please recommend Class 3 electric bike for 9 mile commute to work

[bamelyan]

My commute to work is 10 miles one way (Pacific Palisades to Century City)
I figured that I need a faster bike to make better time, i.e. Class 3 electric bike that goes up to 28 miles per hour

I am considering Trek Super Commuter+ 8S

However, perhaps someone can recommend a better brand/model in the same $5K range

I saw some BULLS and Stromer that seem to be comparable...

 

[Johnny]

For 5k you have lots of options. Actually Trek supercommuter is probably the most overpriced option in that range.

If you want Bosch I am seeing Haibike Trekking 9.0 s on sale for 3K or less online which has the same Bosch system/ battery etc moreover it has a front air suspension which should make the rides much more comfortable.

Giant Quick-e , izip moda etc. all seem very nice options around or less than 3K.

20 miles roundtrip is easy with any of these bikes.

Also the 28 mph limit doesnt translate into a great increase in your average speed. Expect 2-3mph more than your average on a 20mph limited bicycle.

 

[christob]

I'm quite pleased with my Vintage Electric Bikes (Santa Clara, CA) "Cafe" model. Class 3, but I {Edit: by my choice} almost never, ever hit 28mph. (I hit that on downhills, and find it a bit unnerving for my tastes... but max assist on this bike, with minimal pedaling on a flat run would easily hit the upper 20s.)
I use it to commute... depending on the path I take my one-way can be as short as 5 miles (bad weather route), or, in spring/summer, when commuting back home, as long as 23 miles. I've had 80+ miles on a single charge with judicious use of Assist, staying in lower levels of Assist, and providing ample pedaling. I tend to take it easier (more likely to use a bit more Assist) on the inbound commute to avoid getting sweaty/requiring a shower... then work harder (lowest Assist) on the outbound commute. The funny thing is, looking at my whole 2018 riding statistics across 4,000 miles, I'd say my year long average speed of all rides works out to be about 14-15mph.

 

[JohnJ]

Christob .... just curious as to what you use to track your riding statistics?

 

[christob]

Christob .... just curious as to what you use to track your riding statistics?

@JohnJ:
hehehe... I'm a bit of a spreadsheet nerd. So I keep a Google Sheets spreadsheet. After every ride, I input the basic info of that ride into the spreadsheet.
Date, brief description of route and conditions, the ride's miles, duration and the master (lifetime) miles accumulated -- all taken from the LCD screen data of the bike.
Then I've got some formulas around, that tally weekly totals, monthly totals, seasonal totals, plus averages for day/week/month/season, and a column to track weight loss
Because it is in Google Sheets, I can update the data directly after a ride from my cell phone, or ipad at home, or laptop, etc. Just had to develop the discipline to log every trip...!

 

[christob]

PS -- here's a screenshot of part of the main spreadsheet -- the per-ride tracking section. This page includes a running count of office commutes (and resulting car-miles saved), a count of battery charging cycles (I don't recharge after every ride), plus past-months' totals at upper right. There's another tab that handles seasonal totals, ranking of months by total miles, and I also keep a "bike maintenance log" on that tab, with mileage recorded at each new maintenance event (so I can see for example, how many miles I got on a tire before it went bald...)

January is alas, not shaping up well for me, given the sucky winter weather recently, and a flu bug in the first full week!

 

[Nova Haibike]

I'd look at the Giant Quick E+; virtually the same performance and quality as the SC+ 8S, for significantly less money. The main differences are it is a Yamaha system, and does not have as high-powered a headlight. The iZip Moda is worth a look too; it is Brose powered and on sale from $3749 down to $2499. Also the Raleigh Lore iE, on sale for $2499, down from $4375.

I don't know if anyone has it on sale, but the Haibike Trekking 9.0 is very nice. A tad less than the Trek, with better components (Shimano XT drivetrain and XT brakes).

 

[SirJonathan]

You're in SoCal? So am I. I bought a Juiced CCX - $2500. They are based out of San Diego. Mine tops out around 30mph, 750w geared hub rear motor, 52V battery. I did a 25 mile ride at an average of 21mph the other day with a 1000ft climb and used maybe 20% of the battery. I've been very pleased with this bike. Bullet-proof (for me) Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are stock. Decent components.

There are a lot of reviews and user reports here. Some very favorable, some with issues. With you being so close to them it might make for a compelling purchase.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

For the budget you've mentioned, the problem is so many choices that will fit your needs. So, I'm going to share some advice: You've identified that you want a Class 3. In order to narrow it down further, peruse the EBR reviews for bikes that you like the looks of. You've got to start somewhere, right? Then you can look at components, motor, torque vs. cadence-sensing (I personally would put that at the top of my list), and other specifics.

 

[linklemming]

I'd look at the Giant Quick E+; virtually the same performance and quality as the SC+ 8S, for significantly less money. The main differences are it is a Yamaha system, and does not have as high-powered a headlight. The iZip Moda is worth a look too; it is Brose powered and on sale from $3749 down to $2499. Also the Raleigh Lore iE, on sale for $2499, down from $4375.

I don't know if anyone has it on sale, but the Haibike Trekking 9.0 is very nice. A tad less than the Trek, with better components (Shimano XT drivetrain and XT brakes).

I was looking at all these bikes just before christmas.

My goal was a speed pedalec used for about 30%road/70%gravel fitness rides with an emphasis on range.

While the super commuter 8 is a great bike with good components and supposedly good dealer service, its a little pricey.

I had my choice down to 2 bikes, the Raleigh Redux (2017) which is same bike as iZIP Moda and the Juiced Bikes CCX.

The Raleigh Redux I could get locally for $2200, very stealthy and the Brose motor is so quiet(I have one on a Bulls eMTB). I wish it had a bigger battery to meet my range requirement but that might not be an issue for the OP.

The Juiced Bikes CCX has that nice larger battery which really met my range requirements. Needed some minor mods for my more mild offroad usecase like removing all fenders/kickstand/replace tires to something more offroad capable.

I ended up getting the CCX, its a very speedy bike and a blast to ride. Its nice having all the range

That being said, if the Raleigh Lore IE had been available for that unbelievable price, I would have probably picked that up instead and just lived with the reduced range. If I could make the swap today without any cost, I would do it.

 

[bamelyan]

Thank you for all the recommendations. What about BULLS models?

For example BULLS Urban EVO vs Trek Supercomputer+ 8s?

Anyone has a experience with BULLS?

 

[Ebiker01]

I would go with one of the best S pedelcs out there , the Bh Easy motion Nitro City-Deore Xt full groupset, 600wh battery, 800watts peak power, 90nm , is very affordable at about 3499$ maybe close to 4K with taxes.
And you will have very few issues if any with the bike. Juiced, Specialized, Stromer’s, you are buying problems and headaches.
Just do a count of the number of threads for this top brands in the forum and you will see that those who have many issues also have many threads in the specific forum for “issues with the bike”. The Numbers and people’s threads posted don’t lie or they wouldn’t have had posting their experiences and issues.

 

[linklemming]

I have a Bulls E-Stream Evo 3 27.5 eMTB with Brose Motor(20mph limit) with about 2k miles ridden

Its a VERY well made bike with high-quality components, at $3600 it wasnt cheap. At the time, it had the biggest battery at 650wh in all the bikes I considered which was a big selling point for me.

About the only thing I dont like is the suntour axion fork. It leaked air after about a month riding which was fixed under warranty. At some point, the rebound adjuster on the bottom of the fork snapped off likely due to something hitting it (you can see marks on the fork where something hit it) and now the fork clunks when you lift the front to go up a curb. Bulls being a european company used a european spec fork which is hard to get parts for in the US. The rebound cartridge is $200 with a 25% discount and has to be ordered from overseas. Its also hard to get info on how to service the fork and the parts needed as well. I like to work on my own bikes and think RockShox will be a better fit for me at some point.