This is the main hill that I would be riding on almost all of the time. It is approximately .6 miles.
The start address is 1664 Taylor Ave Corona CA 92882
The end address is 2171 Taylor Ave Corona CA 92882
I am hesitant about the 36v 15 amp motor. I am thinking I need the 48v motor. Also, is the Motiv a decent bike? Thank you for your help.
This is a great example! By "riding around town" do you mean stopping at stores to buy things, or simply for exercise/health benefits? If only for health benefits, what heart rate are you targeting? Would you ride the bike in open spaces that are much steeper than streets? If no heart rate, do you actually mean for "enjoyment", rather than "recreation"?
Here are th basic questions:
- How do you expect to feel before and after your ride?
- How much is mental and physical improvement worth to you?
- How far will you ride ?
- How fast will you ride?
- How much load will you carry?
- How steep is the ride?
- How easy or hard will you ride?
My preference is apply cost per ride. It easier for me to answer the question: "how much am I willing to pay for a joy ride or transportation", how much should I pay. Price "anchoring" is a psychological sin according to Daniel Kahneman, who won a Nobel Prize for work on this subject.
For example , my eBike purpose is grocery shopping. A ride to the store is only worth a $2 bus ticket. So, for a $2000 eBike, I need 1000 rides to break even. You could factor other benefits like health or fitness. I have a hard time justifying an eBike unless I ride it once a week for 20 years, because I run to the store (1000 rides / 50 weeks per year = 20 years). If you drive to the store, then you might break even within 5 years, or less.
First, You need to clearly identify your purpose and benefits worth paying for. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and money. It makes little sense to budget without knowing if the bike is a good investment. Other options may provide greater value. For example, you plan to ride to stores the
Motiv Sherpa is a much better value, for an additional $500. The Sherpa is only a 48V bike
I do not know how you plan to benefit from the bike. I assume the worst case. You need a strong, center-mounted motor for this general area. I suggest starting with something like the
Haibike FS RX, around $5000. Work your way down to $2000 by making careful trade-offs.
Let's look at the bigger picture from
West 6th and South Lincoln Ave (220 meter elevation) to Lincoln Ave and West Foothill Parkwaye (310m) . Then, up the trail to 700m in Montecito Ranch Park. Is this too wide of an area for you?
The first is ~90m / ~1800m = 05% grade. Five percent grade is significant for most people over 60 years old.
The second leg is ~300m / ~3300m = 9% grade. Every 2.5% is significant. The two routes are very different. You will notice a difference in sweat and breathing.
I train for running on a similar 10% hill and pass bicyclists around 9mph. I also carry over 30 pounds of groceries up the hill. I am extremely fast, ran a 25 minute 5 mile, ~12mph. One time, caught a 60 year old woman who was halfway up the hill. I was carrying about 30 pounds of groceries in the fanny pack, which she very sagely guessed the weight.
My articles are the #1 Google Search search results for "electric bicycle cost benefit" searches. Please read the following articles. I can help you narrow your choices after we are on the same page.
http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/cost-benefit-analysis-felt-mountain-or-ebike.1323/
http://electricbikereview.com/commu...omparison-google-spreadsheet-for-ebikes.1386/