New to Ebikes, in fact bikes in general

L

longbowelk

New Member
Hello, I am a fit 68 yr man wanting to get my wife(60) and myself first ever ebikes. She wants the Juiced Ripcurrent S, I am hung up on a Rambo, Surface604 Boar, M2S, Gravity 2019 Bullseye Monster Xe
Mine mainly offroad for hunting. I like the Rambo with the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub avoiding a derailleur hanging down to catch brush, weeds, etc and possibly bend or break . Negatives on Rambo riding with wife on roads, worried about the slow speed. Neither of us rode a bike much in last 30 years. Prior to that no 10 speed type shifting either. But, I'm studying reviews and other informational YouTube to figure this out. Looking forward to learning from members of this forum. I go to Colorado annually to bow or muzzleloader hunt for elk. Down in Texas will be using ebike on deer lease. Glad to be here.
 
Welcome to the site and the hobby.
The Sturmey Archer 3 speeds I've owned over the years have been reliable, but have 3 non-ideal speeds. Low is okay for cruising, medium is useful for going down hills, and 3rd is totally useless. As low is direct, medium and 1:1.5 and high is 1:2, these speeds would be useful with a 32 sprocket front crank. There has never been a 3 speed SA equipped bike sold that has this crank in 60 year to my knowledge, neither have I been able to buy such sprocket from bike suppliers that would fit the front crank of the bikes I own. However getting away from a derailleur in the brush is a goal worth persueing. I'd look at the Shimano 8 speed IGH, which does have reducing gears for the first 3 speeds. However, it is difficult to find an electric bike equipped with it. Changing the rear hub to IGH voids the warrenty in most cases.
Another option would be geared hub drive which has the gears inside. I ride such a hub on the front with an 8 speed derailleur, but on road. The rear hub was limited to the 7 speed derailleur, and no 32 tooth low sprocket freewheels were available except in theoretical parts lists.
I've ridden my electric bike through the fields of high grass at my summer camp, but I don't have much terrain or grades to conquer out there. It does tend to catch johnson grass in the takup and freewheel.
Happy shopping.
 
Thanks for the response. In looking at the 2 low end 750 watt mid drive with the 32T chain ring. What's your thoughts on this chain ring?
 
I recommend renting and testing out some ebikes. Your wife and you sound like you have different wants. I think renting and trying out several ebikes together may help you decide what you actually want. Good luck ebikes are so much fun.
 
longbowelk said:
Both ebikes with the 32T chain ring are Rambo . I didn't specify above.
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A 32 tooth front and a 15 tooth rear would make the 3 speed Sturmey Archer almost useable. This is on 26" wheels of course. I haven't ridden a 20" wheel bike since 1960.
 
I don't know how an eBike gets used for hunting. Do you bring the carcass back out with you? When I hear Colorado, I think mountains. How much climbing do you expect to do? It sounds like you want a bicycle to do the work of a UTV, but I could easily be wrong with that assumption. As mentioned, you need to get to dealers and ride one off road.
 
If longbowelk weighs under 140 lb that leaves 160 lb for a deer carcass. My dad was that small. Otherwise e-bikes are great at hunting, useless at harvesting. Useful for antelope, maybe. Look for a cargo bike like left. I can handle a L78-15 pickup tire with the extended rack.
I have to admit the stealth factor of an ebike would be a big plus. At my summer camp I can hear a gas 4 wheeler from about 2 miles away, and they stink, too. About as stealthy as the deer clowns that leave fast food wrappers & beer cans all over my property every fall. Birds can't smell, ungulates can.
 
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As far as packing out elk I would only pack out 50 to 80 lbs at a time. You can bone it out and leave the leg bone that is a lot of extra weight. As far as climbing mountains with the bike, not even attempting that. Looking at traveling logging roads and crossing fields. At this point it may be dreaming.
 
longbowelk Agree the Sturmey-Archer 3 Speed Internaly Geared Hub (IGH) is more attractive than a trail-vulnerable derailleur (have had derailleur bikes including MTBs almost my whole life). Remember seeing lots of British-origin 3-Speed Sturmey-Archer bikes as a kid, Raleigh brand (still around) comes to mind, simple, reliable, unexciting. Sturmey-Archer (UK) was in business from 1902 thru 2000, then went bankrupt, a Taiwanese company RunRace bought the machinery and design rights, and improved upon the design and quality so that's what's on the Rambo Bikes. The 32T Narrow Wide chain ring and Runrace-Sturmey-Archer 3-Speed IGH should be a good combination.

Rambo has great hunting/fishing/kayaking trailer accessories on their website. These can generally be purchased at discounted prices from Rambo vendors, and Amazon.

For the price, the 2018 R750 G3 w/mid-powered Bafang BBSO2 currently looks price-attractive for an entry level e-FTB with a end-of-year sale price around of $1,600 for a non-accesssorized bike. You'd of course want racks bags, and fenders however. Costco currently has such a bike for $1,999 + tax, but you can do even better if you shop around. The 42v 10.4AH battery is a bit skimpy, and mechanical disk brakes are nothing special - but anything can be upgraded to personal preferences. A compatible front suspension fork might be another desirable future upgrade.

You could build an e-FTB for a few hundred dollars less with the more powerful/even more reliable Bafang BBSHD and 52v battery, if you wanted to using a (example) $400 Costco FTB as a starting point. Luna Cycle is a reasonably priced (US) West Coast source for e-Bike kits and parts. In the future, if desired, the R750 G3 BBSO2 could be upgraded in ~20 minutes to a 1,000+w BBSHD for ~$535 from Luna Cycle plus a 52v battery upgrade.
 
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indianajo said:
A 32 tooth front and a 15 tooth rear would make the 3 speed Sturmey Archer almost useable. This is on 26" wheels of course. I haven't ridden a 20" wheel bike since 1960.
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I have 44t front chainring, and 24t rear sprocket giving 1.83 :1 primary ratio , powered by the Truckrun Motors, TM-05 , 500w mid . Fantastic all hills and over 25km/h, any time, any place, any where. Beefed up the hub by throwing the races and loose packing the bearings, thereby increasing the bearing surface. Chain line Bob on.
 
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