Do any of you have any experience with E-Bikes ?

I'm intrigued with the Civi Cheetah.

They have some nice packages and comes with big beefy tires. It's set up as a cruiser and has lines like a Harley.

I am retiring soon and I think it would be fun to cruise around my neighborhood on.

Thoughts...

https://reallygoodebikes.com/p...-racer-electric-bike

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PR64,

Cool looking e-bike. That’s a Class 3, will provide electric assistance up to 28 mph, so in CA not allowed on “Class 1” (whatever that is) bike paths. Bike lanes and roads are OK, looks like.
I’m thinking of something that would be more like a hybrid or road bike, would not need that much power. Just something to help us get up the hills around San Diego.
We miss living in Davis from that standpoint—flat enough even us old farts could ride anywhere.

They are fun to ride and use. Especially helpful in hilly areas or to overcome age or physical limitation.

Issues include good ones are quite expensive, rules vary for throttle control and pedal-assisted only and the speed difference (class 3 class 1), and the never mentioned part of batteries needing replaced in 5 years if you're lucky and take proper care. Many early companies that don't make it will leave you scrambling for parts later. Suggest buying from a local shop who has a long history of e-bikes and service.

$2,300! Holy... That E-bike is more expensive than my first two cars!

I recently bought an E-Glide ST ( https://e-glidebike.com/index....de-s-t-electric-bike ), With upgraded tires and battery, it came in just shy of $2,000. It's a class 2 which means it's got a throttle but speed is limited to 20mph.

The riding experience has been good. It's over 30 years since I was last on a bike, so I've had to relearn some skills but I'm getting better at it. The power assist on hills is great and I'm learning to vary gears and power assist levels to let me put in the amount of effort my age and decrepitude will allow. So you can get as much of a workout as you want.

My buy was online, but I'd recommend you figure out what kind of riding you'll be doing, ride whatever is available to you, and take your time before buying.

I live near a nice little Downtown/Main Street area. If I do get the Cheetah I would use it mainly for cruising to main street and the local parks.

I think it will be fun and I can also get a little exercise while I'm at it.

The bike industry has been saved by two things over the last year, e-bikes and the buying frenzy caused by this pandemic. Every bike brand has put out various versions of electric bikes, the purists like to poo-poo it as inauthentic, the supporters view it as a leg-saver and endurance enhancer.

If you're a cross-county mtn biker, what would normally be a 25-bike ride after 2-3 hours, you could extend to a 50-mile ride instead with electric assist. If you live up a hill or, would like to plan a day around the lake, you don't have to worry about getting exhausted and worn-out. Windy areas, hilly areas, older folks and grocery jaunts, e-bikes have increased people getting out and peddling around.

One of my clients bought himself a Vintage Bicycles, speedy but, fast. All he has to do his hop-on, take the 8-mile ride down to the office, check his store, then ride back at the end of the day. Enjoys the ride, and doesn't have to worry about parking or, dealing with bad traffic.

For cruising around town and on your local park pathways these will definitely be fun and greatly reduce your required effort. Being throttle based it's essentially a bike shaped moped that you can pedal if you want (but not required). This bike doesn't specifically look like it's intended for mountain biking use, which is good since it's very unlikely the trails allow anything other than 'human power only'. The same may be true for your park paths, look into the local laws/rules.

I'm generally against these if you're remotely able bodied... If you're looking to extend your cycling lifetime, or have injuries that prevent you from enjoying the sport for whatever reason, then I'm all for it. That's regarding pedal ASSIST, not throttle based. What we mostly see around here are (impressively) out of shape people with the assist maxed out, or throttle cranked up, acting like they're a pro cyclist. I've been passed twice on a 1/4mi 5% grade hill this year by individuals FLYING up it without moving the pedals whatsoever. Both made comments about the hill being easy as they passed. Don't be that guy.

^^^^^^^I won't be a dick^^^^^^^

I'm thinking that I can leave my car in the garage instead of using it for little trips around town.

Do these need to be licensed to ride on streets or paths?

I love my Bulls monster efs ebike. It is a fat tire version so you can do just about anything with it including sand and snow. I like that it is assist vs throttle. So, I can do the work or get a little to a lot of help. It has Bosch motor which is quiet and smooth. All around lots of fun and helps me a great deal on my bad inflammatory days.



https://youtu.be/J_8eUrKVJgA

That bike looks really cool. However, consider the practicality of the bicycle also. That bike might be fine for making a trip up to the grocery store, or a quick trip around the neighborhood. But would it be comfortable for a longer ride? With it's geometry, would you be comfortable maneuvering it at 28 mph?

Class 1 bikes are pedal assist and limited to 20mph. These are allowed nearly everywhere, and more places open up to them everyday.

Class 2 bikes have a throttle, no pedaling required. These are not allowed in most places, but it I not a large enough problem yet that I have ever seen any enforcement.

Class 3 bikes are pedal assist and limited to 28mph. They are allowed in less places than Class 1, but the list is growing and the industry it fighting for this category to gain more acceptance.

Overall, e-bikes are a fun. They put smiles on people's faces, period. As someone who works in the industry, my prediction is that sometime between 2025-2030, e-bike sales will overtake traditional pedal bike sales in the independent bicycle dealer channel.

quote:

Originally posted by P226RN:
I love my Bulls monster efs ebike. It is a fat tire version so you can do just about anything with it including sand and snow. I like that it is assist vs throttle. So, I can do the work or get a little to a lot of help. It has Bosch motor which is quiet and smooth. All around lots of fun and helps me a great deal on my bad inflammatory days.

https://youtu.be/J_8eUrKVJgA

Cool Bike

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
$2,300! Holy... That E-bike is more expensive than my first two cars!

Did you have one of those new $1919 Pintos in 1971?

You can easily spend $6 grand or more on one of these.
Someone above mentioned Vintage Bikes.
Here’s a Vintage “Shelby” for over 7 grand.

When I was in high school, a new Porsche went for that.

I bought an Evelo Galaxy 24 inch in April to take with my RV. It has belt drive, 3-inch tires and throttle or pedal assist It has automatic or manual drive. Cost was $3500 on sale with free shipping from Seattle. Evelo has been in business a decade or more. Weight is 50-lbs. Panasonic battery.
Like it very much.

I bought a Haibike Sduro Trekking S 9.0 about a year ago. It's a class 3 (pedal assist, no throttle, assist drops out at 28 mph) ebike.

"Haibike" sounds like the name of some direct-from-China crap sold on Amazon but it's actually a high-end German mountain bike company that has been around for a long time, just not in the US.

Mine is basically a big, beefy hardtail mountain bike with fenders and a rear rack. All in, it weighs about 60 pounds.

I can ride my road bike (a ~10 year old nothing-special aluminum-frame Specialized) around 12-14 mph with minimal effort and around 18-20 mph for a couple of miles if I'm willing to work at it.

On the highest assist setting, I can ride my ebike 18-20 mph with minimal effort and 28 mph for a couple of miles if I'm willing to work at it. It's a lot of fun to ride, isn't at all scary at 28 mph (on a road), and handles cutting across road construction, grass, gravel paths, etc., in a way my road bike really can't.

Pre-COVID, it was also great for commuting - in the Texas heat, if I didn't want to arrive drenched in sweat, I'd have to go really slow on my road bike. I could go a lot faster on the ebike (there's some synergy there - the same effort meant going faster, which also meant more wind to keep cool, which meant I could put out a little more effort without turning into a sweatball).

I pulled the trigger and ordered the Cheetah today.

I’m looking forward to getting it and cruising around Downtown.

My family business closedown for good on Friday and this is a retirement present to myself.

We had planned the closing for the past 10 years.

We could have kept it open but we are tired of the California rules and wages.

I’ll update you guys on my E-Bike when I get it in a couple of weeks.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
You can easily spend $6 grand or more on one of these.
Someone above mentioned Vintage Bikes.
Here’s a Vintage “Shelby” for over 7 grand.

When I was in high school, a new Porsche went for that.

That bike looks amazing.

I would love an e-bike. Prices are a little more then I am willing to pay right now. 20 some years ago I did a decent amount of mountain biking. Back then I could peddle up and down single track hills all day long. These days not really. Still have my Gary Fisher bike. While it works and has top of the line components for that time it just doesn't compete with today's stuff.