Help kinda new to the ebike scene

[Jesusshuttlesworth]

I'm new to ebikes found out about probably like a couple of years ago and been intrigued and itching to get my hands on one, problem is I don't know where to purchase like a quality one or the ones I see on they ebike review YouTube channel, I'm gonna give you guys some details of what I'm looking for and hopefully you guys can give me some recommendations.

I'm located in ILIllinois Is there any Stores you guys can recommend me too I'm aware of stores like target kohls Sears maybe you guys can recommend more (I believe)or Point to Specific Bike shops that I can purchase em from,

Preferably not too expensive I'm willing to spend but prefer something affordable

 

[pxpaulx]

@Crazy Lenny Ebikes is located in Madison. I drove there from Minneapolis, and have now bought 3 bikes from them. Absolutely worth the 2 hour drive you'd have (rent a car that a bike could got it if needed, let them know you are coming and they'll show you plenty of options).

They probably have about fifty bikes on the floor to demo and many more than that in stock, and a large range of bike prices, and some of the best deals you'll find in the country. Since it is in driving distance for you, they are a no brainer recommendation.

 

[Jesusshuttlesworth]

@Crazy Lenny Ebikes is located in Madison. I drove there from Minneapolis, and have now bought 3 bikes from them. Absolutely worth the 2 hour drive you'd have (rent a car that a bike could got it if needed, let them know you are coming and they'll show you plenty of options).

They probably have about fifty bikes on the floor to demo and many more than that in stock, and a large range of bike prices, and some of the best deals you'll find in the country. Since it is in driving distance for you, they are a no brainer recommendation.

@Crazy Lenny Ebikes is located in Madison. I drove there from Minneapolis, and have now bought 3 bikes from them. Absolutely worth the 2 hour drive you'd have (rent a car that a bike could got it if needed, let them know you are coming and they'll show you plenty of options).

They probably have about fifty bikes on the floor to demo and many more than that in stock, and a large range of bike prices, and some of the best deals you'll find in the country. Since it is in driving distance for you, they are a no brainer recommendation.

Appreciate

@Crazy Lenny Ebikes is located in Madison. I drove there from Minneapolis, and have now bought 3 bikes from them. Absolutely worth the 2 hour drive you'd have (rent a car that a bike could got it if needed, let them know you are coming and they'll show you plenty of options).

They probably have about fifty bikes on the floor to demo and many more than that in stock, and a large range of bike prices, and some of the best deals you'll find in the country. Since it is in driving distance for you, they are a no brainer recommendation.

appreciate it but is there any in Illinois that you could recommend or is crazy Lenny the only one you could think of

 

[harryS]

Last summer, I took a 180 mile drive up to Madison from Illinois. Nice people. There's a city bike path behind the shop where you can take a decent test drive. Bought one.

Too bad they had a fire in the main showroom last week. Some of those 50 bikes got smoked and wet.

The locak Performance Bikes sometimes have e-bikes on the floor with suggested prices of $1999 to $2599, They go on sale. Kozys in Chicago has bikes that cost that much on their website. You want to pay $2000 for a basic bike, stay in Illinois.

 

[Jesusshuttlesworth]

Last summer, I took a 180 mile drive up to Madison from Illinois. Nice people. There's a city bike path behind the shop where you can take a decent test drive. Bought one.

Too bad they had a fire in the main showroom last week. Some of those 50 bikes got smoked and wet.

The locak Performance Bikes sometimes have e-bikes on the floor with suggested prices of $1999 to $2599, They go on sale. Kozys in Chicago has bikes that cost that much on their website. You want to pay $2000 for a basic bike, stay in Illinois.

Well would you recommend something else if you don't think Illinoisw is the best place to purchase a quality ebike

 

[grench]

@Crazy Lenny Ebikes is located in Madison. I drove there from Minneapolis, and have now bought 3 bikes from them. Absolutely worth the 2 hour drive you'd have (rent a car that a bike could got it if needed, let them know you are coming and they'll show you plenty of options).

They probably have about fifty bikes on the floor to demo and many more than that in stock, and a large range of bike prices, and some of the best deals you'll find in the country. Since it is in driving distance for you, they are a no brainer recommendation.

+1. @Crazy Lenny Ebikes is worth the drive.

 

[pxpaulx]

@Jesusshuttlesworth the thing here is, you want to make the right purchase the first time. You could find a performance bikes shop that has a couple of electric bikes in the store. What you'll find you might like, but you won't get ebike specific service and knowledge. You also won't get the best deal you could.

In the end if you buy a bike and it isn't right for you, it won't be ridden as much as the right bike. If you plan a day, call Lenny in advance to let them know you are coming and what you are looking for, you'll get personalized, ebike specific service and go home with the right bike. Even a budget priced bike is a big purchase, you don't want to make the wrong choice here!

 

[harryS]

Prices seem better right now. Last summer, when I looked, nothing under $2000. I've never been there, unless it was a long time ago when I bought my first bike that wasn't a piece of heavy steel from Sears.

http://kozy.com/product-list/bikes-1000/electric-1038/

 

[Marc V]

I ended up buying my 1st eBike from Kozy. I went to the Milwaukee Ave. location (currently they said that is their eBike destination at least for service). I ended up getting a EZ Pedaler X350 floor model after watching review court gave and test riding it at Kozys. I thought it would be a good commuter bike for me and I only had it a few weeks and already clocked in over 400 miles (trying to ride it as much as possible before severe weather hits Chicago! lol), so far so good.

I also got my first flat on it, last time I changed a flat on a bike it was many years ago and had a major blowout, so a little traumatized in doing it myself haha. So having said that and it being an eBike I brought it back to Kozy and the service guys were great, they took care of me in a prompt manor. I was originally just planning on dropping it off during my lunch break and then picking it up after work, but the mechanic said I could wait as he could handle it pretty fast, so I did. He also gave me a little breakdown of what I would need to do if I wanted to change it myself (which I did not half to ask for, so I really appreciated that). We shared some stories of riding eBikes as well as riding bikes in general.

I have come across other members here not giving Kozy's a good reputation. I won't argue some of the comments are not totally off, but having bought the bike from them and getting some service done, I was happy with them.

Good luck on your eBike purchase, if you have not bought one already lol

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V

 

[Ann M.]

@Marc V, thanks for your feedback about Kozy's shop; there's a lot more that goes into having a great experience with an electric bike than just the price tag on the bike. You've pointed out some of the pluses of working with trained staff and techs. FYI, for anyone looking to do regular commuting with an ebike we always recommend adding tire liners (Mr. Tuffy's or similar brand) and spend a little extra for heavier duty thorn resistant tubes; it's an almost flat proof system. Nothing more annoying than getting stuck pushing your bike (usually when the weather is gnarly ) that last mile or so to work!

 

[Marc V]

@Marc V, thanks for your feedback about Kozy's shop; there's a lot more that goes into having a great experience with an electric bike than just the price tag on the bike. You've pointed out some of the pluses of working with trained staff and techs. FYI, for anyone looking to do regular commuting with an ebike we always recommend adding tire liners (Mr. Tuffy's or similar brand) and spend a little extra for heavier duty thorn resistant tubes; it's an almost flat proof system. Nothing more annoying than getting stuck pushing your bike (usually when the weather is gnarly ) that last mile or so to work!

@Ann M. Thanks for the tips on tire liners and heavier duty thorn resistant tubes! I will look into that!

 

[Marc V]

@Ann M. Thanks for the tips on tire liners and heavier duty thorn resistant tubes! I will look into that!

@Ann M. Since seeing your recommendation for Tire liners and heavier duty thorn resistant tubes I am now using Tire liners, and inner tubes with built-in slime and so far so good lol.

Before adding that stuff, I was riding fine for a bit, so I thought maybe I just had bad luck that day. Put in a new a regular inner tube and was like new. A few days later got a small puncture, patched it up and not long after it went flat, I thought my patch didn't hold, but sure enough when I got home and inspected the tube it was a new puncture!!! haha (Just to note, my patch job did hold )

So after that I replaced the inner tube with one with built-in slime and was riding fine. A few days later noticed my speed couldn't wouldn't go up even though I tried putting it up to full pedal assist! looked down and tire was flat! Couldn't believe it! I thought the slime would prevent that! but when I flipped bike over and did an inspection it was a pretty big piece of metal! but I was able to pull it out and pumped up the tire and started riding again, tire went flat lol, but tried one more time to pump it up hoping the slime would do its job but was worried the puncture was too big, but thank goodness slime sealed the hole and was able to make it into work! haha

I ended up riding on that inner tube a couple more days and my buddy kept insisting I replace it because I am riding a compromised inner tube and am playing with fire! lol Even though I like to live life on the edge a bit I eventually agreed with him and decided to replace the inner tube and found this a good time to add tire liners as well! so purchased a couple of those added them to both wheels and so far so good! haha

So long story even longer, I should've taken your advice as soon as I read it but I live in the city near many friends and family so only one time I was caught off guard where I actually had to use my cell to "phone a friend" to come pick me up haha. but moral of the story is if you are prepared you don't need to worry. But everyone should understand even if you do everything you can to prevent flats anything is possible and you can still get a flat! But we can control many things to limit that (make sure air pressure is good, carry emergency patch kit, spare inner tube(s) if possible, and maybe best advice in a worse case scenario make sure to have that cell charged via tech tip from Sam and Court in this video

)

Take care, ride safe!
Marc V

 

[Ann M.]

Marc, you are fortunate to live near friends and family; flats forgotten . What works in one situation is not always optimal for another; I just planned for the worst case scenario--figured a little extra weight in the rotating wheels was worth the joy of a flatless ride (for many rides!) Happy trails!