Any Black Friday ebike sales?

...There is a recent buyer of a mainstream brand bike, the trek Allant. Already, he is complaining about it's lack of range, it's noisy motor, lack of acceleration, uncomfortable ride, and substandard rack:


All for the bargain basement affordable price of $6,000 (before tax)! What a deal! We should all be blessed with bikes that are slow, noisy, uncomfortable, don't go very far and can't carry very much!

...

I don't think you read my thread very carefully or perhaps I didn't communicate very well. Or maybe you just understood what you wanted to understand and it wouldn't have mattered what I wrote. I made observations not complaints:
  • lack of range: my first commute, it seemed my range on the 625wh battery was on par with the 500s on my other Bosch bikes. But I mentioned headwinds and the fact that the battery sat outside with the bike all day in temps ranging from 39F to mid 40s. It was one commute. I haven't drawn any conclusions ...
  • noisy motor: I mentioned the whine was louder than on the prior generation Bosch motor. @Chris Nolte responded that, in his experience, they will quiet down withing a few hundred miles. He also said they will become almost silent. I made no complaints and specifically said the whine didn't bother me. I totally trust Chris' opinions and knowledge but it will be interesting to report back in a few hundred miles...
  • lack of acceleration: I don't recall writing about acceleration. I have other Bosch bikes so I kind of know what to expect. I ride mostly in Eco and Tour because one of my commute goals is to also achieve a workout and optimize range. I was not looking for a big, powerful bike that would do all the work for me. I've many posts on this forum talking about buying a very light e-assist such as a Fazua for commuting for the express purpose of riding under mostly my own power...
  • uncomfortable ride: I don't recall saying it was uncomfortable. I mentioned it was light-weight and I got knocked around by some cross winds etc. And that my ride position is more aero than I am accustomed to. I put suspension seatposts on all my bikes. I made the initial commute without one. The ride quality as-is isn't bad and is on par with or better than all of the other bikes I ride that do not have suspension (Spot Champa, Tern GSD, Tern Vektron).
  • substandard rack: I don't recall mentioning the rack and certainly never said it was substandard. In response to someone else's post about the rack being substandard I said it was minimalist and fits the design intent behind the bike. I bought the bike for a commuter not for touring or for cargo. I carry a laptop, a change of clothes and some tools. That's about it. My Ortlieb Sport Packers fit well and easily carry what I need for a commute. but while it easily carries what I need for a day at work, I can see that it would be inadequate for many folks who want to travel, carry cargo/groceries etc. But I never wrote that it was substandard.
  • lighting: the one item that I did complain about you failed to mention. I felt the front light was not adequate for a commuter (or at least for much of my commuting which is pre-dawn or after nightfall)
I'm just trying to set the record straight given that the opinions you attribute to my posts are mostly not accurate or are not what I intended to communicate. After I put a few hundred miles on the bike and finish outfitting it the way I intend, if it turns out to be inadequate or a POS, I won't be shy to let everyone know.
 
Nice post, Court. You're a well spoken guy, we enjoy your commentary on these bikes.

For a softer ride balloon tires made a huge difference. It's one of those luxuries e-assist offsets for added rolling resistance.

I didn't buy another bike today, but surely there are some nice bikes out there.

We visited the kids in Morgan Hill today and the brewery with 86 beers on tap was right next to the local bike shop, turbo livos on sale. One could shop eMTB's while sipping craft beer. Oh dear god. 🤣

I did not dare even test ride one. They rent them out for $100 for 24hours and apply the $$ to a purchase. Try and buy! They are beautiful 29-niners in really cool colors. 👍
 
I don't think you read my thread very carefully or perhaps I didn't communicate very well. Or maybe you just understood what you wanted to understand and it wouldn't have mattered what I wrote. I made observations not complaints:
  • lack of range: my first commute, it seemed my range on the 625wh battery was on par with the 500s on my other Bosch bikes. But I mentioned headwinds and the fact that the battery sat outside with the bike all day in temps ranging from 39F to mid 40s. It was one commute. I haven't drawn any conclusions ...
  • noisy motor: I mentioned the whine was louder than on the prior generation Bosch motor. @Chris Nolte responded that, in his experience, they will quiet down withing a few hundred miles. He also said they will become almost silent. I made no complaints and specifically said the whine didn't bother me. I totally trust Chris' opinions and knowledge but it will be interesting to report back in a few hundred miles...
  • lack of acceleration: I don't recall writing about acceleration. I have other Bosch bikes so I kind of know what to expect. I ride mostly in Eco and Tour because one of my commute goals is to also achieve a workout and optimize range. I was not looking for a big, powerful bike that would do all the work for me. I've many posts on this forum talking about buying a very light e-assist such as a Fazua for commuting for the express purpose of riding under mostly my own power...
  • uncomfortable ride: I don't recall saying it was uncomfortable. I mentioned it was light-weight and I got knocked around by some cross winds etc. And that my ride position is more aero than I am accustomed to. I put suspension seatposts on all my bikes. I made the initial commute without one. The ride quality as-is isn't bad and is on par with or better than all of the other bikes I ride that do not have suspension (Spot Champa, Tern GSD, Tern Vektron).
  • substandard rack: I don't recall mentioning the rack and certainly never said it was substandard. In response to someone else's post about the rack being substandard I said it was minimalist and fits the design intent behind the bike. I bought the bike for a commuter not for touring or for cargo. I carry a laptop, a change of clothes and some tools. That's about it. My Ortlieb Sport Packers fit well and easily carry what I need for a commute. but while it easily carries what I need for a day at work, I can see that it would be inadequate for many folks who want to travel, carry cargo/groceries etc. But I never wrote that it was substandard.
  • lighting: the one item that I did complain about you failed to mention. I felt the front light was not adequate for a commuter (or at least for much of my commuting which is pre-dawn or after nightfall)
I'm just trying to set the record straight given that the opinions you attribute to my posts are mostly not accurate or are not what I intended to communicate. After I put a few hundred miles on the bike and finish outfitting it the way I intend, if it turns out to be inadequate or a POS, I won't be shy to let everyone know.
Over50,

Thanks for your valuable inputs. With the exception of 'a few', they were taken exactly as you intended. I was kindof 'floored' by that interpretation of your posts. I am seriously considering an allant 8s in the future.

I did get a black friday sale on a 2019 Santa Cruz Tallboy 29er(acoustic/non-ebike) for 30% off. The haibike Full Suspension deals were AWESOME but I really cant use their full suspension capabilities locally at this time. The currently local legal ebike trails favors hardtails.
 
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I'll mention a Black Friday Day deal that is closely related to our ebikes and most of us are usually looking at and that is Tires. www.veetireco.com has 40% off all current stock and 25% off all clearance items. Oh, and free shipping to boot. I picked up a set fat tires myself, delivered from Thailand to the States and my home in four days.
 
Really? You must have ridden the Scott Redemption E-30 with the Shimano E8000 motor at $5,500. I've ridden many bikes with that motor. The Shimano motor is very torquey. I'm usually fine on ECO or trail, but Boost comes in handy on very steep climbs. You have to be very careful even in trail mode; that has a lot of power and that can get you into trouble very quickly if you're not careful. There is no delay at all with these motors, unlike cadence sensors where there is often a very noticeable delay in assist.

Also, Shimano allows for a wide range of settings with each level of assist. Assist may have been set lower with your particular tester.

What type of trails do you ride? I can't imagine a scenario where the Shimano motor would not provide enough assist. Conversely, the bafang ultra is absolute overkill on just about any trail. You really don't need a 34 mph bike on trails, not to mention only an expert level rider would be able to handle this type of power and speed in off road conditions. That's not even touching on the issue of legality.

Not to mention the biktrix ultra's weight. The hardtail weighs a listed 68 lbs, and I wouldn't be surprised if it actually weighed more than that. The juggernaut fs must weigh upwards of 75 lbs. Bikes like the Scott are probably closer to 50 lbs, so somewhere between 18 and 25 lbs lighter!

The bafang ultra is like the mustang v8 e-bikes: tons of unrefined power at low cost. Shimano motors are more like Lexus v6's: lots of power, but very refined.

There's absolutely no way that the Shimano motor is underpowered. Perhaps the battery was close to drained. Or, sometimes rider don't realize they need to keep pedaling within a certain cadence range, 80-95 rpm in order to access full motor power. If you have a very low or very. high cadence, you won't be tapping into the full power of the motor.

So the key tip is to pedal smoothly and relatively quickly with the Shimano motor. Remember, it activates almost instantly, but also de-activates just as quickly, very much unlike the typical 12 magnet cadence sensor, which is slow to start and equally slow to stop.

No, it was a Felt Outfitter with the Bosch motor. My Biktrix weighs 52 lbs without the battery. Also, Roshan's tuning is excellent and it is smooth from the first revolution. As refined as I would ever want. Have you actually ridden one ?

I'll give a Shimano powered bike a ride as soon as I can.

In regards to where I ride, I set the it up for an Urban Assault style bike with 3.5 inch street tires . 95% of my riding is on paved trails and city streets. I won't be flying through the air on technical paths anytime soon! Couldn't be happier with the bike and Roshan is always receptive to any questions.
 

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