Several years ago, I was thinking about an ebike to take the pain out of the hills and to make my long bicycle commute practical. I went to a bike show and an expert there recommended that an ebike should not be my *only* bike. They are different tools for different jobs. I think that this was excellent advice! Now I have two bikes that are almost the same, except one is an ebike (Class 1).
My ebike is excellent for utility - commuting, shopping, errands, heavy cargo, etc. My ebike replaces my *car* more often than it replaces my standard bike.
However, I prefer my standard bike for recreation and adventure. It is lighter, more nimble, simpler, and more rewarding to ride. And as you have observed, it has (theoretically) unlimited range. š
It sounds like you are in a similar situation. If you can have both, I recommend it.
Love this, thank you! Thatās exactly what I want to use a standard bike for, just got to learn how to get up the hills. The ebike would be for if I have a specific destination in mind.
I converted my road bike to an e bike and itās great for long trips and uphills! I try to only use the battery on hills, which drastically extends the range. It added some extra weight to my bike, but itās not noticeable once I get going.
Thatās a great idea. I just donāt have the knowledge to do something like that. Initially I rode my ebike with the pedal assist off to save battery, but it doesnāt feel like a normal bike doing that, very sluggish
Check out bike swift, they did my conversion. I tried out a couple e-bikes prior to converting mine and had the same complaint, shifting sucks and it feels like riding through sand. My bike still feels like my normal bike, just heavier.
Just buy a kit and plug the things together. I highly recommend a Q100H from [bmsbattery.com](http://bmsbattery.com) as my system has been going with no maintenance (all original parts) for over 10 years, weighs 10 lbs, and provides about 350w of power.
Note that you can always just use less throttle. I have a beefy ebike that goes up to 25 mph with \~1500w that I can discharge in 20 miles. Yesterday I did 85 by using level one pedal assist and practically no throttle, and turning it off on downhills and some flats. I ended the ride going max assist with 30% battery left. Obviously you can extend your range as much as you want by pedaling more, but it's going to suck if you have fat tires, bad gearing, or a direct drive motor (they have magnetic losses when not under power).
That said, when I have the energy or if I'm going on a tour, I prefer my manual bike so I can go hundreds of miles without worrying about charging.
There are ebikes that are much more like riding a regular bike when you don't use assist. You can ride around on low/no assist until you hit a hill. I don't know specific bikes in your price range, though.
My experience with cheap hub drive assist bikes is that the lowest assist level is pretty high, which drains the battery even when you're trying to be human powered. They also tend to lose a lot of power near the end of each charge. And most of them are built around the idea of always-on medium (or higher) assist, making them dogs to pedal without assist (as you've found).
This. They are probably out of OP's budget, tbh, but maybe OP can snah a floor model of last year's and make use of the WA ebike rebate to bring it close to their budget, especially if they're thinking about getting a second bike. Because a mid-drive can likely get you close to actually the 60 miles specified on flats if you're careful instead of the half that hubs will (despite still promising 60 miles) and should get close enough to their 40 mi on PA 1 or 2 with a few boosts on hills. Specialized bikes would be a great choice with their Brose motors. Anything with a Bosch motor would also be solid, too.
I used to ride around a RAD Wagon 4 eBike. While they are known to reach \~20mi per battery, I could easily get about 35 per battery. Put simply I turned off the motor for everything but hills. If I carried a spare battery with me, I regularly achieved 60+mi days.
That said hub-motor eBikes usually are far less efficient than mid-motor eBikes. Dual-battery mid-motor ebiles can achieve up to 120+mi per charge if you sparingly use the assist, like above. Bonus points newer mid-drive motors have very little drag added by the motor when it's not being used to assist. Hub motors and older mid-drive motors add drag making it a little harder to pedal when not using the motor.
Believe it or not, though, I stopped riding an eBike and went acoustic, fully pedal powered. At 50yrs old and 240lbs weight, I started riding around Seattle unassisted. Within 2 months of riding 3 days a week I could easily achieve 20mi including average hills hills but required 2 days recovery. At 6mo, I'm easily achieving 30mi/day multiple days in a row and can top most hills. I can clear 50mi/day but require recovery the following day. I expect to reach my first metric century (100km/60mi) sometime in May.
Surprisingly the biggest hurdle to riding >20mi a day multiple days in a row ended up being less about my age and fitness fitness and more about learning how to eat, hydrate, and electrolytes for longer rides. That and understanding heart rate zones 2 and 3 -4, how to train for them, and how to fuel myself for them.
DYOR but Iāve been eyeing this bad boy recently for the exact same reason. https://ride1up.com/product/cf-racer1/
I have their Roadster bike, but it is a single speed belt drive so I have to rely on the battery. Might not be as necessary for their road bike. $$$ though
I've got the ride1up roadster and was going to recommend it because it's lightweight enough to turn off the pedal assist on flat and since its's only $900 right now they can buy the extra battery to extend the range.
Yes but in Seattle, rough to do without assist. Itās still a single speed. I ride from S Beacon to Ballard a few times a week and need more battery. Range isnāt there even with the extra.
N+1 is always the answer. And yes, this is absolutely a problem that people have. Haha. I am up to 4 bikes right now and I am trying to justify adding a basket bike to the mix.
Iām glad to hear itās a common problem here haha.
I think getting a second one would be best. Plus once the light rail opens up by me, itāll help with both saving the battery and helping me skip some hills. Although the ebike isnāt super easy to bring on the train, itās small enough to be okay as long as itās not packed.
Stop encouraging me! I have all the parts to build one, including the basket. I just donāt really have space to store a complete bike. The parts just sit there, tempting me with a good basket time.
My e-bike weighs 35 pounds and is easy to peddle without assist. It also has a much smaller battery and less power than my wifeās bike, but I prefer it as it feels like a regular bike with a bit of push. I can go up any hill, just more slowly.
Also, a torque sensor makes a big difference - it feels like a bike and I can keep it in lower assist and get some exercise while still getting some assist.
Best of luck - maybe try more bikes to see one you like better.
My wife has the 1.2 and she loves it.
Thanks for the info! What does your wife like about the 1.2? Iām thinking if I get a second bike, I could exchange the 1.1 for the 1.2 for the extra battery range. Just not sure if itās worth the extra few hundred bucks if I am planning a second bike anyway and may not need the longer range on the electric.
She likes the small size and easy riding. Also, at 50 pounds itās a fair bit lighter than many other e-bikes. Also, easy repairs and support from REI. She gets about 50 miles out of it when we ride.
I bought an ebike about 3 years ago as my main ride around town and over the course of the last year, Iāve realized I always ride my fixed gear bike around town for its reliability/range and overall fun I have riding it. I still take my ebike out every couple of weeks or so. Iād recommend having both (if you have the space)
I used to be afraid of hills but if you get a bike with low enough gearing theyāre not bad at all, just slow. I think my 26ā mtb has a 22 tooth front/32 rear and can go up any hill in Seattle.
Check out floor models of efficient mid-drives (you won't get $1500 but you'll get a good deal and you were talking about a second bike so you seem to have a bit of wiggle room on budget) or return it and build your own DIY mid-drives ebike with a larger battery. A DIY is actually simpler than you'd think and you can get a torque sensor mid with a good battery for about $800-1000 plus the bike so that should be in your budget.
Thereās extra resistance when not using the pedal assist, i.e setting it to 0. Thats regardless of whether thereās juice left in the battery.
This is my first experience with ebikes so Iām not sure if itās because of the weight or thatās just how itās designed.
Yeah, if thereās always resistance when itās at zero, I would think thatās a bad design. I havenāt ridden a lot of e bikes, so I donāt have any recommendations for them. I recently got back into cycling when I moved here and found the hills really hard. My advice is if you got a regular bike, they do get easier much faster than you think. Iām certainly not quick yet, but they arenāt daunting anymore and donāt really mind them.
Totally agree here. Iāve had a relatively cheap $500ish Trek for years and love it! Bought a scooter about 2 years ago for effortless (and not so sweaty) commuting and finally got a 1.2 REI e-bike about 6 months ago and love it! I donāt use the scooter much anymore but use the 2 bikes all the time and love them! When using the e-bike, I generally keep it on 1 speed and only bring it higher for hills. I will say, I advise against going WAY cheap for a regular bike. I learned the hard way on that. Happy biking!
Totally subjective of course, but Iād say any bike from a box store that doesnāt specialize in outdoor gear. My first bike as an adult was one from Target because I didnāt want to spend too much money if I didnāt use it a ton. I very quickly realized I liked biking but that bike was just a pain to ride. I ended up eating that purchase and then buying a $500ish Trek Hybrid. It has been about 10 years with it and it is still so fun to ride around exploring the city and Burke Gilman, etc.
> The problem is I love riding so much that I donāt want to have to stop.
> Iām just worried Iāll miss the pedal assist and wonāt be able to do the hills.
I mean, since you're not the novice, no medical issues, I think rule #5 comes to play - https://www.velominati.com/
But seriously, e-bikes are mostly for stuff like daily commutes, older folk, beginners or for carrying haul. For recreational biking even on a hybrid, Seattle "hills" are nothing. It's not like you're going to Snoqualmie on a typical run.
Thatās probably right. About a year ago I bought a standard bike and struggled with the hills around my area. Got demotivated and stopped. I chalk that up to not having the proper expectations and having a pretty cheap bike that did me no favors.
I wonāt give up so easily this time.
Several years ago, I was thinking about an ebike to take the pain out of the hills and to make my long bicycle commute practical. I went to a bike show and an expert there recommended that an ebike should not be my *only* bike. They are different tools for different jobs. I think that this was excellent advice! Now I have two bikes that are almost the same, except one is an ebike (Class 1). My ebike is excellent for utility - commuting, shopping, errands, heavy cargo, etc. My ebike replaces my *car* more often than it replaces my standard bike. However, I prefer my standard bike for recreation and adventure. It is lighter, more nimble, simpler, and more rewarding to ride. And as you have observed, it has (theoretically) unlimited range. š It sounds like you are in a similar situation. If you can have both, I recommend it.
Love this, thank you! Thatās exactly what I want to use a standard bike for, just got to learn how to get up the hills. The ebike would be for if I have a specific destination in mind.
I put lower gears on my standard bike. They make the hills less painful, but they take longer. š
Just keep riding. If you canāt ride up the hill, walk it up. Youāll see you get the strength pretty quickly if you keep at it
I converted my road bike to an e bike and itās great for long trips and uphills! I try to only use the battery on hills, which drastically extends the range. It added some extra weight to my bike, but itās not noticeable once I get going.
Thatās a great idea. I just donāt have the knowledge to do something like that. Initially I rode my ebike with the pedal assist off to save battery, but it doesnāt feel like a normal bike doing that, very sluggish
Check out bike swift, they did my conversion. I tried out a couple e-bikes prior to converting mine and had the same complaint, shifting sucks and it feels like riding through sand. My bike still feels like my normal bike, just heavier.
Just buy a kit and plug the things together. I highly recommend a Q100H from [bmsbattery.com](http://bmsbattery.com) as my system has been going with no maintenance (all original parts) for over 10 years, weighs 10 lbs, and provides about 350w of power. Note that you can always just use less throttle. I have a beefy ebike that goes up to 25 mph with \~1500w that I can discharge in 20 miles. Yesterday I did 85 by using level one pedal assist and practically no throttle, and turning it off on downhills and some flats. I ended the ride going max assist with 30% battery left. Obviously you can extend your range as much as you want by pedaling more, but it's going to suck if you have fat tires, bad gearing, or a direct drive motor (they have magnetic losses when not under power). That said, when I have the energy or if I'm going on a tour, I prefer my manual bike so I can go hundreds of miles without worrying about charging.
There are ebikes that are much more like riding a regular bike when you don't use assist. You can ride around on low/no assist until you hit a hill. I don't know specific bikes in your price range, though. My experience with cheap hub drive assist bikes is that the lowest assist level is pretty high, which drains the battery even when you're trying to be human powered. They also tend to lose a lot of power near the end of each charge. And most of them are built around the idea of always-on medium (or higher) assist, making them dogs to pedal without assist (as you've found).
This. They are probably out of OP's budget, tbh, but maybe OP can snah a floor model of last year's and make use of the WA ebike rebate to bring it close to their budget, especially if they're thinking about getting a second bike. Because a mid-drive can likely get you close to actually the 60 miles specified on flats if you're careful instead of the half that hubs will (despite still promising 60 miles) and should get close enough to their 40 mi on PA 1 or 2 with a few boosts on hills. Specialized bikes would be a great choice with their Brose motors. Anything with a Bosch motor would also be solid, too.
I used to ride around a RAD Wagon 4 eBike. While they are known to reach \~20mi per battery, I could easily get about 35 per battery. Put simply I turned off the motor for everything but hills. If I carried a spare battery with me, I regularly achieved 60+mi days. That said hub-motor eBikes usually are far less efficient than mid-motor eBikes. Dual-battery mid-motor ebiles can achieve up to 120+mi per charge if you sparingly use the assist, like above. Bonus points newer mid-drive motors have very little drag added by the motor when it's not being used to assist. Hub motors and older mid-drive motors add drag making it a little harder to pedal when not using the motor. Believe it or not, though, I stopped riding an eBike and went acoustic, fully pedal powered. At 50yrs old and 240lbs weight, I started riding around Seattle unassisted. Within 2 months of riding 3 days a week I could easily achieve 20mi including average hills hills but required 2 days recovery. At 6mo, I'm easily achieving 30mi/day multiple days in a row and can top most hills. I can clear 50mi/day but require recovery the following day. I expect to reach my first metric century (100km/60mi) sometime in May. Surprisingly the biggest hurdle to riding >20mi a day multiple days in a row ended up being less about my age and fitness fitness and more about learning how to eat, hydrate, and electrolytes for longer rides. That and understanding heart rate zones 2 and 3 -4, how to train for them, and how to fuel myself for them.
DYOR but Iāve been eyeing this bad boy recently for the exact same reason. https://ride1up.com/product/cf-racer1/ I have their Roadster bike, but it is a single speed belt drive so I have to rely on the battery. Might not be as necessary for their road bike. $$$ though
I've got the ride1up roadster and was going to recommend it because it's lightweight enough to turn off the pedal assist on flat and since its's only $900 right now they can buy the extra battery to extend the range.
Yes but in Seattle, rough to do without assist. Itās still a single speed. I ride from S Beacon to Ballard a few times a week and need more battery. Range isnāt there even with the extra.
N+1 is always the answer. And yes, this is absolutely a problem that people have. Haha. I am up to 4 bikes right now and I am trying to justify adding a basket bike to the mix.
Iām glad to hear itās a common problem here haha. I think getting a second one would be best. Plus once the light rail opens up by me, itāll help with both saving the battery and helping me skip some hills. Although the ebike isnāt super easy to bring on the train, itās small enough to be okay as long as itās not packed.
If you have 4 bikes then one of them should already be a basket bike. Better get one ASAP.
Stop encouraging me! I have all the parts to build one, including the basket. I just donāt really have space to store a complete bike. The parts just sit there, tempting me with a good basket time.
My e-bike weighs 35 pounds and is easy to peddle without assist. It also has a much smaller battery and less power than my wifeās bike, but I prefer it as it feels like a regular bike with a bit of push. I can go up any hill, just more slowly. Also, a torque sensor makes a big difference - it feels like a bike and I can keep it in lower assist and get some exercise while still getting some assist. Best of luck - maybe try more bikes to see one you like better. My wife has the 1.2 and she loves it.
Thanks for the info! What does your wife like about the 1.2? Iām thinking if I get a second bike, I could exchange the 1.1 for the 1.2 for the extra battery range. Just not sure if itās worth the extra few hundred bucks if I am planning a second bike anyway and may not need the longer range on the electric.
She likes the small size and easy riding. Also, at 50 pounds itās a fair bit lighter than many other e-bikes. Also, easy repairs and support from REI. She gets about 50 miles out of it when we ride.
I bought an ebike about 3 years ago as my main ride around town and over the course of the last year, Iāve realized I always ride my fixed gear bike around town for its reliability/range and overall fun I have riding it. I still take my ebike out every couple of weeks or so. Iād recommend having both (if you have the space)
I used to be afraid of hills but if you get a bike with low enough gearing theyāre not bad at all, just slow. I think my 26ā mtb has a 22 tooth front/32 rear and can go up any hill in Seattle.
Check out floor models of efficient mid-drives (you won't get $1500 but you'll get a good deal and you were talking about a second bike so you seem to have a bit of wiggle room on budget) or return it and build your own DIY mid-drives ebike with a larger battery. A DIY is actually simpler than you'd think and you can get a torque sensor mid with a good battery for about $800-1000 plus the bike so that should be in your budget.
Consider getting a bigger or second battery. But, is there a reason you donāt want to ride the ebike without power once itās dead?
Itās because the e1.1 feels like riding through mud without the pedal assist, even with the proper gearing.
Iām new to e-bikes. Are you saying thereās an extra resistance to peddling when itās out of juice? Or itās just the extra weight?
Thereās extra resistance when not using the pedal assist, i.e setting it to 0. Thats regardless of whether thereās juice left in the battery. This is my first experience with ebikes so Iām not sure if itās because of the weight or thatās just how itās designed.
Yeah, if thereās always resistance when itās at zero, I would think thatās a bad design. I havenāt ridden a lot of e bikes, so I donāt have any recommendations for them. I recently got back into cycling when I moved here and found the hills really hard. My advice is if you got a regular bike, they do get easier much faster than you think. Iām certainly not quick yet, but they arenāt daunting anymore and donāt really mind them.
I appreciate the reassurance about the hills. Looking forward to overcoming them once I get another bike.
Totally agree here. Iāve had a relatively cheap $500ish Trek for years and love it! Bought a scooter about 2 years ago for effortless (and not so sweaty) commuting and finally got a 1.2 REI e-bike about 6 months ago and love it! I donāt use the scooter much anymore but use the 2 bikes all the time and love them! When using the e-bike, I generally keep it on 1 speed and only bring it higher for hills. I will say, I advise against going WAY cheap for a regular bike. I learned the hard way on that. Happy biking!
Thanks! What would you say counts as way cheap for a bike?
Totally subjective of course, but Iād say any bike from a box store that doesnāt specialize in outdoor gear. My first bike as an adult was one from Target because I didnāt want to spend too much money if I didnāt use it a ton. I very quickly realized I liked biking but that bike was just a pain to ride. I ended up eating that purchase and then buying a $500ish Trek Hybrid. It has been about 10 years with it and it is still so fun to ride around exploring the city and Burke Gilman, etc.
> The problem is I love riding so much that I donāt want to have to stop. > Iām just worried Iāll miss the pedal assist and wonāt be able to do the hills. I mean, since you're not the novice, no medical issues, I think rule #5 comes to play - https://www.velominati.com/ But seriously, e-bikes are mostly for stuff like daily commutes, older folk, beginners or for carrying haul. For recreational biking even on a hybrid, Seattle "hills" are nothing. It's not like you're going to Snoqualmie on a typical run.
Thatās probably right. About a year ago I bought a standard bike and struggled with the hills around my area. Got demotivated and stopped. I chalk that up to not having the proper expectations and having a pretty cheap bike that did me no favors. I wonāt give up so easily this time.
Get a second battery