Newbie from SW Michigan

[StJoeMike]

Greetings. New member from SW Michigan, right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Not an Ebike owner yet, but am using this site (and others) to help me in my search for the bike for me. Mostly interested in a bike I can take short one week trips on. Nice to meet all of you!

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Welcome to the forum, Mike!

"Short one week trips"?? Camping? Luggage? Staying in hotels/motels? You're going to have to think about how you'll charge the battery. And security for your bike too.

 

[oojoe]

hello mike :
you have many decisions to make : on road -off road... petal assist / throttle controls / ////// size = portability .//// ///.price/ reliability.. hub motor / mid drive// look twice at battery -style/power /availability many are proprietary. ...safety- brakes..(get great brakes) ... if you drive at night add lots of lights..
If you buy a cheep china bike (like I did)..expect cheap china parts (they are almost disposable.. )
the battery is where a lot of the cost comes from..( they start at about $200 alone and go up from there..) (buying an extra battery will make it more reliable..and you will be glad you did)
good luck..happy hunting..
oojoe

 

[StJoeMike]

Welcome to the forum, Mike!

"Short one week trips"?? Camping? Luggage? Staying in hotels/motels? You're going to have to think about how you'll charge the battery. And security for your bike too.

I quit sleeping on the ground when I left the military! I strictly credit card tour and stay in hotels, etc. Most of my tours are the one week or so variety, and primarily solo. The longest was around Lake Michigan but that was over ten years ago and more than a week.. I have all the equipment I need, just looking to do something a bit different. I own three touring bikes of the strictly pedal variety but have been wanting to get an ebike and do some touring that way. I anticipate getting a second battery to make sure I am covered distance-wise. Kind of excited to experience a new way of biking. Thanks for the welcome!

 

[StJoeMike]

hello mike :
you have many decisions to make : on road -off road... petal assist / throttle controls / ////// size = portability .//// ///.price/ reliability.. hub motor / mid drive// look twice at battery -style/power /availability many are proprietary. ...safety- brakes..(get great brakes) ... if you drive at night add lots of lights..
If you buy a cheep china bike (like I did)..expect cheap china parts (they are almost disposable.. )
the battery is where a lot of the cost comes from..( they start at about $200 alone and go up from there..) (buying an extra battery will make it more reliable..and you will be glad you did)
good luck..happy hunting..
oojoe

I try to do a lot of my tours on rails to trails, etc., avoid roads as much as possible, and I don't camp.... The touring bikes I have now have drop bars, except one that is a recumbent. For years I toured on a hybrid that had flat bars so they are fine with me as well. From what I have read thus far it seems to me Class 1 would be what I would want, but I want to ride a few. Speed isn't important to me, I just like to enjoy the trip. I went to a Trek store the other day and they have some of the Trek Allant 8's coming in shortly which sounded like something I might be interested in. Definitely going the second battery route. Thanks for the welcome. Looking forward to this new adventure.