Hello from Central Minnesota

[Balsa61]

Greetings,
My wife and I live in Central Minnesota and as we get older, riding a regular bike is getting more difficult. Either that or the "hills" in our area must have grown!
We are looking to trade in our conventional bikes for Ebikes. We only ride May through to September (remember, Minnesota!) and these are leisure rides only on paved tracks. Twenty miles (32 km) would be a very long day for us - a 10-15 mile round trip with a break would be more normal - at least it was before we got old.
I joined this forum to figure out which bikes would work for us. I'll post specific questions in the other sub-forums. But in general, I'm looking to learn from the collective knowledge here.
Thanks

 

[Whyzee]

You have so many choices in several price ranges.
You will get just north of zero dollars for your trade in bikes unless they are collectible Chicago made Schwinns, or some other high end bikes. Best to try to sell them on CL or just keep or donate to ____!
It is just the way it is in the bike industry.
Enjoy riding ebikes.

 

[Nomad]

Greetings,
My wife and I live in Central Minnesota and as we get older, riding a regular bike is getting more difficult. Either that or the "hills" in our area must have grown!
We are looking to trade in our conventional bikes for Ebikes. We only ride May through to September (remember, Minnesota!) and these are leisure rides only on paved tracks. Twenty miles (32 km) would be a very long day for us - a 10-15 mile round trip with a break would be more normal - at least it was before we got old.
I joined this forum to figure out which bikes would work for us. I'll post specific questions in the other sub-forums. But in general, I'm looking to learn from the collective knowledge here.
Thanks

What were or are riding for non ebikes that could have some bearing of what ebikes to look at?

 

[AHicks]

What were or are riding for non ebikes that could have some bearing of what ebikes to look at?

Assuming you are riding a fairly conventional bike with 26, 27.5, or 29" wheels, probably not much. A folder, or maybe something using 20" wheels, might be significant.

My wife and I (we're early 70's) have been riding together for quite a while. We both enjoy it as it's something we can do together. Similar story, 20 miles is a long ride, even though we ride daily. We bought a "winter" home in Florida, not realizing it was smack dab in the middle of some fairly significant rolling coastal hills (yes, in Florida!). These were big enough to really limit us, which pretty much shut our daily rides from home right down. This was 2014-2015. Enter the e-bike plan. I had never even seen one, let alone ride one, so when I did see one, the idea was planted. I did some research, and off we went. Armed with an e-bike, hills and wind direction were no longer factors.

Yes, there is no doubt that the first e-bike was a giant leap of faith, not knowing if or how much it would be used. Once purchased, set up, and ridden a bit, the second bike for her was a no brainer. Once the wife had a chance to ride the first one, which was way too big for her, she was as hooked as I was. Seems like we've come a long way since those first 2 bikes. Realizing that the e-bikes will be ridden daily for a long time to come, they are very easy to justify. We now have 5 (!!!) ebikes. After dragging 2 of them back and forth for a couple of years, we decided a pair of new ones purchased on one end, could stay there. We rode those for a bit, then came home and bought 2 MORE, so we could stay current...... and have one extra bike for guests (that I just can't bring myself to sell).

Worse, I can't stop looking at this new bike......
-Al

 

[ganther5000]

Welcome to the family

192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1​

 

[Nomad]

Assuming you are riding a fairly conventional bike with 26, 27.5, or 29" wheels, probably not much. A folder, or maybe something using 20" wheels, might be significant.

My wife and I (we're early 70's) have been riding together for quite a while. We both enjoy it as it's something we can do together. Similar story, 20 miles is a long ride, even though we ride daily. We bought a "winter" home in Florida, not realizing it was smack dab in the middle of some fairly significant rolling coastal hills (yes, in Florida!). These were big enough to really limit us, which pretty much shut our daily rides from home right down. This was 2014-2015. Enter the e-bike plan. I had never even seen one, let alone ride one, so when I did see one, the idea was planted. I did some research, and off we went. Armed with an e-bike, hills and wind direction were no longer factors.

Yes, there is no doubt that the first e-bike was a giant leap of faith, not knowing if or how much it would be used. Once purchased, set up, and ridden a bit, the second bike for her was a no brainer. Once the wife had a chance to ride the first one, which was way too big for her, she was as hooked as I was. Seems like we've come a long way since those first 2 bikes. Realizing that the e-bikes will be ridden daily for a long time to come, they are very easy to justify. We now have 5 (!!!) ebikes. After dragging 2 of them back and forth for a couple of years, we decided a pair of new ones purchased on one end, could stay there. We rode those for a bit, then came home and bought 2 MORE, so we could stay current...... and have one extra bike for guests (that I just can't bring myself to sell).

Worse, I can't stop looking at this new bike......
-Al

Truth is if your use to a certain quality and brand of bike then it's going to make all the difference in the world. Don't confuse that with a bike that is just overpriced but, some E-bikes are cheap for a reason. Shop around and buy something economical in the style of Ebike you're looking for.

 

[AHicks]

Truth is if your use to a certain quality and brand of bike then it's going to make all the difference in the world. Don't confuse that with a bike that is just overpriced but, some E-bikes are cheap for a reason. Shop around and buy something economical in the style of Ebike you're looking for.

That idea may work for some, but I rode analog Treks for years prior to BUILDING my first e-bikes, so I would question that idea a little more than some might maybe?

 

[mikeschn]

Worse, I can't stop looking at this new bike......

@AHicks

Which ebike would that be?

 

[AHicks]

@AHicks

Which ebike would that be?

It's a pretty unique combination of Bafang M600 (mid drive), belt drive, Enviolo CVT, my favorite brand and model tires, and a hyd. shock to boot! I haven't seen that combo anywhere else, and it's just different enough to pique my curiosity......

Atlas

Get all the features you want to explore 100-mile range in style. Includes the Enviolo CVT gearing system, Carbon Belt Drive, and a phenomenally powerful motor system. Plus 120 N.m. Torque with1200 Watts Peak Power you'll never worry about hills again.

evelo.com

 

[mikeschn]

Wow, that's an interesting looking bike! You could have it by late June! Do it! Push the button! Ha!

 

[AHicks]

Wow, that's an interesting looking bike! You could have it by late June! Do it! Push the button! Ha!

If I could have it by late June (2022), I would likely have it on order. My concerns are 2. First, they want payment in full to "reserve" one. These bikes, are very likely not even built yet....

Second, as screwed up as things are over there, added to the huge shipping screw ups, this bike may not even show up until NEXT June! I like the bike, even though it's on the expensive side, but I am NOT going to let them sit on my money while all this crap plays out. I told them to get in touch with me when the ship leaves the port.

No hurry here. I have a bike I enjoy riding now....

 

[JES2020]

We are looking to trade in our conventional bikes for Ebikes.

Why not put kits on the bikes you own??? Pick your power level and save a whole bunch of cash!
My advise is to go with a geared internal hub motor kit, for ease of installation, low noise and no drag when coasting.

 

[mikeschn]

If I could have it by late June (2022), I would likely have it on order. My concerns are 2. First, they want payment in full to "reserve" one. These bikes, are very likely not even built yet....

Second, as screwed up as things are over there, added to the huge shipping screw ups, this bike may not even show up until NEXT June! I like the bike, even though it's on the expensive side, but I am NOT going to let them sit on my money while all this crap plays out. I told them to get in touch with me when the ship leaves the port.

No hurry here. I have a bike I enjoy riding now....

Al,

Yeah, I knew that... but I also knew if you were drooling over a new bike, it had to be something good. You were right. That's a nice bike!

 

[Nomad]

That idea may work for some, but I rode analog Treks for years prior to BUILDING my first e-bikes, so I would question that idea a little more than some might maybe?

are you telling me that didn't affect how you built your ebike?

 

[AHicks]

are you telling me that didn't affect how you built your ebike?

As somebody that's sort of been there done that in the DIY world (built a house from scratch, rebuilt an airplane from the ground up, etc.) I've learned that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right - the first time. The Trek bikes had nothing to do with my choice of parts or the build quality of the first e-bikes. Sort of the other way around. My eye for quality led me to Trek
-Al

 

[Nomad]

As somebody that's sort of been there done that in the DIY world (built a house from scratch, rebuilt an airplane from the ground up, etc.) I've learned that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right - the first time. The Trek bikes had nothing to do with my choice of parts or the build quality of the first e-bikes. Sort of the other way around. My eye for quality led me to Trek
-Al

As somebody that's sort of been there done that in the DIY world (built a house from scratch, rebuilt an airplane from the ground up, etc.) I've learned that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right - the first time. The Trek bikes had nothing to do with my choice of parts or the build quality of the first e-bikes. Sort of the other way around. My eye for quality led me to Trek
-Al

so you rode the Treks after you built the e? If not it is highly likely it did influence how you built the E in some way if that was a brand you liked to ride and did some what regularly but maybe not.