Electric bike- I want to buy one that is top quality and easy to use?

Question

Any suggestions on a great electric bike?

Answer 1

Do you mean a bicycle or motorcycle format?

There is a wide range of choices depending on your financial means.  Anything from an electric hub motor front wheel and batteries to convert your current bike all the way up to velomobiles and EVs.

You need to be a bit more specific.

Answer 2

I bought one recently, but it wasn't top quality - actually it was the cheapest I could find.  The E-Zip Mountain Trailz.  It's actually pretty good, but the realistic range is only about 13 miles.

I've heard that Giant makes some really good ones:

http://nycewheels.com/giant-electric-bik...

As does Currie Technologies.  They make both the E-Zip (cheap version) and the i-Zip (higher quality).

http://www.currietech.com/html/07_ezip_m...

http://www.izipusa.com/

The main things you want to look at are range, battery type, and weight.  Obviously lighter and longer range are better.  Mine claims to go 15-22 miles/charge and only gets 13, so performance may not meet the claims.  I think the range claims are based on biking pretty slowly.

Sealed lead acid batteries are the cheapest and most economical, but only last about a year.  Bikes with NiMh batteries last about twice as long, but the battery costs about 3 times as much as a SLA battery.  Lithium ion batteries are very expensive but last a very long time.

Good luck.