groceries

[Claudio]

whats the best ebike for groceries? note I live in an apartment so would have to bring the bike in

 

[Nova Haibike]

I don't know if it is the best, but I think the Ariel Rider M-Class Urban Electric Bike would be a good choice. Just note that the racks shown are optional extras.

 

[Readytoride]

Do you live on the first floor? How close are you to the grocery store? Is the distance flat or hilly?

 

[Alex M]

Do you live on the first floor? How close are you to the grocery store? Is the distance flat or hilly?

Exactly.
Most any bike could carry groceries in a box or milk crate on rear rack and/or in a front basket.
A big issue is whether he can get away with standard 26" or needs a 20" folder due to limited storage space or small elevator. Carrying cargo in 20" models will be more challenging.

If you have to climb stairs, any bike over 30 lbs is too heavy, and vast majority of ebikes weigh close to 50 lbs or more

 

[dAz63]

I would like to build a cargo bike to carry larger things, but for the moment I use a Burley Travoy hitched to my bike, I like it because I can wheel it through the supermarket, and once home wheel it straight into the kitchen and unload it

 

[Claudio]

Do you live on the first floor? How close are you to the grocery store? Is the distance flat or hilly?

Yeah I live ground level I’d like to buy a house in the country one day but I’m already 44 and scared to drive a car so I don’t know if it’s realistic that’s why I’m thinking of just buying another bike for the warmer months

 

[Readytoride]

Claudio - any decent manifactured pedal assist ebike will be fine as a grocery getter.

What I would recommend is a big set of panniers for daily shopping. If you shop once or twice a week you'd be better off purchasing a small tag along trailer for the bike. That way you can disengage the trailer when you are at the store (and your bike is locked outside) and use it for an impromptu "shopping cart". A big plus is that you will know everything fits and won't overload it. Once you are finished shopping, the trailer is attached to the bike and away you go home.

I have done both: custom made shopping panniers, and a used baby trailer. Again I recommend the trailer for lots of groceries, but the panniers will work well if you go daily to the store for small items. If you want to go really green, have a set of cloth shopping bags you can use inside the store for your groceries that fit inside your panniers.

If you have a bike already, you can convert it to a hub/throttle ebike very quickly for less than what it would cost to buy a manufactured ebike.

Just my opinion.

 

[Claudio]

I have a garnesu hybrid bike I bought about 6 years ago that’s at my parents house garage could I make that electric? If so can u link me some kits I can order from amazon.ca since I’m in Canada?

 

[erider_61]

If you have to climb stairs, any bike over 30 lbs is too heavy, and vast majority of ebikes weigh close to 50 lbs or more

I have to disagree. My Voltbike Bravo weighs 59 lbs and climbs stairs easily. My trick is use the throttle while giving the handlebars a push and the rear wheel goes up the step with little effort. I apply the brake to hold the bike on the step and disengage the motor. I walk up a step then I push again as I release the brake and it goes up another step.

And if I add 24 beer to my panniers which is roughly 20 lbs, and another 15 lbs in groceries to my rear basket I can still climb stairs. So we are talking roughly 95 lbs and is not much effort at all.

 

[antboy]

Although any e-bike would work, I find my 20"x4" Spark Mini is particularly well-suited, as the lower, wider tires make having two fully loaded 30 litre panniers easier to deal with (though I'm considering a collapsible trailer for it now).

If space is at a premium in the apartment, then a folder would make sense. There's a great nook in our condo that is essentially our e-bike station now.

When I got the e-bike, I figured I'd probably use it occasionally for groceries/errands, but it's been far more frequent than that. Even when there's snow on the ground, I'm checking out flyer deals for grocery stores too far to walk, as an excuse to ride. If snow isn't something you need to worry about, a 20"er with narrower tires in the 2" range would probably do as well.

I'm currently looking at a second e-bike (or doing a conversion) for more distance riding, but I'd keep the Mini for running errands and tooling around the city.

 

[Alex M]

If you live on the ground level and there is enough storage space, - get a normal size 26-27". What bike will suit your needs better, difficult to tell without knowing your terrain, riding skills and budget.

Panniers will be a nice addition, better than loading the rear rack high. Make sure that rear rack is compatible with panniers - some have wrong shape or wrong tubes diameter, difficult to clip panniers.

 

[Cowlitz]

I grocery shop and do OK except I must buy the "personal size" watermelons and have no desire to try to haul the 20 pound bag of dog fud. The bread sometimes gets smooshed on the way home.

I need to finish the bike bags I have been constructing specifically for shopping.

Oh and never leave a ripe cantaloupe in your bag overnight unless you like smelling it for weeks.

 

[e-boy]

How many people do you have to shop for ?

 

[rich c]

Depends on how many cases of beer and how many gallons of milk you buy at the grocery store. Those are the heavy items.

 

[oojoe]

I use a Panniers and a folding/roll up back pack, I thought about getting a folding trailer for more cargo.. but back pack and panniers have worked..so far...
so I find a gallon of milk is one of the larger items. once you can lug that you may find a 10 lbs sack of potatoes becomes a good counter balance, I discard a lot of packaging when possible....a front basket works great for not crushing bread and veggies...
good luck

 

[antboy]

Oh and never leave a ripe cantaloupe in your bag overnight unless you like smelling it for weeks.

In my case it was a cucumber that somehow got overlooked. It was pretty gross. I double check my panniers every grocery trip now. I've become pretty efficient with lining up my purchases in "bagging order".

 

[antboy]

If you live on the ground level and there is enough storage space, - get a normal size 26-27". What bike will suit your needs better, difficult to tell without knowing your terrain, riding skills and budget.

Panniers will be a nice addition, better than loading the rear rack high. Make sure that rear rack is compatible with panniers - some have wrong shape or wrong tubes diameter, difficult to clip panniers.

While I agree with most of your points, especially not knowing all the circumstances of rider, terrain etc, the lower center of gravity of a 20" under high loads makes a huge difference in stability and balance. If one plans to haul a full load of groceries on a regular basis (upwards of 1 to 1.5 granny cart's worth*) , doing so on a 20"x4" fat e-bike is far easier.

Even though I'm planning on a second "distance" bike with 26" tires at some point this summer, I'm keeping the 20" fatty largely for grocery runs/errands.

* 2 x 30L panniers equals about 1.1 Rolser brand quality "granny cart" in volume, or 1.5 cheap $15 "granny carts" you can find in Chinatown.

 

[steve marino]

You would be amazed at what you can carry in a big backpack and a rear basket for the bike. For people that live on the second floor, make a portable, folding ramp with two or three cedar fence planks from Home Depot that are hinged together, and use the bike's electrics to climb the ramp while you walk up the stairs guiding it by the H-Bars. At the top, fold it up and store it in the closet. I did this for a long time and it worked a treat, until I moved to a 11th floor apt.....w/ an elevator

 

[J.R.]

@Claudio

 

[Ebiker01]

I have to disagree. My Voltbike Bravo weighs 59 lbs and climbs stairs easily. My trick is use the throttle while giving the handlebars a push and the rear wheel goes up the step with little effort. I apply the brake to hold the bike on the step and disengage the motor. I walk up a step then I push again as I release the brake and it goes up another step.

View attachment 46456And if I add 24 beer to my panniers which is roughly 20 lbs, and another 15 lbs in groceries to my rear basket I can still climb stairs. So we are talking roughly 95 lbs and is not much effort at all.

Same trick here, but very few can do like us. Another tip is to level the pedals before the LAUNCH , in order not to touch the stairs.
1) they don't have throttle
2) no technique