Comparison for a Tall Guy

[VB TK]

Great site, thanks for all the information. And my timing is probably not great given the last post here was for a Shorty.

I'm 6'6", 215 and want an eBike mostly for weekend beach volleyball. I'm going about 5 miles each way, but there are a couple decent hills on the way back home and I'm generally pretty tired by the end of the day. So I need a bike that will drag me up the hill - and I'll have chair, balls, on my back.

I went into the local eBike shop and took test drives of:

• Stromer Platinum Large Frame - even in Power mode, needed a lot of help on steep hills. I saw that there's an XL frame - Large was a bit short.
• Pedego Interceptor - seemed like it has decent power, but frame is only one size, need to get an extension for seat and likely handlebars.
• Easy Motion Neo Cross - all they had was a smaller frame and the seat didn't extend. It was hard to tell what this would be like, but seemed under powered compared to the other two.

Love to get thoughts on how these might compare or others I should look at. Any issue with the round-trip here and after a year of owning the bike, losing power on the way back? Pain with battery recharging (getting on/off the bike)? What else I should know?

Thanks

 

[Blue Bill]

Try the Stromer ST1 Elite. Its motor is made for climbing. 40nm vs 30nm on the Platinum.
PS you could also try dialling in different power assist ratios.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Great site, thanks for all the information. And my timing is probably not great given the last post here was for aShorty.

I'm 6'6", 215 and want an eBike mostly for weekend beach volleyball. I'm going about 5 miles each way, but there are a couple decent hills on the way back home and I'm generally pretty tired by the end of the day. So I need a bike that will drag me up the hill - and I'll have chair, balls, on my back.

I went into the local eBike shop and took test drives of:

• Stromer Platinum Large Frame - even in Power mode, needed a lot of help on steep hills. I saw that there's an XL frame - Large was a bit short.
• Pedego Interceptor - seemed like it has decent power, but frame is only one size, need to get an extension for seat and likely handlebars.
• Easy Motion Neo Cross - all they had was a smaller frame and the seat didn't extend. It was hard to tell what this would be like, but seemed under powered compared to the other two.

Love to get thoughts on how these might compare or others I should look at. Any issue with the round-trip here and after a year of owning the bike, losing power on the way back? Pain with battery recharging (getting on/off the bike)? What else I should know?

Thanks

Have you thought of Kalkhoff Agattu or Pro Connect Series? Where do you live?

 

[VB TK]

Thanks Bill. I'll look into the Elite. I'm assuming the local shop would know about "dialing in power assist ratios".

Ravi - I live in California. I'll take a look at those.

 

[Blue Bill]

Thanks Bill. I'll look into the Elite. I'm assuming the local shop would know about "dialing in power assist ratios".

Ravi - I live in California. I'll take a look at those.

The code is #1004, high numbers make the bike pedals a very light touch, low numbers 20 or 30 means you might get a workout. I ride mine at 30 but as I get into better shape I'll drop it down to 20. Overall range is affected by this setting, smaller numbers = longer range. At 5 miles range isn't an issue.

 

[Admin]

Ravi - I live in California. I'll take a look at those.

The New Wheel in San Francisco carries lots of bikes designed to handle hills. The mid-drive configuration of Kalkhoff electric bikes does very well in this respect and so do the Bosch centerdrive ebikes. I've been testing out the Haibikes recently and they climb very well, even on off-road dirt and rock terrain. I think they also come in several frame sizes so you can dial in for a solid body fit.