If you had $3K burning a whole in your pocket?

[Clay]

I canceled my order for a CrossCurrent S yesterday and got a full refund. I decided I can't wait two months for the bike. I also think I'm going to buy something with a mid drive system. I have watched Court's YouTube channel every night for the last few weeks and I still don't know which way to go. I want to stay around 3k. I know interbike is next week and I might find some good deals if I hold out a couple weeks and pick up one of last years models. I would love to get everyone's thoughts on what I should consider. A few things I would like is 28MPH, front fork suspension, decent range. I know that's a lot to ask for the price range but I would love to get your feedback.

I'm going to my local Trek dealer this weekend because they are doing demos all week and have $500 off the powerful 5,7&8.

 

[Dewey]

I'm going to buy something with a mid drive system. I want to stay around 3k. I would like 28MPH, front fork suspension, decent range. I'm going to my local Trek dealer this weekend because they are doing demos all week and have $500 off the powerfly.

What kind of riding will you be doing? Trek Powerfly is a full suspension eMTB, you could use it for street commuting but you might want to add fenders and a rack. How far do you want to ride between charging?

 

[Dwight]

Take a look at the Evelo Delta, a little above your budget but you get a lot for your money. My Delta is being delivered this afternoon!

Go to evelo.com

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[Clay]

What kind of riding will you be doing? Trek Powerfly is a full suspension eMTB, you could use it for street commuting but you might want to add fenders and a rack. How far do you want to ride between charging?

Hi Dewey, I'm fortunate to live in a great little city that has bike lanes almost everywhere and a huge network of bike paths that span for hundreds of miles. I will mostly be in and around my city but will occasionally be taking longer trips on the paved bike path. I will rarely ride off path but would like front suspension mainly for comfort. I already picked up a thud buster because I'm planning on getting a hard tail to save a few bucks. Thanks for the input.

 

[Clay]

Take a look at the Evelo Delta, a little above your budget but you get a lot for your money. My Delta is being delivered this afternoon!

Go to evelo.com

Good luck and have fun!!!

I will do that Dwight. Thanks for the advice. Let us know how you like the Evelo. Enjoy!

 

[Clay]

Thanks Rich. That was my whole reasoning for getting a refund on the Juiced bike. I know the deals are about to start popping up. I will definitely look into this Bulls bike.

 

[Clay]

I'm kind of wondering if I need to give up the thought that I should get a bike that will go 28 mph? I just like the thought of being able to but not sure if it's necessary on my first e-bike. But on the other hand I'm spending what I consider to be a lot of money on a bike and feel like I should try to get the things I want.

 

[rich c]

I hardly ever get to 28mph. It takes a boat load of energy to push me over 23mph. My energy and battery as well. BUT, I do ride at 21-23 mph a lot.

 

[Clay]

I just spoke with my local Trek dealer and he said he could set me up with a XM 700 + for $3200 out the door. I might go look at that this weekend.

 

[Dewey]

I'm kind of wondering if I need to give up the thought that I should get a bike that will go 28 mph? I just like the thought of being able to but not sure if it's necessary.

28mph appears to be helpful mostly for riders or commuters who live some distance from their destination and want to get there in good time. If you're going that speed you'll benefit from hydraulic disk brakes with larger 180mm rotors. If all your riding will be around town on bike paths you don't need a high top speed, I typically ride 15mph on paths, up to 20mph on the street.

 

[Dewey]

I just spoke with my local Trek dealer and he said he could set me up with a XM 700 +

Check out Court Rye's review, looks great! Needs a rear light, in his review Court suggested this one that can plug into the Bosch Intuvia's micro-USB port for power.

 

[Luv2ride]

I just spoke with my local Trek dealer and he said he could set me up with a XM 700 + for $3200 out the door. I might go look at that this weekend.

I put 7400 miles on my XM 700, great bike! Riding the Trek Super Commuter since July and love it!

 

[Clay]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Clay]

I also like the specs on the haibike sduro trekking 6.0 but I can't find many reviews out there. It's at $3k and seems like an excellent buy.

 

[Over50]

...Trek Powerfly is a full suspension eMTB, you could use it for street commuting but you might want to add fenders and a rack...

I'm not sure their full suspension eMTBs are equipped for racks/fenders and don't forget lighting. For sure the hardtail Powerfly 5 (2018) is equipped for racks/fenders but at $3,500 without any add ons is outside the stated budget of $3K.

 

[Over50]

I'm kind of wondering if I need to give up the thought that I should get a bike that will go 28 mph?...

You might check out my thread on the Haibike XDuro 4.0 Trekking. I've been commuting on both a 28 mph bike and a 20 mph bike. Both Bosch. Not that I'm recommending that particular bike but I just wanted to provide some user experience on the 20 mph vs 28 mph dilemma. In the case of Bosch I would say you have trade-offs to consider. The 20 mph CX motor is a bit smaller vs the Speed motor and some of the 20 mph models have done a better job of blending that motor into the frame (Trek 2018s, Haibike, Bulls...). To me it is aesthetically more appealing to have the motor smaller and blended with the frame. The CX motor offers higher torque and I've found that makes a positive difference for me as I have a lot of start/stop in my commute of approximately 35 miles. If you are cruising below 20 mph then that will also help your battery range. But yes, as I've posted, not having the higher speed does kinda stink if your riding does allow for longer distances where you aren't stopping all the time. Also, it kind of stinks not having that higher speed when you need some extra juice like making a green light. So the Bosch CX 20 mph motor gets me going from a standstill faster but it doesn't give me the extra push over 20 mph I need when I want to make the green light. I tend to ride the 20 mph bike in a higher assist level vs the 28 mph bike given that the lower top speed helps my range. Sport mode for example on the CX motor is really lively. I've posted my commute times in the thread and I'm getting almost identical times with the two bikes. My commute is 2/3rds start/stop. I bet if that ratio was reversed and I had more open road then the 28 mph bike would give me better times and I would definitely prefer the speed motor. I personally really like the way the CX motor is blended on many of the bikes and if your riding is mixed trail/street and the street is start/stop or hilly then the lower speed but higher torque route might be a good option. If you have open road without a lot of stopping then the speedier option might be better. Hopefully you live in an area where you can find bikes to test out.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I almost never go that fast, but it is very nice to be able to just cruise along at 23 or 24 every now and then with some breathing room for more. Trek xm700, which should be doable at a Trek demo event for $3000 - that's how I got mine, and what I paid. 1900 miles later, still love the thing.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

The Trek XM700+ is the best value if you are looking for a Bosch powered speed pedelec.

 

[harryS]

I'd go with a Lunacycle product, like this Hard Tail for about $2K. Technically, a class 2 with throttle/PAS limited to 20 mph, but easily unlocked for speeds past 28 mph on throttle for the private roads in your estate.

Negatives. Very short warranty. Built to order, so you'll likely wait longer than for a Juiced model. Basically a kit bike. No torque sensor, but can be set up with 9 level pedal assist and there is enough granularity to ride at 12 mph and have some feel to the pedals.

Positives. Will leave a Bosch system far behind in a race. One could buy a spare motor for $500. Actually, one could buy the complete drive train, including electronics/battery for $750.

But that's me. Give me $3K and I'll build a $1000 bike and invest what's left.

 

[elyhim]

I just spoke with my local Trek dealer and he said he could set me up with a XM 700 + for $3200 out the door. I might go look at that this weekend.

That's a great deal, if you want road and gravel that is the one for you. Trek and Bosch are brands that will stand up for the warranty. No offense to Lunacycle but German and USA products beat the s*it out of Chinese motors/batteries.