Fat tire e-bike for hard packed beach sand, salt, and frequent rain

D

Delgreco

New Member
Region
USA
I'm an avid bicycle commuter and I just moved to the Washington coast. I live right on a 10 mile stretch of beach and am considering commuting along the hard packed sand and would likely put 4000+ miles / year on the bike. I am thinking a fat tire e-bike with an internally geared belt drive may get the job done and am looking for any recommendations. I expect to spend a decent amount on this bike (4-6k?) and am also looking for tips on caring for a bike that will spend that amount of time/miles on sand and salt and in frequent rain during the winter months.

While I'm an avid commuter I don't have much knowledge of what's out there. I've owned the same specialized tri-cross sport for the past 15 years and its in pretty bad shape after the number of miles I've put on it.

I've been looking at the Quiet Kat Apex HD but would have to purchase and install the belt drive myself which I'm unfamiliar with.
WA state only allows up to a 750w motor and the Apex HD has a 1000w but it seems the VPO 2.0 settings allow you to choose the class mode to comply with regional laws.

Will any bike hold up to this kind of millage on the beach or would I grind down an expensive investment in a short time?

Any recommendations or opinions on the bike and/or drive are welcome.
Thank you.
 
The salt water would be my main concern; unless, you are planning to hit a mix of fresh water spots also. I have two fat tire ebikes (4" Radrover 750w cadence sensor rear hub & 4.8" Himiway Cobra Pro 1000w tq sensor mid-drive). Rear hub with throttle is the way to go for casual riding and you want the extra power on demand in tight spots (deep sand, short inclines, getting across a busy intersection, etc...). I find mid-drives require way more shifting, being in the right PAS level, picking the right gear beforehand, and having a throttle can come in handy. I find my mid-drive isn't as easy to get through those really deep sandy spots without prior planning compared to a rear hub and just bumping the throttle and powering through.

I've rented ebikes on the coast when on vacation in CA. Might be a good way to test out either one or both if that is an option for a weekend trip
 
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A 500W, 65 Nm torque-sensing hub-drive with progressive over-riding throttle and 2.3" hybrid tires has served me well on low-tide sand, but I stay well under 20 mph. Your beach commuting may call for higher speeds.

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Based on what I see happening to other beach riders here, would probably need at least 4" tires to get through soft, dry sand reliably. But member @m@Robertson is your guy on beach tires.

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Riding on loose beach cobbles is like riding on ball bearings. Treacherous. Not sure if fat tires help with that.

As the OP well knows, beach sand always has unexpected soft spots. Agree with @mrgold35 that a quick blip of the throttle can be a very handy tool in this setting. (I always pedal. The throttle just adds assist now and then.)

You're right to look at belt drives. The sand and salt air have definitely been hard on my chain drivetrains, and that's with only a few beach rides a month.
 
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Hub drives are perfectly good for hard flat sand and you will have far less chain wear because theres nowhere near the same continous power going through the chain that will have sand particles on it.
Ive ridden mid drives on sand for years, you WILL get pretty extensive crunching when the sand is light enough to spray.
 
I have ridden miles of beach south of you on the north OR coast on a drop bar bike with 45c tires so the idea that you need a "fat" bike is not exactly necessary as long as you stick to below the tide line, however sometimes getting across the beach to that can be a bit of a struggle but I was able to do it most of the time with my front hub motor type setup that effectively got me 2wd. I have used both mid drive and hub motors and I have never had much issue with corrosion as long as I rinsed the bike off regularly. If I was going to make a bike specifically for beach use I would use a direct drive front hub bike on a frame with 2.5 tires and an IGH and belt drive. You will want fenders for sure if you ride in the rain and as full coverage as possible front and rear. Being able to keep the bike inside when not in use and out of the sea air is also a good plan. Also consider tidal effect as high tide can push you up into the tide line where it will be softer, still ridable but will use more power to get through.
 
Ditto to what JRA says. I'm also down in Oregon and ride the beaches a lot. In fact heading over tomorrow. Going to be using my Priority Sauce single speed non-ebike this time. You may want to check out this bike - their E-Coast. It's basically set up to handle a coast environment. It's a single speed rear hub ebike with throttle and a Gates belt drive. Little heavy at 56#'s. $1999 with free shipping presently, though they do have sales most of the time. I really like Priority (I have 2 of their non-ebikes) - GREAT customer service.

www.prioritybicycles.com

PRIORITY E-COAST

The e-Coast is the ONLY electric belt drive beach cruiser on the market! Note: Can only be shipped via Ground within the Contiguous US.
www.prioritybicycles.com www.prioritybicycles.com
 
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Seeing you are starting from scratch and can pick the bike just remember, the bigger and wider your tires the better the sand flotation will be. IGH and belt to be sure.
 
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