Wanted: Commuter bike on a budget for tall guy

[StoneTitan]

Hi, all. I'm 6'3" and I'm looking for an ebike I can use for commuting 20 miles each way, or 40 miles per day. If it goes well I may put up to 4000 miles on it in the first season. I'll gain about 1100 feet and loose about 500 feet on the way there. There are some hills but no steep, long climbs.

I would like class 3. The few I test rode with hub motors nearish my price range met my expectations. I expect a hub motor and I'm fine with their pros and cons from what I've read.

My initial goal was to keep the price under $2000, but after a lot of research I think I may be better served to go up to $2500. I expect to probably replace some components eventually, but I want to avoid any really poor parts that I will need to replace in the first 500 miles. Lower price is still good!

I probably want a hard tail. Even a cheap front fork is nice for taking the edge off when going over curbs or bumps. The Wallke Bike looks interesting, but I don't really want to deal with lousy rear suspension at my target price point. I'm open to counter arguments.

I'm thinking I'll keep a second charger at the office, so a big battery isn't high on my list of priorities.

I'm 6'3", so I'm concerned that a lot of the one size fits all bikes will be too cramped. One I rode had a very short reach, and I don't think even a super long stem would help even though the seat went tall enough for good leg extension. I prefer a slightly aggressive mountain bike riding position, but not drop bars.

Fenders and a rack are preferred, but I know I can add them aftermarket to almost anything.

I like the big dumb truck nature of fat bikes. I think 27.5 x 3 would be my sweet spot, but I'm not too picky about tire size. I'd be fine with 26 x 2.

I've got a few bikes in mind, but I'd really appreciate any feedback from taller riders that love the fit of their ebike.

TL;DR: Suggest a reasonably reliable, reasonably priced commuter for a tall guy. Thanks!

 

[theemartymac]

Well if you are considering most of the full-sized stepover frame fat bikes, they often are definitely on the large size to begin with. We have regular discussions here about the one-size frames being waay too big for folks under 5'8" or so. I'm 6' even, and my Rize RX Pro (also have a Rize X) is perfect for me with not a lot of excess room. Standover is as high as I am comfortable with while protecting the fellas, but I have a long torso and only a 31" inseam. Most of the bike clones in that category are quite large, with the smaller tire city commuter models tending to shrink a little. I added a handlebar with a 2" rise, and it is spot on. You would definitely need at least a 2-3 inch riser spacer for your height, maybe even 4" depending on the bike.

My bikes are both 4" fat tire and they commute nicely at your trip range, but I do have a large 19Ah battery. I can complete my 22.5kmx2=45km (28mi) return commute on one charge at 60% assist with plenty (~30%) to spare. If I run max assist to make the best time, which I often do, I need to charge at the office to keep from draining the battery below 20% on the trip home. If I ride leisurely however and keep the PAS below 50% assist, I can comfortably get 80kms (50mi) out of a single charge. A 2.5 to 3 inch tire would likely give you a wee bit more range if you were worried about that. Cool temperatures in the single digits Celsius do drop my battery range by up to 50% too, so I always need to charge fully at work in early spring and late fall months. A battery cover helps a bit if you think that might be an issue for you.

As a big guy, and assuming you are nearish 200lbs or more with kit, I wouldn't want to go with too small a battery. You are going to be a lot of drag in the wind, and 20mi isn't a short commute. Stock chargers can often take 5-6 hours to fully charge a 17-19ah battery, and you want to let them rest a bit before and after your charge. If you are a beanpole and plan to do most of the pedal work though (and are happy taking 60-90 minutes to get to work at a leisurely pace), ignore all that.

 

[StoneTitan]

Thanks for the loads of info on your fatbikes! I'm leaning towards a M2S bike right now since they offer an XL. I'm still reading and learning.

How reliable have the Rize components been for you? Rize has also been on my radar.

 

[AHicks]

40 mile range on a fattie might be stretching it a bit I think. I have a Rize RX Pro (Ultra powered fattie) that I use as an 70% on road/30% off road hybrid. I've changed the 4" tires for 3", have been in the controller setup to tone down the low speed handling (they're pretty aggressive from the factory), and rarely have any power on over about 15mph. Bike is ridden in a hilly area, I'm 300lbs, and I average a little over 30 miles on a charge. A bone stock fatty is going to have to be ridden pretty conservatively to make 30 miles I think....

Point being, though they ride great, fatties are too draggy to be good commuters in my experience. Something with 27.5 x 2.3" or so would likely work much better.

If going with a hub drive, the new Rize hub drives bikes have a new torque sensing system that might work out well for commuting....

I did look at M2S when shopping for this bike (the Rize), and feel they have a nice product. I nearly bought one of those.

 

[cmugler]

40 mile range on a fattie might be stretching it a bit I think. I have a Rize RX Pro (Ultra powered fattie) that I use as an 70% on road/30% off road hybrid. I've changed the 4" tires for 3", have been in the controller setup to tone down the low speed handling (they're pretty aggressive from the factory), and rarely have any power on over about 15mph. Bike is ridden in a hilly area, I'm 300lbs, and I average a little over 30 miles on a charge. A bone stock fatty is going to have to be ridden pretty conservatively to make 30 miles I think....

Point being, though they ride great, fatties are too draggy to be good commuters in my experience. Something with 27.5 x 2.3" or so would likely work much better.

If going with a hub drive, the new Rize hub drives bikes have a new torque sensing system that might work out well for commuting....

I did look at M2S when shopping for this bike (the Rize), and feel they have a nice product. I nearly bought one of those.

so is it posible to put a 3" tire on a rim meant for 4" tire?what brand did you use