Well I’ve saved my pennies and I now finally have enough to get an Ebike. after HOURS of watching youtube videos, reviews, etc. I think I’ve narrowed my choice to these two options.
-
KEQJSK Electric Bike 1000W Motor. The things I like about it. It looks like a traditional bike. and it will fit on a bus’ front bike rack. But it only comes with a 48v 15AH battery. But with the savings I would make up on this I could easily buy two extra batteries. And it’s the lightest of the two. My other choice is
-
Wallke H6 Pro. Now I’m a heavy guy. and this bike is designed for the heavier rider. Plus it comes with a 40v 40AH battery pack. And you can upgrade with an extra internal 20AH battery so you would end up with 60AH total. at HALF the cost of the other 60AH models, the Aniioke A8 Pro Max, and the Eahora Juliet. Plus I like the fact that it folds into a somewhat compact size.
The downside to this model is you can’t take it on buses, although I can take it on our local subway. But with the range this models provides I wouldn’t need to take transit as much. Another downside is the weight. This thing is HEAVY. it comes in at 90lbs minus the battery.
So those are my current choices. Which would you choose?
I wouldn’t buy an ebike without a reputable North American company behind it. There’s plenty that can go wrong and it could quickly turn into $1200 in the garbage. I would skip on buying until I can afford something that reduces that risk, unless I absolutely need an ebike now.
An old buddy had a Trek e-bike that performed great, can second this.
With bikes you really don’t want the $200 Amazon KEKWING special…
And ESPECIALLY with e-bikes you do NOT want the $1200 OMEGAFORT special. These things pull some serious watts and it is not uncommon for the cheap ones to self ignite.
Seriously, if you’re going to put any amount of real daily use and dependence on it, you don’t want these
The problem with that philosophy is this is such a new field, that there really isn’t any “reputable” companies out there. They’re all brand new. They’re all making their names. I’m sure in a few years it will be different but right now that’s the current state.
That is definitely not the case, there are many well established, reputable ebike makers (Trek, Specialized, Fuji, Cube, Tern, etc.) but the bikes you linked aren’t.
If you’re looking for a budget option, go with something from REI. If you don’t have enough, keep saving, or consider taking a well made regular bicycle and using a decent conversion kit.
ebikes have been reasonably common for around 20 years. It’s just that they only got super popular in the last 5-10 years.
I almost bought one in 2006 but ended up buying a Trek mountain bike instead. I don’t really regret it though, I still ride the MTB today and I can’t even remember the name of the ebike maker so that ebike probably would’ve been toast years ago, never mind being able to source replacement batteries.
I’d at least like a company I know I can contact. My first ebike was from Ariel Rider, and the battery failed 15 months after I bought it. Which sucked, but at least I could get support to buy a replacement battery, even though they didn’t sell that model anymore. The company also had support that helped me spec the right brake pads, etc. for maintenance. It’s still running fine now, chewing through tires, but if I had to buy one again, I’d probably pick a bike I could get serviced in a bike shop instead of fussing around with email support and trying to do the grease monkey work myself.
You touch on an important point - maintenance. Getting a noname brand throws you into unknown territory when it comes to maintenance and you’d very likely have to go DIY when things start breaking. Brake pads are just one good example. Can’t find spares? Replace the brakes… that’s another $100-200.
Personally if I were trying to get a bike on a budget I’d get a throttle-only, no frills kit with Bafang or Shengyi from a reputable DIY shop that has good warranty like Grin (ebikes.ca) and slap that on a decent second hand steel frame bike. I’d also save money on picking up a smaller battery. Should something fail, Grin would take care of it. The steel frame would prevent any problems around the dropouts area and maintenance would be easy since most decent bikes sold in NA have pretty standard parts. Some mix of Sram, Shimano, Tektro, TRP, etc. Shimano for example is cheap and very reliable.
That’s just not true. There are companies that have been doing ebikes for over a decade now (Trek, Pedego, etc.). Heck even Rad is pretty old. There are also ebikes system manufacturers that have proven track records whose systems have gone through several generations of development (Bosch, Bafang, Shimano).
No way, there are definitely reputable, well established ebike companies out there. Most of them are the same ones who make reliable bicycles like Specialized and Trek. Ebikes aren’t really that new at this point, in fact the first electric bike was invented in 1895.
What makes a fundamentally good ebike though, is that underneath the motor and battery is a good, solid bicycle. Buying some cheap, fly by night no-name bike ups the odds that something breaks while you’re riding and you end up with a life altering injury. Worse yet, the poorly manufactured battery Alphabetsoupcompanyname used is more likely to catch on fire and that 15AH battery is now an incendiary bomb that burns your building down.
It’s really, really not worth it to gamble on random Amazon ebikes, go to your local bike shop or an REI instead.
Rad Power.
I’d stay away from cheap bicycles from China and especially far away from cheap bicycles with cheap batteries. Cheap batteries have a tendency to be made from low quality cells that degrade quickly and don’t hold the promised charge. Even worse they have a tendency to catch fire.
REI has some decent options in that price range and have a nice return policy for members.
Also there’s direct to consumer brands that will probably get you a better option than either of those bikes.
Rad Bikes has this bad boy for a very similar price.
Wow REI do indeed have some nice budget options. This is spectacular. Shimano all around, Tektro brakes (hydraulic), Bafang electrics. This should be very reliable and if something fails, there’s warranty, and there are spare parts. You can get aftermarket Bafang parts too. I’m running a Bafang G310 rear on my DIY build and it’s been supremely reliable. My wife’s noname hub broke twice in 3 years.
OP, look at this and REI’s in-house options.
E: I looked again and noticed it’s 48 pounds and the Q&A claims it’s got a torque sensor. If that’s truly the case, this will feel amazing to ride compared to cadence sensored bikes, which is the majority of cheap options.
Damn that is nice.
Op pls consider this instead of no name amazon
According to the Q&A it comes with a torque sensor. 🤯
I have a Bafang torque sensor fitted to my DIY build (different controller and computer) and that’s the best torque sensor I’ve tried and I’ve tried nearly everything available aftermarket (Sempu T2/T4, ERider, Thun RT, Enorau). It could be a cheaper version that measures axle bending instead of twisting but it would still feel way better than the cadence sensors typically fitted on the cheapest options.
This one does look interesting.
[edit] Guys, I’m 350 plus pounds. This thing has a 250 watt motor. I would crush this thing.
It’s 250W nominal, it likely peaks to over 500W given that its torque is 45Nm. That’s quite a bit. I’d be more worried about the strength of the frame and especially wheels (spoke failure, etc). It’s got a 300lbs weight limit. I doubt the other ones are stronger in this regard though.
One more thing, I looked again at those bikes you linked, the Wallke almost certainly doesn’t have a 1000W motor. 1000W motors are bigger than that. There’s no magic for packing more power in a small package and if there is, you won’t see it on this bike. The other one also looks like a standard 250/500W hub.
These are 250W, 500W, 1000W from left to right:
The last one is typically bigger than the standard disc rotor.
Only you can answer this.
How often do you take the bus today and will this bike change that and if so, how?
Are you going to have to lift it?
How does warranty and servicing compare?
What range do they have?
How long does it take to charge?
In other words, keep asking questions until you find a deal breaker…
Good luck, stay safe, have fun!
I will admit for me the big part is in lifting it. I live in a three story walk up. I’m only on the second floor so it’s not too bad. And we do have bike storage where I live but it’s permanently locked from 8pm to 8 am. There is a 1st floor “mud room” I could keep it in, but that is half a floor up also.
I don’t know how you’re with lifting 31kg but for me that would be completely impossible. I’m lifting a 15kg bike regularly and I can’t practically go over 18kg. This is double that.
I have dealt with carrying loads like that. I know it would be doable for me, but it would be very demoralising. Especially if there’s other baggage and I might be tired or hurting some days.
I wouldn’t underestimate the effect that the experience might have in how much use you get out of a thing. Cycling should be convenient and fun and quick.
On the other hand, free regular workout.
I’ve never heard of any of those bikes, but Onno’s comment is generally good advice.
I kind of think that a foldable ebike that weights that much reduces a lot of the utility of a folding bike. And that is a seriously heavy bike!
Make sure that it does what you want in your country. What I mean is, some countries have restrictions on ebikes that can be glossed over online.
I’m in the UK, and recently bought an ebike. I bought it because I’m disabled and struggled to get up the hills that surround my house. Everything I read led me to believe that I could use the throttle on the hills, and pedal on the flat, and slowly get back into shape.
I didn’t find out until afterwards that we can’t have throttles, and the top speed is limited to 15mph. Most people on sites like this are in the US, and a lot of enthusiasts tweak their bikes.
Make a list of what you’re expecting, and make sure that ebikes in your region can do it all.
Honestly, I wouldn’t get either of those. I have a heavy folding ebike myself but I regret the purchase and wish I’d saved up for something quality instead of a cheap bike shaped object. I spent hundreds after I bought my Engwe to try and make it safer, reliable, more ridable, but even after upgrading the brakes, getting Tannus Armor, a better saddle, tune ups, etc. it’s still nowhere near a bike from a decent brand.
If you’re looking for budget options, I’d recommend something one the less expensive end of REI’s bikes or maybe something from Lectric (but again, most of the folding ebikes out there are pretty pointless). Don’t order from these weird-ass Amazon companies with names straight out of a random name generator - it’s a waste of your money.
Don’t make the same mistake I did.
Personally being able to load it on the bus would be big for me. I live in a great transit area and combining it with biking makes it incredible.
I vote for the one with “more funs”.
Don’t we all need more funs?
Is bikes direct an option for you? https://www.bikesdirect.com/canada/
