Should I wait or should I buy now

G

gadgetqueen

New Member
Region
USA
I am waiting for new releases hoping that the E-bikes will be much lighter. In 2021 will there be new models? I would like to purchase a fat tire folding bike such as the Sonders, or the Aventon Sinch, or the SF6 Sobowo ( I read about on this forum, but can't find that anywhere to buy). These bikes look really cool, have front suspension, hidden battery, but all pretty heavy. Thanks for info about Pedego shop, I have one close to me will check it out.

I bought the Ancheer city bike from Amazon as my first E-bike. It is cool as a touring bike, but not great in the dirt path. IT is too big for me. E-bikes are one size fits all still. It is step through so I can manage it well.

So basically, should I wait to buy a fat tire bike in hopes that new models will be lighter by end of year?
requirements: fat tire, folding-so I can put in my car, can manage the beach, and dirt path, 0 resistance when not powered etc. so can peddle on pavement, hidden battery, front suspension, light as can be, and look cool.

Thanks for your help
 
gadgetqueen said:
0 resistance when not powered
Click to expand...

Thats where you need to change your wants/needs. I dont think you will ever get an ebike that is 0 resistance when not powered, even the lightest ones are around 30-40lbs, factor in the various tools, security, and accessories...with that 40lbs weight, you are always going to have resistance 'fighting the weight' when not powered.
 
Difficult to find a lightweight fat tire folding bike, the Sondors Step at 55lb might be your best bet if you're looking to buy now.
 
Based on what I've been seeing, if you want a new bike for summer, you had better be ordering soon, as demand for the popular bikes has the orders stacking up. Anything is possible, but I don't see any significant new development/reason for waiting to order.
 
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Gadgetqueen,
I'm beginning to believe that the words "lightweight" and "folding fat ebike" do not belong in the same sentence.
There doesn't seem to anything on the horizon for 2021. Of course there's always the possibility of a start-up or crowd funded ebike, so who knows.
My lifting limit is around 50 lbs or so, without the battery. Right now I have my eye on Pedego element, 50 lbs without battery but it's not folding.
I'll keep lurking here because of all the great info.

AHicks makes a great point. Demand is high and so are wait times.
Please post what you find.
 
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0 res is going to limit you to mid drives and then its still going to be heavy , the biktrix ul fs is the easiest riding bike with no power i have ever ridden and i have ridden many . excuse the lack of punctuation but my lab is sleeping on my lap and i dont want to disturb her .
 
Comparison of a 20x4.0" and a 20x2.1" tire. The larger tire is heavier, and needs a wider rim, so there is more rotational mass. This makes it harder to spin up, so pedal effort will be higher. It's a given that the bigger tire won't sink as deep into surfaces like soft gravel or hard sand. And the aggressive tread pattern is better for snow. However, the smaller tire is OK for riding on packed gravel. You have to consider your tradeoffs. The knobby tries are also loud. You can buy smooth 20x4" tires, and expect to pay $50/each.

P1190834.JPG
As far as weight fat tire folders are going to be 55 pounds or more. The Qualisports Beluga Whale is about that weight, but it does come with smooth tires as delivered, so that saves you a little if you want quieter tires. The LEctric XP Stepthru is well liked on this forum, is less money but weighs 63 pounds and comes with knobby tires.

I looked up the Ancheer CIty Bike. That appears to be their famous or infamous folding bike? Supposed to be 41 pounds. I would think that with the seat/bars lowered it would fit you. In any case, the fat tire bikes are much larger.
 
Wait? Big brand names are not getting any cheaper, but the quality of many cheap bikes
is improving,(not all!) I regret not having taken advantage of a black friday deal a year or so back.
The same bike is now nearly $500 more.
 
I don't see this category of Ebike getting much lighter anytime soon.. I'd get in line for whatever you settle on ASAP.
 
gadgetqueen said:
E-bikes are one size fits all still. It is step through so I can manage it well.
Click to expand...
The salesmen tell you that. Lots of lies from salesmen in the USA. They can't be sued for verbal lies. Most bike shops will make you pay for a small frame they don't carry, before it comes in and before you ever sit on it. Much less take a test ride.
Liv is a brand of cruiser for small people from Trek. Look for 16" & 17" frames, also check standover height. Court's reviews do detail those specs. Gazelles come in sizes. Bulls comes in sizes. Cannondale comes in sizes. Giant comes in sizes, and Gaint Lafree has a frame as small as 15".
S**** LBS, I bought a small frame from 3000 miles away, that fits me. I wasn't impressed by the pink Holly Hobbie single speed bike the LBS did carry in my size. Yubabike is so proud of the small frame Bodaboda they don't sell it anymore. We small people should have had rich parents to buy us human growth hormone, is what they are telling us.
There are other brands with small frames, but not cheap ones. Most posters here will try to force you into 20" wheel bikes, as if small people can fly over potholes with our fairy wings. Dodged a pothole 18" in diameter and 7" deep yesterday, on my 26" wheel bike. I use 2.1" tires that don't rattle my teeth if I hit some hole following a car or in rain when the puddles cver the holes. Don't have powder snow or fluffy beach sand here, don't see the point of a fat tire bike. I don't even have a suspension fork.
Happy shopping.
 
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AHicks said:
Your call of course, but you'll be walking, waiting for something that's on nobody's radar, while the rest of us will be enjoying our e-bikes.
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We have 2 ebikes already but waiting to see how the Sonders Cruiser reviews pan out for the wife. I am looking at the Zen. We can wait a little longer as we are in Washington State and we are in the rainy season. 😎
 
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ki11a said:
Thats where you need to change your wants/needs. I dont think you will ever get an ebike that is 0 resistance when not powered, even the lightest ones are around 30-40lbs, factor in the various tools, security, and accessories...with that 40lbs weight, you are always going to have resistance 'fighting the weight' when not powered.
Click to expand...
True those Plus size fat tires on the Sonders will make it harder to peddle unpowered, that being said you can find something with a more reasonable sized tire and a good low rolling resistance rating on the tire itself If you were close by I would let you try out my new Eahora XC100 it weighs about 48# I do believe and it would fit a smaller person with cheap and reasonable 26" wheels( regen works great)
I actually bought a "YAMEE" Fat Bear, for $1150, it is extremely well equipped with dual suspension, hydraulic brakes, regen and adequate power and 8 spd gears, Headlight and more.It was basically 1/3 off retail.
My take on what happened was this, initially, the retail price scared potential buyers off and most bikes in this class were rated with more power Check out the 48 volt 500 watt "Ecotric" folding 20" FTB, its listed now for around $749 I believe. My Daughter has one and I liked it better than the Lectric XP I had, BTW the "Lectric" XP may fill your needs it really rolls easy and it will hit close to 28 mph for $899 and I think they are still throwing in the "Pannier Bag"( a really nice bag BTW.)
The "ECOTRIC" is a class 2 and limited to 20 mph, good battery life and it climbs well, the "XP" climbs well and has fenders and a rack included the ECOTRIC" didn't come with a rack( easily remedied) You can set the XP as a class 3
 
I'm waiting because I don't want an e-bike sitting around in the middle of winter. It's not another day not riding for me because I don't ride at this time of the year anyway - barely at all until May. And even if I miss out again this year, I won't be walking when the nice weather finally comes around because I still have my standard bike, which I continue to ride often during nice weather.

Also, I'm regularly checking the inventory of the e-bikes that I'm interested in so that I'm alerted if availability looks like it will become an issue, so I can go ahead and pull the trigger and avoid missing out this year. Last year, I didn't start looking until around June. I won't make that mistake again!

OP, please don't "peddle" on the pavement.
 
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gadgetqueen said:
Thank you all for your help. Great info. But I went and did it again. I bought another
Click to expand...
Ancheer ebike, the. Folding 20 inch bike, the first ancheer was the 26 city bike not folding. The company is close , only took 3 days to arrive I think located in NJ.

The bike is perfect for my height and it rides well and is easy to maneuver, I Ride it around in the living room and I can steer pretty well around the TV and sofa LOL.
This will get me through the summer and let’s see what the fall brings.,
Thanks
 
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