At the moment, I’m leaning more towards the relatively lighter, nimbler, cheaper bikes with medium range than towards the relatively heavier, long range, more powerful, more expensive bikes.
I mentioned two of the former in the above spoiler on specific bikes: the Aventon Level and the Rad City 5. I’m adding a third to that category with similar specs: the Ride1Up 700. All 3 of these bikes are in the $1700-$2000 range, are well reviewed, and seem like good options to consider. I personally like the styling of the Aventon Level and Ride1Up 700 bikes more than the Rad City, but the Rad City might have a very slight edge in quality of components. However, the Rad City is also strictly limited to 20mph where the other 2 can go up to 28mph with pedal assist. No wired lights on the Aventon compared to the other 2.
Another thing I didn’t include in my general thoughts: I want hydraulic brakes given the heavier weight of an ebike. These 3 all have them.
It’s $3200 and pretty loaded.
Advantages over the cheaper bikes I like above:
Mid drive
More power
Could add a second battery later for very long range if I want to
It covers pretty much everything on my wish list with one exception: the pedal assist is cadence sensing rather than cadence+torque sensing. That’s a pretty minor compromise.
I am looking to buy one this spring too, maybe two for the wife and I.
I really like the Dost you just posted.
My biggest concern is that I want to be able to try it out before buying it , particularly qhen dropping $3k+ on a bike like this.
I did look a bit at REI, and you are correct that being able to test drive a bike locally at REI or another bike shop is an advantage.
Things I like more about the Dost bike:
More powerful motor
Bigger battery
Option of huge capacity with second battery if I want that later
Throttle
Can operate as Class 1, 2, or 3 bike
Doubt I’d use it, but ridiculous 100lb rear rack capacity
Things I like better about this one:
Local test drive
Cheaper
Lighter
3 frame sizes (not really a factor for me, but could be a huge factor for short or tall folks)
If I lived in a flatter area I’d find a lower powered motor at lower cost more tempting. The REI bike also only has 3 pedal assist settings, where many competitors have more. The Dost and Aventon bikes have 5 assist levels, and the Ride1Up has 9 customizable levels. This bike is a mid drive though, which is an advantage vs the hub drives in the Aventon and Ride1Up models.
One option I hadn’t considered at all before starting my research is a CVT transmission. I have never ridden one before, and would definitely need to try to test drive one locally before dropping $$ on a bike with one. Based on descriptions it sounds pretty cool, but it does come with a couple of tradeoffs: weight and price. I think the price difference is generally ~$800, and add a few pounds.
Maybe more details than you care to know:
Summary
The Dost Kope has that available as an option, but not shipping until 2023 and it is exactly $800 more at $4000. That got me looking for comparable bikes that are available now.
One interesting option is the Evelo Aurora Limited at $4200. It’s somewhat similar to the Dost Kope in terms of specs. Some compare/contrast items:
Both bikes have powerful mid-drive motors with good battery size, have a more comfortable upright riding position that I like, and are fully loaded with all the goodies I want
I don’t know whether a CVT transmission is worth the extra $800 and weight. Might not even like the sensation, as it sounds pretty different.
The Dost has the option to add a second battery later for super range. I don’t know if that might be important, but it’s a nice plus. Not clear if Evelo does: their comparison page below says you can, but the actual extra battery they sell says it’s only for other models. Either way their website needs updating.
Evelo pedal assist is both cadence and torque sensing, Dost is cadence only. That’s a plus for Evelo
Evelo bikes come with a 4 year, 20k mile warranty. That’s exceptional for ebikes
Evelo offers a 21 day trial period with 100% refund, return shipping included. Not too many restrictions on that (not more than 75 miles ridden, must return in original packaging).
That got me looking at other Evelo bikes and I have another new one on the list: the Evelo Aurora Sport at $2500. Has many of the same specs as the Dost Kope, including the identical motor and similar level of goodies. Besides the warranty and the test drive that are a plus for Evelo, some things that I think would still make me lean towards the Kope:
Evelo has mechanical disk brakes rather than hydraulic. That’s a big downgrade for me
This model has a 11.6Ah battery vs the 14Ah battery on the Kope. Advantage Kope
7 speed Evelo, 9 speed Kope. Advantage Kope
Kope has the ability to add the second battery later if desired. Advantage Kope.
So while the Evelo Aurora Sport checks most of my boxes for less $ I think I prefer that Kope even though it’s a little pricier. The question I am wondering now is whether that CVT on the Aurora Limited plus cadence sensing is worth $4200 vs the Kope at $1000 less. While I could order the Evelo under their trial period, I’d rather see if I can find a CVT bike locally to try out. I think I might be able to find a Gazelle Ultimate C380 to test drive locally. If so, that’s my next step. While that Gazelle sounds like a great bike I previously ranked it lower than some others (but didn’t discuss it here)
ETA: Evelo must consider Dost one of their main competitors, as I found a page on their site where they compare the bike above with the Dost bikes. It’s slightly outdated, as prices for both brands are currently higher. The comparison page doesn’t really help me as it boils down to the same issue I previously identified: is the auto transmission, torque sensing pedal assist, and better warranty worth $1000? The other differences are pretty minor. EVELO Electric Bicycles vs. DŌST Bikes | EVELO
The more I look at this stuff, including “automatic transmission” I start to wonder how this is even a bicycle anymore.
I think I need to spend more time with one of these bikes to understand.
Starting to feel like I am going to be riding an exercise bike while driving a moped.
I’ll be riding a specialized turbo levo e-mountain bike tomorrow. I’m in the market for new rig and totally not getting an e-bike at the moment, but my friend has a spare and we’re going for a ride tomorrow. should be fun
i have friends (they are a couple) who bike a lot. i would like to join them on adventures. mrs f would too, but can’t handle the physical pace and distance (for reasons). she thought an e-bike would help her ride some but also keep up with the crew. I hope it works that way, as that would be funner for all.
If you are sold on the idea of the CVT and will be doing all your riding on paved roads, another good bike to consider is the Priority Current. I didn’t include it in my finalists as it doesn’t include a front suspension or throttle. I will be riding a little on gravel trails, so I want that front suspension, and I think a throttle is a nice option.
For those looking to get a cheaper electric bike, this is one of the better ones I’ve seen for under $1000. It doesn’t have all the features I want, but $740 is a great price. You can get a bigger motor, bigger battery, and a 21 speed from the same company if you move up in price just a little
I rode a Rad Power bike today on a tour. Because it was a rental, it didn’t have gears, just the one speed. It had pedal assist and you could twist the handle to get a boost to get you moving, but wouldn’t fully propel you.
It does take a second or so from when you start pedaling to when it kicks in, but it’s easy to get used to. It had ‘no assist’ plus four levels of power to select from. At full tilt it would let me go up a ~10° incline like it was flat pavement. I might be exaggerating a bit, but it was pretty powerful.
I have a bike, and a Vespa, so I don’t think I need something else slotted in between them in my garage, but they are slick.
Have found this thread very interesting and informative.
My wife and I were holidaying in the BC Interior in June and we were in the minority by riding regular bikes rather than electric bikes. We discussed what we might be missing out on but concluded that electric bikes were a “slippery slope”. We feared we would abandon our regular bikes entirely if we had electric bikes and with it one of our main forms of exercise.
Where we did see a good argument for the use of electric bikes was on the mountain bike trails. Only a super fit young person could bicycle up the steep mountain trails on a regular bike. In that regard the electric bikes would be a good way for old folks to keep on mountain biking. However I will stick to manpower alone for regular city riding.
My wife is quite a bit slower and far less endurance than me riding regular bikes, so we’ve rarely cycled together. She really loved the electric bike (pedal assist) because she could put in as much effort as she wanted to without worrying about being too slow. I think this could be a game changer as to whether we can do cycling tours together.
Sure, I could slow down but the pedal assist allows both of us to get a good workout and still cycle together.