Lightweight ebike for RV

[eDean]

Hi, I own two ebikes bought over 10 years ago. Since then I have been disengaged from the bike scene and those bikes have been working just fine other than my extra batteries going dead. I'm looking for a bike to put on the back of my rv. It needs to be lightweight since the rack only can support a 50 lb bike. I'm looking for something to get around when I'm at a destination and it should have high utility. What I'm looking for is to maximize weight, quality, and utility. I don't want something too cheap but I have talked to many campers who are riding $999 ebikes from amazon and they seemed pretty happy. I was shocked to learn that the top speeds at that price point were so high and that was indicative of how much the market has changed. go back a few years and that amount bough you total junk, his bike seemed surprisingly robust. I imagine spending between 1200 - 2200 for the bike and then adding accessories as needed. I would like something with lights built in if possible. Open to folding but it is not necessary. I will order the bike online most likely. I bought my last two bikes (years ago) from Crazy Lenny and got great deals. I have a call into them as well. Thanks for your guidance.

 

[indianajo]

Oddly enough, bikes come in sizes like clothing. Not all bikes fit all riders. Your dimensions help people to guide you to something appropriate. Your preferred riding posture matters a lot.
Different terrain requires different wheels and motors. Riding a bike at the top speeds available now is not a good idea. One must always plan to fall off. I do every couple of years, less on the current frame.
The $999 bikes are mostly made of imitation steel or aluminum and frequently require adjustments to spokes, wheels, cables, brakes chains and shifters. Same as the $299 unpowered bikes sold to throw away at 500 miles. Your upper price point can buy you a trouble free ride. Country of origin is no indicator, my $1900 trouble free yuba came from the same country as the cheapest garbage. Depends on who pays the QA inspector the highest, I suppose, the importer or the production manager.
Here is the category of lightweight bikes. Most have 25 or 30 mm tires which are a pain in the *** if you hit a pothole. https://electricbikereview.com/forums/forum/light/ I like my yuba bike with 2.1"/55 mm tires & no suspension. Road bike posture common in that category, back flat, hips up, head down, neck flexed, is not for everybody.
Cannondale and Orbea are two participants in the lightweight market that don't get a lot of complaints about defects.

 

[Art Deco]

If you are just tooling around the campground and maybe 10 miles or so into town, I'd imagine any 20 inch folder is fine, if you can find a lightweight one. I would not want to lift a 70 or 80 pound bike onto a hitch rack even if your rack would work. I also bought my bikes for my RV and just abandoned the folding idea.

 

[Elkman]

All the e-bike racks will support up to 80 lbs with no problems. It is when one needs a rack for two e-bikes that weight is a consideration. For RV use I went with bikes with cargo type racks instead of the lightweight racks one finds on regular road or city bikes. The Radpower bike RadRunner 1 is such a bike with bosses for adding fenders and priced at $1300 or their RadRunner Plus at $1800 that has fenders and lights and a rear seat cushion that can be unbolted from the rear rack so as to mount a better carrier or side baskets.

The drawback with the RadRunner bikes is their 3.3" wide tires that can be a problem with some off the shelf bike racks. Their RadCity has 2.3" wide tires, OK rear rack, fenders, and lights, and sells for $1,600. It is heavy at 66 lbs but again that should not be a problem for a rack for a single bike.

With any e-bike I would verify whether the battery pack can be easily removed from the bike for charging. Most e-bikes are designed for charging with the bike near a wall outlet in a garage and not for charging inside an RV or having to run an extension cord to the bike while it is on the rack at the back of the RV (which makes it more enticing to thieves).