You don’t hear about batteries from Bosch or Shimano having problems, so maybe consider the source.
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how do you feel about foot overlap with the front box? that was a nonstarter for me.
How big are your feet? Are you more of a mid foot pedaller?
I’m a 43 euro and so far it’s not even been a concern. No strike/scrape/contact.
If anything, rear clearance is the issue, if I wanted to run a rear pannier it would have to be hung way rearward on the rack, and offset the ortlieb mount to shift the pannier back in relation to the hooks so my heel doesn’t hit the pannier body.
48+ and kind of a mid foot pedaller. it was just a test ride and i could probably get over it
I feel like power tools maintain pretty “closed systems” and that probably helps. A brand’s batteries work with their tools and their chargers. I’m sure there are some people who fuck around and find out trying mix and match with homemade jumpers but for most people it is probably easier to just spend $50-100 on a new battery.
With e-bikes, the battery is larger and more valuable and people are less willing to retire a faulty one. Combine that with bad storage conditions, corrosion, mismatched chargers, cheapo BMSs, and a need to get your vehicle back on the road, I think e-bike batteries have more opportunities to be used improperly.
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And inexpensive/cheap cells make for a less expensive battery which makes for a less expensive bike. There might be statistically not that many fires compared to how many of those cheap/inexpensive packs are out there but boy are they bad when they do happen.
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Size 43. First video is pedal at midfoot, which i don’t ride like, then pedal at ball, how i do ride. Both clear fine.
First photo is pedal at ball, second is how far forward i have to have it to hit the box
So Kat won a raffle for $400/$900 rebate on a “regular”/cargo ebike. I know nothing except that I am lobbying for cargo bike.
I haven’t really seriously considered an ebike before. What should we be looking at in the cargo bike world? What things do we want to look for? What bikes do we like?
Also I might be able to stack this with an alumni discount at the shop where I used to work, but their selection of practical bikes seems limited to Aventons, which are pretty ugly but a few look like they might be functional. Does anyone like those? Alumni discounts are highly case by case, so I’m not sure what the discount would end up being, especially since the shop has to go track down the rebate after the purchase, so TBD on whether the discount is worth swaying the decision at all, of course.
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Is the rebate from a specific shop or do you have to buy from any local shop?
If cargo, where would it be stored?
I read all the small print last night and it looks like we have to buy from an approved list from one of several local bike shops. This is all fine, I’m glad the energy delivery company whose existence I can’t quite understand is at least supporting local business.
The Aventon Abound LR could probably be had for a pretty good price. I know we’ll need to go ride some bikes IRL before we decide anything, but I am wondering if spending more on a Yuba or similar more known (to me) entity would be worth the extra expense. Getting a cargo ebike for around a bong sounds great, but if it’s trash that’s going to give us trouble forever, no amount of savings makes that worth it.
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no to aventon. it’s a walmart bike with a motor. and not like a good wallmart bike that you can steal the good parts off of, like a bad wallmart bike that you throw away when it doesn’t ride ok anymore.
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Welp, if you’re in NJ with an ebike your life gets more annoying. They’re going full Karen right away
All e-bikes now require both registration and a driver’s license to ride anywhere in NJ, with Class 2 and 3 e-bikes also requiring an insurance policy
Hans Rey wades into the debate:
Seems reasonable:
We need distinct names for distinct machines:
- E-bicycle (EMTB): Class 1 pedal-assist only (20 mph max assist, 750W max peak power)
- E-moped: Throttle-equipped or faster than 20 mph or exceeding 750W, incl. Class 2&3
- E-motorcycle: High-power electric motorcycles well beyond bicycle-level performance
Clear labeling should be mandatory. Every electric vehicle should visibly state its category, assist speed, and peak motor power. This isn’t about enforcement—it’s about clarity and accountability.
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Fucking Germans
Seems reasonable. The wild west approach has clearly failed and the legislative backlash is already getting silly. The e-motorcycles are not that big of a deal here so I don’t know how obnoxious they are in the burbs or other cities. I hate getting passed by E-moped riders on the throttle when I’m on the MUP but it’s still mostly good to get more people on bikes.
But honestly I’m kinda on-board with the EU regs as far as speed. The 250w limit is low for heavy people and cargo bikes, but the 15.5 mph limit for assist is good for riding on urban bike infrastructure. I get irritated with all the E bike marketing here around power and speed but it is the USA after all
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The more time I spend on an ebike the more okay I am with the Euro speed regs. That’s plenty fast on shared trails, might even be the speed limit on a lot of that infrastructure, and on the roads most drivers here don’t expect a bike to be going as fast as 20 mph, let alone 28.
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like it burned from the inside out? they reached out and sent me a free replacement because they said the batch I got had water intrusion issues. I bet they will warranty it, they have been really good about that kind of stuff with me when I can navigate communicating with them
Yeah they sent me a new one already because my lights were staying on even with the display off. Conveniently the new one arrived yesterday, and this burn happened last night right before I swapped it
Unfortunately, the new superharness did not solve the issue of lights on even with display off, so I suspect it’s a bigger problem and only a matter of time before it happens again.
it’s very location dependent here, but in the wealthier burbs there are suron kids everyone. They’re frequently going through parks and other areas meant for kids to play at high speeds.
I see kids on e-motos wearing no helmet doing wheelies down the roads all the time in Boulder during the summer.
Went to a bike park in Broomfield (Kind of surburb between boulder and denver) and it was 75% kids in e-motos just plowing into the jumps and not getting any air.