I'm new here and never had an ebike, but I've been a cyclist most of my life. Now at 72, still fit and mostly able, I no longer have a car or motorbike for transportation. I live way up in the hills, more than 20 miles from a decent store or farmers' market and more than 30 miles from my closest friends. I've been looking since last summer for serious e-bike transportation. I'm a nerd when it comes to research and science so I've self-educated on motors, batteries, range factors (I was originally researching ev's until I found I couldn't afford them or insurance) and have read and watched reviews of just about everything and gone to every manufacturer's website as well to try to find all appropriate specs. The trouble is, some of those specs that really matter are rarely listed or mentioned! I started with an idea of a budget but it has kept climbing as I learn more and more. I just need to find a bike that has what I need. Here it is:
1. I'm small, now under 5' (down from 5' 1 3/4" when young) but my inseam is shorter than normal for my height, at 27 3/4" to the floor. Forget what bike manufacturers list as fit by height, I have NO standover clearance even on the mid-step of Gazelle's Medeo T9 which is said to fit down to 4' 10", even though the fit is fine once I'm riding (long torso). So, I need a true step-through or low-step. This narrows the field significantly.
2. Lightweight I'm light, 110 lbs fully clothed. Beast bikes weighing over 60 lbs, even 55 and up, are too heavy. Too many reviews never talk about weight, even manufacturers leave it out or make it hard to find. I want to ride a bike, I push the pedals, I don't want to have to depend on a motor all the time and on the flat. And I have a long way to go, as well as loads of groceries to get home and no, I DON'T want a cargo bike. I want a bike that I enjoy riding lots of miles and up and down the hills. And sometimes I have to pick it up. (more about that in #4)
3. Mid drive, natural feel, responsive. Yes, I want a Bosch motor, one that is quiet, a system that responds smoothly and doesn't make me feel like I'm back on a motorcycle. One that lets me pedal with no assist and doesn't feel like I'm trying to move a rock sled but has enough torque to get me and my groceries and maybe my dog up the last really steep hills home.
4. Shock fork. Although most of the mileage will be on paved roads, there are a few miles of dirt roads I must use going in one direction, and they are steep and washboards with potholes. A lot of the roads here have almost no shoulder and what is there is a mix of gravel, rock and dirt. I used to do these on my Trek 520 touring bike with skinny smooth tires but I'm no spring chicken. At 72 after a life of hard work I have serious arthritis in my hands and especially wrists. That means lots of pain a lot of the time. I can't take the vibration. That also means 2 more requirements:
5. Just the right sweep to the handlebars. Here I can't figure out the numbers; again the manufacturers and reviewers don't give sweep degrees. There haven't been many bikes I've been able to try. I tried some Gazelles (135 miles away) and my hands were comfortable. The Trek Verve+ calls their bars "swept" but they were too straight, I can't rotate my wrist inward, and only a little outward so I need the angle to make my hand position neutral. The body position and reach were fine on the Trek but my wrist was really hurting. My fingers are also short so the reach to the Alivio thumb shift was too far away and made me have to rotate my wrist. That leads to the next requirement.
6. Deore shifters are the most comfortable I've used. I've also seen a "microshift" system on one bike I was reading about,but can't remember which. It would probably work too.
7. Range. Remember where I said I live? Yeah, even going shopping is a long haul with no chance to charge up. Except for those big hills I can go motorless or use eco mode most of the time unloaded but I have to have juice to get home with the load. So, I know it's a balancing act with motor ( power + torque = more weight), battery size (more ah = more weight) and range (more weight uses more energy, more stored energy equals more weight, more weight means I need more assist). It's like an unsolvable Zen koan. I have no idea how to figure where the sweet spot is.
If you have managed to get this far you understand my difficulty even finding candidates. I also learned the hard way that I must be able to get on a bike to try it out (or do some geometry matching based on what I have ridden). My first mistake was ordering a refurb Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 ST from a reputable seller to whom I gave my inseam measurements and who swore this bike was a good fit. I loved how it rode, but the mid step bar was hard up my crotch and pressed all the way up the front of my pubic bone. A stop on the slightest variation from perfectly flat sent me right over sideways. And that is every road shoulder and driveway here. So , my limitations on being able to even find bikes to try within 150 miles has only given me the chance to try the Gazelle Medeos, which I cannot straddle (and I don't want a belt drive), and the Trek Verve+, which fit well but would require adding a shock fork (maximum 50mm travel) and different handlebars of as yet unknown sweep.
What else might be out there? I know the Bosch website lists many other brands that use their motors but they are all unfamiliar to me. If any of you out there, especially other short riders, are familiar with any of these other brands and models that might fill my needs, please give them a shout out. And if you have any other kind of advice on any of these matters that I haven't thought of, I'm open to all suggestions and other edification.
Thanks for reading!
but...
