Best city ebike..if you live on a hill

[Eden]

Hi all, I'd like to buy my first ebike, I'm totally new on that and I need help choosing it.
I live in a small town, on a hill, so there are lot of rise and slope. I need the ebike mostly to go shopping around the town, maybe carrying some bags and so on.. easy to ride on curves and narrow streets. What do you suggest?
I'm a woman, approx. 5'41 , 114 lb, so weight is also important...!

thanks a lot!

 

[E-Wheels]

Hi Eden,
I am also looking to buy my first e-bike and have been searching for as much information as I can get
I believe you have come to the right place in EBR as there are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable members who are more than willing to offer assistance and guidance to us amateurs
I suggest you browse the e-bike reviews and forums as I am doing for as many snippets of advice that you can get
Maybe post a few more queries and questions in the other EBR forums until you can hook the attention of more experienced e-bikers

Sorry, but my lack of experience in e-biking does not allow me to give you any solid advice
What I have learnt so far from various sites and forums is that e-bikes with mid drives are probably best suited to hilly areas, are more efficient and therefore provide greater range from the battery
In saying that it depends on how steep the hills are where you live, as a hub drive e-bike may be suitable if the hills are not too steep and your commuting distances are not too long
I have found that mid drive e-bikes on average tend to be more expensive than e-bikes with hub drives, so this may give you some direction in narrowing down the type of drive system to focus on if budget is a constraint
Mid drive e-bikes appear to be lighter and have the weight distributed more centrally and lower down in the bike frame so this may suit you as they tend to feel more evenly balanced when riding and are easier to manoeuvre in tight situations

I suggest you visit your local e-bike shop/s and ask lots of questions
Take as many e-bikes as you can for test rides and I guess you will start to see a trend in the type of e-bike and drive system that will best suit your needs and budget
Also consider which bike shop and manufacturer will give you the best after sales support

Have a read here http://ebiketips.co.uk/content/advice/advice/your-guide-to-electric-city-bikes-239 as you may get some tips

Good luck

 

[irenewg13]

Hi

I am just under 5'4"
The size of the bike will also be an important choice for you.
The user friendly features turned out to be important too.
As Ann M. says, go and sit, look, test ride some ebikes. I wish that I had rented a few before I bought one.

BTW I live at the top of a long, steep hill.

 

[Josh]

I live in a very hilly area in Korea. Granted the extreme steep hill i live on isnt very high, but it is very steep to get there. Possible to ride up with a good mountain bike in 1st gear standing up and cranking it the whole way. I ran into several issues when i wanted an Ebike. The main one being shipping. Shipping restrictions on the size of the box eliminated 95% of the bikes. I also didnt want to spend too much. found folding bikes shipped in smaller boxes and could be shipped to me and were reasonably priced. I went with a 2015 Ejoe Epik SE, it has a hub motor. This bike suited me well. It had the power to go up shorter hills with assistance. Longer hills, over 1/4 mile, i noticed voltage drop and less efficiency. Required more peddling from me. Works great for my purpose of commuting and making it up short steep hills. Mid drive would have possibility been better, but they are more expensive and are larger bikes.

 

[irenewg13]

My hill is about a 7% grade, about 3 blocks long
I got up it using the throttle on an Athens. Evo St was good, just too big. I fell twice because I couldn't get off the seat , near stand sill. The pedego Interceptor should be v gd.

I am not a good person to give you info re the mechanical/electrical aspects of Ebikes. I am not very experienced.