New from the UP

[Holdfast]

Hello Group!! Thank you for allowing me to join!

I have thinking about Ebikes for years—mostly toying with the idea of building my own with a conversion kit. I fear that I would make a mess that didn’t work well, and spend more time, and almost as much money as buying a new, so.....

I confess. I have been shopping and searching an incredible amount, have bought two bikes, which are not here yet, and am thinking about a third bike...

Here’s why:

The first bike that I ordered is a Juicer Ripcurrent S, and it “might” ship in May. I jumped at the opportunity to purchase one on sale for a round $2000 and plan on using it to explore many of the rural roads around the eastern upper Peninsula of Michigan. It will be my first fat tire, and I’m having a hard time thinking that it will be good for long paved road rides. I also have a wife and son that would like to ride, so I kept shopping..

I came across the Aventon Pace 500 that my wife liked, so this became bike number two. Thankfully it was in stock and should be here in a few days.

Enter the Dilemma:

If I have one bike that is more for trails, and one for pavement and a third person that might like to ride occasionally, then I should have a bike that is halfway between the Ripcurrent and the Pace....Well, how do I choose something that is at home on road, and light trail—there seem to be 50-60 bikes or more that pretend to fit this slot.

So, I am looking for a bike capable of class 3 riding, having a battery life of 35-60 miles, a little bit of suspension, a crossover on road, off road tire, etc—-in the 1000-1700 price range. (The manual bikes that I have grown fond of for comfort and equipment are the Trek Verve 20”large, and Giant Sedona.

Fun planned:

 

[indianajo]

Welcome to the site and the hobby.
Most people find 1.9" to 2.4" x 26" to 27.5" tires acceptable on both road and gravel. I do. My bike has no suspension so I ride more like 8-10 mph instead of the 20-25 possible on an ebike. The drag of a 2" tire @ 55 psi is much less than a 4" tire @ 30. If you ride in the powder snow you might get in the U.P. on un-plowed tracks, your fat tires will do the job they were designed for.
I suggest you ride your current fleet a while before doing more shopping. Most people change their wants a bit after riding what they have. I also suggest you check the "known problems and solutions" threads on the brand forum. Both brands have long lists of entries on those threads. Others don't. Trek & Giant have some entries, but their denominator, sales, are hugs. Large demoninator keeps the fraction of problem bikes low.

 

[Holdfast]

Welcome to the site and the hobby.
Most people find 1.9" to 2.4" x 26" to 27.5" tires acceptable on both road and gravel. I do. My bike has no suspension so I ride more like 8-10 mph instead of the 20-25 possible on an ebike. The drag of a 2" tire @ 55 psi is much less than a 4" tire @ 30. If you ride in the powder snow you might get in the U.P. on un-plowed tracks, your fat tires will do the job they were designed for.
I suggest you ride your current fleet a while before doing more shopping. Most people change their wants a bit after riding what they have. I also suggest you check the "known problems and solutions" threads on the brand forum. Both brands have long lists of entries on those threads. Others don't. Trek & Giant have some entries, but their denominator, sales, are hugs. Large demoninator keeps the fraction of problem bikes low.

Thank you Indianajo,

I appreciate the suggestion to wait a bit. I have became so exuberant in searching that I have had to fight off purchasing two different bikes that I had in a cart... also, thank you for the suggestion to check for known problems of models—I would rather save a few dollars and spend a little more if needed, then to suffer with a non-working bike, or poor customer support..

 

[PedalUma]

Welcome to EBR.

 

[Marci jo]

Hello Group!! Thank you for allowing me to join!

I have thinking about Ebikes for years—mostly toying with the idea of building my own with a conversion kit. I fear that I would make a mess that didn’t work well, and spend more time, and almost as much money as buying a new, so.....

I confess. I have been shopping and searching an incredible amount, have bought two bikes, which are not here yet, and am thinking about a third bike...

Here’s why:

The first bike that I ordered is a Juicer Ripcurrent S, and it “might” ship in May. I jumped at the opportunity to purchase one on sale for a round $2000 and plan on using it to explore many of the rural roads around the eastern upper Peninsula of Michigan. It will be my first fat tire, and I’m having a hard time thinking that it will be good for long paved road rides. I also have a wife and son that would like to ride, so I kept shopping..

I came across the Aventon Pace 500 that my wife liked, so this became bike number two. Thankfully it was in stock and should be here in a few days.

Enter the Dilemma:

If I have one bike that is more for trails, and one for pavement and a third person that might like to ride occasionally, then I should have a bike that is halfway between the Ripcurrent and the Pace....Well, how do I choose something that is at home on road, and light trail—there seem to be 50-60 bikes or more that pretend to fit this slot.

So, I am looking for a bike capable of class 3 riding, having a battery life of 35-60 miles, a little bit of suspension, a crossover on road, off road tire, etc—-in the 1000-1700 price range. (The manual bikes that I have grown fond of for comfort and equipment are the Trek Verve 20”large, and Giant Sedona.

Fun planned:

Congrats and happy miles and smiles!
You will have a better idea of your 3rd ebike needs after some miles. And don’t forget to budget for accessories and minor modifications.
Please post of your adventures and some pics

 

[Taylor57]

Hello Group!! Thank you for allowing me to join!

I have thinking about Ebikes for years—mostly toying with the idea of building my own with a conversion kit. I fear that I would make a mess that didn’t work well, and spend more time, and almost as much money as buying a new, so.....

I confess. I have been shopping and searching an incredible amount, have bought two bikes, which are not here yet, and am thinking about a third bike...

Here’s why:

The first bike that I ordered is a Juicer Ripcurrent S, and it “might” ship in May. I jumped at the opportunity to purchase one on sale for a round $2000 and plan on using it to explore many of the rural roads around the eastern upper Peninsula of Michigan. It will be my first fat tire, and I’m having a hard time thinking that it will be good for long paved road rides. I also have a wife and son that would like to ride, so I kept shopping..

I came across the Aventon Pace 500 that my wife liked, so this became bike number two. Thankfully it was in stock and should be here in a few days.

Enter the Dilemma:

If I have one bike that is more for trails, and one for pavement and a third person that might like to ride occasionally, then I should have a bike that is halfway between the Ripcurrent and the Pace....Well, how do I choose something that is at home on road, and light trail—there seem to be 50-60 bikes or more that pretend to fit this slot.

So, I am looking for a bike capable of class 3 riding, having a battery life of 35-60 miles, a little bit of suspension, a crossover on road, off road tire, etc—-in the 1000-1700 price range. (The manual bikes that I have grown fond of for comfort and equipment are the Trek Verve 20”large, and Giant Sedona.

Fun planned:

UP= Upper Peninsula?

 

[AHicks]

After thousands and thousands of miles spent over many years on the Eastern UP trails via sleds, dirt bikes and ATV's, I feel like I know that area. LOTS of memories! I think it safe to say it's mostly flat. Point there meaning about anything will work well. Variable might be the presence of sugar sand.

My advice would be to be patient regarding the selection of this 3rd bike. Wait until you have a few hundred miles on the first 2. I will absolutely guarantee you will be a MUCH more educated buyer with a very definite list of "must haves" at that point, which would allow you to absolutely nail what bike #3 should look like. Patience here will very likely pay off in spades, and may avoid some disappointment.

 

[PedalUma]

My great grandmother lived on the UP. She was a homesteader. To hold the family claim she had to stay a UP Winter by herself at 16. We would use her Scandinavian sauna, then all jump off the dock into the fringed lake, naked. Her son was 'shell shocked' from burning people alive in the caves of Iwo Jima with a flame thrower. He lived with her and died before her. She grew to 102. The smoked fish was amazing up on the UP. It is a beautiful place. So far from Akron and smelly Detroit! An aunt of my mother's at six lived on Grosse Ile Detroit and would talk to a neighbor man named Savage who made guns. He named the first BB gun after her called Daisy.

 

[Holdfast]

UP= Upper Peninsula?

Yes Taylor57 upper Peninsula of Michigan, but also close enough to the Mackinac Bridge to think about riding a little in the “Upper Lower...”.

 

[Holdfast]

After thousands and thousands of miles spent over many years on the Eastern UP trails via sleds, dirt bikes and ATV's, I feel like I know that area. LOTS of memories! I think it safe to say it's mostly flat. Point there meaning about anything will work well. Variable might be the presence of sugar sand.

My advice would be to be patient regarding the selection of this 3rd bike. Wait until you have a few hundred miles on the first 2. I will absolutely guarantee you will be a MUCH more educated buyer with a very definite list of "must haves" at that point, which would allow you to absolutely nail what bike #3 should look like. Patience here will very likely pay off in spades, and may avoid some disappointment.

Thank you AHicks,

Wisdom from the group here is to wait on the third, thanks for underscoring the importance of this!
I’m still finding new places to explore up here, and the more I think about ebikes, the more I wonder why I didn’t think of one sooner..

 

[Holdfast]

My great grandmother lived on the UP. She was a homesteader. To hold the family claim she had to stay a UP Winter by herself at 16. We would use her Scandinavian sauna, then all jump off the dock into the fringed lake, naked. Her son was 'shell shocked' from burning people alive in the caves of Iwo Jima with a flame thrower. He lived with her and died before her. She grew to 102. The smoked fish was amazing up on the UP. It is a beautiful place. So far from Akron and smelly Detroit! An aunt of my mother's at six lived on Grosse Ile Detroit and would talk to a neighbor man named Savage who made guns. He named the first BB gun after her called Daisy.

That is so interesting PedalUma—many amazing things, thank you for mentioning them—even briefly—it sounds like there is so much more to hear!! I really like the Sauna, but I haven’t tried the bare swimming...lol. I did walk into a bear in the forest—an incredible experience and even now that I look back it is hard for me to believe it actually happened. The winters up here can test us a little, but they could be worse. There are a few things that we gave up to live in a remote area, but the trade-offs have been worth it. Thank you again for sharing the fascinating things!

 

[Taylor57]

Thank you AHicks,

Wisdom from the group here is to wait on the third, thanks for underscoring the importance of this!
I’m still finding new places to explore up here, and the more I think about ebikes, the more I wonder why I didn’t think of one sooner..

It aint that important. As an old poster used to say, "N+1 is good"

 

[AHicks]

Yes Taylor57 upper Peninsula of Michigan, but also close enough to the Mackinac Bridge to think about riding a little in the “Upper Lower...”.

Watch out for them "trolls"!
Have you been on the "Christmas tree" trail?
Mackinac City = the best fudge, and kites!