My daily ride is an Urban Arrow cargobike XL. It's overkill for most people, unless you have a) a large family, or b) a small business, or c) are just mad. Riese & Müller make a great range of ebikes at the premium end of the market. Brompton electric if you're short on space, or Tern are other good choices. I really like the Bosch motor in combination with a Gates belt and Rohloff hub gear for heavy duty work and fuss-free maintenance (based on over 11,000 miles experience).
[I would post a pic if I could work out how to do it!]
I pretty much only have conversion builds so all I can recommend is ebikes.ca for parts haha, they make a nice field oriented controller (baserunner) with thermal rollback and field weakening for higher top speeds that's super compact and fits in the empty space of hailong-style downtube batteries so it's nice for sleek builds as it's 100% invisible & hidden under the downtube battery, though I have mine hooked up to a cycle analyst display which adds more flexibility for throttle settings.
My dream build will be to get a custom titanium frame from waltly with ebikes.ca's G310 geared & clutched rear hub motor and a bottom bracket torque sensor, but that project has been on hold. Plus I also have an old FlyKly all-in-one rear hub from kickstarter on my road bike so I don't really need another ebike.
I'm interested, but it is hard to figure out what is a good deal and what is the same parts the questionable Chinese stores sell, but at a massive markup .
Yea that is hard, and I'm struggling too.
I decided to trust amazon.de after a few sanity checks: 300+ reviews/4+ rating/little red flags in reviews/no signs of the product-switching hack.
I have health issues and hadn't rode a bike in a while until I got a compact (and 250w) ebike not long ago, have rode 100 miles now. If trails are off the table I may as well sell/trade my ebike (if someone would still want it here) as the roads near me are not bike friendly (and I don't even have a mirror). Not much around here, I made a 20-mile round-trip to the nearest tourist city and I definitely would not do that if I had to deal with cars+ditches+unshaded roads (especially as I lack cell service and thus mobile GPS for better routes).
Also I don't seem to see very many people on the trail and have been passed by actual cyclists a few times.
If you haven't, I strongly suggest making these comments in the NPS link. Environmental assessment processes really do care about things like the public actually being able to access the parks! Like most government processes they're going to evaluate material submitted to them, not material found in random places on the internet.
I'd phrase it as "allowing eBikes lets me benefit parks like this and gives me these benefits" and not "otherwise I might sell my ebike" because they care about public benefit, not about whether or not you own an ebike.
I know and I've been thinking about it. I could write an essay about all the different aspects of this (including some stuff beyond the NPS like nuance of throttle and how it relates to classification) but also the question here seems to be a bit baseless at worst (or surron stigma etc), or maybe a "should we throw all ebikes under the bus because of road wear from the heaviest ones" that might give an overwhelming response in favor of ebikes (also because health issues etc).
Though I am surprised I haven't seen other people (like Area 13 or other ebike YTers) cover it so maybe not.
I've heard of a guy that used a quick release on the front wheel, locked the bike up and took the front wheel with him in stores. Sort if a weird dude but never had his bike stolen
I have a Riese&Müller Vario Swing. I wanted something to transport bigger loads, but also still a bike. So I got a Citybike with a trailer.
The thing is a year old now, and I've used it much more than just for shopping. In the height of summer, I also use it for commuting (without trailer), because I wouldn't make it home otherwise in the afternoon heat. And whenever I go somewhere I have to be presentable, it's still better than public transport.
It doesn't need much maintenance apart from what every bike needs, the belt is even easier than a chain, and the battery gets me quite far.
I also have "normal" trekking bike. And I think if I buy another ebike, it would not be a citybike again. The low access is nice, but the seating position is not for longer trips.
I've been wanting to get a new ebike for a while now and I ended up going down a rabbit hole with regards to how the electric system works on ebikes as well as the legal status and definition of them in Australia (where I live). that was interesting if concerning reading all round which is why I still haven't bought the ebike/kit sadly.
Here's a few tips that I either use myself, or see lots of people recommending:
For quick lockups, I use a U-lock (or D-lock, whatever you want to call it) around the seat tube and whatever I'm locking to. My e-bike is a fat-tire model, so I can't really get the rear tire in there too, but bonus points if you can get the rear wheel, seat tube, and what you're locking to inside of it.
For longer lockups or stops in higher risk areas, adding in a chain lock or cable lock and doing something similar to what @PugJesus suggested can be a good idea. Essentially, the idea is to get both wheels and the frame interconnected and attached to something secure.
General rule of thumb suggested to me once: invest in a lock that's about 10% of the cost of your bike (making sure it's a good quality lock, of course). I personally use an Abus Granit X-Plus 540, which has served me very well so far.
Edit to add: Also might not be a bad idea to register your bike on something like Project529. Doesn't really prevent someone from taking the bike, but might help make it easier to get it back.
Pretty much my logic, but I also have a vibration sensing alarm. In my extremely safe neighborhood (where most people don’t lock their bikes up) I’ll sometimes dip into a quick stop with the u-lock through the rear wheel to the frame, keeping it from rolling, and the alarm set.
Once in a pinch I wrapped my chain around a huge concrete pillar - it barely fit - and the u-lock between the chain and my frame.
I just latch it with a bike lock. Loop it between the wheel spokes, the frame, and something sturdy nearby. Figure if they want it bad enough to take it half apart in the process, clearly nothing I can do is gonna stop 'em. I've seen some people loop it through both wheels and the frame.
Lectric XP 3. Yes, I recommend. It ships fully assembled, folds up for storage, and has plenty of power. Downsides are it's heavy and the key location is a little annoying. The range isn't amazing but it can be extended with a long range battery.
I love it for riding downtown for my lunch break and being able to leave the house without driving a car.
Riese and Müller Xdelite (mountainbike fully that makes 45km/h and has a belt drive + gearless transmission).
Go 28km to work on it one way, takes a bit less than an hour and thereby kills public transport and car both.
It's from 2018 and pretty loud by now but I like it.
I just got my priority current, an upgrade from my 4 year old radrunner. I gotta say, having a belt drive and midrive motor makes this thing sooooo much quieter and is also a lot more powerful. And it’s just so much fun to ride.
Only 5 miles on it so far, hopefully just the start of a couple thousand
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