What is a cheap bike?

[AHicks]

Too much "you made a mistake if you don't ride/buy what I do/did".

 

[Katysax]

In general you get what you pay for. When I think “cheap” ebike I think Nakto and the like. R1Up and Rad and such are entry level bikes. For what it is worth - last July I bought a ride Scoozy Veego Semi-Fat for $1000. I rode it 3300 miles. I had a great time riding it. Now I ride a Specialized Como.

There are numerous ways the Veego is a cheap bike. The wheels are fake mag wheels. You really can’t true them. You can’t break spokes but it is very hard to seat the tires properly and I’ve had a few flats as a direct result. The crank is a square peg crank made out of pot metal. At 800 miles the left crank fell off. It was only $10 to get a better crank off of Amazon. The derailleur is Altus. It skips terribly and is nearly worn out. The disc brakes are awful. They work when adjusted but don’t stay in adjustment for longer than 10-15 miles. Phone and email support is available but I have to mostly support myself. Bolts come loose all the time and need to be regularly checked. The computer is rudimentary. The cadence sensing pedal assist system is basic. The charger is a slow charger and needs to be unplugged when full. I rode it a lot and got my moneys worth.

in April I got a Specialized Como 4.0. It costs over $3000. It is a vastly superior bike. The ride is incredibly smooth and solid feeling. The brakes are hydraulic and are simply fantastic. The computer and integration with my phone gives me easy to adjust fine gradations of assistance. The charger is a fast charger and shuts off automatically. The derailleur is a higher grade and works better than the one on my Veego but is still a bit clunkier than I would like. I have put over 1000 trouble free miles on it but if I needed help I could go to my local bike shop.

I ride a lot. The Como to me is worth the difference. My sister wants an ebike. She will ride at most 1-2 times a week for 2-5 miles at a time. And in reality if she rides 100 miles in a year it will be a lot. The Veego or something similar would be fine for her. But I can work on my own bikes and she cant. So she might still be better off with a bike shop bike.

I suppose there are some people who care about bragging rights. But my impression is that people on this forum are counseling people from an understanding based on experience that you get what you pay for.

 

[Browneye]

I had to adjust my thinking...I went into the ebike thing with the same 'minimal investement' intention, bought a kit and converted one of our bikes.
The old $300 hybrids are now six or eight hundred for a decent one, so putting a motor and a battery easily doubles the price or price point.

My 4 year old hybrid wasn't a good candidate for a conversion, so I got a Giant, with Yamaha drive, cuz I've been motorbiking for over fifty years and yamaha has a rock solid reputation for quality and performance. I wasn't disappointed.

Now the conversion bike got 400 miles down the road and quit, and it took a couple of months to get it fixed under warranty. In the meantime I spent another six grand on bikes, the total now getting close to ten grand. It's just entertainment.

My last adventure motorcycle was right about $23K. These bicycle things are a bargain in comparison. It's just a matter of objective viewpoint. I had to adjust my expectations.

And yes, there are some real snobs on here. If'n they're really obnoxious, you can just block them - you don't even have to SEE their drivel then.
But the vast majority are a friendly and informative bunch, so join in the fun and get some seat time. That way you'll have some experience and something to discuss.

The high-end bikes are really nice. Especially the mountain bikes - the technology march is really quite amazing, and the capabilities and performance is astounding. Yes, they're really expensive. Surely not everyone needs or wants that level of bicycle performance, or wants to be that heavily invested.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I bought a Giant Fathom E from a LBS. I did that because I want to know that wherever I go in North America I can get service.
OP, you are welcome to do whatever you please. It's your money and I'll never argue what you did with it.
Enjoy.

 

[BET]

Plus they don't give you different frame sizes one frame size fits all. you cant test ride the bike. if you don't like it your stuck with it.

Some direct to consumer brands like Ride1up allow you to return your bike within 30 days for a refund. Many have a one year or more warranty. I agree that variation in sizes is valuable for those outside the norm - either short or tall. But for average height people that is not important. Get what you want if it meets your needs. Many more people are buying e bikes now because you can get a nice entry level bike for around $1500. We also want entry level bikes so family members can ride together without spending a fortune. But if we buy a decent entry level bike with good components, like the original poster, we do not appreciate people telling us we made a mistake, or we are less educated about ebikes, or we must not be serious bike riders etc. Not everyone wants a mid drive bike or one with a torque sensor. I do not expect to ride my bike more than 50 miles a week. I have a lot of other things to do. B T W has anyone noticed that you rarely see female posters criticizing the bikes other people buy or bragging about how many miles they ride ?

 

[Dallant]

I had to adjust my thinking...I went into the ebike thing with the same 'minimal investement' intention, bought a kit and converted one of our bikes.
The old $300 hybrids are now six or eight hundred for a decent one, so putting a motor and a battery easily doubles the price or price point.

My 4 year old hybrid wasn't a good candidate for a conversion, so I got a Giant, with Yamaha drive, cuz I've been motorbiking for over fifty years and yamaha has a rock solid reputation for quality and performance. I wasn't disappointed.

Now the conversion bike got 400 miles down the road and quit, and it took a couple of months to get it fixed under warranty. In the meantime I spent another six grand on bikes, the total now getting close to ten grand. It's just entertainment.

My last adventure motorcycle was right about $23K. These bicycle things are a bargain in comparison. It's just a matter of objective viewpoint. I had to adjust my expectations.

And yes, there are some real snobs on here. If'n they're really obnoxious, you can just block them - you don't even have to SEE their drivel then.
But the vast majority are a friendly and informative bunch, so join in the fun and get some seat time. That way you'll have some experience and something to discuss.

The high-end bikes are really nice. Especially the mountain bikes - the technology march is really quite amazing, and the capabilities and performance is astounding. Yes, they're really expensive. Surely not everyone needs or wants that level of bicycle performance, or wants to be that heavily invested.

I learned a long time ago that you have to pay for what you want. It took me a while to find out what I wanted and it was certainly more money than I wanted to pay for it but in the end I’m very glad that I spent the extra money to get an ebike that has fulfilled all my expectations so far. I expect at some point I will likely spend more money for an EMTB. Beyond that I guess I’ll just have to see what new comes out that interests me!

 

[BKing]

We bought two 2019 rad city, Wife’s has 2800 miles with zero problems, I rebuilt the freewheel since it seems all of them were assembled wrong and develop a harmonic clanking at certain pedaling speeds (even a brand new one from warranty). Mine had a new motor at around 400 miles under warranty and now has 3400 miles. We have ridden these down mountain gravel trails, in heavy rain and every other type road or trail. The reason we have not had more problems is due to a very detailed inspection and correction when new. No bike mechanic is going to spend the time needed to truly inspect one. Riding it and wiggling on parts is not an inspection. Ebikes need a a lot of work right out of the box to prevent problems and annoying noises later. So entry level can be good if you know how to work on one.

 

[BigNerd]

In this corner... value ebikes... in this corner... premium ebikes... fight!!

It's like any product... there are buyers at all levels and we shouldn't discourage anyone from being happy with what they can afford.

Obviously, if you can afford more, that is sometimes better. I know a mid-drive, brand-name, LBS model is probably better for me, but I can't afford that right now so I'll buy a rear hub drive to get my pedals wet and then when I have enough, I'll go higher end... and give the value ebike to one of my kids... or if it's good enough for me, I'll buy more value ebikes so more of my family can enjoy ebiking.

 

[MikeDD]

Tippy go away. I spend my money the way I want to and I respect others who do the same. We all have our limits on the amounts we have to spend. I would never criticize anyone for spending within their budget or needs.

 

[ElevenAD]

Welcome to the board!

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I would like nothing more than to be proven wrong, and you can easily do that.

Just ride your bike. If you can put in 3000 miles in the next few months I will reconsider my opinion. Just tell me what happens to your bike on the way.

I hold to the observation that the people who are riding their ebikes a lot and living the dream are generally doing so on higher-end ebikes. If your assertions are correct there is no reason for that.

3000 miles is nothing for a modern MIC bike, there are guys in the Ecotric owners group with 5000miles one their $800 hub motor Fat bikes,those bikes are no frills and dirt cheap but can easily tackle anything a $3000 Trek Verve can, now obviously there are advantages to buying the Trek like warranty,Customer Service and a more refined riding experience but imo an $800 bike should not even be able to keep up with a $3000 bike, i believe these big name B&M brands need to step up the performance to justify some of these prices but I also don't make a ton of cash ....

 

[6zfshdb]

In addition to what others have said here, keep in mind that price isn't everything. Being happy with the bike you bought, regardless of the price, is all that really matters.

 

[AHicks]

In addition to what others have said here, keep in mind that price isn't everything. Being happy with the bike you bought, regardless of the price, is all that really matters.

Yup!

And I stand by the fact that you can use up and throw away 3 1500 dollar bikes for the price of a 4500 dollar bike. Not just from a wear standpoint, but also receiving a fresh battery and technology upgrade with each new bike.....

Go ahead and knock my "cheap bike" if you like. In most cases I'll be riding while your much more expensive bike is in the shop....

 

[BKing]

Back in my mtn biking days I broke the frame on a Trek and got a new frame under warranty. The new frame required a new fork which they sent me after I found out. The bike was out of commission for almost a month. Then I broke the new frame in the same place back at the rear dropout weld. I had two days before a mtn biking trip so I had a friend weld a small gusset in there. I won’t buy another Trek unless something was on sale for 60 percent off and cost is no objective to me.

 

[Dewey]

Most real bike snobs won't even entertain buying a cheater bike.

This...so much this. For a short time there used to be a bike shop down the road from me that sold Rapha and had such a poor reputation for customer service they wouldn't even speak to you let alone fetch a bicycle down from the ceiling stand if the staff 'thought' you weren't interested in buying a $5,000 carbon road bike right away. Think 'High Fidelity' levels of snobbery. Needless to say that shop and its toxic attitude has disappeared to be replaced by a branch of a nice local bike shop chain.

Now here on this forum I've found EBR forum members very friendly for the most part genuinely enthusiastic and willing to share their knowledge and experience, I've had similar interactions on foreign ebike forums like UK Pedelecs and the German pedelec forum. Endless Sphere is a bottomless well of ebike technical knowledge and I've often found the answer to some obscure question there. However there are other ebike forums where the moar powa crowd rulez and you're a luzer if you don't have at least a 1,500w motor (coincidentally sold by the forum owners shop). And if you encounter a complete idiot here on EBR you can always hover over their username and click the Ignore button, choose a healthy outlook!

As for what is a cheap bike, I agree with others that $600 Nakto, Hyper, Ancheer, etc Chinese market ebikes sold out of a container fit the description, however cheap doesn't necessarily mean lethal, one of my work colleagues has commuted for 2 years on a Nakto Camel and recently replaced it with another Nakto Camel because it works for her and previously she was paying nearly three times as much each year taking public transit.

 

[KLee]

In addition to what others have said here, keep in mind that price isn't everything. Being happy with the bike you bought, regardless of the price, is all that really matters.

Amen to that. Whatever works for you is fine. Life is too short.

 

[BKing]

You also have to remember that nearly every bike is made in China even most of the high end bikes. The design spec is done by the sellers in the US but they don’t really know the intricate details of the materials and electronics. With most products you get what you pay for but not always true with ebikes. There is value which means a cheap bike can be ridden and repaired for 10 to 30 years while a high end mid drive goes to the dusty corner of the garage once the 7 year parts availability is up unless some Chinese guy starts making a motor that will fit.

 

[BKing]

Back in my mtn bike days I kept up with guys on full suspension 1200 bikes on my $400 Trek hard tail. I also came in 3rd place in a mtn bike trail race on that cheaper bike. I just don’t like buying something expensive and riding the crap out of it. Maybe on a road bike but I quit those back in 1990.

 

[tlippy]

Welcome to the board!

Many more people are buying e bikes now because you can get a nice entry level bike for around $1500. We also want entry level bikes so family members can ride together without spending a fortune. But if we buy a decent entry level bike with good components, like the original poster, we do not appreciate people telling us we made a mistake, or we are less educated about ebikes, or we must not be serious bike riders etc. Not everyone wants a mid drive bike or one with a torque sensor. I do not expect to ride my bike more than 50 miles a week. I have a lot of other things to do. B T W has anyone noticed that you rarely see female posters criticizing the bikes other people buy or bragging about how many miles they ride ?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Yup!

And I stand by the fact that you can use up and throw away 3 1500 dollar bikes for the price of a 4500 dollar bike. Not just from a wear standpoint, but also receiving a fresh battery and technology upgrade with each new bike.....

Go ahead and knock my "cheap bike" if you like. In most cases I'll be riding while your much more expensive bike is in the shop....

or you can be eating weeks or months for that next cheap bike to arrive and hopefully it works.

 

[GenXrider]

or you can be eating weeks or months for that next cheap bike to arrive and hopefully it works.

You can get some nice low cost bikes with less than a month of wait time, and in a typical year, probably less than that. Purchase during the off-season or when you have another bike to ride in the meantime, so you're not waiting around without being able to ride. It's always a good idea to have a second e-bike ready to go because even the expensive ones can be out of commission for an extended period of time. I plan to get a second one myself. It will also come in handy to have guests ride with me, since most people don't have their own e-bikes.