A novice needs sub $900.00 eBike buying advice.... :)

[Misty]

I am like a lot of new people I have seen on the forum, I am looking for a leisure/Mountain bike to ride around town, off the curb, on a paved trail here and there and on a gravel trial once every blue moon. I DO NOT do ANY serious off-road riding. I like to ability to fold a bike it is not paramount. I am not commuting to work and my longest ride would be 10 to 15 miles average would be 5 to 8 miles. I have limited hills in my area but would like a bike that makes hills a non-issue when I do encounter them. Ride comfort, reliability, repairability, and price are my main concerns. I have looked at the Ancheer offerings and while I think it is durable enough for my needs, repairability or lack thereof is a turn-off.
Here are the bikes I am considering I would appreciate your input
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

The major concern, I called a dealer I found on their website and was told he no longer carries them because he could not reach them for support, the 2nd dealer he works from home the 3rd on just does service and has never done warranty work.

Limited online reviews

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
Major concerns, No peddle assist, do I need it, Is it possible to add peddle assist? No local dealer, unsure how the warranty work is handled (I can figure that out but anyone who has had prior experience your input would be great.) The only reviews I could find was a guy who got a free bike. Nothing on Amazon. Kits are $100 less than the bike how good can the bike be? Amazone ad says (Hill Topper bikes are made of premium bicycle components. Some of which include: Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes, SR Suntour XCM30 Suspension Fork, Tourney derailleurs, Shimano trigger shifters.) Their site says bikes are better than the China imports, I am wondering how so? Who makes their batteries?

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
No info on this eBike at all

I have been told I need to spend 2K plus to get a bike to meet my needs so I am leading away from this but thought I would get some other insights.

Thank you all so much!!!!

 

[pxpaulx]

No. Nope. At a bare minimum buy a sondors bike, at least you'll have a community of riders and owners to help with issues.

The budget simply needs to come up to get something reliable that won't end up being a sixty pound paper weight.

Something from volt bike or rad Rover will get you prior warranty and support, or look for a demo bike from a local or KNOWN online dealer in the sub $1500 price range.

I didn't even look at the bikes you linked. If the brand isn't known your purchase is highly likely to end in disappointment.

 

[rich c]

Also in your price range, you should prepared for no dealer support or warranty. Just a battery pack alone costs anywhere from $300 up. So you want the motor, controller, and bike for less than $600. Better scour Craigslist for a used Sondors. I don't know what their cheapest bikes cost now, but shipping is a couple hundred more. Also with a Sondors, you have to know how to assemble it, adjust brakes, and with some reported poor factory assembly, you have to know how to loosen axles and be able to grease bearings.

 

[harryS]

No commute. No off road. 5-8 miles. Too cheap to buy a $2000 bike. Sounds like me originally, except e-biking is so easy/fun that I don't want to come home unless I've gone 18 miles, which is all of the local bike paths. Unless you want to duel it out with cars at 25 mph ( a losing battle in the long run and deadly too), a bike with a 250W-500W geared motor should poke along at 12-14 mph with pedal assist for about 18-20 miles.

In my case, I had just bought a $1300 bike (this cruiser from Crazy Lennies) for my wife in summer of 2015. I decided I wanted one too. I even looked at your XTreme folder mountain bike. It was only $599 then with a 36V battery. Maye I should have bought it. Instead, I bought a $200 motor and $280 battery off ebay and installed them on a 30 year old Trek. It's been a trusty bike. Always runs I turned it on, except in freezing weather. Then the electronics need a few minutes to warm up. Good thing I only go out occasionally when it's cold and the asphalt is dry, just to scratch that itch to ride.

I've built a few other ebikes. I've not had any motor issues or electronic failures, but have been disappointed with short life on some batteries. By the way, I think that cruiser is a nice bike if you want to consider a used one, but the battery might be a bit old. Don't know about ours. The last long ride on it was 25 miles last June and there was power left over.

In your price range, expect very little vendor support, although you might get some if you buy thru amazon. Bike shops are no help. Either the techs are afraid of ebikes or their bosses have contempt for the concept. You will need to pick up some bike mechanic skills, although I think these are easily learned if you have sme manual dexterity and access to youtube. Lithium batteries are all over the world, but they are hazardous. Makes sense to have a reputable importer supply the battery.

I don't think one has to pay $2K, but you likely have to go over $1000.

 

[Al P]

Do you have a good non-electric bike that you enjoy riding except for the hills? If so, consider a kit that you can install yourself. It will do all that you mentioned at a price within your budget. Another benefit is that the weight without the battery attached is only about 8 lbs. more than the bike without the kit. Kits are available with various sized motors and batteries. I have had my Leed kit for a year-and-a-half, and have only good things to say about it.

 

[emco5]

... to ride around town, off the curb, on a paved trail here and there and on a gravel trial once every blue moon.... I like to ability to fold a bike it is not paramount.....

Clean Republic has been a supplier of add-on 250w and 350w [Bafang] hubs. I put their 350 kit on one of my bikes and it did a good job assisting me up hills. They have recently introduced a complete, 350w foldable eBike close to your price point.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)


Clean Republic's 350w add-on hub kit was reviewed here https://tinyurl.com/y92vg6pm

The new folder video is here...

 

[RockstarBruski]

Hi Misty and group,
I'm the one that made the above video review of the foldable hill topper. Thanks emco5 for posting the link to the video!
I did get a discount on the foldable bike to make the video review but I didn't agree to do the review until I test road the bike at their Seattle, WA office and decided I like it and wanted to buy it. A few years ago I bought the Hill Topper 350W "ranger" kit and converted my Giant "Escape" commuter road bike and have LOVED it ever since so when hill topper came out with a foldable ebike I was very interested in it because sometimes I drive places in a smaller car that doesn't have a bike rack on it and my Giant bike doesn't fit inside the car.

Anyway, I thought the same thing about the small price point between just the kit and the foldable bike but Hill Topper told me prices are going up as they were discounting the foldable bike since it's a new item for them. I've only had the foldable bike a few months but I have ridden it a lot and while I'm not an expert the components seem as good or better than my Giant bike's components. I really LOVE the front shocks and the hydraulic brakes as it makes the ride much more comfortable and safer for me. If you decide to get a hill topper kit or foldable bike I would definately recommend getting the Horizon kit as it has a lockable battery and fits right on the frame and easily removes if you need to for security, charging away from the bike at your office, etc.

Also, with the fenders and rear rack installed on my foldable I think weighs in close to 50lbs but to go lighter I think you will have to pay a lot more.

If you have any questions let me know as I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Also, if you do end up wanting to buy a kit or the foldable bike then you can save a bit off of kits or bikes by using my affiliate link http://www.electric-bike-kit.com/index.aspx?dc=brucemoody and I make a small referral fee which helps pay for video equipment, etc for me to continue to make these types of video reviews

Question for Emco5 - on your 350w Hill Topper battery about how long have you owned it and how many miles have you put on it and about what range is left on your battery? I ask because I used my older style "Ranger" bag battery for about 3K miles and about 3 years and got up to 20 miles out of it on a single charge but over the years (as to be expected) the range diminished with use and now I get about 12 miles of range. Since then I bought the Horizon battery to replace the Ranger battery and have been very happy with that and getting about 23 miles range on that battery and I plan to use my older ranger battery as a backup spare battery or to take with me on longer bike trips.

Thanks - Bruce (AKA RockstarBruski)

 

[emco5]

[QUOTE="RockstarBruski, post: 118939, member: 16449”]... Emco5..on your 350w Hill Topper battery about how long have you owned it and how many miles have you put on it and about what range is left on your battery?.....[/QUOTE]

The CR 350w hub was used most of one season before it was edged out of the game by a 250w mid-drive. Its accumulated mileage was a bit over 600. Most of the rides were short daily errands, and grocery trips a few times a week, so I never experienced diminished range.


[QUOTE="RockstarBruski, post: 118939, member: 16449”]….and got up to 20 miles out of it on a single charge but over the years.. range diminished with use and now I get about 12 miles of range.......[/QUOTE]

Battery degradation over time is normal, but from 20 to 12 miles seems like a lot. I’m speculating, but the frequency of charging [topping off] might have something to do with the degree of lost battery capacity. Unlike the new Horizon pack, the bagged Ranger battery had no meter which encourages unnecessary charging.

 

[FredE]

[QUOTE="RockstarBruski, post: 118939, member: 16449”]... Emco5..on your 350w Hill Topper battery about how long have you owned it and how many miles have you put on it and about what range is left on your battery?.....

The CR 350w hub was used most of one season before it was edged out of the game by a 250w mid-drive. Its accumulated mileage was a bit over 600. Most of the rides were short daily errands, and grocery trips a few times a week, so I never experienced diminished range.


[QUOTE="RockstarBruski, post: 118939, member: 16449”]….and got up to 20 miles out of it on a single charge but over the years.. range diminished with use and now I get about 12 miles of range.......[/QUOTE]

Battery degradation over time is normal, but from 20 to 12 miles seems like a lot. I’m speculating, but the frequency of charging [topping off] might have something to do with the degree of lost battery capacity. Unlike the new Horizon pack, the bagged Ranger battery had no meter which encourages unnecessary charging.[/QUOTE]

 

[FredE]

So I bought a used magnum mi5 for $625 with 200 miles on it, fingers crossed.

 

[Riki]

I am like a lot of new people I have seen on the forum, I am looking for a leisure/Mountain bike to ride around town, off the curb, on a paved trail here and there and on a gravel trial once every blue moon. I DO NOT do ANY serious off-road riding. I like to ability to fold a bike it is not paramount. I am not commuting to work and my longest ride would be 10 to 15 miles average would be 5 to 8 miles. I have limited hills in my area but would like a bike that makes hills a non-issue when I do encounter them. Ride comfort, reliability, repairability, and price are my main concerns. I have looked at the Ancheer offerings and while I think it is durable enough for my needs, repairability or lack thereof is a turn-off.
Here are the bikes I am considering I would appreciate your input
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

The major concern, I called a dealer I found on their website and was told he no longer carries them because he could not reach them for support, the 2nd dealer he works from home the 3rd on just does service and has never done warranty work.

Limited online reviews

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
Major concerns, No peddle assist, do I need it, Is it possible to add peddle assist? No local dealer, unsure how the warranty work is handled (I can figure that out but anyone who has had prior experience your input would be great.) The only reviews I could find was a guy who got a free bike. Nothing on Amazon. Kits are $100 less than the bike how good can the bike be? Amazone ad says (Hill Topper bikes are made of premium bicycle components. Some of which include: Shimano Hydraulic Disc Brakes, SR Suntour XCM30 Suspension Fork, Tourney derailleurs, Shimano trigger shifters.) Their site says bikes are better than the China imports, I am wondering how so? Who makes their batteries?

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
No info on this eBike at all

I have been told I need to spend 2K plus to get a bike to meet my needs so I am leading away from this but thought I would get some other insights.

Thank you all so much!!!!

Hi there, My advice I have is that it is best to purchase an ebike from a local dealer that can offer you warranty after sales service, can service the electrics as well as the bike itself and finally have all parts in stock. You might have cheap e-bikes online, but it doesnt take much for an ebike to crap out especially something as simple as water in the cables blowing the controller which means your e-bike will not work. E-Bikes are fun and they are not unbreakable. Hope this helps.

 

[bob armani]

So I bought a used magnum mi5 for $625 with 200 miles on it, fingers crossed.

Hi Fred- That is a nice price for an MI5 as long as it was not too beat up @ 200 miles. I was looking at the website and the bike looks like a quality build with a 13 amp battery to boot. Looks like you can also get some good distance and the 8Fun motor has had some good ratings/reviews that I have seen. Is the 350watt motor zippy enough for you and does it have good pickup speed? Just curious what your personal take was on this bike . Ride Safe!

 

[iBikeDiane]

[EDIT: This is a rockin' bike and a great value. Battery was ok!]

I ordered the Metro XT from ridegenesis.com last week and it arrived today. It's stated as being on sale for $599 as a pre-Black Friday deal. Unfortunately the battery is a dud.

The good news is they have a 30-day return policy and a 6-month warranty. Their customer service and shipping is in Secaucus, NJ, and they are friendly and helpful. Before it arrived, I bought 2 more as gifts, but I will check them out first. Their replacement battery is only $200, so it may not be a high-end battery. There were a couple of reviews that mentioned battery failures.

But the bike itself is very solid and rides well on its own. It is the perfect size for me and easy to manage at 35 lbs including the battery. Opens and closes easily, etc. I don't feel nervous that the handlebars or seat are going to suddenly collapse. Everything locks in tightly. I have to send the whole thing back for an exchange and I'm already attached to it!

However, I anticipate I will want something in the future that will allow for riding in damp conditions.

 

[iBikeDiane]

It says limited quantities, but they let me buy 3, so I can tell you that 2 is not the limit I think it will serve me well as a starter once the battery is right.

Here's a direct link Metro XT

 

[iBikeDiane]

And the battery was NOT a dud. The LED is not supposed to stay on, but there was some miscommunication.

It's an awesome bike worth more than what I paid, comparatively. I think they regularly sell for $900.

It is peppy and has good battery life so far! They seem to be a small company with some growing pains, and I will continue doing business with them. It was obvious their goal was to make it right.

 

[WilliamT]

I have a 350 watt geared front hub kit from Dillenger and I use it on my daily commuter. It uses HIGO connectors that do a good job of keeping water out. I've have about 700 miles on it so far and have ridden through heavy downpours in it and in freezing temperatures. It's been a reliable workhorse. The motor has a good amount of torque and can get my bike going pretty quickly with just a flip of the throttle. The kit comes with a 13.6ah Samsung battery that gives me a range of 30 miles on a 120 lb electric cargo bike using level 3/5 with pedal assist. At that assist, I do about 16-18 mph, and on level 4/5 I get 19-21 mph with assist. On my previous hard tail where it weighed 45 lbs (w/kit) I was able to go 45-50 miles on a single charge.

I have purchased 2 kits from then (1st gen and 2nd gen) and have been pleased with them. Just get yourself from some Grin torque arms and your all set. (Total kit price $629)

https://dillengerelectricbikes.com/...bike-kit-samsung-power-13ah-by-dillenger.html

You can download the user manual to install it yourself. Its easy to follow and was the first kit I did myself on my existing bike. It was pretty easy.

 

[Cpt.Cream]

i have the 2018 x-cursion, think 300 or so dollar big box bike with a 300w hub motor kit thrown at it and a custom frame built to accept conversion kits. the frame has great welds, the bicycle parts are standard but cheap.

 

[Cpt.Cream]

i have the 2018 x-cursion, think 300 or so dollar big box bike with a 300w hub motor kit thrown at it and a custom frame built to accept conversion kits. the frame has great welds, the bicycle parts are standard but cheap.
View attachment 20948

oh, and support on x-treme scooter stuff isn't that bad, i get a response just to suggestions in a day or so, when i had questions they responded just as fast, and i never gave more than normal priority on their support page. calling someone i think wouldn't work, but they respond pretty good to their support page.

EDIT: although i threw away the warranty the day the box arrived in decent condition and the bike worked. better to upgrade than warranty it.