Starting my ebike purchase journey

[GoGranny51]

Exciting news my friends. TLDR: I bought the Momentum Vida E+ at a large discount!

I got to ride four Giant and Momentum bikes today. First was the 2020 Fastroad E+ EX Pro. Loved this bike as it was light, powerful, and well equipped. It was being sold for around $2500 as it was an older model. Only problem was that I had a hard time getting my leg over the bar as I have knee issues so had to skip it. Also rode the Roam E+ but it wasn’t as exciting and had the same issue with regard to my knee. Both bikes had plenty of power for me and felt natural to ride. Next up was a medium sized Momentum LaFree E+ which I really liked. Then I noticed there was one in red right next to it at $280 off ($1999) and then a white step-thru bike next to that one at $2199. Both were large size but the white one was a Vida E+ (375 Wh battery) which retails at $2850. I rode the Vida E+ and found that I had no issue getting on it and in fact loved how it shifted with the Nexus IGH 7 speed and how it rode overall.

Told the shop that I would discuss with my wife and get back to them. Called my wife on the way home and she said if I liked it and it was pretty much the same price as the LaFree E+ I was considering so I should get it. She didn’t mind that it may be too big for her but I think she may be able to ride it anyway as it is a step-thru. The Vida E+ more than met my criteria (except that the battery is smaller) and came in at a reasonable price so I called the shop back and put a $100 deposit on it!

Thank you all for helping me in my search. I feel like I made a choice after a good amount of research and testing bikes (rode 14 of them). @GoGranny51 you may want to try this bike out as it appears to meet your criteria. Feel free to let me know if you think I made a mistake as I guess I can still cancel and get my deposit back.

Congrats on your purchase! I’m really jealous your choices are narrowed down and your decision is made! Sounds like a good choice, and I do hope to try some Momentum bikes myself. My son who is gifting me the bike is here at the moment, in the mountains, and told me to get what I want and need! So I won’t feel too guilty trying some bikes I otherwise thought were out of my budget. Many of the hills are long and steep here; so I’ll reconsider some I’d eliminated previously. I, too, have learned so much through this website and the help of these nice folks willing to give of their time and experience. The factors I know I want: 1. To purchase through a local shop; 2. Step-through; 3. Uncomplicated handling; 4. Min 500w motor; and 5. A good bike rack so I can transport the bike from the mountains to the flat lands. I think I want fenders as it rains a good bit here and at home, so roads are often wet. And I’d like around 2” tires so I can go on dirt or gravel when I want or need to do so. Now that the holidays are coming to a close (I still have a house full of folks), I’ll start the serious test riding. I’m hoping I can find some shops in New Orleans and maybe Mobile, Pensacola, or Destin. Anyway, good luck, and enjoy!!!

 

[Noobebiker]

Thanks a bunch. Also I learned here that the power wasn’t as important if I was looking for a mid drive. A 250 W mid drive motor can be great depending on the torque it delivers. The Vida E+ produces up to 60 Nm of torque which is pretty strong. The Fastroad I rode produced around 85 Nm I think and it felt very powerful - more than I needed. A rear hub motor would need to be more powerful. Did you want a throttle as well? That’s pretty much hub motor territory.

The Vida E+ doesn’t come with fenders so you would need to retrofit aftermarket and as I said it only has 250 W but the torque is plenty and it never felt anything but strong to me.

Hopefully your test rides will get you to the same place I am now in short order and you will have found the bike you want soon. Keep us posted on your search. Happy Holidays!

 

[Noobebiker]

Unfortunate news my friends. Went to pick up my bike and all seemed well until I asked them to show me how to take the battery out and put it back in. The battery was difficult for the guy to take out and when he tried to put it back in, it did not stay locked in the bike. He said that wasn’t right and had his mechanic take a look at it. After a half hour of fidgeting with it, the mechanic said the battery was stuck and wouldn’t come out so he would have to talk with Giant about how to fux this issue. He said he’d never had this happen to a bike before. So I’m waiting until at least Monday to get the bike. Oh well it’s only an inconvenience I hope. I witnessed a much worse thing on the way to the LBS so I’m grateful for my life and circumstances for now. I won’t share the other event as it was quite traumatic for me and I’m sure much worse for those involved.

Happy New Year my friends and please stay safe.

 

[PatriciaK]

Unfortunate news my friends. Went to pick up my bike and all seemed well until I asked them to show me how to take the battery out and put it back in. The battery was difficult for the guy to take out and when he tried to put it back in, it did not stay locked in the bike. He said that wasn’t right and had his mechanic take a look at it. After a half hour of fidgeting with it, the mechanic said the battery was stuck and wouldn’t come out so he would have to talk with Giant about how to fux this issue. He said he’d never had this happen to a bike before. So I’m waiting until at least Monday to get the bike. Oh well it’s only an inconvenience I hope. I witnessed a much worse thing on the way to the LBS so I’m grateful for my life and circumstances for now. I won’t share the other event as it was quite traumatic for me and I’m sure much worse for those involved.

Happy New Year my friends and please stay safe.

Better to have the issue discovered and taken care of at the dealer, even if it results in a bit of a delay for you.

Enjoy, and once you start riding, be sure to post pics!

 

[Noobebiker]

Absolutely. I’m in no hurry and will wait for them to fix it first before taking the bike home.

 

[Noobebiker]

These are pics of my slope in both directions of just my driveway in our new place. This is why I wanted an ebike. To spare my poor knees.

 

[PatriciaK]

These are pics of my slope in both directions of just my driveway in our new place. This is why I wanted an ebike. To spare my poor knees.

You're going to fly right up , and your knees will be very happy!

 

[Noobebiker]

Woohoo - can’t wait!

 

[Coolbob]

These are pics of my slope in both directions of just my driveway in our new place. This is why I wanted an ebike. To spare my poor knees.

Our driveway is about 200' long and uphill all the way. I put my Transend E+ in 1st gear+max assist and sprint up the hill. My wife prefers to walk her Vida E+ up the hill and she loves the walk assist. Either way, you're good to go!

 

[Noobebiker]

Nice. Good to know. We have several major hills in my immediate neighborhood that are pretty steep and short. I’m hoping the Vida E+ in first gear and my legs will be enough to climb them.

 

[TrevorB]

Yes the Vida E+ is a mid drive. The same motor as the LaFree E+ I believe.

Congratulations on your new toy. Give it few months and you'll join N+1 club. (Google N+1 cycling).

 

[john peck]

Check EBR review for the NCM Moscow & Aspen,(fat version of the moscow). $1200 & $1300
respectively. very good quality for the price, a tough forgiving bike for noobs.Its more of a general use
bike than a mtn.bike. The plus verrsions cost more, but regulars are easily upgraded. I´ve 4600 mi
on mine, only issues stemmed from stock tires. If your heavy you might want to swap ´em out for
something tougher. It´s my daily driver, grocery getter, & just for fun. It´s cheap because the company
uses readily available generic components instead of model specific parts one can wait weeks to
arrive. plenty of power, climbs anything.

 

[GoGranny51]

Woohoo - can’t wait!

I'm back on the serious search for my bike. What's new with yours???
I am going to test ride a 2021 Vida E+ tomorrow at a shop 70 miles from home. The guy at the shop was very helpful. But I have a question even he couldn't answer: on the Giant USA website, two step-thru Vidas are listed. One has a 500w battery, one a 375. Same price. Seems like that decision should be a no-brainer. But then I wondered what else could be different on these bikes. Could it be the motor? There is info about one motor (on the 375w) but nothing much on the 500w. The dealer thinks Giant may just have substituted the lower wattage battery mid-year due to supply issues. But he was even puzzled about the listed specs he has as a dealer since he believes the 500w is the newer model. Does anyone have info about this?
I also can test a Rove E. But it doesn't look as potentially capable of climbing hills, at least on paper. Think I can also try a Transcend. Guess this is where geometry comes into play. We'll see-

 

[Dewey]

I’m not a dealer but the Momentum Vida and Transend models started out with the smaller battery, the 500wh battery showed up on their website as an option later last year about the same time as the Pakyak cargo model was announced, presumably someone at Giant thought it might be a useful upgrade, arguably the Transend needed it more because at Class 3 speeds it consumes energy faster than the Class 1 Vida.

 

[GoGranny51]

I’m not a dealer but the Momentum Vida and Transend models started out with the smaller battery, the 500wh battery showed up on their website as an option later last year about the same time as the Pakyak cargo model was announced, presumably someone at Giant thought it might be a useful upgrade, arguably the Transend needed it more because at Class 3 speeds it consumes energy faster than the Class 1 Vida.

Thank you for the info. So… Fiant upgraded the battery and kept all else the same AND with no price increase? Again, sounds like a no-brained if both are available

 

[GoGranny51]

Thank you for the info. So… Fiant upgraded the battery and kept all else the same AND with no price increase? Again, sounds like a no-brained if both are available

*Giant

 

[Dewey]

Thank you for the info. So… Fiant upgraded the battery and kept all else the same AND with no price increase? Again, sounds like a no-brained if both are available

From reading the published specs it seems like it. In particular the Momentum website says it still uses the SyncDrive Life 60nm motor, this is important because last year Giant introduced a slightly less powerful SyncDrive Core 50nm motor used on their Giant Roam E+ & Liv Rove E+ entry level “adventure” ebikes that also use a smaller 400wh battery. Better off getting the Momentum Vida E+ 500wh

 

[Noobebiker]

I still don’t have mine yet as they are working with Giant on how to remove the battery from the bike. I was told it would be an $850 upgrade for the 500Wh battery so I said no but that was before the purchase. If they don’t resolve the issue next week, I plan on asking for a different bike. Hopefully that means I get the 500Wh battery. Did not expect this to go this way but I am being patient.

 

[GoGranny51]

I still don’t have mine yet as they are working with Giant on how to remove the battery from the bike. I was told it would be an $850 upgrade for the 500Wh battery so I said no but that was before the purchase. If they don’t resolve the issue next week, I plan on asking for a different bike. Hopefully that means I get the 500Wh battery. Did not expect this to go this way but I am being patient.

Such a bummer! I am very interested in how your bike does on hills (or even your driveway!). They should upgrade you to the 500w for your trouble! Interestingly, here is another online comparison of the 375w and 500w. It indicates the 375w has a Yamaha 60nm mid-drive motor whereas the 500w has a hub-drive. The dealer looked up the present specs and thinks this is incorrect, that they have the same Syncdrive life motor. So confusing.

 

[Noobebiker]

Wish you worked for Giant! Their website in the US is all screwed up as it states that the 375Wh battery puts out 13.8 Ah at 36V. That would make it a 496.8Wh battery which is closer to 500Wh. I have no idea what the real specs are now.