Step thru E-bike

[cinema]

my father in law is looking for a step thru e bike. he likes riding his hybrid style trek step thru. he sometimes gets to his destination and wants a motor assist to get him home

looking at options the trek seems to be the best one, has a bosch motor which come highly recommended from what i've searched through. any other bikes i'm missing? e bikes are a big blind spot for me.

he mentioned renting one that he liked which had a 'throttle' instead of a set of predetermined assist levels if that means anything

[pasadena]

iZip, Raleigh venture, Sonders, Rad Power, Cube town, iGo, OHM, Dóst... so many good step thru options out there!

[Babrassiler]

Riese & Muller, Gazelle & Benno also have Bosch mid drives but no throttle. Not sure of budget but would recommend a Gates Belt, mid drives eat chains

[Dude]

Add tern to the list. They have a bunch of folding bikes that have 20" wheels and a very low "top tube." Mid drive, no throttle - they use Bosch.

[p nut]

I haven’t ridden a Trek, but test rode a Specialized Turbo Como. Really fun ride.

One thing to consider is bike service. Make sure whatever brand you buy, you’ve got a competent dealer close by.

[Ralph]

Most rear hub drive E bikes I have seen have throttles. Haven't seen any throttles on mid motor ones, but maybe they are out there, don't know.

My wife loves her Electra Townie Go 8D (A Trek Company) mid motor. Step thru, and mid motor keeps the 49 lbs balanced and low in frame. it's 8 speed Shimano and shifts fine.

She likes the "Townie" frame design, feet pedaling a little more forward than a regular bike....and it does put the seat lower so she can reach the ground with her feet at stops, but I kinda don't. I would prefer it be a little lighter. The battery weighs 6 lbs, so if I haul it around on my bike rack, usually take the battery off....easily done. Her mid motor is a Bosch 255 watt, and runs at least 80 miles, before needing a charge the way she rides....10-15 MPH on mostly level trails.

[DRZRM]

We did a lot of research for my sister and she picked the Blix Aveny. I think center mounted motors make sense for MTBs that will be jumping, but for her needs a rear wheel motor seemed to make sense.

https://blixbike.com/products/aveny-electric-city-bike?variant=13989392449591&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwjLD4BRAiEiwAg5NBFoox1LomD6CeqSDbEkAM 7tpiuO_rb7xPGnDZQqo3PktndnUAG9wplhoCq5QQAvD_BwE

[cinema]

We did a lot of research for my sister and she picked the Blix Aveny. I think center mounted motors make sense for MTBs that will be jumping, but for her needs a rear wheel motor seemed to make sense.

https://blixbike.com/products/aveny-electric-city-bike?variant=13989392449591&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwjLD4BRAiEiwAg5NBFoox1LomD6CeqSDbEkAM 7tpiuO_rb7xPGnDZQqo3PktndnUAG9wplhoCq5QQAvD_BwE

This one looks really nice and not too expensive. I know you get what you pay for but he likes how intuitive throttle is.

if mid mounted motors are hard on chains, would that mean rear mounted motors are less so?

[Wattvagen]

out of curiosity, do any of these new crop of e-bikes use a standard battery of any sort, or are you stuck in the ecosystem of the mfg you choose?

i know nothing about this stuff, but my concern would be longer term availability of parts and battery replacement. i would assume like most other gadgets like cordless power tools, the battery performance decreases significantly after 5 years or so?

[charliedid]

I have little knowledge but my sister and her husband have the Trek Verve E and it is solid and easy to ride. Balance is not bad at all. Not sure exactly which model. I sold Stromers for a while years ago and those were not for the squeamish. The pick up torque and power was nuts on those bikes.

[RJR]

My daughter has some health challenges that have made riding unworkable. I bought her a Cannondale Treadwell Neo Remixte. It's my only experience with eBikes, but what a game changer! She can actually enjoy going out with family/friends for a meaningful ride. It has the motor in the rear hub so doesn't look obviously "e-bike" ish, which would have been an embarrassment to her. Seeing her joy in riding made a believer out of me.