middle-aged folks looking for comfortable e-bikes for a little help on steep hills

[Mark23]

My wife (5' 3.5") and I (5'9") are in our mid 60s, ride maybe 1/week for an hour on paved surfaces and just need some help with the steep hills - otherwise, we want to peddle but are concerned that with e-bikes fewer gears and more weight, that may be harder than with our regular bikes. We are looking for E-bikes in the $800 - $1,800 range. We like being upright for comfort with the swept-back handlebars (or one that can change-out the handlebars), and prefer a lighter bike without huge tires (ie, a normal looking bike; we understand it may be impossible to get this under 50 lbs so we can be a little flexible there). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rich c]

If you get some ebikes, I predict your biking frequency will go way up. I'm 64 and put on 2,000 miles last year, 1,700 so far this year. You can get lighter bikes, but will be short distance riding due to small battery packs. For your price bracket, I suggest the RadCity Commuter bike. It will give you racks to carry panniers and that let's you pack a lunch. I find that suspension forks, suspension seat post, and medium sized tires make for a very comfortable ride for my aging joints.

 

[Alphbetadog]

If you already have comfortable bikes that you like, and you are reasonably handy, consider getting an ebike kit such as the ones from Electric Bike Outfitter (EBO) http://www.electricbikeoutfitters.com/index.aspx I put these kits on both my wife's and my old "comfort" bikes and we love them, and ride a LOT more than we used to do since hills and headwinds are no big deal. You can dial in up to 5 levels of assistance so you still get as much exercise as you want, yet don't have to worry about getting pooped out half way home. I've gotten over 43 miles and still had a bar of battery left. EBO's Phantom kit is pretty nice.

 

[Katman4532]

I'm wondering if you've ever ridden an Electra Townie? This would be a great cruiser to put an Ebike kit on (in
my opinion). The first one I rode, I was hooked. The Townie has 2 inch tires which I really like. A very comfortable
bike.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks for your reply. I have an existing bike that I like - if I were going to go the kit route, I would add it to that. Same for my wife. It just seemed that for the price of the kit, I might as well get a bike designed to be an electric bike. But if I don't find what I'm looking for, maybe I should revisit the kit approach. If you added a kit to this bike, I would like to hear more about your experience and whether the kit gives you the typical benefits of e-bikes - peddle assist, throttle, display, adequate power, etc. Thanks, Mark.

I'm wondering if you've ever ridden an Electra Townie? This would be a great cruiser to put an Ebike kit on (in
my opinion). The first one I rode, I was hooked. The Townie has 2 inch tires which I really like. A very comfortable
bike.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks for the kit recommendations as we do have bikes we like. It just seemed that for the price of the kit, I might as well get a bike designed to be an electric bike. But if I don't find the e-bike we're looking for, I will definitely take a closer look at the kit option. Not sure we qualify as reasonably handy, whom do you think could do the installation - we have a few e-bike stores in the Atlanta area, so they might do that sort of thing. Thanks, Mark.

If you already have comfortable bikes that you like, and you are reasonably handy, consider getting an ebike kit such as the ones from Electric Bike Outfitter (EBO) http://www.electricbikeoutfitters.com/index.aspx I put these kits on both my wife's and my old "comfort" bikes and we love them, and ride a LOT more than we used to do since hills and headwinds are no big deal. You can dial in up to 5 levels of assistance so you still get as much exercise as you want, yet don't have to worry about getting pooped out half way home. I've gotten over 43 miles and still had a bar of battery left.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks for your suggestion - it looks like a nice bike, like many I've seen. But from the pics it looks like it lacks the swept-back handlebars we wanted. At one bike store we went to, they didn't seem to crazy about the idea of swapping out handlebars, so I don't know if that is an option. Thanks, Mark.

If you get some ebikes, I predict your biking frequency will go way up. I'm 64 and put on 2,000 miles last year, 1,700 so far this year. You can get lighter bikes, but will be short distance riding due to small battery packs. For your price bracket, I suggest the RadCity Commuter bike. It will give you racks to carry panniers and that let's you pack a lunch. I find that suspension forks, suspension seat post, and medium sized tires make for a very comfortable ride for my aging joints.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Where are you located. We strongly recommend buying from a local dealer who will support during and after the sale. We sell two bikes that may meet your needs. The CF1 from BESV and the e-City from Smart Motion. Both of these bikes are under $2K and are very easy to mount and ride. What we strongly recommend is that you never buy a bike unless your can test ride it first. Geometry and the way it fits and feels to you is of utmost importance. A bike that has the wrong geometry will not be comfortable and hence ridden little.. test ride as often as you can to develop a frame of reference.

 

[Dewey]

Juiced OceanCurrent has beach cruiser styling, very wide sweeping back handlebars, both high and mid-step frames, 26" wheels with wide 2.35" tires for a lower riding height and comfort, a 48v rear hub motor, mechanical disk brakes, weighing 51lb, for $1300. It has pedal assist with a torque sensor that modulates power depending on how hard you pedal, and a thumb throttle. The battery is mounted in the center of the bike on the down tube that distributes the weight.

Raleigh Superbe iE has classic bicycle styling, standard width swept back handlebars, both diamond and step-through frames, larger 700c/28" wheels with 1 5/8" regular bicycle tires, a 48v rear hub motor, rim brakes, fenders chainguard and rack, weighing 50.2lb, for $1500. It has pedal assist with a cadence sensing motor on/off switch, no throttle. The battery is mounted on top of the rack and with the motor in the rear wheel hub the handling may feel a little rear heavy. Another model, the Raleigh Retroglide has cruiser styling, 26" wheels with wider 2 1/4" tires for lower riding height and comfort, a 48v Currie mid-drive motor so weight is distributed, an optional boost button throttle, but is slightly heavier at 57.5lb, for $1900.

If you are interested in a crank forward ebike the Luna Smoothie is a conversion of the KHS Smoothie cruiser frame, with 26" wheels and a 3-speed IGH with the step-through frame for $1780. The low adjustable seatpost, 26" wheels, and low step over height of the step-through frame provide an upright riding position, and the powerful BBSHD mid-drive motor is a $100 option that would get you up any hill, but you don't get a warranty unless you spend more, also the photos on the Luna website don't show a chainguard so if desired you would need to contact Luna to ask if the stock KHS chainguard can be made to work with their conversion or try to make one fit using frame clamps as the typical bottom bracket mounts won't work with a BBS motor, also there's no Luna Cycle shop network unlike with Juiced or Raleigh so you would need to find a KHS dealer to test ride the frame, and an independent ebike shop that services bafang mid-drive motors.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks for your reply, we're in Atlanta, GA, and haven't found a bike locally that suits us. Only the stores that specialize in e-bikes actually have them on the floor. Looking at the gallery photos for the CF1, it doesn't appear to have the swept-back handlebars, but in some of the rotating pics, it does look like it has them. The E-City looks like a good bike too. Thanks for your suggestions, Mark.

Where are you located. We strongly recommend buying from a local dealer who will support during and after the sale. We sell two bikes that may meet your needs. The CF1 from BESV and the e-City from Smart Motion. Both of these bikes are under $2K and are very easy to mount and ride. What we strongly recommend is that you never buy a bike unless your can test ride it first. Geometry and the way it fits and feels to you is of utmost importance. A bike that has the wrong geometry will not be comfortable and hence ridden little.. test ride as often as you can to develop a frame of reference.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks for your reply and suggestions, I'll definitely check them out, Mark.

Juiced OceanCurrent has beach cruiser styling, very wide sweeping back handlebars, both high and mid-step frames, 26" wheels with wide 2.35" tires for a lower riding height and comfort, a 48v rear hub motor, mechanical disk brakes, weighing 51lb, for $1300. It has pedal assist with a torque sensor that modulates power depending on how hard you pedal, and a thumb throttle. The battery is mounted in the center of the bike on the down tube that distributes the weight.

Raleigh Superbe iE has classic bicycle styling, standard width swept back handlebars, both diamond and step-through frames, larger 700c/28" wheels with 1 5/8" regular bicycle tires, a 48v rear hub motor, rim brakes, fenders chainguard and rack, weighing 50.2lb, for $1500. It has pedal assist with a cadence sensing motor on/off switch, no throttle. The battery is mounted on top of the rack and with the motor in the rear wheel hub the handling may feel a little rear heavy. Another model, the Raleigh Retroglide has cruiser styling, 26" wheels with wider 2 1/4" tires for lower riding height and comfort, a 48v Currie mid-drive motor so weight is distributed, an optional boost button throttle, but is slightly heavier at 57.5lb, for $1900.

If you are interested in a crank forward ebike the Luna Smoothie is a conversion of the KHS Smoothie cruiser frame, with 26" wheels and a 3-speed IGH with the step-through frame for $1780. The low adjustable seatpost, 26" wheels, and low step over height of the step-through frame provide an upright riding position, and the powerful BBSHD mid-drive motor is a $100 option that would get you up any hill, but you don't get a warranty unless you spend more, also the photos on the Luna website don't show a chainguard so if desired you would need to contact Luna to ask if the stock KHS chainguard can be made to work with their conversion or try to make one fit using frame clamps as the typical bottom bracket mounts won't work with a BBS motor, also there's no Luna Cycle shop network unlike with Juiced or Raleigh so you would need to find a KHS dealer to test ride the frame, and an independent ebike shop that services bafang mid-drive motors.

 

[Dewey]

Thanks for your reply and suggestions, I'll definitely check them out, Mark.

Great! There's a (Link Removed - No Longer Exists) in Chattanooga, TN, that is a dealer for both Raleigh and Juiced.

 

[Mark23]

Thanks, we were planning to go there in the Fall! Mark