Help me pick...

[icharry]

So I'm looking to get an eBike that can handle hills and is comfy.

My house is about 2 miles up hill with about 1200 ft elevation gain from town. So basically the end of all my
rides mean a long uphill. I would love to be able to do all throttle or light peddle. I do want throttle on demand
from stop - so class 2. Do not need class 3. Love to spend less than 2K.

I'm 50+ with bad knees and will often carry groceries or other - so thinking step thru to make it easy to get on
and off. Lots of dirt roads (washboard style), bumps and rocks as well.. so thinking fat tire to smooth the road
and make a softer ride. Wondering if 20 inch fat is enough or if I should go full 26inch?

Is Rad Rover 5 or 6 the bike for me? Rad website says Rad 6 is better at hills. Any Other thoughts?

Also thoughts on bike rack for old Toyota Highlander SUV that can hold 2 of whatever bikes you all suggest.

 

[ephemere]

My house is about 2 miles up hill with about 1200 ft elevation gain from town.

1200 ft elevation over 2 miles? That's an average grade of 11% over a pretty long distance. Not sure how heavy you are, and then then there are groceries on top of that. And with minimal power contributed by the rider. I would want a very low gear and would plan for a low speed. I'm curious what e-bikes will handle this situation the best.

The Rad Rover 6 has a lowest gearing of 42x34, which is not very low. To make matters worse, the 26x4" tires have a pretty big circumference. That comes out to over 10mph at a 60rpm cadence. Let's say you + the bike + cargo is 250lbs. For an 11% grade, that speed requires around 650W held for 12 minutes. Even if you could contribute 150W of your own power, which is not light pedaling, I'm concerned. You might need a lower-geared bike that can go more slowly.

 

[Dewey]

Maybe a conversion with a BBSHD like the Eunorau Fat HD? Bafang Ultra motor like the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra step-thru will be too expensive for your budget

 

[ElevenAD]

Not sure why you would be looking at HUb motor bikes if your going to be doing sustained climbs with minimal pedaling! i would find some type of mid drive so your not beating the piss out of your motor every ride!

 

[Taylor57]

So I'm looking to get an eBike that can handle hills and is comfy.

My house is about 2 miles up hill with about 1200 ft elevation gain from town. So basically the end of all my
rides mean a long uphill. I would love to be able to do all throttle or light peddle. I do want throttle on demand
from stop - so class 2. Do not need class 3. Love to spend less than 2K.

I'm 50+ with bad knees and will often carry groceries or other - so thinking step thru to make it easy to get on
and off. Lots of dirt roads (washboard style), bumps and rocks as well.. so thinking fat tire to smooth the road
and make a softer ride. Wondering if 20 inch fat is enough or if I should go full 26inch?

Is Rad Rover 5 or 6 the bike for me? Rad website says Rad 6 is better at hills. Any Other thoughts?

Also thoughts on bike rack for old Toyota Highlander SUV that can hold 2 of whatever bikes you all suggest.

So I'm looking to get an eBike that can handle hills and is comfy.

My house is about 2 miles up hill with about 1200 ft elevation gain from town. So basically the end of all my
rides mean a long uphill. I would love to be able to do all throttle or light peddle. I do want throttle on demand
from stop - so class 2. Do not need class 3. Love to spend less than 2K.

I'm 50+ with bad knees and will often carry groceries or other - so thinking step thru to make it easy to get on
and off. Lots of dirt roads (washboard style), bumps and rocks as well.. so thinking fat tire to smooth the road
and make a softer ride. Wondering if 20 inch fat is enough or if I should go full 26inch?

Is Rad Rover 5 or 6 the bike for me? Rad website says Rad 6 is better at hills. Any Other thoughts?

Also thoughts on bike rack for old Toyota Highlander SUV that can hold 2 of whatever bikes you all suggest.

As far as bike racks, I purchased the 1Up Heavy duty 2 inch and couldn't be more pleased. Solid as a rock and very easy to use. So good I am buying an additional rack in order to carry 2 heavy ebikes...

 

[icharry]

To answer this one..

Not sure why you would be looking at HUb motor bikes if your going to be doing sustained climbs with minimal pedaling! i would find some type of mid drive so your not beating the piss out of your motor every ride!

because I'm a total newbie and do not really understand most things about ebikes. So if I'm willing (aka able) to do something like peddle assist 2 going up the hill will a rad rover 5 work for me? Is a rad rover 6 that much better than the 5 for hills?

Yeah I was thinking about Eunorau as well.

Looks interesting - will research it more... but really want to stay below $2000 - especially as I need to buy helmet, lock and tire armor - all of which will add up.

 

[indianajo]

First off, tire armor & slime are overrated IMHO. I average a flat every 6000 miles or 3nd year. I ride knobby Kendas or Giants, and I take them off when the knobs are shorter than 3/32". They cost $26. One flat was the original white road tire @ 700 miles, which were pretty but not up to running over glass or shredded tires with wire sticking out.
Rad is fine if you like putting the free parts on that they mail you to replace the garbage they gave you the first time. Read the known problems list, 133 entries last time I looked.
I've carried groceries on a MTB and a cruiser, and the problem is, with them in the back in basket or panniers they make the bike unstable. Front wheel is too light. I've been over the handlebars 4 times on that arrangement as the front wheel snapped sideways on bumps, ridges, or a stick. One solution is putting the groceries in a basket on the front, hung off the handlebars & fender mount. That makes the bike hard to steer, which in rough pavement could be a real issue. I tried that and gave it up after a couple of weeks.
My solution is a cargo bike, that has an extra 6" in the frame behind the seat to put my weight onthe front tire. My drop frame yuba bodaboda shown in the picture is no longer sold. I've got ~8000 miles on it with no spokes or rims replaced or adjusted. It came with a low of 32:32 which gets me up 15% grades unpowered after the throttle fails in the rain, with 80 lb groceries or ag supplies. I'm 160 lb.
Most cargo bikes do not come with fat tires or suspensions, so you have to make do with 2.1" tires. I personally would not ride a 20" tire, having given up those shocking devices age 10. Do the math on a 20" tire versus a 26" tire in a 4" deep pothole. Sounds as if you do not live in London or Amsterdam with perfect pavement.
See the cargo bike category for up to date info, but brands I remember leaving out the ever popular 20" wheel toys besides yuba are xtracycle, m2s, blix, kona, pedego, magnum. Be sure to check the "known problems" threads for a count of who has logged in their service problems. I haven't called yuba yet: the bike arrived perfect and the brake pads, chain, tires, and recently cables I've replaced (3 1/2 years) I chalk up to normal maintenance.
I think a few dollars more, say $3000, would get you a ride you could oil & forget like mine, instead or replacing **** all the time.

 

[ElevenAD]

To answer this one..

because I'm a total newbie and do not really understand most things about ebikes. So if I'm willing (aka able) to do something like peddle assist 2 going up the hill will a rad rover 5 work for me? Is a rad rover 6 that much better than the 5 for hills?


Looks interesting - will research it more... but really want to stay below $2000 - especially as I need to buy helmet, lock and tire armor - all of which will add up.

The Rover six is for sure a better climber than the Rad Rover five but they are still both Hubmotor bikes, again i would buy a Middrive maybe something like the Eunaraus or the Sondors that @Timpo posted! You wont be saving any money if the bike cant do what you need it to do.

 

[ephemere]

It came with a low of 32:32 which gets me up 15% grades unpowered after the throttle fails in the rain, with 80 lb groceries or ag supplies. I'm 160 lb.

This is surprising for more than a short distance unless you are a world-class cyclist. Let's look at 500W of human output, which is a lot:

• The top 2% of Cycling Analytics users (serious cyclists measuring their rides with power meters) can sustain 500W for about 5 minutes. The bottom 10% can sustain it for about 10 seconds (reference).
• 500W will get you + cargo + bike up a 15% grade at ~5mph (reference). The median Cycling Analytics user can keep that effort up for about 400 feet, which is like a few houses down the street.
• At 32:32 gearing you will would be pedaling quite slowly and inefficiently (~40 rpm) to get down to that speed (reference).

It's great that you can do this, but I just don't want the OP to be disappointed. If they truly do have an average 11% grade for 2 miles, and with cargo, I think they will need to pick their bike very carefully. I'm honestly curious what e-bike can handle this. Not speculation, but actual data. My electric car can do it, and I assume any electric motorcycle can do it, but can an e-bike?

 

[billmeek]

I'm honestly curious what e-bike can handle this.

19 miles with 7,000 ft elevation do?

Rode the Rockstar up a 14-er! Pikes Peak Group Ebike Ride

On the 4th of July I rode with Houshmand and the employees of Ebikes USA on a group ride to the top of Pikes Peak, a popular 14-er in Colorado. I got to pick any bike from their inventory for my ride and couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out the Rockstar! It was a hell of a ride, much...

electricbikereview.com

 

[icharry]

Hmmmm.... I did not realize this was going to be that hard. I figured most ebikes would do it. Thanks for all the deep info.

For what its worth, I'm 165lbs and I was really only thinking like 10-20lbs max worth of grocery from the farmers market.
Also I dialed in the elevation gain to only 950 ft over 2 miles... so a bit less.
I am willing to use leg power.


On RadRover website when compare between 5 & 6 it says this about better hill climbing - but no real info

Custom 750 W Geared Hub Motor With Enhanced Hill Climbing Capabilities​

Our engineering team has fine-tuned this bike for all the ways you Ride Rad. We’ve developed a new, custom 750 W geared hub motor that provides more power, more efficiently. The result is the ability to climb hills faster, get up to speed quicker, and enjoy more confidence throughout your entire ride.

Using the COMPARE on this website the Rad 5 has 80 Newton Meters Motor Torque and the Rad 6 has 68... I would have thought higher numbers better?

I am now convinced I need fat tire - part for ride comfort and part for stability as there are lots of dirt roads (some hard packed, some sandy) with rocks and ruts.

The Ride 1Up 700 series looks good. and Sondors looks good too.
I'm gonna try and rent something.

 

[indianajo]

My 15% grades are 100', three of them in succession interspersed by equivalent downgrades. After mid-summer I can ride up one gross weight 330 lb in 32:28 range. Extra lung capacity is useful during pneumonia, which I've had dozens of times, and made137 days of covid19 a non-hospital event.
I recommend in maintenance free hub motors the Mac12t, which is such a torque monster that wrecks are for sale with the wires twisted off. I used 4" of bed frame rail for one torque arm; use ****ese **** at serious risk. No e-bike is for sale with this motor. The 10 speed read sprocket yuba is selling now probably requires a new chain every 1000 miles in heavy use. I get 5 times that.

 

[billmeek]

From reading and watching vids a little bit, I decided I wanted the Sondors LX. But since it wasn't in stock and was "estimated" to ship in a couple of months, I bought a hub drive Sondors MXS as my first eBike. While it handles most of my riding here in Middle Tennessee fine, it does struggle to get up some of the steeper hills. After around a week of ownership, I went ahead and placed an order for the LX. I expect my shipping date of September to be delayed... maybe into next year.

The point being even with the relatively small hills in this area, I wanted a middrive with a throttle. A middrive with a larger battery would be what I'd buy in your shoes.

 

[Dewey]

A popular fat bike to DIY convert with a BBSHD is the Mongoose Dolomite, some forum users here have done it and can advise eg https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bbshd-and-mongoose.40909/
Also https://electricbike.com/forum/sear...e&searchJSON={"keywords":"Mongoose+dolomite"}

 

[icharry]

I know earlier in the thread indianajo said he would not do a 20 inch tire. I understand the 20 vs 26 in a 4inch pothole... but I also understand the physics of a 20 inch tire on a hill climb. Am I wrong in my understanding? Also when actually testing the 26inch bikes they felt too large. For sure would have to be a step thru.

I was able to test a Pedago Element and I think I like it a lot. I like that it is smaller, lighter, and easier to get on/off and load on bike rack. There was a pretty steep hill (steeper than mine - but only like 6 tenths of a mile) I rode up twice pretty easily in assist 3 or 4. Other things going for this bike is it is in stock. Price is right. Dealer said they will offer a front shock soon. And I could get suspension seatpost and still be under budget. Plus I like having a dealer - especially after reading many horror stories about long customer service wait times for mail order bikes.

The dealer seems to think it would be fine and I asked if I should go fo the bigger one without him knowing I thought it was too big and he thought either would be fine.

I have not pulled the trigger yet... anyone wanna convince me either way?

plus any thoughts on other things I'd need to buy - helmet, better seat, seatpost, water bottle holder, rear light - or just get a helmet with one built in? more?

 

[Taylor57]

Just buy it and enjoy. Yeah, and you need to buy a helmet.

 

[indianajo]

Fat tires on Pedego Element may help a little on potholes.
When I had my last accident @ 25 mph I was wearing a $1 helmet I bought from Salvation Army resale. I washed the inside with 409. I could have used a chin guard, but the rest of my head was okay. Chin guard helmets are ~$200 up. Fox Rampage is what I wear now. Ventilated, has metal screens over vent holes to keep out sun & tree branches. See threads under parts & accessories for other opinions. Some people bash their heads at speed into concrete culverts. I've never hit a fixed object, just pavement or gravel.
Rear light with rechargeable LiIon cells is nice. Mine was too expensive to recommend. My backup rear light is a Brightz pink from the grocery store, $11, uses 2 AAA cells. I mount it with #6 screws under a sheet of horizontal plastic to keep the rain off. When I had a brightz mounted with the original tie-wraps, somebody cut them and stole it.
Good seats cost $$. I'm using evo cruiser 218x280 mm, fits rails. Modernbike.com has some seats, lights too.