My answer to this question used to be that I wouldn't pay more than $5,674.39 for an e-bike, but that was a few years ago. 10 minutes ago, I would have adjusted for inflation and said my limit was $6,314.28 if I were in the market for a bike, which I'm not just at this moment. (My point being: Limits are very personal and therefore quite variable! To each their own, etc.)
After reading this post, however, I am reconsidering...
I paid five figures for my Creo. It was worth it to me for a bike that weighs ~28 lbs., has a wireless derailleur that shifts perfectly every time, and has a great adjustable shock-absorbing system.
BTW, ghost-pedaling doesn’t happen on the Creo. Maybe later in life (or sooner, if the arthritic knees complain too much), I’ll wish it did ghost-pedal, or maybe even had an throttle, and I’ll feel a need to replace it. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy what I have, with zero regrets about the cost.
...I want to know more-- at some point-- about a 28lb ebike that has some kind of meaningful suspension for pavement, that was workable for really cracked, terrible, erratic, crumbling tarmac with nearly invisible fault lines, (though I'd like something with straight bars and a different riding position). That could definitely tempt me to raise my personal budget for a non-eMTB, if (and only if) everything financially and physically (health( went right over the next few years!
But that is a different breed of bike. For an eMTB, my limit would still be between 5 and 6K, but that's if I ever got a third eMTB, and I'm not sure I will need to. Mike TPT, I'm not QUITE as paranoid about CF as you are, but... it would always bother me. I don't dump it often, but when I do, it's usually in some weird-ass way, and who knows if the frame is designed for some unlikely impact angle?
The Fuel doesn't tempt me... I see the appeal, but an SL eMTB is considered 40 lbs?! Can't think of why I'd do that when I already have "Mercury," Pedaluma's outlaw Class III custom hardtail based on a Marin Team 1, tricked out with ergo bars, that tips the scales at 42 lbs. Yeah, it's a hard tail, but I really don't need fs for 85% of my riding, and the Marin can handle half of the remaining 15% after I figure out the chain line issues, and if I adjust my riding style a bit.
It has taken me months to learn how to ride this bike-- everything ISN'T easy, there's a lot I've had to figure out, and that's part of the challenge and joy of it. The cadence and torque sensor is a little fussy, and it's taken me about six months to find the sweet spot, but I think I'm almost there.
Tonight, I was in the saddle with a fresh battery and topped-off tire pressure for 12 minutes on the way to a meeting and 18 on the way back, round trip about 8 miles with a total of 500 feet of vertical (mostly on the return). Dear God, on the streets of Los Feliz and East Hollywood? I absolutely do not need a faster bike. That thing just screams. It grips and tracks great on these mean streets, too, though 100% focus is recommended in traffic at nearly 30 MPH on Saturday night.
Sure, something like the Fuel would fill a tiny but important spot between my 47 lb Motobecane and the 42 lb Marin build, but... I'd only hit that spot once every couple of years.
Ray Ray, we'll talk knees at some point. 66 here, and something bad happened to my left knee after my third day of skiing this season... a good day, too, without any serious falls or injuries I was aware of, problems started the next day. Meeting with the doc Monday to go over the X-rays, wish me luck!
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