Whats the best for me to look at and try?

[Frank San Fran]

Here's a tread between me and Court:

1. Frank
   November 2, 2014 at 7:25 am · Reply
   Hi Court. I am a bit of a newbie but learning fast. Thanks for your help and the reviews. I like the idea of geared hubs and torque and 500 W w/ 48 amp. But can I be more experience specific? I’m about 180 lbs and moving to San Fran. I love the flats of the marina, the Embarcadero, Chrissy Fields, the Presidio etc but I live on the hills of Pacific Heights, some quite daunting. I also love to just cruise along and look. I like step thrus. I like to sit up in comfort and I love comfortable seats. Can you taylor make a reccomendation for me as to bikes to look at? The Pedego City Commuter looked interesting but the seat wasn’t comfy, but maybe I can add a gel overlay. I want ease, pedal assist and throttle, cruiser comfort as well as nibble and quick with good endurance. AND critical, I want ease on the steep hills of Pacific Heights. Thoughts? Help?
   
   • Court Rye
     November 2, 2014 at 2:40 pm ·
     Hi Frank! I used to live in San Francisco and love riding through all of those spots. Hope the city treats you well, ride safe out there. Regarding your “ideal bike” I suggest copying and pasting this question into the Compare Ebikes where people can share their opinions. I’d love to help but am currently traveling and trying to post new reviews with the extra time. The first thing that comes to mind is the Optibike Pioneer City which is a step-thru and uses a powerful mid-drive motor that will be excellent for climbing hills. There’s no twist throttle on this bike but the assist is very satisfying and more efficient overall. Hope this helps!
     

CAN YOU HELP WITH SUGGESTIONS? THOUGHTS ON PEDEGO CITY COMMUTER AS WELL WITH MY CONCERNS ABOVE IN MIND? THX Frank

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Greetings Frank:
Welcome to this very friendly forum. San Francisco is nothing if not hilly, so I would suggest that hill-climbing might want to be your first consideration when choosing an eBike.
I'm Optibike's newest fan here, having taken delivery of one of their Pioneer Allroads a couple of weeks ago. I don't live in San Francisco, but the hills here in the quiet corner of Connecticut are nothing to sneeze at. To get to work I've got three route choices: hilly, hillier, and hilliest.
I had no choice but to get a mid-drive eBike, because the rear-hub-drive one I bought first couldn't cut the mustard. Mid-drive rigs take advantage of the same gears the rider does, which more effectively matches the motor's power to the task at hand. Hub-drive rigs are a one-trick-pony in this regard, which was what sunk the first eBike I bought. (It couldn't pull the skin off chocolate pudding let alone climb Brinton Hill (which I live at the bottom of.))
I think Court's suggestion that you have a look at Optibike's new Pioneer City is a good one. You don't have to worry about dropping the chain when you shift, since the gears are all inside the rear hub. This bike also has the step-through design you seek, and Optibike is a pretty serious outfit.
One drawback is that Optibike's dealer network is slim to nonexistent. That said, I would think if you had the bike shipped to a good LBS and paid them to put it together for you, you could find a friend without buying a bike from them. Buy your front light (the City has a rear one standard), your bags, and other accessories from them and you'll make it worth their while.
Since this bike is a mid-drive rig, it's pretty much a normal bike when it comes to service and such. (It was a non-issue for me, because I've always done my own wrenching on my bikes, cars, computers, boats, etc.)
Whatever you decide on, make sure it can climb any hill you need to be able to surmount before you make a costly mistake.
Court is doing a huge service to all of us who are trying to find our way in this brave new world of eBikes. I would suggest that you read (and watch) his reviews, post your questions, seek opinions and solutions from your fellow forum members, and enjoy the hunt.
Allen

 

[Frank San Fran]

Greetings Frank:
Welcome to this very friendly forum. San Francisco is nothing if not hilly, so I would suggest that hill-climbing might want to be your first consideration when choosing an eBike.
I'm Optibike's newest fan here, having taken delivery of one of their Pioneer Allroads a couple of weeks ago. I don't live in San Francisco, but the hills here in the quiet corner of Connecticut are nothing to sneeze at. To get to work I've got three route choices: hilly, hillier, and hilliest.
I had no choice but to get a mid-drive eBike, because the rear-hub-drive one I bought first couldn't cut the mustard. Mid-drive rigs take advantage of the same gears the rider does, which more effectively matches the motor's power to the task at hand. Hub-drive rigs are a one-trick-pony in this regard, which was what sunk the first eBike I bought. (It couldn't pull the skin off chocolate pudding let alone climb Brinton Hill (which I live at the bottom of.))
I think Court's suggestion that you have a look at Optibike's new Pioneer City is a good one. You don't have to worry about dropping the chain when you shift, since the gears are all inside the rear hub. This bike also has the step-through design you seek, and Optibike is a pretty serious outfit.
One drawback is that Optibike's dealer network is slim to nonexistent. That said, I would think if you had the bike shipped to a good LBS and paid them to put it together for you, you could find a friend without buying a bike from them. Buy your front light (the City has a rear one standard), your bags, and other accessories from them and you'll make it worth their while.
Since this bike is a mid-drive rig, it's pretty much a normal bike when it comes to service and such. (It was a non-issue for me, because I've always done my own wrenching on my bikes, cars, computers, boats, etc.)
Whatever you decide on, make sure it can climb any hill you need to be able to surmount before you make a costly mistake.
Court is doing a huge service to all of us who are trying to find our way in this brave new world of eBikes. I would suggest that you read (and watch) his reviews, post your questions, seek opinions and solutions from your fellow forum members, and enjoy the hunt.
Allen

Greetings Frank:
Welcome to this very friendly forum. San Francisco is nothing if not hilly, so I would suggest that hill-climbing might want to be your first consideration when choosing an eBike.
I'm Optibike's newest fan here, having taken delivery of one of their Pioneer Allroads a couple of weeks ago. I don't live in San Francisco, but the hills here in the quiet corner of Connecticut are nothing to sneeze at. To get to work I've got three route choices: hilly, hillier, and hilliest.
I had no choice but to get a mid-drive eBike, because the rear-hub-drive one I bought first couldn't cut the mustard. Mid-drive rigs take advantage of the same gears the rider does, which more effectively matches the motor's power to the task at hand. Hub-drive rigs are a one-trick-pony in this regard, which was what sunk the first eBike I bought. (It couldn't pull the skin off chocolate pudding let alone climb Brinton Hill (which I live at the bottom of.))
I think Court's suggestion that you have a look at Optibike's new Pioneer City is a good one. You don't have to worry about dropping the chain when you shift, since the gears are all inside the rear hub. This bike also has the step-through design you seek, and Optibike is a pretty serious outfit.
One drawback is that Optibike's dealer network is slim to nonexistent. That said, I would think if you had the bike shipped to a good LBS and paid them to put it together for you, you could find a friend without buying a bike from them. Buy your front light (the City has a rear one standard), your bags, and other accessories from them and you'll make it worth their while.
Since this bike is a mid-drive rig, it's pretty much a normal bike when it comes to service and such. (It was a non-issue for me, because I've always done my own wrenching on my bikes, cars, computers, boats, etc.)
Whatever you decide on, make sure it can climb any hill you need to be able to surmount before you make a costly mistake.
Court is doing a huge service to all of us who are trying to find our way in this brave new world of eBikes. I would suggest that you read (and watch) his reviews, post your questions, seek opinions and solutions from your fellow forum members, and enjoy the hunt.
Allen

Thanks Reddy. I really appreciate you taking the time. Do you miss not having a throttle? and what did you think about the pedego city commuter with 48/500?

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Hey again Frank:
The Pioneer Allroad—unlike the Pioneer City—actually does have a throttle as well as pedal assist. I love that feature of it, in fact. But if you have either of these bikes in one of the higher pedal assist modes, you just have to be spinning the cranks to keep the motor pouring on the coal. I haven't ridden the City yet but I think that's what Court intimated in his response to your query and in his excellent review of that machine.
As to your query about the Pedego machine, I'm afraid I've got nothing for you, but I'm sure some other forum members rocking that ride will chime in. You might also want to post in the Pedego brand specific forum here.
Best wishes finding the right eBike for you and the hills of San Francisco.
Allen

 

[Pace]

I'd go and see the folks at New Wheel right in San Francisco and see what they have. I'm from the other coast, but stopped by their shop this past summer, it seemed like a decent shop. I think some bikes w/ hub motors would be fine depending on what you are doing, but they also had a bunch of mid-drive kalkhoffs, and I think they have the Felt/bosch bikes now too.

 

[JoePah]

I'm an East Coast guy but if I were living in SF or other hilly area would definitely look to a mid drive Ebike.. Top speed shouldn't be your priority but hill climbing efficiency.. Since there seems to be a bunch of shops in SF, test ride the mid drives, hub drives and geared drives... There's also a popular mid drive kit out there that will allow you to install it on your favorite bike. Check Lectric Cycles in AZ... Bafang Kit ...

I particularly like Felt Bikes and it seems reasonably priced.

 

[Chris Nolte]

+1 for New Wheel. They'll take good care of you.