Suggest Ebike for older riders

B

Balsa61

Member
Region
USA
We’re new to this forum and haven’t bought an Ebike as yet. I’m looking for suggestions - sorry if this is a long post.

About us - I’ve just turned 60 and my wife is two years younger than me … which makes her “25 again”. We live in Central Minnesota and only ride May - September because there’s snow on the ground the rest of the year.


Here’s our criteria:

Price: Would like to keep to under $1,000 and very budget conscious. We are leisure riders only and keep to paved paths. We do not need fancy off-road bikes. 10-15 miles would be a long ride for us but with an Ebike may be further.

Weight: Lighter is better. I know many Bikes are over 60lbs range. My wife would not be able to lift one of these.

Style: Step through or low bar type. Even I’m getting too old for the diamond frame style
Also leaning towards a folding bike. I can put a bike rack on my car (Subaru Outback) but my wife would need to fold it to put inside her trunk (Subaru Forester). And hence lighter weight so she can lift it in.

Currently looking at the Lectric XP Lite for her. Haven’t decided for me. But we’re open to suggestions. I know that cheap bikes can be had from Walmart and Amazon but I'm unsure of the quality of those. The least expensive bike at our local bike shop is $1,700 and is a diamond frame type.

Thanks
 
You are not going to have a lot of choices in that price range and weight class. I just bought a Rad Power Bikes RadMission Mid-Step, which is 47.5 lbs and costs $1199 for the bare bike. With the accessories, I’m closer to $1600 and 60 lbs. I might also suggest the new Aventon Soltera, which is $1199 and 41 lbs. for the single-speed or $1299 and 43 lbs. for the 7-speed. Aventon’s last generation Pace 350 is on sale for $1199 and is 46 lbs. for the 7-speed.

On, and I’m 53 and I have a bad knee and a bad back, but I only need to get my RadMission up 3 steps into my house. I’m also 6’ 1”, which is quite a bit larger than most women, so that’s a factor, as well.

RadPower is direct sales only, but Aventon does have local dealers, which I know because I have one in my town.
 
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If you want the lightest weight possible, you will probably have to buy a lightweight mixte frame and do a custom build. It won’t be cheap, and with current market conditions, you will have a lot of trouble getting parts and components, but you’ll end up with a better bike, in the end.

 
Congrats on your search for an ebike. They rock! Faster, Farther, Funner.
Your budget is a challenge if you are looking for something "liftable". I have the same challenge. Keep in mind some of the budget folders are 60-70 lbs so no way would I be able to lift one into a vehicle, even without the battery.
Try to test ride as much as possible. It will help educate you and also narrow your search.
Some of the bike shops carry Aventon brand among others. The Pace 350 & 500 are "around" 50 lbs so if you remove the battery it would help. But they are not foldable and are a bit above you budget.
And I love a step through frame. Careful, some of the manufacturers label a mid -step as a low step. It's not.
Please post what you find.
 
A possible contender with belt drive for $1400, new Luna bike. No experience and it's a new model...
lunacycle.com

Luna Eclipse Folding Ebike

Providers of quality ebikes, electric bike batteries, motors and components at affordable pricing.
lunacycle.com lunacycle.com
 
fuyume said:
If you want the lightest weight possible, you will probably have to buy a lightweight mixte frame and do a custom build. It won’t be cheap, and with current market conditions, you will have a lot of trouble getting parts and components, but you’ll end up with a better bike, in the end.

Click to expand...
While I'm skilled enough to maintain our bikes, building one from scratch may be too ambitious for me right now. But I'll keep this in mind for Bike #2
 
Marci jo said:
Congrats on your search for an ebike. They rock! Faster, Farther, Funner.
Your budget is a challenge if you are looking for something "liftable". I have the same challenge. Keep in mind some of the budget folders are 60-70 lbs so no way would I be able to lift one into a vehicle, even without the battery.
Try to test ride as much as possible. It will help educate you and also narrow your search.
Some of the bike shops carry Aventon brand among others. The Pace 350 & 500 are "around" 50 lbs so if you remove the battery it would help. But they are not foldable and are a bit above you budget.
And I love a step through frame. Careful, some of the manufacturers label a mid -step as a low step. It's not.
Please post what you find.
Click to expand...
Mid-step may work for us. We are almost definitely leaning to a folding bike so my wife can put it in her car and go for a ride by herself, when I'm at work.
It's very tempting to add that extra $100 - 200 and get a better bike but for now we want to stick to the $1,000 budget to see what's available. Single gear like on the Lectric XP Lite is okay because my wife doesn't change gears in any case. Pedal Assist makes more sense for her. While I can handle a heavier bike, we're trying to find something under 50lbs for her.
I've heard good things about the Aventon brand and it will be on our list if we decide to expand our budget.
Thanks
 
Balsa61 said:
We’re new to this forum and haven’t bought an Ebike as yet. I’m looking for suggestions - sorry if this is a long post.

About us - I’ve just turned 60 and my wife is two years younger than me … which makes her “25 again”. We live in Central Minnesota and only ride May - September because there’s snow on the ground the rest of the year.


Here’s our criteria:

Price: Would like to keep to under $1,000 and very budget conscious. We are leisure riders only and keep to paved paths. We do not need fancy off-road bikes. 10-15 miles would be a long ride for us but with an Ebike may be further.

Weight: Lighter is better. I know many Bikes are over 60lbs range. My wife would not be able to lift one of these.

Style: Step through or low bar type. Even I’m getting too old for the diamond frame style
Also leaning towards a folding bike. I can put a bike rack on my car (Subaru Outback) but my wife would need to fold it to put inside her trunk (Subaru Forester). And hence lighter weight so she can lift it in.

Currently looking at the Lectric XP Lite for her. Haven’t decided for me. But we’re open to suggestions. I know that cheap bikes can be had from Walmart and Amazon but I'm unsure of the quality of those. The least expensive bike at our local bike shop is $1,700 and is a diamond frame type.

Thanks
Click to expand...
You're not going to get a full size e-bike with your low weight expectations for anywhere near $1k. That's just above what a decent pedal bike will run you but you want to add $500 to $1k of electrical components and the math doesn't add up.

I like your idea of the XP Lite though. It's cheap because it's very small, no fenders or racks, plus a smaller battery and motor. I just got mine in today so I can't yet say how it rides. It's so much easier to get on and off compared to my full size RadCity 5 high step. If you're staying on pavement this might be ideal. I'm coming up on 50 so a little younger but my body is kind of of broken 🤣
 
Balsa61 said:
It's very tempting to add that extra $100 - 200 and get a better bike but for now we want to stick to the $1,000 budget to see what's available. Single gear like on the Lectric XP Lite is okay because my wife doesn't change gears in any case.
Click to expand...
Lots of stretchy grey metal spokes wheels and cables at this price point. If you like hauling your bike to the shop to beg them to true your wheel again, or adjust your shifter again, stick to your budget. Same **** as those $200 kiddie bikes at the discount store. Wal-mart sold a brand Ancheer that didn't even make it through Court's review test before the controller failed. Since I am small I used to ride kiddie quality Diamondback & Pacific. I didn't know what I was missing until I bought a real steel+aluminum Yuba. I was missing all the time adjusting & repairing the kiddie bikes.
Count the number of "known problems and solutions" posts on brand forum, divide by market share, for some indication of quality. Aventon has 144 posts today. About middle IMHO. They do have dealers. Lectric has 8 posts today.
Read through this section of the forum about lightweight bikes. You don't want carbon fiber, that is for leggy racers. https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/lightweight-and-affordable-ebikes.10796/ Also this section about folders. https://electricbikereview.com/forums/forum/folding/
I started having trouble lifting my leg over the seat & rear wheel about age 62. I highly recommend step through bikes. Not even the diamondback or the pacific had frame flex. I load the bike shown left to 245 lb load (160 lb me, 15 lb tools tubes water, 80 lb cargo) and it is drop frame. Note 20" or 16" wheel bikes, which are cheaper, trade off comfort for price. Small wheels jolt out of a pothole faster than bigger wheel bikes. Only 24" wheel folder bike I know of is the airnimal joey, and it is L1700 unpowered . https://airnimal.co/products/joey/sport/#.YoKMfTnMJIc
24 lb without pedals but with tires.
 
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Balsa61 said:
We’re new to this forum and haven’t bought an Ebike as yet. I’m looking for suggestions - sorry if this is a long post.

About us - I’ve just turned 60 and my wife is two years younger than me … which makes her “25 again”. We live in Central Minnesota and only ride May - September because there’s snow on the ground the rest of the year.


Here’s our criteria:

Price: Would like to keep to under $1,000 and very budget conscious. We are leisure riders only and keep to paved paths. We do not need fancy off-road bikes. 10-15 miles would be a long ride for us but with an Ebike may be further.

Weight: Lighter is better. I know many Bikes are over 60lbs range. My wife would not be able to lift one of these.

Style: Step through or low bar type. Even I’m getting too old for the diamond frame style
Also leaning towards a folding bike. I can put a bike rack on my car (Subaru Outback) but my wife would need to fold it to put inside her trunk (Subaru Forester). And hence lighter weight so she can lift it in.

Currently looking at the Lectric XP Lite for her. Haven’t decided for me. But we’re open to suggestions. I know that cheap bikes can be had from Walmart and Amazon but I'm unsure of the quality of those. The least expensive bike at our local bike shop is $1,700 and is a diamond frame type.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Buy 2 of the new Lectric lites. 799 each. Year warranty and you can fold em up and store em for the winter...
 
Under $1000 gets a bike with a sketchy battery. My dealer cost for a quality brand name motor kit is $700.

Crank forward bikes like Electra Townie and KHS Manhattan Smoothie are very senior friendly. Upright and feet down while still seated. Step through frames!

Where in Minnesnowta?
 
fuyume said:
If you want the lightest weight possible, you will probably have to buy a lightweight mixte frame and do a custom build. It won’t be cheap, and with current market conditions, you will have a lot of trouble getting parts and components, but you’ll end up with a better bike, in the end.

Click to expand...
You mean lightest cheapest weight? Because I bought a BMC City Ltd that weighs 38 pounds and has a 500ahr battery pack. But it's about 4 times his budget.
 
You're kidding about the older rider comment? I'm 69 and there are lots of guys here that are older. 58 and 60 are far from older. You don't have to be unsure of eBikes from Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. They absolutely are crap. It takes constant maintenance to keep them moving. I don't know how much of a mechanic you are, but all eBikes need maintenance and often the cheap ones require you to be an electrical troubleshooter since you have to communicate the issues to some kid on a phone so you can wait for them to ship you parts to install. If you aren't a mechanic, save more money and buy from a dealer. Often it's a case of going for a ride, or looking at a dead bike in the garage. It's no bargain if you can't ride it and the internet sales company has bad customer service.
 
tomjasz said:
Under $1000 gets a bike with a sketchy battery. My dealer cost for a quality brand name motor kit is $700.

Crank forward bikes like Electra Townie and KHS Manhattan Smoothie are very senior friendly. Upright and feet down while still seated. Step through frames!

Where in Minnesnowta?
Click to expand...
Central Minnesota - not too far from St.Cloud
 
Another couple of suggestions,

Aventon Soltera Step-through is 41lb for the single-speed or 43lb for the 7-speed and is sold through bike shops or online, here's a review of the diamond frame version.

Propella Mini weighs just 33lb and comes in under your budget. It doesn't have a step-through version, but the smaller wheels make it easier to mount, here's a review.

Qualisports Volador weighs about 40lb, and is a folding bike, here's a review.
 
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Interesting how some folks think you can get a tolerable ebike, lightweight to boot, for 1K. Where does this idea come from? Has the OP priced Lion batteries for a power tool?
Has the OP been to a dealer? There's an Aventon one in St. Cloud...
 
I have purchased 7 Ebikes in the last few years all off the internet. (Espin, Frey, Lectric and Ride 1 UP) You dont need no stinkin dealer. Most fixes are common sense and maybe require a Youtube video or a pair of pliers. Take what the doom and gloomers post with a grain of salt and as Freys motto says: Free Ride Enjoy Yourself.
 
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