Fastest eBike for 6'2" rider <$2K

[JASmith]

Thanks, but the Sondors indicates "up to 20mph", I think I'm going to use previous advice and stick with 750watt+ options that can be unlocked for 25mph+.

 

[billmeek]

Thanks, but the Sondors indicates "up to 20mph", I think I'm going to use previous advice and stick with 750watt+ options that can be unlocked for 25mph+.

The Sondors XS and MXS have 750 watt hub motors. I've changed my MXS to the max it allows (28 MPH) and was able to sustain 27 MPH for a few miles... but I was peddling quick. It would have been much easier if I'd been willing to just use the throttle. I have an LX on order for September delivery. Unless they change it from the reviews I've seen, I'll be able to set it for 35 MPH.

SONDORS LX Review | ElectricBikeReview.com

Price: $1999.00 | Model Year: 2021 | The SONDORS LX is a massive and powerful go-anywhere electric bike with a unique elevated chainstay frame design, available online in the US and Canada at an impressive price point of $2,000 USD

electricbikereview.com

 

[billmeek]

By the way, the price has increased since that review was posted. The current price is $2,299.00 +$97 shipping for the LX or the Cruiser.

 

[Dave Rocks]

Problem solved. Go fast or go home.

 

[PedalUma]

Problem solved. Go fast or go home.

View attachment 92119

If I took that motorcycle (with pedals attached) on a ride of the trails above the lovely Golden Gate National Sea Shore I would go 'home.' A new home that is very secure and provides three hots and a cot. I would rather ride a good light weight bike with plenty of feel and go to my regular home. Besides an electric motorcycle is no fun after the initial thrill. Where is the strategy for headwinds and pedaling technique? That is kind-a dumb in a Manitoban cheese wiz in a can way. Cannot take it in a bike lane, or bike trail or on a highway. But it could be fun if you had 10,000 hectors in Utah and were disabled.

 

[Rickman1]

I wouldn't consider "building"an ebike since I have never done one. Spare the hassles and just buy an ebike from a company that's been at it for awhile. I have the Soul Beach Cruiser, "Sonic Saber" with the Pro package. I weigh around 275 @ 6ft tall. Bike is plenty big and with pedal assist 5 in 7th gear and me doing my part, I've had it up to 33mph. I used to think that 25mph wasn't that fast but on a bicycle that's scary fast depending on where you are riding.

 

[JASmith]

Thanks, the Sonic Saber is already on my list!

Regarding that motorcycle inspired bicycle, kidding aside, I think there's actually a good market for pedal bikes not actually meant to be pedaled, as a legal loophole for those that want a ultra-light low speed "motorcycle" that can use bicycle paths and not have to deal with some of the extra costs and regulations involving traditional motorcycles like needing insurance and paying registration and inspection fees and the like.

For me personally though, I prefer a true hybrid where my pedaling is comfortable and assisted so there's still some exercise value.

I know all about the sensation of speed on lighter vs heavier bikes. Back in the day I had a Yamaha RZ350 that is just a little heavier than my current Yamaha. While my current is only around 30hp and so only comfortably cruises at 65mph, the old two stroke with some mods was double that and so could go triple digits when I wanted to test its top speed just to say I did. Unlike big sport cruisers, doing that on a very light bike like that felt pretty crazy and I never did that again! I think the biggest sensation of speed was in Spain we rode these racing gokarts and even though the speeds probably weren't that high, it felt insane since your butt was an inch off the ground!

 

[ElevenAD]

the Fastest $2000 bike is the Ariel Rider X-Class 52v at around 34mph! its small and has full suspension

X-Class 52V

A consumer direct, Seattle based ebike company making the fastest and most robust e-bikes in the market for the past decade; urban city electric bikes, electric scrambler bikes, electric fat bikes, electric cruiser bikes.

www.google.com

its a great bike but imo you should take your time do as much research as possible make sure you choose something you like, no rush because half the online E-Bike manufacturers are back ordered anyway so you will probably be in for a wait.

correction top speed is 35 to 36mph out of the box! good luck finding a cheaper faster Full suspension bike! i would get one while there on sale.
this bike is faster that my RizeRX with an ULTRA and its faster than my Juggernaut with a BBSHD! 52v XClass is fast!

 

[YYZblues]

Hi, all, first post! We are looking to sell our bicycles and upgrade to e-bikes, but as I'm the more motivated partner (with ebikes we could actually have the same cruise speed without me dying as the straggler always) so I'm trying to do the research so we can just buy a pair of matching bikes or perhaps at least from the same manufacturer.

I was sold on the Lectric XP Step-Thru 2.0 white for me and the XP 2.0 black for him, but he indicated it looked pretty small which is a good point.

He wants the best possible top speed (and I'll have to find something that matches), reasonably comfortable, 99% on road use flat terrain (we're in Houston, TX), that will fit him as he's a big boy at 6'2" and ~230lbs and all for under $2K max. Our range is very short, basically we just go to the parks, to neighbors, and occasionally light grocery shopping which is just a couple miles down the road. I know, caviar taste on a tuna budget!

Thoughts?

Have a look at the Aventon Pace 500 for both of you. It comes in the high step and step through. Class 3 with max assisted speed of 28mph. They are less than 2K and you can't beat it's value for the money. Only caveat is the bike can be jerky off the line. I'm not sure if Aventon has addressed this issue or not.

 

[EMGX]

You might want to take a look at the Ariel Rideal. $1000 bike with 750w hub motor. Someone on this web site posted a throttle only video, rode 21 miles on one charge without pedaling at 21-25mph if I remember correctly. Reasonable weight for an ebike, reasonable specs with functional components and good reviews including video reviews.

edit:
that bike test may have been done on a pre-production model because the Ariel web site and other reviews indicate 20mph assist limit.

 

[JASmith]

Shared some info w/ hubby over lunch, and he is going to look into the DIY option, and he also mentioned regarding battery capacity that he could make a connector to wire them in parallel and that they even have up to 5AH batteries for our mower which I wasn't aware of.

So we might just DIY his first and put four 2AH landscaping batteries in parallel on a rear bike rack, which would be 8AHx72V=576WH and if each can handle 1500 watt, then 6000 watt capacity so shouldn't see any voltage drop even w/ a big 1000 watt motor.

Then since mine is the cheaper and older bicycle, I can sell it and get the new purpose built e-bike just for me.

 

[john peck]

Under $2K each, sorry for the confusion.

No need to apologize when in new territory. You mentioned a 29er mtn bike. I´m biased, but
you might look into the NCM moscow review in EBR. In spite of name, it´s a German company.
THe fat tire version is called aspen. The regular moscow is $1059 out of seattle, but the
moscow + is better suited to new ebikers with upgrades & easier maintenance at around $1600.
I ride the regular moscow, & being heavy, I have had issues with tires & spokes resolved by
better tires. Still, it has boocoo power & will climb anything. Unlike hi-end brands like trek & giant
which can require brand specific parts. the moscow has kept cost down using readily available
mtb parts. It´s essentially a 90s mtb with amazing power. (shown sans battery & with after mkt accessories.)
If you choose this, memorize the manual. Germans are fussy about details. Also I have help
info to enhance it´s use.

 

[JASmith]

I just realized I didn't post what bike he has. He also has a road bike, but the mountain bike to convert says its a Trek ZR 9000 rocker link. We bought it used, but looks like its more ancient than I thought being a 2004 model, woah! This is a stock photo of what it looks like except that he has fat no-tread slick road tires on it:

 

[john peck]

I just realized I didn't post what bike he has. He also has a road bike, but the mountain bike to convert says its a Trek ZR 9000 rocker link. We bought it used, but looks like its more ancient than I thought being a 2004 model, woah! This is a stock photo of what it looks like except that he has fat no-tread slick road tires on it:

Looks sturdy. At 72, I´m more a plodder than a shredder. My parts are a mite worn.

 

[reed scott]

We are both experienced motorcyclists, I have a Yamaha WR250X and he has a Honda 954RR, but with how dangerous Houston traffic is getting we don't really ride the motorcycles much anymore. We do know how to handle the speed and have taken advanced safety courses.

The idea with having speed is that if we get rid of the motorcycles we could use ebikes to get to where we want both at the same speed (an issue w/ our unassisted bicycles as he is much more powerful), but also I think its safer as even residential areas around here are not remotely setup for bicycles and are 40mph roads so if you can go 25-30mph you can not only arrive faster but have more airflow to stay cool when its hot and be a bit less of a road block since the speed differential will be less.

Thanks for all the input, I'm on a youtube marathon now watching reviews! That ariel rider is neat, almost like a moped more than a bicycle. The Aventon Aventure also looks like a strong contender. I like the stealth battery on the Saber. Very cool!

Stalking your posts I see that you are married. ....... I'm crushed but I'll get over it.

Why not sell the motorcycles and get top of the line ebikes? When I fell into this new almost religious hobby I sold two thirds of my arsenal and now have $12k worth of bikes ( that's 2 ) I am really really enjoying. The guns were just gathering dust anyway and really .... how many weapons does one NEED? Just the one big bike would buy you incredible machines and of course ... I recommend Wattwagons.

 

[billmeek]

how many weapons does one NEED?

All of them!

 

[reed scott]

All of them!

Naaaa. 8 or 10 and a few thousands rounds various calibers is plenty. For me.

 

[JASmith]

All of them!

LOL, actually with the market the way it is because of COVID we actually just took advantage and already did the downsizing of firearms and a lot of ammunition as well, as prices are crazy. He sold almost everything and we simplified and only have 9mm and 556 left consisting of two rifles, two pistols, and only about 500rnds total. All extra cash from the downsizing is going into the market, as stocks are doing well, and can splurge later or retire early. E-bikes are just part of the strategy of going minimalist. When the Ford Maverick hybrid is available, we're probably going to sell the trusty Ram 1500 (I think I can get $14K for it in this market) and go from 16mpg on premium to 37mpg on regular.

This weekend we're going to sit down to buy, but I don't want to spend a fortune for me but will go new (probably the Lectric 2.0, or if I don't want a folder and splurge maybe the Aventon Level or Adventure step through), and his Trek bike we need to get the parts ordered this weekend for conversion. We're 99% sure on going DIY now for him and getting an extra landscaping battery that we use all the time anyway which is 5AH*72V nominal (pretty small but should be OK, and more space efficient than putting three 2AH ones in parallel), a 750-1000 watt hub/wheel/tire (they don't seem to make affordable middrives that can do 72V), 72V controller, throttle grip with display, and calling it a day. If we get too confused figuring out what fits, maybe we'll get matching Aventons since they come in different frame sizes and 28mph should be good enough.

 

[AHicks]

2 thoughts for you. When it comes to fast bikes, no matter how you achieve that speed, at some point you're going to need to stop it. Further, there will be times when you need to stop it NOW. You can't make any safe bets on bikes that weigh what an e-bike weighs that does not have disk brakes. Point being, if you're going with a DIY bike, make sure you start with a donor bike already equipped with disk brakes. These will almost always be off-road bikes.

2nd, and maybe more important. I rode motorcycles most of my life (I'm 70) retiring only because I felt my reaction times were no longer up to reacting to some jack ass turning left in front of me. There are/have been countless accidents involving bikes ridden in the same proximity as cars/trucks. It happens over and over again, every day, especially in Florida. One of the bigger issues (IMHO) are these stupid "bike lanes" dividing bike and automotive traffic with only a white line. That white line has been proven to be wishful thinking at best when considering biker safety over and over again. Don't let the thought that you are riding "legally" give you a false security. If you are concerned regarding your safety on a motorcycle, I would be 10 times as concerned on a bike when riding in proximity to traffic weighing 100 times your weight.

My point is, I would reconsider any thoughts riding with fast moving traffic nearby, while hoping everyone is paying attention. I refuse, no exceptions. A good friend (also a senior) was minding his own business riding in a "bike lane". A distracted pick up driver got a little too close to him and his mirror clipped my buddy's bike mirror just hard enough to cause him to loose control and riding into a drainage ditch. He survived the broken bones just fine. What really pissed him off was how long it took him to recuperate to the point he could ride his bike again - nearly 6 months.

You mentioned you drive a PU, so I would suggest you look into local places you could take the bikes for a ride - safely. -Al

 

[JASmith]

If you are concerned regarding your safety on a motorcycle, I would be 10 times as concerned on a bike when riding in proximity to traffic weighing 100 times your weight.

Yeah, I hear ya, the thought process is that it seems around here its the highways that are the most dangerous, and the suburbs not quite as bad. Eventually we hope to move up to North Carolina with family and can live much more rural, but we have to make due with big city Houston suburbs for now. I've passed along also looking how hard it would be to replace the brakes at the same time with hydraulic disks. Smart.