Ebike - what's your experience?

[ercchry]

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Are there any e-bikes that are cheap enough that you'd feel comfortable leaving them locked to one of the sidewalk bike racks downtown Calgary? Thinking of a basic commuting option. Ideally something that has an easily removable battery pack that I could carry into my office with me every day to recharge.

Do you not have secure storage in your building? I wouldn’t trust anything locked up outside DT to be there for more than a few hours before at least a wheel is missing

[mr2mike]

Problem #2 finding one. They're all flying off the shelves currently. Especially cheaper ones.

[eglove]

Doing jumps uphill is great

[bjstare]

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Doing jumps uphill is great

If that's the case, try one of these and prepare to have your mind blown:

[eglove]

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If that's the case, try one of these and prepare to have your mind blown:

[ercchry]

I could see ES on this… even has a basket for his laptop

[phreezee]

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Are there any e-bikes that are cheap enough that you'd feel comfortable leaving them locked to one of the sidewalk bike racks downtown Calgary? Thinking of a basic commuting option. Ideally something that has an easily removable battery pack that I could carry into my office with me every day to recharge.

Take the bike you currently own and add a Bafang mid-drive kit. It will be more powerful and cheaper than most pre-built bikes on the market.
My commute takes the same amount of time on ebike vs car.

[schurchill39]

One of my former colleagues has a collapsible Merkava e-bike that he raves about. He lives in an appartment downtown and also has a place by Waterton and he takes it everywhere.

[Strider]

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Are there any e-bikes that are cheap enough that you'd feel comfortable leaving them locked to one of the sidewalk bike racks downtown Calgary? Thinking of a basic commuting option. Ideally something that has an easily removable battery pack that I could carry into my office with me every day to recharge.

I wouldn't even leave a $99 Walmart pedal bike outside downtown for any extended period of time. If your building doesn't offer secure bike parking, some CPA lots have bike storage.
Aside from that... just man up and get your cardio for the day. Downhill all the way in and Centre St isn't even that bad on the way home.

[ExtraSlow]

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Take the bike you currently own and add a Bafang mid-drive kit. It will be more powerful and cheaper than most pre-built bikes on the market.
My commute takes the same amount of time on ebike vs car.

The who in the what now?

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I could see ES on this… even has a basket for his laptop

That is totally perfect and fits my image to a tee.

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Do you not have secure storage in your building? I wouldn’t trust anything locked up outside DT to be there for more than a few hours before at least a wheel is missing

The company I work for today does not have a building that includes and storage. I am trying to upgrade that situation.

[phreezee]

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The who in the what now?

A couple of people on here have the kit, myself included.
eg. https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/399...97#post4592897

[ExtraSlow]

Do I need to be a "bike guy" for this? Because if I was a bike guy, I'd own a bike, and I don't.

[Xtrema]

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Problem #2 finding one. They're all flying off the shelves currently. Especially cheaper ones.

Shit bike but it's available

https://www.costco.ca/igo-elite-3d-h...tml?langId=-24

[suntan]

London Drugs and MEC have some bikes available.

Hell I'll sell you mine as I'm looking to upgrade.

[phreezee]

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Shit bike but it's available

https://www.costco.ca/igo-elite-3d-h...tml?langId=-24

My parents are in a seniors ebike gang and they all ride these. They get the job done.

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Do I need to be a "bike guy" for this? Because if I was a bike guy, I'd own a bike, and I don't.

Yes and no, but it helps to have tools like a crank puller and also know what a crank is in order to pull it. This is a test.

[ExtraSlow]

#interested. The small on the saddle is worth a few bucks alone.

[Xtrema]

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A couple of people on here have the kit, myself included.
eg. https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/399...97#post4592897

Anyone carry this locally and/or install them? Just watched a DIY video and doesn't feel like I want to invest on tools for a one off.

[suntan]

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Anyone carry this locally and/or install them?

Power In Motion in Eau Claire Mall should be able to help you.

[phreezee]

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Anyone carry this locally and/or install them? Just watched a DIY video and doesn't feel like I want to invest on tools for a one off.

I ordered off this seller on Amazon.com for my parents. They drop ship from Ontario and it arrived fairly quickly (~2 weeks) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With the magnetic brake sensors you don't need to swap brake levers.
It's simply replacing the crank/bottom bracket with the motor and mounting the battery.

I could lend you the crank puller and bottom bracket tool. You only need a socket wrench and allen keys after that.

[ExtraSlow]

Here's a stupid question. With a kit like that, do you need gears? If you had a 1 gear cruiser, that still cool?