How much to spend on a ebike?

For a 10 mile flat commute a hub drive would probably be all you needed but for less $ than a decent quality hub bike not often mentioned are the new old stock Yamaha Cross Core RC which are $1199 with a strong mid drive, hydraulic disc brakes, suspension fork which might be nice for commuting and 500wh battery. If your local Yamaha dealer has any in stock it might be worth a look. A somewhat local Portland dealer has them and I believe no sales tax in OR, although there might be a small tax imposed on an ebike. I've had an essentially same Yamaha mid drive on a BH (Spanish company) gravel bike for almost 6 years and can say it has performed excellently for me and the battery is still in good shape.
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2022 Yamaha Bicycles Cross CoreRC M | Sports Plaza Motorcycles

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$2,000 is the spot just between low-brow fat-short legs, and high-end big forehead trim long-legs. Is the bike for around the low lands flat trailer park or on single track upon a mountain trail's lofty heights?

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My Ride1Up was just under $2000. It took me months to pick, but $2000 was my max. I have a hard time leaving things alone so, I started replacing most of the electrical system. I live in a hilly place and the bike was pretty good but now. it's better.

Ride1Up just came out with the Vorsa. Looks like a solid bike to tackle some of those hills. The Vorsa seems nice because you can change so many settings. This is why I liked the 700 Series they used to sell. Also, the fact you can change between torque and cadence sensor is really cool. Seems like you can really tailor your ride. Thoung some might say that you need to spend $5000 for a decent bike. That is bogus!
 
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Slaphappygamer said:
My Ride1Up was just under $2000. It took me months to pick, but $2000 was my max. I have a hard time leaving things alone so, I started replacing most of the electrical system. I live in a hilly place and the bike was pretty good but now. it's better.

Ride1Up just came out with the Vorsa. Looks like a solid bike to tackle some of those hills. The Vorsa seems nice because you can change so many settings. This is why I liked the 700 Series they used to sell. Also, the fact you can change between torque and cadence sensor is really cool. Seems like you can really tailor your ride. Thoung some might say that you need to spend $5000 for a decent bike. That is bogus!
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I'm not understanding this feature of being able to switch between torque and cadence and it's appeal. I've have both and torque wins hands down for a natural feel. And there's nothing that the cadence bike does that I can't do with the torque sensor bike.
Perhaps this is appealing on low power hub bikes? What am I missing?
 
Gionnirocket said:
I'm not understanding this feature of being able to switch between torque and cadence and it's appeal. I've have both and torque wins hands down for a natural feel. And there's nothing that the cadence bike does that I can't do with the torque sensor bike.
Perhaps this is appealing on low power hub bikes? What am I missing?
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I really think it's great that you have the option. I have always had this one ebike. It has a cadence sensor. I live in a hilly area and I've read that a torque sensor can be difficult to ride, since you have to apply more pressure to gain more assist. Going uphill, this may be an issue. Since I've never had a torque sensor, it would be nice to try it and if I don't like it, I can switch back to cadence. BUT maybe torque sensor will work in a different way I'm thinking. If I spent this much money on a torque sensor bike and turned out I didn't like it, then I could switch back. Instead of the hassle to return the bike. I'm not thinking that riders will change back and forth during a ride. I think it is a good selling point, especially for those that have never tried either. I'm fairly certain that no one else (unless you build it) gives the user the option. Also, the 95nm torque motor is nice. Most other hub motors, including my Shengyi DGW, have around 60nm. I know middrives have more, but they are more expensive.
 
When people who do not ride bikes and do not know how to pedal and may be older buy an eBike, they might like a cadence sensor without torque, so they can ghost pedal. That is a big demographic. It is like one of those electric keyboards sold in shopping malls in the late 1970's & early '80's that would self-play.
 
Slaphappygamer said:
My Ride1Up was just under $2000. It took me months to pick, but $2000 was my max. I have a hard time leaving things alone so, I started replacing most of the electrical system. I live in a hilly place and the bike was pretty good but now. it's better.

Ride1Up just came out with the Vorsa. Looks like a solid bike to tackle some of those hills. The Vorsa seems nice because you can change so many settings. This is why I liked the 700 Series they used to sell. Also, the fact you can change between torque and cadence sensor is really cool. Seems like you can really tailor your ride. Thoung some might say that you need to spend $5000 for a decent bike. That is bogus!
Click to expand...
Cost all depends on the riders needs. My first bike was a $1400 Himiway cruiser which was fine for my first bike and I was able to learn about ebikes and so forth. Had it for a couple yrs but where I ride has hills and I also ride off road so I decided I wanted full suspension and mid drive because the hub was great around town but suffered on hills. After research I found the best bang for my buck to get me all I wanted was going to be $4000. Most people here prob don't need full suspension or mid drive if there just cruising around to the store or whatever and the $1200 bike will be just fine.
 
You can buy a fairly good e-bike for your uses in the $800-$1,200 range and should be happy with it for the most part. My wife bought a Retrospec trike and it has been good to us with quality construction, plenty of power, long battery life and good brakes. On the other hand, I would destroy a comparable e-bike like hers with the type of riding I do and it would be an uncomfortable experience.

If you decide to step up your game in the future to single track mountain bike style trails, you want to look at full squish bikes from solid manufactures like Trek, Specialized, etc. But, your cost goes way up. For example, I ride a Trek Rail 7 Gen 3 with long travel suspension, but it was over $4k...ouch.
 
As some of you already know, I am preferring the DM02 motors. One of the things I can do is adjust all of the variables regarding both the cadence sensor and torque sensor to get the feel right for any particular application. Four of these motors arrive today. One is going in a cargo bike. I am adjusting that one in favor of smoothness over perkiness. You don't want kids on the back to have whiplash. How many degrees of pedal movement before the motor kicks in, how many milliseconds of over-run? There a 15 customized profiles accessible on a ride.
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Finally, allow for mission creep. Commuting may be the primary mission now. But if you buy a bike you enjoy, you'll soon be looking for other reasons to ride it.
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THIS! Bought my 1st ebike is '21 for camping. Now? I have 5 of my own (3 class 1 emtb's, 1 commuter and 1 SUV-type). I've also ridden a hair over 5,000 miles through yesterday (end of June).
 
Slaphappygamer said:
I really think it's great that you have the option. I have always had this one ebike. It has a cadence sensor. I live in a hilly area and I've read that a torque sensor can be difficult to ride, since you have to apply more pressure to gain more assist. Going uphill, this may be an issue. Since I've never had a torque sensor, it would be nice to try it and if I don't like it, I can switch back to cadence. BUT maybe torque sensor will work in a different way I'm thinking. If I spent this much money on a torque sensor bike and turned out I didn't like it, then I could switch back. Instead of the hassle to return the bike. I'm not thinking that riders will change back and forth during a ride. I think it is a good selling point, especially for those that have never tried either. I'm fairly certain that no one else (unless you build it) gives the user the option. Also, the 95nm torque motor is nice. Most other hub motors, including my Shengyi DGW, have around 60nm. I know middrives have more, but they are more expensive.
Click to expand...
Well I guess a lot falls into the category of design, implementation and programability.
Both my bikes being mid drive.. even the cadence one you can program the ghost pedaling out of it.. Though it is still possible to do so by selecting a high PAS and low gear.
Using my torque sensor bike that does implement a cadence sensor as well but they are designed to work together and can't be selected independently... I have no issues climbing the steep hills where I live/ride. You just select a higher PAS which outputs more power at a lower torque input if you don't want to work. Though a little different feel climbing the steep hill to get home.. I can use as much or as little effort as I desire by selecting the appropriate PAS. I'm never thinking.. gee, I wish I could have cadence sensing in this moment. And then there's always the throttle that can be feathered in whenever desired... But I never use it for hill climbs.
I ride with a few hub bike owners and they're always ghost pedaling in top gear with a 50t+ chainring... Not for me.
But again there's probably hubs out there that do a better job implementing motor control, and maybe cadence - torque switching helps... But still, just not for me.
ymmv
 
mr-stitches said:
This is a perfect example of what I was looking for, thank you.
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if you are anyway near illinois, i could probably give you a good deal on it because im kicking around getting something new, my brother is selling his lectric xp that he absolutely loves but is moving and doesn't want to take it with him. thats another really nice bike, i don't love sitting lower like it does but the pedaling is much smoother and love the front shocks.
 
Get a bike with a powerful mid drive like the bafang ultra motor unless you enjoy working a lot. My 1st ebike had a 250 watt motor that was adequate, but I always wished for more power, especially on hills. It was a mid drive and it would go up anything albeit slowly. I think the trend now is for more powerful motors anyway.
 
mr-stitches said:
How much does a new ebike cost? I've seen some online for like $150 but they must be junk. I'd be using it for fairly normal commuter trips on mostly flat ground. I've been trying to compare specs on the pricier ebikes, but its hard to understand what will make a difference. I'm gonna try to take a test ride at a shop, but I'd like to get a third party's opinion on what a reasonable price would be so I dont get dragged into spending too much or too little.

Thanks
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How much disposable income do you have available to spend on an ebike?
 
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