Into the eBike world I go

[ninomakota]

Hello everyone

I use my bicycle regularly for commute to work and back. Its 34 miles round trip from Teaneck NJ to Battery Park NY. I am still going to be using my regular bicycle on certain days but when its rainy or when I am tired I would like to have a choice to take ebike.

So I am a heavy rider, 275lbs and I am 6'3. Right now my commute is 1 hour each and I do have some decent hills on the way to work elevation 320 Ft which is at the beginning of my route and it mentally kind of disturbs me not so much on a nice day but wet cold rainy day it sure does. Right now I have a regular bicycle Trek 4900 that I bought 12 years ago (new frame) its a mountain bike with street tires. I average about 16mph with this bike and thats with all stop signs lights etc. So I m thinking that I do not want a 20mph ebike because I cant go faster than 20mph (thats what I think I m not sure). I probably want S-Pedelec or class three so I can go faster. In my opinion if I average 16 mph on a regular tank of a bicycle and am upgrading I rather go to S-Pedelec EBike. Again this is my opinion and since I dont know much about ebikes I am open to suggestions. I m not interested in ebikes with throtle I am only interested in pedal assist ebikes.

my price range is from 1 thousand to maximum and thats dead maximum of 4 thousand dollars. Ofcourse I rather spend less but my first and most important thing is reliability of this ebike, I do not want to take it to the shop every 100 miles. I do 170 miles a week. So if I need to spend 4 thousand because those bikes are more reliable than lets say 2500 hundred bike I rather do that spend more now instead of spend more in the shop.

I need fenders both front and back on my ebike as I ride in slush/rain. Weather doesnt stop me. I need good lights especially for NJ drivers to see me since they arent accustomed to bikes like NYC drivers are. I now carry a backpack filled with my food and since I dont store my food in plastic containers my backpack can be heavy from all the glass so a rack in the back would be nice too.

I have been online searching for e bikes, I went to couple of shops also and looked at bikes but I really need your guys help on narrowing down few ebikes that would be good for me.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[indianajo]

Welcome to the site.
With your location, I would definitely go to some shops and try some bikes out. You might have to ride the train out to Long Island. Most flaky problems on e-bikes come with cheapo batteries off amazon & ebay, plus used bikes can be dogs that the dealer couldn't fix. So buy new. $1000 is a bit low, you get a lot more for $2500. WIthout charging at work you'll need at least a 17 AH 48 v battery, and maybe 21 AH would be safer in cold weather (which cuts range 50%). Lithium Ion batteries can't be stored in freezing weather, like outside at work.
With being out in the rain a lot, I'd look at the Arroyo brand from Amsterdam. Gazelle may be too small for you but look it up. I ride in the rain, not running a car, & I lubricate chain, cables, shifters, controls, pivots, monthly with SUS 32 hydraulic fluid (non-detergeant additive). Also known as type A or F ATF from the grocery store (NOT dexron).
Lights can be bought & installed later, I wouldn't make a light that runs off the main battery a key feature. I use two lights on the rear, one rechargeable lithium, one AAA batteries. If I've run the rechargeable too low, the other one works and I can take AAA batteries out and test the voltage.
At your weight I'd stay away from 7 speed shimano rear axles. I've had one of those come unscrewed & drop the balls out on the road, they rely on loktite to fix the nut, and I'll tell you blue loktite doesn't work. I've had a 6 speed shimano rear axle break under my exhorbitant 170 lb + 60 lb supplies + 40 lb basket. Shimano makes a quality product in the 8-10 speed clusters, plus their IGH, but the 6 7 speed axles are very "cost effective". I like the SRAM derailleurs on the bike shown left, although it came with a shimano 8 speed rear axle that I had no trouble with.
If you want to maintain your heart health on good days, look for bikes that can be pedaled without drag. All geared hub drives have a one-way clutch, in mid drives yamaha & shimano have it. Unpowered Bosch drags like an anchor IMHO. No direct experience since I live in fly-over land and the only dealer close than 160 miles is pedego, which has a hub drive.
NYC confiscates e-bikes with throttles, so be aware of the changing local regulations.
As an experienced head-forward bike rider, you may prefer that position which is rare in e-bikes. Look at the "lightweight" forum under bikes by type below for focus on those type bikes. My bike shown left has mounts for a front rack, which solves the unbalance problem of supplies on the rear with the motor and panniers. I can't imagine wearing a backpack of supplies at my age (68).
Happy shopping.

 

[Ian Moone]

Welcome to the site.
With your location, I would definitely go to some shops and try some bikes out. You might have to ride the train out to Long Island. Most flaky problems on e-bikes come with cheapo batteries off amazon & ebay, plus used bikes can be dogs that the dealer couldn't fix. So buy new. $1000 is a bit low, you get a lot more for $2500. WIthout charging at work you'll need at least a 17 AH 48 v battery, and maybe 21 AH would be safer in cold weather (which cuts range 50%). Lithium Ion batteries can't be stored in freezing weather, like outside at work.
With being out in the rain a lot, I'd look at the Arroyo brand from Amsterdam. Gazelle may be too small for you but look it up. I ride in the rain, not running a car, & I lubricate chain, cables, shifters, controls, pivots, monthly with SUS 32 hydraulic fluid (non-detergeant additive). Also known as type A or F ATF from the grocery store (NOT dexron).
Lights can be bought & installed later, I wouldn't make a light that runs off the main battery a key feature. I use two lights on the rear, one rechargeable lithium, one AAA batteries. If I've run the rechargeable too low, the other one works and I can take AAA batteries out and test the voltage.
At your weight I'd stay away from 7 speed shimano rear axles. I've had one of those come unscrewed & drop the balls out on the road, they rely on loktite to fix the nut, and I'll tell you blue loktite doesn't work. I've had a 6 speed shimano rear axle break under my exhorbitant 170 lb + 60 lb supplies + 40 lb basket. Shimano makes a quality product in the 8-10 speed clusters, plus their IGH, but the 6 7 speed axles are very "cost effective". I like the SRAM derailleurs on the bike shown left, although it came with a shimano 8 speed rear axle that I had no trouble with.
If you want to maintain your heart health on good days, look for bikes that can be pedaled without drag. All geared hub drives have a one-way clutch, in mid drives yamaha & shimano have it. Unpowered Bosch drags like an anchor IMHO. No direct experience since I live in fly-over land and the only dealer close than 160 miles is pedego, which has a hub drive.
NYC confiscates e-bikes with throttles, so be aware of the changing local regulations.
As an experienced head-forward bike rider, you may prefer that position which is rare in e-bikes. Look at the "lightweight" forum under bikes by type below for focus on those type bikes. My bike shown left has mounts for a front rack, which solves the unbalance problem of supplies on the rear with the motor and panniers. I can't imagine wearing a backpack of supplies at my age (68).
Happy shopping.

Well said, Jo ! ??