Evo 27.5 talk me out of it, lol

[Mike Smith]

After months of research, I think I have finally decided on the Evo 27.5. I'm 50 and 250 lbs, want to ride longer and flatten out hills, exercise, and lose some weight. Will test ride next week hopefully. If it is a good ride I plan to buy ,but please tell me what else to test before committing, and why not to buy the Evo 27.5. Large expense obviously, and want to make sure I make the right choice. Want to make sure it still looks cool to ride 5 years from now. Would like 500w or more but can't find it in a better cooler looking bike. Plan on keeping this bike for a long time so looks and specs are crucial.
You baby boomers will understand, lol. Thanks
Mike
Towson, MD

 

[PowerMe]

The first question to ask yourself is, what other bikes can you realistically test within a few days or so, so that as soon as you determine the 'right' one you can pull the trigger? I know you're not right near a bike shop that carries a bunch of brands, but I think it's good, if possible, to be able to test ride 2 or more ebikes to see what you prefer. Again, *if* you can.

There's nothing wrong with pulling the trigger on an Evo 27.5 as long as the bike meets the qualifications that are important to you and your goals and as long as you don't suffer from grass is always greener the moment you get the bike. Will the bike suit you 5 yrs from now? Chances are technology will have changed enough that you'll want something newer by then, all things being equal.

No one here is going to talk you out of pulling the trigger on this eBike. The advice most will give is to try and test ride as many ebikes as you can (if you can) and good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[J.R.]

@PowerMe to us guys the grass is always greener, we are visual creatures and gadget freaks. Only with age have I settled down to a degree. I still want another ebike and I've only owned my current one for 6 months. I'm going to try to abide to my original thoughts of riding my first one for a year and than evaluate my needs again.

@Mike Smith I like your choice and like PowerMe, I'll not talk you out of it, e-biking is a blast. I say that with other bikes to ride and a Harley to boot. I don't think you can go wrong with an Easy Motion, I like their 29er. Good luck!

 

[PowerMe]

JR, I'm a gadget freak too! Inside this 50+ yr old short woman is a 17 yr old tall skinny tech geek doubled over in pain, trying to get out! ;-D I'd have a new tech toy every week if I could afford it!

 

[oilerlord]

My wife and I ride the Neo Jumper and Neo Jet. Great bikes, and the EVO 27.5 looks like more of the same. Same as you, I just turned 50 and we bought the bikes for fun and exercise. We ride them every chance we get. Plan on another $100-$200 for a seat that allows you to get the most out of your ride. I went with the Selle Italia SMP extra that worked for me.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Nice lookin bike, decent specs. Just put a BodyFloat or Thudbuster on it so you can do some distance with relative comfort, makes a big difference on hardtail bikes. -S

 

[grench]

@Mike Smith I just finished an Easy Motion sampling. I rode the EVO 27.5, the NEO 650B, and the NEO Jumper at Segway Evolve in Minneapolis MN. Very nice guys who take the time to set the bikes up to fit for your test ride. As a heavy guy - I can tell you the full suspension Jumper feels like a pogo stick when you pedal. My guess is I am too heavy for the bike. I tried locking out the rear suspension...it still bounced a little. Now the other two rode very well. I rode each on pavement for around 20 mins each. To me the 27.5 and the 650B rode very similar. I did appreciate the lower stand over height of the 27.5. I was able to maintain 19mph on each with level assist 3 (sport) on both bikes. The 27" tires take the pot holes and bumps very well. Very classy looking and feeling bikes. Locking out the front shock seemed to tighten the bike up and felt a little more reactive. I came to try the easy motion bikes because Court owns one. I figured he would be riding the best one on the market. I am a newbie with only 300 miles on an e bike but these felt like high quality well made bikes. I think my Otibike has a little more motor (I can maintain 20-21 mph) but this may be because it is a mid drive verses the rear hub. I have new bike-idiss and am looking for a second bike. Still not sure if I will keep the Optibike (I have 90 days love it or return it). The Evo 27.5 is worth considering.

 

[stevenast]

I preferred riding the Evo Cross, to the 27.5. It rides so much better on pavement and single track. Do you really need the knobby tires?

Otherwise I will second what others have mentioned: Try more bikes. But, Easy Motion is quality, hard to go wrong ... except for the way inflated prices.

Good luck!

 

[pxpaulx]

@Mike Smith I have new bike-idiss and am looking for a second bike. Still not sure if I will keep the Optibike (I have 90 days love it or return it). The Evo 27.5 is worth considering.

If you have new bike-idis and are thinking about an easy motion bike, I'm thinking about selling my neo xtrem - want to build myself an electric fat bike. I bought my neo xtrem at segway of MN last year (I'm local), only put about 100 miles on it. I'd be looking to get about 50% of retail. Message me if you're interested!

 

[stevenast]

After months of research, I think I have finally decided on the Evo 27.5.

Did I see on another thread that you got a different bike? I've been reading a lot so I can't remember!!

 

[Grant]

I bought a 27.5 in Dec 2015 and use it to get to & from work daily (40 km / 24 miles each day), so have done 5,000 km (3,100 miles) in 8 months (I'm 53 years old). I had road tires fitted as none of my riding is off-road. When the bike had done about 2,500 km (1500 miles) the problems started with power cutting out / controller switching off (or a combination thereof). The problems with power have come & gone every since and the bike has now been sent back to Sydney for the 2nd time (I live in Adelaide, Australia which is 1,375 km [850 miles] from Sydney). There is no electric bike expert in Adelaide who the company uses (even though I've found one). The bike is under warranty so my bike shop (where I bought it) has to send it to Sydney. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement. I previously had a much cheaper electric bike which I rode for 18,500 km (11,500 miles) over 2.5 yrs but there were always niggling problems (some major) due to the low quality. Eventually the higher quality e-bikes started coming onto our market so I bit the bullet. I love my 27.5 but very disappointed with the problems and poor support. I climb a large hill (200 m / 650 ft) and usually have a head wind coming home each day so an e-bike suits me perfectly, but I'm seriously wondering if I should have a light-weight high-quality hybrid (non-electric) instead as I need total reliability and there would be less potential for problems.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I bought a 27.5 in Dec 2015 and use it to get to & from work daily (40 km / 24 miles each day), so have done 5,000 km (3,100 miles) in 8 months (I'm 53 years old). I had road tires fitted as none of my riding is off-road. When the bike had done about 2,500 km (1500 miles) the problems started with power cutting out / controller switching off (or a combination thereof). The problems with power have come & gone every since and the bike has now been sent back to Sydney for the 2nd time (I live in Adelaide, Australia which is 1,375 km [850 miles] from Sydney). There is no electric bike expert in Adelaide who the company uses (even though I've found one). The bike is under warranty so my bike shop (where I bought it) has to send it to Sydney. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement. I previously had a much cheaper electric bike which I rode for 18,500 km (11,500 miles) over 2.5 yrs but there were always niggling problems (some major) due to the low quality. Eventually the higher quality e-bikes started coming onto our market so I bit the bullet. I love my 27.5 but very disappointed with the problems and poor support. I climb a large hill (200 m / 650 ft) and usually have a head wind coming home each day so an e-bike suits me perfectly, but I'm seriously wondering if I should have a light-weight high-quality hybrid (non-electric) instead as I need total reliability and there would be less potential for problems.

Easy Motion elsewhere has some questionable support system but in the US, they are thriving mainly because of good support.
Most E-bikes are modular and all you got to do is swap out the defective part for a new one. Places like Eurocycles and Sydney electric bikes seems to be pretty well right?

 

[mark63]

I've had my 27.5 for about a month. Overall I love it and its a blast to ride. Two things I've noticed and not sure if its normal or not. My battery doesn't last that long, nowhere near the 20-25 miles advertised. I haven't measured it and its not really an issue for me because my commute is well within that. The other thing is that I was hoping in no assist mode I could peddle it like a heavy regular bike. I get a fair amount of resistance that I think is coming from the rear motor. Thought geared hub motors didn't have that issue. Still I'm very happy with the bike and would buy it again. ~mark

 

[Jack Tyler]

Grant's comments (from Adelaide) highlight my #1 concern about owning an ebike. Shopping & buying when a local ebike dealer is at least many hundreds of miles away is challenging enough. But what does one do one or two years later when a buried connector fails and produces a mystery issue or a hub magnet comes loose? Ebikes are not only more vulnerable to failure because of their additional systems but the physics involved - a heavier bike traveling at higher speeds for a given rider - introduces more shock loading. The logical alternative seems to be a kit purchase, since one is forced to understand more about the 'e' components and the supplier 'may' be more inclined to provide technical support since it's more a part of their business model. But loading up a conventional bike not intended for that purpose might introduce its own problems, and I would much prefer the kind of intentionally designed & integrated ebike like the Evo being discussed here. Quite a conundrum...

 

[Nirmala]

I may start to sound like a broken record on here, but I am seeing more and more benefits to the kind of approach embodied in the ShareRoller: http://igg.me/at/shareroller/x/12713097 in spite of the fact that it is months away from being available and I have never even ridden a bike with one. But here are some advantages, as I see it, with the SR relative to a dedicated ebike:

1- Light weight. The entire system weighs from 5-8 pounds depending on how big a battery you get, and extra batteries would be easy to carry and swap in and out if you needed extreme range capabilities.
2-Because of the light weight, it should not overload a conventional bike. And when not needed, or when the battery runs out, or when a problem with the electric assist arises, you would still have a very ridable bike with or without the SR mounted. You could put this ShareRoller on a 25 pound or so bike and have one heck of a light weight ebike. Even a 35 pound bike with this added would be light compared to a 50-60 pound ebike.
3- No problem getting repairs for anything to do with the bicycle itself at a regular bike shop, and if the ShareRoller business model succeeds, it could be easy to send it back in for repairs, unlike shipping an entire bike back for repairs. You could even have two of them on hand to cover you if something goes wrong.
4-Capability to swap the ShareRoller among different bikes. You could have an expensive road bike for joy rides, a cheapo bike from Craigslist for running errands or short commutes where you need to lock it up outside, a mountain bike, a recumbent and even a tandem....and all of them could use the same SR.
5- Ability to remove the SR at any time and instantly have a normal bike.
6-Cost: You could have a very nice $1000 bicycle, a ShareRoller with a spare battery and still have spent less than $3000...a lot less if you preorder in the next few days.

This all depends on the performance of the device and the success of the business, but I am very eager to try one out. In the meantime, my wife and I are enjoying our Magnum Ui5's immensely, and yet part of me is glad that I did not spend $3000 and up on an ebike at this point in time. I want to see how some of the technology develops before I invest that much. If they turn out to be reliable, I could see the Magnum's being all of the ebike we would need, but I like exploring my options at the same time.

I am hoping to pick up a hybrid road bike I saw on Craigslist today. It is nothing special, but I want to have it on hand to be able to test the ShareRoller on a regular bike along with my idea of putting the ShareRoller on the front of my Magnum for a two wheel drive ebike that will easily tackle the hills around here. And besides, the bike is for sale for only $30, so if it is even rideable it will be a great deal This way I will also have much more to report on when the ShareRoller I preordered arrives. And if I like the way the SR works on a regular bike, I can upgrade to something better later. Note added: the craigslist bike was a bust, but my brother in law is going to give me his Giant Cypress DX hybrid bike in March, so I will have a regular bike to try the ShareRoller on.