E bike dilemma

[Trotter]

Hi guys. I've picked up some weight here over the past 3 months and since I wasn't small to begin with I decided I should get out for exercise.

Well I've done some research and then went to buy and here is my issue.

RadRover 5 - out of stock, back sometime in August
Aventon Level - out of stock, back in September
Ride 500 - out of stock, back in September

So I guess I'm looking at either buying a conversion kit and bike or buying something that is actually available from Ecotric. What would the experts suggest?

 

[BigNerd]

Do you need to purchase now? Looks like your budget is around the mid $1k range.

Have to tried local bike stores? With the current pandemic, stock is low (or zero) everywhere especially in the range you are looking at (I'm in a similar situation).

I'm not an expert but it seems like Rad is a popular choice on this forum but I don't really know much about them.

I like Aventon, Ride1Up, Sondors and Espin (a lesser known brand) but as you said, all about a month or two out.

 

[Trotter]

Thanks for the reply. I really would like to purchase now so I can get out and get the most of the summer months.

I could stretch my budget to a littler over 2k, but didn't want to spend that much on my first bike. Especially if my company goes back into the office and I have less time. I live in Chicago and we have local shops but on the couple visits I've made they really, really pushed higher end stuff. They pushed to the point that mentioning under $1500 I was steered toward a standard bike. I am thinking of setting a few more appointments with shops.

I honestly thought this would be easy, LOL!

 

[indianajo]

You're near chicago. Can you drive down to Mike's ebikes down near Aurora? He is a frequent contributor to the forum.
Rad has a list of common problems due to it's being built out of cheap parts. See the known problems under rad forum, 17 posts about loose spokes. https://electricbikereview.com/foru...ad-power-products-help-solutions-fixes.13196/ Yes, there is a huge denominator due their huge sales, but it is a problem that could easily have been avoided by buying real steel spokes, not lead/tin/copper/aluminum/iron mystery metal. To the shop's point, they have to repair warrenty problems, and can't make any money truing wheels over & over. One lady in Scotland took her rad to the shop 3 times for spokes in the first 2 months.
I spent $1500 on the yubabike left without power, and tighten no spokes, neither do I have to readjust the shifter or brakes all the time because the cable stretched. I hated the seat, the new one is a $75 aftermarket one. I added the motor for $840, $221 for a geared hub motor power wheel from ebikeling.com and $620 for a battery from lunabikes. I could have bought the battery from ebikeling, but I thought I could get a bargain on amazon. Wrong, that was a pile of trash, not a battery. Takes a drill, bit index, hacksaw, vise, safety glasses, klein terminal crimp tool, hand tools, SS machine screws & crimp terminals, to do a conversion. I did front wheel since I have a steel fork, and am thrilled with the results. PAS magnet wheel installation takes a crank arm puller, I didn't bother.
Crazy Lenny's in Wisconsen is about $100 drive away. His rent is probably lower.

 

[Trotter]

I just wanted something that would ship now. I did a bit more research and just pulled the trigger on a Juiced Scorpion. When other stuff is back in stock and if I'm still interested I'll get a more appropriate bike style instead of moped style. Thanks for the assist.

 

[richard.rivers]

Thanks for the reply. I really would like to purchase now so I can get out and get the most of the summer months.

I could stretch my budget to a littler over 2k, but didn't want to spend that much on my first bike. Especially if my company goes back into the office and I have less time. I live in Chicago and we have local shops but on the couple visits I've made they really, really pushed higher end stuff. They pushed to the point that mentioning under $1500 I was steered toward a standard bike. I am thinking of setting a few more appointments with shops.

I honestly thought this would be easy, LOL!

If you can accept a mid-drive motor which looks like Radcity then Ariel Rider C-Class can be a good option for you. In terms of specs it is better than what you listed here but price is also around 1800