@@BN99239 and even on that actually depends on the torque sensor used, some use shitty models that end up with a comparable response time to a well tuned bafang motor(yes you can tune it, not like that shitty bosh motors, and +your bike wont cost as a fucking motorbike)
0 issues after 4 years. Bofang hubs are bulletproof. It's paid for itself long ago. I, like most ride on the road or bike paths. No need for the fancy stuff. What killed bike riding is the hard skinny seats the bike stores tell you are better.(maybe if you ride 30+ miles a day).
I looked at E-bikes for years. My bike shop only carried $5-6k bikes and up! Absolutely would not even think about it! Not when I buy good used trucks for less than that for my work. I finally researched online and settled on a Magicycle. Very solid build, great customer service. A fantastic bike for my mixed riding of pavement, dirt roads, light trail riding, hills, etc. At the time, less than $1500. I love this bike and have a blast. I understand the need for the mid drive high end bikes for serious MTN bikers. But at 67 years old, that is not my game. Bottom line, I have a blast and get out riding much more than I used to. And I get 35-40 miles on a charge! I live in foothills of Teton Valley, and anywhere I go from my house ends up taking me 5-6 miles downhill. My Magicycle helps me to get back home without killing myself. So, bottom line, I disagree with most of your points. You are the guy at the bike shop who holds his nose up at you, when you can't consider his $5k and up bikes. Biking can be a real elitist game. The majority of riders want some fun, and good transportation without bankrupting themselves.
Fully agree that not everyone can, needs or wants an expensive (E)bike and the use benefits and fun can be had with as well with good quality less expensive brands.
I don't fully agree with the "they're all the same, buy the cheapest one" mindset for one reason: They're all cheap. Let me explain, because I don't want to sound like you need an expensive ebike to get outside, because on the contrary, I am of the mindset that *anything* that gets you active and outside is a great buy. Rather, I'd say do your research and find a couple brands that have good *customer service* and *then* pick whatever is cheapest or looks the best or w/e fits your personal criteria. The reason behind that is, if the bike is cheap and something breaks, you're going to either be left on your own, paying out of pocket to fix whatever broke, *or* the company is going to do their best to help to sort it out. So yes, they're essentially all the same, but I'd still pick a name with people backing it over a one-person drop-shipped no-name company.
I fully agree with this, having worked at a bike shop in the past, customers have come in with these types of e bikes and an electrical problem. The shop had a policy that we don't touch them unless its something that we can actually run a diagnostic on, e.g shimano, bosch. Alot of these customers couldn't contact the manufacturer because the manufacturers were either unresponsive or didn't seem to exist anymore.
That's why you buy the really inexpensive cheap one, not the $2,000 cheap one. If you buy a Walmart Hyper E ebike for $600 + $60 3-year protection plan, you've got solid protection on your purchase for 3 years, and you haven't paid a ton for some company's marketing efforts. I interpreted this as the point of the video: don't overpay for cheap bikes. That said, I fully agree that if someone is seriously considering an ebike, the buy-once-cry-once approach is best. You'll be much happier with the purchase.
@@bradleyland Thanks for this, I have been wanting an E-Bike but I don't make a lot and can't afford anything fancy, and I also immediately think "What happens if it breaks?"
I was thinking same. It's almost never the actual hardware. I don't care if it's a car, a computer, a phone, or an e-bike. It's always the same... It's the back-end support.
I have an Aventon and another weird-named brand for my wife. My Aventon is heads and shoulders above the no-name bike. Nothing wrong with the cheapy, but I'm constantly adjusting things, brake, pedal, wheel-truing. gear select, etc. The Aventon was nearly perfect and has been for two years with only basic maintenance: chain lubing and cleaning. It just feels way more solid.
I agree.. My 4600 Cannondale is like a 'Cadillac' comparing to Co-Op have priced from REI.. I say, it's not even brand.. that too.. but in the end.. you get what you pay..
Not only that goes for ebikes. I am a bike mechanic and last week my boss came with " something i would like , it just needed some love " . There was a BMC mtb . This bike was partly eaten by his goats . The plastic stuff ar least . After all these years in the barn , the derailleur still worked perfectly, like new ! . Shifting like going through butter . Ive seen cheap mtb s in a far better state with worse shifting .
i am looking at buying an aventon for my wife as well. i personally have a velotric, put over 900 miles on it in a month. how is your aventon holding up after 3 years? still going strong or did it crap the bed?
I have an Aventon Adventure 2.0 and it’s been fantastic. I’ve unlocked the motor and it hits 28mph with pedaling no problem, and this is a heavier fat tire bike.
I've had an Aventon Commuter e-bike for almost 8 months and have almost 1,000 miles on it. I absolutely love it and will buy another one when this one can't go anymore.
Ok like the message here but here are a few corrections IMHO. The overwhelming number of e Bikes are made in China not Taiwan. The better name brand bikes Specialized and Trek are from Taiwan. They are not crank driven e Bikes, they are called Mid Drive systems. The major issue with all these non name brand e Bikes is they are generally sold online only and after sale and warranty repairs becomes a real issue. If you are handy with tools try to buy the most generic components including batteries, stay away from the slick builtin look as you will have issues replacing in the future. While on the subject of batteries insist on Samsung or LG cells anything not listed will be cheaper Chinese cells.
Velowave Ranger has been excellent so far. I like the small screen, hydraulic brakes, large battery, thumb throttle. Best value of the 'cheap' bikes if you ask me.
this is what everyone says on every review for all these bikes. yeah they work fine for now but will break down the line and local shops wont service them
I replaced my Raptobike Recumbent that I didn't ride with a Cannondale Synapse that I didn't ride with a Fiido D4s electric folding bike that cost less than each of my previous bikes, and I now look forward to commuting on it every day. I've had it two weeks and my average on the bike is 5.1 minutes per mile during April vs 7.3 by car. I can lean on the motor just enough particularly on the last couple of miles to enable me to wear my work clothes as there's no shower in work, so I leave at the same time as I used to when I drove. On Sunday I checked out a longer, quieter route using cycle paths on my day off. As far as I'm concerned, my cheap e-bike is achieving what I've been trying to for 10 years on regular bikes - using it for transport regularly. If you're not motivationally challenged like me your mileage may vary, but I think it's the best thing I've ever purchased.
I couldn't disagree more. Look at components - some are 1 or 2 steps up from entry level. Look at gearing, some offer seven speeds, others 8, or 9. Look at grips - some are "ergo", but use cheap faux leather that grows very slippery as you sweat; others use real rubber and feature grip locks. Compare the UI - some are simple, others offer customization features. Look carefully at those Bafang hub motors (regardless of specified wattage) because some 750 watt motors are spec'd as 750 watt peak while others are spec'd 750 watt continuous (with peak outputs between 1130 and 1300 (depending on the controller output and the battery voltage.) There are a TON of differences between these bikes that you are dismissing out of hand but which actually changes the value proposition greatly. And, maybe most important, look at years in business and customer support. That last item may make ALL the difference.
In tires alone, those fat bikes tires are not just beefy tires they are heavy, they are hard to pedal with, and eat amps to go forwards and stress and ware the drivetrain, there is no substitute for a good suspension and normal tires.
I completely agree. Lumping in all ebikes below 2k into one basket it a total injustice. I just purchased an Ariel Rider Kepler for $1799. It's a great ebike. 1000 watt Bafang motor, Tectro hydraulic brakes....
customer support is clutch. I couldn't even get rad to tell me the size of the bolt I needed for my chain tensioner. They would only offer to sell me an entire new chain tensioner assembly for over 30 dollars. I only needed a new bolt because the one it came with was basically made of cheese and stripped out on initial assembly. I ended up cutting a groove with small saw which damaged the finish on part of the frame. THANKS RAD
I researched a bunch of ebikes during the height of Covid and finally settled on Ride1Up Lmt'd. I chose it because I didn't want to be stuck with a "commuter" looking bike or a fat tire 70+lb monstrosity. I didn't even consider a fold-able version. The Lmt'd looks more like a hard tail mountain / trail bike, which is what I wanted. Good enough to go on some single tracks and comfortable enough to go 25+ mile ride using a mix of assistance and throttle. It also has some pretty decent components and the company is based in SoCal. Very happy with my choice.
I've got the Ride1Up Turris, and just got the Cafe Cruiser today. Comfort and better stability are what wider tires get you. The quality/price ratio is great for Ride1Up bikes. The key observation with these E-bikes is to observe terrain and wind conditions on your ride. Conserve battery power for headwinds or uphill. Set power and gearing to optimize exercise and power usage.
All I know is 3900 trouble free miles on an Aventon Level 1 for $ 1,899. Wouldn’t change a damn thing on it, including the cadence sensing. 2 Yr warranty and 2 free dealer provided tuneups. I commute 12 miles a day and once a week go on a 40 miler on the stock seat. I did need an adjustable stem, and a mustache handlebar for comfort. 69 yrs old 6 ft 170 lbs.
I think its important to note hub motors are mechanically much simpler than mid-drive and because they don't provide their power through the drivetrain they massively extend drivetrain life. Some of the cheap ebikes can be very reliable and they use open standard components so with a little electrical knowledge you can replace parts easily. It's not like a Bosch mid-drive motor where they fill their batteries with glue to prevent you re-using the BMS and make it so the Bosch motor only recognises Bosch batteries. They also restrict the supply of parts. Some of these cheap ebikes use pretty much useless suspension systems which will not last and have basic drivetrains but not all. There are still cheap ebikes with good basic quality components and with rigid frames and forks which are fine for road and gravel and very light trails. However for an e-mountain bike really it needs to be mid-drive because of the way power is scaled through the gears. However I personally wouldn't ever use a mid-drive for general ebike commuting. A great video below for serious advice about the different ebike systems. Many bike shops give out completely false information because they are trying to push high cost ebikes even for basic road commuting. Remember many youtube vloggers may not be using a ebike like you and may be sponsored by firms who are trying to push you to spend big money. It's important to get the right tool for the job. It would be madness to get a super expensive highly proprietary ebike that massively increases drivetrain wear and uses high end drivetrain components for general commuting and high mileage applications. Such motor systems could have nylon gears and even belts that wear fairly quickly and a PCB that could be vulnerable to water ingress and repairs could cost $1000s and many repairs become uneconomic and then the bike is just scrap because its designed for that motor system. ruclips.net/video/xnhuoUrwhIw/видео.html
mid-drive is a superior system over hubdrive - just maintain your stuff. bafang middrive accepts batts from all sorts of manufacturers and tons of people make replacement parts. I got the whole 1000W kit for $1500 + my old bike.
@edwong3 Yes part of the superior performance is that electric mid-drive mount motors is that the typical mid-drive electric motor driven bike also comes with a gear shift sensor(helps to ease up pressure on chain when shifting) and with some brand name ones; some even have a torque sensor that allows one to dynamically adjust on the fly more precisely and accurately how much dynamic assistance that one actually receives based on the actual pressure being applied on the pedals at a given time; the really good mid-drive electric bikes may even have a half twist throttle but that is usually not as common to see. I personally also would actually drive a mid-mount electric drive bicycle because it is generally overall much smoother and less jerky as well as being a much more pleasant biking experience especially when one finds oneself going up hills it feels much more like one is doing more of the pedaling effort as opposed to the bikes electric motor doing most of the work; as this generally usually leads to greater amounts of energy being conserved also as well.
@@profdleeucc Torque sensors are not exclusive to mid-drive you can have them with hub motors as well so power is scaled through pedalling. You can have this and still have hugely reduced drivetrain wear, extra reliability and no risk of chain snap.
I put over 17,000km on my cheap ebike using it year round in Canada(harsh winter) with lots of jumps and offroad use. Only repairs that cost money were replacing the cassette, chain and chainring.
Thats one of the issues i have with these cheap bikes , its 99 % equipped with Shimano tourney or altus . These groupsets cant handle rough terrain .they are fine for commuting but not off road . You need Shimano deore or higher .
I bought a dirt cheap E-Bike from Walmart. Hyper 29" with a 250 watt motor. Then I noticed they also have a step-through model with the exact same drive train, Same hub motor, same battery. The manufacturer is responsible to Walmart, not to me. If too many come back. Walmart will discontinue the line. They will take them off the shelves and send them all back. One has to think the drive train is going to be reasonably well built and should hold up fairly well under normal conditions. They make hundreds of thousands of these bikes, and make a profit. The after market parts suppliers are ripe for these many bikes because they are all the same. That is a benefit, not a failing. If I buy a 2000 - 3000 dollar bike with the newest innovations, will it last 3 times as long? Will I be able to get parts for it considering they change so much over 2 or 4 or 5 years. I am very new to the E-Bike world, but not to business policy of the box stores. Professional Bike stores tend to look down their noses at box store bikes, which is never a good practice, especially if they believe that I might want to buy something better - next year.
Pretty sure anything can be overly simplified like that. -All cars are the same because they are made of metal, have an engine, and 4 wheels. -All ice creams are the same because they are just cream and flavouring. -All pizzas are the same because they are just dough, toppings, and cheese. See how it doesn't work like that?
I have a volt bigfoot fat bike. It is now 7 years old and I have covered tens of thousands of miles with it and it's a rear hub motor. Still gives me 60 miles per charge and a huge smile on my face. It was £2300 when new and is awesome. I will run it till it dies.
Like all technology, e-bikes are constantly and incrementally evolving. What would have been considered king of the hill 2 years ago, is eclipsed by much more affordable bikes. Tomorrow my new bike arrives. It has two 1000W motors, a 48v 22.4 Amp-hour (AH) battery pack (Panasonic Batteries), Hydraulic brakes, front and rear suspension. It has a 35 MPH speed plus cruise control. The ability to switch off the front wheel to save on battery power. It also has a color LCD display, a mount for a phone with charger, twist throttle, etc.... You are correct there are multiple companies all producing the same bike (with cosmetic differences or changed-up features). With taxes, shipping and a two-year extended warranty, it was 1710 out the door. I did pony up to buy another 48v 22.4 AH battery. I will either use it to swap out the existing battery or convert it to dual battery. I remember what the price was like on far less capable bikes just two years ago. The landscape has definitely changed over the past few years. I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Totally disagree with this video…. Practically the only thing you got right was that e-bikes in that price range have cheap drivetrains and are made out of aluminum… You know the aluminum like most bikes that aren’t carbon fiber and don’t cost a fortune are made from. At least learn some basics about E-bikes before making a video about them. Crank driven? $500? Really? Please don’t take this guy’s advice. Do some research regardless of what bike you’re buying and don’t just buy the cheapest one because someone says “they’re all the same”…
I built my own version of this bike from a budget Fat bike and a Bafang conversion kit with upgraded Forks, brakes, battery, controller for aprox £1200. Bafang make super reliable easy to service Motors but need to be kept dry or just add extra grease to prevent water ingress. Mine has done 6K Miles so far no problems. If you can wield a wrench you can DIY these, then mod them, they are super comfy if you add seat suspension and better seat and lower tyre pressure can go off road
I've had 3 E-bikes over the last few years. The first one was just under $1500 It was decent enough for gravel roads, pavement or light trails and fun rides. The next two cost between $2200 & $2400 and there is quite a difference in them and the fifteen hundred dollar bike. Overall build quality is better with nicely finished welded joints and solid feeling frames. Here are some things that are lacking in the cheaper bike that most bikes over two thousand dollars include. *hydraulic brakes - - much better stopping power for heavy e-bikes, with less effort. *high quality name brand lithium cells --Panasonic or Samsung *name brand high quality tires *higher quality digital display with a wider range of information and brighter screen. *a warranty that you can actually use, especially if bought at a bike shop. I'm retired and ride my bike at least 8 or 10 miles a day, weather permitting. If you're going to ride a lot you might save enough money on gas to pay for the bike.
Thanks for your comment. I’m retired and have a very short radius of travel for things like basic essentials. These comments are helping me very much as I try to decide what I’m going to get.
I also do not fully agree, but he is also correct in the same sentence. with this video, everyone should become educated, you should know your components, know your variations in battery sizes and requirements for your needs. Do not buy the cheapest because they are not all the same, although very very similar. It's a fine line but educating yourself you will learn that line.
Last year, I bought a very similar mountain ebike as the one in your video. From my experience, your assessment is spot on. About nine months in, I had to replace the gear shifter. Yes, it was a Shimano but it was their bottom-of-the-line shifter! The seatpost is so short that I, with only a 30" inseam can't raise it high enough for proper leg extension so I'm never 100% comfortable on it. I look at my purchase as an expensive learning experience. Hopefully, your video will reach potential first time buyers so they don't replicate my experience. BTW, the model I bought is the Bezior XF200 sold by GoGobest, made in China; surprise, surprise!
Aventon is a pretty established company based in California with a network of over 1000 dealers. That's something that all of the eBay and Amazon e-bike companies can't say. You can also go to one of the dealers and test ride the bikes before purchase, which is also something that can't be done with all these other cheap e-bikes. Even the Hyper from Walmart has to be purchased before you can ride it. Aventon's newer Ramblas hardtail e-bike is pricey but it does come with a nice mid-drive, SRAM drive components and a RockShox fork with Maxxis tires. You should check that one out. I definitely wouldn't waste my money on a hub drive at this point.
The two most basic types of e-bikes are those with 20” wheels and those with 26” wheels. After that, it is full or front only suspension. (almost all 20” bikes are full suspension but more for comfort than performance). Then there is rear or two wheel drive. The wattage of the motor, amps of the controller and voltage of the battery are the next series of considerations to make based on interests in acceleration torque, top speed and range.
Indeed. But when buying these bikes online , It's rare they tell you what power the controller is rated. And it's common they don't even tell you what true rating the motor is (although that's getting less common now). You''ll basically get "1000w ebike" and a 1000w sticker on the motor, But no doubt that motor is simply a 500w bafang or sutton (bafang sister company), and no clue what the bike is pumping out at the normal or peak end. Asking the vendor is always an option, And hope they just don't give you the same generic answer "it's 1000w sir" lol
I bought a Himiway, mostly because of a recommendation. Very happy with it. I don't expect much and it meets my expectations very well. It looks pretty much like this bike, like exactly.
Thanks for the video, but don't agree with you..To state $1-$2k ebikes have cheaper components than a specialized or trek is not a secret but there are differences between these brands. A brand like Aventon with a dealer network or Rad Power Bikes which is growing their brick & mortar presence are two examples of affordable ebike companies with decent customer service. I think you're also assuming everyone can afford or wants to spend $5-10k on a bike and furthermore for some individuals, spending $1k on an ebike (as cheap as it it) could change their life (ex: if someone is walking to work or riding an analog bike these affordable ebikes could give them an extra 1-2 hours per day to be at home). Rant over
What I got out of the video is pick the one you think is the prettiest for a price point that let’s you sleep at night, and go for it. For me, it was the Aventon Level
My E-CELLS Wuper Monarch Crown (yeah, a mouthful) is 2 wheel drive, dual Rock Shoks suspension with 2 Samsung batteries and good components like Shimano Deore gear set. It was $5,100. with tax but well worth it for the quality.
Wait, what? I saw no indication in this video that all folks can or should spends massive amounts on an eBike. On the contrary, he is simply saying that some overseas manufacturers are massive eBike "mills" that will produce similar bikes on the cheap to be sold worldwide and implies immense profits are involved. He even allows that some affordable bikes are reasonable ok or somewhat good, I do not believe importance of post-sale customer service is mentioned nor is the importance of getting an eBike with a quality battery pack. The latter being the majority of the cost of producing an eBike. Replacing your battery can be a major investment and if only a few years down the road can have a huge impact on your finances.
Some of the big well known brands do exactly the same, they will buy Chinese frames, then make slight changes to it, but essentially you are buying a Chinese generic frame. There is a massive mark up for retailers in bicycles, and they seem to get away with it.
I'm pretty sure it's all Chinese. The idea is that these companies will hopefully do all the trial and error and find a combination of parts that work well together. I'm not a hobbyist. I just need a bike to travel to work 10 miles every day. I don't mind paying the extra so I don't have to tinker with things I'm not interested in or familiar with.
I bought a couple of older used Volt Mariner folding bikes last year for my first ebikes. Wasn't the type of bike I was looking for, but was bargain I couldn't refuse. First ebikes I had tried with throttles and was hooked immediately. My wife and I had a blast on them. I Did notice quickly that many other companies make basically the exact same bike, but different colors, stickers and brand names. Still, if someone were looking for for a first ebike to have fun on for general easy trail / greenway riding, I'd recommend anything in this catagory without hesitation. I have a buddy who has let me ride one of his really nice name brand factory built mountain bikes a few times over last year. Those are fantastic pieces of gear for off road trail riding and will not disappoint. For myself however, I skipped that step on the ladder and just recently went for CYC conversion kit for my old full suspension mountain bike, which, is in an entirely superior realm of performance. Most fun toy I've ever had!
I own a Yamaha Moro and was looking for another e- bike so a friend could ride with me and I bought the velowave on this video. The Yamaha is much more refined with a full suspension and better feedback but the velowave is what I call the hot rod of the two. It will run easily 27mph and even up to 35 downhill. If I need to get somewhere in a hurry I use the velowave. The first mod is filling the tires with green slime as you will get flats. I would also suggest caution because this bike can be dangerously fast.
Yes, if you like cheap & are really not going to ride but just store it in the garage then sure go cheap. But if you're seriously going to go riding get a good mid-drive E-bike. I got a Haibike Yamaha 3 years ago it has never had any problems with Battery or Motor just replacing the brakes and tires last year & at 70 yrs. old I ride almost every day having fun improving my health & losing 65lbs.
I've got a similar Ebike to this, 500w. I've had and got top of the range ebikes. I changed the suspension forks and bars and it's a comfortable fast bike, probably my favorite. I've had no problems in 2 years and regular riding. For the price with a few tweeks you can have a decent ebike at minimum cost. No big secret 🙂
What you've described is selling e-bikes based on a common platform. Car manufacturers do it too. There's nothing wrong with it, why have every manufacturer duplicate and produce the same core components. A frame maker that has equipment and experience making them, might as well sell to different bike makers so that both can save cost and reduce waste. The bike builder companies can then focus on customizing to their tastes to try to meet customer preferences. The $400 walmart ebike has the bare minimums, but if you want bigger motor, wider tires, or longer range, another company has to supply that. If every company builds bikes from the ground up in their own special way, then the costs will be prohibitively high, because even though every company wants to market they're doing something revolutionary, they can only realistically specialize in a few areas. So I agree with the main point of the video, but it glosses over a lot of topics and differences among ebikes.
Absolutely. And I know you can buy certain ebikes straight from china at a decent discount than from a local store (they are either middle men or they just but their own sticker on it lol), But I actually don't mind paying extra to know that I get help when needed locally rather than dealing with China myself and doing work myself. I haven't got time to piss around with overseas foreign commutation, Long waiting times, Messing with jobs myself, Or even getting no help at all if they decide to be dicks about it lol.
I have a Hub motor e-bike. All good. Folds. Fits in the car. Cost 750. Low power 250w is surprisingly powerful if you are under about 180lbs. You will pedal with no effort on flat roads, wind vanishes as a worry, you will go up very steep hills in 1st gear with a small to medium amount of effort. You will never get out of the saddle. You wont sweat or lose your breath. If you want to work harder, just drop power to a lower setting.
I came to the same conclusion just browsing Amazon. Thanks for your confirmation. The problem for consumers is the varying specs - where one company may say that a motor is 1000W, but what they aren't telling you is that the motor is a 750W motor continuous rated for 1000 peak or something. Or at least that's what I'm seeing. Most brands are not really forthcoming with real specs and real world experiences; sort of reminds me what I see with solar panels from similar sources. The other big difference is the smaller battery packs vs the larger ones. Some look strictly at range; but the truth is - most ads are speculative at best; and we all know how bad vendors on E-Bay and Amazon tend to stretch the truth. Reality is, within reason, I want the larger battery pack, not because I plan on using it the max; but because a larger battery pack is going to last longer than a battery pack that is undersized and fully drained after every trip. Note - that's within reason. Would I pay several hundred more ? Not likely; but for a $100 more, yeah.
The worst thing about these dropshipped bikes is that it's borderline impossible to get first-party replacement parts, and they often use configurations that are difficult to get a replacement for, like a reention dorado with 52v which the manufacturer recommends against even doing.
Josh, Have you seen or ridden a Day 6 bicycle? As an old guy they are the best design I have seen. I'm looking to get a Journey 350...Specs: Tires: Kenda Kwik Drumlin 26×2.20 Brakes: Radius Disc/Mechanical Disc Rotor: 180mm Rim: Alloy Double Wall Frame: 6061 Aluminum Spokes: 14 Gauge Stainless Crankset: ProWheel Headset: Neco Sealed Bearings Chain ring: Lekkie 36 Tooth, Narrow-Wide Shifter: Shimano Nexus 7 Hub: Shimano Nexus 7 Internally Geared Stem: Alloy, fixed, 90mm Thanks for reading.
bought a near new-2023 edikani 48volt e-bike,,,5 modes,twin discs,,,does near 30mph,,,battery life is phenonanel,,love it,,have about 500 into it,,,basically all i will need
I get the spirit of this video, but I don't necessarily agree with it.. Saying that all sub $2k e-bikes are the same and might as well just get the cheaper one because they're all the same is pretty bad advice IMO.. You still get something better by paying more than just $500 like a larger/branded battery, more powerful motor, hydraulic disc brakes, better frame, better fork, better customer service etc., these are all extra features that even those who know nothing about e-bikes would appreciate to have.. This video dictates such an elitist mindset that more or less says that anything under $2k is trash so just get the cheapest e-bike because they're all trash anyway lol.. I ride a $6k e-bike and while it's great and I can appreciate what it has to offer, most people aren't nerdy enough like me to want to spend that much on an e-bike.. Also while rear hub drive motors look inferior at face value.. They're actually better in some ways and is actually the motor type I would recommend to people who have little experience with riding and maintaining bicycles..
Well said. Elitism has taken over most outdoor sports, where I live, skiing and biking. I have a blast on my $1500 Magicycle. The build quality is rock solid, great acceleration and climbing power, and super 24hr customer service.
E bikes are going the same way as motorcycles as far as Elitism go's . why pay £12,000 for a Harley davidson when a £4000 Royal Enfield is the same performence uses less gass( a lot less ) ,costs a quarter the price for a service and has better relibility. I dont understand peoples logic They seem willing to pay for the sticker on the side of gass tank for an inferior product .
@@johnsshed995 While I'm not really a fan of Harley, I wouldn't want to own an RE either mostly because of the looks.. I can usually find beauty in any motorcycle, even scooters, RE just looks really off to me and they look worse the longer I look at them..
2 words: hydraulic brakes. Ebikes are heavier & faster than traditional bikes. Traditional bike brakes lack the stopping power for these factors. If you're going to buy an ebike &... you plan on being able to come to a stop quick enough to avoid a crash, make sure you buy one with hydraulic brakes. If the bike specs don't mention hydraulics, they're not there.
Correction: the vast majority of ebikes are massively heavy, but not ALL ebikes. Mine is only 6lbs heavier than my 21 speed hybrid road bike which is hardly noticeable, whereas the average ebike is nearly twice as heavy. (And that fat tire bike in video might be 75lbs or more.)
@@kevinkelley2313 I have an Aventon Soltera 7 speed ($1299). It's 43lbs, the single speed is 41lbs and $100 less. Propella makes an even lighter bike at 35 and 33lbs but I have bad knees and wanted a step thru model, plus Aventon has a dealer network.
@@mikebronicki8264 Thank you for the reply. Seems the market is rapidly evolving. I am in the waiting game but know at some point, just need to pull the trigger (so to speak).
Hydraulic brakes are also much more reliable. As long as you replace the pads when they're worn out, hydros require little to no adjustment or maintenance (unless a brake line gets punctured or air somehow leaks into the system, which happens very rarely). Whereas mechanical disc brakes are weaker, less reliable, and require a lot more adjustment to keep them working well. As their cables stretch over time, braking power will diminish, and most mechanical disc brakes (the single pivot type) place undue bending force on the rotor. If I was a benevolent dictator, I would make it illegal to sell an e-bike without hydraulic disc brakes. These bikes are very fast and very heavy, and could cause a lot more damage in a collision than a conventional pedal-driven bike.
I agree most of the "Unknown" brand ebikes are very similar in quality, as they all use similar components, motors, batteries, and the specs are often very similar. But the more notable brands offer customer support, and provide upgraded components where they matter most, instead of blinging the bikes out with cheap add-ons. There is a wide disparity in quality among bikes in the $1,500-$2,000 sweet spot that most first-timers are looking to spend. In my painstaking research, I can absolutely say an Aventon Aventure is not a clone of an Ariel Rider Kepler , an Addmotor M-560, a RadRover 6, or a Himiway Zebra, even though the prices are all around $1,800. Do your research and watch lots of videos. Also, you should decide what is most important to you. If you ride a lot of hills, you will want a more powerful motor (750W is the most powerful "bike trail legal" motor in most states). If you want to go on long rides, battery capacity will top your list (Volts X AmpHours = capacity) and you can easily get by with a 500W motor if the rides are flat. If you want to haul things (groceries, recreational gear, etc.) you need a beefy frame and big cargo racks/baskets. Every bike maximizes certain features while making concessions in other areas to hit their price point. Therefore, each bike in this price range offers slightly different combinations of motor, battery, component quality, and utility. I want to be able to enjoy half-day rides and full-day rides in as many scenic locations as possible, covering 20-50 miles in a trip. Chicago's lakeshore bike trails, The Il Prairie Path along the Fox River, and trips all over the midwest and beyond (such as while on vacation). Ebikes can give you access to so many things you cannot see by car of if you are walking. Riding a traditional bike can be difficult when it is hilly, hot, and humid. The ebike is the ultimate equalizer against these issues, and can take you almost anywhere. Break as much or as little of a sweat as you wish. Personally, my favorite ebike in this price range is the Ariel Rider Kepler because it has the most powerful motor (1000 Watts nominal, 1,800 Watts peak) and a massive battery (52V20Wh). Unfortunately, the motor exceeds 750 Watts, so it will not be legal on most public bike trails, so the risk of not having access to many areas is real. Therefore, my top picks are between the Addmotor M-560 and the Himiway Zebra. They have the ideal combination of power, battery life, and utility I seek. The choice comes down to which one looks better and is more comfortable fit for my body, to ride 30 miles or more on a trip though scenic areas.
Perfect the most honest words I've heard, I build my bike however a link showed up different manufacture same bike they ask to make a review pricing very low, I spend more money in a one-month restaurant, this bike is like 70 lb 750 Bafang back wheel drive with 15ah battery, My bike, 750 Bafang mid-drive motor, 17ah battery weight 30lb 9.5lb12.5lb = 52 lb my weigh 125lb I see 30 mpg easy, however, some reviews weigh 240lb and see 32 mph this E-bike, some guys aren't speaking truth, your gonna have to buy tools and a jack and learn a few things or pay someone, for a friend changed a derailleur chain other small things I didn't want the money but his tip was 80. dollars he said you pay for these tools and worked on his bike take it. the e-bike is beautiful and someone being honest helps you.
I worked in a bike shop as a mechanic all through high school and beyond - When people came in asking what bike is best to buy - we would point out the the seat makers make the seats , wheel markers make the wheels- in other words - bikes is the same price range are built with essentially the identical components and quality of construction - so it comes down to basically the color you like
On Fat Tire E Bikes, Ive noticed a flaw and believe majority of Fat Tire EBikes have this issue, of the front being off-balance of the weight of rear motor. When having cargo or without ( but with cargo more effect) you ride around 24mph and up and ride thru a 2 inch bump or lifted up extrusion of road, the front end will take off a bit forcing you to slow down the next time around, with cargo of just 80 lbs plus you have to ride at 20mph to slow down when you do see those bumps or mini ramps. Its why some makers making Dual motors now to counter this problem. I decided to add another front motor on mine as with every e bike I have. You want the ebike to be well balanced of the weight to have the handling part down.
That’s pretty much how the bike industry is in a nutshell. Most high end road or mountain bikes are made from the same companies and the mark up are ridiculous. The business model is just being past down to Ebikes now.
@Daily MTB Rider for keeping it 💯 You were much nicer than expected. Top Commenter clearly didnt watch or LISTEN to the video like the rest of us. Got triggered by the headline, works everytime! 😅
I bought 4 ebikes in 2023 and I think the advice you're giving people is nuts. These bikes aren't the same, don't ride the same, and don't have the same range or power or speeds at various pedal assist levels, even if (like me) you researched for several weeks before you bought your first one and actually compiled (like me) an 18-page document regarding the differences between over 50 ebikes in the class of bikes you were considering (dual suspension bikes with at least 750W motors). You're NUTS to tell people "just buy the cheapest one because it'll be good." Wow. Standover height ALONE can make the ebiking experience painful. Ever rack yourself when coming to a stop at a light or because a kid ran out in front of you on the street, or a car backed out of its driveway in front of you and your bike's crossbar is too high for you to stand over? Yeah, standover height matters. If you can't stand over your bike's crossbar with both feet flat on the ground, you're gonna experience pain at some point. Motocross riders would disagree, saying there are ways to work around a tall bike's standover, but 99.9% of new ebike riders aren't motocross riders and will have a crappy experience and buyer's remorse over a bike whose standover is too high. And making several unsatisfactory purchases at $2,000 a shot is more than most consumers can afford. Speed limits at each pedal assist setting matter too, especially if, say, a husband and wife want to ride together without one of them either ghost pedaling or killing themselves pedaling too hard to pace their partner's bike. This is why my wife and I have bought FOUR ebikes so far, and will probably have to buy more just to find two that fit her and me which can pace each other comfortably at Pedal Assist 1. I could go on and on. Your advice to buy the cheapest one because "it'll be good" and "they're all the same" is utter rubbish.
We bought two Momentum LaFree bikes two years ago .. I highly recommend these if you're looking for a nice bike we are both over 55 and think nothing of riding 50 miles No throttle you peddle every mile -but on the lowest power setting they will go 63 miles
I've worked as a bike tech at a few ebike companies. You're absolutely right that these bikes are all the same. Most of the cheaper ones come from China instead of Taiwan. Taiwan has a much better reputation for quality and has been the OEM supplier to many big name bike brands for decades. China is playing catch up because it's profitable, but the quality control on all of them is terrible. If you're going to buy one, make sure you get it from a company that has good customer support. The better companies will have a bike mechanic properly tune the bike before selling them. Many of them don't. If you see if advertised on Amazon, it's guaranteed that it hasn't been tuned (the bikes will go straight from the cargo ship to a fulfillment warehouse without ever being inspected). One good thing about these bikes is that the parts are often interchangeable. You can often find parts and accessories from different vendors. The downside with these bikes is that electrical issues can be a nightmare to deal with.
They are not all the same. My Vtuvia uses an M620/G510 1000W 160nm torque sensing mid drive, with a frame integrated LG battery, 7 speed SRAM/Shimano/ Tektro drive and brakes, and great customer service. It costs one sixth of a Specialized or Rambo, etc. 95% of "name brand" bikes also come from China. They just spec some different components, and charge 5x. Who are you trying to kid?
@@Sanwizard1 until you need a part or a setting on this graet bike-mail order-not carried in Calf by any dealers-, then they are useless-geat bike=i love mine :)
I bought a bargain $990 ebike online and three years later its still as much fun and as reliable as when it was new. No need to buy expensive bikes when the cheaper ones are as good.
Your right big mark up , if you can wait for a deal like the pre Black Friday deals like the rad rover 6 for 1299.00 is a great deal on a1900.00 bike, the most recent sale they had on them were 1499.00 during Black Friday, hopefully they have more good deals coming
I found a fat tire one for $780 after tax,delivery,processing fee,packaging fees,tape usage fees,handling fees. It was agood deal works great in snow, up hills,pulling kids trailer,33mph top speed throttle only,i never actually ran out of battery, 48v,1000w, 15.6ha,75nm,30°
@@JohnSmith-tz4on its a vfamky lol but what ever that is I bin very impressed still working like I'd did day one I've put 800+ miles on it,it says out of stock I just checked but i saw another one that seems pretty much close to it pretty close to the same price but forget the name
I did a ton of research before I bought my first e-bike. If you look around enough, you can find the manufacturers. And some will sell you one bike. Direct from China. I bought a bike that retails for more than $4k in the US. shipped to me direct from China, with some upgraded components the "brand" decided to cheap out on. I got that $4k bike for $2.5k. It is the exact same bike down to the color, and in the conversation with the manufacturers rep they asked if I wanted the stickers from the "brand name" manufacturer shipped with the bike. Of course this does mean I'm pretty much on my own when it comes to warranty and service, but I'm okay with that to save the dollars on the front end.
Thank you. I've been researching these "sub-$2000" ebikes for a while now, and this seems to be some very logical and practical advice. I'm old and slow and on a fixed income. I'm also very easy on mechanical things these days, so I still would never consider a premium (and brutally expensive) hub-drive ebike, but I now feel I might not have to worry so much about the particular brand or price, though I do plan to do a bit more research in this area before making my mind and pulling the trigger on anything. And by the way, I gave $299 for my current hub-drive ebike. (I happened to catch it on a, "50% Off Today Only" sale at the "members-only warehouse store"). It is 4 years old, and at the moment it is still serving me well. It has been dead-reliable too. I'm just wanting a bit more carrying capacity, since I recently acquired and 80lb pooch and a pet trailer, and have been bringing him along on local greenway rides. And I figure while I am at it, why not increase my tire height and range a bit.
I have a beach cruiser running with 2 systems front and rear 2000w each, the controller is massive but one of the system has a built in controller, with 52v 20ah each one, massive acceleration using both, and keep up speed of 38 or 40 mph, so happy, easy to build and chip.
Points to a Bafang motor (literally one of the most respected e-bike motor manufacturers out there)and refers to it as a cheap and unresponsive drivetrain. Thus immediately loses my trust and respect while also revealing himself to be a typical bike snob who will turn his nose up at anything that doesn't cost over $3,000. Look, I get it, there are people who will spend obnoxious sums of money for a two-wheeled, ancient mode of transportation. Do I think they are necessarily sane? No, absolutely not.. I consider them to be in one of 3 categories. The first are people who have bought into the whole "you get what you pay for" mentality. While that is true to up to a certain price point, people take that to the extreme. The second are people who have more money than they know what to do with and therefore want the best of the best because status means everything I guess. 🙄 And third, people who are nuts about their hobby, you find them in every crowd whether it be a car nut or the person who will drop thousands for a chef knife, wrist watch, set of earphones or speakers etc... If you are a financially responsible/sane person all three of these types are people you need to absolutely ignore. They are the types that will turn their nose up at perfectly acceptable options and point you towards something costing far more than you need to pay. I haven't seen enough of this guy's videos to know which type he is but from this video? I would guess he falls into category 1 or 3. I'll give you a basic model to follow. When looking for an e-bike first consider what you want to do with it so that you can pick the type that best suits your needs. For instance, a thin tired street bike if you only ride on paved streets, a Fat Tire Bike if you will actually travel on terrain that requires it like beaches or mountain trails or a bike with thinner off-road tire if you never intend to see a beach because fat tires reduce range. If you have other specialized needs like cargo or something to overcome a disability like a trike then you choose the type that best suits your needs. From there the biggest and MOST IMPORTANT thing to consider is the quality of the battery pack because that comes down to safety. Look for a pact with name brand sells like LG or Samsung, Panasonic or Sony. If it's a manufacturer unknown to you it giant mean it's a bad brand. Go to an online lithium-ion battery wholesaler like "liionwholesale" and research the brand. Some off names are actually repackaged name brand cells or other high quality batteries. After that, he's correct, most of the components are the same and the higher-end components which are only going to matter to the hobbyist or elitists can therefor be ignored. I hope this was helpful to someone.
I like your channel but really disagree with premise of this one video: The ebikes, even from one manufacturer are positively different from model to model!!!! Tire sizes and widths, handlebar shape, seated frame geometry and lengths, throttle l no throttle models, LED vs LCD displays and the settings you can make via the displays are all different characteristics that should be considered. Personally, ai feel you may want to re-make this video for it to be helpful and accurate.
All I know is while I was up in the Dolomites in Castelrotto, there wasn’t one non-electric Mountain bike. Being the ‘stupid American’ there, I asked about it and the common response I got back by these super tough European mountain bikers was, “yeah, no one rides non-electric in Europe. Only you Americans enjoy suffering up hills.” It really did get me to rethink my love of suffrage riding up the Rockies in my back yard in Colorado and Utah. But I did notice there were only name brand electric bikes there.
Happy to see you back at it. Should we expect to see more frequent postings? My two cents - these cheap bikes are great for people who don’t know if biking is something they are serious about. Get something cheap - if you enjoy it and want to invest more time and more money in biking, unload it and then spend some serious money. No sense spending a bunch of money to learn it’s “ not your thing”.
go to a ebike shop and try them out in person . have then tuned asap and upgrade to hydraulic brakes is a must if they dont come with . Regular breaks wont stop fast enough once your past 10mph , you gotta keep adjusting them almost every ride .
I've had three ebike, all eMTB. My usage, is the daily commute, of around 20kms round trip, with 40% trail and 60% road, and a lot of hills one or two really steep. The first and last were sort of similar. NZ$6k Hiabike and now a Giant. The former was my first and ultrareliable. Both were full suspension. The Giant has been unreliable and I will not be buying that brand again. The Yamaha motors on both have been brilliant. The middle was a conversion ... didn't go well. Unreliable to the extreme. All three were crank/ mid-motors with torque sensors. My issue with the crank is the cost of running. I do about 2000kms pa. And on the Giant I am almost getting through a crank wheel, cassette and chain in 6-10 months. This is NZ$600-700 a pop. The battery on the Giant, even after 3000kms is still 99% capacity which is amazing. Shame about the rest of the bike. Am contemplating a hub motor for my experiment/ DIY bike. I have a 52v battery. I might see if: 1. It can make the DIY eMTB more reliable. 2. Reduce cost to run ... less wear. 3. Increase fun through illegal speeds :D If I were thinking commute largely road, even to the level I do, I would probably go for the hub cheap option like in the video. Yes the crank motor has a natural feel, yes it has masses of torque and yes its a nice ride, but its also 3 x the price and probably a magnitude more in running costs, and to be honest I really dont use it as intended.
Excellent video. I am in the market for an e-bike. My neighbor has a mail order bike that he paid about $1,400 for. I went to the local Trek bike dealer and their bikes were around $7,000. The Trek bikes look much better made than my neighbors bike.
From my research this is accurate (and smart). I just bought a metakoo cybertrack 300 for $789 (after tax and shipping). It is the same freaking bike as everything 2-3x the price. People throw away money thinking that the same bike with a different name is going to give them a different result. I'm in Florida, very flat.
My wife bought me an Engwie X26. I have noticed that it’s significantly similar to many other no name ebikes. She paid about $1500 for it, and I’ve put about 500 miles on it. I’d be happy to get 1500 miles out of it. At $1 mile it’s fairly cheap entertainment, and maybe it’ll last longer and have some future value. The next one will be a Yamaha or similar and UL rated.
I work in a bike shop and we get these cheap ebikes in from time to time and yes, they are pretty much all the same. Some are better than others build quality wise but they all are what they are. We do not mess with the electronics of the bikes, but we have in the past, tried to help our customers out by trying to help them source parts. That is the biggest issue, who do you contact for warranty issues? Who do you contact for proprietary parts? Sometimes you never hear back so the customer just chucked $1k out the window. If you are thinking e bike, do what Josh says and save your money and buy from a brand that is going to stand behind their bikes and have someplace local you can get it serviced.
You definitely want a good well made overall bike and parts because it’s a major safety issue otherwise especially at the speeds ebikes can go pretty easily and the torque they put on the parts combined with your own pedaling if you do so you may find yourself with a hefty hospital bill and out a bike if your lucky even. Also it’s always up to the user to know the bike and it’s limits as well as safely and effectively maintain the bike all the time before you go ride it and something drastic goes wrong. If your tire blows out at 20-30 mph plus or even less or something else structural goes wrong you are so screwed at the mercy of the crash.
I just picked a 750 watt up on timu for 650 bucks shipped with no tax my girl went with a step through 500 watt for $600 shipped no tax. Probably a good time to buy
I got a hard core cycle, dual 750w motors. Around 4000, but it's built for off road. I am very happy with it, with both wheels moving at the same time it's amazing, and very powerful.
This is very good to know. Thank you. I have a question for you… Lost my charger, but it’s a proprietary. How do I find a replacement for a Cannondale bike?
I love mid drive e bikes. They are some of my most reliable customers. Every few months they're in to have me install another chain and free wheel as their smallest cog is always worn down into a sawtooth. Bicycle drive trains were pretty much designed and manufactured to deal with the energy output of a human. Stack a bunch of extra power on to that and the results are profitably predictable.
@@stoutdog56 - A throttle is just another way to signal the controller to deliver more power to the motor. It doesn't matter whether the motor is in a mid drive or hub drive. Both mid drive and hub drive bikes can be found with throttles or without throttles. As far as I know, all mid drive bikes use geared motors. Most hub drive bikes use geared motors, but not all - some hubs are direct drive (gearless - the hub is literally the motor). Direct drive hubs are absolutely silent because you don't have the constant gears whining, and very reliable because they have only one moving part - the hub shell. Direct drive hubs cruise more efficiently, and with the right controller they offer regenerative braking, which lets you charge the battery when you are coasting to a stop or going downhill. On the negative side, direct drive hubs are larger, heavier, don't accelerate as well as geared hubs, tend to cost more, and there is always some rolling drag when you are pedaling without the electricity turned on. If I were building a touring bike, I would lean towards using a direct drive hub motor, but for most use in commuting or mountain biking a geared hub motor would be a better choice. Mid drive bikes use the same gearing advantage that your legs use, if your bike has gears, so a small motor can accelerate you pretty well if the bike is in a low gear. But they are also much much harder on your drivetrain components, like the chain and rear cogs. They have the advantage that you can use whatever rear wheels you want, and change them easily. Mid drive bikes can also use internally geared hubs, like Rholoff, Sachs or Shimano Nexus. At some point, your e-bike will lose the "e", whether it's because a sensor failed, or the motor shorted, or the controller went up in smoke... At some point you're going to have to pedal that thing home under your own leg power, and when you are pedaling a single speed, 70 lb fat-tired beast home at the end of a long day, you are probably going to appreciate having some gears. Since you don't like derailers, internally geared hubs and a mid-drive would seem to be your best choice, just be aware that those internally geared hubs with a mid drive also have the same high wear problems that all drive systems for mid drive bikes have - they were just engineered for human power, and they will fail more often under human power plus mid drive power. But whichever drive system you select, don't let a throttle be the reason you don't consider a drive system, because you can find any drive system either with or without a throttle - that just depends on the manufacturer of the bike and whether they needed to classify it as a class 1 or class 2 e-bike for market purposes, since in most jurisdictions, class 1 e-bikes must be pedal assist only - completely regardless of whether they are mid drive or hub drive.
@@paulelliott682 - Sadly, the fact that I lack any photogenic attributes is all that stands between me and a heavily monetized career of RUclips stardom, presenting dogma, unsubstantiated opinion, anecdotal "evidence" and flawed logic in an authoritative, yet surprisingly relatable manner.
I saw one hub-drive that used a BELT drive, instead of a traditional chain. It was also super expensive, so I didn't get it. However, I think that if I wanted to go mid-drive, I would look into a belt system.
I have biked to work for over 10 years. Some winters bus if I have to. 13 kl one way. Have an 8 speed stump jumper and a 9 speed marin. Love them both. Both over ten years old. Keep replacing parts as they ware . Thinking of a e bike. 55 years old now. Use to go 40 klm flat . Run 48 tooth on the front. Fastest 56 klm down hill.
You can build your own with much better specs much cheaper than the pre built ones. $350aud for a hub motor kit, cheap bike from Kmart (yeah it still exists here) for $150, another $350/500 for a 52v20ah battery. Bout 50 miles range full throttle around town stopping and starting at 35mph. Way more if you pedal or half throttle it. Best part is you can buy all that individually. I scrimped and saved and spent about $700 on my first little one buying up parts over almost a year. That bike let me get a job across town and now I'm making that much on a slow week, have a couple much better bikes I built for about $1600 each that put anything I can buy at the local stores to shame for half the price. If you're American or European it should be cheaper for you, our money is worth less and we import less cool stuff so what is here gets marked way up. you guys get way more variety for parts and pricing. I'm dumb as hell and dropped out after 9th grade so you should be fine building one if I could lol. So many tutorials out there.
You earned a downvote for promoting Specialized or Trek to people who just want to ride a n ebike. Simply put your information is just plain wrong, do better than spewing biased opinions based on your little knowledge of electric bikes and electric bike technology.
Right on! Picked up my $1500 Magicycle this year and absolutely having a blast. Great bike, great customer support. Super power and a 35-40 mile range.
You just gotta do some good research and check the reviews before buying one. I recently bought one called the Lankeleisi mg740, it looks very similar to the fat bikes but has 2000w from having front and rear motors, easily reaches 38mph, long battery life (can go full throttle for atleast 25 miles, 100 miles if just using pedal assist) and was a similar price (1700). Best purchade ive made so far
I can't really agree (in all cases) to suggest "buy the cheaper one" when it comes to hub-based ebikes. I'd rather suggest someone the extra money on a reputable brand hub bike know to use name-brand batteries (Samsung/LG etc) than to spend $700 on an unknown white-label company whose claims on batteries/BMS can't be trusted as they lack a track record.
I'm not a bike specialist but i just wanna say that I bought a Samebike e-bike a few years ago for about 1000 euros. Horizontal frame, foldable, removable battery, full auto. And it's better, has more power and range (and no idiotic limiters) than a friend's bike for 3 times as much. The only problem I had with it was the brakes, but it was enough to move the discs and tighten the brakes.
Great video Josh, I just wanted to say that Aventon is a legit brand, they have been around for longer than a few years, and I hear their bikes are pretty decent! Also, could *cough* Giant *cough* be one of those specific Taiwanese bike frame brands? My relatives live in Taiwan and we usually go there once a year (except during the pandemic), so I might have to ask about that! Edit: Oh, and Lectric is also a known, legit company, they’re known for their pretty affordable folding fat tire E-bikes!
I have an Aventon Level and really like it... but while not from one of those same few companies its a similar story. Aventon makes their own frames and the quality you get in that frame is very very good (its why I bought one knowing and owning some high end bikes), but the rest is off the shelf parts from other manufacturers. the fit an finish is better and their support is head and shoulders over some ship to consumer products, and the customer support is better than most from what i read online (no issues with min in 8 months and 3k miles)
@@g00fysmiley Aventon also has hundreds of dealers across the country where you can go and test ride the bike before you buy. (Plus you have a repair shop handy if you need it.)
@@mikebronicki8264 Have they upped their customer service? Because a few months ago their own website was riddled with bad reviews for their CS. It immediately turned me off from Aventon and haven't been back there since. Even taking into consideration the tendency to write a bad review when something goes wrong and no review when all is right, I found it alarming.
@@charlienyc1 I haven't any issues with our 2 Solteras, mine has over 200 miles and the wife's is still under 100. But if anything came up I would just call the dealer I bought them from. He operates a mobile service so I wouldn't even have to take them in. You can't beat in person service. Oh and by the way, the dealers assemble and tune them for free.
There is much truth in this, I have 3 of various different configurations at the moment for different uses (commuting, shopping, very mild off-road), I buy them secondhand from people who buy them, but don’t use them. There is a particular type of buyer, middle class, recently retired who do this, they buy a ‘his and hers’ set and look after the battery religiously without ever putting for than a couple of hundred miles (often less) on the bike and then sell them after 15-18 months for half the original price. I try to buy ones with removable batteries of the same type to get the most flexibility I can. This works well for me and I long since got rid of the car. I also have a nicer mid drive for the fun stuff.
A word of advice, if you do buy one of these know that most bike shops won't touch them. Most have proprietary parts and little to no safety features in the batery cell itself. Bike shops have even burned down because of runaway cells in this. If you can find one with a motor from a reputable brand such as shamano or boshe, these brands will have such protection in place as to mitigate the risk of a runaway cell. As well as the convenience of using off the shelf bike parts.
Most actually don't have any proprietary parts. I do uber on a bike full time so I put a lot more miles than most on bikes and I've got a 6k$ with a mid drive and higher end suspension and a 2k$ fat bike hub drive and the hub drive is far more reliable and maintenance free. Every part on the bike I can find online cheap too and replace myself although I haven't had to replace anything but chain and cassette so far 17000km
As someone whose background is electronics. I don't see how the motor has much to do with runaway cell issues. That would more likely be the BMS (battery management system) and/or the controller. The motor mainly just converts the electrical energy into kinetics. Sure, it might have some protections for over current or heat but then again much of that is taken care of with the for mentioned parts.
Thanks. Great video. I an 68, and the last time I rode any kind of bike was 8 years ago. I have been thinking of getting an ebike next year when I get a settlement check I get once a year. So, I have been looking at them again, in the last day or so. But, I feel I need the additional stability 9f a trike these day, because of medical issues, and I need low step through, and I need a folding one. I decided that I will get one of those, maybe next month, and next year, put a mid drive motor on it. In total, it will end up costing about the same, but I think it will be better for me, that way.
Well, that's one way to stop getting all those distributor requests to review the cheap E-bikes.
Haha and yet I bet they'll keep coming!
Lol
I bet they will still send him bikes.
@@robertmansfield7844 They can send me one if they want
@@gazgaz2824 I to would like free E-bikes that cost thousands
Well my rear hub motor ebike works fantastic! No delay and very powerful. 750 watt Bafang motor. I love it.
you won't know that there is no delay unless you compare it with a mid drive, torque sensor ebike.
@@BN99239 and even on that actually depends on the torque sensor used, some use shitty models that end up with a comparable response time to a well tuned bafang motor(yes you can tune it, not like that shitty bosh motors, and +your bike wont cost as a fucking motorbike)
0 issues after 4 years. Bofang hubs are bulletproof. It's paid for itself long ago. I, like most ride on the road or bike paths. No need for the fancy stuff. What killed bike riding is the hard skinny seats the bike stores tell you are better.(maybe if you ride 30+ miles a day).
@@DK-jd8bjTrue,bafang motors and ebike kits are awesome, my ebike only weighs 37Lbs 😊 250w geared 6/1 ratio, running 42v 22amp or sometimes 54v
I agree mine 2 years going strong
I looked at E-bikes for years. My bike shop only carried $5-6k bikes and up! Absolutely would not even think about it! Not when I buy good used trucks for less than that for my work. I finally researched online and settled on a Magicycle. Very solid build, great customer service. A fantastic bike for my mixed riding of pavement, dirt roads, light trail riding, hills, etc. At the time, less than $1500. I love this bike and have a blast. I understand the need for the mid drive high end bikes for serious MTN bikers. But at 67 years old, that is not my game. Bottom line, I have a blast and get out riding much more than I used to. And I get 35-40 miles on a charge! I live in foothills of Teton Valley, and anywhere I go from my house ends up taking me 5-6 miles downhill. My Magicycle helps me to get back home without killing myself. So, bottom line, I disagree with most of your points. You are the guy at the bike shop who holds his nose up at you, when you can't consider his $5k and up bikes. Biking can be a real elitist game. The majority of riders want some fun, and good transportation without bankrupting themselves.
Spot on reply 👌
@@Borgodz Thanks Nazar! Hope I wasn’t too heavy for this thread!
Awesome, I just ordered 2 Magicycle for me and the Mrs.
Excellent comment to this video.. Thank you
Fully agree that not everyone can, needs or wants an expensive (E)bike and the use benefits and fun can be had with as well with good quality less expensive brands.
I don't fully agree with the "they're all the same, buy the cheapest one" mindset for one reason: They're all cheap. Let me explain, because I don't want to sound like you need an expensive ebike to get outside, because on the contrary, I am of the mindset that *anything* that gets you active and outside is a great buy. Rather, I'd say do your research and find a couple brands that have good *customer service* and *then* pick whatever is cheapest or looks the best or w/e fits your personal criteria. The reason behind that is, if the bike is cheap and something breaks, you're going to either be left on your own, paying out of pocket to fix whatever broke, *or* the company is going to do their best to help to sort it out. So yes, they're essentially all the same, but I'd still pick a name with people backing it over a one-person drop-shipped no-name company.
I fully agree with this, having worked at a bike shop in the past, customers have come in with these types of e bikes and an electrical problem. The shop had a policy that we don't touch them unless its something that we can actually run a diagnostic on, e.g shimano, bosch. Alot of these customers couldn't contact the manufacturer because the manufacturers were either unresponsive or didn't seem to exist anymore.
That's why you buy the really inexpensive cheap one, not the $2,000 cheap one. If you buy a Walmart Hyper E ebike for $600 + $60 3-year protection plan, you've got solid protection on your purchase for 3 years, and you haven't paid a ton for some company's marketing efforts. I interpreted this as the point of the video: don't overpay for cheap bikes.
That said, I fully agree that if someone is seriously considering an ebike, the buy-once-cry-once approach is best. You'll be much happier with the purchase.
@@bradleyland Thanks for this, I have been wanting an E-Bike but I don't make a lot and can't afford anything fancy, and I also immediately think "What happens if it breaks?"
I was thinking same. It's almost never the actual hardware. I don't care if it's a car, a computer, a phone, or an e-bike. It's always the same... It's the back-end support.
@@nightmarefanatic1819 Build your own is a good solution. It's not super hard, but not for a total noob either.
I have an Aventon and another weird-named brand for my wife. My Aventon is heads and shoulders above the no-name bike. Nothing wrong with the cheapy, but I'm constantly adjusting things, brake, pedal, wheel-truing. gear select, etc. The Aventon was nearly perfect and has been for two years with only basic maintenance: chain lubing and cleaning. It just feels way more solid.
I agree.. My 4600 Cannondale is like a 'Cadillac' comparing to Co-Op have priced from REI.. I say, it's not even brand.. that too.. but in the end.. you get what you pay..
Not only that goes for ebikes. I am a bike mechanic and last week my boss came with " something i would like , it just needed some love " . There was a BMC mtb . This bike was partly eaten by his goats . The plastic stuff ar least .
After all these years in the barn , the derailleur still worked perfectly, like new ! . Shifting like going through butter .
Ive seen cheap mtb s in a far better state with worse shifting .
i am looking at buying an aventon for my wife as well. i personally have a velotric, put over 900 miles on it in a month.
how is your aventon holding up after 3 years? still going strong or did it crap the bed?
I have an Aventon Adventure 2.0 and it’s been fantastic.
I’ve unlocked the motor and it hits 28mph with pedaling no problem, and this is a heavier fat tire bike.
I've had an Aventon Commuter e-bike for almost 8 months and have almost 1,000 miles on it. I absolutely love it and will buy another one when this one can't go anymore.
Ok like the message here but here are a few corrections IMHO. The overwhelming number of e Bikes are made in China not Taiwan. The better name brand bikes Specialized and Trek are from Taiwan.
They are not crank driven e Bikes, they are called Mid Drive systems.
The major issue with all these non name brand e Bikes is they are generally sold online only and after sale and warranty repairs becomes a real issue. If you are handy with tools try to buy the
most generic components including batteries, stay away from the slick builtin look as you will have issues replacing in the future. While on the subject of batteries insist on Samsung or LG cells anything not listed will be cheaper Chinese cells.
Velowave Ranger has been excellent so far. I like the small screen, hydraulic brakes, large battery, thumb throttle. Best value of the 'cheap' bikes if you ask me.
this is what everyone says on every review for all these bikes. yeah they work fine for now but will break down the line and local shops wont service them
@@mikec4308 Oh no, lord forbid you have to maintain something you purchased!
I replaced my Raptobike Recumbent that I didn't ride with a Cannondale Synapse that I didn't ride with a Fiido D4s electric folding bike that cost less than each of my previous bikes, and I now look forward to commuting on it every day.
I've had it two weeks and my average on the bike is 5.1 minutes per mile during April vs 7.3 by car.
I can lean on the motor just enough particularly on the last couple of miles to enable me to wear my work clothes as there's no shower in work, so I leave at the same time as I used to when I drove.
On Sunday I checked out a longer, quieter route using cycle paths on my day off.
As far as I'm concerned, my cheap e-bike is achieving what I've been trying to for 10 years on regular bikes - using it for transport regularly.
If you're not motivationally challenged like me your mileage may vary, but I think it's the best thing I've ever purchased.
We’re more harping on the bikes being sold as off road bikes with parts that will fail and be a safety issue on down hill tracks.
I love the "motivationally challenged", I can relate haha.
I couldn't disagree more. Look at components - some are 1 or 2 steps up from entry level. Look at gearing, some offer seven speeds, others 8, or 9. Look at grips - some are "ergo", but use cheap faux leather that grows very slippery as you sweat; others use real rubber and feature grip locks. Compare the UI - some are simple, others offer customization features. Look carefully at those Bafang hub motors (regardless of specified wattage) because some 750 watt motors are spec'd as 750 watt peak while others are spec'd 750 watt continuous (with peak outputs between 1130 and 1300 (depending on the controller output and the battery voltage.) There are a TON of differences between these bikes that you are dismissing out of hand but which actually changes the value proposition greatly. And, maybe most important, look at years in business and customer support. That last item may make ALL the difference.
In tires alone, those fat bikes tires are not just beefy tires they are heavy, they are hard to pedal with, and eat amps to go forwards and stress and ware the drivetrain, there is no substitute for a good suspension and normal tires.
I completely agree. Lumping in all ebikes below 2k into one basket it a total injustice. I just purchased an Ariel Rider Kepler for $1799. It's a great ebike. 1000 watt Bafang motor, Tectro hydraulic brakes....
customer support is clutch. I couldn't even get rad to tell me the size of the bolt I needed for my chain tensioner. They would only offer to sell me an entire new chain tensioner assembly for over 30 dollars. I only needed a new bolt because the one it came with was basically made of cheese and stripped out on initial assembly. I ended up cutting a groove with small saw which damaged the finish on part of the frame. THANKS RAD
@@dragonskunkstudio7582 wear vs ware
I researched a bunch of ebikes during the height of Covid and finally settled on Ride1Up Lmt'd. I chose it because I didn't want to be stuck with a "commuter" looking bike or a fat tire 70+lb monstrosity. I didn't even consider a fold-able version.
The Lmt'd looks more like a hard tail mountain / trail bike, which is what I wanted. Good enough to go on some single tracks and comfortable enough to go 25+ mile ride using a mix of assistance and throttle.
It also has some pretty decent components and the company is based in SoCal. Very happy with my choice.
The only problem I can see with Ride1Up is the terribly low range of the bikes. 25 miles is nothing for me
I've got the Ride1Up Turris, and just got the Cafe Cruiser today. Comfort and better stability are what wider tires get you. The quality/price ratio is great for Ride1Up bikes.
The key observation with these E-bikes is to observe terrain and wind conditions on your ride. Conserve battery power for headwinds or uphill. Set power and gearing to optimize exercise and power usage.
All I know is 3900 trouble free miles on an Aventon Level 1 for $ 1,899. Wouldn’t change a damn thing on it, including the cadence sensing. 2 Yr warranty and 2 free dealer provided tuneups. I commute 12 miles a day and once a week go on a 40 miler on the stock seat. I did need an adjustable stem, and a mustache handlebar for comfort. 69 yrs old 6 ft 170 lbs.
I think its important to note hub motors are mechanically much simpler than mid-drive and because they don't provide their power through the drivetrain they massively extend drivetrain life. Some of the cheap ebikes can be very reliable and they use open standard components so with a little electrical knowledge you can replace parts easily. It's not like a Bosch mid-drive motor where they fill their batteries with glue to prevent you re-using the BMS and make it so the Bosch motor only recognises Bosch batteries. They also restrict the supply of parts.
Some of these cheap ebikes use pretty much useless suspension systems which will not last and have basic drivetrains but not all. There are still cheap ebikes with good basic quality components and with rigid frames and forks which are fine for road and gravel and very light trails.
However for an e-mountain bike really it needs to be mid-drive because of the way power is scaled through the gears. However I personally wouldn't ever use a mid-drive for general ebike commuting. A great video below for serious advice about the different ebike systems. Many bike shops give out completely false information because they are trying to push high cost ebikes even for basic road commuting. Remember many youtube vloggers may not be using a ebike like you and may be sponsored by firms who are trying to push you to spend big money. It's important to get the right tool for the job. It would be madness to get a super expensive highly proprietary ebike that massively increases drivetrain wear and uses high end drivetrain components for general commuting and high mileage applications. Such motor systems could have nylon gears and even belts that wear fairly quickly and a PCB that could be vulnerable to water ingress and repairs could cost $1000s and many repairs become uneconomic and then the bike is just scrap because its designed for that motor system.
ruclips.net/video/xnhuoUrwhIw/видео.html
mid-drive is a superior system over hubdrive - just maintain your stuff. bafang middrive accepts batts from all sorts of manufacturers and tons of people make replacement parts. I got the whole 1000W kit for $1500 + my old bike.
Bafang mid-drive conversion for my old MTB
@edwong3 Yes part of the superior performance is that electric mid-drive mount motors is that the typical mid-drive electric motor driven bike also comes with a gear shift sensor(helps to ease up pressure on chain when shifting) and with some brand name ones; some even have a torque sensor that allows one to dynamically adjust on the fly more precisely and accurately how much dynamic assistance that one actually receives based on the actual pressure being applied on the pedals at a given time; the really good mid-drive electric bikes may even have a half twist throttle but that is usually not as common to see. I personally also would actually drive a mid-mount electric drive bicycle because it is generally overall much smoother and less jerky as well as being a much more pleasant biking experience especially when one finds oneself going up hills it feels much more like one is doing more of the pedaling effort as opposed to the bikes electric motor doing most of the work; as this generally usually leads to greater amounts of energy being conserved also as well.
@@profdleeucc Torque sensors are not exclusive to mid-drive you can have them with hub motors as well so power is scaled through pedalling. You can have this and still have hugely reduced drivetrain wear, extra reliability and no risk of chain snap.
@@af4237 Truth!
1 note: the new Bafang M series uses a proprietary Bafang battery. Only work around is to swap the controller.
I put over 17,000km on my cheap ebike using it year round in Canada(harsh winter) with lots of jumps and offroad use. Only repairs that cost money were replacing the cassette, chain and chainring.
What make model e bike did you get,
💩
Eunorau defender S is the best investment ever.
@@SherlockHomeless223 That's like 3 grand. What does it have over the bikes offered by Ariel Rider and Aventon in the same or lower price range?
Thats one of the issues i have with these cheap bikes , its 99 % equipped with Shimano tourney or altus . These groupsets cant handle rough terrain .they are fine for commuting but not off road . You need Shimano deore or higher .
I bought a dirt cheap E-Bike from Walmart. Hyper 29" with a 250 watt motor. Then I noticed they also have a step-through model with the exact same drive train, Same hub motor, same battery. The manufacturer is responsible to Walmart, not to me. If too many come back. Walmart will discontinue the line. They will take them off the shelves and send them all back. One has to think the drive train is going to be reasonably well built and should hold up fairly well under normal conditions. They make hundreds of thousands of these bikes, and make a profit. The after market parts suppliers are ripe for these many bikes because they are all the same. That is a benefit, not a failing.
If I buy a 2000 - 3000 dollar bike with the newest innovations, will it last 3 times as long? Will I be able to get parts for it considering they change so much over 2 or 4 or 5 years.
I am very new to the E-Bike world, but not to business policy of the box stores.
Professional Bike stores tend to look down their noses at box store bikes, which is never a good practice, especially if they believe that I might want to buy something better - next year.
Pretty sure anything can be overly simplified like that.
-All cars are the same because they are made of metal, have an engine, and 4 wheels.
-All ice creams are the same because they are just cream and flavouring.
-All pizzas are the same because they are just dough, toppings, and cheese.
See how it doesn't work like that?
Bcz ppl don't want
I have a volt bigfoot fat bike. It is now 7 years old and I have covered tens of thousands of miles with it and it's a rear hub motor. Still gives me 60 miles per charge and a huge smile on my face. It was £2300 when new and is awesome. I will run it till it dies.
Like all technology, e-bikes are constantly and incrementally evolving. What would have been considered king of the hill 2 years ago, is eclipsed by much more affordable bikes.
Tomorrow my new bike arrives. It has two 1000W motors, a 48v 22.4 Amp-hour (AH) battery pack (Panasonic Batteries), Hydraulic brakes, front and rear suspension. It has a 35 MPH speed plus cruise control. The ability to switch off the front wheel to save on battery power. It also has a color LCD display, a mount for a phone with charger, twist throttle, etc....
You are correct there are multiple companies all producing the same bike (with cosmetic differences or changed-up features).
With taxes, shipping and a two-year extended warranty, it was 1710 out the door. I did pony up to buy another 48v 22.4 AH battery. I will either use it to swap out the existing battery or convert it to dual battery. I remember what the price was like on far less capable bikes just two years ago. The landscape has definitely changed over the past few years. I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Totally disagree with this video…. Practically the only thing you got right was that e-bikes in that price range have cheap drivetrains and are made out of aluminum… You know the aluminum like most bikes that aren’t carbon fiber and don’t cost a fortune are made from.
At least learn some basics about E-bikes before making a video about them. Crank driven? $500? Really?
Please don’t take this guy’s advice. Do some research regardless of what bike you’re buying and don’t just buy the cheapest one because someone says “they’re all the same”…
I built my own version of this bike from a budget Fat bike and a Bafang conversion kit with upgraded Forks, brakes, battery, controller for aprox £1200. Bafang make super reliable easy to service Motors but need to be kept dry or just add extra grease to prevent water ingress. Mine has done 6K Miles so far no problems. If you can wield a wrench you can DIY these, then mod them, they are super comfy if you add seat suspension and better seat and lower tyre pressure can go off road
I've had 3 E-bikes over the last few years. The first one was just under $1500 It was decent enough for gravel roads, pavement or light trails and fun rides. The next two cost between $2200 & $2400 and there is quite a difference in them and the fifteen hundred dollar bike. Overall build quality is better with nicely finished welded joints and solid feeling frames.
Here are some things that are lacking in the cheaper bike that most bikes over two thousand dollars include.
*hydraulic brakes - - much better stopping power for heavy e-bikes, with less effort.
*high quality name brand lithium cells --Panasonic or Samsung
*name brand high quality tires
*higher quality digital display with a wider range of information and brighter screen.
*a warranty that you can actually use, especially if bought at a bike shop.
I'm retired and ride my bike at least 8 or 10 miles a day, weather permitting. If you're going to ride a lot you might save enough money on gas to pay for the bike.
A conversion kit + battery would be like 600-700. You guys have way too much money.
@@imarchello not everyone want's to diy these things. when your cheap battery catches fire and the house burns down your out alot more money
.....I mean I got a radmini 4 for under 1000 cad and it has almost all of those things minus the brakes
Thanks for your comment. I’m retired and have a very short radius of travel for things like basic essentials. These comments are helping me very much as I try to decide what I’m going to get.
You spent $7400 on bicycles - yikes
I also do not fully agree, but he is also correct in the same sentence. with this video, everyone should become educated, you should know your components, know your variations in battery sizes and requirements for your needs. Do not buy the cheapest because they are not all the same, although very very similar. It's a fine line but educating yourself you will learn that line.
Last year, I bought a very similar mountain ebike as the one in your video. From my experience, your assessment is spot on. About nine months in, I had to replace the gear shifter. Yes, it was a Shimano but it was their bottom-of-the-line shifter! The seatpost is so short that I, with only a 30" inseam can't raise it high enough for proper leg extension so I'm never 100% comfortable on it. I look at my purchase as an expensive learning experience. Hopefully, your video will reach potential first time buyers so they don't replicate my experience. BTW, the model I bought is the Bezior XF200 sold by GoGobest, made in China; surprise, surprise!
Aventon is a pretty established company based in California with a network of over 1000 dealers. That's something that all of the eBay and Amazon e-bike companies can't say. You can also go to one of the dealers and test ride the bikes before purchase, which is also something that can't be done with all these other cheap e-bikes. Even the Hyper from Walmart has to be purchased before you can ride it. Aventon's newer Ramblas hardtail e-bike is pricey but it does come with a nice mid-drive, SRAM drive components and a RockShox fork with Maxxis tires. You should check that one out. I definitely wouldn't waste my money on a hub drive at this point.
The two most basic types of e-bikes are those with 20” wheels and those with 26” wheels. After that, it is full or front only suspension. (almost all 20” bikes are full suspension but more for comfort than performance). Then there is rear or two wheel drive. The wattage of the motor, amps of the controller and voltage of the battery are the next series of considerations to make based on interests in acceleration torque, top speed and range.
Indeed. But when buying these bikes online , It's rare they tell you what power the controller is rated. And it's common they don't even tell you what true rating the motor is (although that's getting less common now). You''ll basically get "1000w ebike" and a 1000w sticker on the motor, But no doubt that motor is simply a 500w bafang or sutton (bafang sister company), and no clue what the bike is pumping out at the normal or peak end. Asking the vendor is always an option, And hope they just don't give you the same generic answer "it's 1000w sir" lol
I bought a Himiway, mostly because of a recommendation. Very happy with it. I don't expect much and it meets my expectations very well. It looks pretty much like this bike, like exactly.
Have had my original Himiway Cruiser since 2020, and it still kicks butt. Later today, I am picking up my new Himiway A7 Pro... can't wait.
They are all the same. Good to see you back!
Thanks man, great to be back!
Except for Components and bearings
Thanks for the video, but don't agree with you..To state $1-$2k ebikes have cheaper components than a specialized or trek is not a secret but there are differences between these brands. A brand like Aventon with a dealer network or Rad Power Bikes which is growing their brick & mortar presence are two examples of affordable ebike companies with decent customer service. I think you're also assuming everyone can afford or wants to spend $5-10k on a bike and furthermore for some individuals, spending $1k on an ebike (as cheap as it it) could change their life (ex: if someone is walking to work or riding an analog bike these affordable ebikes could give them an extra 1-2 hours per day to be at home). Rant over
Thank you. Saved me typing the exact sentiment.
What I got out of the video is pick the one you think is the prettiest for a price point that let’s you sleep at night, and go for it. For me, it was the Aventon
Level
My E-CELLS Wuper Monarch Crown (yeah, a mouthful) is 2 wheel drive, dual Rock Shoks suspension with 2 Samsung batteries and good components like Shimano Deore gear set. It was $5,100. with tax but well worth it for the quality.
Wait, what? I saw no indication in this video that all folks can or should spends massive amounts on an eBike. On the contrary, he is simply saying that some overseas manufacturers are massive eBike "mills" that will produce similar bikes on the cheap to be sold worldwide and implies immense profits are involved. He even allows that some affordable bikes are reasonable ok or somewhat good,
I do not believe importance of post-sale customer service is mentioned nor is the importance of getting an eBike with a quality battery pack. The latter being the majority of the cost of producing an eBike. Replacing your battery can be a major investment and if only a few years down the road can have a huge impact on your finances.
Some of the big well known brands do exactly the same, they will buy Chinese frames, then make slight changes to it, but essentially you are buying a Chinese generic frame.
There is a massive mark up for retailers in bicycles, and they seem to get away with it.
I'm pretty sure it's all Chinese. The idea is that these companies will hopefully do all the trial and error and find a combination of parts that work well together. I'm not a hobbyist. I just need a bike to travel to work 10 miles every day. I don't mind paying the extra so I don't have to tinker with things I'm not interested in or familiar with.
I bought a couple of older used Volt Mariner folding bikes last year for my first ebikes. Wasn't the type of bike I was looking for, but was bargain I couldn't refuse. First ebikes I had tried with throttles and was hooked immediately. My wife and I had a blast on them. I Did notice quickly that many other companies make basically the exact same bike, but different colors, stickers and brand names. Still, if someone were looking for for a first ebike to have fun on for general easy trail / greenway riding, I'd recommend anything in this catagory without hesitation.
I have a buddy who has let me ride one of his really nice name brand factory built mountain bikes a few times over last year. Those are fantastic pieces of gear for off road trail riding and will not disappoint.
For myself however, I skipped that step on the ladder and just recently went for CYC conversion kit for my old full suspension mountain bike, which, is in an entirely superior realm of performance. Most fun toy I've ever had!
oh wow canada company....Volt Mariner actually looks sick!
Even though you didn't rush the info, you still didn't drag it out. These were 5 minutes well spent by me. Thank you, I appreciate it.
I own a Yamaha Moro and was looking for another e- bike so a friend could ride with me and I bought the velowave on this video. The Yamaha is much more refined with a full suspension and better feedback but the velowave is what I call the hot rod of the two. It will run easily 27mph and even up to 35 downhill. If I need to get somewhere in a hurry I use the velowave. The first mod is filling the tires with green slime as you will get flats. I would also suggest caution because this bike can be dangerously fast.
Yes, if you like cheap & are really not going to ride but just store it in the garage then sure go cheap. But if you're seriously going to go riding get a good mid-drive E-bike. I got a Haibike Yamaha 3 years ago it has never had any problems with Battery or Motor just replacing the brakes and tires last year & at 70 yrs. old I ride almost every day having fun improving my health & losing 65lbs.
I've got a similar Ebike to this, 500w. I've had and got top of the range ebikes. I changed the suspension forks and bars and it's a comfortable fast bike, probably my favorite. I've had no problems in 2 years and regular riding. For the price with a few tweeks you can have a decent ebike at minimum cost. No big secret 🙂
What you've described is selling e-bikes based on a common platform. Car manufacturers do it too. There's nothing wrong with it, why have every manufacturer duplicate and produce the same core components. A frame maker that has equipment and experience making them, might as well sell to different bike makers so that both can save cost and reduce waste. The bike builder companies can then focus on customizing to their tastes to try to meet customer preferences. The $400 walmart ebike has the bare minimums, but if you want bigger motor, wider tires, or longer range, another company has to supply that. If every company builds bikes from the ground up in their own special way, then the costs will be prohibitively high, because even though every company wants to market they're doing something revolutionary, they can only realistically specialize in a few areas. So I agree with the main point of the video, but it glosses over a lot of topics and differences among ebikes.
Absolutely. And I know you can buy certain ebikes straight from china at a decent discount than from a local store (they are either middle men or they just but their own sticker on it lol), But I actually don't mind paying extra to know that I get help when needed locally rather than dealing with China myself and doing work myself. I haven't got time to piss around with overseas foreign commutation, Long waiting times, Messing with jobs myself, Or even getting no help at all if they decide to be dicks about it lol.
I have a Hub motor e-bike. All good. Folds. Fits in the car. Cost 750. Low power 250w is surprisingly powerful if you are under about 180lbs. You will pedal with no effort on flat roads, wind vanishes as a worry, you will go up very steep hills in 1st gear with a small to medium amount of effort. You will never get out of the saddle. You wont sweat or lose your breath. If you want to work harder, just drop power to a lower setting.
I came to the same conclusion just browsing Amazon. Thanks for your confirmation.
The problem for consumers is the varying specs - where one company may say that a motor is 1000W, but what they aren't telling you is that the motor is a 750W motor continuous rated for 1000 peak or something. Or at least that's what I'm seeing. Most brands are not really forthcoming with real specs and real world experiences; sort of reminds me what I see with solar panels from similar sources.
The other big difference is the smaller battery packs vs the larger ones. Some look strictly at range; but the truth is - most ads are speculative at best; and we all know how bad vendors on E-Bay and Amazon tend to stretch the truth. Reality is, within reason, I want the larger battery pack, not because I plan on using it the max; but because a larger battery pack is going to last longer than a battery pack that is undersized and fully drained after every trip. Note - that's within reason. Would I pay several hundred more ? Not likely; but for a $100 more, yeah.
A lot depends on what you are going to use it for. Just like a car, truck, or motorcycle.
The worst thing about these dropshipped bikes is that it's borderline impossible to get first-party replacement parts, and they often use configurations that are difficult to get a replacement for, like a reention dorado with 52v which the manufacturer recommends against even doing.
Josh, Have you seen or ridden a Day 6 bicycle? As an old guy they are the best design I have seen. I'm looking to get a Journey 350...Specs:
Tires: Kenda Kwik Drumlin 26×2.20
Brakes: Radius Disc/Mechanical
Disc Rotor: 180mm
Rim: Alloy Double Wall
Frame: 6061 Aluminum
Spokes: 14 Gauge Stainless
Crankset: ProWheel
Headset: Neco Sealed Bearings
Chain ring: Lekkie 36 Tooth, Narrow-Wide
Shifter: Shimano Nexus 7
Hub: Shimano Nexus 7 Internally Geared
Stem: Alloy, fixed, 90mm
Thanks for reading.
How in holy hell is a $2000 bike cheap?
What a legend! The most honest guy on the internet with probably most valuable content well done! 👍 love it.
Specialized manufactures almost all of its production in Taiwan, including road bikes, mountain bikes, etc.
bought a near new-2023 edikani 48volt e-bike,,,5 modes,twin discs,,,does near 30mph,,,battery life is phenonanel,,love it,,have about 500 into it,,,basically all i will need
I get the spirit of this video, but I don't necessarily agree with it.. Saying that all sub $2k e-bikes are the same and might as well just get the cheaper one because they're all the same is pretty bad advice IMO.. You still get something better by paying more than just $500 like a larger/branded battery, more powerful motor, hydraulic disc brakes, better frame, better fork, better customer service etc., these are all extra features that even those who know nothing about e-bikes would appreciate to have.. This video dictates such an elitist mindset that more or less says that anything under $2k is trash so just get the cheapest e-bike because they're all trash anyway lol.. I ride a $6k e-bike and while it's great and I can appreciate what it has to offer, most people aren't nerdy enough like me to want to spend that much on an e-bike..
Also while rear hub drive motors look inferior at face value.. They're actually better in some ways and is actually the motor type I would recommend to people who have little experience with riding and maintaining bicycles..
Well said. Elitism has taken over most outdoor sports, where I live, skiing and biking. I have a blast on my $1500 Magicycle. The build quality is rock solid, great acceleration and climbing power, and super 24hr customer service.
You couldn’t have said it any better. Spot on.. I appreciate your response because I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing.. Thank you
E bikes are going the same way as motorcycles as far as Elitism go's . why pay £12,000 for a Harley davidson when a £4000 Royal Enfield is the same performence uses less gass( a lot less ) ,costs a quarter the price for a service and has better relibility. I dont understand peoples logic They seem willing to pay for the sticker on the side of gass tank for an inferior product .
@@johnsshed995 While I'm not really a fan of Harley, I wouldn't want to own an RE either mostly because of the looks.. I can usually find beauty in any motorcycle, even scooters, RE just looks really off to me and they look worse the longer I look at them..
As someone who works for a company that imports, rebrands and sells these kinds of e-bikes I can verify everything in this video is quite accurate.
2 words: hydraulic brakes. Ebikes are heavier & faster than traditional bikes. Traditional bike brakes lack the stopping power for these factors. If you're going to buy an ebike &... you plan on being able to come to a stop quick enough to avoid a crash, make sure you buy one with hydraulic brakes. If the bike specs don't mention hydraulics, they're not there.
Correction: the vast majority of ebikes are massively heavy, but not ALL ebikes. Mine is only 6lbs heavier than my 21 speed hybrid road bike which is hardly noticeable, whereas the average ebike is nearly twice as heavy. (And that fat tire bike in video might be 75lbs or more.)
@@mikebronicki8264 What make is your ebike? What you describe is what I *think* I am looking for.
@@kevinkelley2313 I have an Aventon Soltera 7 speed ($1299). It's 43lbs, the single speed is 41lbs and $100 less. Propella makes an even lighter bike at 35 and 33lbs but I have bad knees and wanted a step thru model, plus Aventon has a dealer network.
@@mikebronicki8264 Thank you for the reply. Seems the market is rapidly evolving. I am in the waiting game but know at some point, just need to pull the trigger (so to speak).
Hydraulic brakes are also much more reliable. As long as you replace the pads when they're worn out, hydros require little to no adjustment or maintenance (unless a brake line gets punctured or air somehow leaks into the system, which happens very rarely). Whereas mechanical disc brakes are weaker, less reliable, and require a lot more adjustment to keep them working well. As their cables stretch over time, braking power will diminish, and most mechanical disc brakes (the single pivot type) place undue bending force on the rotor.
If I was a benevolent dictator, I would make it illegal to sell an e-bike without hydraulic disc brakes. These bikes are very fast and very heavy, and could cause a lot more damage in a collision than a conventional pedal-driven bike.
You have the greatest places to ride. You have higher gearing but the power that bike has is handling it. Thanks for the video.
I agree most of the "Unknown" brand ebikes are very similar in quality, as they all use similar components, motors, batteries, and the specs are often very similar. But the more notable brands offer customer support, and provide upgraded components where they matter most, instead of blinging the bikes out with cheap add-ons. There is a wide disparity in quality among bikes in the $1,500-$2,000 sweet spot that most first-timers are looking to spend.
In my painstaking research, I can absolutely say an Aventon Aventure is not a clone of an Ariel Rider Kepler , an Addmotor M-560, a RadRover 6, or a Himiway Zebra, even though the prices are all around $1,800. Do your research and watch lots of videos.
Also, you should decide what is most important to you. If you ride a lot of hills, you will want a more powerful motor (750W is the most powerful "bike trail legal" motor in most states). If you want to go on long rides, battery capacity will top your list (Volts X AmpHours = capacity) and you can easily get by with a 500W motor if the rides are flat. If you want to haul things (groceries, recreational gear, etc.) you need a beefy frame and big cargo racks/baskets. Every bike maximizes certain features while making concessions in other areas to hit their price point. Therefore, each bike in this price range offers slightly different combinations of motor, battery, component quality, and utility.
I want to be able to enjoy half-day rides and full-day rides in as many scenic locations as possible, covering 20-50 miles in a trip. Chicago's lakeshore bike trails, The Il Prairie Path along the Fox River, and trips all over the midwest and beyond (such as while on vacation). Ebikes can give you access to so many things you cannot see by car of if you are walking. Riding a traditional bike can be difficult when it is hilly, hot, and humid. The ebike is the ultimate equalizer against these issues, and can take you almost anywhere. Break as much or as little of a sweat as you wish.
Personally, my favorite ebike in this price range is the Ariel Rider Kepler because it has the most powerful motor (1000 Watts nominal, 1,800 Watts peak) and a massive battery (52V20Wh). Unfortunately, the motor exceeds 750 Watts, so it will not be legal on most public bike trails, so the risk of not having access to many areas is real. Therefore, my top picks are between the Addmotor M-560 and the Himiway Zebra. They have the ideal combination of power, battery life, and utility I seek. The choice comes down to which one looks better and is more comfortable fit for my body, to ride 30 miles or more on a trip though scenic areas.
Perfect the most honest words I've heard, I build my bike however a link showed up different manufacture same bike they ask to make a review pricing very low, I spend more money in a one-month restaurant, this bike is like 70 lb 750 Bafang back wheel drive with 15ah battery, My bike, 750 Bafang mid-drive motor, 17ah battery weight 30lb 9.5lb12.5lb = 52 lb my weigh 125lb I see 30 mpg easy, however, some reviews weigh 240lb and see 32 mph this E-bike, some guys aren't speaking truth, your gonna have to buy tools and a jack and learn a few things or pay someone, for a friend changed a derailleur chain other small things I didn't want the money but his tip was 80. dollars he said you pay for these tools and worked on his bike take it. the e-bike is beautiful and someone being honest helps you.
Having built my own out of an old GT Avalanche - I think this is the most sensible advice currently available on RUclips. Kudos 👍
How did GT turn out? I’ve got an old GT Zaskar I was considering building with a crank motor.
I have this type of bike and I love it. Use it all Winter also down to -35 C and lot of snow and its a beast.
Best buy I have done :)
I worked in a bike shop as a mechanic all through high school and beyond - When people came in asking what bike is best to buy - we would point out the the seat makers make the seats , wheel markers make the wheels- in other words - bikes is the same price range are built with essentially the identical components and quality of construction - so it comes down to basically the color you like
On Fat Tire E Bikes, Ive noticed a flaw and believe majority of Fat Tire EBikes have this issue, of the front being off-balance of the weight of rear motor. When having cargo or without ( but with cargo more effect) you ride around 24mph and up and ride thru a 2 inch bump or lifted up extrusion of road, the front end will take off a bit forcing you to slow down the next time around, with cargo of just 80 lbs plus you have to ride at 20mph to slow down when you do see those bumps or mini ramps. Its why some makers making Dual motors now to counter this problem. I decided to add another front motor on mine as with every e bike I have. You want the ebike to be well balanced of the weight to have the handling part down.
That’s pretty much how the bike industry is in a nutshell. Most high end road or mountain bikes are made from the same companies and the mark up are ridiculous. The business model is just being past down to Ebikes now.
I purchased my first e-bike for $28.99 with SAMEBIKE. And it's still cheap as of now! Excited and can't wait..
I literally learned nothing from this video 😖
Agreed. He's full of it
@Daily MTB Rider for keeping it 💯 You were much nicer than expected. Top Commenter clearly didnt watch or LISTEN to the video like the rest of us. Got triggered by the headline, works everytime! 😅
I bought 4 ebikes in 2023 and I think the advice you're giving people is nuts. These bikes aren't the same, don't ride the same, and don't have the same range or power or speeds at various pedal assist levels, even if (like me) you researched for several weeks before you bought your first one and actually compiled (like me) an 18-page document regarding the differences between over 50 ebikes in the class of bikes you were considering (dual suspension bikes with at least 750W motors). You're NUTS to tell people "just buy the cheapest one because it'll be good." Wow.
Standover height ALONE can make the ebiking experience painful. Ever rack yourself when coming to a stop at a light or because a kid ran out in front of you on the street, or a car backed out of its driveway in front of you and your bike's crossbar is too high for you to stand over? Yeah, standover height matters. If you can't stand over your bike's crossbar with both feet flat on the ground, you're gonna experience pain at some point. Motocross riders would disagree, saying there are ways to work around a tall bike's standover, but 99.9% of new ebike riders aren't motocross riders and will have a crappy experience and buyer's remorse over a bike whose standover is too high. And making several unsatisfactory purchases at $2,000 a shot is more than most consumers can afford.
Speed limits at each pedal assist setting matter too, especially if, say, a husband and wife want to ride together without one of them either ghost pedaling or killing themselves pedaling too hard to pace their partner's bike. This is why my wife and I have bought FOUR ebikes so far, and will probably have to buy more just to find two that fit her and me which can pace each other comfortably at Pedal Assist 1.
I could go on and on. Your advice to buy the cheapest one because "it'll be good" and "they're all the same" is utter rubbish.
We bought two Momentum LaFree bikes two years ago .. I highly recommend these if you're looking for a nice bike we are both over 55 and think nothing of riding 50 miles No throttle you peddle every mile -but on the lowest power setting they will go 63 miles
I've worked as a bike tech at a few ebike companies. You're absolutely right that these bikes are all the same. Most of the cheaper ones come from China instead of Taiwan. Taiwan has a much better reputation for quality and has been the OEM supplier to many big name bike brands for decades. China is playing catch up because it's profitable, but the quality control on all of them is terrible. If you're going to buy one, make sure you get it from a company that has good customer support. The better companies will have a bike mechanic properly tune the bike before selling them. Many of them don't. If you see if advertised on Amazon, it's guaranteed that it hasn't been tuned (the bikes will go straight from the cargo ship to a fulfillment warehouse without ever being inspected). One good thing about these bikes is that the parts are often interchangeable. You can often find parts and accessories from different vendors. The downside with these bikes is that electrical issues can be a nightmare to deal with.
I go the Velowave from Amazon and it's amazing. LOVE IT SO FAR!
i remeber u from the 2015 battlefront breakdowns
They are not all the same. My Vtuvia uses an M620/G510 1000W 160nm torque sensing mid drive, with a frame integrated LG battery, 7 speed SRAM/Shimano/ Tektro drive and brakes, and great customer service. It costs one sixth of a Specialized or Rambo, etc.
95% of "name brand" bikes also come from China. They just spec some different components, and charge 5x. Who are you trying to kid?
Oh, and the brakes are hydraulic, and it has FULL Suspension. The value is outstanding.
@@Sanwizard1 until you need a part or a setting on this graet bike-mail order-not carried in Calf by any dealers-, then they are useless-geat bike=i love mine :)
I bought a bargain $990 ebike online and three years later its still as much fun and as reliable as when it was new. No need to buy expensive bikes when the cheaper ones are as good.
Your right big mark up , if you can wait for a deal like the pre Black Friday deals like the rad rover 6 for 1299.00 is a great deal on a1900.00 bike, the most recent sale they had on them were 1499.00 during Black Friday, hopefully they have more good deals coming
I found a fat tire one for $780 after tax,delivery,processing fee,packaging fees,tape usage fees,handling fees. It was agood deal works great in snow, up hills,pulling kids trailer,33mph top speed throttle only,i never actually ran out of battery, 48v,1000w, 15.6ha,75nm,30°
Wow, that sounds perfect, what model/year?
@@JohnSmith-tz4on its a vfamky lol but what ever that is I bin very impressed still working like I'd did day one I've put 800+ miles on it,it says out of stock I just checked but i saw another one that seems pretty much close to it pretty close to the same price but forget the name
I did a ton of research before I bought my first e-bike. If you look around enough, you can find the manufacturers. And some will sell you one bike. Direct from China. I bought a bike that retails for more than $4k in the US. shipped to me direct from China, with some upgraded components the "brand" decided to cheap out on. I got that $4k bike for $2.5k. It is the exact same bike down to the color, and in the conversation with the manufacturers rep they asked if I wanted the stickers from the "brand name" manufacturer shipped with the bike. Of course this does mean I'm pretty much on my own when it comes to warranty and service, but I'm okay with that to save the dollars on the front end.
What was that site and model bike you got I am interested in getting one
I've owned a few e-bikes, but the M81 is by far the most stylish and eye-catching one I've ridden.
He rambles on for like 3:45 for 20 secs worth of info. Thanks though. Hitting those youtube metrics is tuff
How do.I bypass the SPEED.Limiter on.$1,200. Hiboy 26 x 4 750 watt 48V ? Stock speed = 28 mph. Tks ! ⭐
Thank you. I've been researching these "sub-$2000" ebikes for a while now, and this seems to be some very logical and practical advice. I'm old and slow and on a fixed income. I'm also very easy on mechanical things these days, so I still would never consider a premium (and brutally expensive) hub-drive ebike, but I now feel I might not have to worry so much about the particular brand or price, though I do plan to do a bit more research in this area before making my mind and pulling the trigger on anything.
And by the way, I gave $299 for my current hub-drive ebike. (I happened to catch it on a, "50% Off Today Only" sale at the "members-only warehouse store"). It is 4 years old, and at the moment it is still serving me well. It has been dead-reliable too. I'm just wanting a bit more carrying capacity, since I recently acquired and 80lb pooch and a pet trailer, and have been bringing him along on local greenway rides. And I figure while I am at it, why not increase my tire height and range a bit.
I have a beach cruiser running with 2 systems front and rear 2000w each, the controller is massive but one of the system has a built in controller, with 52v 20ah each one, massive acceleration using both, and keep up speed of 38 or 40 mph, so happy, easy to build and chip.
Points to a Bafang motor (literally one of the most respected e-bike motor manufacturers out there)and refers to it as a cheap and unresponsive drivetrain. Thus immediately loses my trust and respect while also revealing himself to be a typical bike snob who will turn his nose up at anything that doesn't cost over $3,000. Look, I get it, there are people who will spend obnoxious sums of money for a two-wheeled, ancient mode of transportation. Do I think they are necessarily sane? No, absolutely not.. I consider them to be in one of 3 categories.
The first are people who have bought into the whole "you get what you pay for" mentality. While that is true to up to a certain price point, people take that to the extreme. The second are people who have more money than they know what to do with and therefore want the best of the best because status means everything I guess. 🙄 And third, people who are nuts about their hobby, you find them in every crowd whether it be a car nut or the person who will drop thousands for a chef knife, wrist watch, set of earphones or speakers etc...
If you are a financially responsible/sane person all three of these types are people you need to absolutely ignore. They are the types that will turn their nose up at perfectly acceptable options and point you towards something costing far more than you need to pay. I haven't seen enough of this guy's videos to know which type he is but from this video? I would guess he falls into category 1 or 3. I'll give you a basic model to follow.
When looking for an e-bike first consider what you want to do with it so that you can pick the type that best suits your needs. For instance, a thin tired street bike if you only ride on paved streets, a Fat Tire Bike if you will actually travel on terrain that requires it like beaches or mountain trails or a bike with thinner off-road tire if you never intend to see a beach because fat tires reduce range. If you have other specialized needs like cargo or something to overcome a disability like a trike then you choose the type that best suits your needs.
From there the biggest and MOST IMPORTANT thing to consider is the quality of the battery pack because that comes down to safety. Look for a pact with name brand sells like LG or Samsung, Panasonic or Sony. If it's a manufacturer unknown to you it giant mean it's a bad brand. Go to an online lithium-ion battery wholesaler like "liionwholesale" and research the brand. Some off names are actually repackaged name brand cells or other high quality batteries.
After that, he's correct, most of the components are the same and the higher-end components which are only going to matter to the hobbyist or elitists can therefor be ignored.
I hope this was helpful to someone.
I am still looking for a cheap class-3 or 28 mph bike. So far that is a feature of the most expensive bikes.
I like your channel but really disagree with premise of this one video: The ebikes, even from one manufacturer are positively different from model to model!!!! Tire sizes and widths, handlebar shape, seated frame geometry and lengths, throttle l no throttle models, LED vs LCD displays and the settings you can make via the displays are all different characteristics that should be considered. Personally, ai feel you may want to re-make this video for it to be helpful and accurate.
All I know is while I was up in the Dolomites in Castelrotto, there wasn’t one non-electric Mountain bike. Being the ‘stupid American’ there, I asked about it and the common response I got back by these super tough European mountain bikers was, “yeah, no one rides non-electric in Europe. Only you Americans enjoy suffering up hills.” It really did get me to rethink my love of suffrage riding up the Rockies in my back yard in Colorado and Utah. But I did notice there were only name brand electric bikes there.
Happy to see you back at it. Should we expect to see more frequent postings? My two cents - these cheap bikes are great for people who don’t know if biking is something they are serious about. Get something cheap - if you enjoy it and want to invest more time and more money in biking, unload it and then spend some serious money. No sense spending a bunch of money to learn it’s “ not your thing”.
go to a ebike shop and try them out in person . have then tuned asap and upgrade to hydraulic brakes is a must if they dont come with . Regular breaks wont stop fast enough once your past 10mph , you gotta keep adjusting them almost every ride .
I've had three ebike, all eMTB.
My usage, is the daily commute, of around 20kms round trip, with 40% trail and 60% road, and a lot of hills one or two really steep. The first and last were sort of similar. NZ$6k Hiabike and now a Giant. The former was my first and ultrareliable. Both were full suspension. The Giant has been unreliable and I will not be buying that brand again. The Yamaha motors on both have been brilliant. The middle was a conversion ... didn't go well. Unreliable to the extreme. All three were crank/ mid-motors with torque sensors. My issue with the crank is the cost of running. I do about 2000kms pa. And on the Giant I am almost getting through a crank wheel, cassette and chain in 6-10 months. This is NZ$600-700 a pop. The battery on the Giant, even after 3000kms is still 99% capacity which is amazing. Shame about the rest of the bike.
Am contemplating a hub motor for my experiment/ DIY bike. I have a 52v battery. I might see if:
1. It can make the DIY eMTB more reliable.
2. Reduce cost to run ... less wear.
3. Increase fun through illegal speeds :D
If I were thinking commute largely road, even to the level I do, I would probably go for the hub cheap option like in the video. Yes the crank motor has a natural feel, yes it has masses of torque and yes its a nice ride, but its also 3 x the price and probably a magnitude more in running costs, and to be honest I really dont use it as intended.
Excellent video. I am in the market for an e-bike. My neighbor has a mail order bike that he paid about $1,400 for. I went to the local Trek bike dealer and their bikes were around $7,000. The Trek bikes look much better made than my neighbors bike.
From my research this is accurate (and smart). I just bought a metakoo cybertrack 300 for $789 (after tax and shipping). It is the same freaking bike as everything 2-3x the price. People throw away money thinking that the same bike with a different name is going to give them a different result. I'm in Florida, very flat.
Amazing. Think of how much money this can save you over using a car to get around. People have no idea--hopefully with $6 gas they are wising up.
@@michigandersea3485 I use it daily and saves me money daily. Still got the gas guzzler, just use a lot less.
@@TheMindOfOpex how much is it if you need new tires
@@leangusherz3742 same price as any other mountain bike. Inner tube cost me $8, not sure what the tire itself costs but can't be much
@@TheMindOfOpex how about the battery & conversion kit
My wife bought me an Engwie X26. I have noticed that it’s significantly similar to many other no name ebikes. She paid about $1500 for it, and I’ve put about 500 miles on it. I’d be happy to get 1500 miles out of it. At $1 mile it’s fairly cheap entertainment, and maybe it’ll last longer and have some future value. The next one will be a Yamaha or similar and UL rated.
I work in a bike shop and we get these cheap ebikes in from time to time and yes, they are pretty much all the same. Some are better than others build quality wise but they all are what they are.
We do not mess with the electronics of the bikes, but we have in the past, tried to help our customers out by trying to help them source parts. That is the biggest issue, who do you contact for warranty issues? Who do you contact for proprietary parts? Sometimes you never hear back so the customer just chucked $1k out the window.
If you are thinking e bike, do what Josh says and save your money and buy from a brand that is going to stand behind their bikes and have someplace local you can get it serviced.
Awesome advice, thank you!
I picked up a 2023 Turbo Levo Alloy. This bike is built with quality and precision. I ride on average 150 - 250km a week both trails and roadways.
You definitely want a good well made overall bike and parts because it’s a major safety issue otherwise especially at the speeds ebikes can go pretty easily and the torque they put on the parts combined with your own pedaling if you do so you may find yourself with a hefty hospital bill and out a bike if your lucky even. Also it’s always up to the user to know the bike and it’s limits as well as safely and effectively maintain the bike all the time before you go ride it and something drastic goes wrong. If your tire blows out at 20-30 mph plus or even less or something else structural goes wrong you are so screwed at the mercy of the crash.
That's why I am subscribed. Pure honesty 👍
Or lack of reason.
I just picked a 750 watt up on timu for 650 bucks shipped with no tax my girl went with a step through 500 watt for $600 shipped no tax. Probably a good time to buy
I got a hard core cycle, dual 750w motors. Around 4000, but it's built for off road. I am very happy with it, with both wheels moving at the same time it's amazing, and very powerful.
This is very good to know. Thank you. I have a question for you… Lost my charger, but it’s a proprietary. How do I find a replacement for a Cannondale bike?
I love mid drive e bikes. They are some of my most reliable customers. Every few months they're in to have me install another chain and free wheel as their smallest cog is always worn down into a sawtooth.
Bicycle drive trains were pretty much designed and manufactured to deal with the energy output of a human. Stack a bunch of extra power on to that and the results are profitably predictable.
I like hub-drive for the option to have a throttle and mid-drive for the ability to have an internationally geared read hub.
@@stoutdog56 - A throttle is just another way to signal the controller to deliver more power to the motor.
It doesn't matter whether the motor is in a mid drive or hub drive. Both mid drive and hub drive bikes can be found with throttles or without throttles.
As far as I know, all mid drive bikes use geared motors. Most hub drive bikes use geared motors, but not all - some hubs are direct drive (gearless - the hub is literally the motor).
Direct drive hubs are absolutely silent because you don't have the constant gears whining, and very reliable because they have only one moving part - the hub shell. Direct drive hubs cruise more efficiently, and with the right controller they offer regenerative braking, which lets you charge the battery when you are coasting to a stop or going downhill.
On the negative side, direct drive hubs are larger, heavier, don't accelerate as well as geared hubs, tend to cost more, and there is always some rolling drag when you are pedaling without the electricity turned on.
If I were building a touring bike, I would lean towards using a direct drive hub motor, but for most use in commuting or mountain biking a geared hub motor would be a better choice.
Mid drive bikes use the same gearing advantage that your legs use, if your bike has gears, so a small motor can accelerate you pretty well if the bike is in a low gear. But they are also much much harder on your drivetrain components, like the chain and rear cogs. They have the advantage that you can use whatever rear wheels you want, and change them easily.
Mid drive bikes can also use internally geared hubs, like Rholoff, Sachs or Shimano Nexus. At some point, your e-bike will lose the "e", whether it's because a sensor failed, or the motor shorted, or the controller went up in smoke... At some point you're going to have to pedal that thing home under your own leg power, and when you are pedaling a single speed, 70 lb fat-tired beast home at the end of a long day, you are probably going to appreciate having some gears. Since you don't like derailers, internally geared hubs and a mid-drive would seem to be your best choice, just be aware that those internally geared hubs with a mid drive also have the same high wear problems that all drive systems for mid drive bikes have - they were just engineered for human power, and they will fail more often under human power plus mid drive power.
But whichever drive system you select, don't let a throttle be the reason you don't consider a drive system, because you can find any drive system either with or without a throttle - that just depends on the manufacturer of the bike and whether they needed to classify it as a class 1 or class 2 e-bike for market purposes, since in most jurisdictions, class 1 e-bikes must be pedal assist only - completely regardless of whether they are mid drive or hub drive.
@@47f0 I haven't watched the video yet but I get the feeling you should be making this video instead :)
@@paulelliott682 - Sadly, the fact that I lack any photogenic attributes is all that stands between me and a heavily monetized career of RUclips stardom, presenting dogma, unsubstantiated opinion, anecdotal "evidence" and flawed logic in an authoritative, yet surprisingly relatable manner.
I saw one hub-drive that used a BELT drive, instead of a traditional chain. It was also super expensive, so I didn't get it. However, I think that if I wanted to go mid-drive, I would look into a belt system.
I have biked to work for over 10 years. Some winters bus if I have to. 13 kl one way. Have an 8 speed stump jumper and a 9 speed marin. Love them both. Both over ten years old. Keep replacing parts as they ware . Thinking of a e bike. 55 years old now. Use to go 40 klm flat . Run 48 tooth on the front. Fastest 56 klm down hill.
Ive been rocking the ride 1 up roadster as my daily commuter. Mostly because it looked the coolest lol
You can build your own with much better specs much cheaper than the pre built ones.
$350aud for a hub motor kit, cheap bike from Kmart (yeah it still exists here) for $150, another $350/500 for a 52v20ah battery. Bout 50 miles range full throttle around town stopping and starting at 35mph. Way more if you pedal or half throttle it.
Best part is you can buy all that individually. I scrimped and saved and spent about $700 on my first little one buying up parts over almost a year.
That bike let me get a job across town and now I'm making that much on a slow week, have a couple much better bikes I built for about $1600 each that put anything I can buy at the local stores to shame for half the price.
If you're American or European it should be cheaper for you, our money is worth less and we import less cool stuff so what is here gets marked way up. you guys get way more variety for parts and pricing. I'm dumb as hell and dropped out after 9th grade so you should be fine building one if I could lol. So many tutorials out there.
You earned a downvote for promoting Specialized or Trek to people who just want to ride a n ebike.
Simply put your information is just plain wrong, do better than spewing biased opinions based on your little knowledge of electric bikes and electric bike technology.
Right on! Picked up my $1500 Magicycle this year and absolutely having a blast. Great bike, great customer support. Super power and a 35-40 mile range.
You just gotta do some good research and check the reviews before buying one. I recently bought one called the Lankeleisi mg740, it looks very similar to the fat bikes but has 2000w from having front and rear motors, easily reaches 38mph, long battery life (can go full throttle for atleast 25 miles, 100 miles if just using pedal assist) and was a similar price (1700).
Best purchade ive made so far
I can't really agree (in all cases) to suggest "buy the cheaper one" when it comes to hub-based ebikes.
I'd rather suggest someone the extra money on a reputable brand hub bike know to use name-brand batteries (Samsung/LG etc) than to spend $700 on an unknown white-label company whose claims on batteries/BMS can't be trusted as they lack a track record.
Owned enough brand phones that eneded up having quickly depleted batteries. So brand cells are no gueparantee for anything. Better than not, but...
I'm not a bike specialist but i just wanna say that I bought a Samebike e-bike a few years ago for about 1000 euros. Horizontal frame, foldable, removable battery, full auto. And it's better, has more power and range (and no idiotic limiters) than a friend's bike for 3 times as much. The only problem I had with it was the brakes, but it was enough to move the discs and tighten the brakes.
Great video Josh, I just wanted to say that Aventon is a legit brand, they have been around for longer than a few years, and I hear their bikes are pretty decent! Also, could *cough* Giant *cough* be one of those specific Taiwanese bike frame brands? My relatives live in Taiwan and we usually go there once a year (except during the pandemic), so I might have to ask about that!
Edit: Oh, and Lectric is also a known, legit company, they’re known for their pretty affordable folding fat tire E-bikes!
I have an Aventon Level and really like it... but while not from one of those same few companies its a similar story. Aventon makes their own frames and the quality you get in that frame is very very good (its why I bought one knowing and owning some high end bikes), but the rest is off the shelf parts from other manufacturers. the fit an finish is better and their support is head and shoulders over some ship to consumer products, and the customer support is better than most from what i read online (no issues with min in 8 months and 3k miles)
@@g00fysmiley Aventon also has hundreds of dealers across the country where you can go and test ride the bike before you buy. (Plus you have a repair shop handy if you need it.)
@@mikebronicki8264 Have they upped their customer service? Because a few months ago their own website was riddled with bad reviews for their CS. It immediately turned me off from Aventon and haven't been back there since. Even taking into consideration the tendency to write a bad review when something goes wrong and no review when all is right, I found it alarming.
@@charlienyc1 I haven't any issues with our 2 Solteras, mine has over 200 miles and the wife's is still under 100. But if anything came up I would just call the dealer I bought them from. He operates a mobile service so I wouldn't even have to take them in. You can't beat in person service. Oh and by the way, the dealers assemble and tune them for free.
@@mikebronicki8264 You bring up a good point..Dealer support is definitely a good thing.
There is much truth in this, I have 3 of various different configurations at the moment for different uses (commuting, shopping, very mild off-road), I buy them secondhand from people who buy them, but don’t use them. There is a particular type of buyer, middle class, recently retired who do this, they buy a ‘his and hers’ set and look after the battery religiously without ever putting for than a couple of hundred miles (often less) on the bike and then sell them after 15-18 months for half the original price. I try to buy ones with removable batteries of the same type to get the most flexibility I can. This works well for me and I long since got rid of the car. I also have a nicer mid drive for the fun stuff.
A word of advice, if you do buy one of these know that most bike shops won't touch them. Most have proprietary parts and little to no safety features in the batery cell itself. Bike shops have even burned down because of runaway cells in this.
If you can find one with a motor from a reputable brand such as shamano or boshe, these brands will have such protection in place as to mitigate the risk of a runaway cell. As well as the convenience of using off the shelf bike parts.
Any insight on, “Bafang?” I see those mostly/most common
Most actually don't have any proprietary parts. I do uber on a bike full time so I put a lot more miles than most on bikes and I've got a 6k$ with a mid drive and higher end suspension and a 2k$ fat bike hub drive and the hub drive is far more reliable and maintenance free. Every part on the bike I can find online cheap too and replace myself although I haven't had to replace anything but chain and cassette so far 17000km
As someone whose background is electronics. I don't see how the motor has much to do with runaway cell issues. That would more likely be the BMS (battery management system) and/or the controller. The motor mainly just converts the electrical energy into kinetics. Sure, it might have some protections for over current or heat but then again much of that is taken care of with the for mentioned parts.
Thanks. Great video. I an 68, and the last time I rode any kind of bike was 8 years ago. I have been thinking of getting an ebike next year when I get a settlement check I get once a year. So, I have been looking at them again, in the last day or so. But, I feel I need the additional stability 9f a trike these day, because of medical issues, and I need low step through, and I need a folding one. I decided that I will get one of those, maybe next month, and next year, put a mid drive motor on it. In total, it will end up costing about the same, but I think it will be better for me, that way.
I'm not going to spend several thousand dollars on a brand name... who cares if they're all the same if I'm saving myself 3 grand or more.