Looking to replace an bike and borrowed it to three for now.

[m56ewt]

Hello everyone,I’m looking for some opinions. My wife and I currently own Lectric XP‘s and she is not happy with the weight and style of the bike. We are also both looking for a more traditional bike, but more importantly, more distance.

After much research, I think I have narrowed it down to 3 bikes (unless someone else can impress me with something more intriguing.) We are looking at the Cannondale Tesoro Neo X3, the Priority Current and the OHM Quest. The Cannondale can have second battery option and the Priority Current they have one in the works. The Ohm Quest appears to have enough distance with the standard bike. I believe all bikes are available at the moment. One thing I like about the Cannondale and the Priority is local bike shops as I live in NJ and REI sell the Cannondale and the Priority is close enough in NY.

Any help/suggestion with this choice would be much appreciated.

 

[6zfshdb]

Without knowing more of your particular needs & preferences, it's difficult to recommend other bike models. If you are limiting your search to bikes with a particular max range and / or a second battery option, keep in mind you can always carry a spare battery in a rear rack bag or pannier. Many of us here carry a spare and simply swap batteries mid ride. Using this approach may open up your search to many other bike models.

 

[m56ewt]

I would like suspension, but its not a must. We are RV’ so the ability to ride on any surface would be great. We are not mountain bikers, so nothing crazy. Would prefer the tires on the the ones listed over the fat tire. We can just purchase another battery, but don’t really want To carry or switch halfway through ride. If we were guaranteed 60 miles per charge, that would be more then enough. Would also like upgraded components of the above listed bikes over the Lectric.

Basically just looking for suggestions from. People who know more then me (which is not difficult) or have a bike they really like that gets the mileage we are looking for. We will have a small driveable RV and don’t want to have to worry about a need to bring another means of transportation. Also, the Lectric can not get wet. I want something that will handle rain if we get caught in it. low to mid 50’s in pounds would be great too. Upright is better as I have had 3 back surgeries.

 

[AHicks]

I might be able to shed some light on one of your factors - range. Not having ANY idea of what would work best, I made the mistake of TOO MUCH range on my first e-bike. That thing would go 50 miles easily. What I learned though, is that no matter what I tried, my butt had a 20 mile range. That was it!

Lesson being, the weight of the excess amount of battery I was lugging around was like an anchor - and totally not necessary. Be careful what you wish for! -Al

 

[6zfshdb]

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

The bikes you mention above are all good choices "on paper" but until you test ride, you have no way of knowing how well they will suit you. I can't stress enough the value of test riding as many bikes as you can! The type of motor, the number of gears, cadence & torque sensors, a throttle, the number of PAS levels all make a huge difference in the way a bike handles. The best bike is the one that you are comfortable with and may not be the one recommended by someone else. By all means listen to the advice of others but make your own choice based on what works best for you!

Finding a bike with everything you want is next to impossible. Most e-bikes use a variety of standard bicycle parts & accessories. Things like tires, seats and handlebars can easily be changed to suit your needs.

The number of bikes available these days with rear suspension is somewhat limited. This is especially true for bikes designed for upright riding. Unless you do a lot of off roading on rough trails, you could probably use a quality suspension seatpost instead. Products from Kinekt, Redshift and Thudbuster are all excellent at smoothing out the ride. Keep in mind that these suspension posts require around 4" of seat rail to seat tube clearance. Check your measurements before buying,

Looking for a bike with an upright riding position also limits your choices. Many bikes can be easily & cheaply modified with a stem riser and / or handlebar change. If you go this route, make sure there is enough slack available in the control cable & wiring harness to allow this alteration.

Whether you carry a spare battery or have it built into the bike, you are still riding with the same weight. Bikes with integrated batteries can be difficult or impossible to remove for transport. this means you have to lift the weight of the bike & battery when loading onto a rack.

The range published by bike makers can be deceiving. Maximum range is determined mostly by battery capacity and the amount of effort you are willing to contribute. Any e-bike will have unlimited range if you do all the work. For the average rider, a very rough rule of thumb is 14 watts per mile. A 48V, 15ah battery will yield 720 watt hours. Divide that by 14 and you can expect to get around a 50 mile range. Things like wind, bike & rider weight, efficiency of the bike motor and slope & surface conditions all come into play but the 14 watt / mile is a good way to estimate a bike's range.

Most e-bikes I'm familiar with are reasonably waterproof. Excluding complete submersion, most are capable of handling rain or a gentle washing. I've been transporting my three e-bikes on an open rack thru many rain storms for 3 seasons now and have not had an issue. It is always best to check with the bike maker for recommendations however. In my case, I cover the display and controls with canvas sleeves to keep out water, bugs & debris. I remove the battery and cover the contacts. I also remove the seat and cap the seat tube to further reduce the transport weight. My bikes require no other protection. The subject of waterproofing has been discussed here many times. You might try doing a search to find ideas for protecting a particular bike make.

One of the major considerations for me when bike shopping was future parts & service availability . Sticking to a major brand with a brick & mortar nationwide footprint is the best way to deal with these issues.

These are just my opinions. I'm sure others will chime in with other good ideas & suggestions.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your search!

 

[m56ewt]

I might be able to shed some light on one of your factors - range. Not having ANY idea of what would work best, I made the mistake of TOO MUCH range on my first e-bike. That thing would go 50 miles easily. What I learned though, is that no matter what I tried, my butt had a 20 mile range. That was it!

Lesson being, the weight of the excess amount of battery I was lugging around was like an anchor - and totally not necessary. Be careful what you wish for! -Al

Lol, thanks Al. The Lectric bikes we have given us a max distance of 33 miles on flat ground. We are in good shape and pedal the entire way, but we do like the speed of 15-20 mph. Our butts were talking, but we wanted a little more distance to avoid that battery anxiety that tends to be there.

Thanks again for the info,

Marc

 

[m56ewt]

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

The bikes you mention above are all good choices "on paper" but until you test ride, you have no way of knowing how well they will suit you. I can't stress enough the value of test riding as many bikes as you can! The type of motor, the number of gears, cadence & torque sensors, a throttle, the number of PAS levels all make a huge difference in the way a bike handles. The best bike is the one that you are comfortable with and may not be the one recommended by someone else. By all means listen to the advice of others but make your own choice based on what works best for you!

Finding a bike with everything you want is next to impossible. Most e-bikes use a variety of standard bicycle parts & accessories. Things like tires, seats and handlebars can easily be changed to suit your needs.

The number of bikes available these days with rear suspension is somewhat limited. This is especially true for bikes designed for upright riding. Unless you do a lot of off roading on rough trails, you could probably use a quality suspension seatpost instead. Products from Kinekt, Redshift and Thudbuster are all excellent at smoothing out the ride. Keep in mind that these suspension posts require around 4" of seat rail to seat tube clearance. Check your measurements before buying,

Looking for a bike with an upright riding position also limits your choices. Many bikes can be easily & cheaply modified with a stem riser and / or handlebar change. If you go this route, make sure there is enough slack available in the control cable & wiring harness to allow this alteration.

Whether you carry a spare battery or have it built into the bike, you are still riding with the same weight. Bikes with integrated batteries can be difficult or impossible to remove for transport. this means you have to lift the weight of the bike & battery when loading onto a rack.

The range published by bike makers can be deceiving. Maximum range is determined mostly by battery capacity and the amount of effort you are willing to contribute. Any e-bike will have unlimited range if you do all the work. For the average rider, a very rough rule of thumb is 14 watts per mile. A 48V, 15ah battery will yield 720 watt hours. Divide that by 14 and you can expect to get around a 50 mile range. Things like wind, bike & rider weight, efficiency of the bike motor and slope & surface conditions all come into play but the 14 watt / mile is a good way to estimate a bike's range.

Most e-bikes I'm familiar with are reasonably waterproof. Excluding complete submersion, most are capable of handling rain or a gentle washing. I've been transporting my three e-bikes on an open rack thru many rain storms for 3 seasons now and have not had an issue. It is always best to check with the bike maker for recommendations however. In my case, I cover the display and controls with canvas sleeves to keep out water, bugs & debris. I remove the battery and cover the contacts. I also remove the seat and cap the seat tube to further reduce the transport weight. My bikes require no other protection. The subject of waterproofing has been discussed here many times. You might try doing a search to find ideas for protecting a particular bike make.

One of the major considerations for me when bike shopping was future parts & service availability . Sticking to a major brand with a brick & mortar nationwide footprint is the best way to deal with these issues.

These are just my opinions. I'm sure others will chime in with other good ideas & suggestions.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your search!

Wow, that was informative and I appreciate you taking the time to reply. As fas as suspension goes, we only really want (but don’t need) it in the front as our Lectric bikes don’t have it and you feel everything even with the fat tires at around 20psi. We do love the power that the Lectric bike has. It is quick and fun to ride.

One other point I forgot to mention is we would love a bike like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL for its weight. There are times were we wouldn’t mind riding the bike like a regular bike, but that is tough to do on the Lectric. The 33 pound of Vado SL is great, but the fact that the battery can not be removed is a deal breaker. We store the bikes in the garage and it is too cold in the winter for the batteries to stay out there.

I know the company OHM has been around for 15 years, so I believe parts should not be a problem. I like the minimum range of 60 miles (more then enough) and I could get a stem riser for more of an upright ride. I’ve had 3 back surgeries, so leaning is not always the best for me. The drawback there is they are in Canada and I am in NJ. A test ride would be a problem. It pretty much looks like is has everything else I would want.

Well thank you for all the info you have provided, it has been helpful.

Marc

 

[Achterbahn]

I won't give any opinions here as I don't have a whole lot of experience. I wanted to say I have a Current and, if you haven't yet, check out my posts about it in this thread(read from the linked post to the end, lots of updates). Priority already sells replacement batteries, they cost $600. The Current can be bought for $3000 from their website with discounts and used to be available on Costco here, but I don't have a membership anymore and can't check. If you have questions about it, let me know. I'll leave the advice portion to the wise folks in the forum.

 

[PedalUma]

These two are being picked up in an hour. Steel frames are super comfy - fact check and you will see. This sort of bike has internal gears and an upright riding position. The range on these batteries is about 60 miles on the flats with some starts and stops. But will your butt want to ever ride for three hours straight? It is more efficient to ditch any extra weight. Extra battery weight is just like any other weight.
Also put the weight in the middle and low on a bike. This is like putting the fat kid in the middle of a teeter-totter, so it does not interfere with riding dynamics such as going up and down curbs. Full suspensions are overrated. Air-forks are great. Chromoly forks are springy.

 

[Taylor57]

You never mentioned your budget. For 3k you could get a Sport and Flow from Espin...

 

[6zfshdb]

Wow, that was informative and I appreciate you taking the time to reply. As fas as suspension goes, we only really want (but don’t need) it in the front as our Lectric bikes don’t have it and you feel everything even with the fat tires at around 20psi. We do love the power that the Lectric bike has. It is quick and fun to ride.

One other point I forgot to mention is we would love a bike like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL for its weight. There are times were we wouldn’t mind riding the bike like a regular bike, but that is tough to do on the Lectric. The 33 pound of Vado SL is great, but the fact that the battery can not be removed is a deal breaker. We store the bikes in the garage and it is too cold in the winter for the batteries to stay out there.

I know the company OHM has been around for 15 years, so I believe parts should not be a problem. I like the minimum range of 60 miles (more then enough) and I could get a stem riser for more of an upright ride. I’ve had 3 back surgeries, so leaning is not always the best for me. The drawback there is they are in Canada and I am in NJ. A test ride would be a problem. It pretty much looks like is has everything else I would want.

Well thank you for all the info you have provided, it has been helpful.

Marc

I'm not sure where you are in NJ but if you're near the center of the state, you might make a stop at Sourland Cycles in Hopewell:

Electric Bikes Sales and Service in Hopewell, Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset and New Jersey - Sourland Electric Bikes - Sourland Cycles

Test ride an electric bike at Sourland Electric Bikes, New Jersey’s largest selection of Pedego, the best quality-value brand, and Swedish Blix.

www.sourlandcycles.com

They carry Pedego, Blix, Specialized & Giant. I test rode them all at their store before buying a Pedego Platinum Interceptor. A bit spendy at around $4K but it had most of what I wanted and was easily adaptable for an upright riding position. I routinely get a 60 mile range per charge by staying in PAS 1 & 2.

 

[m56ewt]

I'm not sure where you are in NJ but if you're near the center of the state, you might make a stop at Sourland Cycles in Hopewell:

Electric Bikes Sales and Service in Hopewell, Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset and New Jersey - Sourland Electric Bikes - Sourland Cycles

Test ride an electric bike at Sourland Electric Bikes, New Jersey’s largest selection of Pedego, the best quality-value brand, and Swedish Blix.

www.sourlandcycles.com

They carry Pedego, Blix, Specialized & Giant. I test rode them all at their store before buying a Pedego Platinum Interceptor. A bit spendy at around $4K but it had most of what I wanted and was easily adaptable for an upright riding position. I routinely get a 60 mile range per charge by staying in PAS 1 & 2.

I’m ten minutes from there. Will definitely take a look. Thanks

 

[m56ewt]

You never mentioned your budget. For 3k you could get a Sport and Flow from Espin...

Wouldn’t want to go more then $4000. Will take a look at the sport and flow. Thanks

 

[m56ewt]

I won't give any opinions here as I don't have a whole lot of experience. I wanted to say I have a Current and, if you haven't yet, check out my posts about it in this thread(read from the linked post to the end, lots of updates). Priority already sells replacement batteries, they cost $600. The Current can be bought for $3000 from their website with discounts and used to be available on Costco here, but I don't have a membership anymore and can't check. If you have questions about it, let me know. I'll leave the advice portion to the wise folks in the forum.

Started reading your posts and they are very informative. Great for people like me trying to make decisions. I have been emailing back and forth with someone from Priority Bikes and they are amazing with their customer service. They also mentioned that a second battery option is in the works for the current and future bikes by priority which is intriguing.
Thanks for you input,
Marc

 

[PedalUma]

When you test ride take them each up and down curbs several times to test the handling. Some bikes do this with grace. Some will get pinch flats, want to fall over and will have broken spokes and damaged rims. It is a safety issue incase you hit a pothole or need to perform an accident avoidance maneuver.

 

[Achterbahn]

Started reading your posts and they are very informative. Great for people like me trying to make decisions. I have been emailing back and forth with someone from Priority Bikes and they are amazing with their customer service. They also mentioned that a second battery option is in the works for the current and future bikes by priority which is intriguing.
Thanks for you input,
Marc

Do you mean they're working on a larger battery?

 

[m56ewt]

Do you mean they're working on a larger battery?

No, a second battery that runs with the other.

 

[PedalUma]

No, a second battery that runs with the other.

A range extender.

 

[Achterbahn]

A range extender.

Ah! Yes, they have bottle cage mounts right opposite to the battery - I guess that makes sense, similar to specialized.

 

[PedalUma]

I am loving running bikes off of what are exclusively "range extenders."
It makes them very light, fast with great handling and the range is amazing because the weight kept is so low. I used to think that bigger is better - I was wrong. You can see a few of these recent builds at pedaluma.com, if you are interested.