Yet another "what should I buy?" thread

[Brewerpaul]

I'll try to keep it short,like myself,who is 5'2". My current non-electric bike is a hybrid,26" wheels, 16" frame and I handle that just fine. I just turned 69,weigh about 150lb and am in very good health. I keep bouncing back and forth as to what I want: 20" fat bike (folding or not folding),commuter etc. I'd be using the bike 90% on paved roads, 10% easy trails or wood roads.
A big consideration is price. If at all possible, I'd like to stay under $1K but realize that I might not get anything with decent components at that price range.
The only 2 stores anywhere near here carry bikes $2K and above.That's not happening for me. Thanks.

 

[Dewey]

Genze have a couple of 16" frame size e102 bikes they're selling refurbished for under a grand, a cheap way to get torque sensor pedal assist, a spare/replacement battery is inexpensive, and it's assembled in Michigan. The Aventon Pace 350 in small size is a grand, has a larger battery, and cadence pedal assist. Both are Class 2 ebikes with a throttle.

There are cheaper ebikes from chinese budget brands Ancheer, Nakto, and Hyper, sold by Amazon or Walmart sellers, quality varies considerably and there are online reviews by owners who are happy and others by owners who received bikes with the fork mounted backwards, non-functioning equipment, or quality issues like burrs on the inside of rims, honestly these are very cheap products built to budget in communist tractor factory type environments with all that entails, for example a colleague at work has been riding a Nakto City for a year but it has just an e-scooter band brake on the rear and I cringe at the thought of her going downhill and needing to stop. I would recommend getting any budget ebike assembled or at least checked over by a bike shop so they can assess if it is safe to ride. Lately I've seen a commuter riding a Swagtron EB5 $500 single-speed ebike that I presume he bought because it's cheap, sold by Amazon, and was reviewed by Micah Toll, but you should get another bike with gears if you need to climb hills, and the small 14" wheels would feel twitchy until you get used to how it handles.

 

[Paul Dubs]

I am a newbie to ebikes as well as EBR so take this knowing that, but I've spent 4 weeks researching ebikes now and still haven't found a fat tire I can decide on. However...from what you've described, I would consider Rad Power Bikes and the Rad Rover. It is $1499 and has free shipping and Rad appears to have fantastic customer service. All of Rads bikes would work for what you've described actually..everything except the slightly higher price. Rad is still in my top 3 picks for my first ebike purchase this week. Good luck!

 

[indianajo]

I view wheels under 26" as bone shakers if the pavement in your area is less than perfect. Low pressure fat tires could help, but add a significant drag penalty. I ride 26"x2.1" tires pressurized near the max in the rear. A suspension bike could make 20" tires better feeling, but you're not going to find one under $1000.
I converted my Huffy Savannah to electric for about $850 with a kit from ebikeling.com I used the front wheel drive option, since a 90's steel frame has adequate strength in the fork to withstand the torque of a 1200 W motor. That gets your base bike cost to $50-75 for a used bike from flea market or charity resale shop. The $75 can get you a bike with a suspension - although used suspensions may be worn and finding replacement suspension parts could be a problem. Part of the bargain used bikes is replacing the cables, brake shoes, tires/tubes yourself since they are usually abused overaged or rusted. All cheap parts readily available.
Be sure to buy from a vendor that has frame dimensions on the website. Some do, some don't as if all bikes fit all people. Being 68" with 28" pants inseam, I'm quite sure that is not true. Nothing stocked in any store but a discount store fits me - and those are all kiddie bikes with **** components. Long story to tell about being standed by stock shimano bargain rears - one broken 6 speed axle (I weighed 185 lb then) one 7 speed axle came unscrewed and dropped all the balls miles from home. Real fun pushing both units home. And rim brakes, what a fraud. Don't work in the rain, never did, never will IMHO.
Have fun shopping.

 

[Katysax]

I am 68 and 5’3.5”. I got a Ride Scoozy Veego folder with 20x3 tires for $1095. I am very much enjoying the bike but the 20” tires are not the best all purpose tires. In my case a big consideration was a bike for my RV and use at campgrounds. A fat tire folder is great for that. The Aventon pace 350 at $999 looks like a great all round bike. At around $1000 you’ll get about the least expensive acceptable components. My Veego uses Shimano Tourney. The shifter seems kind of cheaply made but it would be cheap and easy to replace and works ok.

Earlier in my life I was an avid cyclist and rode thousands of miles. Doing that I learned basic bike maintenance out of necessity. As a result I wasn’t too worried about buying mail order. Even then I am lucky there is a good bike shop nearby with fair prices for service. The Ride Veego came assembled and pretty well adjusted but I’ve had to fiddle with it a bit. If you don’t buy locally plan on needing some help with the bike. I’ll probably add a bbs02 kit to another bike that I own eventually but so far the Veego works for me and I’m riding it about 10 miles a day.

 

[Cassidy]

I too was looking for Ebikes and new to the "scene". I researched for days and then the Juiced Crosscurrent s 2 was just released two days ago, 1799 plus free fenders and rack. Great buy and has the ability to change classes 1,2,3 but comes shipped as class 2. https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-s2

 

[Marci jo]

I'll try to keep it short,like myself,who is 5'2". My current non-electric bike is a hybrid,26" wheels, 16" frame and I handle that just fine. I just turned 69,weigh about 150lb and am in very good health. I keep bouncing back and forth as to what I want: 20" fat bike (folding or not folding),commuter etc. I'd be using the bike 90% on paved roads, 10% easy trails or wood roads.
A big consideration is price. If at all possible, I'd like to stay under $1K but realize that I might not get anything with decent components at that price range.
The only 2 stores anywhere near here carry bikes $2K and above.That's not happening for me. Thanks.

if at all possible ride as many as possible. You will get a feel and knowledge of what's available.
Anyway you could bump up you budget a little? Even a few hundred might give you more options.
I too have problem finding small enough frame. I just purchased a Trek and they make medium (17"), small (15") and extra small (13" but only low step).
Looking forward to a photo of your new bike!