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I just bought an ebike last week. I ended up looking at bikes that were "ugly" (no attempt to hide what it is), cheap ($1250-$1500), and fast (class 3, up to 28
by JackC 7y ago
I just bought an ebike last week. I ended up looking at bikes that were "ugly" (no attempt to hide what it is), cheap ($1250-$1500), and fast (class 3, up to 28 mph):
https://www.aventon.com/products/aventon-pace-500-complete-bike https://www.aventon.com/products/aventon-pace-500-complete-b...
https://ride1up.com/product/city/ https://ride1up.com/product/city/
https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-s https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-s
Out of those I went with the Aventon, which had a local bike shop selling and supporting it.
50-mile impressions: it's fun; being a cross between a motorcycle and a bike is the fastest way I know to get around Boston at rush hour; it feels safer than biking, because I can almost always go the speed of car traffic and take the whole lane without getting passed; 28mph is handy, even in rush hour city traffic.
It's interesting knowing that these things can be made much more beautifully -- it's still such a young industry that there's lots of room to figure out new standards that will improve things for everyone. It will be neat to see them evolve.
- abbe_k 7y agoWow, that is really fast for a bike. Are you allowed to drive these bikes on all bike paths and such? Where I live (Sweden) they are limited to 25 km/h (~16 mph).
- JackC 7y agoCalifornia is the farthest ahead in regulating them in the US. 28 MPH is the top speed for a "Class 3" bike, and is barred from some bike paths in California: https://currentebikes.com/ebike-classes-california/ https://currentebikes.com/ebike-classes-california/ In practice I ride it like a car when I'm going car speed, and like a bike when I'm going bike speed -- my goal is for it to always feel safe to people around me given where it is.
- amelius 7y agoThat's fast, I hope you are wearing a helmet.
- JackC 7y agoYeah, I got a 5-star helmet based on Virginia Tech's new ratings: https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html