Hyper E-Bikes

[cincystache]

Does anyone own a Hyper E-bike? Specifically I'm looking at the E-Ride mountain model. It is on sale at walmart for $600 (normally $1000).

This would be my daily commuter.

What do you think?

[Home Stretch]

What are you looking for in an e-bike - just some mild pedal-assist or something that can really rocket uphill?

It has a 250W motor and weighs 45lbs... So a lot of the performance will be dictated by your own bodyweight.

For reference, I own a 750W motor e-bike and it still feels under-powered going up slight inclines. To be fair, it is 30% heavier and I am a pretty big dude, but still.

[cincystache]

thanks @Home Stretch
I'm looking for some mild pedal assist, just to give me a bit of a boost so I don't show up to work super sweaty in the middle of summer. My biggest concern after reading more is my height (6'4") and my weight (225lbs). I've looked at some other bikes but I can't find anything under $2,000.

My commute is only 4 miles each way mostly on bike paths so I don't need a super fast and high performance e-bike. Just a little nudge to keep me from using the heat as an excuse not to bike...

[Tester]

4 miles would be around 30 minutes on flat.
What if you do it in 40 instead so you don't get sweaty.
And you do it on a regular bike.
I am looking at electric bikes too but I would get one starting at 10 miles commute, now I am at 6.
And I would not get the cheapest one or the best one, but I think the price for the one you look at is too small.
My regular bike was 420 usd  so perhaps if I buy  a kit I could do it under 1k usd but the kit would underpowered I think.

[Home Stretch]

@cincystache, the 750W that I bought is a Rad Power Bikes "RadCity" model. It is $1,500 new - but you might be able to find some on the second-hand market for under $1000.

Interestingly, you weigh the same as I do (although I'm only 6'2"... yeah I need to lose 20lbs). I would definitely not recommend a 250W bike for someone who weighs over 200. 750W is a decent amount of boost, but 1000W would be even better.

Have you looked into MMM-style retrofit kits? If you already have a bike that you'd be willing to convert, that would be the cheapest ratio of dollars per watt.

My bike commute is 8.5 miles each way, and on the e-bike it takes about 35 minutes each way. I also bought one to reduce sweatiness in the summer months, and it does work to an extent. That being said, I have one "nemesis" hill on my commute (7% grade for 3/4 of a mile) and though it's not particularly hard from an exercise perspective, it is always enough to get me huffing and sweating anyway, even with the e-bike.

Best thing you could do is find a local bike shop that has a demo e-bike, and take it for a 4 mile ride similar to your commute to see if it solves the problems you think it will.

[aetheldrea]

Have you tried your commute on a regular bike? 4 miles is pretty short for wanting an e-bike. If you don’t currently have a bike, see if you can borrow one from a friend. 4 miles is short enough that you would just be getting warmed up. If you just take it easy you probably wouldn’t even want to wear special bike clothing.

[Boofinator]

I'll echo some other posters. 4 miles on flat, at a very leisurely pace, should take no longer than about 30 minutes. If you ride before the sun really comes up, you'll likely be minimally sweaty when you get to work as long as you have built up a base of regular exercise.

What kind of bike do you currently ride for your commute? I find having a rode bike indispensable for minimizing commute time and minimizing exertion (unless your route requires more suspension such as fatter tires).

[cincystache]

Thanks for all the comments.

Yes, I currently ride my non ebike to work ~3 days per week. It is a specialized crosstrail which is a hybrid type bike with 700X35C tires. I typically wear my work attire (jeans and button down shirt) and I sweat pretty easily.

I agree that 4 miles is too short to justify a fancy e-bike for $2k which is why I thought this might be a good compromise at $600 bucks but maybe I just need to suck it up and keep riding my normal bike. My issue is that laziness creeps in on a hot day and I make excuses.

@Home Stretch The radcity model is another one I was looking at so I'm glad to have your perspective being in the same weight class. I was curious how they perform. I have looked at the lunacycle kits (bafang mid-drive) but with a battery the cost goes up to easily $1000. I haven't explored cheaper wheel-swap options like the hilltoppers in a while.

[Boofinator]

One other benefit of riding a road bike: You generally move fast enough to generate a good breeze, thereby maximizing convection cooling and minimizing the amount of sweating you have to endure. You should be able to get a good used road bike for a couple hundred bikes on Craigslist, or a decent new one for between three and four hundred dollars. I would recommend trying this route, and if you find it is still unbearable, consider the E-bike.

(This is coming from someone who biked regularly through the summers of Florida and SW Arizona.)

[Home Stretch]

One other comment just for posterity. The Rad City is HEAVY. It comes in at 65lbs with the battery. While the 750W motor definitely more than compensates for this, it does change the characteristics of riding the bike in general. It's just like being in a heavy SUV instead of an agile sports car - in other words it's legitimately less FUN than riding a regular lightweight aluminum bike.

When I want to go out for a fun ride, I take my Trek. When I want to get somewhere fast without working up a massive sweat, I take the Rad City.

[One]

Does anyone own a Hyper E-bike? Specifically I'm looking at the E-Ride mountain model. It is on sale at walmart for $600 (normally $1000).

This would be my daily commuter.

What do you think?

The bike should work perfectly for what you desire. 250w is more than enough. Only concern is do they have a large enougb frame size. My wife has a genze electric, she's short and insanely slow but now she passes my son and I up the hills.

[Car Jack]

If you end up riding that Wal Mart bike a lot, you'll want to at least replace the rear spokes with stronger ones right from the start.  A former co-worker has been eBiking for well over a year now to his center Boston job.  He's maybe 190 pounds but is probably pushing 1500 watts in his "hyper bike".  He can easily exceed speed limits (not just for ebikes.....for cars).  :D

When he first built the bike, he was popping rear spokes on a daily basis.

[aetheldrea]

I also found jeans too sweaty to bike in, so I switched to bike shorts and change into jeans in the bathroom at work. Golf shirts are non-sweaty/fast drying, and cheap at goodwill.