AbbyD
New Member
- Region
- USA
In 2017 I bought a lightly used Stromer ST1 (vintage ca. 2014) from Craigslist and have loved it as a commuter bike. I live near Berkeley (east Bay Area CA), in a very hilly area. When I bought the ST1 there was one LBS in Berkeley (Huckberry) that serviced Stromers, but they have since closed.
My bike's power has been cutting out on climbs, the battery is clearly nearing end-of-life, and I am contemplating replacing either the battery or the bike. I just bought an Aventon Level.2 for my son and test-rode it as a candidate replacement bike for myself. Although the bike is nominally similar to my ST1 (it has a 500W rear-hub motor with torque sensor, a great rack, and integrated lights) and is probably a great buy, especially on sale ($1699), it's obviously not a Stromer - I found the power assist to be much more jerky and the ride less smooth overall, despite having a suspension fork. And it's much louder than my ST1, which bugs me a lot. So now I'm torn - I am seeing lightly used Stromers, including ST1-3 models, starting at roughly $2K. I'm a short (5'3") woman, late 50s, mostly interested in commuting and the occasional recreational ride through the Berkeley hills. I am concerned about buying a bike that is not serviced by local shops. Should I buy a new Stromer, attempt to refurbish mine, or are there better options available that I should consider? Why are Stromers mostly considered to be city bikes that are not ideally suited to hills?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
My bike's power has been cutting out on climbs, the battery is clearly nearing end-of-life, and I am contemplating replacing either the battery or the bike. I just bought an Aventon Level.2 for my son and test-rode it as a candidate replacement bike for myself. Although the bike is nominally similar to my ST1 (it has a 500W rear-hub motor with torque sensor, a great rack, and integrated lights) and is probably a great buy, especially on sale ($1699), it's obviously not a Stromer - I found the power assist to be much more jerky and the ride less smooth overall, despite having a suspension fork. And it's much louder than my ST1, which bugs me a lot. So now I'm torn - I am seeing lightly used Stromers, including ST1-3 models, starting at roughly $2K. I'm a short (5'3") woman, late 50s, mostly interested in commuting and the occasional recreational ride through the Berkeley hills. I am concerned about buying a bike that is not serviced by local shops. Should I buy a new Stromer, attempt to refurbish mine, or are there better options available that I should consider? Why are Stromers mostly considered to be city bikes that are not ideally suited to hills?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
