Campus, hills, rural highways, NYS

[mdmtnwmn]

Looking and learning, so lots of questions. TIA for your patience and help.

So - 5'4", 125-lb athletic daughter needs transportation in and around a college campus in upstate NY - Madison, Onondaga, Cortland, Chenango, Oneida Counties area. She'd be riding on a mix of on-campus, in-town, and rural highway roads through hilly country. Hoping to be able to use a bike in all seasons when the road's relatively clear and dry. Would really like to do this for <$2000.

First question: Will she even be able to ride a Class 1 ebike in that area without getting stopped and ticketed and fined? That really just can't happen.

Second question: Suggestions for a bike that hits these points and/or advice on these points -

Commuter with some motor protection and fork suspension - Need fenders or ability to add to protect clothing; also, while it's unlikely she'd take it off-off road, some of her destinations will involve bumpy dirt/gravel surfaces

Mid drive - Looking for power + torque for long, steep upstate hills - do we need something along the lines of a Yamaha PW-X? Can it be found on a non-MTB? Can it be added to one?

Long range - Round trip through the course of a day could exceed 40 miles, so a good battery is needed but don't want a bulky suitcase on the back

Foldable that looks like a full-size bike - This isn't a requirement per se, but would make life a WHOLE lot easier.

Third question: On that last, we've seen a used folding Prodeco Genesis (the one with the downtube that forms a triangle) with an unknown aftermarket front hub drive and DIY engineer-rigged enormous battery pack. Presumably whoever put those on thought they were upgrades of some kind. The seller also has the original FSG (?) 36V 400W front hub drive and 300-500W battery. We could probably get it for less than $750. I don't know if the geometry would allow it, but at that price was wondering if a bike shop could swap in a good mid drive (Yamaha, Brose, or Bosch, I guess). Might also need better suspension on the fork. Would a retrofit like that make sense? What would it cost and would it be worth it for the lighter, foldable frame?

Again, thanks for any and all help. Kind regards, mdmtnwmn

 

[Citycrosser]

I ride a class 3 bike around Putnam and Westchester counties and have never had an issue. I imagine they'd be even more lenient upstate. I have plenty of long steep hills and a geared hub drive does fine (Magnum Metro+). Foldable is probably not gonna happen and having a 40 miles range will be tough. I ride 35 miles to work on a rail trail that is relatively flat with a 48 volt, 13 a-h battery and that just about takes it to 20% if I'm averaging 20 mph or so.

My daughter is the same height and weight and we are also looking for an e-bike for her but we only need 15 to 20 miles of range. It's difficult to find a bike that fits her well as most of them are simply too big for her height, or she feels they are too heavy. I would suggest a Juiced CCX or CCS but even the smallest size frame is probably too big.

A Pedego City Commuter might be a good option with the 15 a-h battery but the cost is $3500 or so.

A Magnum UI6 could work as it's not too tall but it is quite heavy. It has the same battery and motor as my Metro+ so 40 miles is a stretch but it does meet your budget and other requirements (fenders, etc.).

I'm no expert on mid-drives but most of them can't be swapped in as they need a custom frame (other than a Bafang BBS).

 

[Bruce Arnold]

You might consider having her pack the charger along so she can top up the battery sometime during the day. This opens up the options, as battery size is less critical if she can recharge. "Kids today" are used to finding places to charge their phones; this won't be any harder.