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I was wondering that too. Trek, for example, has the batteries in a compartment that is part of the bike. What happens in that case? And since you work on this

I was wondering that too. Trek, for example, has the batteries in a compartment that is part of the bike. What happens in that case? And since you work on this stuff let me ask you: who makes the Toyota Camry of ebikes? In other words, who makes the it-just-works-and-its-fine ebike for people who don't really care about ebikes? I've thought about getting one for commuting to work but every time I've started to look I get decision fatigue and give up for another year.

bambax 2y ago
Building your own ebike with a Bafang motor and an ordinary bike you have lying around (or a used one you buy specifically for that purpose) is easy and cheap, and works very, very well. It's true that ordinary Chinese battery packs don't last much more than three years though. (Edit for the downvote: I have built three of those already for myself, plus a couple of others for friends, never had any problem whatsoever. Transformation takes less than two hours.)
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- aziaziazi 2y ago
  I support this. Bonus points : you can revert back to a normal bike whenever you need and you can swap motors for replacement/upgrade. Beware to use a frame that can handle the motor power.
- criddell 2y ago
  The last thing in the world I want is another hobby. I want something with a warranty and a local dealer who will service it.
  - bambax 2y ago
    There are many shops all over the world that can install Bafang motors and service them should something break. (But it almost never breaks.)
aziaziazi 2y ago
Kalkhoff is well known and I enjoyed working on them because they use quality, standard pieces, everything is strong and well designed without any fancy custom made parts. Lowest prices around 1500€ and you definitely shouldn’t by a bike cheaper than that. By the way avoid startups that create the “revolutionary IOT magic bike“ most of them are fantastic in marketing but a pain to maintain. That being said, the most reliable bike is a bike without motor. You get ~3x the quality of an e bike for the same price (because 2/3 of an ebike price is the battery/motor).
- criddell 2y ago
  Unfortunately, they won't ship to the US. I mentioned Trek because that's what Wired recommends. Specifically the Trek FX+ 2 which is something like $2500 which seems fair. Does Trek have an okay reputation? There are 5 bike shops selling and servicing Trek in my city so that's why I was leaning towards them.
  - aziaziazi 2y ago
    Trek has a good reputation and the FX+ 2 seems very nice although i did’t find the exact specs on the composants used (!). If you’re in a wet state check carefully the sealing around the motor and the one between the battery and the frame. When the falls rains come many bikes stop working. The ones with wide joints covering and without much motor aeration tends to handle better.

bambax 2y ago

Building your own ebike with a Bafang motor and an ordinary bike you have lying around (or a used one you buy specifically for that purpose) is easy and cheap, and works very, very well. It's true that ordinary Chinese battery packs don't last much more than three years though. (Edit for the downvote: I have built three of those already for myself, plus a couple of others for friends, never had any problem whatsoever. Transformation takes less than two hours.)

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
aziaziazi 2y ago
I support this. Bonus points : you can revert back to a normal bike whenever you need and you can swap motors for replacement/upgrade. Beware to use a frame that can handle the motor power.
criddell 2y ago
The last thing in the world I want is another hobby. I want something with a warranty and a local dealer who will service it.
- bambax 2y ago
  There are many shops all over the world that can install Bafang motors and service them should something break. (But it almost never breaks.)

aziaziazi 2y ago

Kalkhoff is well known and I enjoyed working on them because they use quality, standard pieces, everything is strong and well designed without any fancy custom made parts. Lowest prices around 1500€ and you definitely shouldn’t by a bike cheaper than that. By the way avoid startups that create the “revolutionary IOT magic bike“ most of them are fantastic in marketing but a pain to maintain. That being said, the most reliable bike is a bike without motor. You get ~3x the quality of an e bike for the same price (because 2/3 of an ebike price is the battery/motor).

criddell 2y ago
Unfortunately, they won't ship to the US. I mentioned Trek because that's what Wired recommends. Specifically the Trek FX+ 2 which is something like $2500 which seems fair. Does Trek have an okay reputation? There are 5 bike shops selling and servicing Trek in my city so that's why I was leaning towards them.
- aziaziazi 2y ago
  Trek has a good reputation and the FX+ 2 seems very nice although i did’t find the exact specs on the composants used (!). If you’re in a wet state check carefully the sealing around the motor and the one between the battery and the frame. When the falls rains come many bikes stop working. The ones with wide joints covering and without much motor aeration tends to handle better.