Getting our first e-Bike. Need suggestions

[Isdpcman]

My wife and I are in our mid 60's and retiring soon. We are looking for e-bikes for exercise and general commuting, while the weather is good. We will be riding in two separate areas, one is reasonably flat, the other is hilly. We want something that will get us from point A to point B, last about 80+ miles for the commute, can handle off-road as well as paved roads and hills (not incredibly steep but some of the hills are long). Our terrain is northern New Hampshire. Transporting the bikes is not a big issue. I can lift a bike onto the bike rack (hitch type of rack from THULE). Speed is not a huge issue but I think I'd like something that can do 20-25 mph. I'm very tall (6'8") and 265 lbs. My wife is a normal height (5'7"). I'm hoping to stay in the <=$2,000 price range.

Also, what kind of maintenance is needed on these machines? What regular expenses can we expect (once retired we'll be on a fixed income so I need to take these things into consideration). Also, what is the longevity of the "average" e-Bike? Battery life expectancy (and replacement cost)?

These won't be use a great deal (i.e. daily) but I can see us getting out 2-3 times a week, maybe even for off-road recreational riding. I'm sure we won't be punishing the bikes by doing jumps or other thrill seeking maneuvers. But a good suspension is a must (especially at my weight).

Any constructive help is greatly appreciated. I went to a bike shop looking for these but they seemed more interested in pushing their high end bikes than meeting my needs.

 

[John from Connecticut]

My wife and I are in our mid 60's and retiring soon. We are looking for e-bikes for exercise and general commuting, while the weather is good. We will be riding in two separate areas, one is reasonably flat, the other is hilly. We want something that will get us from point A to point B, last about 80+ miles for the commute, can handle off-road as well as paved roads and hills (not incredibly steep but some of the hills are long). Our terrain is northern New Hampshire. Transporting the bikes is not a big issue. I can lift a bike onto the bike rack (hitch type of rack from THULE). Speed is not a huge issue but I think I'd like something that can do 20-25 mph. I'm very tall (6'8") and 265 lbs. My wife is a normal height (5'7"). I'm hoping to stay in the <=$2,000 price range.

Also, what kind of maintenance is needed on these machines? What regular expenses can we expect (once retired we'll be on a fixed income so I need to take these things into consideration). Also, what is the longevity of the "average" e-Bike? Battery life expectancy (and replacement cost)?

These won't be use a great deal (i.e. daily) but I can see us getting out 2-3 times a week, maybe even for off-road recreational riding. I'm sure we won't be punishing the bikes by doing jumps or other thrill seeking maneuvers. But a good suspension is a must (especially at my weight).

Any constructive help is greatly appreciated. I went to a bike shop looking for these but they seemed more interested in pushing their high end bikes than meeting my needs.

Hello,
Welcome to the forum. Because of your height, I'd recommend finding a 'local' bike shop (LBS) with someone who skilled in
bike fitting and test ride a couple of bikes, appropriated sized for your height. If you choose to purchase online, I'd also find
a LBS that will provide support for you bike, should you need it. Some shops won't service online sales because parts
and support are difficult or impossible to obtain.

As for battery life expectancy, I've been riding e-bikes for 8 years, have owned three, (all Treks) with Bosch power systems,
approaching 20,000 combined miles, never had a battery problem. My view, Bosch is the benchmark. No cheap, but they work.
On my e-bikes I've installed suspension seat post. There are many suspension seat posts. My view this is the best.

https://cirruscycles.com/pages/store

As for a saddle. There are as many quality models as there are cyclists. It's a personal decision. My choice is the English
Brooks B17. I use it with the Cirrus Bodyfloat Suspension and it requires no break in. Being leather, the saddle can't get
soaking wet.

Suspension.... I've had quality aftermarket front suspension forks on my bikes, for comfort only, no off roading.


Tires...For me puncture 'proof' is absolutely paramount !! My brand of choice is Schwalbe, bar none regardless of what bike
you choose. Just like saddles, tires are a personal choice, my opinion, because of your weight. I'd buy the best.

Marathon Plus | SmartGuard | Black-Reflex | 16x1.35 | Addix | 11100756

THE FLAT-LESS TIRE. Schwalbe‘s best selling model. The most puncture resistant pneumatic tire there is. In addition to the superior puncture protection it features many inner values:ROLLING RESISTANCE. The patented, 5 mm thick SmartGuard layer, when comp…

www.schwalbetires.com

If I may, you mentioned the LBS...." seemed more interested in pushing their high end bikes than meeting your needs.
Do you recall the Brands and or models ? Because of your weight and height could have been influenced their selection?
Typically e-bikes are designed for a combined weight load of 300 lbs. Not to say a lesser priced bike wouldn't suffice.

I hope this was helpful,
John

 

[stompandgo]

You said 80 miles and commute in the same sentence. Do you mean 80 miles each way, or 40 miles up the hills and 40 miles down on the way back?

The reason I ask, is that 80 miles, long hills, and 265 pounds means a big motor with excellent temperature management and a lot of battery. This comes at a price in weight and cost.

 

[Chargeride]

Tailhappy tv youtuber from California reviews a lot of bikes across the full range, the only reason I mention it is because he is your height and always refers to his comfort on the bike.

 

[Extreme1]

Finding a good quality e-bike, that is everything that you’re looking for, for under $2000 each is going to be difficult. Definitely look at what your LBS has, then look for a used one to keep the cost down. Don’t opt for a cheap, no name bike, because it will break and there will be no one to work on it or fix it. Your LBS won’t touch it.

My wife and I are in our early 60’s and bought Specialized Vados for our first e-bikes and they’ve been great. The only maintenance we’ve done is oil the chains. They are great for on-road, and good for hardpack dirt trails. The Vados have a front shock on them. Not a great shock, but it does help with the bumps.

If you charge and store the battery’s correctly you can get 5ish years out of them. They will still work after that time, just with less capacity. I’m hearing its about $800 for a new battery.

80 mile range is going to be difficult also, unless you carry spare battery’s with you. Some riders on this Forum do.

My wife and I have had so much fun on our Vados with local riding, trips to the beach areas, taking them to Catalina Island, etc. The money spent is well worth it.

 

[Isdpcman]

Thank you all for your help! The 80 miles was round trip and the far end of what we would eventually get up to.

We have found the bikes we were looking for! I had to get some 3rd party components to accommodate my unusually tall size but it was not a difficult upgrade. We settled on Aventon bikes (a Venture 3 and Synch 2.5). While the battery life for the two is less than 80 miles we can peddle much of the way without electric assistance and reserve it for the hills we would need to climb. We did get them from a LBS. Fit and finish is pretty nice! We are now on our way to planning different outings where we can get back into cycling.

Again, thanks to all for your support with this!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

We are now on our way to planning different outings where we can get back into cycling.

Congrats and welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy your ebike-enabled return to cycling as much as I'm enjoying mine.

Two useful tools for planning/previewing potential bike routes:

1. If you put Google Maps into cycling mode, it will give you cycling routes and show their elevation profiles and climbing stats on the accompanying info page. It will even propose alternative offroad routes, but don't assume that bikes are actually allowed on them.

2. The RideWithGPS phone app I generally use has a much more powerful and flexible route planner. Also has more cycling-oriented navigation features should you actually save and ride the planned route. It's better about filtering out offroad sections closed to all bicycles but will still show routes open only to non-ebikes.

Unlike Maps, RideWithGPS can also record your rides and let you analyze them after the fact. The free version may be all you need, but the premium version's worth every penny in my book.

RideWithGPS also has many more map overlays than Maps. My fave is the USGS topo map. The main downside: It really eats up phone battery in "screen always on" mode but offers some useful wake-up options.

Importantly, both tools have satellite map views with enough resolution to scope out bike infrastructure— or lack thereof — in advance. Bike lanes are clearly visible when present.

Many other route planning and navigation tools for cycling out there, but I have no experience with them.

 

[stompandgo]

RidewithGPS is my favorite route planning app.

 

[Chazmo]

My wife and I are in our mid 60's and retiring soon. We are looking for e-bikes for exercise and general commuting, while the weather is good. We will be riding in two separate areas, one is reasonably flat, the other is hilly. We want something that will get us from point A to point B, last about 80+ miles for the commute, can handle off-road as well as paved roads and hills (not incredibly steep but some of the hills are long). Our terrain is northern New Hampshire. Transporting the bikes is not a big issue. I can lift a bike onto the bike rack (hitch type of rack from THULE). Speed is not a huge issue but I think I'd like something that can do 20-25 mph. I'm very tall (6'8") and 265 lbs. My wife is a normal height (5'7"). I'm hoping to stay in the <=$2,000 price range.

Also, what kind of maintenance is needed on these machines? What regular expenses can we expect (once retired we'll be on a fixed income so I need to take these things into consideration). Also, what is the longevity of the "average" e-Bike? Battery life expectancy (and replacement cost)?

These won't be use a great deal (i.e. daily) but I can see us getting out 2-3 times a week, maybe even for off-road recreational riding. I'm sure we won't be punishing the bikes by doing jumps or other thrill seeking maneuvers. But a good suspension is a must (especially at my weight).

Any constructive help is greatly appreciated. I went to a bike shop looking for these but they seemed more interested in pushing their high end bikes than meeting my needs.

Similar situation I faced last year. If you have any interest in fat bikes, I wrote a post a few months ago to recommend possibilities to my eye doctor. FYI, and good luck:

fat bike advice to my eye doc

Hi gang, I wrote the letter below to summarize my thoughts and information on fat ebikes to my eye doctor who’s interested in going down the same route I have. I thought I’d post it here to see if anyone feels there’s elaboration/correction I should make. I express a lot of my fairly novice...

forums.electricbikereview.com