Are ebikes "worth" it?

[ua_guy]

Do you have one? Do you still use it?

What did you buy and how much did it cost?

[QuarterMillionMan]

I love mine's. Bought it new on eBay for $599, later saw a similar one on Temu for $399. Still it saves me time and money getting me to short distances without having to walk or take a taxi or Uber. Example when I go to Tijuana, I park my car for free on the streets in San Ysidro and ride my ebike to Tijuana and back. Parking at the border is $20 for 8 hours. In Tijuana a taxi each way to my hotel in TJ is $10 each way. I avoid all these extra costs by using my ebike.

[kork13]

I don't have an e-bike & don't want one ... One of my particular issues with it (besides the "that's cheating!" that my road cyclist brain shouts) is that the batteries can never be shipped or movedI don't have an e-bike & don't want one ... One of my particular issues with it (besides the "that's cheating!" that my road cyclist brain shouts) is that the batteries can never be shipped or moved anywhere that you can't drive, due to the "risk of short circuit & sparking a lithium fire" (very rare, but very bad when it happens). Movers won't let you pack them, airlines won't let you carry them, and they will only (sometimes) be accepted if the shipper can move it via surface methods (boat/train/truck).

As a military member who has lived overseas ALOT, that's just untenable for me. In fact, I'm currently in possession of two e-bike batteries from a friend who tried getting his e-bikes shipped back from Japan to NC, and everybody refused. I tried finding a cargo company that would send them by boat, but I've thus-far failed with 3 different companies. So he has had to buy new batteries once he got to the States, and I may have to just junk/recycle these perfectly good batteries.

[Fishindude77]

I like mine. It's a Radrover fat tire ebike, paid around $1700 for it. Lots of fun to run around on and you still get some exercise, just get to see twice as much countryside because on average you travel a lot faster than a pedal bike.
Use it a lot for hunting also to get back into spots a long way from the truck, pretty quietly.

Get one with large diameter wheels, they will provide a much better ride than the small wheel bikes.

[ua_guy]

I want to get back on the saddle, and I want a mountain bike. E-mountain bikes from legacy/known companies (Specialized, Cannondale, etc) are seriously expensive so I've been noncommittal to spending $4k+ as a base price for something advertised as entry level that I'm not sure I'll love, or will catch on. This is for fitness, trail riding, and quite honestly, something to do.

I'm finding a lot of new-old-stock that's seriously discounted so a $3-$4k bike is $2-$3k plus other incentives. I also have a stipend through work that I can put towards it. Hmm..

[james.hendrickson]

I like mine. It's a Radrover fat tire ebike, paid around $1700 for it. Lots of fun to run around on and you still get some exercise, just get to see twice as much countryside because on average you travel a lot faster than a pedal bike.
Use it a lot for hunting also to get back into spots a long way from the truck, pretty quietly.

Get one with large diameter wheels, they will provide a much better ride than the small wheel bikes.

FishinDude, its a bike that looks like this, right?

I like the hunting idea - its almost certainly a lot more quiet than a motorcycle or a car. Can it carry any cargo? Like what if you get a buck and need to haul it out? How does it work with your hunting pack?

[ua_guy]

Y'all carry any insurance on your ebikes?

I've never carried insurance specifically for a pedal bicycle -- typically they're covered under homeowner's/renter's insurance. But motorized bicycles may not be, and I've read that liability may be limited.

For fun I just drew up a quote on one of the popular insurers and for the same coverages as one of our cars, it's $85/year. Comp, collision, liability, and a few minor things.

I'm not sure that's "worth" it. But then again, never owned an e-bike, so...

[QuarterMillionMan]

No insurance. This is an old ebike. I've gone thru about 5 ebikes because I sell my ebikes before the wheels fall off (so to speak), and buy new, then rinse, lather, and repeat. The rack in the back of the ebike holds the boogie board and fins. I no longer pay the parking meters at the beaches such as Huntington beach, Oceanside in San Diego, Redondo beach, etc. Today those parking meters cost .25 cents for 5 minutes. I park for free on the streets in the surrounding neighborhoods and ride the ebike which gets me very close to the beaches. In fact, I just returned home today from the beach. This was a 36 volt, 500 watt 26" mountain bike which I paid new for maybe $499 on eBay. Note the front fork has no shock absorber and the ride on this one was harsh where I felt every bump in the road. Battery last all day. Kork is correct that you'll get no exercise. Sometimes I tell myself to use pedal power and get in some exercise but I always revert to battery power and get lazy, lol.

[Fishindude77]

FishinDude, its a bike that looks like this, right?

I like the hunting idea - its almost certainly a lot more quiet than a motorcycle or a car. Can it carry any cargo? Like what if you get a buck and need to haul it out? How does it work with your hunting pack?

My bike is similar to that but it's not a step through, has the top horizontal bar.
Mine carries me, my rifle or bow and a pack just fine. I seriously doubt if it has the guts to drag a deer out, but never tried it. I can get an ATV or tractor to fetch a downed animal.

I don't carry insurance on it, possibly homeowners would cover some or all of it, if stolen from our property?
Pretty hard to insure everything and this is one of those things I choose not to worry about.

[ua_guy]

I think I've worked a potential deal. Looking at a Specialized Turbo Tero 3. I've discovered this is not a rare deal by any means, there are a lot of "new old stock" bikes being sold at steep discounts from new, but inventory can be very limited, so you might have to look at several different brands/models to find one in your size and desired configuration. This particular one is a 2023 version that's been in stock for over 2 years. List price on these is $2749, this one is being sold for $1699. No tax since I'm out of state. Shipping and partial assembly included. Full manufacturer warranty. Guy on the phone at the shop where this is located was super helpful.

I looked up the weight limit. 300lb gross weight (rider plus gear). I'll have no problems, but if someone is looking at this for hunting or hauling, it might not be the best for that. It's meant to be a mountain bike so it needs to be lighter weight where possible.

The idea is to buy this to ease me back into riding, for hobby/exercise and so I can go farther and longer as my fitness increases. Worst case, I don't use it and end up selling it for $1k based on some pretty heavily "used" examples online. Will it stick? I don't know but I'm willing to give it a try.

I'll probably skip the insurance. A $1600 bike is a regrettable loss if it's stolen, but at 10% of its purchase price per year in insurance, it's probably not worth it. The one thing I want to read about is if our homeowners covers liability for an e-bike. If I run into someone on a trail accidentally, I want to make sure I'm covered. It is motorized, after all.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I perused Specialized website, their prices are crazy high ranging from $5000 - $20,000 an ebike. I can buy a new 2026 Nissan Kicks for $21,000 with that kind of dinero.

[Fishindude77]

I've not seen on in use, but they now also have some electric dirt bikes.
They look pretty cool.

[myrdale]

I know one guy who purchased his for hunting. He can ride past gates that others have to walk past. He paid a steep sum for his thought ($6k if I remember correctly). But then again I guess he can use it to drag a deer out of the woods as well.

There are some scary videos of the batteries for these burning up. Make sure it's a quality product.

[ua_guy]

Yes, battery safety on these is important. There are lots of companies selling fresh out of the container e-bikes from foreign countries, cheap parts, with no UL certification on their batteries.

And when it comes time to replace batteries, people often buy cheap replacements that also lack UL certification, or, some people attempt to repair and replace the cells themselves with cheap untested parts.

Buy stuff that's UL certified. While it's not a guarantee of safety, it means the design has passed rigorous testing and has safety engineered into it.

We take it for granted, but that little icon on your stuff is actually worth something.

[myrdale]

There are several videos out there, mostly from China it appears. I don't think these are an AI trend yet, so I am assuming they are legit. It appears the two men in this video escape with their lives at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlQumRetMf0