# What kind of ebike are you riding?



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Hi, I'm curious what the ebikers on this forum have purchased and are riding?


----------



## ImaBum (Jun 1, 2014)

I recently purchased a RadRover from Rad Power Bikes! I bought mine as a method to get back into shape but more importantly to help build my knee back up due to a knee injury. 

I'm mostly on multi-use trails, the beach (Oregon) and residential areas. I have little desire to ride on dirt trails other than when camping. 

I have done a couple videos of it on my youtube channel.


----------



## Phil413 (Aug 9, 2016)

Bulls ebike fs 27. This thing is a sleeper bike model. 

- 650 wh battery. Thats like a 50 gallon gas tank. Ive ridden her hard on level 3 assist and I still am left with enough juice. Real world example - 2 loops in Soquel Demo riding Braille, Sawpit, Cusacks and flow. Had 2 out of 5 bars left by the time I roll back into the parking lot. 

- 90 nm power. Yes, she will pull you up some rather steep inclines (37deg)

- Brose engine (same as Levo)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Nice bikes, so far we have 3 bikes - Levo, Rad Rover, and Bulls. Keep the bikes coming.


----------



## fos'l (May 27, 2009)

Depends on the day, two of them, both DIY, are discussed.


----------



## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Phil413 said:


> - 90 nm power. Yes, she will pull you up some rather steep inclines (37deg)


Dang, that's like an 80% grade! I might have to get one of these things after all.


----------



## Haggis (Jan 21, 2004)

Sweet roosts too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jjk1001 (Sep 25, 2016)

Bulls evo fs3 27.5+ Terrific handling on rough when I'm scared and like a flying armchair when I'm knackered (which is quite often these days). Still getting my head around what an electric mountain bike can do compared to my carbon road bike.


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

2 Bulls, 1 Levo, 1 Rad Rover, and 2 DIY. I really like the looks of the Bulls in the interbike article. How much do your Bulls bikes weigh? My Levo is around 50#.


----------



## Jjk1001 (Sep 25, 2016)

My bulls fsr 27.5+ is about 48lbs. A bit lighter than most in the same category but it doesn't matter too much I suppose when you have so much battery power. I've been over the handlebars and had my leg sandwiched between the bike and a tree trunk and 2 or 3lbs didn't matter then either. lower weight is good for my lightweight tow bar. It's easy enough without power on some trails or even roads because of the 38/28 - 11/40 gear set up but when I used my 19lbs road bike again I thought I was on a magic carpet


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Yes it's a trip, I ride my Levo then to road bike and can't believe how stiff and fast it feels. Is your frame carbon?


----------



## Jjk1001 (Sep 25, 2016)

No. it's aluminium. There's another German bike available in the uk in the same shops as the Bulls called Rotwild. The bikes are similar but the Rotwilds are a bit lighter because they use carbon on the down tube and battery cover. But the Rotwild battery isn't removable. I would have bought a Levo but they weren't available in my size (xl) and I wasn't keen on the power selector being on the down tube. How do you deal with that? The Levo frame colours, the down tube store cupboard, better gears and a few other things were smart though and I think the Levo and bulls estream 3 fsr bikes are the best looking and best rides out there for me at the moment. I had a go on a few - Scott, cube and Mondraker (which was also v good) and the small details won out. I covered up all the red paint and rock shox logo stuff with Matt black tape so it looks like the Levo anyway and it's a fair bit cheaper.


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

The power selector on the down tube really isn't a big deal. They made the buttons big and simple enough that you can just reach down and push them. Garmin also offers a bar remote mount for up and down which is wireless. I personally usually ride in Eco mode and that pretty much gets me where I need to go.


----------



## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

Phil413 said:


> Bulls ebike fs 27. This thing is a sleeper bike model.
> 
> - 650 wh battery. Thats like a 50 gallon gas tank. Ive ridden her hard on level 3 assist and I still am left with enough juice. Real world example - 2 loops in Soquel Demo riding Braille, Sawpit, Cusacks and flow. Had 2 out of 5 bars left by the time I roll back into the parking lot.
> 
> ...


I demoed a LEVO and was by myself and a local shop told me to go ride it at Soquel. I was out of town and 2 guys who saw me ride seriously tried to jump it. I passed them up the fireroad at a very slow pace. I made sure I was respectful. At about 100 feet up, they noticed yelled at me to stop. They gestured to the fact that they wanted to try it out. I rode back down to meet them and then they started to harass me about it. Literally almost got jumped. Basically got chased out. I was blown away at the situation. Soquel is awesome but not sure I'd be comfortable riding there by myself.


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Bunch of jack*****, what did you think of the Levo?


----------



## kneecap (Dec 20, 2003)

What a shame, thats why I stopped surfing, now MTB? Carry pepper spray, I do for the unleashed/agro dogs.


----------



## PinoyMTBer (Nov 21, 2013)

@michaeldorian, I've been riding in Soquel Demo a lot more lately and have experienced what you described. But the difference is I'm with my crew (5-6 ebikers +1 or 2 ridiculously strong MTBers). So they just give us a smirk most of the time. But if they say anything negative, there will be a rumble in the jungle.

I ride a Haibike Nduro RX, 180mm travel, Yamaha PW motor with 400w battery. Such a great bike! Made by the most "hated" ebike brand.

Man I really hope Demo don't go up in flames due to the Loma Fire. It's one of the best riding playgrounds we got here in the bay area.


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

2 Bulls, 2 DIY, 1 Levo, and 1 Haibike. Quite a variety.


----------



## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

Gutch said:


> Bunch of jack*****, what did you think of the Levo?


I seriously loved it. I was skeptical at first. As my sig shows, I have a lot of pedal bikes too. It was so much fun in a totally different way. I will always own both, but it showed me that the fear of pedal assist bikes are so overblown. It's a bicycle through and through. I compared it to switching from a MTB to a road bike. Like how when you ride a road bike and it seems a bit more effortless, that is all the LEVO was. It's definitely not as playful but more stable like a DH bike.


----------



## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

PinoyMTBer said:


> @michaeldorian, I've been riding in Soquel Demo a lot more lately and have experienced what you described. But the difference is I'm with my crew (5-6 ebikers +1 or 2 ridiculously strong MTBers). So they just give us a smirk most of the time. But if they say anything negative, there will be a rumble in the jungle.
> 
> I ride a Haibike Nduro RX, 180mm travel, Yamaha PW motor with 400w battery. Such a great bike! Made by the most "hated" ebike brand.
> 
> Man I really hope Demo don't go up in flames due to the Loma Fire. It's one of the best riding playgrounds we got here in the bay area.


Sucks to hear that you experienced the same. I've ridden Demo a few times while down in the bay for work trip. Such a fun place to ride except that climb out kills so much of the fun. On my regular bike, that 3 mile slog out after you've climbed all the way to the top and blasted down kind of kills the trail. The awesome thing is the LEVO makes even that slog out fun the 1 time I rode it.

I'm moving down to the Bay for work from Seattle. Would love to ride with you sometime!


----------



## The Annoyed Man (Jul 6, 2017)

ImaBum said:


> I recently purchased a RadRover from Rad Power Bikes! I bought mine as a method to get back into shape but more importantly to help build my knee back up due to a knee injury.
> 
> I'm mostly on multi-use trails, the beach (Oregon) and residential areas. I have little desire to ride on dirt trails other than when camping.
> 
> I have done a couple videos of it on my youtube channel.


So you've had this thing for about a year now.....how has it held up? I am considering a RadRover for the same reasons: get back into shape, and injury recovery. I already own a pretty nice Giant Trance MTB (2009 model purchased used in 2010), but I haven't been able to ride it for a while now. I used to ride a lot in the San Gabriel Mountains when I lived back in southern California, but there are no mountains to speak of in this part of Texas where I live now.

I'm 65 years old, pretty overweight, have a bunch of titanium hardware in my lower spine, a torn meniscus in my right knee from an old motorcycle accident, and currently recovering from a torn posterior tibialis tendon in my left foot. I used my body hard when I was young, but this getting older stuff is not for the faint of heart! I need to get this weight off in a way that won't wreck my spine anymore, or further injur my knees and ankles. it seems like an e-bike might be the answer.

Anyway, I'm considering a pair of RadRovers - one for me, and one for my wife. We would be riding locally. There are lots of paved and unpaved/improved trails around the local lakes, and lots of parks with paved walking/biking trails.

Mainly, I'm attracted by the available features at that price point. I'm sure that there are other, better, e-bikes out there, but I can't afford them so a discussion of better, higher end models is fruitless at this point. I'm pretty committed to not spending more than the approximate $1,500 price for a RadRover. So I'm pretty interested in your overall ownership experience.

Thanks,

TAM


----------



## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

Log into electric bike review, lots of Rad owners there.


----------



## johnmc408 (Jun 26, 2017)

Do any of the ebikes you have come with a throttle as well as pedal-assist?
Imagine you are at a 10 foot steep up, but you need a big jump of energy, would pedal-assist do it?

If you had some type of throttle, you could jump up like a motorcycle. Seems like having both would be the best of both worlds. Was just curious about where this technology is going...

ps (edit)
I was thinking that if you had the throttle feature and e-bikes were allowed on motorcycle trails, you would have a better chance of riding the full motorcycle trails...There are lots of spots where you need to give it some gas to get up/over a hill or obstacle...


----------



## gumba (Dec 18, 2016)

I used the Bafang BBSHD kit with the mighty mini battery on 4 builds. 
Mine: Litespeed Unicoi titanium softtail (39 lbs)
Modified Diamondback Catch2 fatbike (51 lbs)
Wife's: Specialized Myka hardtail
Gravity Bullseye Monster w/Renagade RST fork
I originally converted my Intense Uzzi f/s, but returned back to stock. 
The kits came with a throttle, but I didn't install them. 
We use the fat bikes for mud & snow riding.


----------



## WoodlandHills (Nov 18, 2015)

johnmc408 said:


> Do any of the ebikes you have come with a throttle as well as pedal-assist?
> Imagine you are at a 10 foot steep up, but you need a big jump of energy, would pedal-assist do it?
> 
> If you had some type of throttle, you could jump up like a motorcycle. Seems like having both would be the best of both worlds. Was just curious about where this technology is going...
> ...


 Legal ebikes just don't have that much power IMHO. I've never ridden a legal eMTB that will loft the front wheel over trail obstacles on motor alone: these things ain't MXers! However having a throttle does make it a lot easier to remount on a hill than with PAS only, the problem is that throttles make you Class 2 and Class 2 is not welcome anywhere AFAIK. Class 1 with a momentary power button for hilly restarts would be ideal, but don't hold your breath.

BTW ebikes and electric motorcycles are already allowed on motorcycle trails and there are no power limits there either!


----------



## johnmc408 (Jun 26, 2017)

WoodlandHills said:


> Legal ebikes just don't have that much power IMHO. I've never ridden a legal eMTB that will loft the front wheel over trail obstacles on motor alone: these things ain't MXers! However having a throttle does make it a lot easier to remount on a hill than with PAS only, the problem is that throttles make you Class 2 and Class 2 is not welcome anywhere AFAIK. Class 1 with a momentary power button for hilly restarts would be ideal, but don't hold your breath.
> 
> BTW ebikes and electric motorcycles are already allowed on motorcycle trails and there are no power limits there either!


Thanks, that makes a ton of sense. I am surprised that you can't loft the front of an ebike...what a bummer...
If cost weren't an issue, I would love to ride around on the moto trails and get some mountain bike exercise...I would want both throttle and pedal-assist.


----------



## fos'l (May 27, 2009)

Cheap Nashbar steel frame, BBS02, 11-17-28 gearing with 8-speed spacing. Run Luna 52V, 10 a-h battery. Good for 20 miles, 3000+ ft ascents. Haven't tried anything longer.


----------



## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

Dude, you really, really need a frame that fits!

What is that, a 500mm seatpost?

Wow.

-Walt


----------



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Here's my 2017 Levo, up for sale. Fun bike though!


----------



## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

My bicycleized motorcycle V 2.0:









CL bargain frame (that fits) First Specialized I have ever owned
Schlumpf High Speed Drive
WTB Tubeless rims, running tubeless tires @ 35psi
1000w (OR legal) Grin All Axle Front Hub Motor with 25A controller, 10.5 Ah Panasonic GA cell "shark" battery and thumb throttle, no PAS. 19kg.

Great for any road surface and mild mannered off road exploration (strictly legal terrain of course). Due to the wide and high range gear system pedaling pressure is consistent with the amount of input you want to add throughout the power range. With current battery, range is 20-40 miles dependent on terrain, topography and desired speed. Most rides average 15 wh/mi in the high teens/low 20's average spd..

As a long time mtb'r that lost ready access to trails and was bored with my motorcycle I needed some biking avenue and this fits. Can go out the front door and get an endorphin glow and see some stuff that others don't get to along the way.


----------



## fos'l (May 27, 2009)

Walt said:


> Dude, you really, really need a frame that fits!
> 
> What is that, a 500mm seatpost?
> 
> ...


All my other bikes are 21" frames; I built this bike so my wife could ride it too. Still, the way it's set up is perfect for me; not trying to be an arrogant braggart who prides himself in mileage, just out to have a good time.


----------



## Mountie (Jun 12, 2017)

Specialized Turbo Levo Expert and I love it....


----------

