Essentially, title. Is it ok to ask for recommendations here? Looking to buy a scooter, possibly an ebike, and I don’t want to accidentally buy a piece of crap.
Previously, I owned a vsett8, which became inoperable and unfixable the first time it was rained on (I don’t have it anymore). Before that, a turbowheel lightning, which I loved until it was stolen.
Now though, I’m on a tight budget and everything is more expensive than ever.
Are there reputable ‘buyers guides’ that this community can recommend? Or maybe you’ve had good experience with a model/brand/seller?
EDIT: ok, i’ve got a list to check out. Thank you everyone. Y’all probably won’t hear from me again until I’ve done the research and made a decision. I’ll probably make a new post later on detailing what I’ve found and how I made my decision. Might be a while tho.
Im a fan of Lectric ebikes. They pack a lot of features and quality into a rock bottom price, and seem to be in a good position as a company, so no sudden bankruptcy leaving you stranded like some brands recently.
I bought one of their ebikes, and was impressed at the overall quality. They do tend to use “generic” or “in house” bike components to likely save on spend, but nothing seems shoddy. My bike has a 750w motor and is a class 3, so it can and does hit 28mph smoothly and easily and has a 20-40 mile real world range.
I did have an issue with a leaky hydraulic brake line after storing it for a few months. I reached out to them about it, and they instantly mailed me a replacement brake and lever for free. That was nice, but as a counter point their “break replacement” video was for an entirely different model and was only about 70% applicable.
Some give and take to be sure, but I’m glad to have the bike and would buy again.
I’ve seen a few Lectric ebikes in the wild. Nice aesthetics, but I also greatly appreciate the first hand experience.
If you’re also looking at budget bikes in the US, Ride1up is another option. I have a Portola and like it quite a bit, though I’ve only got about 150 miles on it so far. Lectric is pretty well regarded as budget bikes go as well.
I’m honestly happy with it. I’d recommend buying their latest model if you do opt for one, as they tend to make big improvements to lots of things each generation.
They just released a new folding bike if you’re interested in that.
At this point, I’m hoping they will put out a front loading cargo bike like urban arrow, except not for $7000. If they can swing it in the 2k or less range, ill buy another Lectric for sure.
Is it ok to ask for recommendations here?
Absolutely!
I’m more of a bike guy, but if your money is tight, it might be worth looking into refurbished stuff on eBay (just be sure to buy from a reputable seller, refurbishers often even include a 2 year warranty). Brand wise, I’ve heard NIU is an OK budget brand.
By the way, I featured your post to keep it up at the top for a while. Hopefully that’ll get you some good answers!
Thank you. I’ll be adding those to my list to check out.
Whatever you get, do lots of research on repairability. How easy is it to get replacement batteries? Are they using a proprietary charger with 5 pins, or an open source standard like XLR? Do they reuse battery standards like Juiced, or do they build proprietary batteries for each bike and generation?
Can it be serviced at bike shops (Aventon, Juiced, Grintech) or does it have things like proprietary bike spokes that take weeks to ship (ride1up)? How long do they plan on producing parts, like motors, sensors, etc. (if they are julet connectors, there might be aftermarket solutions)
These are the sorts of questions you may want to ask sellers when doing test drives at local ebikes shops, or online bike sellers.
As for recommendations, I really like the NYT’s recommendation on the Haul ST:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-ebike-for-commuters/
If you can find a Juiced Ebike, I can also recommend them. They were recently bought out by Lectric. I have nearly 2,000 miles on my RipRacer and love it.
yes, repairability is very important. I liked the Turbowheel Lightning because any part that wasn’t generic could be bought from the vender, allowing me to fix the many stupid things I did to it.
And thanks for the suggestion, imma add it to my list to check out.
Yeah, repairability is key!
I like my VMax e-scooter, not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. It’s been reliable and useful for 130+ miles so far. Seems to be well made.
130 miles is a pretty good stress test, I think. I’ll be looking into them more.
Are you looking for a little ebike-compliant electric motorcycle that will shuttle you from place to place, or are you planning on pedaling hard and want the electric to make you faster and extend your range? Also, where are you planning on riding? The types of bikes you should go for depend on that question.
I am quite lazy, part of why I liked having a scooter, simple push button and go.
This would be my primary means of transpiration, so it would have to be able to handle being on roads (I’ve got bike lanes most of the time). There’s also some off-road paths that it would need to be able to handle, so if I do go for an ebike instead of a scooter I’d probably get one that pedals with electric assist so I’m not the cause of complaints.
Cool, that gives you options. I think the people suggesting Lectric are giving a good budget option. My buddy has one and we have hauled a few cases of beer home with it. It folds down nicely so instead of buying a bike rack you can put it in the trunk or get on the bus with it. It shines for short and medium distances, but I rotor personally opt for a non folding bike with bigger wheels for long distances.
If you avoid Amazon, research carefully online, and keep a hand on your wallet in person, you’ll find some bikes you enjoy. If you have some bike shops near you, you also can’t overestimate the benefit of a test ride. That’s how I knew my bike was right for me and how I ruled out a few others before that.
Let us know what you end up finding.
