Looking to buy 1st ebike - $1200 range

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duketg

New Member
Hi All,

I'm considering getting an ebike and looking for opinions. Here's what I am looking for:

- bike for commuting: 10mi each way outside of Boulder, CO. Commute is somewhat hilly -- maybe 3-4% grade hill for the last mile or so.
- part of the commute is on a soft surface path (crushers). Not sure if this makes a difference, but thought I'd include it
- me: late 30s, 5'9", 170lb
- Looking for pedal assist to get me to work (hopefully) without needing a shower once I get there (tho showers are available).
- not looking to go crazy fast. I doubt I'd feel comfortable going much above 20mph. Throttle would be nice, but not opposed to assist only.
- would like to stay around $1200, preferably less, could go a bit higher.
- I've been considering single-speed. I like the idea of a simpler drivetrain, but I'm concerned about hills/having to spin like crazy. Thoughts on this?
- Not too worried about suspension.

Bikes I've been thinking about:

Ride1up Roadster Ghost (love the look, love the price, love the included rack/fenders, wish the battery was detachable to charge at work).
Ride1up 500 MTB (a bit more expensive, would probably end up buying fenders and a rack, but has detachable battery and gears)
Propella V2.4 7spd (same notes as above, like the style a lot)

Open to other ideas as well.

There are a number of LBSs here that sell electric bikes, but they tend to be more expensive than I'm willing to go right now. (however, I just checked one of them and they have a 2016 iZIP e3 Dash marked down to $1500, so maybe I spoke too soon. They also have a few Raleigh iE bikes available in the $1300 range).

If i do buy online, I would probably take the bike to an LBS to be assembled, etc.

Thanks for the input!

ETA: I'm probably not going to build my own at this point. I can change a flat but otherwise I can't do much of my own tuneup work. And I'd prefer a bike with a decent warranty to needing to fix things myself.
 
Wow, yeah, the Pace 350 would seem to check all the boxes. Looks like I'll be hitting refresh on Aventon.com until it shows up :)

I also was looking at the Rad City, but it's more that i'd like to spend.
 
I just did a similar search at a slightly higher price point - if I had your budget I would go with the Ride1up 500 MTB due to the 500 w motor (though I don’t know the torque which is what you really should look at to compare) over the Aventon 350 (which I assume is a 350 w motor). With the rack and fenders the Ride1up is $1200.
 
I purchased 2 Pace 500's a few weeks ago for my wife and I and really impressed with the quality. I know you are looking at a 350 w motor, but the quality of the components and support have been really great
 
The Ride1up with Rack, fenders, and the upgraded computer is around 1250. The Aventon 350 would probably be $1100 with a rack and fenders. So for another $150 I'd be getting the 500W motor, 48V battery, and a front suspension. That doesn't sound like a bad deal, but I also don't know that I need those things.

I also am a little worried that Ride1up is a fairly new entity, whereas Aventon has been around for a couple years (the company at least, if not their ebike line).

Tyler S, did you eventually settle on a bike?
 
Yeah it all becomes a slippery slope on pricing - and people will tell you that you HAVE to spend more, but that's not realistic for most of us, who approach these things with sometimes firm budgets. I did - I actually had settled on a Juiced CrossCurrent S which is on sale for $1700, when I saw someone on this forum who was selling a used 9-month old one for $1050, so I bought that.
 
Just a heads up that the Ride1up 500 went up another $100 to $1200 so with rack & fenders, lcd display you are looking at $1350. The choice between the Ride1up 500 (25mph) and the Aventon 500 (28mph, hydraulic brakes, +$50 suspension fork) is getting harder than ever.
 
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Buying a 2016 Izip ebike, even if "new", you get a battery that's been on shelf for 2 years. You want to them to warranty the battery (for whatever that's worth).

AZoldtech, don't you own a Ride1up? Wouldja buy another one?
 
harryS said:
Buying a 2016 Izip ebike, even if "new", you get a battery that's been on shelf for 2 years. You want to them to warranty the battery (for whatever that's worth).

AZoldtech, don't you own a Ride1up? Wouldja buy another one?
Click to expand...
If the price was still $999 like it was originally, no question about it I would buy it again. But after 2 price increases and still no LCD display as standard (which IMO is a required purchase as the only LCD display that will work is a Lishui display, not a Bafang display, due to the Lishui controller being used), you are looking at $1255. The Aventon 500 has certain advantages over the Ride1up. The Aventon 500 is a true class 3 ebike at 28mph, has hydraulic brakes (which IMO are a class above mechanical brakes for safety), comes standard with bosses for rack and fender (it will cost you $40 extra to add bosses on the Ride1Up so you can add your own rack & fenders instead of buying the $100 Ride1up set), has a Bafant LCD display, has a 10% bigger battery, has better gearing (which will cost you extra on the Ride1up to change the freewheel/chainring), has better tires, but does NOT have a headlight (but you can add a much brighter headlight/tail light USB rechargeable combo for $20 than the low lumens ride1up headlight), and does NOT have a suspension fork but you can add one for $60 WITH a lockout (which the low end suspension fork of the Ride1Up does NOT have - meaning a lockout - and forks IMO need that if you riding a lot on paved roads).
They are both very nice bikes and at $999 the Ride1up was an easy decision to make. At $1255 it is not. Given my need for ever faster speed, had the price back when I bought my Ride1up was $1255 with the LCD display, I "probably" would have chosen the Aventon 500 on class 3 speed and hydraulic brakes alone. But they are both excellent built bikes, make no mistake about it, and my Ride1Up has been a workhorse for all the miles that I've put on it. And Ride1up support is fast and awesome. So you have to value individually the items that I mention above to make your decision.
 
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AZOldTech said:
Just a heads up that the Ride1up 500 went up another $100 to $1200 so with rack & fenders, lcd display you are looking at $1350. The choice between the Ride1up 500 (25mph) and the Aventon 500 (28mph, hydraulic brakes, +$50 suspension fork) is getting harder than ever.
Click to expand...

Ugh yes I did see that this weekend. I had almost made the decision to just pull the trigger on a 1up MTB and had posted on reddit hoping Kevin would answer a couple questions, and then later that night saw the price went up. Not good timing.

I also noticed that Propella dropped the prices of the 7spd down to 1199 and the SS down to 999. The Ride1up seems to be a better value still, but it's definitely a harder choice.

I do think the Propella is a great looking bike.
 
Nice report, AZoldtech. Really, if it offers hydraulic disks, it's an easy decision for a Class III, although I would prefer a Class II that has a readily removeable speed limiter. Throttles are quite handy for starting.
 
Ok, I just pulled the trigger on a Ride1up 500 MTB. I actually emailed Kevin and he was gracious enough to give me a code for $80 off the new price, which almost takes it back to the original pricing.

FYI, on the Ride1up About page you can get a code for $40 off if you pledge to replace two car trips a month with biking (and no, I was not able to use both codes at the same time ;))

If my commute was flatter and/or the Ghost was able to charge off the bike I think i would have gone for that bike instead. As it is, I think the MTB was the right choice for me. I look forward to posting my thoughts once I get it!
 
duketg said:
Ok, I just pulled the trigger on a Ride1up 500 MTB. I actually emailed Kevin and he was gracious enough to give me a code for $80 off the new price, which almost takes it back to the original pricing.

FYI, on the Ride1up About page you can get a code for $40 off if you pledge to replace two car trips a month with biking (and no, I was not able to use both codes at the same time ;))

If my commute was flatter and/or the Ghost was able to charge off the bike I think i would have gone for that bike instead. As it is, I think the MTB was the right choice for me. I look forward to posting my thoughts once I get it!
Click to expand...

Congrats! I look forward to hearing about your experience. I like Ride1up bikes and you got yourself a great one.
 
duketg said:
Ok, I just pulled the trigger on a Ride1up 500 MTB. I actually emailed Kevin and he was gracious enough to give me a code for $80 off the new price, which almost takes it back to the original pricing.

FYI, on the Ride1up About page you can get a code for $40 off if you pledge to replace two car trips a month with biking (and no, I was not able to use both codes at the same time ;))

If my commute was flatter and/or the Ghost was able to charge off the bike I think i would have gone for that bike instead. As it is, I think the MTB was the right choice for me. I look forward to posting my thoughts once I get it!
Click to expand...
Congrats! You will not be disappointed. If you did not get fenders and rack I recommend you look into this rack https://www.amazon.com/Ibera-Bike-Rack-Frame-Mounted-Adjustable/dp/B00AA8GFSI/ and fenders https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Cascadia-bike-fenders/dp/B0041X603S/
You will need this fork clamp (Size: 34.5-37.5mm) for installing the front fender https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078Y6P65J/
and this 31.8mm seat post clamp to install the rack https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V537I0/
Also a very bright USB rechargeable headlight and tail light, that can be seen during the day and has multiple flash/strobe modes, is this combo for $19
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FZ5H124/
I've been using all these accessories on ALL my bikes, electric and mechanical for years.
 
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Thanks AZOldTech. I thought for a while about whether to do the Ride1up kit or go aftermarket and eventually decided to just get the Ride1up rack and fenders, but it was a tough call. I finally just decided I wanted to have it as complete as possible when it showed up.

Is there a trunk bag you like a lot?
 
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