Greetings to all. I'm new to ebikes and was hoping to get some pre-purchase information to guide my search. My question, before considering models and specs, is prompted by several of the most recent videos that Court posted.
10 years ago, I fell in love with scooters, the gas powered, motorcycle-lite, kind. I was really lucky. I knew nothing about the industry, but the friend who sold me my first used bike did. He sold me a top of the line, 50 cc model from Taiwan. I then upgraded to another Taiwanese bike and finally an Italian beauty, and over the course of that time this is what I learned.
First, I learned that bikes from Japan, Italy, and Taiwan were really good, but that most bikes, including everything that novice owners would consider “entry level” in price were from China. Those bikes were not good and parts and service for those bikes were non-existent. Basically, if you paid $1500 or so, you bought a disposable ride. If you paid $3K+, you got something good.
Secondly, I learned that dealer service was critical. If you bought a scooter from a reputable dealer AND that dealer actually cared about scooters, (many motorcycle dealers didn't want anything to do with scooters, even the ones that carried their badges) you could look forward to many tens of thousands of miles of joy. If you didn't, you were in for a bad experience.
So it comes down to this, I live in a very hilly town. I am approaching 50 and want to ride my bike way more often than I want to jog or run stairs. I am almost to the point in my life where I don't have a mini-van full of kids with me at all times. I think an electric bike would be really cool. BUT...I don't want to be that crowd that bought cheap, Chinese scooters from the hardware store.
The boutique bike shop in my town bought a couple of ebikes several years ago and they didn't sell. Consequently, they will order an Electra Townie Go if you pay them in advance, but they don't stock them. The nearest Pedego dealer is a state away. It looks like, to find a full line dealer of any reputable brand, I need to drive 10 hours to Austin or Denver.
Do I have an ebike option or do I wait for the industry to mature?
10 years ago, I fell in love with scooters, the gas powered, motorcycle-lite, kind. I was really lucky. I knew nothing about the industry, but the friend who sold me my first used bike did. He sold me a top of the line, 50 cc model from Taiwan. I then upgraded to another Taiwanese bike and finally an Italian beauty, and over the course of that time this is what I learned.
First, I learned that bikes from Japan, Italy, and Taiwan were really good, but that most bikes, including everything that novice owners would consider “entry level” in price were from China. Those bikes were not good and parts and service for those bikes were non-existent. Basically, if you paid $1500 or so, you bought a disposable ride. If you paid $3K+, you got something good.
Secondly, I learned that dealer service was critical. If you bought a scooter from a reputable dealer AND that dealer actually cared about scooters, (many motorcycle dealers didn't want anything to do with scooters, even the ones that carried their badges) you could look forward to many tens of thousands of miles of joy. If you didn't, you were in for a bad experience.
So it comes down to this, I live in a very hilly town. I am approaching 50 and want to ride my bike way more often than I want to jog or run stairs. I am almost to the point in my life where I don't have a mini-van full of kids with me at all times. I think an electric bike would be really cool. BUT...I don't want to be that crowd that bought cheap, Chinese scooters from the hardware store.
The boutique bike shop in my town bought a couple of ebikes several years ago and they didn't sell. Consequently, they will order an Electra Townie Go if you pay them in advance, but they don't stock them. The nearest Pedego dealer is a state away. It looks like, to find a full line dealer of any reputable brand, I need to drive 10 hours to Austin or Denver.
Do I have an ebike option or do I wait for the industry to mature?
just giving Ravi a hard time! 
