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Never made it to Ballard to see Rad Bikes.
Cataract surgery tomorrow. No riding for a few weeks.
YMMV
Well, we were this close to buying a pair of the Rad Power Mini 2 Step-Thru & the Mini 4 models tomorrow, 4/3/22, because I just happened to find out just yesterday that those models have bene discontinued & that there were just a few left at my closest Rad Power store...a 2 hrs' drive away (1-way). But, after reading the lowest BBB & Yelp reviews, we decided against it & we weren't going to let excitement & the need to snap them up before they were all gone get the better of us. If they're discontinued, so be it.
The thing is, those bikes seemed great...ALL kinds of positive youtube reviews, but, no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChessieMom
Why not just get regular bikes? I don't understand the appeal of e-bikes, and it sounds like they are mostly a PITA as well.
A person may not ever understand unless they test ride one themselves. Have you by any chance? It's just extremely fun & exhilarating & for myself & many others, once you go e-bike, you never want to go back to a regular bike...unless you want a regular one for more/pure exercise purposes. Not that regular bikes aren't fun, I know they are too, but there's something about e-bikes plus it's still some exercise too. You'll just have to ride one one day & see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alloo66
I've heard great things about this ebike. Good luck!
I thought so too, but in doing more research, they're pretty crappy. Even th cheapest bike will be alright the first week or month, maybe up to 3 mos.
We know nothing on this earth is perfect, a person just hopes when they choose a product to buy, whether it be a car, computer, bike, etc., that it's going to be something that will give us the LEAST amt of problems.
The best thing is to buy VERY locally so when repairs have eto be done you're not driving way across town in bad traffic, etc. (like what we had to do w/ our 1st pair of e-bikes) & we'll just have to save up more $ to get better quality because I guess the saying is still true...you get what you pay for for the most part.
We had mountain bikes and motorcycles before, the last was a Kawasaki GPZ 1100. At my age of 76 I don't trust myself on a superbike, and with the extremely steep hills here in Paradise, pedaling a mountain bike is very exhausting. But I miss both, especially the GPZ.
Then here come the ebikes.So why should I get one?
# 1 --- we have a new puppy, a mini poodle, with the energy of a heavily-modified Dodge Hellcat. I take him for walks but I get pooped before he's warmed up. I thought taking him for a ride, on a leash running next to the bike would help with his exercise needs.
# 2 --- if I ever lose my driving privileges, with an ebike I can get to grocery stores, banks, doctors office, everything here is 3 miles from our house. Small towns have benefits.
After much research I selected an Xpremium from the Lectric Bike Company, located in Arizona.Before the purchase I called their tech support and the man who picked up the phone in less than 30 seconds was happy to enlighten me in my deep ignorance; we chatted for 20 minutes. Then I sent them an email about a trivial issue and someone replied the same day, late Saturday afternoon. Amazing.
I placed an order and 3 days later I was setting up the bike in our garage. About 70 minutes later I went for a ride. We are blessed here in Paradise with the lack of traffic and I felt safer on the bike than in my car in Fullerton, Orange County, CA; the place we lived before retirement.
The Xpremium from Lectric Bikes has 2 batteries for extended range. Depending on the small print, the range varies from 40 to 100 miles. In our town, 6 miles from one end to the other, range isn't important. What matters is that even on our steepest hills I can ride up at 10-12 mph with light pedaling or using throttle only. On flat land the top speed is 28 mph, which is plenty in a place where speeds are limited to 35 mph or less. The brakes are disc, front and rear, hydraulic. Flying down a steep hill at 30 I'm happy to know they work well.
The drivetrain has a mid-motor, while other bikes have a hub motor. Debating the two is like going back to VHS or Betamax. There are three modes: all manual, pedaling with the power off, pedaling with power on and variable motor assist, or no pedaling, only on throttle, like a motorcycle. Throttle mode combined with pedaling and motor assist offers the highest speed and acceleration. Handling, compared to the much lighter road and mountain bikes I had before, is clumsy. With a weight of 75 lbs and the 4-inch-wide tires, the Xpremium isn't made for racing.
Both batteries are removable, so someone can lift the bike easier. It is foldable, but I doubt I'll ever use that feature.
The ride comfort, compared to a superbike, is harsh. Then again, look where we live. With the endless construction, underground utilities etc, our streets are torn up and repaved every 5-6 weeks, and the roads are worse than most 3rd-world countries. In the average American city with decent roads the Xpremium would be fine.
If someone wants to learn about ebikes, and there are a hundred different makes to choose from, I found the best place for answers is YouTube on your computer. We paid $ 1797 with tax, more than double my last mountain bike from 2015, but I think it was worth the price, considering how much more I can do with this thing without ending up in the ER with a heart attack. Life is good. Life is better on an ebike.
I will update this post once I get more experience, the good and the bad. It didn't want to shift at the beginning into 1st gear, but a minor adjustment of the derailleur took care of that. YouTube is your friend.
Last edited by mgforshort; 04-12-2023 at 05:00 PM..
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
13,062 posts, read 7,497,585 times
Reputation: 9788
I have a Lectric XP 2.0 step thru (foldable). Only used the foldable feature in winter of 2021 but not this year.
Got about 1000miles. (73 yo)
Nice bike on paved or packed gravel. Didn't like the baskets and I sold them to someone who also carries his dogs around. Also someone who is 70ish. I opted to use use rear, rack mounted saddlebags. The baskets are really heavy.
I am range bound at 32-40 miles, mixed hills and flatland and PAS level. Late this month, will be doing a Ebike outing to the dryside Wenatchee WA, to see the fruit tree blooms. hauling a 78# Ebike is not easy with limited range. My alternative is buying another LectricBike battery ($300 or $500 depending on size); Buying an off brand battery with or without electronic-battery-balancer, Or buy a Propella branded (local to me) Ebike that my son owns and use his bike's battery to extend my range.
Likely, I will opt for a Propella Mini (18" rims, 1.75"tires, 33#) for its upright sitting, and I can easily put on the train or bus for city touring or paved trails. Renting an ebike will cost +$80/day.
Have test ride scheduled with my seat and handlebar extender for more upright riding.
I have also ridden a Rad City Bike, step thru, for 20+ miles, similar to Lectric's step thru. Nice.
Lectric, Rad, and Propella are branded bikes. I make no endorsements.
YBMV.
Last edited by leastprime; 04-12-2023 at 08:32 PM..
In a little late to the party, It's to bad the Motiv's gave you so much trouble. They are the nicest looking small E-Bikes of all. I have had the full size Motiv's for 3 years and have No problem's what so ever. My Grandson has the lectric Lite and loves it. Hope everything works out for you guy's.
Glad to see more posts on here & that you're enjoying your e-bikes! We still haven't bought any new bikes yet, but we still plan to & by then, more new models will have probably come out.
I'd still like a foldable overall, but it might not have to be. Main things I want are:
- 750W motor at least
- Minimum seat height of 31" or less
- Full suspension
- 3" wide tires (as opposed to the usual 4"), but that's rare to find
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