246 lbs. 5'9" 52-year-old

[TomAllyn]

Today I went to a bike shop that's only a couple miles from my house and tested an EVO CITY WAVE, but it didn't feel as substantial as the Pedego's. It was a nice bike, but I don't like the fact that the 48 v battery only comes in I think it was 8.6 ah. I want at minimum a 48 v 11 ah battery. preferably even 15 ah. I was able to get it up to 20 mph quite easily and with my 245 lb body with throttle only it reached 18 mph. I would want to add a thudbuster seat post or similar. I'm not sure what the grade was, but with peddle assist it easily climbed a steep incline about the equivalent of a flight of stairs. Now I'm debating taking a 45-minute drive to another shop.

So I took a drive up to Auburn CA. where there's a shop that carries IZIP and Haibike. I rode a IZIP E3 Dash and I'm in love. I also rode a couple Haibike Mountain Bikes, because the owner wanted me to compare the motors - one had the Yamaha and one had the Bosch. Out of the three bikes my motor preference in order is Bosch, TranzX, Yamaha. I don't know how to describe the differences.

I hadn't considered a speed pedelec, but I REALLY liked E3 Dash. Due to my mild disability issues the owner suggested that if I buy the bike that he add a little height to the handlebar stem to get me more upright. I would also add the boost button, a Thudbuster, and a more comfortable saddle.

By they way Auburn, CA is in the Mountains so I was able to test drive on a couple very steep roads and though I had to be in a very low gear I was able to make it up fairly easily. Coming back down was quite interesting since I'd never ridden a bike down a long steep grade like that before. I was thankful for the hydraulic disk brakes.

 

[john e-bike 2007]

I'm 215 lbs, 5'-7", 57 y.o., I use a 'kit' on an old 30 lb trek 800 26" cro-moly, 36 v pack 18lb, 25 A controller, 350 watt b/l front geared hub motor. So I like to pedal a bit and go about 15 mph on flats but cruise before an uphill. I use shifting and 20A throttle power going up and brakes going down. I can get about 2-2.5 m/ah. You walk a lot, your legs are strong you can do even more m/ah. I use a 20ah nimh pack so I could get up to 30miles at 12ah 60% discharge but i usually ride 10 to 12 miles. I use 2x 10ah packs in parallel so I stay at 1c rate. Why spend $3k? You can get a good solid used bike for $200- 300 dollars from a dealer on craigslist. $125 ebike.ca controller and an a Ping li-fe-po4 36-48v battery for 800 and a wheel w hub motor for 250-400 total of 1800 and yes take your charger with you. http://www.pingbattery.com, http://www.ebikes.ca,

 

[TomAllyn]

I'm 215 lbs, 5'-7", 57 y.o., I use a 'kit' on an old 30 lb trek 800 26" cro-moly, 36 v pack 18lb, 25 A controller, 350 watt b/l front geared hub motor. So I like to pedal a bit and go about 15 mph on flats but cruise before an uphill. I use shifting and 20A throttle power going up and brakes going down. I can get about 2-2.5 m/ah. You walk a lot, your legs are strong you can do even more m/ah. I use a 20ah nimh pack so I could get up to 30miles at 12ah 60% discharge but i usually ride 10 to 12 miles. I use 2x 10ah packs in parallel so I stay at 1c rate. Why spend $3k? You can get a good solid used bike for $200- 300 dollars from a dealer on craigslist. $125 ebike.ca controller and an a Ping li-fe-po4 36-48v battery for 800 and a wheel w hub motor for 250-400 total of 1800 and yes take your charger with you. http://www.pingbattery.com, http://www.ebikes.ca,

I've considered the option of finding a used bike that has the geometry I need and then getting a kit installed. Due to nerve damage in my hand and arm I never know when I won't be able to work on a bike myself. Be great for several days in a row and for seemingly no reason wake up in severe pain anywhere from a few hours to a couple days.

I was just reading an article on the ebikes.ca. site about DIY mid drive motors. I really enjoyed the mid drive motor I used today, but I was also in an area with almost nothing, but hills. The article mentioned that one of the cons of a mid drive is that they aren't great on flats. Sacramento, is in a valley and 99% of the time the only incline I'll be climbing is on a freeway over pass to get on the other side of the American River. With that in mind should I even be considering bikes or kits that are mid-drive? It also mentioned that mid-drives are harder on derailleur and chains. This concerns me as I don't want to have to be constantly replacing worn out "drive train" parts. Then again I think I've heard Court on some videos indicate that internal gear hubs result in less strain.

 

[Donny]

I've considered the option of finding a used bike that has the geometry I need and then getting a kit installed. Due to nerve damage in my hand and arm I never know when I won't be able to work on a bike myself. Be great for several days in a row and for seemingly no reason wake up in severe pain anywhere from a few hours to a couple days.

I was just reading an article on the ebikes.ca. site about DIY mid drive motors. I really enjoyed the mid drive motor I used today, but I was also in an area with almost nothing, but hills. The article mentioned that one of the cons of a mid drive is that they aren't great on flats. Sacramento, is in a valley and 99% of the time the only incline I'll be climbing is on a freeway over pass to get on the other side of the American River. With that in mind should I even be considering bikes or kits that are mid-drive? It also mentioned that mid-drives are harder on derailleur and chains. This concerns me as I don't want to have to be constantly replacing worn out "drive train" parts. Then again I think I've heard Court on some videos indicate that internal gear hubs result in less strain.

Frankly, if you shop around, you can *probably* pick up a manufactured bike for about the same price. I know around here, many retailers had their e-bikes on clearance for 50% or more off MSRP and that brought many of the prices down to $1600 or less for iZip, Diamondback, and other makes/models. My local REI still has two iZip Dash bikes on clearance for around $1600. People are also scoring good deals online as well once you have one picked out or try to get a local bike shop to price match. I'd also suggest hitting up used sites like Craigslist as you can usually find deals on there as well. Failing all of that, you've always got Sondors bikes and I they are turning up used all the time (although the price people are asking for them is generally laughable in my opinion). I was going to go the DIY route as well, but by time I priced everything out, it was easier and cheaper for me to get my iZip Zuma (mainly due to the killer deal I got on it).

 

[TomAllyn]

By the way I've upped the amount I'm willing to pay if I can find the ideal bike for me under $5000. I've found several bikes I like so far, but one of my concerns is reliability. I want to find the bike with the right geometry and power for me that will be the most reliable and have the least drive train issues.