Need Your Expertise, Please.

[hachster]

Hi Everyone!

Thank you, in advance, for reading this through and providing any insight or advice!

BACKGROUND
About 4 years ago, frustrated with the rising cost of public transportation, I decided to eliminate my dependence on it as much as possible and purchased a bike. It's a folder; Tern P24h and I've loved it. It's a workhorse and has taken all the that abuse I, and nature, could through at it. It also manages our many hills like a champ.

My ride is about 12 miles round trip. I use one form of public trans to get me in the City. It's a regretful compromise and also the reason I have a folder.

Lately I've been thinking about getting an upgraded ride for my commute and discovered the cost of a higher-end folder is close to that of an e-bike! Why pay for folding, when I could pay for power?

REASON
And this brings us to one of the main reasons I'd like to go electric: to exchange my current route for a picturesque, pub-trans-free route which goes up and down the Hudson River (for those who know the area). It's a 40 mile round-trip journey. I have taken this route with my folder and found that life keeps getting in the way of being able to build the endurance needed to make this a typical weekday commute.

Other reasons include just being able to take longer trips, pick up more groceries, visit friends with ease...normal stuff that probably most of us here want to do.

BUDGET, ETC.
My budget is about $5k.

I've tried the Bosch CX, Performance, and Active line. I like Performance the best (if that's the one that reaches 28 mph).

These are four bikes I'm considering and I'd love your opinion about them, and am open to suggestions if you have a better option:

• Cannondale Contro-E 2017
• Bulls Urban Evo 2018
• Kalkhoff Endeavour Advance B10 Speed
• Riese & Muller Roadster HS

MAIN CONCERN
The main issue that concerns me is durability. I could put 10,000 miles on the bike in a year, in all kinds of weather and in all temperatures. Will these engines last? Which bikes are the easiest to maintain? Which need it the least?

CONCLU
Thank you for reading this and for offering any experiences and/or advice you have. I really appreciate it!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Hi Everyone!

Thank you, in advance, for reading this through and providing any insight or advice!

BACKGROUND
About 4 years ago, frustrated with the rising cost of public transportation, I decided to eliminate my dependence on it as much as possible and purchased a bike. It's a folder; Tern P24h and I've loved it. It's a workhorse and has taken all the that abuse I, and nature, could through at it. It also manages our many hills like a champ.

My ride is about 12 miles round trip. I use one form of public trans to get me in the City. It's a regretful compromise and also the reason I have a folder.

BUDGET, ETC.
My budget is about $5k.

I've tried the Bosch CX, Performance, and Active line. I like Performance the best (if that's the one that reaches 28 mph).

These are four bikes I'm considering and I'd love your opinion about them, and am open to suggestions if you have a better option:

• Cannondale Contro-E 2017
• Bulls Urban Evo 2018
• Kalkhoff Endeavour Advance B10 Speed
• Riese & Muller Roadster HS

 

[rich c]

Remember that battery life falls off in the winter. Also be aware that the battery capacity probably won't maintain 28mph for 40 miles, even in the summer. It takes a ton of energy to push the rider through the air at that speed. Bike maintenance will be about the same on all bikes at that price range. Commuting in winter takes a lot of special personal gear, same goes for rain. Rain is not supposed to be an issue, but I have no experience riding my Haibike in a driving rain. You get much snow in the winter? You'll need studded tires for that. Not sure about battery life. In the winter, you'll have to charge at work. So 2 charges per day, and then charging every day when it's warmer. I guess it may go 2 years at that rate. You'll need a couple sets a brake pads a year, probably a chain and all gears once a year. Maybe 2 sets of tires each year.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Of the four you listed, I would not recommend the Cannondale, because of the proprietary fork. While their Headshok is pretty reliable and easy to work on, it is still proprietary. Also, it is an ugly bike. LOL. The R&M is more expensive relative to the other two. The Bulls is the best value; it is the only one with an air fork.

A couple of other bikes that look good to me are the Moustache Friday 27 Speed and the Trek Crossrip+. I like the Moustache for its bulletproof wheels. It is a rigid bike, but to me that is a plus; it is lighter and there is no suspension to service...the tires will offer plenty of cush on their own. I like the Trek because (for me) there is nothing more comfortable for longer rides than a good set of drop bars.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

A couple of thoughts.

The critical part(s) are going to be the batteries, and with the distance you are talking you will effectively be charging your bike twice a day, so probably the parts that will "fail" first are your batteries. With that many charge/recharge cycles I'd recommend you strongly consider replacing your batteries every 18 months or so. With that many use cycles you will probably notice a substantial reduction in battery performance after 6 or 9 months.

The other parts are essentially immortal as long as you properly maintain and service your bike -- which of course implies replacing parts like brake pads and chains as they wear out. One challenge is that if you can't or don't want to do the servicing yourself your bike might spend four or five days in the shop when you do service it. I'd suspect you'd want the bike tuned and checked out and serviced every six weeks with that kind of mileage. You'd probably want to replace the tires about every 1500-2000 miles as well.

 

[Nova Haibike]

The critical part(s) are going to be the batteries, and with the distance you are talking you will effectively be charging your bike twice a day

I was just going to say, you will need to get yourself a second charger to keep at the office.

 

[Chris Hammond]

If you choose to recharge at the office, you could very easily use the recommended 20-80% charge cycle that will dramatically extend battery life. Basically if you don't charge the battery to more than 80% of capacity or discharge it lower than 20%, you will likely see usable battery life increase by 200 to 400%.
Buying a bike with the largest capacity you can reasonably afford will make this easier to accomplish.
It seems you are primarily interested in higher end bikes that are mid-drives. I would suggest you also look at a few hub drive bikes. Hub drives are likely going to be lower maintenance machines overall just by design. Mid-drives increase wear on all drivetrain components. A good choice to look at in the high end hub drive market is Stromer. For the prices you are likely considering, you can also get a larger battery with the Stromer, exception being the R&M.

 

[Alex M]

Why pay for folding, when I could pay for power?

You can have both, you know... Plenty of e-folders out there...

 

[hachster]

That is a HOT bike - hadn't seen it yet, so thanks for the rec!

 

[Bruce Arnold]

The Juiced Bikes Crosscurrent S and Ripcurrent S are available with a 52 volt, 21 amp hour battery. Either one is more than capable of a 40 mile commute at top speed without having to be recharged at work. Honestly, I could do 40 miles with my 17.4 amp hour battery. I'm currently considering a situation that would require a 60 mile round trip. I've done 60 miles before, but would like the extra breathing space, so I'm considering the purchase of the 21 Ah battery. Just some thoughts that I hope help your considerations.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Get a 28mph Pacer from SmartMotion with a 17.5A battery and pocket $2K. Damn durable rear hub, easier to get up to and maintain speed, and less wear and tear on the drive train.