ST Ebikes for 24"/25" inseam?

[curiouscats]

We need help finding a stepthru ebike for an adult who is 4'6" with about 24" inseam (25" with shoes) and needs to reach the ground on tiptoe when seated in the saddle due to some balance and coordination issues. The ebike needs to be low stepthru and will be ridden in Rochester, NY mostly on trails and roads. Preference is for more upright cruiser/casual/recreational style riding.

We bought the Aventon Level Stepthrough S/M thinking it would work but the 30" from saddle to ground is way too high. It doesn't even have 24" tires to make it lower. The stepthrough is also too high. There's very little room in the stepthrough between the saddle and the frame as well.

We have an appointment next week to check out the Pedego Boomerang Platinum Stepthru 24". We've tried the Electra Go Townie 7D and the Aventon Sinch but both were too tall to allow reaching the ground from the saddle at all.

Unfortunately, most 20" and 24" ebikes seem to have the frames built up above the wheels to at least 30" saddle to ground. We've been looking online at the Electric Bike Co Model M, Evelo Galaxy 500, Tern HSD, Biktrix Stunner LT 20", Rad Mini ST 2, VeeGo Semi-Fat SR, Jupiter Discovery X5, Lectric XP ST. All of these look like they might have the same issue, however. Even if we get a lower seat and the seatpost switched out to make the minimum seat height to ground lower.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Dewey]

Bike Friday sell 16” wheel bikes with available electric assist option. The Bantam fits little people with inseams less than 23”, while the Pakit fits people from 4’6”, the frames are made in Eugene, OR, cost about $2,700

 

[curiouscats]

Bike Friday sell 16” wheel bikes with available electric assist option. The Bantam fits little people with inseams less than 23”, while the Pakit fits people from 4’6”, the frames are made in Eugene, OR, cost about $2,700

Thank you, Dewey.

A couple weeks ago we spoke with an expert at Bike Friday. They said we'd have the same issue because of how high the seat needs to be to comfortably and properly pedal. They also don't have stepthru frames. So far all ebikes, whether 16", 20", or 24", foldable or not, have a seat to ground height of 29" to 31", unfortunately. Some may possibly be able to get down to 28", but no lower.

If the Pedego Boomerang doesn't end up working out the way we hope, we may need to go with stabilizers, no matter what the ebike.

 

[indianajo]

I've checked a couple of small bikes, and all have 30" minimum saddle height.
You may have to have a custom frame built. This would be steel, and heavy. Then you can convert it with a geared hub motor, as I did to my yubabike. I find the industrial crimp connectors (Dorman) I used on my battery to be trouble free, as compared to the push fit prongs on various better looking batteries. My battery is captured in an aluminum angle frame bolted to the front of the bike. My bike had bosses in the front of the frame to allow installing accessories on the front, without steering that weight. Installing a PAS pickup, or a torque sensor pickup, requires a special puller to get the crank off. I have 6 automotive pullers, and none of them worked.
One source of geared hub motors & batteries is ebikeling.com . I don't recommend a mid-drive conversion. That is a lot more complicated, wears out chains quickly, and most of the kit ones require power 100% of the time to not drag. My chain lasts 5000 miles. My ebikeling motor only lasted 4500, but it only cost $221 too. The better Mac12t 48v motor I'm now riding is no longer available In US that I know of. There were takeout 36v bafang 26" wheel geared hub motors available for $42 at batteryclearinghouse.com last week, but I'm having trouble finding a mating controller and cable for it. I would have to buy a throw away credit card to send the number to fraud prone Asia to buy on alibaba or such. I'm definitely not sending my regular debit card number out to the wild East.

 

[curiouscats]

I've checked a couple of small bikes, and all have 30" minimum saddle height.
You may have to have a custom frame built. This would be steel, and heavy. Then you can convert it with a geared hub motor, as I did to my yubabike. I find the industrial crimp connectors (Dorman) I used on my battery to be trouble free, as compared to the push fit prongs on various better looking batteries. My battery is captured in an aluminum angle frame bolted to the front of the bike. My bike had bosses in the front of the frame to allow installing accessories on the front, without steering that weight. Installing a PAS pickup, or a torque sensor pickup, requires a special puller to get the crank off. I have 6 automotive pullers, and none of them worked.
One source of geared hub motors & batteries is ebikeling.com . I don't recommend a mid-drive conversion. That is a lot more complicated, wears out chains quickly, and most of the kit ones require power 100% of the time to not drag. My chain lasts 5000 miles. My ebikeling motor only lasted 4500, but it only cost $221 too. The better Mac12t 48v motor I'm now riding is no longer available In US that I know of. There were takeout 36v bafang 26" wheel geared hub motors available for $42 at batteryclearinghouse.com last week, but I'm having trouble finding a mating controller and cable for it. I would have to buy a throw away credit card to send the number to fraud prone Asia to buy on alibaba or such. I'm definitely not sending my regular debit card number out to the wild East.

Thank you, Indianajo.

We were afraid of having to have to go that route, but that seems like it might be the best option. Thank you for all that motor information as well. We know nothing about converting a regular bike to an ebike, so this is very helpful.

 

[soyabean]

I've seen kids in my neighborhood on Jetson Bolts?

 

[curiouscats]

I've seen kids in my neighborhood on Jetson Bolts?

Thank you, Soyabean.

We were hoping for something with pedals but we'll consider it as an option.

 

[Dewey]

There are some component choices that might help her, for example on my BBS01 mid-drive kit motor I wanted to swap out the aluminum crank arms for square taper steel cranks and I bought a set from ebay designed for a Unicycle. The Sunlite steel crank arms are 152mm/6" long which is shorter than standard 170mm cranks and they would be a good choice for a shorter rider.

Regarding the saddle height/pedalling issue you might look at cruiser bikes with a relaxed seat tube angle that push the pedals forward and allow the rider to put both feet on the ground. The Electra Townie 7D 24" model is an example and would be a good candidate for converting to an ebike. The minimum rider height given in the specs is 4' 7"/139.7cm which might be a smidgen too high for her though. The KHS Smoothie saddle height might be 24" though you should check with the manufacturer, and again would be a good candidate for conversion with a Bafang BBS02 mid-drive motor with the shorter steel crank arms I mentioned.

 

[curiouscats]

Thank you again, Dewey.

It does seem like we're going to need to convert something like the Electra Townie 24" to an ebike, if the Pedego Boomerang 24" doesn't work out.

 

[Dewey]

Thank you again, Dewey.

It does seem like we're going to need to convert something like the Electra Townie 24" to an ebike, if the Pedego Boomerang 24" doesn't work out.

It would be worth asking around the bike shops in your area if there is one that will convert or at least assist with converting a pedal bike to an ebike. I went that route with my local bike shop and they helped by removing the bottom bracket, I slid the motor in and attached the chainring, then they made it work with the bikes gearing. Or the simplest would be to fit a front hub motor kit like the Hilltopper Horizon which is available in 20", 24", or 26" wheel size, make sure to order the optional torque arm.

 

[curiouscats]

It would be worth asking around the bike shops in your area if there is one that will convert or at least assist with converting a pedal bike to an ebike. I went that route with my local bike shop and they helped by removing the bottom bracket, I slid the motor in and attached the chainring, then they made it work with the bikes gearing.

We have a great local bike shop. We'll need to ask if they would assist with converting a bike to an ebike. They sell Trek and Townie, so they might do it, since we'd buy the Townie from them.

 

[Dewey]

We have a great local bike shop. We'll need to ask if they would assist with converting a bike to an ebike. They sell Trek and Townie, so they might do it, since we'd buy the Townie from them.

Good idea, let us know how it goes.

 

[rich c]

We have a great local bike shop. We'll need to ask if they would assist with converting a bike to an ebike. They sell Trek and Townie, so they might do it, since we'd buy the Townie from them.

Good luck with that. Bike shops are up to their necks in business this time of year and the liability of parts failure on a kit installation scares most every shop away. If balance is so much of an issue that both feet must go down at a stop, isn't starting to move an issue too? I'd suggest a trike would be the way to go.

 

[curiouscats]

Good luck with that. Bike shops are up to their necks in business this time of year and the liability of parts failure on a kit installation scares most every shop away. If balance is so much of an issue that both feet must go down at a stop, isn't starting to move an issue too? I'd suggest a trike would be the way to go.

Thank you, Rich.

We know it's going to take time, if we have to go that route. We're in no rush. We also understand the issue about kit instillations and bike shops being hesitant to install them. So it might not be a possibility anyway.

Starting on a bike is difficult but doable, stopping is not. Possibly because of the geometry of the Aventon Level Stepthrough. They get stuck between the seat and the frame, even with a noseless seat - there's no room. Stopping on the bike and putting a foot on the ground might be easier to manage with a different and lower frame. That's what we're trying to figure out. But they will have a harder time managing, either way, if they're 5" or 6" off the ground as it is. Which is why we were hoping to find a shorter bike.

We don't have the room to keep an etrike, unfortunately.

 

[soyabean]

We were hoping for something with pedals but we'll consider it as an option.

Not sure what you are getting at, it has pedals?

 

[curiouscats]

Aventon Level has higher lowest seat position.

Aventon Aventure on the other hand...

Thank you, Timpo.

Although according to the size and fit on their website, the minimum seat height for the Small is 30.9" and the stepthru/standover is 25", which is too high.

Also, the picture online is only showing the M/L even with S/M selected. The seat tube is lower on the actual S/M than in the picture, but the minimum seat height is 31.9". When we bought it we thought they would be able to learn dismounting, but them getting stuck between the seat and the frame makes that impossible.

 

[Dewey]

Not sure what you are getting at, it has pedals?

The Jetson Bolt has pegs, the Bolt Pro model has pedals.

 

[curiouscats]

Electric Bike Company Model M says..

Recommended Rider Height
4’6″ – 6′

MODEL M - Electric Bike Company®

Description of the electric Bike Company Model R and the benefits it brings. Pre-order yours today and receive it in March 2020.

electricbikecompany.com

Thanks again, Timpo.

We contacted the company and the measurement for seat to ground is 31", which is too high. With a different seat and post we might only gain an inch or two, but not much more.

 

[curiouscats]

The Jetson Bolt has pegs, the Bolt Pro model has pedals.

That's correct, Dewey, thank you. We didn't look at the Bolt Pro. That might be a possibility, if able to get a hold of one. The frame is built up over the tires so we'll need to contact the company about the standover height, since it's not stepthru.

 

[Dewey]

That might be a possibility, if able to get a hold of one. The frame is built up over the tires so we'll need to contact the company about the standover height, since it's not stepthru.

Yes there a couple of these micro-mobility companies about, some sell refurbished models that may have some cosmetic damage but run, like this Swagtron EB-5 14” wheel folding bike. It looks like it uses standard crank arms, if a bike shop could replace them with shorter crank arms the seatpost slides down quite low.