first ebike - 14 mi commute each way

Do you think they make the Fazua in Munich paying a german tech 65 euro/hour ??

They contracted a factory in China and have it made there.

Bosch is Made in Germany. Most of them...lately they switch also and quality is chinese.

So now you say Bosch is making their stuff in China and their quality is Chinese yet you're recommending that the OP buy a Trek? You're making less sense with every post. Please don't post that Fazua is assembling in China (first you said they were Chinese) if you really don't know. If you have info to show this is true, please cite your source.
 
So now you say Bosch is making their stuff in China and their quality is Chinese yet you're recommending that the OP buy a Trek? You're making less sense with every post. Please don't post that Fazua is assembling in China (first you said they were Chinese) if you really don't know. If you have info to show this is true, please cite your source.


Ok, there are Bosch items Made in Germany and then there is Bosch Made in 🇨🇳
I said that clearly earlier.

Can you provide a geo tagged picture from the factory floor of Fazua showing the workers assembling the 18650cells into the Fazua battery pack on the outskirts of Munich ?
No.

Is just common sense due to economics, just as Stromer has the DD motor custom made overseas. But everything is assembled in Switzerland. Most likely is the same with Fazua.
 
Here straight from the factory .
I had sent my Mach 10 speed Drone and took a video since then😉

It is clearly shown the Engineer and Software people, then the building with Assembly LINES.
Tons of boxes arriving from overseas you know where ... battery / circuit boards/ components...

They assemble it there , test it.
The motor can have a flow, a cell can be shorted, and so on... is definitely not like a Porsche.

Can that be considered Made in 🇩🇪 ?
 
Thanks again for all the good info....trying to keep up while my kids are riding their bikes around me and getting them ready for bed!

Really is a tough call between the budnitz and the trek. I didn't realize the trek wasn't available yet, I don't see a date on their site, does anyone know when it's planning to ship?

How much do you all value the belt drive system? I thought the low maintenance on that would be great, is it a big consideration?
 
Can that be considered Made in 🇩🇪 ?

It can be considered designed and assembled in the EU. You are clearly stretching to dig yourself out of a hole after you blatantly posted misinformation that wasn't based on any prior knowledge or fact. Please stop handing out advice that is based on conjecture and bias.
 
How much do you all value the belt drive system? I thought the low maintenance on that would be great, is it a big consideration?

I'm a big fan of the belt drive and of the Alfine 8. I have it on my Spot Champa paired with the Alfine 8 however that isn't an e-bike and I don't have hills. In 4 years of ownership, the pair has been totally maintenance free (I probably need to look into maintenance on the Alfine). I recall that someone here, very knowledgeable, posted that the Alfine 8 was more robust vs the Alfine 11 but that it wasn't e-bike rated. However, since that time, the Alfine 8 has started to appear in some e-bikes. And the Budnitz would be lower torque and a Class 1 so I think the Alfine 8 should be able to handle that. If you were going to be riding fast on a Class 3 bike, I'd be concerned about the Alfine 8 not having the necessary gear range.
 
How much do you all value the belt drive system? I thought the low maintenance on that would be great, is it a big consideration?
I don't find squirting the chain with oil once a month, and adjusting the derailleur maybe once a year, that troubling. But I don't have a job & kids.
 
It can be considered designed and assembled in the EU. You are clearly stretching to dig yourself out of a hole after you blatantly posted misinformation that wasn't based on any prior knowledge or fact. Please stop handing out advice that is based on conjecture and bias.


You didn’t pay attention to the video.

Which part of it you don’t understand ? Stop spreading lies and insulting my intelligence.

Assembling and opening boxes that come from overseas Is not defined as Made in x country.

Unless you in particular have very low expectations !!
 
This has been a really helpful conversation. I had not heard of the trek offering and I think I'll call the trek dealer today and see when they will have the 8+s models in and try to reserve one. My thought process being that assuming its not much further away then when the budnitz would ship, i can buy, try and more easily return if needed / don't love it and then try the Budnitz.

One thing I do note about the Trek which I think is weird, what gives with the rack on the back which seems to have the tire sticking through the middle? That would seem to remove some of its utility like putting a child seat on it (not positive on this as I think the Yepp has a gap in the middle...will have to check when i get home) or strapping things to the top.

@indianajo is there a good site/list on what I should be doing on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis for upkeep on a bike like the Trek?

Of course I am the classic over thinker - I happen to research the bike service we get free at work "velofix" and found they have a partner called priority bikes and just looked at the embark....seems to fall somewhere inbetween - and while it doesn't meet the integrated battery look i was hoping for it's not bad. I saw a few threads on the bike and seem to be mostly positive. https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/embark#specs
 
It rains in Seattle.
Oil all exposed metal (steel) monthly with non-detergent thin oil, as 5W ATF type F or A (not dexron compatible) or generic tractor hydraulic fluid SUS 32, (not the kind approved by Deere, Case, New Holland etc.)
Chain, cable ends, derailleur pivots, takeup gear pivots, controls, seat stem & bolts, steering stem & bolts, non-stainless fasteners. I use a pump oiler.
Charge discharge battery not below 10% and not above 90% most of the time except every 3 months fully charge until charger cuts off. (Some chargers have a 80% and 90% setting besides 100%, others you have to measure the voltage yourself). Voltage tables are on the lunabikes website; click an appropriate voltage battery and they will have the table in the faq.
Make sure bumps on tire are thicker than 1/8" unless you are riding puncture proof tires. I use regular Kenda knobbies, but we don't have goat thorns here. Change tube & tire every 5 years if no flats.
Rain protection of display & battery updated, I'm no expert here because I don't own a trek. My battery is rain & splashproof. I quit using the controller that had a display, it was fogging up from the rain.
Every 2 or 3 months check every fastener on the bike & retighten if it is loose. Do this right after you buy it. I use double nuts on axles (including the motor axle).
Yearly turn bike upside down & scrape dirt caked by the oil from the sprocket cluster & the drive sprockets. I use a 3/16" screwdriver. Also the takeup sprockets. Oil the crank through the drip hole in the bottom of the housing and let it sit all day. Take the pedals off, prop with the bearings pointed up, and oil. "Permanently lubricated" is about a year and a half in my experience. Note right pedal screws off backwards. You could alternately tip the bike over on its side & drip the oil in the bottom pedal, letting it sit 4 hours or so.
Every 2 or 3 years back the cages away from any non-motor axles, clean the balls & races and relubricate with petroleum jelly or API grade 1 (not 2) grease.
Mid drives require the chain stretch be checked every month or two, chain usually has to be changed at ~3000 miles for 3/32" chain (6 7 8 speed) and more often for thinner chain (10 11 speed). This requires a park tool.
 
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Go to Seattle Ebikes in Pioneer Square and try everything that appeals to you. Go to the other ebike stores in Seattle - - fortunately there are quite a few. Try every ebike. Riding is the only way to tell.

I liked the BH Atom Diamond Wave Pro with the 90nm torque Brose motor. I am an ol' lady and I can bike up bigass hills steady and sure with it. I love my bike! You will find that everybody loves their own ebike.

In my opinion, there is no need to buy online if you live in the greater Seattle area, and you will getting better deal because you will be able to take it in for servicing or repair to the place that sold it to you. And your money will remain in local circulation.
 
You didn’t pay attention to the video.

Which part of it you don’t understand ? Stop spreading lies and insulting my intelligence.

Assembling and opening boxes that come from overseas Is not defined as Made in x country.

Unless you in particular have very low expectations !!

I moved the discussion to the Fazua thread so as to not further derail the OPs thread. Maybe the community can opine on how Chinese Fazua is:

 
Went into a seattle ebike store and they suggested the giant quick e+ model. The owner says its very similar to the trek allant model line but less cost. He also said the maintenance on chain is minimal (once every few months dropping oil on the chain?). I put a refundable deposit down so they would bring the bike in the store for me to test ride in a week. Seeing as all the online bikes ship in late nov/dec or trek in more like Jan, felt like this would at least let me try something for my size and close to what I want.

From what I've found on the forums, people here seem to mostly like the Giant Quick e+...im not super thrilled with how it looks but maybe I should be less superficial.
 
The Giant Quick e+ is a very good commuter ebike. My friend has one and commutes from Magnolia hill to downtown every day.
 
Went into a seattle ebike store and they suggested the giant quick e+ model. The owner says its very similar to the trek allant model line but less cost. He also said the maintenance on chain is minimal (once every few months dropping oil on the chain?). I put a refundable deposit down so they would bring the bike in the store for me to test ride in a week. Seeing as all the online bikes ship in late nov/dec or trek in more like Jan, felt like this would at least let me try something for my size and close to what I want.

From what I've found on the forums, people here seem to mostly like the Giant Quick e+...im not super thrilled with how it looks but maybe I should be less superficial.
It has isssue with motor making a creaking noise.
See the Giant threads.
If you not really like how it looks is better to wait.
 
Rode the vado 4.0 and really liked it. The seat post had some issues but was quite a bike. I could tell if the battery ever dies then the commute might just be over unless it's all downhill left which is a bit scary but probably not a huge concern.

I think I need to opt for L frame instead of XL though as getting over the cross bar was fairly uncomfortable and when measuring my inseam with the book method I was only around 34.25" which seems short for my height.

Really have appreciated the good commentary on this thread
 
I'm not sure I would consider ordering from that bikesdirect website....the webpage looks like one of those old scam websites and in bold letters at the top "*ALL BIKES FREE SHIP 48" which just fires all the warning sirens in my head.

I've gone ahead and ordered a vado 4.0 from a local bike shop, I think it gets in this week. plan to be pretty aggressive on potentially returning if it doesn't suit my needs but the test ride went well and it was really nice - now we will see how it holds in 14 miles of 45 degree rainy mornings =)
 
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