Houston Commuter Bike (15 miles one way)

[Siesta_tx]

I live in west Houston and work commute is 15 miles on Bike. There is a large Trek Chain in Houston with one about 10 minutes away from be. I am thinking about a long term committing eBike in hopes of fully replacing a vehicle. I have done the commute on a non-bike for a couple weeks at a time but the hour plus each way is a bit long being away from family.

I am very interested in the 28mph eBike motors and think, with traffic picking back up, an eBike commute might not be much longer than a drive commute.

I have a locker room and showers at work with waterproof panniers.

Would the Trek Allant be a good model in terms of reliability/warranty? Any model recommendations or other brand recommendations.

Budget would be $4K give or take if I really could adopt this as a regular means of commuting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[indianajo]

Yes. See this thread talking about it and high speed urban commuting in general: https://electricbikereview.com/foru...-aka-what-bike-should-i-get.41457/post-401641
Happy shopping.

 

[Marci jo]

Wow Siesta, that's a fantastic commute. And beats the heck out of sitting in stop and go traffic.
My humble opinion for you is a speed pedelec, i.e. 28 mph. And you have a great budget. Many newbies are looking for super lightweight, top line components all for around $1,000. Almost impossible.
I'm biased towards my Specialized Vado speed pedelec. Incredibly smooth and quiet with tons of torque.
Your test rides will thin out your criteria and it's good you have experience cycling the commute on a non-powered bike.
And another thought....Once you start riding your new ebike you may discover that you don't arrive at work sweaty and wanting to shower. That's why Ebikes rock!!

 

[Siesta_tx]

While I have not test ridden any yet, I feel like I have arrived at either the Specialized Vado or Trek Allant. I was planning on making the purchase in the Fall but should probably start test riding. Wasn't sure if the Specialized Warranty was as good. My LBS sells both Treks and Specialized so both are available...

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

I've put a few hundred miles on my new Aventon Pace 500 for $1.5K found it to be quite comfortable for bike commuting. I have a couple quiet side roads/bike paths so don't interact with traffic much except for a few lights which is nice. It goes up to 28MPH but I'm not real comfortable riding much over 21MPH and still getting to work plenty fast. I'm doing 10 miles in 35 minutes on pretty straight paths. I definitely have to take a shower when I get to work especially being in Phoenix and would imagine Houston is the same. My cubemates appreciate that! A major benefit I've found is I'm super energized mentally when I get to work and also provides a nice mental transition on the way home between work and home. Best of luck on your purchase and commute!

 

[PedalUma]

Stick with bikes with local support that are mid-drives.

 

[Gmanx]

Consider Serial 1. Try a test drive a harley dealer near you. At least you will have that to compare it to other ebikes. If you do, I suggest testing the Mosh first then the Rush.

 

[GenXrider]

I went with a Ride1Up 700 personally with no regrets, but I was interested in an Allant 7s+ last year, but the dealer didn't have any in stock. It uses a Bosch motor and would be the most reliable.

 

[ephemere]

I live in west Houston and work commute is 15 miles on Bike. There is a large Trek Chain in Houston with one about 10 minutes away from be. I am thinking about a long term committing eBike in hopes of fully replacing a vehicle. I have done the commute on a non-bike for a couple weeks at a time but the hour plus each way is a bit long being away from family.

I am very interested in the 28mph eBike motors and think, with traffic picking back up, an eBike commute might not be much longer than a drive commute.

I have a locker room and showers at work with waterproof panniers.

Would the Trek Allant be a good model in terms of reliability/warranty? Any model recommendations or other brand recommendations.

Budget would be $4K give or take if I really could adopt this as a regular means of commuting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Houston is flat, right? I assume you mean 15 miles one way? If a car takes an hour, a bike sounds like a great idea. For a regular commute, you might consider how much maintenance you want to do and whether you want a chain with derailleur, chain without derailleur, or belt. For flat terrain, I'd be tempted to try one of the belt-drive one-speed bikes such as the Ride1Up Roaster v2 ($1045) or FLX Babymaker Pro ($1900). The Babymaker looks nicer with higher top speed (28mph vs 24 mph), hydraulic disc brakes, and the option of drop bars (although that option has disappeared from the order form). Note that they're both cadence sensing. You'd need to think carefully about range, and possibly be willing to use a lower level of assist. Beyond single speed, the Priority Current is a 28mph mid-drive belt with 5-speed Shimano IGH for $2600 through a Costco portal, but their stock is depleting quickly.

 

[john peck]

I live in west Houston and work commute is 15 miles on Bike. There is a large Trek Chain in Houston with one about 10 minutes away from be. I am thinking about a long term committing eBike in hopes of fully replacing a vehicle. I have done the commute on a non-bike for a couple weeks at a time but the hour plus each way is a bit long being away from family.

I am very interested in the 28mph eBike motors and think, with traffic picking back up, an eBike commute might not be much longer than a drive commute.

I have a locker room and showers at work with waterproof panniers.

Would the Trek Allant be a good model in terms of reliability/warranty? Any model recommendations or other brand recommendations.

Budget would be $4K give or take if I really could adopt this as a regular means of commuting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Sure, but are you committed to Houston?

 

[vvinay]

Wow Siesta, that's a fantastic commute. And beats the heck out of sitting in stop and go traffic.
My humble opinion for you is a speed pedelec, i.e. 28 mph. And you have a great budget. Many newbies are looking for super lightweight, top line components all for around $1,000. Almost impossible.
I'm biased towards my Specialized Vado speed pedelec. Incredibly smooth and quiet with tons of torque.
Your test rides will thin out your criteria and it's good you have experience cycling the commute on a non-powered bike.
And another thought....Once you start riding your new ebike you may discover that you don't arrive at work sweaty and wanting to shower. That's why Ebikes rock!!

How does the Vado do with climbing steep hills? I am looking at this for fitness purposes and not commuting. Some of the hills in my community and local can be long and steep. I want to makes sure my future ebike has the power to pull this.

 

[PedalUma]

How does the Vado do with climbing steep hills? I am looking at this for fitness purposes and not commuting. Some of the hills in my community and local can be long and steep. I want to makes sure my future ebike has the power to pull this.

The Vado is wonderful on big climbs. We do it every week.

 

[vvinay]

The Vado is wonderful on big climbs. We do it every week.

I am considering the SL model, I don't really need any extras for it since I am using it for work outs. Is this the Vado you are speaking of? Also when climbing how is battery consumption? I want to use this for fitness to translate to my Moots gravel bikes

 

[st0ut]

I am considering the SL model, I don't really need any extras for it since I am using it for work outs. Is this the Vado you are speaking of? Also when climbing how is battery consumption? I want to use this for fitness to translate to my Moots gravel bikes

What ever Ebike specialized, trek giant or cannondale are going to give you the same areobic workout. the frame and decal will not change.

I get the same cardio on Fuji Touring as my Giant Explore. the difference is time. In 45 minutes I can ride 4 miles to the grocery store shop and get home. That allows me to use my Ebike instead of the car i just sold.

 

[vvinay]

What ever Ebike specialized, trek giant or cannondale are going to give you the same areobic workout. the frame and decal will not change.

I get the same cardio on Fuji Touring as my Giant Explore. the difference is time. In 45 minutes I can ride 4 miles to the grocery store shop and get home. That allows me to use my Ebike instead of the car i just sold.

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my last post. The bike I prefer is the Vado SL, not the standard Vado, there is a difference. PedalUma who answered the first question stated with a photo that they ride Vados on climbs everyday. The photo included shows a standard Vado and I was verifying that, because there is a differnce in weight and configuration on SL vs Standard Vado. My statement was not intended to determine if one gave you a better work out.

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