Buying an Ebike
Posted by NineOwl99@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I live in Canada and I'm looking for an Ebike as my main form of transport. My city is primarily flat with only one main hill and I'm looking on as tight a budget as I can manage. What should my considerations be for an Ebike? I barely know where to start. From what I can tell since I'll be biking in a flat city area hub motors will be good for my use. I don't need any crazy features either I'm just hoping for something to make my commute to work easier and maybe to and from the grocery store if I'm not getting much so if it's cheaper I'd lean towards peddle assist over a throttle.
I'm also wondering how people feel about them through the winter. I plan on using it as aside from the hill I live on we have a nicely kept trail system that gets me wherever I would need to go. For storing it in the winter I imagine I would want to find a way to store it inside out of the cold? I'm not sure how the battery would hold up outside.
Kinda hoping to keep around the 1000 CAD range if possible, there's some deals on in my area right now but I'm not sure if that budget is going to get me anything worthwhile.
Any advice from people that have experience with my use case would be fantastic thanks!
FCAlive@reddit
Between the fatter tires, and the extra torque, I find my electric bike to be a lot less easy to control in slippery conditions.
Zentransit@reddit
Ride1up Portola
bucketokfc@reddit
Walmart online will deliver a really good ebike for $525 CDN and deliver it in 2 days.
Lordly_Lobster@reddit
You definitely don't want to charge the battery when it's freezing cold. Even storing it in freezing temperatures is less than ideal.
Best to keep it in a climate controlled environment. Which can be a issue if you have to take it up stairs since ebikes are heavy.
There are ebikes in your price range but quality will be an issue. You could get lucky and have a problem free purchase. But if not at that price point customer service will be tough to get. The electronics on ebikes are not standardized so if you need parts it could be difficult.
NineOwl99@reddit (OP)
Storage shouldn't be much of an issue I'd just need to arrange an indoor space with roommates so I should be able to avoid the cold. I was thinking the price may be an issue. I don't need a very high end bike so would your concerns be feature related at that price or would I be more at risk of something breaking down on me? I'm not sure how frequent ebikes may have issues compared to a normal one
Relative-Display-676@reddit
visit local shops, see what they have in stock and ask which brands they service. if it's out of your budget, look for similar brands on facebook marketplace or pinkbike site.
NineOwl99@reddit (OP)
I hadn't really thought about making sure they can be serviced here. Is it very expensive and any more frequent to have work done on an Ebike?
sentinel_of_ether@reddit
Not really. But it can depend on what you get. You’ll have less of a problem with a lighter bike. The shops i talk to just say the heavy ass ones people bring in are a pain in the ass.
NineOwl99@reddit (OP)
That's sounds good to me I'd definitely be leaning towards a lightweight bike I don't need anything heavy duty
Weak-Conversation753@reddit
If you live in Toronto, consider a good acoustic commuter if it's a primary bike. Ebikes can be expensive to maintain and can be out of service for weeks while parts need to be sourced.
My commute is east-west, and Toronto has very little elevation change in this direction. For me an e-bike is massive overkill, I wish I realized that before buying an e-bike.
NineOwl99@reddit (OP)
Not in Toronto but where I would commute is primarily flat apart from my neighborhood. Maybe that would be a better option
sentinel_of_ether@reddit
Get something light. Velotric Tempo or Aventon solterra. Lightweight bikes are super convenient for city use since they are far more nimble, and they still come with more power than you’ll ever need for dealing with flat ground. Hills won’t be much of a problem either just throw it into boost mode and give it a little pedal if you don’t feel like doing the work.