Ride1up vs Espin

[Electricdw]

Just curious if you have any thoughts on the Ride1up 700 series vs Espin. I have narrowed my first time purchase to these two bikes. I live in an area with moderate hills, like to take bike off paved roads from time to time. Although nothing to aggressive off road. Any particular one you would lean towards more?

 

[BigNerd]

Price-wise, feature-wise I would go with the Espin Sport, but if you are looking to do some off road, the 700 might be better with the wider tires. Just not sure either is really suited for off paved paths.

 

[Melonbike]

I have the flow and rode 40 miles yesterday. There was a mile of loose gravel, but I was extra careful and rode over it about 12mph and it did fine. As for hills, I dominated some steep hills. I can go down at 38mph..... And going up was a breeze.

 

[Electricdw]

Thanks good feedback. I am not a offroad rider, just wondered handling if like I was at a park and had to peddle through grass or light gravel.

 

[BigNerd]

I think both will do fine in that type of situation.

Ride1Up is better known than Espin (you can look at the forums to see which one is talked about more) but I personally prefer the Espin due to the sale price of $1199 right now.

 

[GenXrider]

Check out the Rid1Up 500 series. I actually chose to purchase it over the Espin - more assist levels, assist levels are programmable, slightly wider tires, has a higher top gear for less hamster wheeling at higher speed, lower cost additional /replacement battery including a 17.5 aH battery that's available. Rack/fenders are optional, has a suspension fork. I ended up not purchasing because the shipment date was further extended.

Be sure to pedal, not peddle.

 

[Electricdw]

Pedal not peddle darn auto correct. I was considering the 700 ride1up but now maybe the Espin. I am actually buying two one for myself and one for my wife.

 

[BigNerd]

I think the R1U 500 is a great bike too... only issue is "battery bump".

 

[Electricdw]

Battery bump please explain?

 

[BigNerd]

Battery bump please explain?

Sorry... the battery is on the frame rather than inside the frame. So you can immediately tell it's an electric bike. For Ride1Up, the Core-5, 700 and Lmt'd all have integrated frame batteries (as do the Espin Sport and Flow). The Aventon 350 and Rad Mission both have batteries on frame.

For many it doesn't matter... I'm picky.

 

[Alex M]

About battery hump... Ride1up 500 is similar to many other in this respect. Aventon Pace 500 comes to mind. But this is not nearly as bad as in Radmission where it almost looks like DIY when somebody just slapped a battery on a non-powered bike. No offense, but RAD should really work on the esthetic part of their models.

Battery hidden in a grossly oversized downtube like in Ride1UP 700, Core5, LMT, Aventon Level and some others is slightly better look, still can tell an ebike from half a mile away.

Designs like R1up Roadster are stealthier, downtube is thinner, but I'm not sure it's worth it for many people because motor is weaker, battery is smaller, replacing (or even removing) the battery is a pain, and anybody riding next to you will still tell it's an ebike because of controls and motor whirring, so why bother...

 

[Melonbike]

Pedal not peddle darn auto correct. I was considering the 700 ride1up but now maybe the Espin. I am actually buying two one for myself and one for my wife.

1200 or 1450 for closely the same bike. x 2 is 500 bucks saved.
My wife wants one, so I am giving her my flow and getting a sport.

But if money isn't an issue, just get the bike you want. Everyone seems happy with an ebike.

 

[GenXrider]

If the visible battery bothers you, the 700 series still has some of the advantages over the Espin that the 500 has that I mentioned earlier. More assist levels, assist levels are programmable with newer LCD, wider tires, has a higher top gear for less hamster wheeling at higher speed, lower cost additional /replacement battery.

You can save $40 with the pledge at the Ride1UP website, but you have to have it assembled or checked out by bike mechanic for warranty coverage, so there's extra cost there.

 

[BET]

I have an Espin Sport and a Ride1up500. I really like the Sport better. Looks and feels like better quality, more comfortable. It is reliable. Less work to assemble. Sport also comes with a nice rear rack, lights, nice fenders that do not rattle and really nice hydraulic brakes. We have had issues with the 500, primarily chain coming off. Yes we had it tuned and adjusted. It shifts ok. We tried an aftermarket fix but it interfered with the battery. Seems R1up has a lot more QC problems. You do not see a lot of Espin owners reporting that their controllers are bad or that their new bike won't start.