Biktrix, Flux, Sonders, and Evo Snow 29er. Help me choose!

[BlondAngel]

Hi,
While doing research, it was tough to figure out what exactly what I wanted. I live in Alexandria VA and commute to Washington DC. I am 6'2" and 250 lbs male. I am pretty out-of-shape. I start to breathe hard if I do five flights of stairs. Here is a link to the map: (Link Removed - Attachment No Longer Exists) you will see there are some parks and the Potomac river in the area.

At first, I wanted a mid-drive bike because I have seen bikes chained to a post with their wheels bent but the frame intact. But I cannot deny that it's cheaper to buy a bike with a hub-motor! But again, in this forum, no-one seem to complain about bent wheels so perhaps this is not an issue and I can consider a bike with a hub-motor?

I narrowed it down to the following:

Biktrix Stunner -- I like this bike because I like the idea of riding in comfort and the the fact that I can replace its wheels easily if they get bent.

Biktrix Jaggernaut -- I really like this one but then @Ann M. mentioned that if I run into issues, I cannot put it on a bike rack that is installed in front of the buses. And that I could with a Biktrix Stunner.

Flux Roadster seem to have it all. But it is indigogo crowd-funding. Should I bite the bullet on this one? Cross Current seem to be a similar one to this bike.

The Sonders thin looks promising and CHEAP! But it is a single speed. How easy is it to upgrade it to a 3-speed?

Finally, the Easy Motion Evo Snow Pro 29er. This one hits all my buttons: easy to remove wheels, ride in any weather, good brand. But it's EXPENSIVE. The way that I see it, is like this: if I get this bike, I don't ever have to get another e-bike. What do you guys think of that line of thinking?

Or buy one of others to save money? Once winter comes, will I regret that I didn't get the 29er?

@pxpaulx thinks that I can do just fine with a Evo 27.5. Is he right?

I welcome your input.

 

[pxpaulx]

You're only 3 inches taller than me and weigh less! Considering your height though the 29er would work. I stl think you'd enjoy a mid drive better unless there are long sections where you can take advantage of the way easy motion true to top speed of around 23mph.

I'll let others weigh in now!

 

[J.R.]

There is only one you can buy today I think and that's the Easy Motion. Maybe two, I'm not sure about the Biktrix and their availability. Those all seem like good bikes, I'm not sure they're all good commuters though.

I'm in PA, 6'2" @ 190 lb. and "middle age" HA! That time period tends to get longer every year for some reason. A little soft in the middle, with some spine problems, but in decent shape. I wouldn't say I'm a strong rider necessarily, I'd say I'm a determined rider. My first ebike wasn't the best commuter, but did the job of 6000 miles in one year commuting 34 miles round trip. That was a ProdecoTech Phantom X3.

I still have the X3 and use it in the snow, but my everyday bike is an Easy Motion Evo 29'er. Fits me like a glove and I love it! At the time of purchase I was offered the Snow, but I was more concerned about range. If I ever thought I'd do serious off road technical riding in the snow, in my spare time, I'd have the Snow. But commuting and rec riding, nah. In addition I did a really bad winter with the one wheel drive X3 with studded tires in snow and ice pack, so I knew I would be able to do all I wanted on the 29'er.

I don't think you have all that much snow to deal with down there, but if this looks familiar to you, all your options will likely get you there and back with studded tires. These rides were all with the X3


You can turn a lot of bikes into commuters, it's just a matter of how hard or easy do you want it to be. I'll be giving my X3 to a friend, because he needs it. So next winter I'll be sleigh riding with the Evo 29'er.

Good luck! I hope you get what you want before the summer is gone.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi,
While doing research, it was tough to figure out what exactly what I wanted. I live in Alexandria VA and commute to Washington DC. I am 6'2" and 250 lbs male. I am pretty out-of-shape. I start to breathe hard if I do five flights of stairs. Here is a link to the map: (Link Removed - Attachment No Longer Exists) you will see there are some parks and the Potomac river in the area.

At first, I wanted a mid-drive bike because I have seen bikes chained to a post with their wheels bent but the frame intact. But I cannot deny that it's cheaper to buy a bike with a hub-motor! But again, in this forum, no-one seem to complain about bent wheels so perhaps this is not an issue and I can consider a bike with a hub-motor?

I narrowed it down to the following:

Biktrix Stunner -- I like this bike because I like the idea of riding in comfort and the the fact that I can replace its wheels easily if they get bent.

Biktrix Jaggernaut -- I really like this one but then @Ann M. mentioned that if I run into issues, I cannot put it on a bike rack that is installed in front of the buses. And that I could with a Biktrix Stunner.

Flux Roadster seem to have it all. But it is indigogo crowd-funding. Should I bite the bullet on this one? Cross Current seem to be a similar one to this bike.

The Sonders thin looks promising and CHEAP! But it is a single speed. How easy is it to upgrade it to a 3-speed?

Finally, the Easy Motion Evo Snow Pro 29er. This one hits all my buttons: easy to remove wheels, ride in any weather, good brand. But it's EXPENSIVE. The way that I see it, is like this: if I get this bike, I don't ever have to get another e-bike. What do you guys think of that line of thinking?

Or buy one of others to save money? Once winter comes, will I regret that I didn't get the 29er?

@pxpaulx thinks that I can do just fine with a Evo 27.5. Is he right?

I welcome your input.

EVO 29er would be a great choice for you! Check out some threads in the Easy Motion forums here.
Snow is a wonderful bike but AWD may not be effective in that area. I lived in College Park for 3 years and commuted to Annapolis for an year and out of that 1 yr, 4 months on an Ebike.

For the price and overall considerations, Juiced Cross current wins by a big margin.

Biktrix Stunner may not be a good choice for your height and weight. It's 36V, BBS-01, sure it is powerful enough to take you up the hills but the styling is way off for commuting purpose. It's for baby boomers who like to cruise around the town.

 

[BlondAngel]

Biktrix Stunner may not be a good choice for your height and weight. It's 36V, BBS-01, sure it is powerful enough to take you up the hills but the styling is way off for commuting purpose. It's for baby boomers who like to cruise around the town.

I never thought of Stunner like that. It it's just that the bike rentals that you see around the city look cruiser-like.

 

[BlondAngel]

But commuting and rec riding, nah.
Good luck! I hope you get what you want before the summer is gone.

That's it - I am interested in commuting and rec riding. I couldn't articulate it before what I need my bike to be, but you said it for me. But you're saying a 29er non-snow could be my ticket to nirvana, without burning my wallet through? I will look into it.

 

[BlondAngel]

Beautiful pictures, by the way @J.R. ! DC went through waves of snow storms this past winter

 

[harryS]

When it snows, take the bus. DC drivers hardly ever see snow and they go nuts in it, don't they? They won't be looking for someone on a bike. And this assumes that you won't fall down. I have taken my ebike out in dry winter days in N. Illinois, but sometimes I'll hit patches of ice/snow in the shaded parts of my bike path. Haven't fallen, but come close. I sure wouldn't ride my ebike willingly in snow.

With 2WD, in summer, you're just carrying more weight with the extra motor, probably putting more strain on the battery, and adding twice the complexity.

By the way, you can park $2K worth of bike at work and not have to worry about it?

 

[BlondAngel]

By the way, you can park $2K worth of bike at work and not have to worry about it?

The building at work has a bike room.

 

[J.R.]

That's it - I am interested in commuting and rec riding. I couldn't articulate it before what I need my bike to be, but you said it for me. But you're saying a 29er non-snow could be my ticket to nirvana, without burning my wallet through? I will look into it.

Nirvana? Well... I can't say what the perfect bike for you is and really don't want that responsibility. One thing you'll notice about this forum is nobody will tell you what your best bike is, that's for you to decide. I like that, it's refreshing to find that on the internet.

I can share my experience. This I know for certain, any ebike except for a trike, will need studded tires if you intend on riding in slippery winter conditions, with temperatures at or below freezing. The third picture I posted is the first day of Spring '15. That's the dirt and gravel rail trail I use and it's completely ice packed. Snow and ice were pretty much gone from lawns and roads, but the rail trail doesn't get plowed, like a lot of bike trails/paths in the U.S. I don't think most municipalities consider cycling a serious form of transport. Whether 1 wheel drive or 2 you cannot climb out of an ice rut unless you have carbide studded tires. If you do try to climb out of an ice rut with any regular tire, you will go down!

I worked for 25 years in the Baltimore-Washington DC corridor, I don't think you'll need studded tires for more than Christmas to the end of February, at most. Last winter was more extreme than most. That said, you might not even want to ride in those conditions, if you've never ridden in them before. You might want to take the bus or drive, in the worst of winter. You'll know by Christmas if you want to continue. Personally, I got a bike for the most of my riding conditions, not the worst of my riding conditions.

 

[BlondAngel]

Man, the e-bike scene just got more interesting for me. I just learned about the Juiced Cross-Current. Now my decision is even harder between this one and the Evo 29er or Evo 29er Snow. I like the idea of a mid-drive where I can replace wheels easily but I haven't been able to find many forum members who ended up with a bent wheel so hub-motors can be okay, I guess.

 

[BlondAngel]

EVO 29er would be a great choice for you!

@Ravi Kempaiah , please clarify: Evo 29er or Evo 29er Snow?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

@Ravi Kempaiah , please clarify: Evo 29er or Evo 29er Snow?

EVO 29er. Not the Snow.

 

[BlondAngel]

@pxpaulx @Ravi Kempaiah @J.R. @harryS After much analysis paralysis, and hand-wringing, and saving pennies, I bit the bullet and ordered a Magnum Metro+ today. Should be here in a week. Thank you for taking the time to write in this thread. Still think that Evo Snow is a NEAT idea, but the Magnum is a better fit for me.