E-bikes anyone? (bicycles)

Complex answer there, but they're right for a lot of people. Ebikes can be had for under a grand and can get well over 10 grand. They come in every flavor. I personally wouldn't bother if I didn't have a specific use case - riding to work. But for some others, they would not ride without a motor. If it gets you on a bike where you otherwise wouldn't, I see that as a win. Especially if it replaces car trips.

 

This.

If you think you only need it as a novelty then maybe not

If you are 65 (me!) and can afford the boost so to speak, and ride with others who have e-bikes, then a ton of fun. Ride both. Get sweaty and burn on a pedal bike, go from point a to point b, have fun and not sweat like a pig, then ebike!

 

Cannondale isn't the smaller American company it was when I bought my first one (have had 3 so far - still have the F900 - all US made). They're owned by Pon now - a massive conglomerate of brands and bike shops. I personally do my best to avoid anything they touch, but it's tough.

 

I knew that about Pon ownership My wife’s Cannondale experience was perfect through REI

Yeah none of their manuals match the actual bike. What a cluster

I will say the customer service guy is helpful and comping me stuff. Pump, axle, water bottles, swag, etc

My high pressure stuff arrived will do the shocks tomorrow

 

Good to hear they're taking care of you. And I wasn't trying to hate on either one - I like Cannondales. They still make great bikes. It just seems like the more consolidation of companies you have in the industry, the more it stifles innovation and variety and competition. Then again, economies of scale and the ability to easily employ expensive technonologies benefits the big houses if they're willing to take chances. As long as they don't buy everything, maybe it's not so bad . There's probably plenty of room for everybody.

 

No comment other than- poor Schwinn!! I do wonder how some of their brands will do. Like GT.

Cannondale history is interesting. I worked at Precor 1992-2000 and indirectly knew/saw some aluminum welding tech exchange

 

This is kind of e-Bike related.

My e-Bike will be arriving in about two weeks. It is a fat tire "mo-ped" style bike. I'm looking for a good hitch-mounted light-weight motorcycle carrier to take the bike with me when I travel.

The requirements are:

* Can accommodate a 4-inch wide tire.
* A roll-on ramp type carrier; not a pick-it-up-and-hang-it-on-hooks type.
* A swing-out type of configuration so that I can still open my tailgate (I drive a Tacoma).

Nice to have but not required:

* Powder-coated White in color.
* A receiver hitch of its own so I can still pull my trailer.

Thanks in advance.

 

For me they are just plain fun. My girls bike was $1200 and mine was $2000 before I accessorized it up. I can't leave anything alone. I commute on mine, got 1800 miles on it. So to me they are worth it just for the fun factor alone. But I wouldn't spend big bucks on one, like over 3 grand, just fluff at that point.

 

Anyone? Anyone? ....Bueller?

 

My new E-Bike has arrived. A Bandit X-Trail Pro. Dual motors, dual batteries, F/R suspension, hydraulic brakes. It claims a top speed of 45mph and a 90-mile range. YMMV.

 

We rented some at the beach & had a blast!

Been thinking about doing a conversion on my fat tire bike.

 

Hi, guys. What rack system do you use for hauling the heavier weight of e-bikes?

First pedal assist e-mtb:

The Yakima Dr. Tray hitch rack I’ve been using seems lacking in the load capacity rating spec for hauling the e-bike. So far, I’ve hauled the GASGAS on it a couple times with no issues. However, to be on the safer side, I decided to get a combo of the 1UP RakAttach 2.0 with a Hollywood Rack Sport Rider for e-bikes rack. Anyone else have a combo like that? Hopefully, that setup will be able to handle the load during on-road and off-road use.


First “e-bike” (many consider it an e-dirt bike - no pedals, all throttle ):

For the SurRon, I use the Haul Master from Harbor Freight.

 

What model GasGas? Nice!!

We have the Swagman twin of the Hollywood above. It works for our two ebikes (~100# total) but my wife struggles with the ratchet slider lever/button. How is the Hollywood? Tough to release for a slender woman?

That Rackattach looks cool, but damn $500? Really??

 

It’s their G Enduro 1.0. Really fun e-mtb, so far.

The other hitch mounted swing out arm options I was checking out with an advertised off-road rated spec were from Wilco Offroad and RiG’D. However, those were more than $800 each.

I got the Hollywood Rack from Bike Attack in L.A. because I found out that the owner of the store is a Fil-Am guy (I wanted to support a local small business and a Filipino owned business) who has the same rack for his e-bikes. However, he uses it in conjunction with a Küat Pivot on his truck w/ RV camper on the bed. The setup I have for the Taco has a bit of overhang of the bedrack and rtt past the tailgate. The Dr.Tray rack provided enough spacing away from all that such that the nearest bike on the rack cleared that overlanding setup and also allowed for the tailgate to open up to access the back of the bed (all w/o using a hitch extension or swing out).

Pics with the Yakima Dr.Tray in use…


The Hollywood Rack has the bike tray nearest to the tailgate too close such that I cannot effectively load an adult sized bike on it without jamming it into the rtt or bedrack. I thought it might be a good time to try a swing out since while the Dr. Tray did allow enough space for fully opening the tailgate, the space was pretty cramped when bikes are loaded on the rack. The swing out can help widen out the space at the back when opened up and should provide the necessary distance to have the bikes clear the rtt and bedrack when closed.

So far I like the Hollywood Rack. It has a lot of locks and a good anti-wobble feature for the hitch. The contact points have some rubber sleeves that help protect the bikes from scratches if positioned properly. The hooks on the upright mast can be difficult to loosen up/release after getting locked onto the bike, but I think the technique is to not compress it too much when locking down so that you can have a little bit more wiggle room to compress some more when releasing it to help loosen the ratcheting mechanism.

 

how much does your bike weigh?

even before the e conversion happens.... my fat tire weighs 60lbs, so had to get the heavy duty version rack. but it was still only about $100.

show more! love this stuff.

 

Wow awesome info.

Your bike is roughly equivalent to my Moterra - how much does it weigh?

Good point. I always compress mine HARD.

Oh does the HF motorcycle rack come in dual bike style?

Thanks and sorry for all the questions. Racks have been on our minds for months now. Wife wants a ramp version. I give her credit she loves to ride dirt and all, just heavy bike and tight mechanisms! (I'm 65 she is 63)

 

The GASGAS weighs around 57-58lbs. from what I saw somewhere. The Hollywood Rack is also said to be 58lbs. With the 1UP RakAttach being able to accommodate a load capacity of 250lbs, it should be fine to carry another e-mtb/e-bike on the rack; although, gotta keep in mind that the Hollywood Rack trays max out at around 80lbs load capacity per tray.

With regard to the HF Haul Master, I don’t know if they sell a dual motorcycle rack in that brand at HF. But, I do recall seeing one online in black. It could be a different brand sold by another company.

 

If budget is not much of a concern…
you may want to combine one of these…

Wilco Offroad swing outs:
Hitchswing
https://wilcooffroad.com/collections/tacoma/products/hitchswing?variant=41028312203451
Hitchgate Switch
https://wilcooffroad.com/products/h...69819&pr_ref_pid=6962380439739&pr_seq=uniform

With something like this…
https://www.discountramps.com/hitch...wtOQBeyKYHpEiMdD9Lk_xijBg4eM3s9kaAm_6EALw_wcB

Good luck in your search!

 

The setup with the HR Sport Rider bike rack. Waiting for the 1UP RackAttach swing out to get delivered later today.

 

I did go out and buy this one. But it was heavy AF and very difficult more me to move around and even harder to insert into the receiver. You'll note that I added a couple of bogie wheels on the front end to make it easier to move, but it's still too heavy.




Then I went out and bought this one. It's strong enough my my needs and is much easier to manage. I'm going to sell the first one.