How is the hill climbing power? I will be climbing some fairly aggressive dirt trails - just gravel trails, not mountain bike rough but steep hills - thanks for your nice write up!
Hi there...it does pretty well on hills but will eat into the battery more. As for off road, this particular model isn't the best as you may consider something with a little beefier, off road tires.
@Yang Lee I think this bike could work for her. The seat can be adjusted down. My wife is 5’4” and there’s still plenty of seat adjustment left for someone of a shorter stature.
I really liked the bike when you allowed quinn and I to try the when we camped at Union Creek with you guys. They handled so well. I know we will have to invest in some of these soon. Josie sure likes her ride🐕
Nice to know the small trailer hitch can handle the rack and both bikes. I think there is a 350# weight limit on the trailer hitch but wouldn't want to get that close. We have a Thule bike rack with standard bikes and looking to upgrade to e-bikes but concerned about weight so this was a good video. Probably could go a little heavier bike but not much more. Take care guys!
@Blake Goetz Thanks for the comment Blake. A little more info and clarification. In the video I said these bikes weigh 53 lbs with the battery...I double checked the Charge E Bike website and they actually check in at appx 51 lbs (including the battery). The batteries by themselves weigh about 6 lbs. I always carry the bikes without the batteries so that puts them at about 45 lbs. Our Thule Bike rack weighs about 45 lbs by itself so with the rack and 2 bikes we're sitting at about 135 lbs total. My hitch max weight says 150 lbs (it's the half inch variety) so we're under but as you can see don't have tons of wiggle room. So far this bike rack has worked great and it's super fast and easy to load and unload. I do take some additional steps for safety and security when travelling: 1) First, I use a ratchet strap secured at each corner under the rear bumper and run it through the bike rack and ratchet it tight. This helps reduce bounce on the rack when loaded and traveling. Because the trailer axles are so far forward (from the rear bumper) on travel trailers...bike racks are more susceptible to bouncing than traditional vehicles like trucks and suv's. 2) I then run a 15 foot bicycle security cable through the bumper and through the bike rack and lock it. In addition to preventing theft, this (along with the ratchet strap) secures the whole apparatus to the trailer in the event of a catastrophic failure. That hypothetical would obviously be a VERY bad day...but in that worst case scenario I would just have an anchor dragging behind the trailer instead of having a projectile ejected into oncoming traffic :)
Great information on securing the bikes. We had a bike bounce loose between Teton and Yellowstone after hitting a big bump. Luckily there was an open pullout and catastrophic failure was confirmed. Will use additional straps in the future and will double check my hitch weight since we have the same model Lance. Thanks much for the info.
You have 418W batteries on those and weighing 53LBS and hub drive you are going to be limited in range. I am not familiar with comfort e-bikes but our Specialized Levos which are e-mountain bikes in eco mode get about 75-80 miles but then we have 700W batteries and bottom bracket motor and are carbon fiber frames and weigh in about 46LBS. But these are about $11,000 each so there is that. Great review and a nice bike for RV'ers. Thanks
@Chad Excellent points! There's definitely an expansive universe out there of E-Bikes in all kinds of categories and prices. Your Specialized Levos sound amazing. 46 lbs! That's awesome and the range is incredible. Thanks for sharing and always appreciate your comments and your support of the channel! :)
I have been looking into buying an ebike for my wife and I. So many choices just like you have mentioned. Do you feel like the bikes are powered adequately? I see so many with bigger motors and batteries. I want something that looks like a regular bike and is is not to heavy. I don't want to stand out. Did you find out what the humming noise was? Thanks. Keep enjoying life brother.
@Peter Zbasnik Hi Peter, thanks for the comment. There are different classes of e-bike based on the power of the motor and top speed. Many municipalities will have restrictions on bikes with a top speed over 20mph. This bike we have has a 250 W motor and top speed of 20 mph meaning it’s still very much a “bicycle”. We find this is perfect for us as it does provide enough power/assist but remains like a traditional bike and is not too heavy (the weight was a very important factor in our decision). As for the humming on my wife’s bike we haven’t yet taken it into a shop but we’re not too worried about it. Hope that helps. Good luck!👍🏻
How is the hill climbing power? I will be climbing some fairly aggressive dirt trails - just gravel trails, not mountain bike rough but steep hills - thanks for your nice write up!
Hi there...it does pretty well on hills but will eat into the battery more. As for off road, this particular model isn't the best as you may consider something with a little beefier, off road tires.
Cool bike.
Thank you for the comment! 🙂
Can you remove the battery and put another in on the go?
@Gopal Brown Thank you for the question. Although these batteries are very easy to remove, you would have to stop and get off the bike to do so.
My wife is 4'11" as recommended on the website it will fit her. What is your thought on that?
@Yang Lee I think this bike could work for her. The seat can be adjusted down. My wife is 5’4” and there’s still plenty of seat adjustment left for someone of a shorter stature.
I really liked the bike when you allowed quinn and I to try the when we camped at Union Creek with you guys. They handled so well. I know we will have to invest in some of these soon. Josie sure likes her ride🐕
Nice to know the small trailer hitch can handle the rack and both bikes. I think there is a 350# weight limit on the trailer hitch but wouldn't want to get that close. We have a Thule bike rack with standard bikes and looking to upgrade to e-bikes but concerned about weight so this was a good video. Probably could go a little heavier bike but not much more. Take care guys!
@Blake Goetz Thanks for the comment Blake. A little more info and clarification. In the video I said these bikes weigh 53 lbs with the battery...I double checked the Charge E Bike website and they actually check in at appx 51 lbs (including the battery). The batteries by themselves weigh about 6 lbs. I always carry the bikes without the batteries so that puts them at about 45 lbs. Our Thule Bike rack weighs about 45 lbs by itself so with the rack and 2 bikes we're sitting at about 135 lbs total. My hitch max weight says 150 lbs (it's the half inch variety) so we're under but as you can see don't have tons of wiggle room. So far this bike rack has worked great and it's super fast and easy to load and unload. I do take some additional steps for safety and security when travelling: 1) First, I use a ratchet strap secured at each corner under the rear bumper and run it through the bike rack and ratchet it tight. This helps reduce bounce on the rack when loaded and traveling. Because the trailer axles are so far forward (from the rear bumper) on travel trailers...bike racks are more susceptible to bouncing than traditional vehicles like trucks and suv's. 2) I then run a 15 foot bicycle security cable through the bumper and through the bike rack and lock it. In addition to preventing theft, this (along with the ratchet strap) secures the whole apparatus to the trailer in the event of a catastrophic failure. That hypothetical would obviously be a VERY bad day...but in that worst case scenario I would just have an anchor dragging behind the trailer instead of having a projectile ejected into oncoming traffic :)
Great information on securing the bikes. We had a bike bounce loose between Teton and Yellowstone after hitting a big bump. Luckily there was an open pullout and catastrophic failure was confirmed. Will use additional straps in the future and will double check my hitch weight since we have the same model Lance. Thanks much for the info.
Why not charging over 25%?
I'm not sure I understand the question...
For the range you mentioned, what was the pedal assist set at?
You have 418W batteries on those and weighing 53LBS and hub drive you are going to be limited in range. I am not familiar with comfort e-bikes but our Specialized Levos which are e-mountain bikes in eco mode get about 75-80 miles but then we have 700W batteries and bottom bracket motor and are carbon fiber frames and weigh in about 46LBS. But these are about $11,000 each so there is that. Great review and a nice bike for RV'ers. Thanks
@Chad Excellent points! There's definitely an expansive universe out there of E-Bikes in all kinds of categories and prices. Your Specialized Levos sound amazing. 46 lbs! That's awesome and the range is incredible. Thanks for sharing and always appreciate your comments and your support of the channel! :)
I have been looking into buying an ebike for my wife and I. So many choices just like you have mentioned. Do you feel like the bikes are powered adequately? I see so many with bigger motors and batteries. I want something that looks like a regular bike and is is not to heavy. I don't want to stand out. Did you find out what the humming noise was? Thanks. Keep enjoying life brother.
@Peter Zbasnik Hi Peter, thanks for the comment. There are different classes of e-bike based on the power of the motor and top speed. Many municipalities will have restrictions on bikes with a top speed over 20mph. This bike we have has a 250 W motor and top speed of 20 mph meaning it’s still very much a “bicycle”. We find this is perfect for us as it does provide enough power/assist but remains like a traditional bike and is not too heavy (the weight was a very important factor in our decision). As for the humming on my wife’s bike we haven’t yet taken it into a shop but we’re not too worried about it. Hope that helps. Good luck!👍🏻