Newbie help in Minnesota

[lakegirl]

Hello,

I just ditched my old mountain bike because when I have gone to use it, I ended up with horrible neck and shoulder pain. A friend of mine kept bugging me to try out an e bike, which ironically 15 years ago I had wanted really really bad, but could never find in my area. That was when I was in my 30's and I had no desire to take up riding again now. However, I did finally try one out, specifically the Specialized Turbo Como 2.0 and fell in love, but when I saw the price tag, I think my gum fell out of my mouth.

I do still want to get an e bike, but a less expensive one until I know for sure that I will use it. I want it primarily for exercise and I tend to get bored easily with repetitive things, so I think an e bike would be fun. I was also impressed by how comfortable they are, or at least the Como is.

Here is what I need, I'm 5'4 so I know I need a smaller frame bike. I live in Duluth, which is very hilly, and although I will avoid those as much as possible, I still have two that I need to climb in order to get home. Only one place in my city carries bikes and it is the one I mentioned above, so I will have to go down to Minneapolis and get one. There is a large bike chain having a great sale so hoping to get one on Monday.

Not sure if I can post the link (Erik's) to the bike shop on here, but a couple of the lower priced bikes are ...
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So any of you pros have any suggestions for me I would appreciate it. If I am looking at bikes that are just crappola, I can wait for a while and try again next year.

 

[LS3Miata]

I cannot specifically comment on the bikes you mentioned, though you will want to consider battery size and range with the type of riding you will be doing. Especially considering the hills in Duluth. Certainly Erik’s is a reputable bike bike shop and I have purchased traditional bikes from them.

I went a different route this spring and bought a Juiced CCS online and have been very happy with it. Very powerful and so far dependable. I would be willing to let you test ride it when you are in MPLS if you wish. I am in between Lake of the Isles and Calhoun.

 

[lakegirl]

What do you mean by different route? As far as where you bought it? I just looked up the Juiced and it has great reviews. I had no idea there are now so many manufacturers of these bikes now.

I will let you know if I end up staying down there for more than a day. Thank you!

 

[rich c]

I've ridden eBikes for over 6,000 miles in 2 1/2 years. Not huge amounts, but enough to gain a fair amount of experience. I started on a cheap bike, and quickly moved to an expensive bike. What you get is quality components; better brakes, better seat, better derailleur, better gear selector on the handle bar, torque sensing, and a computer that can calculate range. How good of a bike mechanic are you? Should you choose a direct on-line purchase, any component failure and you are the one that has to troubleshoot and replace a part shipped from the supplier. I've never read of anyone saying exercise is the primary reason for buying an eBike. That's the best reason to buy a traditional bike at a small fraction of the cost of an eBike! Riding a bicycle is very repetitive, move legs don't move legs, repeat. My advice, buy the Como. You like it, it's comfortable, and you'll use it everyday until you get bored with the repetition. Buy a bike between November and February and it will be discounted.

 

[Amish David]

@lakegirl I know most people buy bikes, have you thought about building one? I built my aluminum mountain bike for under 800.00 the battery pack is what cost the most. My wheel hub is set at 750 watts but can also be set at 1000 Watts. I have a 48 volt 20 amp hour battery. And a rear hub, However I live in the mountains still managed to get 12 to 15 mile per charge however I'm sure if I do more pedal-assist I could get 20 miles out of the bike. If you are in a flatter area you will obviously get a further distance I generally run 15 miles per hour sometimes 18, either way you won't regret getting into a ebike good luck.

 

[Amish David]

Someone replied this is the worse IV ever Sean out of a battery, but I guess it was deleted, I guess you missed the part where I live in the Mt. With 40+ degree areas 1/8 mile at times others less about 20 degrees. So I think that is pretty good to me, but this is my fist ebike so guess I could be wrong.

 

[LS3Miata]

What do you mean by different route? As far as where you bought it? I just looked up the Juiced and it has great reviews. I had no idea there are now so many manufacturers of these bikes now.

I will let you know if I end up staying down there for more than a day. Thank you!

Different route meaning I went with an online retailer instead of local bike shop. I’m around during the day so just let me know if you wish to test ride it.

 

[lakegirl]

@lakegirl I know most people buy bikes, have you thought about building one? I built my aluminum mountain bike for under 800.00 the battery pack is what cost the most. My wheel hub is set at 750 watts but can also be set at 1000 Watts. I have a 48 volt 20 amp hour battery. And a rear hub, However I live in the mountains still managed to get 12 to 15 mile per charge however I'm sure if I do more pedal-assist I could get 20 miles out of the bike. If you are in a flatter area you will obviously get a further distance I generally run 15 miles per hour sometimes 18, either way you won't regret getting into a ebike good luck.

There was a time I would have considered building one, but not up for it now. Mostly, I don't have the room.

 

[JoePah]

Hello,

I just ditched my old mountain bike because when I have gone to use it, I ended up with horrible neck and shoulder pain. A friend of mine kept bugging me to try out an e bike, which ironically 15 years ago I had wanted really really bad, but could never find in my area. That was when I was in my 30's and I had no desire to take up riding again now. However, I did finally try one out, specifically the Specialized Turbo Como 2.0 and fell in love, but when I saw the price tag, I think my gum fell out of my mouth.

I do still want to get an e bike, but a less expensive one until I know for sure that I will use it. I want it primarily for exercise and I tend to get bored easily with repetitive things, so I think an e bike would be fun. I was also impressed by how comfortable they are, or at least the Como is.

Here is what I need, I'm 5'4 so I know I need a smaller frame bike. I live in Duluth, which is very hilly, and although I will avoid those as much as possible, I still have two that I need to climb in order to get home. Only one place in my city carries bikes and it is the one I mentioned above, so I will have to go down to Minneapolis and get one. There is a large bike chain having a great sale so hoping to get one on Monday.

Not sure if I can post the link (Erik's) to the bike shop on here, but a couple of the lower priced bikes are ...
IZIP 2017 Step Thru Vibe Plus Electric Bike
Raleigh 2017 Sprite IE Step Thru Electric Bike
Raleigh 2017 Retroglide IE Step Through Women's Electric Bike

So any of you pros have any suggestions for me I would appreciate it. If I am looking at bikes that are just crappola, I can wait for a while and try again next year.

Highly support you buying your first eBike locally. If you're truly serious, get to the store before the sale and tell them you're serious and that you want to ride all those bikes before making a decision.

What matters most is how those bikes fit you. And what is the warranty.. I'd favor the one with the longest warranty.

 

[lakegirl]

Highly support you buying your first eBike locally. If you're truly serious, get to the store before the sale and tell them you're serious and that you want to ride all those bikes before making a decision.

What matters most is how those bikes fit you. And what is the warranty.. I'd favor the one with the longest warranty.

I would love to, however the one place in town that carries them, did some very unethical things and I won't support them.

 

[Amish David]

I would love to, however the one place in town that carries them, did some very unethical things and I won't support them.

It amazes me nowadays that somebody that owns a company doesn't realize Word of Mouth can hurt your business or make you succeed and with the internet it makes it even easier to get the word out on how you're treated whether it's good or bad. I believe I would go out of my way to help every customer to keep them happy. Hopefully you'll find more decent service somewhere else

 

[MisterM]

It amazes me nowadays that somebody that owns a company doesn't realize Word of Mouth can hurt your business or make you succeed and with the internet it makes it even easier to get the word out on how you're treated whether it's good or bad. I believe I would go out of my way to help every customer to keep them happy. Hopefully you'll find more decent service somewhere else

Meh, that's the goal of every business, but there are plenty of people who simply refuse to be satisfied, absent being given something for free, or nearly so. It's worse in the era of social media, where people threaten business owners with lousy reviews unless they are given special treatment. It's rampant - go read up about how some people blatantly extort business owners.

 

[lakegirl]

Meh, that's the goal of every business, but there are plenty of people who simply refuse to be satisfied, absent being given something for free, or nearly so. It's worse in the era of social media, where people threaten business owners with lousy reviews unless they are given special treatment. It's rampant - go read up about how some people blatantly extort business owners.

If you are talking about me, I always give people the benefit of the doubt, but after 3 episodes of unethical behavior, I am done. The first time was when I took my bike in for an annual tune-up. The guy tried several times to upgrade me to having more "tuned" than what I wanted. When I went to pick up my bike, the cost was double what I was quoted. The guy had done all the things I told him not to do. I even had the receipt I was given when I dropped the bike off showing I just wanted the basic. They refused to take off the extra charges because they said they had already done the work.

I own 2 businesses and if I ever did anything like that to one of my clients, I would be out of business in a heartbeat.

 

[MisterM]

If you are talking about me, I always give people the benefit of the doubt, but after 3 episodes of unethical behavior, I am done. The first time was when I took my bike in for an annual tune-up. The guy tried several times to upgrade me to having more "tuned" than what I wanted. When I went to pick up my bike, the cost was double what I was quoted. The guy had done all the things I told him not to do. I even had the receipt I was given when I dropped the bike off showing I just wanted the basic. They refused to take off the extra charges because they said they had already done the work.

I own 2 businesses and if I ever did anything like that to one of my clients, I would be out of business in a heartbeat.

Nope, not about you at all - just those that extort businesses under threat of a bad review (the modern day version of dropping a cockroach in a salad and demanding a free meal)

What you experienced was sleazy, at best. I'd have paid with a credit card and then disputed the bill - credit card companies take a dim view of businesses who abuse customers and will raise their fees if too many complaints are received.