Budget E-Bike list of Full Suspension, Integrated Batteries 900-2000$

[LIONSxLEADER]

Hey everyone, I’ve been doing some searching this last week for an E-bike, and I wanted to make sure it was full suspension, with the battery integrated into the frame. I tried to get the largest battery I could for the price since most of the 750W hub motors are nearly identical. I didn’t want to spend more than 1000-2000$ since I was going to buy one for my wife too. For those looking for similar bikes, here is a list so you don’t have to work as hard as I did when looking and comparing.

Price	Ebike	Battery	Motor nm	Tire Size	Bike Weight	Max Load	Frame Material	Controller	Min Height
$900.00	Samebike XD26	14AH	60 nm	26x2.1	56 Lbs	220 Lbs	6061 Aluminum	48V 22±1A 9MOSFET	5’1
$1,100.00	Scooway Hero	15AH	80 nm	27.5x3.0	64 Lbs	330 Lbs	6061 Aluminum	48V	5’5
$1,200.00	Reaspire Knight	16AH	85 nm	26x4.0	66 Lbs	300 Lbs	6061 Aluminum	48V 25A	5’4
$1,400.00	Freesky Rocky	15AH	85 nm	20x4.0	75 Lbs	300 Lbs	6061 Aluminum	48V 22A	5’1
$1,500.00	SMLRO V3 Plus Dual Motor	22.4AH		26x4.0	73 Lbs	394 Lbs	6061 Aluminum
$1,700.00	ANIIOKI AQ177 Pro Max	60AH	80 nm	20x4.0	112 Lbs	350 Lbs	Carbon Steel	48V 25A
$1,990.00	Accolmile Cola/Rocket Bear 1S MidDrive	17.5AH	120 nm	29"	66 Lbs	300 Lbs	6061 Aluminum	48V

Since she only weighs 100~ pounds and 5’1-5’2 I wanted something lighter weight for her to be able to manage. I also figure since I got the aniioki 112 Lb bike + My 180 Lbs with 60AH my weight to AH ratio is about 5Lbs/1Ah (300/60) if i get her a 56 Lb bike + her 100 Lbs , then its roughly 160/14 which is 11.4lbs/1Ah so she should get little less than half my ridiculous range.

Any thoughts? I think I'm going to go with the 900$ Same bike XD26. It may have a lower power motor, but it's likely going to be adequate for her, not sure she will appreciate the 450$ extra jump for the next bike that accommodates her 5'1 height or the extra 19 pounds for the Freesky Rocky( the blue color is 50$ more, she wouldn’t want black), whereas the Samebike XD26 is white and matches the one I got.

 

[AHicks]

A couple of "thoughts".
How adventuresome are you feeling? I've never even heard of any of these bikes. That's not to say they are all total duds, just saying make sure you do some home work/due diligence! Maybe a google search on the US warehouse address? Parts availability? Are they stocked stateside, or do you have to wait for them to come from China?

Also, my experience with a 26"x4" bike was that it was HUGE! Think 29'er if you are familiar with those. The one I had looked huge and it handled like it was huge (I'm 6'2"). I would have some pretty serious doubts about putting somebody the size you are talking about on one without seeing it in person prior. Maybe fine for an experienced rider for off road, but for a cruiser? Maybe not so much.....

Last, 4" tires are not the easiest thing to pedal. Safe bet they have quite a bit more rolling resistance than something more conventional (say 2.5").

 

[Ben J]

I only looked at the most expensive one, but there's no way I'd buy one without being able to ride it. A lot of the price of that bike went toward making it look like a FS MTB but the suspension is just springs (possibly not even adjustable in the rear). If your wife is 100lbs it's unlikely the bike is set up (to the extent it is set up at all) for her, which would mean the sag would be way too low and over bumps the bike would be stiff plus bouncy. It could easily feel worse than a hardtail.

Resale value on eMTB isn't very strong, if I were you I'd look for a used eMTB. Everything about it will be better, more adjustable, and real parts exist to fix it if it breaks.

 

[pxpaulx]

I'll sort of echo @AHicks here (I think!)...

None of these bikes are suitable for a 100lb rider. I just got under 300;bs today and my heaviest ebike is under 50lbs and is already a noticeable weight to manage. Do. Not. Buy - ANY of these bikes for her.

She'll get 50+ miles on anything suitably sized from Lectric/Aventon/Ride1up - any of the reputable and known online sellers. Go with one of them. Get their smallest offering...

 

[LIONSxLEADER]

Thanks for your input thus far guys. Any specific lighter weight full suspension options you can recommend in the price range? I looked quite hard for several days, and my spreadsheet of models and their specs is much larger than what I posted here. The Samebike XD26 is the lightest weight option I could find that also supports 5'1 tall riders. The Samebike XD26 also is actually on sale for 850$!

 

[m@Robertson]

What @pxpaulx and @AHicks said. there is so very much garbage on sale now, and so many fly-by-night operators who operate with a complete lack of accountability for service and warranty ("warranty return? Sure ship it back to China at your expense and we'll evaluate it" is not at all unheard of or even uncommon, assuming they answer your inquiries at all), you really want to focus less on the feature set of the bike and far more on the reputation of the seller.

 

[pxpaulx]

Thanks for your input thus far guys. Any specific lighter weight full suspension options you can recommend in the price range? I looked quite hard for several days, and my spreadsheet of models and their specs is much larger than what I posted here. The Samebike XD26 is the lightest weight option I could find that also supports 5'1 tall riders. The Samebike XD26 also is actually on sale for 850$!

These are all garbage suspensions - throw out the full suspension need - at her weight a ride just won't be that rough (I'm not even sure she'd see a benefit at that weight even with FS) - take a little air out of the tires and she'll be good (if you go with one of the 4" tire folders that would be a good fit, the tires are all the cushion she'll need!).

If after purchase it is truly that rough on a 100lb rider, there are a number of quality seat suspension posts out there - you can ask/search here, plenty of discussions to be found! They'll run $100-200.

Edit to add - these go on sale at what looks like ridiculous prices because they are Chinese junk with someone's weird made-up name stuck on the side.

 

[m@Robertson]

Thanks for your input thus far guys. Any specific lighter weight full suspension options you can recommend in the price range? I looked quite hard for several days, and my spreadsheet of models and their specs is much larger than what I posted here. The Samebike XD26 is the lightest weight option I could find that also supports 5'1 tall riders. The Samebike XD26 also is actually on sale for 850$!

To be blunt, that bike looks like junk but its marketing team invested in a nice web site to hawk it.

The $999 sale price (not $850) is with mechanical brakes. Also you have to realize that suspension costs additional money to put into a bike design, and if you are seeing full suspension on a bike for the low price of a thousand bucks (yes this is a low price as ebikes go) then that price only is arrived at by cutting every corner possible. For instance a 672 wh battery is tiny. From their web page:

"The 21700 battery cells are MSDS, UN38.3, and CE-certificated for use safely indoors and outdoors."

Ignoring the spelling error (there are many throughout) ask yourself what "MSDS certified" is. A Material Safety Data Sheet has nothing to do with safety certification. They are just throwing acronyms out under the assumption that the layman is too ignorant to know any better. And if you've been around for awhile you will know there are countless bogus claims of safety certification for batteries. The fact they have thrown in MSDS for good measure just reinforces the fact that they are playing you.

The rear suspension shock looks terrible - a tiny little thing not suitable for anything but maybe a kid's bike. Maybe. You can expect the suspension fork to be a spring fork at that price point, which is awful, performancewise. I'm not getting into the why's and wherefores here because explaining these conclusions would take more time than anyone has here .

Its $999 and the page claims "free shipping to USA" so they can sell this bike for that price AND ship it and still make a profit? Bottom of the barrel parts is the only way that happens.

If you want a cheap bike from a USA seller, take a look at Lectric. they get a lot of good press and are arguably one of the biggest ebike sellers - possibly the biggest - here in the USA.

 

[pxpaulx]

@LIONSxLEADER - just to be clear here, we aren't trying to pile-on! We are trying to guide you to a bike that will...

1 - be enjoyable to ride for your wife (so that it doesn't collect dust in your garage)
2 - doesn't fall apart or break in 2 weeks with no support
3 - most important of all, won't burn your house down

I haven't owned or ridden a Lectric bike - but as @m@Robertson suggested, they are budget friendly, well supported and a great started bike that many seem to love. If I were to choose a bike of theirs it would be the mid-drive folder, but hub drives are enjoyed by tons of people as well.

 

[LIONSxLEADER]

Thanks for your replies everyone! Its actually 850 for the mechanical and 950 for the hydraulic brakes (both on sale). There seem to be four versions of the bike, two for the EU, and two for the US, the batteries you quoted are the EU model, which was on the advertising graphics. but here is the US model specs at the bottom of the page. https://samebikeus.com/products/samebike-polaris-h-black#
48V 14Ah Lithium-ion
DMEGC 18650 2900mAh battery cells

as for electric, they definitely have their marketing team funded. I see them on every other few videos as a commercial on ebikes videos. But none have rear shocks, one of the requirements for what I'm looking for. I'll take lower quality shocks I can replace eventually over no shocks.

I was thinking that the mechanical brakes might be easier for me vs a bike shop to fix if i was picking between the two for 100$ less. any idea what that might cost to fix at a shop vs mechanical? Also I'm well aware under 2k is the cheap E-bike category, and cant compare them to stuff that costs 8K for a full suspension ready to go down a crazy mountain track. nor am I interested in hardtail options. Those two bike types isn't what we are looking for in terms of priorities. We want a comfortable ride, so full suspension, we would prefer a longer battery range for more options of use, Integrated battery for aesthetics requirement from my wife, and the lightest weight possible with hopefully a 750W ~80Nm hub drive. sadly she cant fit on the 1100$ and 1200$ models, those look to be the lowest price models that hit all the requirements. but at 850$ the 60Nm torque is looking pretty good. Just want something I can take my wife on easy trails while we explore and have some fun, and be as nice as possible to our backsides. I had considered that we may get some suspension seat posts and comfy cushioned seats in addition to the rear shocks. Most of these bikes in the under 2k full suspension category have very similar internals, and its just the frame that is different and the battery size, thus getting a frame you like with the biggest battery possible at the cheapest price seems to be the smart move if you don't wanna drop down a crazy hill.

No worries, I prefer peoples honest opinions as they graciously give me their time and try to help out. I am unlikely to ever be offended.

I have definitely heard the horror stories with poor support. but frankly with an appropriate bike frame and battery, I don't mind buying and replacing parts as needed to fix, mod and upgrade them. I caught the E-Bike bug after modding our kids remote control ride on cars with my brother and playing with those regularly. I figured us adults can have some electric powered fun too!

 

[m@Robertson]

x2 on what @pxpaulx said. Not bashing you just bashing the bikes

Hydraulic brakes are, it is turning out, much safer than mechanicals, but not something us hydro proponents have been thinking of arguing as a benefit, but the reason lies within one of the key benefits of the hydraulic brake: They need no ongoing maintenance, whereas on a heavy ebike where speeds are inherently higher, the cables take a beating and stretch, rendering the brakes ineffective and requiring frequent adjustment of the stretching cables. An experienced cyclist would go to the trouble of fixing the brakes (loosen the cable nut, pull and re-tighten; adjusting the barrels is a waste of time given the degree of stretch that happens). But many ebikers are not experienced cyclists and so the brakes go out of spec and people don't take them into the shop every few weeks to get them adjusted. One of the outcomes of the pending RadRunner lawsuit is likely to be hydros as standard equipment or an option to avoid product liability lawsuits.

I don't have a lot of confidence that hydraulic brakes at this price point would be particularly robust, but typically all you do is change the pads every year or so and thats it. No adjustment needed. The pads self-center. Cheapie hydros may leak.

I agree with @pxpaulx specifying suspension is a bridge too far. You are going to compromise too much to get that on a cheap bike. I mean... what have you found for a reliable vendor so far? Nothing yet from what you have shown us. I recently went thru a fun exercise trying to match stroke and overall length on a bike needing a replacement rear shock and its not always simple to find a match. Especially if its made to Chinese standards. A seatpost like a Thudbuster for $175 sounds like a lot (at this price point for the bike) but it will alleviate back pain etc. That and a good saddle that fits to you. I use Ergon ST Core Prime but since everyone thinks a different kind of seat is for them its hard to say where your preference would be.

Looks like we are all wrong. The prices are 999 and 1099 like I said, but if you add the SAM2023 code on the page, you knock the price down to 899 and 999. At least thats what they are showing me at your link. But I have to emphasize... when I see a seller actively BS'ing the consumer I consider them a write-off. No telling what fibs they were more clever about concealing from me.

 

[LIONSxLEADER]

GA$150 gets you the 850$ and 950$ for hydraulic. But I'm thinking that im going to go with the amazon 100$ off since I can return to them if I have issues in the first month. Thanks for the info on the brakes, going with hydraulic. So that will be 1000$ by the way all the bikes i listed here i found on amazon, and then looked up their company and specs. samebike has good replacement part availability it seems and ships from CA. https://samebikeus.com/collections/samebike-gears if it was for me or anyone taller than 5'4, the reaspire knight looks to be a fantastic value. or the cheapest possible version of what i was looking for. likely would have chosen that or the fucare libra

$1,300.00

Fucare Libra

20AH

80 nm

20x4.0

80.5 Lbs

400 Lbs

 

[Taylor57]

GA$150 gets you the 850$ and 950$ for hydraulic. But I'm thinking that im going to go with the amazon 100$ off since I can return to them if I have issues in the first month. Thanks for the info on the brakes, going with hydraulic. So that will be 1000$ by the way all the bikes i listed here i found on amazon, and then looked up their company and specs. samebike has good replacement part availability it seems and ships from CA. https://samebikeus.com/collections/samebike-gears

Just a thought here for you Lion-you may want to stick with Ebikes that have a forum here at EBR. I have never heard of any of the bikes you have listed. You are setting yourself up for a good chance at Ebike failure IMO. At least with Lectric or Ride 1 Up, Espin, Aventon etc, you get a shot at some customer support...

 

[pxpaulx]

GA$150 gets you the 850$ and 950$ for hydraulic. But I'm thinking that im going to go with the amazon 100$ off since I can return to them if I have issues in the first month. Thanks for the info on the brakes, going with hydraulic. So that will be 1000$ by the way all the bikes i listed here i found on amazon, and then looked up their company and specs. samebike has good replacement part availability it seems and ships from CA. https://samebikeus.com/collections/samebike-gears if it was for me or anyone taller than 5'4, the reaspire knight looks to be a fantastic value. or the cheapest possible version of what i was looking for. likely would have chosen that or the fucare libra

$1,300.00

Fucare Libra

20AH

80 nm

20x4.0

80.5 Lbs

400 Lbs

Just want to reiterate what I and others have posted already (because it doesn't seem to be sinking in...) - when you are shopping for e-bikes on the low end of the price scale, an established brand is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL!

Being able to sell something on Amazon does not add an ounce of credibility to any of these bikes. I could import junk and start a shop tomorrow - you're not likely going to run into an issue in the return window - that does not make any of these a viable option if you want something reliable.

Please.

Please.

Please.

Don't buy any of these unless you want to flush a grand down the toilet. Even if it doesn't catch fire, your 100lb wife will HATE any of these 80lb paper weights and you'll end up riding by yourself.

 

[onlineaddy]

If we treat your 3 criteria as circles in a Venn diagram, I suspect their overlap is minimal. Also, as others have pointed out, the quality of those bikes in that overlap may be suspect. Think critically and tread carefully.

 

[sc00ter]

I've owned a bit of everything and find the Lectric XP 3.0 a solid ebike. The suspension forks work just fine, and I got their suspension seat post as well an it also works just fine. Here's why I'm pointing this out.

Buying a ebike "blind" and for someone else is a sketchy idea. I bought my wife a trike ebike and ended up selling it 2 weeks later, so that "surprise" went both ways. It was a known brand so it sold pretty quick.

Test the waters with a Lectric XP 3.0 or a RadRunner. But if this is a "surprise" it might backfire. Stick with a known brand, it will benefit you if she rides it and again benefit you if have to sell it.

 

[LIONSxLEADER]

Hey there guys, I definitely appreciate what you have told me thus far. My wife is too small for most of the bikes on the list, she has a 28 inch standover height, what height does that translate into for optimal seat height? something like 30-32 inches? i know you should be able to touch your toes. Thusfar the only bikes she is likely to fit are the freesky rocky and the samebike polaris xd26 and i found a new one the aostirmotor S18 Mini. each fit a 5'1 rider, and have 30.3, 32.3, and 31.5 inch seat heights. but the XD26 is the lightest if she can manage a 32.3 inch seat. otherwise the freesky rocky seems to be the lowest seat height but adds another 10 lbs. The weight of the samebike is rather low for similar powered full suspension ebikes in its category it seems. Also, i dont mind getting something that isnt widely reviewed as long as i know what parts are on it, and i like the specs for all the equipment. I'm getting it though amazon, their return service on malfunctioning items is good enough for me to have confidence buying.

 

[AHicks]

Hey there guys, I definitely appreciate what you have told me thus far. My wife is too small for most of the bikes on the list, she has a 28 inch standover height, what height does that translate into for optimal seat height? something like 30-32 inches? i know you should be able to touch your toes. Thusfar the only bikes she is likely to fit are the freesky rocky and the samebike polaris xd26 and i found a new one the aostirmotor S18 Mini. each fit a 5'1 rider, and have 30.3, 32.3, and 31.5 inch seat heights. but the XD26 is the lightest if she can manage a 32.3 inch seat. otherwise the freesky rocky seems to be the lowest seat height but adds another 10 lbs. The weight of the samebike is rather low for similar powered full suspension ebikes in its category it seems. Also, i dont mind getting something that isnt widely reviewed as long as i know what parts are on it, and i like the specs for all the equipment. I'm getting it though amazon, their return service on malfunctioning items is good enough for me to have confidence buying.

Regarding Amazon "returns", suggest you be familiar (REALLY FAMILIAR) with the fine print regarding warranty concerns. It's not going to be the same policy as a pair of shoes that don't fit or a toaster that arrives DOA. I'll guarantee you that...... You may end up paying the freight to have it returned - to China. That always makes me nervous as if you decide to go that route, there's going to be a point where they have your money, your bike, and an address in China.....

 

[pxpaulx]

Hey there guys, I definitely appreciate what you have told me thus far. My wife is too small for most of the bikes on the list, she has a 28 inch standover height, what height does that translate into for optimal seat height? something like 30-32 inches? i know you should be able to touch your toes. Thusfar the only bikes she is likely to fit are the freesky rocky and the samebike polaris xd26 and i found a new one the aostirmotor S18 Mini. each fit a 5'1 rider, and have 30.3, 32.3, and 31.5 inch seat heights. but the XD26 is the lightest if she can manage a 32.3 inch seat. otherwise the freesky rocky seems to be the lowest seat height but adds another 10 lbs. The weight of the samebike is rather low for similar powered full suspension ebikes in its category it seems. Also, i dont mind getting something that isnt widely reviewed as long as i know what parts are on it, and i like the specs for all the equipment. I'm getting it though amazon, their return service on malfunctioning items is good enough for me to have confidence buying.

To sum up, you're not listening to anyone here.

Have you asked your wife what she thinks? Does it matter? Seems more like you're buying a second bike for yourself.

Happy wife, happy life...

 

[LIONSxLEADER]

I've listened rather well I believe, and i appreciate the info i've gained thus far, and on that note, any recommendations on seat height for a 28 inch standover height would be very welcome. As for listening, some said reliability is an issue, I decided to pay 50$ more for the same model and stick with amazon's reliability based on my large experience with them. Some said, the bikes are too big, so I measured my wife's step over, and reassessed the values of my spreadsheet with new entry's for seat post height and minimum rider height and then asked a followup question about seat height. Some said it would be very heavy, so I've been looking for exceptionally light models that meet my requirements. Thus far 56 pounds seems to be a very light weight for that class of Ebike, and it doesnt seem like they get a bunch lighter. I am all ears if you have any suggestions for a bike that falls within the size constraints and pricing constraints, full suspension or not, that I can buy on amazon or in person. While for my wife's bike I am more focused on full suspension, it might be nice to have a third bike that i can afford for guests, and there are some pretty cheap models around 500-1000 that seem to have decent specs if you don't want full suspension.