Quote:
Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay
My wife and I rented a couple e-bikes from Bow Cycle downtown a few weeks back. I had a feeling I'd enjoy them but holy crap, they were an absolute blast. It's unreal how much distance you can cover without consuming a ton of the battery.
If you wanna try before you buy, I'd recommend renting from that place. Right on the river downtown and tons of bike paths nearby.
The bikes they rented to use where Cube Kathmandu's. Mid drive with Bosch motor. Not sure how big the battery was but that's the high I'm chasing now. Decently fast but wouldn't mind if it was a tad faster. I asked the guy there how much they retailed for. Those ones were damn close to $5k. Don't want to spend that much but there must be something more reasonably priced that comes close.
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A Bosch system bike is going to be $4k, you may be able to get a clearance one for a bit less depending on time of year. There is no cheat code for a cheap good bike. You may find yourself happy enoguh with a Rad or some other lower end one, which is fine, but it isn't going to be as good as a Bosch or Shimano system.
Battery size is really irrelevant on these things if you are pathway riding. You will always have enough to go as far as you want. It's when you start doing lots of uphill riding that they can take range hits.
And you won't find "a tad faster" they all have the same government imposed speed limiters. That being said, some handle the transition from power to no power better, and have gearbox drag you wouldn't have without a motor once you hit 32. Some are worse than others(and some Bosch systems are better than others for this). Definitely something I'd check out if you plan on riding faster without power. My dad's Shimano cuts out fairly well at 32 and I don't notice drag riding 40. My wife's Bosch is a real bear above 32, and I thought she was imagining the drag, until I tested it out and realized how their gearbox worked on this model.
