What ebike is for me, Help me decide?

[mDOT]

Hello active members of the forum,

I live in NYC and I was in dire need of solution for the madness I endure. In a city that never sleeps parking is my biggest problem. I often seen deliveries being made on ebikes but was turned off by the dull designs which probably helps them from being stolen. I then started looking online to see what's out there to seek better designs and compare prices. I have been on the EBR reviewing some the speed pedelec ebikes available. I am currently deciding on which ebike to purchase but I'm having trouble reaching my final decision. I came down to 2 ebikes, Grace easy Grace mx urban. I'm am torn between a it's hub motor which is very quiet or the mid drive that gives you more Newton meters. I've noticed there isn't a 0-28 estimate for a certain weight, that would maybe be a nice addition. Is it safe to say that the mid drive would get me to 28 mph before the hub motor? If I gained weight would I still be able to reach 28 mph even if it takes longer? I live in the city so pot holes are also a concern. I weigh 210 and stand at 5"11. Which ebike do you guys feel would give me the best experience between the two? Maybe another suggestion?

 

[George S.]

I think there are two great shops there, Long Island and NYCE Wheels (Brooklyn?). Between them, wow. Candy stores.

 

[mDOT]

Yes, nycewheels is in Manhattan, Greenpath has shop in Brooklyn. I plan on test riding at those locations if they have the ebikes in question once I have an better idea about this rare market.

 

[JoePah]

Hello active members of the forum,

I live in NYC and I was in dire need of solution for the madness I endure. In a city that never sleeps parking is my biggest problem. I often seen deliveries being made on ebikes but was turned off by the dull designs which probably helps them from being stolen. I then started looking online to see what's out there to seek better designs and compare prices. I have been on the EBR reviewing some the speed pedelec ebikes available. I am currently deciding on which ebike to purchase but I'm having trouble reaching my final decision. I came down to 2 ebikes, Grace easy Grace mx urban. I'm am torn between a it's hub motor which is very quiet or the mid drive that gives you more Newton meters. I've noticed there isn't a 0-28 estimate for a certain weight, that would maybe be a nice addition. Is it safe to say that the mid drive would get me to 28 mph before the hub motor? If I gained weight would I still be able to reach 28 mph even if it takes longer? I live in the city so pot holes are also a concern. I weigh 210 and stand at 5"11. Which ebike do you guys feel would give me the best experience between the two? Maybe another suggestion?

I don't understand how there are ebike stores in nyc when ebikes are illegal in nyc. Or did hat change?

 

[mDOT]

I've never seen or heard anything from my neighborhood that would that would suggest a ban on sales.

 

[George S.]

Buying a ‘first’ anything is a little treacherous. If you have done enough research to come up with a specific bike, or style of bike, you are pretty close to doing all the research you can.

The basic bike, which is what I own, is a hub motor and a throttle. You can pedal all you want, add all the power you want. Then there are pedal assist systems that measure power from the motor, adding it to the amount of work you do with the pedals.

Mid-drive puts power into the same drive ‘chain’ that you are pushing, so you get the gears with the motor. In other words, a hub is a fixed motor, clueless as to what the other drive train is doing. On a hill, it is not geared well for climbing. A mid-drive climbs with the low gear, so you keep the motor at an efficient RPM. I think you need 10% grades to really need a mid-drive for hills. If you want to ride on trails, a mid-drive is more essential.

Euro bikes are the pretty bikes. E bikes tend to be Asian parts with some percent of European design. Better bikes have better parts or better quality control, but it’s hard to find any real American or European content (Bosch drives). Prodeco makes some stylish, high end bikes, but it's not their history. It’s like you say. A nice bike is that much more likely to be stolen. Right now, you pay a lot for a quality battery, where the cells have been tested, or simply assembled in a more rigorous factory.

Basic bikes work. More expensive bikes are more refined. If you want a bike that is very styled and very refined, you will pay for that. Most bikes are made under one corporate shield, Accell, so a lot of bikes are pretty much equivalent to other bikes. At, say, the $3,000 level, in a bike shop, you will get a nice bike, step-thru or step over, sized for inseams, at least, and with a good battery, maybe a 350 or 500 w geared hub motor. Flat bar or beach bar. Decent components. Nothing in any review is likely to narrow this down. You just have to like something better than something else, and then like it enough to buy it.

It’s a bike, and then it’s got a motor. Beyond that? Well, we could get into building, but….


Note: What Accell Owns:

The Seattle-based co-op announced last year that it would become the exclusive U.S. retailer for the German-based brand (Ghost), which is owned by Accell Group NV. Accell also owns Raleigh, Diamondback, Torker, Currie, Redline and SBS in the U.S. and has brought in European brands Haibike and Lapierre to the U.S.

 

[JoePah]

I've never seen or heard anything from my neighborhood that would that would suggest a ban on sales.

oh ok.. Maybe i'm just confused about NYC! lol

Enjoy your shopping.. Whatever you do ride before you buy, and ride the full range of bikes from cheap to expensive within your budget... No one can tell you what you will like, but in my experience, more money is a better more enjoyable bike.

 

[Chandlee EBS]

@mDOT, the police only target deliverymen with the e-bike legislation.

NYCE is in the upper east side. Greenpath is in Brooklyn and @Chris Nolte has a new shop, Propel, opening in Fort Green across from the Naval Yard. I think he's having a ST2 party there on March 21st.

...Get an ST2.

 

[Mike Smith]

I've been doing a lot of research to buy my first e-bike, and have pretty much decided on the Volton Alation 500. Looks like a quality product for the money. Some good reviews and videos on youtube as well as this site. You can also call and talk directly with the owner Joe, which is pretty cool. Try that with any of the big e-bike companies. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

http://www.voltonbicycles.com/

 

[Mike leroy]

I like this pdf file, even though it is from 2007.
http://www.site.uottawa.ca/~rhabash/Project-bicycles.pdf

 

[Ann M.]

I've been doing a lot of research to buy my first e-bike, and have pretty much decided on the Volton Alation 500. Looks like a quality product for the money. ...

http://www.voltonbicycles.com/

@Mike Smith ,it is nice to be able to pick up the phone and chat with the Volton folks; have done that a few times myself. The hybrid style Alation with the frame fit battery is a nice sleek design with a good size hub motor. But don't rule out all larger companies because bike selection and parts supply may be better. Contrary to what George says about Prodeco Tech, that company is not a monster high end manufacturer. As a matter of fact, they actually do all assembly from the frame up at their plant in Florida and prices start at a reasonable $12oo for a lithium powered bike. Their lithium battery packs come with the highly touted Samsung cells and all bikes & batteries come with a 2 year warranty; unusual in this industry. Never had a problem reaching either a customer/dealer service staff for warranty or repair issues and they have a dedicated tech staff to help dealers with technical issues.

 

[George S.]

I like my Prodeco X3. Prodeco is aiming higher with some new bikes. If they can weld some frames in Florida that's a nice trend.

Alation has bikes in a lot of flavors. It's darned impressive. Ann actually knows the bikes, from experience (like Court) but most of us are stuck sifting data off the Internet.

There are an awful lot of bikes out there and most of us have no way to make anything close to a final sort, for someone who wanders onto the site. A lot of the time all we can do is help someone decide if they really even want an ebike.

 

[mDOT]

Thanks for the push forward guys. I have looked into the bikes that were suggested but where one is lacking another excels and vice versa. I was very open to grace easy because of its internal gear switching. That's just a feature that I feel I must have. Carbon or chain but preferably chain because it can still use a torque sensor. I haven't researched enough to know the pros and cons of carbon belt vs chain on internal hubs but I'm assuming that senor is a plus. The st2 was also mentioned in a reply. Honestly that was the bike top on my list until I developed a want for the internal shifting. I guess it's too greedy to ask for a combination of the st2 (because of sexiness and pick u speed aka torque), grace easy (because of sleekness, internal gear switching and throttle mode!)... I would probably take all of those features and through them on a grace mx2 frame just to keep it a Lil rugged looking but still sheek.

I guess until that type of ebike is available, I will be saving because I'm sure that beast will be a nice penny. I do feel like the time is near... Maybe next year for the US.

Anyone found any ebikes close to my mention?