Single speed or 7 speed?

[John from Connecticut]

Thanks John for your reply. Most encouraging to hear that you are my age AND ride 3000 miles a season. What e-bike do you have? Would you buy it again? Thanks!

I own two Trek e-Bikes...A 'commuter' XM700+ and a Trek Powerfly7 Mountain Bikes. I ride only on quiet roads and Rails to Trails type trails, no mountain biking
or heavy traffic for me. Would I buy them again you asked...Absolutely in a second ! ....Everyone has their own unique buying style that works best for them.
I share my story with the hopes of encouragement...

I used to ride a traditional Hybrid carbon fiber bike. When I was in my Local Bike Shop, my sales rep suggested I take one of the e-Bikes out for a ride,
because every time I visit, I'd gawk at the e-bikes, and say no because deep down I thought I might like them : ) Well this particular day I said, " What the heck "
I didn't know an e-Bike from a pound of cheese, but off I went. I'd ridden the Trek XM700 maybe 10 minutes and said this is for me ! I knew it, road another
15 minutes, returned to the shop and bought the bike on the spot . That's how impressed I was.

Best money I've ever spent. It's been nearly two years. I'm certain when you visit your LBS and take a test ride or two you'll have a similar feeling.
There are many fine e-Bikes out there well within your budget...

 

[patrizioeb]

Thanks John for the information and continued encouragement. You have some nice bikes! Around here, in my Dallas suburb, there are no trails, etc. that one can access from our neighborhood. There is a very nice 10 kilometer paved lake bike trail about 35 minutes by car from here. The more I look, the more and more bike options become available... This weekend I will go to a few e-bike shops and see what happens! Thanks again!

 

[patrizioeb]

I own two Trek e-Bikes...A 'commuter' XM700+ and a Trek Powerfly7 Mountain Bikes. I ride only on quiet roads and Rails to Trails type trails, no mountain biking
or heavy traffic for me. Would I buy them again you asked...Absolutely in a second ! ....Everyone has their own unique buying style that works best for them.
I share my story with the hopes of encouragement...

I used to ride a traditional Hybrid carbon fiber bike. When I was in my Local Bike Shop, my sales rep suggested I take one of the e-Bikes out for a ride,
because every time I visit, I'd gawk at the e-bikes, and say no because deep down I thought I might like them : ) Well this particular day I said, " What the heck "
I didn't know an e-Bike from a pound of cheese, but off I went. I'd ridden the Trek XM700 maybe 10 minutes and said this is for me ! I knew it, road another
15 minutes, returned to the shop and bought the bike on the spot . That's how impressed I was.

Best money I've ever spent. It's been nearly two years. I'm certain when you visit your LBS and take a test ride or two you'll have a similar feeling.
There are many fine e-Bikes out there well within your budget...

One thing that is very critical that I forgot to mention is that (since there are no trails, safe bike paths around here) the e-bike would have to be light enough, not over 40-45 lbs, for me to lift it into my 2017 CR-V. Currently I do not have a hitch on my CR-V, but even if I did, just lifting a bike like RadCity, on a hitch, would be quite a struggle.

 

[ebikemom]

Thule easyfold rack has a ramp.

 

[patrizioeb]

Wow! That was fast! Thanks for the information. I'll have to check into that. So much to learn... and so eager to buy!

 

[John from Connecticut]

One thing that is very critical that I forgot to mention is that (since there are no trails, safe bike paths around here) the e-bike would have to be light enough, not over 40-45 lbs, for me to lift it into my 2017 CR-V. Currently I do not have a hitch on my CR-V, but even if I did, just lifting a bike like RadCity, on a hitch, would be quite a struggle.

Howdy,

Lifting an e-Bike up on to a hitch mounted bike rake is not an option for me either...My back says no. What I have done and this has worked out very well for
both me an my back is I bought this Saris (Made in the US ) bike rack https://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-ex-2 .

The way I 'lift' my bikes up onto the Saris Rack is lift the front wheel up with the rear wheel still on the ground, placing the front wheel in the rack wheel holder.
With the front wheel seated in place in it's holder I lift the rear of the bike up, placing it in it's respective wheel holder and then secure everything down.

To remove the bike I do the reverse, lifting the rear wheel up and out from it's holder placing it on the ground. The front wheel is still in place on the rack.
Using the rear brake to 'lock' the rear wheel which is on the ground, I then simply use the handle bars to lift the front wheel from it's little rack wheel holder
and I'm good to go. This little routine works perfectly for me and my back thanks me.

As for a hitch, I bought my hitch from eTrailor.com They are great. They know what they're doing. I highly recommend them
https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2017_Honda_CR-V.htm


Both Saris and eTrailor.com provide great state side support. What I like about the Saris rack is removing it from my hitch is very easy.
The rack is only installed when I'm transporting my bike(s) . I hope this helps.

 

[patrizioeb]

I do love PAS, though. patrizioeb, I hope that you live somewhere where there are shops where you can go try bikes and see what you like.

Thanks. I hope to check a few shops this weekend.

 

[patrizioeb]

It’s a good way to get a nice ebike for a decent price and have peace of mind, but for clarity sake my local Pedego dealer is in Alexandria, VA, (Todd Ketch, he’s a great guy). I encountered Lone Star Ebikes when looking through Black Friday sales online last fall.

Thanks for the clarification.

Howdy,

Lifting an e-Bike up on to a hitch mounted bike rake is not an option for me either...My back says no. What I have done and this has worked out very well for
both me an my back is I bought this Saris (Made in the US ) bike rack https://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-ex-2 .

The way I 'lift' my bikes up onto the Saris Rack is lift the front wheel up with the rear wheel still on the ground, placing the front wheel in the rack wheel holder.
With the front wheel seated in place in it's holder I lift the rear of the bike up, placing it in it's respective wheel holder and then secure everything down.

To remove the bike I do the reverse, lifting the rear wheel up and out from it's holder placing it on the ground. The front wheel is still in place on the rack.
Using the rear brake to 'lock' the rear wheel which is on the ground, I then simply use the handle bars to lift the front wheel from it's little rack wheel holder
and I'm good to go. This little routine works perfectly for me and my back thanks me.

As for a hitch, I bought my hitch from eTrailor.com They are great. They know what they're doing. I highly recommend them
https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2017_Honda_CR-V.htm


Both Saris and eTrailor.com provide great state side support. What I like about the Saris rack is removing it from my hitch is very easy.
The rack is only installed when I'm transporting my bike(s) . I hope this helps.

Thanks for the very helpful detailed information on the Saris and eTrailer. I keep on listening and learning...

 

[tomjasz]

I live in a city without and hills. My latest build is one speed. It's perfect!

 

[patrizioeb]

Thanks for the update. Are you building your own bike? Do you have any trouble starting from stop lights?

 

[grendel]

Hi everyone,
I was asking myself the same question, single or 7 speed and i live in Montreal.
The price difference isn't that big and i don't know if it's easy to upgrade afterwards so i'll probably go with the 7 speed but i'd like opinions from you guys

 

[Dewey]

Hi everyone,
I was asking myself the same question, single or 7 speed and i live in Montreal.
The price difference isn't that big and i don't know if it's easy to upgrade afterwards so i'll probably go with the 7 speed but i'd like opinions from you guys

For sure get the 7-speed as you are in hilly Montreal!

 

[grendel]

Thanks that's what i was thinking.
It would be my first e bike so i wasn't sure about my choice.
i may change a couple of things in the future like the seat or the battery but it seems to be an interesting bike for the price.