E-bike for Seattle

[Mayer]

I am looking for a commuter bike that can get me up some steep hills and around Seattle. Which brands would be best? I don't have a huge budget, but I'm willing to invest.

I made this list of what I'm looking for:
Can be ridden manually
Affordable battery replacement ($300 or preferably less)
Water proof
Can help me get up hills with ease
Has gears (hopefully eight)
Puncture proof tires (but i could get those myself)
Hub Motor (maybe?)

Im flexible about which bike I get, I just don't want to make a poor investment.

Thank you guys for any advice, I'm excited about getting a bike!

 

[Dewey]

how far do you need to go? It's just $300 will not buy you a large battery.

 

[JRA]

Go to Ballard and check out a RadCity, it may be all you need.

 

[Dewey]

Go to Ballard and check out a RadCity, it may be all you need.

Rad does have a hub motor but it's a 7 speed and a replacement battery is $500. Could replace with a 52v Luna mighty Mini for $300 but that would only offer half the range/amp hrs (6 v 12) so would depend on how far he needs to travel. Luna Alite has 8 speeds, a 750w bbs02 Mid drive motor that will get you up any hill, and a 13.5 ah replacement battery is $400.

 

[JohnT]

I wouldn't call a $300 battery affordable; I'd call it a waste of money. If you go lithium, a battery that small won't be able to supply enough amps to help much on hills, and if you push it hard, it'll die an early death. If you go sealed lead acid, you could push enough amps without stressing the battery, but SLA have short lives anyway, so again, you'll have to replace them more often than you would a bigger battery. If you double that budget, you'll probably end up with a battery that lasts more than twice as long while supplying more power.

I'm a Pedego dealer, and the first Pedego I rode was while on vacation in Seattle. Instead of renting a car, we rented 1st gen fat tire Pedego Trail Trackers and toured all over! 1st gens were single-speeds, so hills were tough, but doable. There was one steep block near Pike Place Market, perpendicular to the shoreline, where we had to get off and push, and I think one hill in Queen Anne, but I think everywhere else we went, we pedaled up the hills no probkem!

Other Pedegos with smaller tires are more efficient and better climbers and would make a better commuter. There are Pedego dealers in Seattle that can help you decide which is best for you. I highly recommend test riding any ebike you're considering.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

The fenders that protect your motor and whole ebike from splash and dirt is as important as the choice of ebike itself. It does not matter what ebike you get, it is very important in rainy Seattle that your ebike has a full coverage fender (most people modify their OEM or aftermarket fenders).

The only ebike that comes factory equipt with that is the Specialized Vado. Here's the Vado (notice the extended front fender downward lip). Also my ebike with modified aftermarket fenders and trajectory lines of the water splash. My low lying BBSHD and my shoes are kept dry by the extended front fender.

Here's an article on Seattle cyclists egarding fenders. https://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/why-we-dont-need-rain-bikes-any-longer/