my bike hunt continues. I went and test rode a handful of additional e-bikes today, and I'm more torn than ever on what to get. I'd appreciate any thoughts or direction! Here are the options I'm considering:
1. Edison Bike $2k. This is a locally-owned, very small company. This bike was the most fun to ride. Hub motor, throttle, hydraulic brakes, lots of zip. I worry that the company is really just one guy. If he goes out of business, I'm out of luck with warranty and repair help. Also it's the only bike I'm looking at where the battery isn't removable, and I'm unsure if that's a problem?
2. E-Joe Gadis. $1500. This was my second favorite bike to ride, and it seems like a great bike for the price. Hub motor, throttle, disc brakes. It only comes with a 1 yr warranty, and I've heard some not great things about these bikes failing, and the customer service being less than helpful.
3. Raleigh Detour. $1800. Mid Drive, no throttle, hydraulic brakes. On paper this seems like a great option. I like that the computer is removable to avoid theft. It just wasn't that great to ride though. It felt sluggish overall, and dropped down to 5 mph on my test ride hill, when I could keep all the other bikes over 10.
4. Raleigh Retroglide. $2k. Mid drive, throttle, disc brakes. Very simple controls, I like the way it looks, and it was comfortable and reasonably fun to ride. I'm a little unclear about the differences between the retroglide and the retroglide royale. I believe I test rode the plain retroglide, but it was definitely a step thru, and that doesn't seem to exist on the raleigh website, so now I'm wondering if it's an old model or something. It was blue, which also doesn't seem to exist on the raleigh site.
and just to extra confuse things, the store I went to today had a yuba spicy curry cargo bike that was a demo, and was on super sale. It included monkey bars, side steps and a front basket, and was still within my $3k budget. This would be amazing because it would let me bring my 2 kids to school, instead of my current plan of alternating kid duty days with my husband and only biking to work every other day. It seems like a LOT of bike though, and like it might be tough to ride after the kids are dropped off. This probably isn't a good choice for a first bike, even if it's a great deal. Right?
1. Edison Bike $2k. This is a locally-owned, very small company. This bike was the most fun to ride. Hub motor, throttle, hydraulic brakes, lots of zip. I worry that the company is really just one guy. If he goes out of business, I'm out of luck with warranty and repair help. Also it's the only bike I'm looking at where the battery isn't removable, and I'm unsure if that's a problem?
2. E-Joe Gadis. $1500. This was my second favorite bike to ride, and it seems like a great bike for the price. Hub motor, throttle, disc brakes. It only comes with a 1 yr warranty, and I've heard some not great things about these bikes failing, and the customer service being less than helpful.
3. Raleigh Detour. $1800. Mid Drive, no throttle, hydraulic brakes. On paper this seems like a great option. I like that the computer is removable to avoid theft. It just wasn't that great to ride though. It felt sluggish overall, and dropped down to 5 mph on my test ride hill, when I could keep all the other bikes over 10.
4. Raleigh Retroglide. $2k. Mid drive, throttle, disc brakes. Very simple controls, I like the way it looks, and it was comfortable and reasonably fun to ride. I'm a little unclear about the differences between the retroglide and the retroglide royale. I believe I test rode the plain retroglide, but it was definitely a step thru, and that doesn't seem to exist on the raleigh website, so now I'm wondering if it's an old model or something. It was blue, which also doesn't seem to exist on the raleigh site.
and just to extra confuse things, the store I went to today had a yuba spicy curry cargo bike that was a demo, and was on super sale. It included monkey bars, side steps and a front basket, and was still within my $3k budget. This would be amazing because it would let me bring my 2 kids to school, instead of my current plan of alternating kid duty days with my husband and only biking to work every other day. It seems like a LOT of bike though, and like it might be tough to ride after the kids are dropped off. This probably isn't a good choice for a first bike, even if it's a great deal. Right?
