Tech Electric Scooters; E-Bikes; E-Trikes

[wizenheimer]

I hadn't paid much attention to this industry and saw a kid on a small electric scooter moving up a pretty steep hill

I was curious so I did a little research....and holy shit!....there are some wild toys on the market. Especially the e-scooters that can go 50MPH or more. Could you even survive a crash at that speed?

I was especially interested in off-road e-scooters for use in eastern Oregon on 4x4 roads. But any of those that have the power to have range and negotiate hills are intimidatingly powerful

does anybody have one of these things?

 

[Hoopguru]

Electric Motion USA
https://www.electricmotion-usa.com
Check out videos at bottom of page.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

I have the iSinWheel 9Pro Electric Scooter (standup). Goes up to like 17-18 mph (at my weight of 225 - slightly more if you’re lighter) and 15 mile distance on one charge. It’s all fun and games….

…until you get clipped by an SUV coming up behind you and you face plant…. I’ll spare you the details and list of injuries.

I was on it a week later because I knew if I didn’t, I’d never ride again. I still love it. Badass. Good deal, too. Mine was like $350 or so (on sale). Kids ride it around the neighborhood and love it.

 

[wizenheimer]

yeah, I wasn't really interested in a bike that much. At least not at first

what I was looking at was an off-road scooter more than a bike because of the durability of the tires. I was looking at something I could use when I go camping in eastern Oregon/northern Nevada/western Idaho. We almost always camp at elevation and it used to be I could hike for miles. But I'm 70 now with occasional plantar faciitis so 10 mile hikes aren't my cup of tea anymore. I used to have 4 or 5 favorite hikes that start at 6000-6500 feet and climb to 7500-8500. That's rough country and the degraded 4x4 roads have rocks that will too often puncture a bike tire, even a fat tire

but the scooters that have a strong enough chassis and a battery with a range of 50 miles (30 with a lot of incline) are really expensive...as in $2000-3500. Yikes!

 

[HailBlazers]

There's gangs of electric unicycle riders flying around in Portland. Met one guy snowboarding who broke his collarbone on his brand new one. F-that.

 

[twobullz]

Just beware if a area is closed to motorized vehicles it is closed to electric bikes. There is a big fight here in Central Oregon by some guys who want to ride the electric bikes on the trail systems and they are losing because of the no motors allowed in the areas.

 

[wizenheimer]

Just beware if a area is closed to motorized vehicles it is closed to electric bikes. There is a big fight here in Central Oregon by some guys who want to ride the electric bikes on the trail systems and they are losing because of the no motors allowed in the areas.

sure...that will usually be the case unless you get an exception permit

the irony is if it's closed to motorized traffic it's very often open to horses and they will have a bigger environmental impact than an E-Bike or E-Scooter

 

[THE HCP]

Looking to purchase one maybe this spring and have no clue where to start. Obviously want something nice, but want a great deal to. Every article I’ve seen seems to all have different top rankings.

 

[andalusian]

The wife and I bought a couple several months ago.

We got a couple of AIMA bikes, my wife got a AIMA Santa Monica, I got a AIMA Big Sur. Love them. I went for the fat tires because I knew I wanted to do a lot of off-road style things (without going for a real mountain bike). My wife thought she was going to do more street. In reality, we do more off-roady things - and frankly, by mistake, we are going to more technical stuff every once in a while - and these bikes are a bit too big for that.

My suggestion is to try some and see what you like, try to get a 750wh motor (one of our friends has a 500wh motor and that is not as good, especially in the kind of hilly terrain in San Diego).

Thought we will have to get a pickup truck to move them around for where we want to ride, but decided to try a rack with a ramp before we commit to that, got a Young Electric 2-bike rack with a ramp. It's a hassle to put on the car, but it works fine and at least so far, we were able to avoid having to buy a pickup truck. These are heavy bikes, mine is about 84lbs, the wife's is about 67lbs - so you will need a proper rack to transport them. (They have heavy batteries, but the range can get up to 60 miles or so if you do most of the work yourself. I generally ride it with the lowest power assist level of 1 (out of 5) - only going up or using the hand throttle on the really steep hills we have around here.

Best idea, go ride a bunch and see what works for you. I do not have a lot of padding on my rear end - so a comfortable seat was very important to me. I was really going to get either the Big Sur (which I did) or the Rad Power Radster Trail - which has 3'' tires (the Big Sur has 4'' tires) - and it is a bit more agile, but it was not as comfortable - and I really like how stable the AIMA is - it reminds me of my old Honda NX650 which was probably my favorite Dual Sport motorcycle ever and I should have never sold it.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Looking to purchase one maybe this spring and have no clue where to start. Obviously want something nice, but want a great deal to. Every article I’ve seen seems to all have different top rankings.

I know nothing about these, but I would see which ones Costco sells because nothing beats the Costco warranty and return policy.

Then I would ask @andalusian what he thinks about the models Costco has.

https://www.costco.com/s?keyword=e%20bike

 

[julius]

I bought one a few years ago, barely used it.

Couldn't get the battery off, so I complained and they sent me a 2nd battery for free.

Turns out the key was just off enough.

About a year ago, I got a notification from Amazon saying that the battery was being recalled. They offered me a replacement battery and I said "well I have two".

Eventually they offered me 2, but it would be a while before it was delivered. They then offered me a free replacement bike instead. I eventually took up their offer, and finagled my way into a 2nd free battery too.

The new bike is the exact same model as my old one, but with an updated more powerful motor. Plus I got to keep the old bike too (gave that to my brother).

 

[THE HCP]

Man those are good looking bikes. Don’t think we would ever take it with us anywhere. Really torn. This is what I have now and love it.

 

[THE HCP]

I bought one a few years ago, barely used it.

Couldn't get the battery off, so I complained and they sent me a 2nd battery for free.

Turns out the key was just off enough.

About a year ago, I got a notification from Amazon saying that the battery was being recalled. They offered me a replacement battery and I said "well I have two".

Eventually they offered me 2, but it would be a while before it was delivered. They then offered me a free replacement bike instead. I eventually took up their offer, and finagled my way into a 2nd free battery too.

The new bike is the exact same model as my old one, but with an updated more powerful motor. Plus I got to keep the old bike too (gave that to my brother).

Sticking it to The Man!

 

[andalusian]

My experience is that riding some stuff before you make up your mind is the most important thing. Just find a shop that have multiple brands or go to some shops and try it. We rode quite a few bikes, these work best for us. Does not mean that they will work best for you.

Around $1,500K - $2K seems to be a pretty decent place where you do not buy the cheap Temu level bikes - but if you are not a real biker guy that needs stuff like mid-drive motors or super-fancy suspension - (these will go to $5K and beyond quickly).

I personally like the idea of a big cycling store that can also service the bikes - over getting something online like a Lectric (decent bikes, our next door neighbors have them and they are good) or buying from Amazon / Costco and having to find an independent store to service them. Does not mean that the other option is not good as well, it just was clear to us that we will use them to expand our exploration cycle (we kind of finished the normal hiking trails closer to us and this allows us to expand our range without committing to over-night exploration) and wanted service.

If you are not going to transport the bikes places and just want them for city riding, I suspect that non-fat-tire might be a better option? I really don't know. We ride ours a little on the roads here, our next door neighbors mostly want to keep to surface roads and when we drive with them, we usually take it to Oceanside (about 10 miles from here), ride around, go for lunch and ride back kind of things.

FWIW - The Rad Power are like the official teenage kids bikes of San Diego - and that's pretty good indication of their durability and ability to take abuse - because the kids use them hard...

One more thing, I found that torque sensing pedal assist feels more natural when riding than cadence assist - so that's a good thing to pay attention to. Basically, with torque sensor - it gives you more power based on how hard you pedal, if most of your riding is on flat surfaces, it's not that big a deal, but if you do a lot of varied terrain, I think it is worth having.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Looking to purchase one maybe this spring and have no clue where to start. Obviously want something nice, but want a great deal to. Every article I’ve seen seems to all have different top rankings.

You should get this one. You could use it at all the arenas you work at and the airports.

https://motocompacto.honda.com/

 

[andalusian]

You should get this one. You could use it at all the arenas you work at and the airports.

https://motocompacto.honda.com/

These are so cool. It's a re-issue of the old Honda City bike that was sold with the car in the 80s, but with an electric motor.

Tested: 1982 Honda City Makes a Case for Minicars in America

From the Archive: Honda's Japan-market City has the goods to tackle the vast American prairie.

www.caranddriver.com

I know a guy that had one (the car and the bike, as they were sold as a set). Such a cool thing.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

My girlfriend and I love our ebikes. I bought these for us last year.
I have the Aventure M and she has the Aventure 3. The fat tire bikes are a blast to ride around. We took them to the coast and had a great time riding up and down the beach. I've ridden mine to work and back several times. Even though its an ebike, you can still get a good workout if you keep the pedal assist levels lower, which I like.
Aventon makes several different types/styles of ebikes. I'm a big fan.

https://www.aventon.com/collections/ebikes

I bought them at Outer Rim Bicycle Shop in the Gateway area on NE Halsey. Great shop! They just opened up another location in Ridgefield WA.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

One more thing, I found that torque sensing pedal assist feels more natural when riding than cadence assist - so that's a good thing to pay attention to. Basically, with torque sensor - it gives you more power based on how hard you pedal, if most of your riding is on flat surfaces, it's not that big a deal, but if you do a lot of varied terrain, I think it is worth having.

I agree 100%. The torque sensor is awesome.

 

[tlongII]

Anybody have any experience with Aipas e-bikes? The price seems good on them. I’d like to buy an e-bike but not sure what to choose?