUL at.

If it's just motoring along for $400 and you don't expect to be able to repair it or get a replacement battery in five years, by all means get the piece of shit Amazon eBike.

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bitcraft@reddit

Buddy, respectfully, it’s a “problem” every community has. No amount of complaining about the edgelords and elitists will change anything. I’m sure they get some smug satisfaction reading your posts and the replies. Just enjoy the hobby and ignore the negative comments.

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Relative-Display-676@reddit

It's not snobbery, it's personal experience with garbage bin brands. Trying to save others hassle, headache and waste of money. There are plenty of bike in $2k range that will outlive most riders. Stay the fuck away from anything under $1k. Regular bikes cost that much.

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knight4honor@reddit

I put a $250 on my bike and it works great with a $100 battery.

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lost_vault_hunter@reddit

I think of it from a "what brands have proven to be safe" perspective. If they have sold tons of units, even for less than $1,000, and haven't had batteries explode or bolts fall out, they must be fairly dependable.

If it's a random brand with a weird name and not many reviews, I probably won't like the idea of it sitting on a charger in my garage.

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Pretty-Yam-2854@reddit

Yeah I spent $800 on my fat tire eMTB and get it serviced at REI. It’ll soon be a year old and only things that have been replaced are the tires and calipers.

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SadisticPawz@reddit

The 3000$ bike elitism was an issue in the sub a few years ago. The new main issue is karens policing what you ride in general, irrespective of price.

Same. I'm crossing 6000k this week and I ride it rain or shine every day, six days a week. Cost me 800. I've replaced nothing but tires and brake pads.

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Zenigata@reddit

Clearly you never learned about probabilities at school.

To say something is risky or dangerous, such as saying super cheap ebikes from random websites are poorly made with no quality assurance and therefore are fire hazards. Is not to say that every single one will cause a fire, but that far too many of them will.

Also ive never seen anyone say you have to spend 5k, just that 400 from a random source is too low.

In the uk you can get a basic ebike for under 1k from trustworthy sources. They wont be great but they should be safe.

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donaldgoldsr@reddit

So true. Mine is under $1000 and I love it. It gets me to work every day. My previous bike had 3000 miles on it and it was a $500 bike. I switched because I wanted a sustainable higher top speed. The old bike works just fine still.

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J-Hawks@reddit

What e-bike do you have?

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donaldgoldsr@reddit

It's an off brand Qikaitu dual motor with a big ass battery.

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I love posts like this because they always get posted around the same time that 5 or 6 posts that say “help! My XCBDAER brand bike stopped working and burned my house down. Anybody know how to contact their customer service???” pop up. This place is the best lol

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porkchop_d_clown@reddit

It’s the internet - there are people willing to piss on anything here and get indignant when you don’t approve. If you ride it, it’s better than any bike you can’t afford or wouldn’t ride.

Me, I used to do 5k miles a year on my old Diverge but after 3 back surgeries and getting pushed into retirement I dropped $6k on a Cervelo eBike. I absolutely love it.

Meanwhile, my wife picked out a 60-pound hub-drive monstrosity that she absolutely loves because it folds up and she can put it in the back of her car. She uses it to chase me on my Cervelo. We’ve done 200 mile bike tours together which, frankly, she never would have done without that Blix(?) bike.

I also have a friend in her 70s who has a “cheap” mail-order eBike she assembled herself. She has no car at all and that bike is her lifeline.

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Majestic_Ad_2198@reddit

I built mine that goes 45mph for $250

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ZippierUser@reddit

There is a point where it is rightful though. The low quality itself is not a problem. Might it break faster? Maybe. Are parts and service harder? Maybe. Imo the problem with some of these is the safety. Many i see have questionable electronics, and same goes for brakes. That in together with some folding things i have seen. Besides that, long term, a more expensive one will last longer usually. This is a fact. To the quistion i see here often regarding is it worth it, the answer is often no. Because in reality, a good quality second hand bike will often last longer then a cheap no name aliexpress one.