Custom E-bike - What should I consider?

[DanM]

Thank you again for the suggestions for commuter bikes for my wife. She saw an advertisement for a local custom bike builder and likes what they are making. I am pretty sure that these are assembled from off the shelf parts and not custom frames.

What should I think about when considering a "custom" bike? Any questions I should ask?

Here are the specs they list for the bike, if it is useful.

• Fat Cruiser femme 26'' Electric Assistance EN15194 Approved
• Aluminium frame
• 250w fatbike rear engine, weatherproof controller
• 360 Wh Samsung cells Li-ion battery, LCD/USB screen
• 5 levels of assistance. Front battery back lighting
• 7 speeds Shimano Altus. Rapid Fire Commands
• Tektro disc brakes. Fat tires 4.0. Aluminum rims
• Sludge guards and luggage rack included

Thank you for the help.

 

[Dewey]

Is it this model? Seems expensive for what you get. I'd recommend she take a test ride over the route as fat tire bikes are heavier and the tires are loud on paved surfaces. Those tiny fenders/mudguards won't keep rain off her. The moped headlight probably isn't StVZO compliant. IMO a better choice if she must have fat tires is the RadRhino Step Thru 1 which is 1200 Euro's less but uses the same Bafang 250w fat tire motor, and is available to import to Switzerland from their distributor in Utrecht, Netherlands.

 

[DanM]

I was looking at the company Fat Rider for the bike. Their website is fatrider74.com. it is interesting that you found it elsewhere.

Anyways... I love my wife, but I'm pretty sure this this will be a trophy bike for her. She is mostly focused on aesthetics and not practical matters.

She says she will commute with it, but I'll believe it when I see it. I'm sure that she will take the bus when there is a chance of rain. I'm not worried about the light. All of the bike lanes here are paved. Most are 50cm of the edge of the road. A few a slightly raised or shared with the sidewalk.

Regarding price. Fat Rider has it for 2300€. I can detax at the Swiss Border and then show my diplomatic papers to avoid import fees...

A happy wife is a happy life, right?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Dewey]

I was looking at the company Fat Rider for the bike. Their website is fatrider74.com. it is interesting that you found it elsewhere.

It's likely this is a Chinese white label ebike meaning a generic frame that can be rebranded by anyone. At least the Bafang fat tire hub motor is a standard part that can use any battery of the same voltage. Bon Chance

 

[harryS]

A quality battery is important. Samsung cells are good. Sounds like a 36V 10AH battery, which is considered tiny by today's standards. Probably only has 40 cells. For that kind of money, it ought to be 12AH, and they can easily put that into the same package.

The fenders are useless. Ride thru a puddle on a glorious summer day and the lady will have a muddy skunk trail down her back.

 

[AHicks]

Is it this model? Seems expensive for what you get. I'd recommend she take a test ride over the route as fat tire bikes are heavier and the tires are loud on paved surfaces. Those tiny fenders/mudguards won't keep rain off her. The moped headlight probably isn't StVZO compliant. IMO a better choice if she must have fat tires is the RadRhino Step Thru 1 which is 1200 Euro's less but uses the same Bafang 250w fat tire motor, and is available to import to Switzerland from their distributor in Utrecht, Netherlands.

4" tires with a pavement tread are as quiet as any of the smaller tires. Noise is created by the knobby style tires, and then, the faster you go the more noise they make. If there's an issue with the pavement tread, it's self steering. Or at least that was my experience. It's like over steer, only more unpredictable. Happens on irregular surfaces or when the bike is leaned into a corner. I don't think it's anything that might lead to a crash. It's more of an uncertain feeling. I was able to dial most of it out playing with tire pressure, ending up in the high teens (making the tires pretty stiff). I ended up switching to 26x3" Kenda Flame tires and that eliminated the issue. They've been great for my on/off road "hybrid" use.

 

[DanM]

Thank you for the advice. I have to do my due diligence for the wifey. I'll steer her towards to others that have been recommended here.

 

[harryS]

Still a nice looking bike. If they are custom they can find bigger battery and longer fenders.

 

[rich c]

Thank you for the advice. I have to do my due diligence for the wifey. I'll steer her towards to others that have been recommended here.

Oh yeah, that always works well. LOL When the fender radius doesn't match the tire, it's hard to call it a custom build. If it's found on another site, it's a stock Chinese bike with maybe the custom leather cover on the battery.

 

[Sierratim]

A happy wife is a happy life, right?

Certainly my motto! It's worked well for 50+ years.

Ride On!

 

[indianajo]

I find it very attractive. Maybe a new seat, add on rack, and a custom paint job on a mainstream bike? One with full fenders? Take a picture of another bike to an automotive paint shop and see what they would want to match these colors.
I think you can get 350 W hub motors in Switzerland, if there is any chance of climbing a hill.
One quibble, my bike came with white tires and I was unable to buy replacements that color.

 

[Sierratim]

I apologize in advance for the lengthy post but bear with me...

In line with the happy wife, happy life theme, I do understand the aesthetics issue but at its heart the bike is a machine that can delight or disappoint long after the initial 'new and shiney' attraction has worn off. Aside from odd fenders and a low battery capacity there are a few other considerations where this bike might disappoint.

The brakes appear to be mechanical disc brakes, rather than hydraulic. These will work about as well as a good set of rim brakes but the higher weight of the ebike will, IMO, make the brakes seem inadequate. They also require more periodic adjustment to keep them performing. I'd strongly recommend brand name hydraulic brakes for their self-adjusting feature and better stopping power.

Lighting is an issue everyone on abike should seriously consider, even if you don't plan on riding at night. Daylight running lights should be the minimum esp if commuting is being considered. Cars have a difficult time seeing bikes, esp when there are shadows or dim winter lighting. This puts the cyclist at risk. Lighting is one of the most effective ways to get a motorist's attention. I can't say if the included retro style headlight is useful for this, but it really should be. A headlight with a flashing mode is particularly good for daylight use. As a minimum there should also be a bright tail light.

The rack seems generic, perhaps even dedicated to the cargo box? A more flexible rack will in time be the best choice. Racktime and Topeak both make racks that accept their wide selections of bags and accessories that are easily removable. My wife particularly likes the Racktime Agnetha Bag for trips to the market esp since it can be carried as a shopping bag.

As a final point I'd be concerned with the long term serviceability of an ebike from a small builder, unless you're interested in doing this work or have a LBS that will take this on. Everything from flat tire repair to chain maintenance and brake pad replacement will be needed on a routine basis. Eventually battery, controller, and motor issues will arise. A brand name bike can keep these issues at the dealer.

So what to do? Perhaps with these issues in mind, and others posted earlier, your wife might be convinced to look at alternative ebikes. There are quite a few quality options available but one my wife liked is the Specialized Como 3 step through. I get that it costs more, but it hit all the buttons for my wife. I liked it for the effective running lights, hydraulic brakes, functional fenders, larger battery, flexible rack system, and the support avaialble from the local dealer.

Best of luck with the chat with your wife.

 

[indianajo]

The brakes appear to be mechanical disc brakes, rather than hydraulic. These will work about as well as a good set of rim brakes but the higher weight of the ebike will, IMO, make the brakes seem inadequate. They also require more periodic adjustment to keep them performing. I'd strongly recommend brand name hydraulic brakes for their self-adjusting feature and better stopping power.
.

Complete vapor. If you change pads weekly for each downhill Mountain bike race, self adjusting brakes may be an advantage. I adjust my brakes every 1000 miles (6 months) with a 5 mm wrench. Takes 2 minutes on the front, takes longer on the back because I have to take a pannier bag off. I had to change the rear pads after 4000 miles. No big deal backing the adjuster screw off.
I stop 330 lb gross on 15% downgrade with tektro 140 mm mechanical disk brakes. 1000% better than rim brakes in the rain. My hands are so weak I have serious difficulty gripping the handlebars when I hit a bump and the wheel snaps sideways. Been over the handlebar on my chin 5 times in 12 years.
You want to have fun, watch a video about bleeding hydraulic brakes. Plus, I had to replace the caliper on cars with disk brakes after pad change nearly 80% of the time. The cylinders leak after being pushed in. No thanks.

 

[Sierratim]

Complete vapor.

Well, looks like we get to disagree on something else. I'm glad you're happy with your mech disc brakes, but they are cheaper and not offered on higher spec bikes for a reason. I personally wouldn't own them on a bike as heavy as an ebike and that's the advice i'm giving. You're certainly welcome to give what advice you like, but not to extent you attempt to dismiss mine as 'compete vapor'.

 

[ManfredLL]

Do you guys know any company that makes ebikes customs in Germany? thanks

 

[Art Deco]

Thank you again for the suggestions for commuter bikes for my wife. She saw an advertisement for a local custom bike builder and likes what they are making. I am pretty sure that these are assembled from off the shelf parts and not custom frames.

What should I think about when considering a "custom" bike? Any questions I should ask?

Here are the specs they list for the bike, if it is useful.

• Fat Cruiser femme 26'' Electric Assistance EN15194 Approved
• Aluminium frame
• 250w fatbike rear engine, weatherproof controller
• 360 Wh Samsung cells Li-ion battery, LCD/USB screen
• 5 levels of assistance. Front battery back lighting
• 7 speeds Shimano Altus. Rapid Fire Commands
• Tektro disc brakes. Fat tires 4.0. Aluminum rims
• Sludge guards and luggage rack included

Thank you for the help.
View attachment 73181

To the OP. I only rode one 250 rear hub drive bike and don't know if it was geared or direct, but it was totally underpowered. An Electra townie. Unless your area is really flat, it may disappoint.

 

[Art Deco]

To the OP. I only rode one 250 rear hub drive bike and don't know if it was geared or direct, but it was totally underpowered. An Electra townie. Unless your area is really flat, it may disappoint.

Don't want to sound like the Grinch, but both @Sierratim and @indianajo ride much more powerfull Bikes and may have forgotten how weak some motors can be.

 

[CodyDog]

Complete vapor. If you change pads weekly for each downhill Mountain bike race, self adjusting brakes may be an advantage. I adjust my brakes every 1000 miles (6 months) with a 5 mm wrench. Takes 2 minutes on the front, takes longer on the back because I have to take a pannier bag off. I had to change the rear pads after 4000 miles. No big deal backing the adjuster screw off.
I stop 330 lb gross on 15% downgrade with tektro 140 mm mechanical disk brakes. 1000% better than rim brakes in the rain. My hands are so weak I have serious difficulty gripping the handlebars when I hit a bump and the wheel snaps sideways. Been over the handlebar on my chin 5 times in 12 years.
You want to have fun, watch a video about bleeding hydraulic brakes. Plus, I had to replace the caliper on cars with disk brakes after pad change nearly 80% of the time. The cylinders leak after being pushed in. No thanks.

I have three ebikes. One with mechanical brakes and two with hydraulic brakes. I'll take the performance of hydraulic brakes over mechanical brakes any day. Entry level bikes are typically outfitted with mechanical brakes to keep the price point down, not because of performance or maintenance.

 

[AHicks]

Well, looks like we get to disagree on something else. I'm glad you're happy with your mech disc brakes, but they are cheaper and not offered on higher spec bikes for a reason. I personally wouldn't own them on a bike as heavy as an ebike and that's the advice i'm giving. You're certainly welcome to give what advice you like, but not to extent you attempt to dismiss mine as 'compete vapor'.

I've used both and the bottom line is they both work. There's no point in any attempt to totally discount one or the other. The fact the mechanicals are less expensive, and aren't offered on high end bikes, doesn't mean they can't/won't stop an e-bike. That isn't true at all. In defense of the hydraulics, IMHO, they require less effort for equal stoping power (all else being equal).

 

[McCorby]

Complete vapor. If you change pads weekly for each downhill Mountain bike race, self adjusting brakes may be an advantage. I adjust my brakes every 1000 miles (6 months) with a 5 mm wrench. Takes 2 minutes on the front, takes longer on the back because I have to take a pannier bag off. I had to change the rear pads after 4000 miles. No big deal backing the adjuster screw off.
I stop 330 lb gross on 15% downgrade with tektro 140 mm mechanical disk brakes. 1000% better than rim brakes in the rain. My hands are so weak I have serious difficulty gripping the handlebars when I hit a bump and the wheel snaps sideways. Been over the handlebar on my chin 5 times in 12 years.
You want to have fun, watch a video about bleeding hydraulic brakes. Plus, I had to replace the caliper on cars with disk brakes after pad change nearly 80% of the time. The cylinders leak after being pushed in. No thanks.

How often do you think hydraulic bicycle brakes have to be bled? This is not something that has to be done at any regular interval. If you’re having to bleed your brakes regulary, something is wrong. Overall, hydraulic brakes are less maintenance and provide better performance. They are worth the additional cost in my opinion.