Sub $3000 Leisure/Commuter Bike For Hilly Area [Final Choice: Priority Current]

Thanks for sharing your experiences @Achterbahn! I was leaning towards the Current before your experiences and now I have pre purchased for June delivery. Going to be a long 2 months but can't wait.
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences @Achterbahn! I was leaning towards the Current before your experiences and now I have pre purchased for June delivery. Going to be a long 2 months but can't wait.
Glad it was helpful. I tried to report equally on what was positive and what was negative. Even better that, the way their pre-orders work, if you find a better bike or a better deal in these 2 months, you can just cancel the pre-order :)
 
Looks like Priority added a walk mode to this batch of the Current.
I can confirm, received and assembled mine Thursday and got it checked for safety yesterday. I've got 10 miles on it so far.

Just walked it across the living room. Might see what it does if pressed while sitting on it when I take it out again Monday.
 
Has anyone contacted Priority to see if a software update is available for existing units? It looks like they did not change the physical hardware for this feature. I wasn't worried about it until I tried to push my 52 lb. bike up a steep hill.
 
Has anyone contacted Priority to see if a software update is available for existing units? It looks like they did not change the physical hardware for this feature. I wasn't worried about it until I tried to push my 52 lb. bike up a steep hill.
I haven't because I'm not looking forward to the hassle of getting that cable shipped and back. I haven't felt the need for it yet. Usually when I need to go up a hill I just hop on the bike instead.
 
I haven't because I'm not looking forward to the hassle of getting that cable shipped and back. I haven't felt the need for it yet. Usually when I need to go up a hill I just hop on the bike instead.
While it's true that getting that $50 cable back and forth is a hassle, so is pushing that bike up a steep grade (as you have noted before, the Current won't make it up really steep grades).
 
Right! And that is a good reason. I feel like the Rize brings a better value than the Priority Current, given that it has much more power, suspension, bigger battery, throttle, etc. However, the low maintenance features of the Current are what attracts me: belt drive, internal gear hub, etc.

Basically, you can tell from this thread that I want the Priority Current. At this point I'm just waiting for someone to tell me if it's not worth it or if I am making a big mistake, before actually going for it! How to justify having the same price as the Rize without all of those extra features/power/battery size?
all Priority say about the motor is "its 500watt motor with 140nm of torque"! if its some weird obscure motor and Priority go belly up or change design next year it could be very hard to find replacement parts, its hard enough to find replacement parts for well known motors used by multiple brands! $3300 for a Belt driven middrive with torque sensing and 140nm of torque seems nearly to good to be true! as for Rize they have some killer bikes but they dont have Biktrix customer service thats for sure. If your going the online rout as a first buyer Customer service is super important so i would check out Biktrix first.
 
all Priority say about the motor is "its 500watt motor with 140nm of torque"! if its some weird obscure motor and Priority go belly up or change design next year it could be very hard to find replacement parts, its hard enough to find replacement parts for well known motors used by multiple brands! $3300 for a Belt driven middrive with torque sensing and 140nm of torque seems nearly to good to be true! as for Rize they have some killer bikes but they dont have Biktrix customer service thats for sure. If your going the online rout as a first buyer Customer service is super important so i would check out Biktrix first.
This is unfortunately a risk that all of us who buy this bike took. It is also the biggest risk with this bike. For more context, it is a weird obscure motor, more specifically this one. You *can* buy one on Alibaba for about $300 but it's certainly not ideal. That is just the reality. Not everyone is comfortable with the risks, so this bike isn't for everyone.

Priority has phenomenal customer service, so I don't doubt they'd keep stock of the motor for a while if they change the design. If they go bankrupt, as you mentioned, it's a whole different story. Not much you can do about it then. It's a risk of not going with the more well known/expensive parts.
 
This is unfortunately a risk that all of us who buy this bike took. It is also the biggest risk with this bike. For more context, it is a weird obscure motor, more specifically this one. You *can* buy one on Alibaba for about $300 but it's certainly not ideal. That is just the reality. Not everyone is comfortable with the risks, so this bike isn't for everyone.

Priority has phenomenal customer service, so I don't doubt they'd keep stock of the motor for a while if they change the design. If they go bankrupt, as you mentioned, it's a whole different story. Not much you can do about it then. It's a risk of not going with the more well known/expensive parts.
at that price i would just go ahead and buy one as a back up,thats actually not bad at all.
 
at that price i would just go ahead and buy one as a back up,thats actually not bad at all.
A lot of us also bought the bike when it was on sale for $2600, which made it easier to accept the risks.

I know of one person who had a motor failure and got a replacement from Priority. It was a relatively quick and smooth process.
 
A lot of us also bought the bike when it was on sale for $2600, which made it easier to accept the risks.

I know of one person who had a motor failure and got a replacement from Priority. It was a relatively quick and smooth process.
in all honesty if the bike was $2600 i would have rolled the dice for sure!
 
I posted this question in another thread, but with this Truckrun motor, is it possible to upgrade the lights to something like a B&M or a Supernova? Priority told me that the front light is 400 lumens, but they didn't provide a lux rating. I was just wondering if this is really bright enough to get people's attention. The specs for the Truckrun look like it's got a light output port that puts out only about 3 watts if I'm reading it correctly, which would make it similar to the Bafang motor's light output port. The higher end lights require 7 to 12 watts.
 
I posted this question in another thread, but with this Truckrun motor, is it possible to upgrade the lights to something like a B&M or a Supernova? Priority told me that the front light is 400 lumens, but they didn't provide a lux rating. I was just wondering if this is really bright enough to get people's attention. The specs for the Truckrun look like it's got a light output port that puts out only about 3 watts if I'm reading it correctly, which would make it similar to the Bafang motor's light output port. The higher end lights require 7 to 12 watts.
I unfortunately don't know the answer to that. I rarely use the light because I rarely ride at night. I find it adequate, but nothing impressive. Definitely not bright enough to make a difference during the day. If you were you, I'd ask Priority. They will definitely answer to the best of their knowledge.
 
After months of waiting, I got my Priority Current (this thread was part of that decision). It's my first Ebike, and it has changed the game for me. In the few weeks I have had it, I run all my errands on it and don't worry about parking. I look forward to running errands. There's still a learning curve to figure out the best way to use it; remembering the best gears and assist levels to start from a complete stop at a red light and such. But, can't recommend it enough.
 
After months of waiting, I got my Priority Current (this thread was part of that decision). It's my first Ebike, and it has changed the game for me. In the few weeks I have had it, I run all my errands on it and don't worry about parking. I look forward to running errands. There's still a learning curve to figure out the best way to use it; remembering the best gears and assist levels to start from a complete stop at a red light and such. But, can't recommend it enough.
Glad you liked it! FYI, there's a Facebook (yuck!) group for Priority bike owners, which could be helpful in the future if you want to find fellow Current owners.
 
No crystal ball here, but I believe that's something that's going to change quickly. Adapt to what's going on within the industry, or go by the wayside. It's not going to be long before they find themselves in a position where they can't afford to say they won't work on the electrical....
That hasn't been an issue where I am (northern New England) since the local shops can't get much inventory to sell. (I feel their pain. I'm suffering major supply issues in my business as well). The shops are more than happy to assemble and service bikes purchased online. The fact is, everything else being equal, I would prefer to buy from them, so there is no long term percentage alienating future customers. In short, I agree with your prediction.
 
Glad you liked it! FYI, there's a Facebook (yuck!) group for Priority bike owners, which could be helpful in the future if you want to find fellow Current owners.
Thank you, Acterbahn, for your fountain of information about the Current. I just pulled the trigger on one, (at least partly based on your real world assessments), with the Shimano shifter. Admittedly, I made that decision after a lot of mental gymnastics, and some fear of the unknown about the Enviolo shifter, which also adds a little more weight, and $200 to the price tag. (I think the pricing has shifted around on these based on supply and demand).

I do have one question which I don't think has been addressed in depth on this thread or elsewhere, and that is about the stock WTB Horizon 47 tires. I really can't avoid some dirt or packed gravel where I live. Are these tires good enough? Knobbier tires are not a big upgrade investment relative to the bike cost, so curious to know if anyone here has some first hand experience riding on rougher surfaces with the Current.
 
Thank you, Acterbahn, for your fountain of information about the Current. I just pulled the trigger on one, (at least partly based on your real world assessments), with the Shimano shifter. Admittedly, I made that decision after a lot of mental gymnastics, and some fear of the unknown about the Enviolo shifter, which also adds a little more weight, and $200 to the price tag. (I think the pricing has shifted around on these based on supply and demand).

I do have one question which I don't think has been addressed in depth on this thread or elsewhere, and that is about the stock WTB Horizon 47 tires. I really can't avoid some dirt or packed gravel where I live. Are these tires good enough? Knobbier tires are not a big upgrade investment relative to the bike cost, so curious to know if anyone here has some first hand experience riding on rougher surfaces with the Current.
I unfortunately have exclusively ridden in cities, so I can't help. Also, the most recent Current is shipping with slightly different tires. I'd ask Priority to confirm what those are (or just wait and see!).

Regarding Shimano vs Enviolo - I'd say the Enviolo is overall regarded as a more premium hub. I like the discrete gears on the Shimano better than continuous gearing, but that's about it. The Enviolo will have bigger gearing ratio, allowing you to climb hills better. There's also the matter that these Shimano hubs are theoretically rated for a smaller torque than this bike outputs, so we don't know about durability.

Overall, I don't regret getting the Shimano, but for a hilly city, I would highly consider the Enviolo.

Since you got the Shimano - are you a Costco member? Did you buy it through Costco?
 
Back