Hello from Texas

NEWTOEB

NEWTOEB

New Member
Region
USA
Hello, I'm new to electric bikes.
I purchased/pre-ordered a bike this morning after watching many YouTube reviews pertaining to it having superior power to other popular brands.
I found many negative reviews regarding poor customer service/support, warranty and refund policy/s.
Based on this I cancelled the order. I would rather pay the cancellation fee than risk losing the full price.
I will give it 24 hrs for a proper response to be fair before naming the company.
Thank you for the very useful information provided here.
 
Welcome! You are in the right place.

The research part is time consuming, but I think there's nothing for it but to just keep exploring. Start with Indianjo's suggestion, and then head over to the review section, read, watch, and compare specs.

It is true that you learn more in the saddle than you can on paper, but it's hard to find bikes to test ride, and the other problem is that test rides can be deceiving. I actually considered returning my bike after I bought it, and now you'd have to pry the bars out of my cold, stiff fingers.

And honestly, I'm not completely sure why that is-- part of it is that I learned to ride a mid-drive and my shifting technique improved, part of it was that I did some mods, part of it was that I was in much better shape physically after riding it for 200 miles, and part of it seems to be that the motor did seam to need breaking in-- though that's not a thing, I'm very new to this, and the only person I've heard of who ever reported that!

Some of the first questions to ask are:

* Class I, II, or III?

* Throttle or Pedelec cadence sensor / Pedelec torque sensor?

* Hub drive or mid-drive?

* On road or off?

* Where can you get service? Will your local bike shop work on your bike?

After making those decisions, I'd look at quality of parts, power, weight, battery capacity, etc. It's really messy, because so many of the decisions are interdependent. A 58 pound bike with a 500 W battery may the same range a 50 pound bike with a 400 W battery, and two 250 Watt mid-drives may have totally different torque ratings, one may be far more efficient than the other, etc.

These are strange beasts, particularly the mid-drives. If you want something with a lot of power that's more like a motorcycle, mid-drive may not be for you. I think they are great for fitness rides, but it's unnerving at first that the bike kind of "wants" you to pedal in a certain way so it-- and you-- can use your energy as efficiently as possible. It's kind of like riding a robot, which I found disconcerting at first-- but much less so when I learned the kind of hills it could climb, the terrain it could handle, and how stable it was going over 35 MPH (downhill.)
 
NEWTOEB said:
Hello, I'm new to electric bikes.
I purchased/pre-ordered a bike this morning after watching many YouTube reviews pertaining to it having superior power to other popular brands.
I found many negative reviews regarding poor customer service/support, warranty and refund policy/s.
Based on this I cancelled the order. I would rather pay the cancellation fee than risk losing the full price.
I will give it 24 hrs for a proper response to be fair before naming the company.
Thank you for the very useful information provided here.
Click to expand...
Welcome, What part of TX you from? I'm about 125 miles West of San Antonio.
 
NEWTOEB said:
Hello, I'm new to electric bikes.
I purchased/pre-ordered a bike this morning after watching many YouTube reviews pertaining to it having superior power to other popular brands.
I found many negative reviews regarding poor customer service/support, warranty and refund policy/s.
Based on this I cancelled the order. I would rather pay the cancellation fee than risk losing the full price.
I will give it 24 hrs for a proper response to be fair before naming the company.
Thank you for the very useful information provided here.
Click to expand...
What part of Texas you are from? I’m down at the Rio Grande Valley.
 
Catalyzt said:
Welcome! You are in the right place.

The research part is time consuming, but I think there's nothing for it but to just keep exploring. Start with Indianjo's suggestion, and then head over to the review section, read, watch, and compare specs.

It is true that you learn more in the saddle than you can on paper, but it's hard to find bikes to test ride, and the other problem is that test rides can be deceiving. I actually considered returning my bike after I bought it, and now you'd have to pry the bars out of my cold, stiff fingers.

And honestly, I'm not completely sure why that is-- part of it is that I learned to ride a mid-drive and my shifting technique improved, part of it was that I did some mods, part of it was that I was in much better shape physically after riding it for 200 miles, and part of it seems to be that the motor did seam to need breaking in-- though that's not a thing, I'm very new to this, and the only person I've heard of who ever reported that!

Some of the first questions to ask are:

* Class I, II, or III?

* Throttle or Pedelec cadence sensor / Pedelec torque sensor?

* Hub drive or mid-drive?

* On road or off?

* Where can you get service? Will your local bike shop work on your bike?

After making those decisions, I'd look at quality of parts, power, weight, battery capacity, etc. It's really messy, because so many of the decisions are interdependent. A 58 pound bike with a 500 W battery may the same range a 50 pound bike with a 400 W battery, and two 250 Watt mid-drives may have totally different torque ratings, one may be far more efficient than the other, etc.

These are strange beasts, particularly the mid-drives. If you want something with a lot of power that's more like a motorcycle, mid-drive may not be for you. I think they are great for fitness rides, but it's unnerving at first that the bike kind of "wants" you to pedal in a certain way so it-- and you-- can use your energy as efficiently as possible. It's kind of like riding a robot, which I found disconcerting at first-- but much less so when I learned the kind of hills it could climb, the terrain it could handle, and how stable it was going over 35 MPH (downhill.)
Click to expand...
Thank you for your help it's greatly appreciated. To be honest I am looking for the best choice that allows a lazy out of shape 56 year old man to use throttle power 99.9 % of the time and have the most power ( occasional uphill ) to do it for under 2 K.

A Hub Drive is what I want I believe,

I had chosen one brand over the RadRover ( which seems to have the best customer support and accessory options ) because of better power but in hindsight it was a bad choice other reasons.

I am now researching the Aventon Aventure which seems very nice.

Please steer me towards something best suited for constant throttle use and abuse. lol
 
NEWTOEB said:
Hello, I'm in between Austin and San Antonio. I'm never sure if I should call it central Texas or south central Texas.
( Not a real Texan but my heart has always been here )
Click to expand...
Central texas for sure. Lots of good riding over there.
 
NEWTOEB said:
Hello, I'm new to electric bikes.
I purchased/pre-ordered a bike this morning after watching many YouTube reviews pertaining to it having superior power to other popular brands.
I found many negative reviews regarding poor customer service/support, warranty and refund policy/s.
Based on this I cancelled the order. I would rather pay the cancellation fee than risk losing the full price.
I will give it 24 hrs for a proper response to be fair before naming the company.
Thank you for the very useful information provided here.
Click to expand...
Don't know anything about the more budget friendly bikes. One thing I encourage you to think about is your desire to use constant throttle. Go into Austin and rent some bikes to see what they feel like. You may have read here how people describe the feeling of pedaling a torque sensing pedal assist bike. They talk about having 'super man' legs. It's an apt description. I love pedaling my bike now whereas hills took all the love I once had for my non powered MTB and dashed it to pieces. 😁 You may change your mind about throttling an ebike with some experience. Besides, throttles on ebikes don't work like throttles on motorcycles. They're glitchy/jerky affairs for the most part and disappointing in the way they deliver the power and what your thumb feels like after a minute or so. Don't get me wrong, I would not have a non throttle ebike. I use mine to get started sometimes ( NEVER in a high gear ) and like if I have chosen a not low enough gear to get up a hill and now can't shift down properly cause I'm completely bogged down and about to have to step off the bike ( although this is an excellent way to snap a chain, wreck a chain ring or both ) And I admit to occasionally using my throttle in immature and reckless abandonment of my personal safety just to see how fast is too fast. 🤣:eek:
 
reed scott said:
Don't know anything about the more budget friendly bikes. One thing I encourage you to think about is your desire to use constant throttle. Go into Austin and rent some bikes to see what they feel like. You may have read here how people describe the feeling of pedaling a torque sensing pedal assist bike. They talk about having 'super man' legs. It's an apt description. I love pedaling my bike now whereas hills took all the love I once had for my non powered MTB and dashed it to pieces. 😁 You may change your mind about throttling an ebike with some experience. Besides, throttles on ebikes don't work like throttles on motorcycles. They're glitchy/jerky affairs for the most part and disappointing in the way they deliver the power and what your thumb feels like after a minute or so. Don't get me wrong, I would not have a non throttle ebike. I use mine to get started sometimes ( NEVER in a high gear ) and like if I have chosen a not low enough gear to get up a hill and now can't shift down properly cause I'm completely bogged down and about to have to step off the bike ( although this is an excellent way to snap a chain, wreck a chain ring or both ) And I admit to occasionally using my throttle in immature and reckless abandonment of my personal safety just to see how fast is too fast. 🤣:eek:
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input.

I'm reasoning that the money that I don't have to spend on an e bike will inspire me to move more and pedal but there's always that possibility that the bike will end up collecting dust in the garage.

I'm mostly going to use it for short hops into Gruene TX. and into to town.
 
Aventon is a brand that has amassed half the complaints of Rad, 6 pages instead of 12. Considering their market share, that is probably equivalent "quality" . It is evident from reading the complaints about cheap bikes is that the vendors are saving money on "steel" and "aluminum" for things that don't matter, like round wheels and spokes & cables that have to be adjusted frequently because they stretched.
Cheap bikes with almost no complaints are surface 604 and biktrix. Don't know if that is because of the tiny market share or what. My yubabike was $1900 without electricity, came perfect, and doesn't require any spoke tightening, cable adjustments or wheel replacements in 6500 miles. High volume models sold in stores with few complaints are trek & pedego. Gazelle impresses me with their rust resistance but they are mid-drive.
Edit, the biktrix stunner is $2000, comes with a geared hub motor, and has an 8 speed shimano rear that has not fallen apart on my yuba in 6500 miles. I've had the 7 speed shimano kiddie rear axle come unscrewed & drop balls, requiring me to push it home. Most inexpensive bikes have the shimano acera. I got 1000 miles out of that Pacific Quantum before I had to buy another bike for the rear axle. https://electricbikereview.com/biktrix/stunner-lt/
 
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Thank you for your time I've been doing more research and I'm going to try to test ride both Hub and Mid drives. The biktrix brand is appealing but easily another thousand dollars. I do see the quality of the product and company behind it though.
 
Hello from Dallas/Ft. Worth. Welcome to the world of ebikes! Slowly and surely seeing more e-bikes about. Rain is a bit of a bummer right now but it's Texas...it'll be gone in a few days and then back to riding. Be safe.
 
Alvin1957 said:
Hello from Dallas/Ft. Worth. Welcome to the world of ebikes! Slowly and surely seeing more e-bikes about. Rain is a bit of a bummer right now but it's Texas...it'll be gone in a few days and then back to riding. Be safe.
Click to expand...

Hi Alvin,

I used to live in Lewisville and rode around that area and did a few charity rides back then. My fav route was from Denton to McKinnney and back.
 
RGVCycling said:
Hi Alvin,

I used to live in Lewisville and rode around that area and did a few charity rides back then. My fav route was from Denton to McKinnney and back.
Click to expand...
Hello! The only time I've been to McKinney was to get my Subaru! Not too familiar with the area. I ride mostly between Grand Prairie, Duncanville and on toward Italy, Cleburne and Weatherford. Been down toward Austin and San Antonio a few times on group rides back pre-e-bike. This year I'm trying to get back up to Wichita Falls for my first Hotter-than-Hell with an e-bike. There's been a small group of e-bikers there at last couple of rides.
 
Last edited:
Alvin1957 said:
Hello! The only time I've been to McKinney was to get my Subaru! Not too familiar with the area. I ride mostly between Grand Prairie, Duncanville and on toward Italy, Cleburne and Weatherford. Been down toward Austin and San Antonio a few times on group rides back pre-e-bike. This year I'm trying to get back up to Wichita Falls for my first Hotter-than-Hell with an e-bike. There's been a small group of e-bikers there at last couple of rides.
Click to expand...
Hotter-than-Hell! I've done that one too back in the late '80s or early '90s. Camped out under the stars in one of the parks over there. Fantastic ride.
 
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