First time e-bike buyer

[thomaswestcoast]

I am a first time e-bike, and I'm considering either the ride1up 700, or the rambo 750 mid-drive. I ride motorcycles and enjoy the power especially going up steep hills. I need a bike that can handle steep hills, and I'm 6' 250lb. Which bike can handle me, and steep hills. I do like a trail bike because I ride dirt motorcycles. Which would suit me the best?
Sincerely,
Tom

 

[TMH]

Welcome Tom,

Between the 2 bikes you've asked about, the R1U will be more efficient on the street and the Rambo will be better on trails. The weight and rolling resistance of the fat tired bikes definitely gives them a more cushy ride on the pavement, but you and/or your motor will be working harder to achieve and maintain speed. On the dirt, well they are fun like a really low displacement dirt bike.

The Rambo also has a lower top speed at 19-20mph before the pedal assist cuts out. The R1U is a Class 3, with pedal assist up to 28mph (though you will have to put in some work yourself to get there).

Then there is the big difference between the hub motor in the R1U and the mid-drive motor in the Rambo. Having ridden motorcycles you will be familiar with getting power without bogging or spinning-out the motor, which is essentially the same as on a mid-drive electric bike. Both the R1U and the Rambo may have 750 watt motors, but with a mid-drive you can get more usable power out of the motor because it can benefit from gears.

Neither would be a slouch carrying a 250# rider.

Both have thumb throttles, which are nice to have if you want one. I don't know too much about the Rambo bikes, but they seem to have a good reputation. Our family owns a R1U 700, and that bike is a whole lot of bang for the buck. R1U is not an old and established company, but they seem to know what they are doing, and are doing things well.

Which Rambo model are you looking at? It appears that many of them have a 3 speed internally geared rear hub. They probably know better than I do, but maybe read up on whether that geared hub holds up well to the potential 120nm of torque available from that Bafang mid drive. Also, does that Bafang assist system have an internal torque sensor? Torque sensors for pedal assist are generally felt to be better than cadence sensors (like on the R1U 700), but some folks also feel that some of the Bafang torque sensors are a little crude.

Good luck in choosing your new bike!

 

[Browneye]

The mid-drive compounds the gearing advantage of your cassette, so it's more well suited for climbing. Bafang gets good marks for power and reliability.

Just be sure to ride an example of both types of bikes. Some people really like the 'fat-tire' bikes, others not so much. Know that the Rambo is not really a 'dirtbike' or a 'mountain bike' per se. While you do get some good cushion and float with the balloon tires, there's no real suspension there, even the suspension fork models they show.

I just came off a fifty-year career of motorcycling - got too old to ride them. Understand that while ebikes are a blast, they definitely are not like a motorcycle.
If you're going to actually ride offroad trails, consider a real e-mountain bike.

I always recommend for new enthusiasts to visit as many bike shops in their area as they can stand, and test ride anything and everything that tickles your fancy. You'll gain first hand knowledge and experience on what the differences between models are, and you'll better recognize a good deal with you seen one.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[trainman]

I'm 6'1", 250 lbs., 75 years old, and have ridden dual sport motorcycles most of my life up to a year ago. I ride a Rad Mini Step Thru and it does the things you want in an ebike. I will say there are other bikes that can probably fill your needs better then the Rad, but for $1500 it's a good buy at that price.

 

[thomaswestcoast]

A lot of good advice, thanks. I did look at the rad mini, it's nice, but I like a bigger fit bike. I did look at a e mountain bike called sondors mxs and I think this is the one. 750w 1000w peak, 48v 17.5 Amps, that's power. I build solar power generators, so I know that's power. 20mph throttle, and 28mph with peddle assist. Min. 30 mile range, and a lot more with paddle assist. The tires can be tubeless, and that's a big plus. All this for$1699. If anyone can beat this, then I would be glad to hear it.
Thanks for all your help,
Tom

 

[AHicks]

Unless you are very fit and able to contribute a lot of the climbing power physically, I'd stick with the gas for an afternoon's play in the hills. When you find an e-bike that's able to do the job for you in similar situations, you're going to find it's going to use a LOT of power while doing that, which transfers directly to how much battery you have on board.

Off road is one thing where the e-bikes can hold their own, but serious play in the hills might be asking a bit too much - for today's bikes anyway. At least that's the case for the hills I'm thinking of. Spent quite a few years off road on bikes, quads, and snowmobiles....

 

[thomaswestcoast]

I'm 6'1", 250 lbs., 75 years old, and have ridden dual sport motorcycles most of my life up to a year ago. I ride a Rad Mini Step Thru and it does the things you want in an ebike. I will say there are other bikes that can probably fill your needs better then the Rad, but for $1500 it's a good buy at that price.

I'm going to take another look at the rad mini. I am in my mid 60's and maybe it's time to slow down, and enjoy the view.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[thomaswestcoast]

Does anyone know which electric bike is the easiest to peddle without the power on? I grew up riding bikes my whole life, so I would like to peddle more, and just use the power when really needed.

 

[AHicks]

Does anyone know which electric bike is the easiest to peddle without the power on? I grew up riding bikes my whole life, so I would like to peddle more, and just use the power when really needed.

Most people find this a non event after riding for a bit. That said, all are able to have the power turned off completely so you are providing all the power. The ones that will feel the draggiest will be the direct drive bikes (vs. gear driven), and those with fat (3-4") tires.

The beauty of an e-bike is that they CAN provide assist (good ones in any level you want), and things like fat tires and heavy bikes are pretty much canceled out. Trust me, you'll still get all the exercise you want....

 

[thomaswestcoast]

I'm curious, the post title is, Ask Court Anything. Does Court ever answer questions to his own post thread? I'm just wondering because I get most of my information about e bikes from his YouTube channel, and he seems very informative, and in his YouTube channel, he says to ask him, and he would reply, but I guess he's too busy, which is understandable.

As for the mini rad, is it really 750watt motor because I saw another YouTube channel that says it's not. What's true?
-tom

 

[Browneye]

I'm curious, the post title is, Ask Court Anything. Does Court ever answer questions to his own post thread? I'm just wondering because I get most of my information about e bikes from his YouTube channel, and he seems very informative, and in his YouTube channel, he says to ask him, and he would reply, but I guess he's too busy, which is understandable.

As for the mini rad, is it really 750watt motor because I saw another YouTube channel that says it's not. What's true?
-tom

I would suggest giving him more than a couple of days to reply. Monitoring these threads is not his primary function. You could PM him if your inquiry is critical, or use the footer CONTACT link. Other forum members do their best to assist with answering questions in this public section of the forum.

Motor ratings are kind of all over the board - it really depends on how many volts you feed them. It is not an ultimate measure of motor size or strength, just a rough guide. The RadPower 750w hub is commonly rated 500w elsewhere. However they're measuring it is coming up 750w. There is also a rating for 'peak' output and 'steady' output, again a way of measuring power consumption and thus felt torque output. Basically it's the same hub they use in all their bikes, the Rover, etc. It has a reasonably good reputation for durability and satisfactory for the majority of users. There are some aftermarket customizing options as well, as far as the electronics that control it.

 

[AHicks]

I'm curious, the post title is, Ask Court Anything. Does Court ever answer questions to his own post thread? I'm just wondering because I get most of my information about e bikes from his YouTube channel, and he seems very informative, and in his YouTube channel, he says to ask him, and he would reply, but I guess he's too busy, which is understandable.

As for the mini rad, is it really 750watt motor because I saw another YouTube channel that says it's not. What's true?
-tom

Re: what's true. Motor ratings are a pretty sketchy grey area. Without getting into the right or wrong debate, I'll just say there's room for a lot of "advertised ratings". The reason is because there's so many ways to rate them. Regarding the mini Rad, I'd be surprised if it wasn't the same motor used in the Rover. There's a ton written on that for you to read up on. No point in expanding on that.

Bottom line though, is there are a LOT of people who have bought the Rover and think it has plenty of power. There's also the fact there are aftermarket mods to make it even more powerfull. I'll leave it at that. -Al

 

[BrianK]

I have a similar question. I too recently retired from motorcycles but I’m fully aware an e bike is a completely different animal.

A local archery shop has a steeply discounted left over 2018 Rambo R750cG3. I took it for a good test drive this weekend, really enjoyed it and put money down on it.

However my riding will be 50/50 rails to trails and road. I found the gearing with their Sturmy Archer 3 speed rear to be such that I can hardly pedal fast enough to keep up at road speeds.

I’ll need to change the rear cog to a different tooth count so I don’t have to pedal so fast while riding roads.

It appears Rambo uses a 32T front chain ring with a 26 T rear sprocket

How far down should I go on the rear sprocket Tooth count to make it more of a road bike and less for crawling along hunting trails and hills?

20T, 16T, 14T, 12T?

I have no idea how to figure what rear tooth count would be appropriate, nor which type of sprocket to buy for this particular Sturmy Archer 3 speed.

I do want to keep the current rear sprocket to change out for those (relatively rare) occasions I will use it for hunting.

 

[BrianK]

I have a similar question. I too recently retired from motorcycles but I’m fully aware an e bike is a completely different animal.

A local archery shop has a steeply discounted left over 2018 Rambo R750cG3. I took it for a good test drive this weekend, really enjoyed it and put money down on it.

However my riding will be 50/50 rails to trails and road. I found the gearing with their Sturmy Archer 3 speed rear to be such that I can hardly pedal fast enough to keep up at road speeds.

I’ll need to change the rear cog to a different tooth count so I don’t have to pedal so fast while riding roads.

It appears Rambo uses a 32T front chain ring with a 26 T rear sprocket

How far down should I go on the rear sprocket Tooth count to make it more of a road bike and less for crawling along hunting trails and hills?

20T, 16T, 14T, 12T?

I have no idea how to figure what rear tooth count would be appropriate, nor which type of sprocket to buy for this particular Sturmy Archer 3 speed.

I do want to keep the current rear sprocket to change out for those (relatively rare) occasions I will use it for hunting.

I’m also considering changing out the knobbies for a more road oriented tire. Any suggestions for such a big fat tire to use on the road?

 

[ck1224]

A lot of good advice, thanks. I did look at the rad mini, it's nice, but I like a bigger fit bike. I did look at a e mountain bike called sondors mxs and I think this is the one. 750w 1000w peak, 48v 17.5 Amps, that's power. I build solar power generators, so I know that's power. 20mph throttle, and 28mph with peddle assist. Min. 30 mile range, and a lot more with paddle assist. The tires can be tubeless, and that's a big plus. All this for$1699. If anyone can beat this, then I would be glad to hear it.
Thanks for all your help,
Tom

Yeah, if I decide to spend more than 1,000 on an e-bike, I am leaning towards the Sondors MXS over the RadCity4 or JuicedBikes CCS2 (all have 750W motors with varying battery sizes and prices). less than 1,000 the Ancheer Blue Spark 500 W motor and 500W battery 27.5" wheels for $900. I'm on the fence as to wanting to pay almost double for a little more power and range.

 

[thomaswestcoast]

Well, I finally did it and purchased my aventon level ebike. My reasons are, they offer a highly value bike with hydraulic brakes, a gear system 3x better than most ebiked, a sealed magnetics cadence sensor for peddle assist , fork springs adjustable, chain guide that covers both sides of the crank gear. Aluminum fenders, decent road tires, not fat tires that causes more drag, and can be ridden as peddle power only with no resistance like a regular bike. It has alloy pin peddles. Avaton has a good reputation of honesty about their products, and capabilitied. So, now I'll wait for it to arrive.

 

[TMH]

Congrats! How long before you get it?

 

[thomaswestcoast]

Congrats! How long before you get it?

They said in 10 business days, so will wait and see.
Thanks
Tom