First one

[grendel]

OK i guess you read this before, sorry but hey that's the title of the thread so

A little bit about me before, i'm 50 years old, 5,7 feet (175 cm), 254 pounds (120 kg), so yeah, a bit on the heavy side.
I have a non-electric bike which is a Decathlon Rockrider 520 from the late 1990s, so a mountain bike with different tires to be able to commute and ride in the city and the Montreal area where i live. It's a detail but it gives you an idea of the kind of bike i'm used to.

Also, i'll most likely use this bike to commute but it's not a very long ride, around 18 km back and forth (around 11.2 miles)

So i'm obviously in the market for an e-bike, somewhere between $1000 and $2000.

My first choice is the Propella 3.4 (latest version available for preorder), i like the price, the design and the weight. The frame looks pretty close to what i have so i thought it was the way to go.
....and then i discovered this site, damn! what was so easy before (one choice) became much more complicated.

I went through a lot a search, reviews and video and found (a lot of) other options
-Surface 604 Colt
-Ride1Up 700
-Aventon Level
-And yes, the Propella is still in the race.

So the most likely candidates would be the Propella and Aventon, obviously for different reasons.
The Aventon is very impressive for the price but may be a bit heavy (twice the weight of my current bike) and i'm not sure it can be easily used without motorization.
On the other hand the Propella need some accessories (no fenders) and the battery may be a bit weak.

The other two are also interesting but a bit less than those 2.

So, i'm still thinking about it, but i'd very much like to have your opinions, thoughts anecdotes and recommendations.

PS: none of the stores near me sell those, so i don't have the option to try them first.

Thanks.

 

[AHicks]

Not much help, but regarding one point you make, "use without motorization". Some make this an issue, but I think it safe to say 99.9% of e-bike owners will tell you that's a non event. You will quickly learn how far the bike will go between charges, and only rarely will you ever need to exceed that - if ever. Point being, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

 

[PatriciaK]

Almost any ebike is going to be significantly heavier than your acoustic. Aventon bikes are actually on the lighter end of the spectrum.

 

[GypsyTreker]

I would not be afraid to check out Amazon. My wife and I have Ecotric's. They were under $1000. We do about 20-25 miles on our rides, never came close to running out of battery. We often pedal on flat ground no motor. So many eBike companies are actually marketing companies ordering from China. Anyway don't overthink the purchase. Your requirements are easy beans for even the lower end price points. If its hilly, a 500w might be in order.

 

[grendel]

You will quickly learn how far the bike will go between charges, and only rarely will you ever need to exceed that - if ever.

Thanks a lot, as matter of fact, i wasn't really worried about that, the idea was more: if i'm not particularly in a rush and want to reach my destination by only using my own strenght, can i do it with this bike? It's most likely the case with the propella but i wasn't sure about the Aventon.

Almost any ebike is going to be significantly heavier than your acoustic. Aventon bikes are actually on the lighter end of the spectrum.

Thanks and yest that's what i thought.I think they're probably the same weight as the old Dutch Bike we use to ride in Europe so i guess, it's an option if i don't want to use the motor.

I would not be afraid to check out Amazon. My wife and I have Ecotric's. They were under $1000. We do about 20-25 miles on our rides, never came close to running out of battery. We often pedal on flat ground no motor. So many eBike companies are actually marketing companies ordering from China. Anyway don't overthink the purchase. Your requirements are easy beans for even the lower end price points. If its hilly, a 500w might be in order.

Good idea haven't checked amazon, to be honest the Canadian version of amazon isn't as impressive as the .com but i'll check. Ayway, if a 500W is what i probably need, maybe the choice between those two models will be obvious.

Thanks for the ideas and recommendations, it helps.

 

[AHicks]

Thanks a lot, as matter of fact, i wasn't really worried about that, the idea was more: if i'm not particularly in a rush and want to reach my destination by only using my own strenght, can i do it with this bike? It's most likely the case with the propella but i wasn't sure about the Aventon.

Any PAS equipped bike I know of has a zero position (PAS = 0) that basically shuts off the motor.

Also possible, would be shutting the electronics off completely, much as you would when leaving the bike.

You WILL notice quite a bit of drag on any direct drive hub equipped bike, but a gear driven hub or a mid drive (most anyway) have a built in clutch that will allow you to pedal the bike on your own.

 

[grendel]

Any PAS equipped bike I know of has a zero position (PAS = 0) that basically shuts off the motor.

Also possible, would be shutting the electronics off completely, much as you would when leaving the bike.

You WILL notice quite a bit of drag on any direct drive hub equipped bike, but a gear driven hub or a mid drive (most anyway) have a built in clutch that will allow you to pedal the bike on your own.

Thanks that helps.
it seemed to be quite easy on the review

 

[Alex M]

Thanks a lot, as matter of fact, i wasn't really worried about that, the idea was more: if i'm not particularly in a rush and want to reach my destination by only using my own strenght, can i do it with this bike? It's most likely the case with the propella but i wasn't sure about the Aventon.

Aventon frames are more pedal-friendly than some other bikes, more pedal-forward position. But Level is still pretty heavy at 63 lbs. You might consider Pace 350 or Pace 500 instead.

As others noted, direct drive motor is not the best for unassisted riding, the drag makes it feel like riding 1 gear up.

Beware of very cheap bikes sold through Amazon and Walmart, they could have a limited choice of PAS, like 3 levels or even 1, instead of 5, and some have no easy way to turn PAS off.

 

[grendel]

But Level is still pretty heavy at 63 lbs. You might consider Pace 350 or Pace 500 instead.

I didn't consider the Pace series because i thought the upward position felt more natural to me but i didn't see the weight difference, it's quite considerable. I'll check the reviews thanks.
Loking at the Aventon forums here, it seems a lot of people have the Pace and seem happy with it so why not

 

[Alex M]

I think Pace is more upward position than Level, not the other way around. Maybe somebody who compared both, will chime in. One drawback of Pace is - no front suspension.

 

[grendel]

I think Pace is more upward position than Level, not the other way around.

You're quite correct kinda mixed my upward & forward positions, English's not my first language.

 

[grendel]

OK, so here's an update on where i'm at.

I was pretty convinced by the Aventon Level but, when reading some latest comments i found some people had issues with the latest batch. Does that mean i would have issues with mine? maybe not, but since the closest shop who sells those is 7 hours away i wasn't ready to take that chance.

So 1st i checked the major brands that are pretty much distributed anywhere but they were usually more expensive.

I then discovered that there are, at least, 3 ebikes brands in Montréal (Vélec, Dyad and Igo) and most of them have been here for some time.

I don't believe that the locally-made is necessarily better than foreign, but if i have an issue i know who to call.

So finally i went for the Igo Discovery Bonaventure https://igoelectric.ca/products/discovery-bonaventure
i preordered it in a Montreal shop and i'm waiting for availability (probably end-of-july).

Anyway, i'll you know how it goes, since it's my first ebike i won't be able to compare it to other bikes, but i'll share my impressions.

Thanks everyone for your comments and recommendations.

 

[PatriciaK]

The most important thing is that you are happy, and enjoy your bike!