Need help choosing proper e-bike

[jergal]

Hi everyone, I am in need of help in choosing the proper e-bike. I used to have one, it was a chinese brand (I don't want to disclose it, since though quality was lacking, the support was stellar), but it didn't work out. Mainly I think due to weight issues, I weigh around 165 kg, and most of the e-bikes I was looking at, are capped at max weight 130ish.

My budget is 3000 CAD, and I would like to avoid converted ones, cause I'm afraid I'll fumble during conversion. Would be grateful immensely for any help\counseling.

 

[indianajo]

Your height & leg length matter. I ride a bike rated at 400 lb, shown left. It is for short legged people. Age matters. I have to have a drop frame due to age & stiffness. Location matters. People riding in the Canadian Rockies on long steep up grades are limited to mid drives because of heat issues. Mid drive owners have to pay the penalty of higher price, more replacement expensive batteries, less utility if the electricity fails in the rain, & frequent chain replacement.

 

[jergal]

Your height & leg length matter. I ride a bike rated at 400 lb, shown left. It is for short legged people. Age matters. I have to have a drop frame due to age & stiffness. Location matters. People riding in the Canadian Rockies on long steep up grades are limited to mid drives because of heat issues. Mid drive owners have to pay the penalty of higher price, more replacement expensive batteries, less utility if the electricity fails in the rain, & frequent chain replacement.

Yeah, I know that. The problem is that just can't seem to find a bike that rated like that. The only one I found was Shengmilo mx02s, but I am hesitant after reading reviews on it.

 

[indianajo]

I'm not recommending anything for you until I know the above. Your budget tends to limit you to the bikes made of scrap containing lead, copper, zinc, aluminum in the grey metal that is supposed to hold you up. Doesn't work. Lots of broken spokes, bent rims or seat post, stretching control cables, even fractured frames in the bottom end of the bike market. The 7 speed shimano axle on cheap bikes comes unscrewed & drops balls out on the road due to cost cutter design. Ask me how I know? Pacific Quantum.
My yubabike which has been very substantial after ~7500 miles, only cost $1900 but had no motor and was $2820 after conversion. Also it is too small for 99% of the population. That is why yuba discontinued it. I'm supposed to buy a single speed bike with rim brakes, pink, with a picture of Holly Hobbie on the seat.
Yuba didn't tell me the weight limit before purchase, it was only on a sticker on the side of the bike.
The go to bike for big people or heavy camping gear, surlybikes, has discontinued their electric models.
My yubabike was made in ***** just like everything else, but their QA team managed to sort out the scrap metal suppliers and didn't take a bribe the day they made my bike.
You can save $500 to $1000 by buying a geared hub motor bike instead of a mid drive bike. Why I'm not recommending anything until you name a province or terrain you intend to ride on. Geared hub motor is totally unsuited to 1000' climbs in an hour of the Canadian Rockies. My geared hub motor performs well on 80 hills up to 15% grade with 330 lb gross load here in Indiana. Also less chain maintenance of geared hub motor. Also you can pedal yourself home without power without drag if you run the battery down or get caught in a rainstorm as I did July 9. 50 miles unpowered, try that with a Bosch Active line mid drive.

 

[jergal]

I'm not recommending anything for you until I know the above. Your budget tends to limit you to the bikes made of scrap containing lead, copper, zinc, aluminum in the grey metal that is supposed to hold you up. Doesn't work. Lots of broken spokes, bent rims, stretching control cables, even fractured frames in the bottom end of the bike market.
My bike which has been very substantial after ~7500 miles, only cost $1900 but had no motor and was $2820 after conversion. Also it is too small for 99% of the population. That is why yuba discontinued it. I'm supposed to buy a single speed bike with rim brakes, pink, with a picture of Holly Hobbie on the seat.
Yuba didn't tell me the weight limit before purchase, it was only on a sticker on the side of the bike.
The go to bike for big people or heavy camping gear, surlybikes, has discontinued their electric models.
My yubabike was made in ***** just like everything else, but their QA team managed to sort out the scrap metal suppliers and didn't take a bribe the day they made my biike.

Lol, prime example of misunderstanding, I didn't get that you were asking me that info, I thought you were just describing what matters in choosing bike, sorry about that.

My height is 176cm, leg length 88cm

I can up my budget to 4000CAD, but as a last resort (my wife would murder the s*it out of me)

P.s.: Thanks for sharing about scrap metal in bike frames\spokes\etc., I didn't know that was a factor.

 

[PatriciaK]

How hilly is the area you'll be riding most, and what kind of surfaces will you be doing most of your riding on?

 

[jergal]

How hilly is the area you'll be riding most, and what kind of surfaces will you be doing most of your riding on?

50% tarmac 50% gravel, I am planning to use it for grocery pickups, and leisure driving on trails. The area is a bit hilly, say 15%.

 

[indianajo]

Okay, you are of average height and your leg length is a little above average. That is good, because taller tires handle weight better. 26" and above tires then, 2.1" cross section minimum. Those are good for about 200 lb apiece at 55 psi max inflation. Some bikes come with 2.4" tires. Fat tire (3.0" up) bikes are out for 165 kg weight, they have a pressure limit of about 40 psi.
There are two ways of distributing a person's weight evenly between the two tires. Road bike position, hips up, flat back, neck bent back 90 degrees from the back. Not popular with the ebike crowd, and those 120 psi 25-30 mm tires ride like steel wheels. If this tempts you, look at cannondale & orbea. I don't know weight limits on those and especially eliminate from consideration carbon fiber frame models. Those road bike tires are garbage on gravel.
Other way is the stretch cargo bike frame that puts 70% of rider's weight on the front wheel and leaves the back for the battery, motor, and groceries. Has 2.1' tires usually. That is what I ride and that is what I recommend for you since surly got out of electric drive bikes. There is an extra 6" frame behind the seat, that distributes the weight evenly. Disadvantage, they weight 5 to 12 kg more than a mountain bike, cruiser bike, or beach bike. They won't fit on the rack on the front of a city bus in my town, and there is some question about compatibility with racks in Amtrak or Via baggage cars.
Otherwise there are 20" wheel bikes as detailed in this thread: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bigger-guy-looking-for-an-e-bike.43653/unread
If you ever hit a pothole on a 20" wheel bike, you might regret it. I imagine they are great in downtown London Koln or Amsterdam with perfect pavement.
If you live in Alberta or BC and intend to go mountain climbing, look at the models of these brands that have mid-drive. Otherwise hills are in the realm of the cheaper geared hub motor. I cross 80 hills myself in a 30 mile commute at 8-10 mph. Carrying up to 80 lb groceries or ag supplies. I have a 1000 w geared hub motor on a yubabike bodaboda. Yuba does make a top rail frame for taller people than me.
Big wheel cargo bikes that don't have a lot of complaints in "known problems" include Konaworld.com ute, xtracycle.com , Pedego stretch (pricey but great warrenty & lots of dealers), yubabike.com bodaboda & el mondo, blix packa https://electricbikereview.com/?s=blix+packa (24" tires, explicit 400 lb limit) reiss & mueller ( expensive, mid drive).
Other brands stretch frame bike with more compliants are m2s, magnum. Lots of fans of the tern GSD and the like, 20" tire bikes I wouldn't take for free. Lots of fans of the radwagon out there, that has a known problems list longer than your arm and requires 22" tires sold only by rad, besides. Rad is really happy to mail you a spoke or two under warrenty if you stretch the scrap they originally sold you.
I hope you're not planning to travel @ 25 mph because these bikes do not have suspensions available. Wattwagon is building a cargo bike, titanium frame with air suspension, and it will not meet your budget.
Note the shimano mid drive on some bikes can be pedaled unpowered without drag. The bosch system drags the motor with your feet if not powered at all times. I rode 50 mlles unpowered last week after a big rainstorm disabled my throttle. Not pleasant, but cheaper than a tow truck.
Happy shopping and later riding.

 

[jergal]

...

Thanks mate, appreciate the advice, for the record, my last bike had 27.5" wheels and 2.8" width. I am looking at bike shops you've shared, most of them don't give any info on max load (except blix) but on 24" it's a bit uncomfortable for me, no actually take it back, it's very uncomfortable.

My main problem on chinese ebikes was that the bottom bracket chewed pedal crank to the point that bolts simply couldn't hold it (the hole became bigger than bolt), I never heard of anyone having that specific problem, so I suspect my weight is the issue here. BTW, no matter on what make and model of pedal crank I swapped (even ones made of better components (they have the code of alloy code on them, so it's possible to check on wiki)) still had the same problem.

I live in Ontario, Toronto, and occasionally go on a trails.

 

[indianajo]

My yuba is a chinese bike and the metal has been totally adequate.
My Pacific Quantum was a chinese bike and it was ****. The cables needed constant adjustment and the pedal cranks wore out in 5000 miles. Could not be replaced, glued on. The shimano 7 speed axle, the race came unscrewed and dropped the balls on the road. Fortunately only 4 miles from home. The 8 speed shimano axle in my yubabike is not a problem. On the yuba I just broke the casting & bent the rails on the sram derailleur takeup at 7500 miles by running over a stick that stuck through it.
My Diamondback was a chinese bike and the wheels wouldn't stay straight. The wheels were also undersized so much that tires would pop off the rim. The rear axle broke (shimano 6 speed) under my exhorbitant 82 kg (at the time) weight.
Alloy code & paperwork means nothing from a country that lied to the man about production quotas for 2 generations. The blacksmith at Biltmore estate told me he can't even get consistent steel bar from steel distributors for making auto springs. The paperwork looks great but the steel is inconsistant ****. I've been buying steel for the field mower from mcmaster.com, whose last batch came in labeled "USA".
I weigh 73 kg so my experience may be different. My legs are pretty strong though, and I carry 80 lb cargo frequently to my summer camp.
Somehow yuba got spokes and cables that don't stretch from china. Pay the QA guy better than the production manager bribes him, I suppose. Why I say pay attention to the # of complaints on the brand forums known problems threads. The brands I quoted above have very short complaints lists. All bike parts come from China except a very few premium items from Taiwan. (sram, sun, shimano high price parts).
500 w hub motors allowed in Canada are a little wimpy, but should be adequate in Ontario.
Blix is a Canadian brand, if local warrenty helps you any. Sorry about the 24" wheels, but the Court review quotes a weight limit.
You'll be happy on trails with 2.1" to 2.4" tires I think. I ride kenda or giant knobbies, to keep down the flats. No slime, no liners, no armor, straight schwinn $7 tubes, no $55 tires that are hard to get off the wheel.

 

[indianajo]

On that subject, biktrix stunner x is offering 330 lb capacity and 26"x4" tires. www.biktrix.com/pages/ultimate-electric-bikes 750 w hub drive.