Losing my mind which mid drive bike direct

Glenmorangie aged in bourbon and sherry casks keeps well, I bought a bottle for my nephew when he was born with a note asking his dad to give the bottle to him when he came of age, 18 years later he kindly gave me a dram on a visit back to the U.K. very smooth.
 
Not to hijack thomas thread but Feliz will be interested to hear what programming changes you do and the results

I also have a yamaha and think it is a great motor and reliable - very efficient
Hoping to like my ultra better though
May have to get one of the eggriders, if I need to do any programming , will research them

What bike are you getting the Ultra with? See my above post to Pushkar from Watt Wagons for a description of my issue. Whatever bike you're getting I'm sure the Utra will be tuned just fine.
 
So you love something like a Townie. ('pedal forward', Flat foot). You seem to be an expert with Kits.

Why not get the benefit of torque sensing in your desired mid drive, by getting a completely tunable TDZ Kit with the APT 850 Color Display ? Can do up to 52 volts, and 750 watts. Open source firmware, and super tune to your hearts content.


If you dont already have the Townie, I'm sure you can easily get one new or used.

Your search for something else OEM complete and new with the requirements you mentioned will not uncover what you want. Been there, done that for 'pedal forward', with desirable mid drive.
 
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The difficulty for me is overcoming being tied to an LBS for support. But the dark side is bearing down.

Thanks again!

You don't necessarily need to be tied to a bike shop. Shimano, for example, is willing to sell the STePS diagnostic tools to do-it-yourselfers. Shimano also lets shops buy parts and sell them to end consumers who want to do their own maintenance. To varying degrees, Bosch and Yamaha also do this (though I think Shimano may do it to the deepest degree).

Yes within the warranty period you will probably want to let your LBS do everything. But once you are out of warranty service, I see no reason you can't do most or all of the rest on your own. I'm coming up with a blank, though, when thinking about a crank-forward STePS bike, sadly. If you stay away from Specialized and Giant (who may have gone too custom for their own good for your tastes), and if you research in advance what each of the big-four motor makers will and won't let you do on your own, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Don't be afraid to PM me for part #s for Shimano STePS parts, if you need to order them from your LBS.
 
You don't necessarily need to be tied to a bike shop.
Gotcha! I’m not aging with grace. Working on builds is quite difficult these days. My hands are worn out and incredibly thin skinned combined with being a profuse bleeder means working with Kevlar sleeves and mechanics glove. Not little nuts and bolt friendly. But being a little nuts helps.

While my independence was once a critical need I’m finding that expanded social contact is a good thing. And no LBS is getting fat on routine motor maintenance.

Looks like I need to make a trip to Madison if I can actually ride each system back to back. Heck I might hate Yamaha but on paper... I have to lower the seats on conventional frame geometry and that does skew the feel and ride review. Or I just give up and swallow a Bosch system from Electra/Trek. I admire their quality battery packs and have some experience with them. Buying cells from rejected Bosch packs. Grade “A” cells but any flaw and Bosch sends entire cell pack to a reseller. Not a repair shop. I wouldn’t be stooping as low as shopping at Walmart, but a fella has to have rules.

Shimano does some cool things. I just gave the neighbor kid a Trek with a front hub generator that powered the automatic 3 speed. Spendy bike in its day and this one had under 100 miles. A failed concept. But really cool to me. I almost did a conversion to a friction drive but the geometry again. That Shimano engineering put them on my very impressive company list.

I fell again last week trying to ride a conventional bike. Flat foot is a must unless I give up and go tricycle. I’m in No hurry to get there. to me, crank forward Townie style is also the safest for spacial awareness. Sitting completely upright face to face level with cages. Despite very bad legs and back, I’m totally comfortable. Suspension seat-posts are the only suspension I need. But after riding a MTB with full suspension, a completely impractical full suspension flat foot might be a dream ride.

I’d hoped we’d have a smashing year but the fooking tariffs murdered any growth. Ending the custom built frame for 2019. Maybe 2020.

Fantastic offer and feedback. Thanks.
 
Tom, here is another decent eBike with the new Shimano Steps Mid-Drive E5000... $1,799 ;)

BD has a bunch of other pedal-forward cruiser style eBikes with BaFang hub drive motors.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/ebikes-electric-bikes-at-near-wholesale.html

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products...cycles/ebikes-electric-bikes-elite-eurban.htm

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Well Tom, I’m just a simple caveman so I can only suggest that since you said you have a great Trek dealer nearby, test a few! You’re a far better bike mechanic than I but I’ve had zero real issues with my Allant+7 to deal with, thank goodness! Same with my wife’s +7 Lowstep. You’d love the PLCX!
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@Dallant: If Thomas hasn't bought any manufactured e-bike since October 2019 it probably means he would never be able to do that, especially with the current market situation 😊
 
@Dallant: If Thomas hasn't bought any manufactured e-bike since October 2019 it probably means he would never be able to do that, especially with the current market situation 😊
Never? Nah. As I’ve said, the Specialized shop I visited recently has a lot of Trek & Specialized ebikes. My shop in town has some but not anything I’d be interested in.
 
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