Lightweight electric bike

[gasman]

Mrs gasman wants to get an electric bike for taking with us on road trips. We can ride together if she can go electric . I’ve seen them at various shops and we’ve rented a couple but they are all heavy as heck. I’d like a bike that weighed 40 pounds or less , has a range of say 20 miles or more plus it doesn’t need to go over 20 mph. She is not into speed, just staying with me on hills and flats.

What suggestions does the collective wisdom here offer ?

[unterhausen]

I was just looking through Bafang's mid drive motors and noticed they had a smaller motor for road bikes. But they show it on a Pinarello. So I'm not sure how soon it will go on lower price road bikes. Seems like all the lightweight road ebikes are quite expensive.

[KidWok]

I'd check out Grin Tech out of Vancouver, BC. They do the drive system for Bike Friday's e-Pakit. They have all sorts of options for retrofitting. For travel, I'd probably get a cheap Dahon with a steel fork and add their SAW20 motor with 3-5 of their stackable LiGo batteries that are air travel safe.

Tai

[pasadena]

Yamaha Cross Core is pretty good for $2500
Mid drive, 45lbs.

Easy Motion Gravel X looks almost like a road bike
for $3500 about 40lbs

Both great mid drive ebikes she would enjoy and keep up with you on.
40-45lbs is light for an e bike unless you get a carbon frame but then you are more than doubling the price.

I would avoid hub motor bikes if you want an enjoyable bike.
But they are a good budget or quick conversion choice.

[kohagen]

There are other options available. At $8,000, this is probably outside your budget, but the Pinarello Dyodo has a claimed weight of 12 kg.

I don't know anything about the M2S company, but they have an e-bike, the All Go, with a claimed weight of 33 pounds. At $2700, it is much more affordable.

[Ralph]

My wife likes to ride also.....but isn't necessarily what you would call a cyclist. Recently bought her an Elantra Townie Go from a Trek store. ($2200). it weighs 49 lbs. Mid drive...E assist only.....Top speed about 19 MPH. Some say not powerful enough. Range is 60-80 miles the way she rides. I transport it with battery off....Then 43 lbs. 1UP rack. Heavy duty.

It's a cruiser.....very upright riding position. It's has "Townie" geometry....so feet pedal more out front, so she can have proper seat height and put feet on ground at stops.

At first I thought no way could she ride with me in that upright riding position.....but she has no trouble cruising along at 14-16. It's worked out better than I expected. And that bike is so comfortable....I ride it sometimes.

What I did not want for her was my idea of what an E Bike should be (a road bike with assist). I wanted what she would like and ride....not what I wanted.

She loves it.....and has become my riding partner more and more.

[stien]

The Mrs was talking about a similar item for commuting to work (19 miles, no shower at destination) and the best I could come up with was the Trek Crossrip+ that wasn't eye-wateringly expensive. If I were in your shoes, I'd test ride a tandem before throwing down the $$. Especially if this is for only when you're traveling together.

I basically only will consider Bosch mid-drive at this point since it's so good, and the local shop seems to say that it has way less issues than Shimano Steps or other hub drive systems.

[NHAero]

https://www.orbea.com/us-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road

[gasman]

Thank you for all the suggestions. A tandem is out as our riding styles are very different. She is much more of an upright cruise along kind of person. Ralph your wife's bike may be something that works for her as she wants a very upright position because of shoulder issues. I just wish the bike wasn't so dang heavy as I'm going to be loading the bikes on and off the rack that is attached to the pickup bed rails.

On a late night search I found out there is an electric bike store that just opened in town. It's only been around a few months so I may talk to them also.

[KidWok]

I basically only will consider Bosch mid-drive at this point since it's so good, and the local shop seems to say that it has way less issues than Shimano Steps or other hub drive systems.

FWIW...I own a Stromer rear hub drive, a Bosch mid drive on a Tern GSD, and a Swytch front hub drive. Have also owned a GoCycle G3 front hub drive. I've had so many problems with the Bosch...speed sensor failure, cranks/motor seizing, and battery failing to charge. It was ultimately replaced under warranty with less than 1,000 miles and my confidence in the Tern GSD overall is sufficiently rattled. My Stromer is going on 12,000 miles with no issues at all. Beyond that, the chain needs to be replaced pretty much every 1,000 miles on the Bosch, whereas the chain lasts about 3,000 miles on the Stromer. The GoCycle G3 was also a really reliable bike but I wanted something that could fold down easier and smaller.

I saw that Pelican's Karmic brand has the Koben S with a belt drive and that looks pretty appealing, especially for the price. That would hopefully at least solve the chain wear issue.

For a small and lightweight application, I would lean towards a front hub drive retrofit. For daily commuting use, I'd lean towards a rear hub drive. For mountain biking, I think the mid drives probably work best. Different horses for different courses...

Tai

[unterhausen]

I have been thinking my wife would like an ebike a lot. I haven't mentioned it to her yet though. We went riding on Sunday, and she said her heart rate was 150. That's not quite her max, but it's close enough that I imagine it was unpleasant. So now I'm thinking harder about an ebike for her.

[dbrown]

We bought my wife an ebike (Benno Ejoy) late last year. Before that, she was never comfortable with drop bars, going for more that an hour or so, or finding a speed we both enjoyed while riding together. Now, she is comfortable going out on 2-4 hour rides with me. I can lead at whatever speed I can, and she just matches my speed. If there is a significant wind, or I am getting tired, I tuck in behind her, and have her set a pace I can match. On climbs, she waits for me at the top.
Her ebike has removed any concerns she has about how long or far she can ride, and this is with a pedelec, Bosch drive bike. She has to pedal, but she knows she can get home. We really like the Benno bike, but it may be a bike heavier than you want. I’m not sure what it weighs.

[pdxharth]

My wife rides a Faraday that we bought used. It's 40 lbs. and has about a 20 mile range, plus it's easy to ride without assist. It's a very fun bike and well designed.

Highly recommend for your described usage.

[bikinchris]

I second the Orbea. They have both hybrid and road style bikes that don't even look like an electric bike. You can also have a bottle battery to increase range.

[palincss]

Mrs gasman wants to get an electric bike for taking with us on road trips. We can ride together if she can go electric . I’ve seen them at various shops and we’ve rented a couple but they are all heavy as heck. I’d like a bike that weighed 40 pounds or less , has a range of say 20 miles or more plus it doesn’t need to go over 20 mph. She is not into speed, just staying with me on hills and flats.

What suggestions does the collective wisdom here offer ?

Orbea Gain, Bianchi Aria and Pinarello Dyodo are lightweights that are available right now.

Also,. coming sometime late this fall will be several e-assist bikes that use the Fazua drive system (it's been hung up for almost a year awaiting regulatory approval for the battery) that will be lighter still, roughly in the high 20 pounds. They're all class 1 bikes, easily rideable without using the motor (with some of the heavyweights, you need to run the motor just to overcome the mass of the bike, motor and battery). Bikes with the Fazua drive system are very popular in Europe, and I think when they show up here they're really going to change the market.

[Dekonick]

Bianchi Aria is a nice ride. Now - Let's put things in perspective: I really like riding hills with the Aria. I bought it for this reason as I am nursing a knee back to health from a work related injury. It is fun - BUT I still prefer my Bedford tourer and my Hors Cat - especially for flying down hills that require any cornering. The Bianchi just doesn't have the same geometry or center of gravity - for obvious reasons. As long as you don't intend to bomb hills at 50+mph, the Bianchi is fine. Frankly, I get nervous at 35+/- with the Bianchi... unless it is a straight run.

For what I am using it for it is great - Reducing high torque when starting from stops, or climbs. It is only pedal assist, but will let your spouse keep up by giving up to 220 or so watts... that is plenty. I seldom use that. Normally just the first level - I think its 80 watts or so.

Ride a few and try 'em.

Look for bikes that use the Ebikemotion X35 drive system. It is lower power (max 250 watt) and only OEM. Bianchi, Pinerallo, Orbea, Cube, and some others are using this system. The Orbea and the Bianchi were my two top picks. Just happens the Bianchi dealer is a local shop, that is why I picked them.

Prices seem to be from 3-7k +/- depending. I chose to go with the electric shifting as I had never tried it and decided it was time. MSRP on the Bianchi is $6500. I believe you can get the Orbea Gain for a lot less, but it will have mechanical shifting (which is fine) and be aluminum instead of carbon. Again, no biggie.