I want a bike, probably electric so I don’t have to always peddle. I want a bike whose seat is low down so I can sit up comfortably on my seat instead of leaning forward to grab the handle bars. I want the seat to be wide and comfortable but I’m pretty sure I can just get a different seat for the bike. I was looking around and found this, is it any good. I don’t need anything super fancy just something that can get me a few miles in good time, biking the 6 miles to and from school this week for finals has made me realize how much I need a new bike.
by Quiet-Astronaut6889
4 Comments
This is gonna suck to hear but I would personally never touch an electric bike this cheap, it just doesn’t make sense. A decent electric bike is like a grand. You’re free to try it but no one on this sub can advise you to buy this, sorry.
avoid, is there maybe a trainstation in your town that sells bikes for cheap? they do this in my country
I’m far from a bike snob and believe that even a properly assembled/adjusted cheap bike that gets you riding can be a great thing… But there’s no way I’d buy an ebike that cheap – at best, it’ll probably fall apart fast and the battery will be a crapshoot that is likely fail before long. At worst, subpar components and engineering could cause safety issues while riding or from possibility of starting on fire. At that price, major corners get cut on regular bikes – on an ebike, I seriously question the engineering quality of the battery, charging circuitry, throttle&cadence sensor, and quality control.
The shop I worked as a mechanic in actually banned us from taking in and working on ebikes that weren’t sold by our store after one that caught fire in a sister shop.
**That said**, 6 miles is a pretty reasonable distance that can be adjusted to with some practice, so what I’d personally recommend is either:
A) if your current bike is the right size for you (a whole topic in itself) but is having problems like not shifting properly or brakes not working great, maybe stop in for a checkup at a bike shop or invest some time in learning to work on it (park tool on youtube has awesome tutorials) and save yourself some money over a new bike. A little maintenance and some basic parts could make an old bike feel new for relatively cheap!
B) put that money toward a secondhand bike that’s in decent condition and built to last from a reputable name brand. Depending on where you live, you might be surprised at the prices for a bit older trek, marin, specialized, raleigh, etc. hybrid bike – and with regular maintenance they should last for years. Give it a good test ride before buying to verify everything works right.
Bonus option C) save up quite a bit more to buy a reasonably reliable ebike so it’s more likely to be a worthwhile investment and safe ride. A lot easier said than done, I know. That’s partly why I don’t own an ebike yet even though they can be super practical.
I’m can guarantee you that this is some sort of scam