RVing with ebikes.

[Drmunyan]

Greeting Court, love you’re site... awesome info! My wife and I are recently retired at a young age (55), both were collegiate at athletes so we adventure hard. Both also have minor lower back issues. That said we are looking for ebikes for 50% paved and 50% trails that many of the state and national parks offer. A slightly upright position would help and good suspension (many of the trails have exposed roots and rocks). Not sure if we need full suspension or a hard tail with suspension saddle stem like Suntour SP 12 ncx. Our price range is plus or minus $2k. What bikes have you reviewed that you think we should look at? Thanks and best regards, DRMunyan

 

[Browneye]

Well, before Court comes along...what I know...
It is difficult to find a decent full suspension in that price range, but certainly front sprung - which is called a 'hardtail' mountain bike. My Giant Explore is one, the Yamaha YDXTorc is another, and everybody seems to make a similar style of bike, and they are very popular. They are well liked because they go well on diverse terrain, and can still make decent speed and distance. I put bigger tires on mine and the ride is much better. We have a lot of decomposed granite trails around here and it's perfect for that.

A good place to start anyway. I'm not a fat-tire bike fan, but they are also popular for this application as well. They can do dirt trails as easily as paved. We have several RV friends that have the radpower bikes, and they like them. Not overly fast-paced casual trail riding is very fun and still gives you a workout.

Oh, and we throw 'em in the Colorado 4x4 which is a toad for a Winnebago 32 motorhome. Way fun.

 

[6zfshdb]

Here are a couple of other things to consider which may help Court advise you.

What are the e-bike laws in the places you plan to ride most. Class 1 (no throttle) bikes are permitted in many parks but class 2 & 3 are banned in other locations.

Do the areas you plan to ride have many steep hills? If so, a mid drive might be a good choice since they are better hill climbers.

How do you plan to carry your bikes? What bike rack do you plan to use and on what vehicle? Bike weight can also be an issue. At 55, you are probably able to lift a 50 or 60 pound e-bike onto a rack but think about the future. E-bikes are expensive and you'll want to use them for some time.

Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck with your search!

 

[ez3putt]

RV's and ebikes are a match made in heaven. I bolted a Reese receiver on the back of my travel trailer for a rack with a ramp. Florida state parks have some great trails, but as you said, rocks, roots, and sugar sand pretty much necessitate fatter tires. My wife's bike has 1.95 tires and handling can get pretty squirrely in sugar sand or soft dirt.

I know the general consensus is that mid drives are better for hills, but I have never had a problem with my hub drive in the north Ga. and western NC mountains.

Just be prepared to answer lots of questions about the ebikes at RV parks across the country.

 

[Drmunyan]

Well, before Court comes along...what I know...
It is difficult to find a decent full suspension in that price range, but certainly front sprung - which is called a 'hardtail' mountain bike. My Giant Explore is one, the Yamaha YDXTorc is another, and everybody seems to make a similar style of bike, and they are very popular. They are well liked because they go well on diverse terrain, and can still make decent speed and distance. I put bigger tires on mine and the ride is much better. We have a lot of decomposed granite trails around here and it's perfect for that.

A good place to start anyway. I'm not a fat-tire bike fan, but they are also popular for this application as well. They can do dirt trails as easily as paved. We have several RV friends that have the radpower bikes, and they like them. Not overly fast-paced casual trail riding is very fun and still gives you a workout.

Oh, and we throw 'em in the Colorado 4x4 which is a toad for a Winnebago 32 motorhome. Way fun.

Thanks Browneye, and I'm not asking how you got that moniker I too am not wild about the fat tire bikes yet a wider than most tire would be better here in FL for the sugar sand. Curious as what Court will reply but for now 3 of his reviews caught my eye (e.g. Surface Shred, Voltbike Enduro and Magmun Mi6). Of the three the Shred has the widest tires (2.8") but I'm not wild about the Shram shifters. The Enduro has no throttle. The Magnum has no torque sensor. Looks like I'm leaning toward the Shred since the shifter is the least of those three negatives. Does anyone know if I can put a quick disconnect on the Shred's throttle cable and remove the trigger (making it a Class 1) when visiting National Parks? Cheers,

 

[Drmunyan]

Here are a couple of other things to consider which may help Court advise you.

What are the e-bike laws in the places you plan to ride most. Class 1 (no throttle) bikes are permitted in many parks but class 2 & 3 are banned in other locations.

Do the areas you plan to ride have many steep hills? If so, a mid drive might be a good choice since they are better hill climbers.

How do you plan to carry your bikes? What bike rack do you plan to use and on what vehicle? Bike weight can also be an issue. At 55, you are probably able to lift a 50 or 60 pound e-bike onto a rack but think about the future. E-bikes are expensive and you'll want to use them for some time.

Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck with your search!

Thanks for the welcome! Right now all classes are OK in FL where I want to ride (State Parks and mtn bike parks like Alafia and Santos). Plus I believe I can remove a throttle trigger if needed??? No hills here but do travel the states, Canada, down to Costa Rica and even would throw the ebikes on my off-shore boat when traveling to the Bahamas and Keys for fishing tournaments.
I have a fully locking Swagman bike rack that mounts to a 2" receiver on the back of my 5th Wheel RV- that should handle the load?!?

 

[Black47]

You might want to look at the Ariel Rider M Class. It has a mid motor with a throttle and the tires are about 2" wide, but they are 20" tires and only weighs 47 pounds which should make it easy for RVing.

 

[trainman]

We are RV'ers and we purchased the Rad Mini Step Thru's just for the purpose you want to use your ebike for. We are 74 and 71, wanted a folder to go into the bed of our pickup and one we could ride on and off road, that is paved and hard packed dirt surfaces, we do not ride rough back wood trails. After three months of ownership we are totally happy with our Rad Mini's. The Fat Tire 20" ebikes are more then we thought they would be, we ride them everywhere in our neighborhood and on the city trails of Ft. Worth, Texas. It's amazing how many ask us about our ebikes both at the camping grounds and the city trails. Adjusting the tire pressure is the least expensive way to adjust your ride on a Fat Tire ebike, yes there are better suspension ebike out there, but they come at a higher price and for our riding it would have been dollars not well spent. This YouTube video as well as many of Court's videos sold me on the Rad Mini's,

 

[6zfshdb]

Does anyone know if I can put a quick disconnect on the Shred's throttle cable and remove the trigger (making it a Class 1) when visiting National Parks? Cheers,

This is an interesting question. Does disabling the throttle on a class 2 ebike legally make it a Class 1? The issue could be complicated if the bike has a class 2 sticker.

From what I've been told, in some class 1 only metropolitan areas, law enforcement looks for the presence of a throttle and tickets / impounds those that have them. Whether or not the throttle works doesn't seem to matter.

I'm not sure how this would be handled in National Parks or suburban / rural areas. My guess is, it would depend on how fast a talker you are and the mood of the ranger or officer.

 

[AHicks]

I think it safe to say there is very little to no enforcement of the throttle rules.

The thought I would have though, is removing the throttle would be modifying the bike - which may justify the removal of the class 2 sticker.