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veronika
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veronika
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PostThu May 23, 2019 4:14 pm 
Thinking of purchasing one to get to and from trailheads. Pros/cons? Recommendations? My budget is between$500 and $1500. Thanks in advance.

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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Stefan
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PostThu May 23, 2019 4:38 pm 
I recently purchased a pedal assist electric mountainbike. $2K Although you can get a setup that is an electronic throttle control to ADD on to your mountainbike. Price ranges I have seen are $1K to $2K. Pros with ebikes: Mucho less overall maintenance compared to combustible motor bike. Ebikes are classified as a bike in Washington state. Ebike can go INTO and OUT of your car more easily than a motorized bike. Can legally ride Ebike behind gates that say "No motorized vehicles". Cons with ebikes: slower than a motorbike. More physical effort.

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Randito
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PostThu May 23, 2019 4:54 pm 
Be sure to consider the range rating on the ebike and talk to others with the same model too see what the "real world" range is, particularly after the bike is year old. It would kinda suck to invest a bunch of dough in an ebike and find that it runs out of juice 1/2 way back from the trailheads you want access and the bus stop.

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Cyclopath
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PostThu May 23, 2019 5:37 pm 
Do a long test ride, up and down lots of hills, and bad pavement. FS roads are generally rough, and not flat. I've heard a lot of eBikes handle frighteningly down hill due to their weight. Get a sense for how it handles, make sure you're comfortable with it. Different bikes with different geometry handle differently, and it's worth trying a few to find the best one. You're going to be riding it at the ends of hikes, sometimes when you're beat, so it should feel as natural as possible. There's a thread over in the gear forum about specific motors, batteries, and stuff like that, along with people sharing their experience of having one.

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veronika
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veronika
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PostThu May 23, 2019 5:54 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
There's a thread over in the gear forum
I did a search before I posted this but couldn't find it. I was searching motorized bikes. dizzy.gif Though not new to here, I am new to the ebikes. We don't have them in Destin, Fl. Found it! Thanks! up.gif

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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Tom
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PostThu May 23, 2019 8:04 pm 
What do you mean by to and from trailheads? If you're looking to commute long distances that might be a very different recommendation than a bike for roads to trails use.

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veronika
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veronika
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PostThu May 23, 2019 8:40 pm 
Well, the transit only gets me so far... Then I have to bike the rest of the way to the TH. I'm just really not interested in I90 hikes at all. I figured if I get a motorized bike I can travel somewhat further like MLH or HWY 2. Or wherever. confused.gif ETA: Not interested in busting my ass with pedaling either.

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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Riverside Laker
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PostThu May 23, 2019 8:57 pm 
The Mountain Loop Hwy isn't too bad for cycling although I've only ridden it on weekdays. I'd avoid Hwy 2 like the plague. Terrible road for cycling. You might enjoy joining a hiking club and carpooling a lot more than ebikes for this use.

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Tom
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PostThu May 23, 2019 9:15 pm 
How many miles round trip? The Volton El Legs Express fits your budget and is good for ~20 miles using throttle only. Double that if you pedal. Hills will eat up a lot of battery if you don't pedal. I think it's a good value for the money and relatively light and stealthy for an e-bike but probably not the best choice for longer commutes. Volton is closing them out for $1399 - $100 off coupon RIDEVOLTON = $1299 shipped. It's a mid-drive so balances better and takes advantage of the bike's gearing. If you're in the Issaquah area you can take mine for a spin. That said you might want something with a lower step over height being a female. You could also look at rear hub bikes. The are heavier and cheaper. Should be fine if you just want a commuter.

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veronika
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veronika
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PostThu May 23, 2019 9:30 pm 
Yes Tom... Looking for a commuter. I'm thinking I may not travel more than 20 miles. I'll keep this one in mind! A co-worker has an ebike and she is going to bring it to work so I can check it out. As for hiking groups... Nobody really wants to give anyone a ride or have a tag along these days. Maybe on the trail but not riding together. I've found people are okay with it if it's a carpool type thing but if you don't have a car, most want nothing to do with it. The world (and ppl) have changed. shakehead.gif Oh well. That's why I'm trying to figure this out!

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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flatsqwerl
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PostFri May 24, 2019 8:31 am 
Veronica, I agree with you about people generally not wanting to give rides. For me, this issue is a lot about the insane time spent in traffic...hitting commutes on each end of a hike makes it harder to stomach going out of your way for pickup and drop-off. This can easily make a 4-5 hr total drive for a simple day hike. If there was a way to find the hikers who live very close to you? I know its not easy to make those connections though. When I moved to Tacoma my mountain hikes commute got longer. It was a hard choice that still bums me out. I applaud your efforts in regards to finding a way to get to the mountains.

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Randito
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PostFri May 24, 2019 9:11 am 
You might give a look at Mountaineers hikes and Meetup hiking groups and look for hikes that are carpooling from Park and Ride lots. On trips I've organized I often list the 65th street park and ride and the Issquah transit center as carpooling locations. Several of my (all ski trips) has included folks taking their skis on the bus to get to/from the P&R lot. Many times with my groups someone ends up dropping the carless person off at their place instead of the P&R lot. Of course the group dynamics may not work for you. Mountaineers hikes are well organized, perhaps a bit too much. Meetup groups are a little looser, perhaps a bit too much "soup to nuts".

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Cyclopath
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PostFri May 24, 2019 9:14 pm 
Where do you live? Somebody reading this might be your neighbor.

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veronika
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veronika
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PostSat May 25, 2019 10:28 am 
In Lynnwood.

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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treeswarper
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PostWed May 29, 2019 12:49 pm 
Rad Bikes are located in Seattle somewhere. You can try them out there. I have a 2017 Radmini. My friend has a 2918. They changed the battery and even though we are both of the same weight, and I think I used my throttle less, the newer mini's battery did way better than mine. After 23 miles, my display showed two bars left. The other bike had four showing. Rads are around $1500 and there are quite a few models. They are very popular because of their price, and some models sell out about as fast as they are assembled. Electric bikes are electronics and as soon as you get one, another improvement pops up and the next year's is better. I use my bike as a second car as well as for fun in the woods. It is a type 2 ebike but if you use the throttle much, it'll run down the battery faster. I find the throttle good to use to accelerate quickly at one of the four stoplights here. Because these bikes are heavy, the throttle also is good to just get them going after stopping. However, throttles are frowned upon by some groups making up the regulations. The latter concerns me. Ebikes are new and misunderstood. Rules are being made by people who may not have even seen one. Ebikes are like a regular bike, it all depends on the rider as to how they are handled. We snuck up on two moose on our last out in the woods ride. That's how quiet our bikes are.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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