Recommendations need for first ebike

[Patricia Laviolette]

I am going to purchase my first Ebike (Canada). I will use it to ride the bike paths (paved) around the city and also the groomed portion (usually hard packed gravel on old railroad beds or easy trails) of the Trans Canada Trail. I Would like flexibility to go longer distances - 80 plus km at times. I would like a bike that is not too hard to pedal unassisted a good portion of the time and one that I can lift on and off a bike rack without too much trouble. I would prefer having both throttle and pedal assist. I think I like the idea of a battery placement in the mid for balance but not sure as I am not knowledgable about the mechanics of Ebike's. I prefer price under $3500 but will be flexible to get the right bike. I need something relatively reliable as I don't know how to repair myself. Not sure if all this is achievable but any recommendations appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Trans Canada Trail

Way to go Patricia!
That would be an amazing adventure. It reminds me of Lael Wilcox, an extraordinary biker.

A bike with throttle that can handle rough terrain is bit challenging to find. One I could think of is EVO City Wave+: https://emotionbikesusa.com/evo-city-wave/
You could find your local dealer and try it out. It's not super light but the battery is removable and the motor is quite powerful.

Actually, there is one bike that checks all your requirements.
https://ohmcycles.com/e-bikes/sport/

OHM is a Canadian company and you may ask @Daniel@OHMCycles to see how you could get one. It's a little out of your price range.

 

[JohnT]

If you want "not too hard to pedal", I'd avoid direct drive motors. I suggest looking for geared hub motors or mid-drive. I'm most familiar with geared hubs and highly recommend them for your use, but if you find a mid-drive you like, that's fine, too.

All Pedegos have throttles, and most have pedal assist. To comfortably do 50 miles (over 80km), you'll probably want a 48v/15ah or 14ah version. Most would handle rail trails, some better than others, of course. A couple models have downtube batteries, but I'm not sure that's important for your use. Our rear mounted batteries are fine for most people who aren't doing serious off-roading. I highly recommend the Canadian Pedego distributor. I've spent time with him and trust him to take good care of his customers.

Your toughest requirement to meet might be ease of loading onto a rack. Most ebikes capable of doing 50 miles comfortably tend to be heavy. My wife can load any Pedego by putting up one wheel at a time rather than lifting the whole bike at once, but many of our customers are more frail than she. Two people together can usually lift most ebikes fairly easily.

I didn't know Ravi's recommendation, OHM, was from Canada, but they have a good reputation. Biktrix is a solid, small Canadian company that has less expensive bikes. I didn't confirm whether any of their bikes meet your criteria.

I always say this, but I believe it strongly: if you can, try to buy from someone nearby. It's great being able to test ride before buying, and you don't want to have to travel or ship things if you have any problems.

Good luck on your search! Ebikes are a blast!

 

[Patricia Laviolette]

Way to go Patricia!
That would be an amazing adventure. It reminds me of Lael Wilcox, an extraordinary biker.

[A bike with throttle that can handle rough terrain is bit challenging to find. One I could think of is EVO City Wave+: https://emotionbikesusa.com/evo-city-wave/
You could find your local dealer and try it out. It's not super light but the battery is removable and the motor is quite powerful.

Actually, there is one bike that checks all your requirements.
https://ohmcycles.com/e-bikes/sport/

OHM is a Canadian company and you may ask @Daniel@OHMCycles to see how you could get one. It's a little out of your price range.

If you want "not too hard to pedal", I'd avoid direct drive motors. I suggest looking for geared hub motors or mid-drive. I'm most familiar with geared hubs and highly recommend them for your use, but if you find a mid-drive you like, that's fine, too.

All Pedegos have throttles, and most have pedal assist. To comfortably do 50 miles (over 80km), you'll probably want a 48v/15ah or 14ah version. Most would handle rail trails, some better than others, of course. A couple models have downtube batteries, but I'm not sure that's important for your use. Our rear mounted batteries are fine for most people who aren't doing serious off-roading. I highly recommend the Canadian Pedego distributor. I've spent time with him and trust him to take good care of his customers.

Your toughest requirement to meet might be ease of loading onto a rack. Most ebikes capable of doing 50 miles comfortably tend to be heavy. My wife can load any Pedego by putting up one wheel at a time rather than lifting the whole bike at once, but many of our customers are more frail than she. Two people together can usually lift most ebikes fairly easily.

I didn't know Ravi's recommendation, OHM, was from Canada, but they have a good reputation. Biktrix is a solid, small Canadian company that has less expensive bikes. I didn't confirm whether any of their bikes meet your criteria.

I always say this, but I believe it strongly: if you can, try to buy from someone nearby. It's great being able to test ride before buying, and you don't want to have to travel or ship things if you have any problems.

Good luck on your search! Ebikes are a blast!

If you want "not too hard to pedal", I'd avoid direct drive motors. I suggest looking for geared hub motors or mid-drive. I'm most familiar with geared hubs and highly recommend them for your use, but if you find a mid-drive you like, that's fine, too.

Your toughest requirement to meet might be ease of loading onto a rack. Most ebikes capable of doing 50 miles comfortably tend to be heavy. My wife can load any Pedego by putting up one wheel at a time rather than lifting the whole bike at once, but many of our customers are more frail than she. Two people together can usually lift most ebikes fairly easily.

I didn't know Ravi's recommendation, OHM, was from Canada, but they have a good reputation. Biktrix is a solid, small Canadian company that has less expensive bikes. I didn't confirm whether any of their bikes meet your criteria.

I always say this, but I believe it strongly: if you can, try to buy from someone nearby. It's great being able to test ride before buying, and you don't want to have to travel or ship things if you have any problems.

Good luck on your search! Ebikes are a blast!

Ravi and John, thank you both so much for your time to provide this useful information. I will have a look at all,these links. I'm very excited to get my fist Ebike, especially to use on the TCT!

 

[Patricia Laviolette]

Unless your terrain is absolutely flat, and has no traffic whatsoever, you might have trouble doing this for any significant distance. You can check this out on your own. Load up some heavy stuff on your current bike until it weighs 26 kilos and then go for a ride, preferably in an area clear of traffic. The distance you will have travelled will be similar to that which you'll travel unassisted on an e-bike.

To show what the ideal terrain/path is to shut off the drive, you can check out one of my videos. Starting at 21:00 onwards I shut the drive off for a significant part of the ride. The terrain is flat, there's no traffic, and the wind is behind me. I turned back on the drive as soon as there was the slightest incline. The bike was a rental bike and pretty heavy too (weight about 29 kilos).

Thanks Jayvee. It's true that I will probably Pedal unassisted for only 20-25 km, at least at first, so it drives me to want my range to be long so that I can take longer trips!

 

[GadgetDX]

There are tons of different eBikes, it's all about choosing the right one for you. I wrote an article on my blog to help people choose the first eBike.

It is not a normal top 10 list, it showcases the eBikes with the best speed, portability, features, battery life, and pricing in that order. Feel free to check it out at (Link Removed - No Longer Exists).

Here are the bikes I chose:

Speed: Stealth B-52 Bomber
Portability: Smacircle S1
Best Features: Gi FlyBike
Battery Life: OHM eBikes
Cheapest: SWAGTRON Swagcycle

You can read the full article (Link Removed - No Longer Exists).

 

[Patricia Laviolette]

There are tons of different eBikes, it's all about choosing the right one for you. I wrote an article on my blog to help people choose the first eBike.

It is not a normal top 10 list, it showcases the eBikes with the best speed, portability, features, battery life, and pricing in that order. Feel free to check it out at (Link Removed - No Longer Exists).

Here are the bikes I chose:

Speed: Stealth B-52 Bomber
Portability: Smacircle S1
Best Features: Gi FlyBike
Battery Life: OHM eBikes
Cheapest: SWAGTRON Swagcycle

You can read the full article (Link Removed - No Longer Exists).

Thanks Gadget! Much appreciated.

 

[GadgetDX]

Thanks Gadget! Much appreciated.

No problem here to help