25 mile commute, mostly flat, looking for Class 3 Ebike

[enforcersu]

Hi All!

I'm not new to the e-bike scene, and currently have ~10k miles on my Stromer ST1X. My Stromer is getting pretty long in the tooth, and with the impending removal of the GPS and mobile features, I'm looking around for a replacement (that and I've experienced pretty severe battery decay (can only get one way with ~10% battery left).

I'm willing to spend $ if it's worth it. I like to commute year round, and I'm based in the SF Bay Area.

I was considering the R&M Multicharger, Stromer ST3, Specialized Turbo Creo but open to other suggestions!

 

[fooferdoggie]

love my bulls. I chose not to have a built in battery it costs less and makes it easier to take the battery off. I cna do about 25 miles with turbo and sport mode going 20 on this thing. I put 20 miles a day on it. it has great brakes on it too with super easy to change pads. just take a screw out and pup the pads out and put new ones in. https://www.cynergyebikes.com/Bulls-Cross-Mover-Speed-Diamond-p/bulls_cross_mover_d_18.htm

 

[hurricane56]

How is the drive system and motor holding up on the Stromer ST1x? I'm also in the Bay Area and out of all the other ebikes I see on my commute, the Stromers are always the bikes that can hold a steady higher speed compared to others.

I have a quasi DIY bike now, rear hub motor bike, but started on a Bosch powered bike. I liked the Bosch mid-drive, but it was a PITA with having to constantly change the chain and cassette gears every 2500 miles. After test riding a Stromer ST5 last year, I don't think I'd want to go back to a mid-drive again.

 

[enforcersu]

@hurricane-

Stromer is holding up. My major disappointment is the battery, I used to be able to do my commute and still have ~50% left in the tank. Over the past year, I now have only ~10%, and I worry that as it continues to degrade I'll end up without power one of these mornings before hitting work.

Since Stromer batteries are $$$ (2kish for the 814w), I'm debating just upgrading the bike for double that cost to have the newer technology

 

[hurricane56]

I see, I'm running into the same issues with my battery. The colder mornings are especially tough on the battery efficiency. It's a 1kw 48v battery that is about two years old and almost 9k miles on it. If I can get through most of this year before replacing it, I'll be happy.

I know a number of other ebike riders that do the same Dumbarton to Palo Alto commute, and we all started with various Bosch and Brose bikes, but now all of us ride Juiced Bikes or some frankenbike DIY creation.

 

[Nxkharra]

Check out Specialized Vado 5.0. Pricy but worth every penny for me.
quite, powerful, and smooth ride with great range and battery power.
I have 2020 version which I purchased in Oct 2019. Already have over 1,500 miles on it.
I sold my one month old ebike to buy this and happy that I did.climbs hills like a champ.

 

[vincent]

What about the Wattwagon I think it was designed for exactly that kind of commute

And Pushkar is great about changing things/modifying things if you want something different

Ravi has experience with lots of miles on a stroner and the wattwagon so maybe talk to him

 

[Ebiker01]

Vastly superior in terms of speed , acceleration , and with same battery technology(Same battery manufacturer) allthough only 750$ For a 605Wh pack is Bh Nitro City. It is also a lot cheaper - mine was only 4k with taxes and after another 2-2.5k in small accesories it is a proper Speed Pedelec.
The motor does 860watts peak comapred to only 500 or 650watts on St3. And it’s a japanese motor vs A chinese one on Stromer.

It can ride @28.5-29.7mph on flats for 20-25miles. The Grin satiator takes 30min to do another 50% charge.
Is very rare in the Us and most people only know about Trek, Specialized and Stromer ...

 

[enforcersu]

Vastly superior in terms of speed , acceleration , and with same battery technology(Same battery manufacturer) allthough only 750$ For a 605Wh pack is Bh Nitro City. It is also a lot cheaper - mine was only 4k with taxes and after another 2-2.5k in small accesories it is a proper Speed Pedelec.
The motor does 860watts peak comapred to only 500 or 650watts on St3. And it’s a japanese motor vs A chinese one on Stromer.

It can ride @28.5-29.7mph on flats for 20-25miles. The Grin satiator takes 30min to do another 50% charge.
Is very rare in the Us and most people only know about Trek, Specialized and Stromer ...

https://bhbikesusa.com/evo-city-nitro/ is that the bike?

 

[Ebiker01]

Yes. The motor is configured for up to 860watts peak in PAS 3/4.
48volts X Controller 20amps=860watts

Not even an St5 is equal to it. The Stromer putts out 650watts . With a 52t ring , a Nitro does 30-32mph.

Or the Trek Allant but it has few issues: battery falling, very hard to shift.
If it wouldn’t have had those issues , i would have definitely recommend It.

Read the Trek Allant thread.

 

[Johnny]

I think there is a company that rebuilds battery packs, Court has a video on them

. If you can rebuild that pack safely for around $500 (may even be with higher capacity) it may be an option. I have no experience with the company though.

With the mileage you mentioned if you are keeping a high speed, I would steer away from anything bike like Allant, it is just a non-suspension ebike with the new Bosch mid drive motor(There should be more offerings for less with the gen 4 Bosch motor later this year). You may get tired of drive train maintenance in general since mid drives put too much stress on the chain.

If you want to go mid drive and money is not an issue go with an offering which has belt drive + Rohloff. R&M seems to be the only offering that uses Gen 4 Bosch mid drive with Rohloff. If you don't mind buying online I think WattWagons is a nice option, titanium frame+ rohloff with belt it seems to be well designed for commuting.

Good luck

 

[paralleldo]

You may have seen this on the other threads, but there's also the upcoming FLX blade 2.0
gates drive with rohloff

Blade 2.0 - 1000W Belt Drive eMTB

A huge 52V battery combines with belt-driven 1000W mid-drive power to take your off-road shred session to the next level! The Blade is one of the HOTTEST bikes on the market ever since it was released.

flx.bike

MTB setup but it comes with a commuter package option

 

[Rob NJ]

Yes. The motor is configured for up to 860watts peak in PAS 3/4.
48volts X Controller 20amps=860watts

Not even an St5 is equal to it. The Stromer putts out 650watts . With a 52t ring , a Nitro does 30-32mph.

Or the Trek Allant but it has few issues: battery falling, very hard to shift.
If it wouldn’t have had those issues , i would have definitely recommend It.

Read the Trek Allant thread.

I am one of the ones with the new Allant 9.9 S. No problems with battery, did think it shifted harder than my Supercommuter 8+, but shifter is firm MTB setup. Have gotten used to it, and seems to have loosed up a bit. Fantastic bike. These are not "issues" that should prevent you from considering the bike. Really top notch.