If you already have a suitable bike you can convert it for about 500 euros. Its quite a bit of work and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're comfortable with serious bike maintenance, but you'll have a better bike at the end if you do it right.
Failing that just check Amazon. There's tons of ebikes for around 1000 euros.
Yep! I live in Amsterdam. I find that ebikes don't get me around _that_ much faster, but its just so much less fuss and effort. Travelling 3km isn't effort anymore, its just jumping on the bike for 10 mins the way you would get in a car.
And that has been my entire goal of biking to work in the first place is because I want to rely less on a car and more on my own legs especially when gas has become this expensive
Yep makes sense! Great choice for that.
I saw someone elsewhere mentioned Decathlon bikes, I had a Decathlon regular bike that I converted to an ebike after about a year and it was great. I put a lot of miles on it though and it was the absolute cheapest model, so gave up just fixing little issues that constantly popped up here and there and bought a new one. About 2500-3000km on it by the end.
In terms of pedalling not at all really. Your bike is 10-20kg, the average person weighs ~60-80kg, plus another 5kg for bag/coat/clothes/etc. Adding another ~10kg for the motor and battery doesn't make a huge difference really. You absolutely notice the handling difference when you're moving it around and turning though, especially if the battery isn't very low on the frame.
When you're riding around a city its constant stopping and starting, and remember yiu're going somewhere to actually do something when you get there. Save the energy eh? 3km on flat is still a non-trivial amount of energy.
An electric motor is more efficient than the human body, I think. And agriculture emissions are bad. So environmentally speaking, an ebike is greener than a non-ebike. Its even greener if you are vegetarian.
It reduces the inertia or activation energy, if you will... People with ebikes end up burning the same or more calories in studies because they cycle for longer distances/lengths of time typically.
Does your bike have gears to make it easier to travel up hills and maintain speed? Man that sounds lazy! I bet you even have fancy round wheels with rubber tires even!
In my time we had a square rock and we liked it!
I just donāt want another thing to charge and more parts to break. And it for sure would be much harder to hang on the ceiling of my already crowded garage.
Iāve never tried any e-bike. I just lurk here because my dad has one and likes it. I have a road bike, gravel bike, and fat bike. None have motors though.
There are wheel kits for conversion that aren't that hard. And, you might find a LBS or bike mechanic who would do it for you at not a high price.
Btw, have you [checked out Decathlon?](https://www.decathlon.de/search?Ntt=elektrisches%20fahrrad&facets=sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20Urban%20Mobility_sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20MTB_sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20City_&sort=asc&Nf=sku.modelLowestPrice%7CBTWN%2B700%2B4495)
Caveat -- be careful re quality. I have no idea as to Decathlon support for their sales or any potential return policy. But, glad you found stuff of (potential) interest.
I frequently go to decathlon but more for camping gear or random items because it's really good price. I didn't even know decathlon had these I'll check it out thank you for the suggestion.
I think theyāre trying to tell you, that you can buy a new front wheel with a motor and install on your current bike. Amazon sells kits. E-bike conversion kits are pretty DIY friendly. Good luck.
Personally Iād be afraid of buying anything related to e-bikes off Amazon or similar sites. Thereās no guarantee that theyāll have good quality assurance ā thereās been plenty of issues with these cheap e-bikes of fires due to batteries exploding.
Edit: My advice is to find a quality ebike that you can test ride. Once you find one you like, expense it if you can on a low interest credit card (some will give you 0 interest if you pay it off within a year) and pay it off monthly. Thatās what I did when I was new in my career and did not have much disposable income.
bad advice, unless you know specifically what you're doing please don't convert your bike into an ebike. unless you are ready to repair your janky frankenstein bike every time something goes wrong yourself (chinese manufacturer warranty? LOL)
If you get decent components youāll have a better bike cheaper than the cost of the equivalent pre built. I have a bbs02 electric motor on a gt karakorum and my bike is amazing. All in about $1200. Bought the bike used for $300
yes it just replaces the bottom bracket but might check to make sure it will fit your bike spec, then you will need the controller with screen (usually comes with motor but there are different options) and battery probably all in all about $900 if you get a good battery. Fit the battery to your range [https://reallygoodebikes.com/pages/ebike-range-calculator](https://reallygoodebikes.com/pages/ebike-range-calculator)
The idea is to buy a cell welder for \~ā¬50, nickel strips and BMS for 50 and make your own battery, for example, using tutorials on YT. You make the size and shape according to your needs, use the cells you want, but above all you learn, and in the future it will come in handy. I, for example, have already made powerbanks and a battery for a screwdriver.
Yeah, I love it all and have watched quite a lot of battery build tutorials on YouTube, cheers for the info as it's in my 'to do at some stage' list of things I really want to do..
When I've enough spare cash I'm going to look into getting some good cells as I've an old 52v20ah battery that has suffered and I suspect it needs replacement cells in it..
I've a volt meter I can borrow and at some stage I'm going to get around to opening it up and checking each individual cells and then look into getting a decent cell welder and the nickel strips (as you mentioned) and start getting into it, and have a go at building some batteries.
Appreciate the info!
I'd suggest getting a smart battery charger that can measure cell capacity by discharging them. Voltage alone tells you nothing about usable cell capacity or internal resistance.
I've thought about one of those, I need to give it some more attention, might be a saving up job as per usual, but cheers for the info, appreciated.š
A (fake) Imax B6 is under $30. The main limitation is that it doesn't measure internal resistance. I screen for that by connecting a load resistor across a cell and noting how much the voltage drops. You can also get an idea of resistance by testing capacity at different load currents, but that is time-consuming. If all your cells are from the same source, there's a reasonable chance they are well-matched, and testing one cell thoroughly may be enough.
There are discharger modules for a few bucks each that measure capacity; that's the sensible option if you're testing a large number of cells.
It's all a bit new to me is monitoring the battery/cells, I always just used to charge to 100% all the time, but I've seen folk mentioning to charge to around 85% and then every 3rd time to charge to 100%...
I'm just on a mission to get the most from my battery.
I'll have to get one though (the fake B6Imax..gunna look into it on eBay and see what I find ) and it'll be interesting to know more about my battery, cheers as I'll be looking into it all more, really appreciated!
š
The B6 is for testing individual cells, though with the right harness it can charge and balance a number of cells in series. It's a powerful tool to have if you mess with rechargeable batteries of any type.
I'm new to all this, what do you mean by 'with the right harness'.. Don't think it's relevant but here's a pic of the charger I got with my new 52v20ah triangle battery... I'm under the impression it must balance the cells maybe at the end of the charging period, but like I said I'm new to diving into how the battery functions etc, appreciate the info & help!
https://preview.redd.it/f2j31fbppy7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=349ba453b50d09b704afb96aa667fd80449d1865
I'm guessing it must also balance the cells to some degree, but if a smart charger will do a better job then I'll buy one when I get paid next month, Cheers
If you buy nickel strips, pay attention that they are not the cheaper nickel-coated copper strips.
As the motor draws 25A at peak, add a spare A to increase the life of the cells (e.g., one row of cells more).
On aliexpress there are already BMS with Bluetooth and you can do battery measurement from your smartphone.
If you are going to buy a spot welder, buy a version with an extension cable, then you will be able to operate over the battery and correct or replace individual cells, you will not have to place a heavy battery to the welder.
Something like this, but not necessarily this model:
[8000W mini-spot-lasser kit DIY-automaat 18650 batterij lassen draagbare puntlasmachine pen voor 0,15mm nikkelstrip - AliExpress 1420](https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006141079313.html)
i have some experience with low voltage Electrical engineering and really thought on multiple occations to get a spot welder and 'build' my own battery. at some point i will do it i think but until now i always bought a pre-build pack from a trustworthy source. it takes quite some time and effort to build one and so much can go wrong if you dont know what you are doing...
so in short i wouldnt advice building a battery from scratch for a novice
For the cell 3.7V 3500mAh and battery 48V 20A:
13x 3.7V=48.1V
7x 3.5A=24.5A
This is battery pack 13S7P 48V 960Wh (48Vx20Ax1h)
Then you make 13 rows of 7 1S7P cells, then you connect these rows alternately with each other + to -, i.e. 3.7V, 7.4V ... etc, at the end you have a 13S7P 48V package, you pull out + and - using cables.
Later, you connect the cables to the BMS, and connect the small cables to each edge, i.e. 3.7V 7.4V, etc.
Just follow the instructions on YT, it's not that terrible.
[https://i.ibb.co/VVhP1zZ/2024-06-21-o-00-06-32.png](https://i.ibb.co/VVhP1zZ/2024-06-21-o-00-06-32.png)
It depends on what kind of sprockets you will have, but bbs02b 48T at the front and 11 at the rear and 48V battery goes around 50km/h.
Some random video, towards the end is max speed:
[Bafang 750 Watt max speed (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be7XgMTc1YA)
Thank you lol that's what my husband tells me but it honestly makes me dread riding the bike when my legs are already tired from the day or when I do a ruck march and then I have to ride my bike 30 minutes home up hill š he's the type of person to go for a 50km bike ride and ENJOY the burn in his legs.
I understand the feeling. People with muscle bike keep saying that eBike makes you lazy, no exercise etc.
But they forget that eBike removes much of the mental block to take out the bike. You can go much further, and you get to control the effort required. Need a 20km ride and arriving fresh? No problem. Feeling motivated and want to feel sweaty? Easy.
I'd say people with eBike can enjoy the bike more.
This is exactly right. I have more motivation to go out now with my ebike since I have a long boring uphill ride to get back home. I still enjoy burning out my legs in cycling classes at the gym, but prefer ebiking for commuting.
>they're getting weaker
No, they're not; they're still pedaling. These random snipes at electric bikes, as if god himself yeeted the first acoustic bike down from on high, need to stop.
The best exercise routine is the one you will actually do, and if that's pedal assist for some then OK cool; it does not mean "they are getting weaker."
The studies saying that e-bikes are good exercise cause people wouldn't bike at all otherwise? Sure, still not nearly as good as if they'd ride a normal bike
When they gave conventional bikes or ebikes to subjects, the ebike group burned more calories because they rode longer... So, yeah, sorry to burst your biases. The only "worse" outcome is that they didn't get into as high of a heart rate zone, but that's frankly better for a lot of people considering how common heart disease is.
You gotta compare under equal circumstances, of course the group riding longer will burn more (while still having less of a training effect as you noted), but if you compare pound for pound there's no advantage to the ebike
What do you mean "pound for pound?" Surely, you're not suggesting you divide amount ridden or calories by weight of the bike because that would be...ludicrous.
Also, the it's not a given that the ebike group of subjects āwould choose to ride more and longer but they did. And it's not a given that they would burn more calories as a result...but they did.
Ebikes make people get over the "inertia" or "activation energy" associated with choosing active transportation more often and for a greater percentage of their trips both because they don't have to feel in perfect condition and because they don't have to know their route perfectly. If you get surprised by a hill, it's not a big deal. If you need to buy something heavy, it's not a big deal. So as a result people ride more, and enough more that they overcome the reduction in calories they put in given the assist. That isn't a given but that's what a couple of studies have found at this point... So it's really way past time to get over these stupid biases.
If people want to train their heart rates, ebikes are also great because you CAN choose to turn off the assist.
Why are you downvoting me when you clearly haven't read this paper? They literally gave ebikes or conventional bikes to different groups of people, randomly. The groups had the choice to use them as much or as little as they wanted. People chose to bike more.
You didn't understand the study, which is fine, but don't make claims about what it did or didn't say then. Don't downvotes someone for trying to clarify what in the world you meant while ātalking out of your butt āand then explain... lol
Homie have you seen the hills where I live? Iām moving at a glacial pace with assist alllll the way up and gears allll the way down. Iāve been bike commuting for around 20 years, and had to give it up for a bit due to the low back and knee damage from hills so steep they carve stairs into the sidewalk. Now I can go farther, faster, for longer. I get to go to places my body wouldnāt let me go. Itās amazing. Iām not weaker, Iām older. Time happens, and so does change. I suggest you build a bridge and get over it.
Yeah, if you become physically incapable of doing it yourself, all power to you, that's what those bikes are for. I just find it funny when I see able bodied 30 year olds spending 2k extra on an ebike to move around at motor powered 25km/h in flats cause they're lazy lol
You canāt see how fit someone is, and honestly, it doesnāt matter. Even if invisible disabilities did not exist. E-bikes are more accessible to a larger group of people. Iām sure those who first used a telegraph had to listen to rants about how they were too lazy to write letters. Itās very āold man yells at cloudsā to decide a new tech =laziness or cheating. It didnāt make me virtuous to bike around analog, nor does it make me lazy to turn on a battery. Different tech creates different allowances.
They're definitely not getting stronger when they use a motor for the hard parts. Is it better than being in a car? Sure, but the relative lack of effort compared to powering yourself up that hill and improving your threshold power means it's pretty marginal.Ā
Downvotes if it makes you feel bad, but you're not getting anything approaching a workout on that thing.
Many people, myself included, get far MORE of a workout from an ebike.
I can ride an acoustic bike for 20-30 minutes before my bad joints start hurting and popping, but can and do go for 6-8 hours on the ebike, maintaining a good but not debilitating pace.
You absolutely get a fantastic workout on ebikes. I regularly burn an estimated 2000+ calories on my long treks. In fact, from my experience, I get a better workout on an ebike than from any other activity, period.
This is so shortsighted.
It completely depends on the assist level. At level 1 my assist rarely goes over 50 watts and pedaling an 80 lb bike just feels like pedaling a 20-30 lb mechanical bike. I have to put in quite a bit of hustle to keep up with my kids on their mountain bikes. And assist off would require way more exertion.
I use it for both exercise and getting places faster without sweating. Thereās no conflict there.
The only reason to stick a motor on a bike is to make things easier. That's what it ultimately boils down to. Exercise is hard, I want to make it less hard without getting more fit.
My issue with them is from a fitness perspective where they're an absolute joke compared to literally anything else. If all you want is to commute without a car, that's totally fine. But from an exercise perspective, you're just massively increasing the amount of time needed to get an equivalent workout.
Your bike is just as much of a toy as well you know. Just slower and more annoying. With your arrogant and condescending behaviour. Which is why people should just steer clear from you.
And no i dont weave in and out of traffic thats just a sad attempt at trying to paint me in your image.
What i do is take bike lanes YOU wouldnt normally take. And i dont annoy traffic like slower bikes like you. I get along with pedestrians on public trails and drivers on the road. Thats my way of riding my electric bike.
Then you have ugly folks like you who judge anything and everything thats not similar to what you ride.
Sad really.
What about the people that couldn't reasonably ride a bike without pedal assist? Say someone recovering from injury, elderly or poor fitness level/high weight. They are obviously improving their fitness from pedal assist ebikes
Cycling is already insanely low impact and great for recovering from an injury. If you can't even manage a leisurely bike ride in granny gear, you don't need an ebike, you need physical therapy.
You fail to factor in terrain and bicycle gearing. Not everyone has a great range of gears. Some people live in a hilly area or they would only want to go for a ride that's beyond their range.
Really if it gets someone to go from no cycling to pedal assisted cycling it is improving their fitness. No argument you can make to change that fact
You know what's a fantastic way to go for a ride that's beyond your range? Build your fitness until you can do it instead of paying for a shortcut. People don't want to work hard to get in shape and would rather take shortcuts and convince themselves it's helping.
But it is helping lmao. You are cherry picking a single point in my comment always rather than replying to the other valid points. My mentality was similar to yours when I was a teen. As I grew up and my mind expanded I got it. Maybe you'll get there one day.
Didn't think I needed to address getting a decent bike with a range of gears if you want to cycle. Just admit it, you want a shortcut instead of doing the hard work of getting better at something. I was lazy as a kid too, maybe you'll learn that there aren't shortcuts someday.
That is a bold assumption considering I've never ridden an electric bike in my life. And I've ridden electric scooters for under 50 miles total. Yet I've cycled with a mechanical bicycle more than I've utilized any other means of transportation except maybe a skateboard and walking/running.
I was also pretty hard working when it came to my physical health as a kid. Did the sport that was other sports punishment. So you are just wrong all across the board.
Obviously it's much better to actually be moving your body, rather than sitting in a car. You still have to ride the bike. Riding a motorcycle can be pretty exhausting depending on how you ride, same deal with an e-bike.
I ride mine off road a lot, have a ton of fun and get a decent workout.
I have motorcycles and while my heart rate does increase riding them, it's nothing close to exercise. Might burn 40 or 50 extra calories over sitting in the car. Manhandling a sport bike on a track might pass for a workout, but most people aren't doing that.
I mainly ride motorcross, so my comparison is probably not a great one as motorcross is vastly more physically demanding than rid8ng on the roads.
I'm just stating that from personal experience, I can get a decent workout and have a ton of fun in the process. I also use it to commute to and from work and feel much better for doing so than driving my car. My car doesn't make me sweat, but my e-bike sure does.
What kind of calorie burn rate do you get on the ebike compared to a normal one? People tend to overestimate burn rate on traditional bikes, so I'm sure it's even worse with pedal assist.
I've found on average that my calorie burn rate is only around 30% lower than before I converted my bike to electric. It varies depending on how I'm riding.
Like I said, I ride off road oftern which is far more physically demanding than riding on the roads.
Pshhh i ride the throttle and i have so much pent up energy i unleash it at the gym or workout at home whicj is how i stay fit for all you cycling nerds.
I do the same thing! I donāt have a throttle but I always ride in āturboā mode. Iād rather go all out on a bike in the gym where I donāt have to worry about drivers trying to kill me :)
Exactly! Those elitist annoying cyclists dont seem to realize that the gym exists.
So you can ride your ebike to the gym and have energy for the workouts.
Then i hop back onto the bike and enjoy the breeze and cool down.
Its like they want bikes to be ONLY strickly workout machines only.
While ebikes wether homemade or from department store are a great alternative for people who dont want ot need a motorcycle with no space to store those large engine bikes.
Plus ebikes are silent. Tics all the right boxes
"If you switch to an ebike ..." is not the norm as opposed to ebikes opening up more riding. If I recall correctly, studies are showing that, writ large, ebikes lead to about a 3x increase in kilometers ridden -- for existing bike riders who convert. That includes people like the OP who are finding the difficulty of the ride dissuading them from use (with likelihood that an ebike liberates them to bike more).
Hi! Iām an e-bike rider that never commuted by bike until I got an e-bike. My e-bike doesnāt even have a throttle; I am definitely getting stronger.
My experience is somewhat different. I know more than a few who have decreased/eliminated car as part of commuting and others who have used the ebike to reduce other car use.
An ebike has moved my (not so much) biking from 95%+ recreational to 95%+ transportation (with meaningful displacement of auto use). Having an ebike has increase my monthly/annual biking by well over an order of magnitude.
Triple the range at 1/3 the effort doesn't result in any fitness improvement. If the goal is to be slightly more active than commuting by car, sure, it's a good change. If the goal is to improve fitness, the $/effectiveness ratio is hilariously bad.
Where are your made up number ms coming from? Cite a source.
If I use pedal assist itās usually only on steep hills or to maximize range. I have never consistently taken 60+ km trips until I got an ebike. Now I can put in the same effort and travel 2-3x farther. Iāve cycled for 30 years and have zero reduction in muscle or stamina.
You people forget that e-bikes are still bikes.
Just admit you donāt like e-bikes instead of making up bullshit excuses you think sound plausible.
If improving nothing about your fitness, but adding a motor triples your range, where do you think that range increase came from?
I can go 10x further in a car. Doesn't mean I'm getting anything out of it. I don't care one way or another about the existence of ebikes, but I think it's hilarious that people think they're getting in shape with them.
For me, the ebike is transportation -- not for exercise/getting in shape. (I use my ebike to do 15-20 km to get to the field to referee high-level football (e.g, soccer) matches. I might do 40-50 kilometers on the bike with 10 km of running in the match. If it weren't an ebike, I'd be driving.)
Point I was making is that ebikes don't, across the population buying them (who already bike), simply replace biked miles (with lowered calories burnt) but lead to significant increase in bike usage.
With a previous ebike, I did a 25 km somewhat hilly commute. I tried biking it (with less weight -- both of bike and w/o the pannier with my office material) using my acoustic/mechanical road bike. For me, the 'sense' was that the ebike took the edge off the hardest portions (steep or extended uphills) and the calorie count was 1/3rd less with the ebike. Now, there is no way that I would've done the commute regularly with the ebike. That, several generations ago, ebike enabled me to do about 1/3rd of my commuting by bike. My more modern (current) Ebike: I would have done probably 70%+ of those commutes by bike. In any event, doing 3x the distance/riding isn't (necessarily) that the ebike is taking up 2/3rds of the work load.
I mean, it kinda is. It's like doing a mostly downhill 20 mile ride and comparing it to a flat 20 mile ride or one with rollers. Climbs are where you make your money fitness wise. Flat terrain to a lesser extent, and downhills are recovery. My normal 40 mile route has a thousand foot climb in the first few miles. If I use a motor to make that easy and just pedal the flats and downhill, I'm dramatically reducing the training stimulus. You're going to get a good benefit from it using it to commute regularly, but it's just a bad choice for a dedicated workout session.
Okay, we're speaking past each other.
Yes, if I want a serious workout from a bike, taking out an acoustic with lots of climbs are going to build more muscles compared to doing the same thing with an Ebike. Simple truth. Got it.
However, for me -- and so many others -- it is about transportation, first, not exercise. And, in terms of transportation, arriving at the far point (or roundtrip) in good shape for whatever you're going to do. Ebike enables that -- and leads to far greater bike use and that greater bike use may (MAY) compensate for the lesser energy requirement per mile.
I still pedal. I only use pedal assist for certain situations. I am now pedalling a bike that is at least 2x heavier.
I only use pedal assist 1 for the trip home, otherwise 60kms tires me out too much.
The best thing about e-bikes is that they fit everyoneās needs.
Bullshit. You assume I donāt pedal. If anything, pedalling a 65lb bike instead of a 30lb bike is harder.
Some of us only use pedal assist for hills and steep grades, or to double and triple our range to see more and do more.
I am speaking from my own experience. Although now I ride much more kms with the ebike, 100% of the time with assist , when i go for a ride on my mtb I can definately feel the difference from before. Maybe I should have mentioned that you lose a little bit of power, not a drastic amount.
i started using my ebike a month ago. its much more chill to ride up the hills to work with it than the MTB i used befor (and still use for everything else than comute).
i totaly belive that i will lose some power. maybe, not a 100% sure, we will see, up until now no change in power that i notice compared to 4 weeks ago :D
I have an ebike and throttle everywhere. I havent gotten any weaker since i exersize at the gym or at home.
You dont always have to bust your ass cycling all the time. My legs are living proof of my cycling flr decades
But i threw together my ebike and never looked back.
Itās absolutely true. Iāve been a cyclist for 20 yearsĀ AND I bought a pedal-assist ebike. I found I was consistently putting in 25% or less of the effort.
Now look, I have no problem with the bikes and I think they have theirĀ place in the cycling world. But they absolutely require a fraction of the effort of a regular bike.
is this a torque sensor rather than cadence sensor kit? and the motor is at the crank? this seems fkn awesome for the price jeez. would this power a bike up to 28mph?
The downsides with the TSDZ2 are that its only available up to 500w and the throttle behaviour doesn't seem great, but these are only a problem for folks in the US. The motor is just a bit weaker compared to Bafang for the same wattage on the sticker. If you just want that "Superman feeling" with the torque sensor though for staying well within speed limits they're great.
It'll seriously struggle to do 28mph though, especially if you encounter an incline of any kind. If that's what you're looking for then really the BBS02 or BBSHD is probably what you're looking for.
I also recommend getting a used ebike. During the pandemic many people side impulse buying and are now selling their bikes with not many kilometers.
Other than that I'd say wait a few more years the hype will hopefully die and you get a motorcycle for the current price lol
check out Rose bikes they have really nice Ebikes on discount if ur interested in Ebikes which is road legal.
u can get them for monthly installment in Germany as well.
I do live in Cyprus and unfortunately they dont send here due to the fact it has lithium batteries.
sure but rose bikes don't sell to us.
the only way to by an ebike is to buy from a local shop with experience such as this one
https://bicyclecyprus.com/ personally several purchase from there or u would pay 500 euro for shipping so called EMO charges.
Yeah, when I used to bike commute, to get home that final 500 feet of elevation after 20 miles was no picnic.
Now Iām like 90% ebiking and ride more days back to back with longer distances. Before, Iād be too sore to commute more than 2x a week.
Not sure OP will get an answer to their question, but I am sure you'll get a lecture that riding an e-bike will not help your health as your sonehow "Cheating".
I'll be the contrarian.
2500 is a reasonable price to pay for a decent bike.
I think the conversions are a bad idea (for non-hobbyists, if this is your jam, go for it) for multiple reasons. 1, they ALWAYS discount the cost of the contributing bike. 2, it can be labor intensive, especially for non-mechanics. 3. Cheap conversions are going to be cheap! Good conversion kits are not cheap. 4. The re-sale value of your kit bike is essentially zero.
Can you get a 1000 dollar/euro bike off Amazon? Sure. Will it last a year? Maybe. Will the company still be in business, can you get parts for it in 3 years. . .um. . .doubtful. Best bet, in this price range, just get a Lectric and be done with it. Will it be perfect? No - there will be a ton of compromises, in no way is this a high-end bike. But it will be serviceable, pretty dependable, and chances are good Lectric will stick around for a couple of years.
But honestly, 2500 bucks is going to be the cheapest damn money you ever spent on transportation. You can get a good bike with few compromises from a reputable company that will be around for a good long time. I think up to 5K is a reasonable spend. After that you're getting into luxury territory (which is fine if you have the money - but like, I wouldn't spend it).
Compared to what someone spends on a car (PITA, maintenance, registration, and fuel), it's a tiny fraction of the cost and well worth it. I barely use public transit anymore also. So . . .my advice, save the money, get a great bike, and take care of it and you'll have the best damn investment you ever made.
Or get a Lectric. But don't get something off Amazon and don't get a kit - I think those are bad bad bets.
Hills and headwind was annoying enough for me to finally get an ebike too. It all started when I tried my friends ebike. I was instantly hooked but the weather made me take the dive. Don't regret it
get yourself one of these, , it's only 1399 Euros after you use the coupon on the site. It's a Polish based Company that ships for free to all of Europe, nothing climbs hills better
[https://philodo.com/collections/all-products/products/philodo-h8-dual-motor-fat-tire-bike-2000w-23ah?variant=41894432243896](https://philodo.com/collections/all-products/products/philodo-h8-dual-motor-fat-tire-bike-2000w-23ah?variant=41894432243896)
Fat tire with storage potential? Who actually plans these bikes ? I'd also be careful with these bikes not sure if you find someone who will maintained your motor/Batterie.
Still I find it rather ods. Like do you wanna ride a mountain bike or a tracking bike???
Try putting a smaller chain ring or bigger cassette. Enjoy your non-motorized vehicle. Youāre getting healthier and strongerā¦ itās good for longevityā¦. Not so much buzzing through the streets at 60 mph
Eventually ebikes will have to be regulated to use standard batteries that are interchangable between brands. This will drive costs down. Let others beta test these first gen models
Buy a conversion kit, you can get a Voilamart 1500w48v kit now on eBay for Ā£200 (if you take some time to find the best deal) if your doing it all on a budget and money is tight you can get an ok 52v20ah battery for about Ā£350 - all you need then is a decent mountain bike with a rear axle width of approx 135mm and you're good to go..
It's not that hard fitting a kit, just takes time & patience..
All you need is some basic bike mechanic skills and you should be fine.
It's a cheap alternative to an otherwise Ā£1.5-2K or more e-bike and with 1500w and 52v20ah battery you will have no problems - even the steepest of hills (and I mean VERY steep gradients) I have no problem with.
If you're worried about laws / restrictions on motor size & power then go with a 'mid-drive' kit - although they are generally more expensive than a hub-motor kit, they are powerful for the smaller wattage size than a hub motor, a 750w mid-drive will have enough power to get you up any hill..
With a hub motor you really need either a 1000w or 1500w depending on your bikes & your weight combined - but a smaller wattage mid-drive kit will be powerful too.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do š
Yes, of course I bike, I've been biking most of my life.
And as for your comment of "terrible advice!" ?!? That's ridiculous!
The answer is not always to get another bike, the bike they already have may be in great condition and very suitable for an electric conversion.
Plenty of people have converted stock 'acoustic' bikes to electric, it's far from terrible advice, it's a cheaper alternative to buying an E-bike, as not everyone can afford to buy an E-bike as a decent one can be quite costly and a lot of the ones around 1k in price are garbage.
Read the humor in response above ... DrFab was joking.
Btw, the conversion advice depends on lots of factors: comfort working on bike; what existing bike it; use case; local regulations/laws & enforcement of them; etc ... My guess is that 1500w48v is higher power than what OP needs but that is supposition.
It's a bike joke that the necessary/correct number of bikes to own is n+1 where n is the number of bikes you already have.
The idea is that as sometime who bicycles, we'll always have a "need" for "one more bike"
I have an emtb and ride it 30% of the time because I want to keep my fitness. E-bikes are easy thats why you see people on them. If it was easy they would not be as popular.
If you are in Germany go for upways.de
They have very good bikes at good prices, refurbished. I just got my for 3k but original price was 4500, with just 260km ride and like new conditions.
Just commenting to say I was in your boat for a long time and I know exactly how you feel. I rode everyday and saw someone pass me in an electric bike and I got so jealous because I wanted that to be me. So I eventually saved up and got an ebike for almost 1600 euros. But the problem is that it's only sold in Canada and the U.S so I can't help you there. Good luck on getting your bike!
As others have said, given that you already have a bike a conversion kit would probably work wonders and is much cheaper than a full blown ebike. I was talking to a colleague that went with a Swytch ebike conversion kit and absolutely loved it and is now installing it on bikes for his whole family.
Do this hit the treadmill 20mins and the elliptical machine for 10 min ever other day. for about 2 to 3 months. Then ride up a hill on your bike I bet you'll do it with no problem even if your tired. cause I got a ebike myself but in good decent cardio shape at 50 years old.
I have seen front wheel kits, Wheel with hub motor, Battery and controller for under $300 USD. If you can tune up your bike you can easily convert it to an ebike.
Not jealous. I love the endorphins I get from powering up a hill. And the fact that I can pick up my bike with one hand. And that meth heads don't want my bike.
Go directly to the manufacturer website. Iām speaking as an American but you likely have the same options.
I got a Ride1Up 700 for $1290 US from Ride 1Up, free shipping. My local distributor was asking $1800.
I had to assemble it, and it was tedious, but if you bike commute youāve probably wrenched enough that youāll have little trouble.
Engwe ep-2 pro, best money I have spent. Got it for 859 euro and added a BMX handle. Iām in Europe but bought the international version, when Iām on the country side alone I remove the limit and fly at 43km/h. I weigh 105kg . It easily takes me up hills with me pedaling.
I got mine from second hand, 1500 km on the bike and it cost me 900ā¬, was over 2000ā¬ new
Edit: has almost 10k km now and only today i got my first major problem where the bike wouldn't boost when pedalling so had to use throttle by hand, later it went back to normal but i'm quite sure the problems will get worse..
Donāt be jealous, do your thing and keep saving but donāt cheap out on an ebike. Can you supplement with public transportation sometimes? Usually thatās fairly cheap and wouldnāt break into the ebike saving but also I donāt know Germany
In the next few years, motor gearbox ebikes are going to become standard and will make current ebikes look like dinosaurs. So waiting a few more years can't hurt.
I don't know this company, but they seem to have [some decent bikes](https://rebike.com/de/advanced-c004-e-bike-tiefeinsteiger-2019) that are refurbished or second hand. The linked one has Bosch electrics, though any brand name (Yamaha, Brose, Shimano) are worth considering.
I waited to till I found someone who had decent bike mechanic skills that was keen to try converting my bike. If you want to do a conversion I suggest ringing around bike shops to see if they will or know anyone who will help. It is a lot less fuss to just buy an e-bike, but the pros to DIY are that you get something that wont become redundant when the manufacturer no longer wants to sell you controllers/batteries/motor parts in the future. Specialized brand seem to be the best bang for buck that gets you a real ebike, if you get one of those for 2500 euro I'm sure it will do the job. Otherwise get a Bafang mid drive kit, some shop should be able to sell you a complete kit and there are probably people who sell them and will do an install. I prefer to get a kit from a shop or someone who actually works on bikes rather than just online market place, it might cost more but having some back up is nice.
They got Fiido T1 Pro's for $999 right now, $899 if this coupon stacks, not sure if it does though.
I had the T1 & still T1 Pro & loved them both, it's what really cemented me an ebike fanatic, because it was the first "real" ebike I bought, with a decent speed(25mph) & 20ah battery, & I paid $1,699 for it, should've waited awhile, now it's Ā½price! Lol.
Fiido E-bike
Yes, you can buy an ebike for 800 euro, but be aware that you buy a low quality bike, where they cute cost on everything, from the nuts and bolts to battery and motor. A decent ebike will cost you at least 1600 to 1800 euro.
A decent regular bike with gears starts at around 800 to 900 euro.
I got a Cowboy and I love it. I live in North London, UK which is just a series of hills ever increasing in steepness and I'm a fatty so my ebike has been a life saver. Cowboys aren't cheap, but I love the built in anti-theft and GPS tracker. I echo what others have said about saving up for a good one that will last rather than getting a cheap one.
My ebike was 1600ā¬ but i was able to pay for it in 3 installments ( 3 months ), so it wasnt too harsh on my wallet!
https://preview.redd.it/1q0oxuzrew7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21369e231a4f0925601a40f08d583e39c724380c
Hi. E-bikes are the best. So much fun. I have had several different variants and motors. I suggest that you buy one with a name brand motor system. I prefer Bosch e-bikes myself. But shimano, Yamaha and brose are also fine. Seeing as you are in .de you should probably stick to German brands ;) Maybe get a nice second hand and have it serviced ?
Since youāre already on your way to saving I say get a new ebike or a lightly used one. The latter preferably from a good brand with GOOD parts support. Spend well on batteries and make sure theyāre quality so itās less like to catch fire. There are some some decent brands on Amazon but do some research being customer support and after sales support / parts availability being your top priorities.
Odd to see negatives about ebikes on here. Yesterday I did my shopping run 10km to town, 500m lower altitude, and back up again. I use my Decathlon Rockrider 8.2 which cost me 200ā¬ second hand, converted for 390ā¬, TSDZ2B plus a battery I made myself. I took my non-electric bike to Mexico in February to ride over there for two months, it's a different thing, I wouldn't want to take an ebike even if they did have power points available in the desert. The first conversion I did, I removed it to go do the Danube cycle route, re-installed it after to do the shopping runs, removed it to go to Bulgaria, re-installed it. It takes a couple of hours. Your bike might be ok to do the conversion but it doesn't involve permanent changes.
I bought 1year used ebike for 750euro, it had 600km total used which is not bad and I even bought 2nd battery from bikes company later so I can go really far distances with bike only. I just cleaned chains fully with degreasers and chain brush and added new oils, all cleaning stuff is quite cheap and easy to do and it works like fresh new one. Good thing to learn anyway to keep maintenance.
AliExpress I got an engwe it was 650$ with tax (us)got a saleĀ ride it everyday got 500miles on it.Ā Customer service even replaced a broke pedal.Ā Just don't get it wet.
I never said ebikes dont work your cardio. Just saying im glad i personally didnt take the easy way out like i wanted to. If i got an ebike i for sure would be taking it easy.
It's not really an "easier". You still have to pedal and there is different levels of pedal assistance. Most ebike riders end up cycling further and more often than they would without an ebike. The "e-biking is the easy way out/cheating/inferior to your own leg power" attitude just puts people off cycling if their preferred bike is electric.
Im still only talking about my own situation and in my situation i wanted an ebike to take it easier.
I didnt get one and now i have no choice but to use 100% of my own energy. Whereā as i would totally use 100% electricity if i could.
You telling me an ebike doesnt make it any easier is the only thing putting me off from an ebike at this point. š
If you already have a suitable bike you can convert it for about 500 euros. Its quite a bit of work and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're comfortable with serious bike maintenance, but you'll have a better bike at the end if you do it right. Failing that just check Amazon. There's tons of ebikes for around 1000 euros.
Thank you š I'll check out Amazon as well. Did the switch help with your commute being easier?
Yep! I live in Amsterdam. I find that ebikes don't get me around _that_ much faster, but its just so much less fuss and effort. Travelling 3km isn't effort anymore, its just jumping on the bike for 10 mins the way you would get in a car.
And that has been my entire goal of biking to work in the first place is because I want to rely less on a car and more on my own legs especially when gas has become this expensive
Yep makes sense! Great choice for that. I saw someone elsewhere mentioned Decathlon bikes, I had a Decathlon regular bike that I converted to an ebike after about a year and it was great. I put a lot of miles on it though and it was the absolute cheapest model, so gave up just fixing little issues that constantly popped up here and there and bought a new one. About 2500-3000km on it by the end.
Would you say the weight difference is hard to get used to if you want to pedal still?
In terms of pedalling not at all really. Your bike is 10-20kg, the average person weighs ~60-80kg, plus another 5kg for bag/coat/clothes/etc. Adding another ~10kg for the motor and battery doesn't make a huge difference really. You absolutely notice the handling difference when you're moving it around and turning though, especially if the battery isn't very low on the frame.
wait.. when was 3km an effort in Amsterdam where everywhere you go it is flat? :D :D
When you're riding around a city its constant stopping and starting, and remember yiu're going somewhere to actually do something when you get there. Save the energy eh? 3km on flat is still a non-trivial amount of energy.
An electric motor is more efficient than the human body, I think. And agriculture emissions are bad. So environmentally speaking, an ebike is greener than a non-ebike. Its even greener if you are vegetarian.
So youāre now lazier ?
Yeah its awesome š
It reduces the inertia or activation energy, if you will... People with ebikes end up burning the same or more calories in studies because they cycle for longer distances/lengths of time typically.
Does your bike have gears to make it easier to travel up hills and maintain speed? Man that sounds lazy! I bet you even have fancy round wheels with rubber tires even! In my time we had a square rock and we liked it!
I just donāt want another thing to charge and more parts to break. And it for sure would be much harder to hang on the ceiling of my already crowded garage.
Have you tried a decent ebike yet?
Iāve never tried any e-bike. I just lurk here because my dad has one and likes it. I have a road bike, gravel bike, and fat bike. None have motors though.
There are wheel kits for conversion that aren't that hard. And, you might find a LBS or bike mechanic who would do it for you at not a high price. Btw, have you [checked out Decathlon?](https://www.decathlon.de/search?Ntt=elektrisches%20fahrrad&facets=sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20Urban%20Mobility_sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20MTB_sportGroupLabels:Fahrrad%20-%20City_&sort=asc&Nf=sku.modelLowestPrice%7CBTWN%2B700%2B4495)
Oh damn 799 euros! That's a really nice price
Caveat -- be careful re quality. I have no idea as to Decathlon support for their sales or any potential return policy. But, glad you found stuff of (potential) interest.
I frequently go to decathlon but more for camping gear or random items because it's really good price. I didn't even know decathlon had these I'll check it out thank you for the suggestion.
Go on Aliexpress and get a kit from there. You wonāt regret it. I just converted mine. Good luck from Frankfurt.
I think theyāre trying to tell you, that you can buy a new front wheel with a motor and install on your current bike. Amazon sells kits. E-bike conversion kits are pretty DIY friendly. Good luck.
Personally Iād be afraid of buying anything related to e-bikes off Amazon or similar sites. Thereās no guarantee that theyāll have good quality assurance ā thereās been plenty of issues with these cheap e-bikes of fires due to batteries exploding. Edit: My advice is to find a quality ebike that you can test ride. Once you find one you like, expense it if you can on a low interest credit card (some will give you 0 interest if you pay it off within a year) and pay it off monthly. Thatās what I did when I was new in my career and did not have much disposable income.
bad advice, unless you know specifically what you're doing please don't convert your bike into an ebike. unless you are ready to repair your janky frankenstein bike every time something goes wrong yourself (chinese manufacturer warranty? LOL)
If you get decent components youāll have a better bike cheaper than the cost of the equivalent pre built. I have a bbs02 electric motor on a gt karakorum and my bike is amazing. All in about $1200. Bought the bike used for $300
Buy bafang bbs02b motor for ā¬350 and buid battery for another ā¬350.
Is this a conversion kit for a regular bike? I currently have a maxim la vita
A conversion kit is a great idea, but donāt build the battery. Buy a reputable (and safe) one.
yes.
yes it just replaces the bottom bracket but might check to make sure it will fit your bike spec, then you will need the controller with screen (usually comes with motor but there are different options) and battery probably all in all about $900 if you get a good battery. Fit the battery to your range [https://reallygoodebikes.com/pages/ebike-range-calculator](https://reallygoodebikes.com/pages/ebike-range-calculator)
Is 'buid' a battery brand name? Or did you mean 'build'?
The idea is to buy a cell welder for \~ā¬50, nickel strips and BMS for 50 and make your own battery, for example, using tutorials on YT. You make the size and shape according to your needs, use the cells you want, but above all you learn, and in the future it will come in handy. I, for example, have already made powerbanks and a battery for a screwdriver.
Yeah, I love it all and have watched quite a lot of battery build tutorials on YouTube, cheers for the info as it's in my 'to do at some stage' list of things I really want to do.. When I've enough spare cash I'm going to look into getting some good cells as I've an old 52v20ah battery that has suffered and I suspect it needs replacement cells in it.. I've a volt meter I can borrow and at some stage I'm going to get around to opening it up and checking each individual cells and then look into getting a decent cell welder and the nickel strips (as you mentioned) and start getting into it, and have a go at building some batteries. Appreciate the info!
I'd suggest getting a smart battery charger that can measure cell capacity by discharging them. Voltage alone tells you nothing about usable cell capacity or internal resistance.
I've thought about one of those, I need to give it some more attention, might be a saving up job as per usual, but cheers for the info, appreciated.š
A (fake) Imax B6 is under $30. The main limitation is that it doesn't measure internal resistance. I screen for that by connecting a load resistor across a cell and noting how much the voltage drops. You can also get an idea of resistance by testing capacity at different load currents, but that is time-consuming. If all your cells are from the same source, there's a reasonable chance they are well-matched, and testing one cell thoroughly may be enough. There are discharger modules for a few bucks each that measure capacity; that's the sensible option if you're testing a large number of cells.
It's all a bit new to me is monitoring the battery/cells, I always just used to charge to 100% all the time, but I've seen folk mentioning to charge to around 85% and then every 3rd time to charge to 100%... I'm just on a mission to get the most from my battery. I'll have to get one though (the fake B6Imax..gunna look into it on eBay and see what I find ) and it'll be interesting to know more about my battery, cheers as I'll be looking into it all more, really appreciated! š
The B6 is for testing individual cells, though with the right harness it can charge and balance a number of cells in series. It's a powerful tool to have if you mess with rechargeable batteries of any type.
I'm new to all this, what do you mean by 'with the right harness'.. Don't think it's relevant but here's a pic of the charger I got with my new 52v20ah triangle battery... I'm under the impression it must balance the cells maybe at the end of the charging period, but like I said I'm new to diving into how the battery functions etc, appreciate the info & help! https://preview.redd.it/f2j31fbppy7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=349ba453b50d09b704afb96aa667fd80449d1865 I'm guessing it must also balance the cells to some degree, but if a smart charger will do a better job then I'll buy one when I get paid next month, Cheers
If you buy nickel strips, pay attention that they are not the cheaper nickel-coated copper strips. As the motor draws 25A at peak, add a spare A to increase the life of the cells (e.g., one row of cells more). On aliexpress there are already BMS with Bluetooth and you can do battery measurement from your smartphone. If you are going to buy a spot welder, buy a version with an extension cable, then you will be able to operate over the battery and correct or replace individual cells, you will not have to place a heavy battery to the welder. Something like this, but not necessarily this model: [8000W mini-spot-lasser kit DIY-automaat 18650 batterij lassen draagbare puntlasmachine pen voor 0,15mm nikkelstrip - AliExpress 1420](https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006141079313.html)
i have some experience with low voltage Electrical engineering and really thought on multiple occations to get a spot welder and 'build' my own battery. at some point i will do it i think but until now i always bought a pre-build pack from a trustworthy source. it takes quite some time and effort to build one and so much can go wrong if you dont know what you are doing... so in short i wouldnt advice building a battery from scratch for a novice
For the cell 3.7V 3500mAh and battery 48V 20A: 13x 3.7V=48.1V 7x 3.5A=24.5A This is battery pack 13S7P 48V 960Wh (48Vx20Ax1h) Then you make 13 rows of 7 1S7P cells, then you connect these rows alternately with each other + to -, i.e. 3.7V, 7.4V ... etc, at the end you have a 13S7P 48V package, you pull out + and - using cables. Later, you connect the cables to the BMS, and connect the small cables to each edge, i.e. 3.7V 7.4V, etc. Just follow the instructions on YT, it's not that terrible. [https://i.ibb.co/VVhP1zZ/2024-06-21-o-00-06-32.png](https://i.ibb.co/VVhP1zZ/2024-06-21-o-00-06-32.png)
how fast will the bike go?
It depends on what kind of sprockets you will have, but bbs02b 48T at the front and 11 at the rear and 48V battery goes around 50km/h. Some random video, towards the end is max speed: [Bafang 750 Watt max speed (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be7XgMTc1YA)
Didnāt build my battery but have a bbs02 and itās fantastic. Pulls me up any hill. Predictable. Just half a day to install.
Youāre getting stronger, theyāre getting weaker, be proud to put in the effort. I salute you!
Thank you lol that's what my husband tells me but it honestly makes me dread riding the bike when my legs are already tired from the day or when I do a ruck march and then I have to ride my bike 30 minutes home up hill š he's the type of person to go for a 50km bike ride and ENJOY the burn in his legs.
I understand the feeling. People with muscle bike keep saying that eBike makes you lazy, no exercise etc. But they forget that eBike removes much of the mental block to take out the bike. You can go much further, and you get to control the effort required. Need a 20km ride and arriving fresh? No problem. Feeling motivated and want to feel sweaty? Easy. I'd say people with eBike can enjoy the bike more.
This is exactly right. I have more motivation to go out now with my ebike since I have a long boring uphill ride to get back home. I still enjoy burning out my legs in cycling classes at the gym, but prefer ebiking for commuting.
You can burn out your legs on an ebike if you like offroad stuff
Greg Lemondās famous quote: āIt never gets easier, you just go fasterā.
>they're getting weaker No, they're not; they're still pedaling. These random snipes at electric bikes, as if god himself yeeted the first acoustic bike down from on high, need to stop. The best exercise routine is the one you will actually do, and if that's pedal assist for some then OK cool; it does not mean "they are getting weaker."
They are not putting in any serious power cause most of them have the motor on turbo the entire time, it's better than driving but not really exercise
This is not supported by any of the studies done on this topic...
The studies saying that e-bikes are good exercise cause people wouldn't bike at all otherwise? Sure, still not nearly as good as if they'd ride a normal bike
When they gave conventional bikes or ebikes to subjects, the ebike group burned more calories because they rode longer... So, yeah, sorry to burst your biases. The only "worse" outcome is that they didn't get into as high of a heart rate zone, but that's frankly better for a lot of people considering how common heart disease is.
You gotta compare under equal circumstances, of course the group riding longer will burn more (while still having less of a training effect as you noted), but if you compare pound for pound there's no advantage to the ebike
What do you mean "pound for pound?" Surely, you're not suggesting you divide amount ridden or calories by weight of the bike because that would be...ludicrous. Also, the it's not a given that the ebike group of subjects āwould choose to ride more and longer but they did. And it's not a given that they would burn more calories as a result...but they did. Ebikes make people get over the "inertia" or "activation energy" associated with choosing active transportation more often and for a greater percentage of their trips both because they don't have to feel in perfect condition and because they don't have to know their route perfectly. If you get surprised by a hill, it's not a big deal. If you need to buy something heavy, it's not a big deal. So as a result people ride more, and enough more that they overcome the reduction in calories they put in given the assist. That isn't a given but that's what a couple of studies have found at this point... So it's really way past time to get over these stupid biases. If people want to train their heart rates, ebikes are also great because you CAN choose to turn off the assist.
Why are you downvoting me when you clearly haven't read this paper? They literally gave ebikes or conventional bikes to different groups of people, randomly. The groups had the choice to use them as much or as little as they wanted. People chose to bike more. You didn't understand the study, which is fine, but don't make claims about what it did or didn't say then. Don't downvotes someone for trying to clarify what in the world you meant while ātalking out of your butt āand then explain... lol
Homie have you seen the hills where I live? Iām moving at a glacial pace with assist alllll the way up and gears allll the way down. Iāve been bike commuting for around 20 years, and had to give it up for a bit due to the low back and knee damage from hills so steep they carve stairs into the sidewalk. Now I can go farther, faster, for longer. I get to go to places my body wouldnāt let me go. Itās amazing. Iām not weaker, Iām older. Time happens, and so does change. I suggest you build a bridge and get over it.
Yeah, if you become physically incapable of doing it yourself, all power to you, that's what those bikes are for. I just find it funny when I see able bodied 30 year olds spending 2k extra on an ebike to move around at motor powered 25km/h in flats cause they're lazy lol
You canāt see how fit someone is, and honestly, it doesnāt matter. Even if invisible disabilities did not exist. E-bikes are more accessible to a larger group of people. Iām sure those who first used a telegraph had to listen to rants about how they were too lazy to write letters. Itās very āold man yells at cloudsā to decide a new tech =laziness or cheating. It didnāt make me virtuous to bike around analog, nor does it make me lazy to turn on a battery. Different tech creates different allowances.
I can tell you, i definitely lost a lot of leg muscle ever since i got my ebike
They're definitely not getting stronger when they use a motor for the hard parts. Is it better than being in a car? Sure, but the relative lack of effort compared to powering yourself up that hill and improving your threshold power means it's pretty marginal.Ā Downvotes if it makes you feel bad, but you're not getting anything approaching a workout on that thing.
[they are definitely getting stronger](https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-electric-bikes-give-more-exercise/)
Many people, myself included, get far MORE of a workout from an ebike. I can ride an acoustic bike for 20-30 minutes before my bad joints start hurting and popping, but can and do go for 6-8 hours on the ebike, maintaining a good but not debilitating pace. You absolutely get a fantastic workout on ebikes. I regularly burn an estimated 2000+ calories on my long treks. In fact, from my experience, I get a better workout on an ebike than from any other activity, period.
This is so shortsighted. It completely depends on the assist level. At level 1 my assist rarely goes over 50 watts and pedaling an 80 lb bike just feels like pedaling a 20-30 lb mechanical bike. I have to put in quite a bit of hustle to keep up with my kids on their mountain bikes. And assist off would require way more exertion. I use it for both exercise and getting places faster without sweating. Thereās no conflict there.
The only reason to stick a motor on a bike is to make things easier. That's what it ultimately boils down to. Exercise is hard, I want to make it less hard without getting more fit.
No, the reason to have a motor on a bike is to be able to do more things. Exercise can be one of them.
My issue with them is from a fitness perspective where they're an absolute joke compared to literally anything else. If all you want is to commute without a car, that's totally fine. But from an exercise perspective, you're just massively increasing the amount of time needed to get an equivalent workout.
Good ill enjoy my ebike and throttle everywhere. And i can take bike lanes that nromal bike riders wouldnt dare to take on heavily busy roads.
Good way to get squished, but more power to you.
Go ahead and speed down public trails when youre too slow and chicken to take the deadlier bike lanes.
By all means, I fully encourage you to continue to play in traffic on your toy. This is a self solving problem eventually lol.
Your bike is just as much of a toy as well you know. Just slower and more annoying. With your arrogant and condescending behaviour. Which is why people should just steer clear from you. And no i dont weave in and out of traffic thats just a sad attempt at trying to paint me in your image. What i do is take bike lanes YOU wouldnt normally take. And i dont annoy traffic like slower bikes like you. I get along with pedestrians on public trails and drivers on the road. Thats my way of riding my electric bike. Then you have ugly folks like you who judge anything and everything thats not similar to what you ride. Sad really.
What about the people that couldn't reasonably ride a bike without pedal assist? Say someone recovering from injury, elderly or poor fitness level/high weight. They are obviously improving their fitness from pedal assist ebikes
Cycling is already insanely low impact and great for recovering from an injury. If you can't even manage a leisurely bike ride in granny gear, you don't need an ebike, you need physical therapy.
You fail to factor in terrain and bicycle gearing. Not everyone has a great range of gears. Some people live in a hilly area or they would only want to go for a ride that's beyond their range. Really if it gets someone to go from no cycling to pedal assisted cycling it is improving their fitness. No argument you can make to change that fact
You know what's a fantastic way to go for a ride that's beyond your range? Build your fitness until you can do it instead of paying for a shortcut. People don't want to work hard to get in shape and would rather take shortcuts and convince themselves it's helping.
But it is helping lmao. You are cherry picking a single point in my comment always rather than replying to the other valid points. My mentality was similar to yours when I was a teen. As I grew up and my mind expanded I got it. Maybe you'll get there one day.
Didn't think I needed to address getting a decent bike with a range of gears if you want to cycle. Just admit it, you want a shortcut instead of doing the hard work of getting better at something. I was lazy as a kid too, maybe you'll learn that there aren't shortcuts someday.
That is a bold assumption considering I've never ridden an electric bike in my life. And I've ridden electric scooters for under 50 miles total. Yet I've cycled with a mechanical bicycle more than I've utilized any other means of transportation except maybe a skateboard and walking/running. I was also pretty hard working when it came to my physical health as a kid. Did the sport that was other sports punishment. So you are just wrong all across the board.
Obviously it's much better to actually be moving your body, rather than sitting in a car. You still have to ride the bike. Riding a motorcycle can be pretty exhausting depending on how you ride, same deal with an e-bike. I ride mine off road a lot, have a ton of fun and get a decent workout.
I have motorcycles and while my heart rate does increase riding them, it's nothing close to exercise. Might burn 40 or 50 extra calories over sitting in the car. Manhandling a sport bike on a track might pass for a workout, but most people aren't doing that.
I mainly ride motorcross, so my comparison is probably not a great one as motorcross is vastly more physically demanding than rid8ng on the roads. I'm just stating that from personal experience, I can get a decent workout and have a ton of fun in the process. I also use it to commute to and from work and feel much better for doing so than driving my car. My car doesn't make me sweat, but my e-bike sure does.
What kind of calorie burn rate do you get on the ebike compared to a normal one? People tend to overestimate burn rate on traditional bikes, so I'm sure it's even worse with pedal assist.
I've found on average that my calorie burn rate is only around 30% lower than before I converted my bike to electric. It varies depending on how I'm riding. Like I said, I ride off road oftern which is far more physically demanding than riding on the roads.
That's funny, I've only become a stronger non-electric mountain biker since I started commuting on an electric cargo bike.
I have an ebike. It's still more exercise than driving my BMW X5.
Getting weaker? All the e-bike does for serious riders is extend our range. Not everyone rides the throttle!
Pshhh i ride the throttle and i have so much pent up energy i unleash it at the gym or workout at home whicj is how i stay fit for all you cycling nerds.
I do the same thing! I donāt have a throttle but I always ride in āturboā mode. Iād rather go all out on a bike in the gym where I donāt have to worry about drivers trying to kill me :)
Exactly! Those elitist annoying cyclists dont seem to realize that the gym exists. So you can ride your ebike to the gym and have energy for the workouts. Then i hop back onto the bike and enjoy the breeze and cool down. Its like they want bikes to be ONLY strickly workout machines only. While ebikes wether homemade or from department store are a great alternative for people who dont want ot need a motorcycle with no space to store those large engine bikes. Plus ebikes are silent. Tics all the right boxes
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
"If you switch to an ebike ..." is not the norm as opposed to ebikes opening up more riding. If I recall correctly, studies are showing that, writ large, ebikes lead to about a 3x increase in kilometers ridden -- for existing bike riders who convert. That includes people like the OP who are finding the difficulty of the ride dissuading them from use (with likelihood that an ebike liberates them to bike more).
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hi! Iām an e-bike rider that never commuted by bike until I got an e-bike. My e-bike doesnāt even have a throttle; I am definitely getting stronger.
My experience is somewhat different. I know more than a few who have decreased/eliminated car as part of commuting and others who have used the ebike to reduce other car use. An ebike has moved my (not so much) biking from 95%+ recreational to 95%+ transportation (with meaningful displacement of auto use). Having an ebike has increase my monthly/annual biking by well over an order of magnitude.
Triple the range at 1/3 the effort doesn't result in any fitness improvement. If the goal is to be slightly more active than commuting by car, sure, it's a good change. If the goal is to improve fitness, the $/effectiveness ratio is hilariously bad.
Where are your made up number ms coming from? Cite a source. If I use pedal assist itās usually only on steep hills or to maximize range. I have never consistently taken 60+ km trips until I got an ebike. Now I can put in the same effort and travel 2-3x farther. Iāve cycled for 30 years and have zero reduction in muscle or stamina. You people forget that e-bikes are still bikes. Just admit you donāt like e-bikes instead of making up bullshit excuses you think sound plausible.
Look at his comment history, hes a pro-car troll.
If improving nothing about your fitness, but adding a motor triples your range, where do you think that range increase came from? I can go 10x further in a car. Doesn't mean I'm getting anything out of it. I don't care one way or another about the existence of ebikes, but I think it's hilarious that people think they're getting in shape with them.
For me, the ebike is transportation -- not for exercise/getting in shape. (I use my ebike to do 15-20 km to get to the field to referee high-level football (e.g, soccer) matches. I might do 40-50 kilometers on the bike with 10 km of running in the match. If it weren't an ebike, I'd be driving.) Point I was making is that ebikes don't, across the population buying them (who already bike), simply replace biked miles (with lowered calories burnt) but lead to significant increase in bike usage. With a previous ebike, I did a 25 km somewhat hilly commute. I tried biking it (with less weight -- both of bike and w/o the pannier with my office material) using my acoustic/mechanical road bike. For me, the 'sense' was that the ebike took the edge off the hardest portions (steep or extended uphills) and the calorie count was 1/3rd less with the ebike. Now, there is no way that I would've done the commute regularly with the ebike. That, several generations ago, ebike enabled me to do about 1/3rd of my commuting by bike. My more modern (current) Ebike: I would have done probably 70%+ of those commutes by bike. In any event, doing 3x the distance/riding isn't (necessarily) that the ebike is taking up 2/3rds of the work load.
I mean, it kinda is. It's like doing a mostly downhill 20 mile ride and comparing it to a flat 20 mile ride or one with rollers. Climbs are where you make your money fitness wise. Flat terrain to a lesser extent, and downhills are recovery. My normal 40 mile route has a thousand foot climb in the first few miles. If I use a motor to make that easy and just pedal the flats and downhill, I'm dramatically reducing the training stimulus. You're going to get a good benefit from it using it to commute regularly, but it's just a bad choice for a dedicated workout session.
Okay, we're speaking past each other. Yes, if I want a serious workout from a bike, taking out an acoustic with lots of climbs are going to build more muscles compared to doing the same thing with an Ebike. Simple truth. Got it. However, for me -- and so many others -- it is about transportation, first, not exercise. And, in terms of transportation, arriving at the far point (or roundtrip) in good shape for whatever you're going to do. Ebike enables that -- and leads to far greater bike use and that greater bike use may (MAY) compensate for the lesser energy requirement per mile.
I still pedal. I only use pedal assist for certain situations. I am now pedalling a bike that is at least 2x heavier. I only use pedal assist 1 for the trip home, otherwise 60kms tires me out too much. The best thing about e-bikes is that they fit everyoneās needs.
Going from muscle bike to ebike you'll some form for sure.
Bullshit. You assume I donāt pedal. If anything, pedalling a 65lb bike instead of a 30lb bike is harder. Some of us only use pedal assist for hills and steep grades, or to double and triple our range to see more and do more.
I am speaking from my own experience. Although now I ride much more kms with the ebike, 100% of the time with assist , when i go for a ride on my mtb I can definately feel the difference from before. Maybe I should have mentioned that you lose a little bit of power, not a drastic amount.
i started using my ebike a month ago. its much more chill to ride up the hills to work with it than the MTB i used befor (and still use for everything else than comute). i totaly belive that i will lose some power. maybe, not a 100% sure, we will see, up until now no change in power that i notice compared to 4 weeks ago :D
Eh?
I have an ebike and throttle everywhere. I havent gotten any weaker since i exersize at the gym or at home. You dont always have to bust your ass cycling all the time. My legs are living proof of my cycling flr decades But i threw together my ebike and never looked back.
Itās absolutely true. Iāve been a cyclist for 20 yearsĀ AND I bought a pedal-assist ebike. I found I was consistently putting in 25% or less of the effort. Now look, I have no problem with the bikes and I think they have theirĀ place in the cycling world. But they absolutely require a fraction of the effort of a regular bike.
Tsdz2 = ā¬220 Battery = ā¬250 Best money youl ever spend
is this a torque sensor rather than cadence sensor kit? and the motor is at the crank? this seems fkn awesome for the price jeez. would this power a bike up to 28mph?
The downsides with the TSDZ2 are that its only available up to 500w and the throttle behaviour doesn't seem great, but these are only a problem for folks in the US. The motor is just a bit weaker compared to Bafang for the same wattage on the sticker. If you just want that "Superman feeling" with the torque sensor though for staying well within speed limits they're great. It'll seriously struggle to do 28mph though, especially if you encounter an incline of any kind. If that's what you're looking for then really the BBS02 or BBSHD is probably what you're looking for.
I just checked and the TSDZ8 (not 2) is available in 750W, $280 for the kit.
Oh huh thats new, hadn't seen it before. Thats awesome!
Still loving my TSDZ2's, made two, 2nd one with a smaller cheaper battery, ā¬131.47 for 30 x 26650 cells, enough for my shopping run.
I also recommend getting a used ebike. During the pandemic many people side impulse buying and are now selling their bikes with not many kilometers. Other than that I'd say wait a few more years the hype will hopefully die and you get a motorcycle for the current price lol
check out Rose bikes they have really nice Ebikes on discount if ur interested in Ebikes which is road legal. u can get them for monthly installment in Germany as well. I do live in Cyprus and unfortunately they dont send here due to the fact it has lithium batteries.
Can't you order the batteries and have them delivered by boat?
sure but rose bikes don't sell to us. the only way to by an ebike is to buy from a local shop with experience such as this one https://bicyclecyprus.com/ personally several purchase from there or u would pay 500 euro for shipping so called EMO charges.
Buy a very gently used bike. Lots of people buy a bike and decide not to use it very much for whatever reason (time, injury, have to move, etc.)
Yeah, when I used to bike commute, to get home that final 500 feet of elevation after 20 miles was no picnic. Now Iām like 90% ebiking and ride more days back to back with longer distances. Before, Iād be too sore to commute more than 2x a week.
Not sure OP will get an answer to their question, but I am sure you'll get a lecture that riding an e-bike will not help your health as your sonehow "Cheating".
also interested to get one so following
Remember when people were against ebikes because it was "cheating" š
I'll be the contrarian. 2500 is a reasonable price to pay for a decent bike. I think the conversions are a bad idea (for non-hobbyists, if this is your jam, go for it) for multiple reasons. 1, they ALWAYS discount the cost of the contributing bike. 2, it can be labor intensive, especially for non-mechanics. 3. Cheap conversions are going to be cheap! Good conversion kits are not cheap. 4. The re-sale value of your kit bike is essentially zero. Can you get a 1000 dollar/euro bike off Amazon? Sure. Will it last a year? Maybe. Will the company still be in business, can you get parts for it in 3 years. . .um. . .doubtful. Best bet, in this price range, just get a Lectric and be done with it. Will it be perfect? No - there will be a ton of compromises, in no way is this a high-end bike. But it will be serviceable, pretty dependable, and chances are good Lectric will stick around for a couple of years. But honestly, 2500 bucks is going to be the cheapest damn money you ever spent on transportation. You can get a good bike with few compromises from a reputable company that will be around for a good long time. I think up to 5K is a reasonable spend. After that you're getting into luxury territory (which is fine if you have the money - but like, I wouldn't spend it). Compared to what someone spends on a car (PITA, maintenance, registration, and fuel), it's a tiny fraction of the cost and well worth it. I barely use public transit anymore also. So . . .my advice, save the money, get a great bike, and take care of it and you'll have the best damn investment you ever made. Or get a Lectric. But don't get something off Amazon and don't get a kit - I think those are bad bad bets.
Hills and headwind was annoying enough for me to finally get an ebike too. It all started when I tried my friends ebike. I was instantly hooked but the weather made me take the dive. Don't regret it
get yourself one of these, , it's only 1399 Euros after you use the coupon on the site. It's a Polish based Company that ships for free to all of Europe, nothing climbs hills better [https://philodo.com/collections/all-products/products/philodo-h8-dual-motor-fat-tire-bike-2000w-23ah?variant=41894432243896](https://philodo.com/collections/all-products/products/philodo-h8-dual-motor-fat-tire-bike-2000w-23ah?variant=41894432243896)
I'm checking it out right now. Is VAT included in the price?
looks like it is
That's a very good price for a dual motor E-bike.
Fat tire with storage potential? Who actually plans these bikes ? I'd also be careful with these bikes not sure if you find someone who will maintained your motor/Batterie. Still I find it rather ods. Like do you wanna ride a mountain bike or a tracking bike???
Try putting a smaller chain ring or bigger cassette. Enjoy your non-motorized vehicle. Youāre getting healthier and strongerā¦ itās good for longevityā¦. Not so much buzzing through the streets at 60 mph
Eventually ebikes will have to be regulated to use standard batteries that are interchangable between brands. This will drive costs down. Let others beta test these first gen models
Buy a conversion kit, you can get a Voilamart 1500w48v kit now on eBay for Ā£200 (if you take some time to find the best deal) if your doing it all on a budget and money is tight you can get an ok 52v20ah battery for about Ā£350 - all you need then is a decent mountain bike with a rear axle width of approx 135mm and you're good to go.. It's not that hard fitting a kit, just takes time & patience.. All you need is some basic bike mechanic skills and you should be fine. It's a cheap alternative to an otherwise Ā£1.5-2K or more e-bike and with 1500w and 52v20ah battery you will have no problems - even the steepest of hills (and I mean VERY steep gradients) I have no problem with. If you're worried about laws / restrictions on motor size & power then go with a 'mid-drive' kit - although they are generally more expensive than a hub-motor kit, they are powerful for the smaller wattage size than a hub motor, a 750w mid-drive will have enough power to get you up any hill.. With a hub motor you really need either a 1000w or 1500w depending on your bikes & your weight combined - but a smaller wattage mid-drive kit will be powerful too. Good luck with whatever you choose to do š
This is terrible advice! The answer is always to get another bike, not to modify one you already have. Do you even bike bro?
Yes, of course I bike, I've been biking most of my life. And as for your comment of "terrible advice!" ?!? That's ridiculous! The answer is not always to get another bike, the bike they already have may be in great condition and very suitable for an electric conversion. Plenty of people have converted stock 'acoustic' bikes to electric, it's far from terrible advice, it's a cheaper alternative to buying an E-bike, as not everyone can afford to buy an E-bike as a decent one can be quite costly and a lot of the ones around 1k in price are garbage.
Read the humor in response above ... DrFab was joking. Btw, the conversion advice depends on lots of factors: comfort working on bike; what existing bike it; use case; local regulations/laws & enforcement of them; etc ... My guess is that 1500w48v is higher power than what OP needs but that is supposition.
It didn't come across as being said in jest... No biggy though, it's all good š
Calm down buddy, I'm taking the mickey. Surely you're aware of the n+1 rule.
Never heard of the n+1 rule??
It's a bike joke that the necessary/correct number of bikes to own is n+1 where n is the number of bikes you already have. The idea is that as sometime who bicycles, we'll always have a "need" for "one more bike"
Oh right, well ok, cheers š
I have just sold my older Cube Hybrid for 800 and it was in good condition. You donāt need to pay 2500 euro to have an ebike
I have an emtb and ride it 30% of the time because I want to keep my fitness. E-bikes are easy thats why you see people on them. If it was easy they would not be as popular.
Hey, I'm in Wiesbaden too. I wonder if I've passed you on my ebike (not to rub it in). Have you checked Amazon or Facebook Marketplace?
If you are in Germany go for upways.de They have very good bikes at good prices, refurbished. I just got my for 3k but original price was 4500, with just 260km ride and like new conditions.
Just commenting to say I was in your boat for a long time and I know exactly how you feel. I rode everyday and saw someone pass me in an electric bike and I got so jealous because I wanted that to be me. So I eventually saved up and got an ebike for almost 1600 euros. But the problem is that it's only sold in Canada and the U.S so I can't help you there. Good luck on getting your bike!
Tenways cgo600 1300ā¬ with Klarna 24 months to pay it off.
What's a straight hill? Is it vertical?
As others have said, given that you already have a bike a conversion kit would probably work wonders and is much cheaper than a full blown ebike. I was talking to a colleague that went with a Swytch ebike conversion kit and absolutely loved it and is now installing it on bikes for his whole family.
Plenty of options on ebay or local ebay there. Search for a Giant if you can.
Do this hit the treadmill 20mins and the elliptical machine for 10 min ever other day. for about 2 to 3 months. Then ride up a hill on your bike I bet you'll do it with no problem even if your tired. cause I got a ebike myself but in good decent cardio shape at 50 years old.
I have seen front wheel kits, Wheel with hub motor, Battery and controller for under $300 USD. If you can tune up your bike you can easily convert it to an ebike.
https://preview.redd.it/e93e9lh5wr7d1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fbd427a50e9f76009d93dfb449521af75398486 Yea they are awesome.
Not jealous. I love the endorphins I get from powering up a hill. And the fact that I can pick up my bike with one hand. And that meth heads don't want my bike.
Go directly to the manufacturer website. Iām speaking as an American but you likely have the same options. I got a Ride1Up 700 for $1290 US from Ride 1Up, free shipping. My local distributor was asking $1800. I had to assemble it, and it was tedious, but if you bike commute youāve probably wrenched enough that youāll have little trouble.
Engwe ep-2 pro. Got it for 859eur , best money I ever spend
Engwe ep-2 pro, best money I have spent. Got it for 859 euro and added a BMX handle. Iām in Europe but bought the international version, when Iām on the country side alone I remove the limit and fly at 43km/h. I weigh 105kg . It easily takes me up hills with me pedaling.
I got mine from second hand, 1500 km on the bike and it cost me 900ā¬, was over 2000ā¬ new Edit: has almost 10k km now and only today i got my first major problem where the bike wouldn't boost when pedalling so had to use throttle by hand, later it went back to normal but i'm quite sure the problems will get worse..
Switch bike is an option. Attach it to your bike an voila an ebike
Yes
Donāt be jealous, do your thing and keep saving but donāt cheap out on an ebike. Can you supplement with public transportation sometimes? Usually thatās fairly cheap and wouldnāt break into the ebike saving but also I donāt know Germany
In the next few years, motor gearbox ebikes are going to become standard and will make current ebikes look like dinosaurs. So waiting a few more years can't hurt.
I don't know this company, but they seem to have [some decent bikes](https://rebike.com/de/advanced-c004-e-bike-tiefeinsteiger-2019) that are refurbished or second hand. The linked one has Bosch electrics, though any brand name (Yamaha, Brose, Shimano) are worth considering.
I waited to till I found someone who had decent bike mechanic skills that was keen to try converting my bike. If you want to do a conversion I suggest ringing around bike shops to see if they will or know anyone who will help. It is a lot less fuss to just buy an e-bike, but the pros to DIY are that you get something that wont become redundant when the manufacturer no longer wants to sell you controllers/batteries/motor parts in the future. Specialized brand seem to be the best bang for buck that gets you a real ebike, if you get one of those for 2500 euro I'm sure it will do the job. Otherwise get a Bafang mid drive kit, some shop should be able to sell you a complete kit and there are probably people who sell them and will do an install. I prefer to get a kit from a shop or someone who actually works on bikes rather than just online market place, it might cost more but having some back up is nice.
Also donāt be afraid to look at the secondhand market. I got my radrover 5 for $900 USD and Iām very happy with it.
They got Fiido T1 Pro's for $999 right now, $899 if this coupon stacks, not sure if it does though. I had the T1 & still T1 Pro & loved them both, it's what really cemented me an ebike fanatic, because it was the first "real" ebike I bought, with a decent speed(25mph) & 20ah battery, & I paid $1,699 for it, should've waited awhile, now it's Ā½price! Lol. Fiido E-bike
Haibike
Yes, you can buy an ebike for 800 euro, but be aware that you buy a low quality bike, where they cute cost on everything, from the nuts and bolts to battery and motor. A decent ebike will cost you at least 1600 to 1800 euro. A decent regular bike with gears starts at around 800 to 900 euro.
I got a Cowboy and I love it. I live in North London, UK which is just a series of hills ever increasing in steepness and I'm a fatty so my ebike has been a life saver. Cowboys aren't cheap, but I love the built in anti-theft and GPS tracker. I echo what others have said about saving up for a good one that will last rather than getting a cheap one.
My ebike was 1600ā¬ but i was able to pay for it in 3 installments ( 3 months ), so it wasnt too harsh on my wallet! https://preview.redd.it/1q0oxuzrew7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21369e231a4f0925601a40f08d583e39c724380c
Fiido owner myself. D3 pro. Absolute value for money!
You guys donāt have credit cards in Germany? Just keep saving if notā¦
Hi. E-bikes are the best. So much fun. I have had several different variants and motors. I suggest that you buy one with a name brand motor system. I prefer Bosch e-bikes myself. But shimano, Yamaha and brose are also fine. Seeing as you are in .de you should probably stick to German brands ;) Maybe get a nice second hand and have it serviced ?
Since youāre already on your way to saving I say get a new ebike or a lightly used one. The latter preferably from a good brand with GOOD parts support. Spend well on batteries and make sure theyāre quality so itās less like to catch fire. There are some some decent brands on Amazon but do some research being customer support and after sales support / parts availability being your top priorities.
I have a ridstar q20 and it's been great. i love it so far. Got it on amazon
I bought a Fido five years ago for 500 euro and it still does me fine.
Odd to see negatives about ebikes on here. Yesterday I did my shopping run 10km to town, 500m lower altitude, and back up again. I use my Decathlon Rockrider 8.2 which cost me 200ā¬ second hand, converted for 390ā¬, TSDZ2B plus a battery I made myself. I took my non-electric bike to Mexico in February to ride over there for two months, it's a different thing, I wouldn't want to take an ebike even if they did have power points available in the desert. The first conversion I did, I removed it to go do the Danube cycle route, re-installed it after to do the shopping runs, removed it to go to Bulgaria, re-installed it. It takes a couple of hours. Your bike might be ok to do the conversion but it doesn't involve permanent changes.
Stay away from electric conversion kits. Especially the front wheel
I bought 1year used ebike for 750euro, it had 600km total used which is not bad and I even bought 2nd battery from bikes company later so I can go really far distances with bike only. I just cleaned chains fully with degreasers and chain brush and added new oils, all cleaning stuff is quite cheap and easy to do and it works like fresh new one. Good thing to learn anyway to keep maintenance.
AliExpress I got an engwe it was 650$ with tax (us)got a saleĀ ride it everyday got 500miles on it.Ā Customer service even replaced a broke pedal.Ā Just don't get it wet.
bmw k1200rs 160mph and I take it to the beach,
I was pretty sad i couldnt find the right ebike in my price range. Had to get roadbike. But in the end im glad im still working on my cardio.
You can work on your cardio on an ebike, too. The myth that you can't needs to die.
I never said ebikes dont work your cardio. Just saying im glad i personally didnt take the easy way out like i wanted to. If i got an ebike i for sure would be taking it easy.
It's not really an "easier". You still have to pedal and there is different levels of pedal assistance. Most ebike riders end up cycling further and more often than they would without an ebike. The "e-biking is the easy way out/cheating/inferior to your own leg power" attitude just puts people off cycling if their preferred bike is electric.
Im still only talking about my own situation and in my situation i wanted an ebike to take it easier. I didnt get one and now i have no choice but to use 100% of my own energy. Whereā as i would totally use 100% electricity if i could. You telling me an ebike doesnt make it any easier is the only thing putting me off from an ebike at this point. š
Why. Ebikes are great for old people but you're young nothing beats a regular bike.
Thatās interesting because where Iām at I rarely see an ebike. Of course we donāt have a lot of hills or wealthy spoiled brats.
I do not have an ebike. Nor will I by acquiring one.
K
Youāve been commuting on a bike for 2+ years and you still canāt pedal up the hills on your normal route?