r/ElectricBikes

Hey Reddit.

I have decided to start a top secret mission to obtain an Electric Bike for my friend. He had discussed buying one as it'd allow him to have an easier time traveling across the city, as his current occupation is on the opposite side of town from the side that he lives on. He usually rides the city bus to get there. But since the city bus system in our area is undergoing a huge series of alterations, this may not be an option right now. I realize that he said he'd buy it himself. But as his friend and someone that has seen how dedicated he is to showing up to all his shifts in order to support his mother and seeing how he swallow being called in on his off days with a smile. I want to do this for him.

I'm not really sure the type of Electric Bike that I should be searching up. I want the bike to be reliable and easily repairable. But ideally I want it to be the type that doesn't need to be repaired often and can weather constant use and abuse without folding. I want it to be a comfortable ride, and ideally to have space to store a medium-sized EDC bag or binder without worrying that it'll be dropped or fall out during the ride. I want it to have the type of power that can allow someone to put most of the effort on the bike during extended rides, allowing them to rest while the bike generates most of the necessary power so that he doesn't have to wear himself out as he's peddling it. It'd be nice if it had lights, since he may be traveling on roads. Having the ability to shift gears will be nice too.

I can't really think of any other requirements. So I'll summarize the ones that I have here and add others as they come to me.

• a reliable e-bike.
• a easily repairable e-bike.
• an e-bike that can survive heavy use and abuse.
• an e-bike that is comfortable during extended rides.
• an e-bike that has space to carry medium sized bags without worrying about them being dropped.
• an e-bike that can provide sufficient or adequate power to allow the user to not tire themself out during extended rides across the city.
• an e-bike with reflective lights.
• an e-bike that can gear shift.

I'm not a millionaire. So it'd be nice if it was under $1000 and even better if there's an e-bike that meetd my criteria under $500. He's into motorcycles and motorbikes. So discovering an e-bike with a similar appearance is a huge bonus.

If you have any advice, suggestions or can point me in the (right) direction of the type or types of e-bikes that I ought to be researching and considering, I'd really appreciate it. I appreciate your time!

Cheers!

So, hello I need a electric bike that's okay on a buget of 400dolaroos,something that is fun to ride, not to impress someone but me only. I need to have some acceleration and top speed of 30kmph

Hi guys,

just bought one of those china e bikes (A Spadz Cavet air). When I charge the bike, the LED never gets green. After hours and hours of charging i unplug the charger, put it back in, and then it suddenly turns green and the temperature of the charger sinks.

Why is that? I am scared to leave it overnight to charge if it obviously can't recognize when the battery is full. Is it broken?

I appreciate any kind of answer or help. Thank you!

Hello All. I recently (2 months) purchased a Buzz Cerana 2, which I know is a pretty cheap entry level e-bike. I have some questions about battery charging and capacity. When I charge the battery for overnight (or more), it starts at 95%. It then drops quickly and even sometimes goes slightly back up as I ride. This morning I rode 6.5 miles and it was at 26%, which seems like a lot of battery to use. Are my expectations too high? Would a replacement battery get me more range? I am so far loving the bike, just worried about stranding myself. Thanks!

Amazon has a couple but i want i something like the Aventon has built in, texting if bike is moved, gps tracking.

maybe i can turn an old cell into an alarm system?

tracking

i went into buying an e-bike thinking it would be simple. i assumed finding the best ebike would mostly come down to motor power, battery size, maybe brand reputation, and then just picking whichever one had the best specs for the money.

after spending way too much time researching, test riding, and talking to people who actually owned them, i realized e-bikes are one of those purchases where the spec sheet tells maybe half the story. a lot of what makes one feel good vs bad only becomes obvious once you understand how they’re actually used day to day.

the first thing i learned is that most people massively over-focus on speed and wattage when they start shopping. everyone gets drawn to 750W, 1000W, 28mph top speed, all that stuff. and while that sounds impressive, the reality is that unless you’re buying for very specific terrain or hauling serious weight, raw power usually isn’t what makes an e-bike enjoyable. what matters more is how smoothly that power is delivered. a bike with slightly less power but smoother pedal assist can feel dramatically better to ride than a more powerful bike that jerks every time the motor kicks in.

that was probably the first big mindset shift for me: the best e-bike on paper is not always the best one to actually ride. smoothness matters way more than headline specs.

the second thing i learned is that range claims are borderline useless unless you understand how they’re measured. when a company says up to 70 miles, what they usually mean is ideal conditions, light rider, flat terrain, lowest assist mode, barely any throttle use. in real-world use, especially if you’re riding aggressively or using throttle a lot, you can cut that number down way faster than people expect. i know multiple people who bought based on range marketing and were shocked when they got nowhere near the advertised numbers. after hearing enough stories, i started looking at battery size in watt-hours instead of trusting mileage claims, and honestly that made comparing bikes way easier.

another thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is weight. a lot of first-time buyers focus entirely on motor and battery and forget that many e-bikes are heavy. like, way heavier than you expect until you try lifting one. and that matters more than people realize. if you ever have to carry it upstairs, lift it onto a rack, move it through tight spaces, or ride it with the battery dead, suddenly that extra weight becomes very noticeable. i’ve seen people buy huge fat tire bikes because they looked cool, then slowly hate using them because moving them around became a chore.

speaking of fat tire bikes, i learned pretty quickly that they’re not automatically better either, even though a lot of newer buyers get drawn to them. yes, they look aggressive and they’re comfortable, but unless you’re actually riding rough terrain, sand, snow, or trails regularly, they can feel like overkill. more rolling resistance, more bulk, more weight. for normal commuting or city riding, a cleaner commuter-style frame with normal tires often just feels easier and more practical.

the part nobody prepared me for was how much maintenance and serviceability matter. when people compare brands, they obsess over specs, but what matters just as much is whether you can actually get replacement parts or service if something goes wrong. because eventually something will go wrong. brakes need adjustment, batteries degrade, electronics fail, tires wear out. and suddenly the best deal doesn’t feel like such a deal anymore if your bike has some weird proprietary part or no local support. one of the most common regrets i heard from owners was not buying from a company with decent support.

something else i noticed after talking to a lot of owners: most people end up realizing pretty fast what type of rider they actually are. a lot of buyers imagine themselves doing long adventurous rides every weekend, trail riding, exploring everywhere. then six months later the bike is mostly being used for errands, commuting, and casual rides around town. so i think a lot of people overbuy for the version of themselves they imagine instead of the way they’ll realistically use it.

if i had to simplify everything i learned into one table, it would probably be this:

the biggest realization for me overall was that buying the best e bike isn’t really about finding the bike with the craziest specs. it’s about finding the one that fits how you’ll realistically use it. the person commuting daily to work needs something very different from the person doing weekend trail rides, and both need something different from the person just cruising casually around the neighborhood.

once i stopped asking what’s the best e bike? and started asking what kind of riding will i actually do 90% of the time? the decision got a lot easier.

curious if anyone else had the same experience where what you thought mattered before buying ended up being totally different from what mattered after actually owning one