Unless you want to have a ton of fun!!
One of my good friends, Dean Rittenhouse, organized an electric bike rental with a group of friends in Washington, D.C. about 5 years ago and looking back, it was one of the most memorable moments in the last decade. we had so much fund cruising around the national monuments and moving effortlessly through the city without breaking a sweat!!
Fast forward 5 years and my friends invited me to go mountain biking and i was so worried that i would not be able to keep up with them, so I made the decision to buy an electric mountain bike and started my research. Here are the steps that I followed and hopefully they can help you too!
Step 1: Requirements
- weight: a bike as light as possible to carry around. Challenge: e-bikes can get heavy b/c of the motor and the battery
- portability: would like to be able to throw the bike in the car or take on the train
- price: not looking to break the bank, these bikes can get expensive
- power: would like to have enough power to push through intersections or up hills when in need of a kick
- duration: hoping to have enough batter life to get back and forth to work and or an afternoon of riding with friends
The requirements are so important because it helped me think more clearly about what is important. It also provided me with a framework for evaluating.
Step 2: Shopping
- Studying the market, see what is out there
- youtube: great resource for videos on the variety of ebikes on the market that you can view, see reviews, watch in action and gain a comfort level
- narrow down your option to the top 3, there are going to be tradeoffs, what are you comfortable including versus excluding.
Step 3: Test drive
- some ebikes are not available for test drive, so this part can be harder to accomplish.
after doing my homework, i ultimately ended up purchasing the Wallke E-bike. after riding it for a couple months, and closing over 500 miles so far, i can tell you that i'm loving it!!! Not only is it so much fun, but it's kick started my exercise routine. I have been able to map out a path to work, so i'm able to bike to the office, hit the gym and then get to my desk by 7 am if all goes well... the feeling of being in the office early and having already exercised is tremendous. the funny thing is that i'm not typically ready to start working out first thing in the morning, but after a 30 minute bike ride, my energy level has increased and i have been able to hit the gym and get a great workout.
One of the nice features of the Wallke is the foldability. This bike folds in half and fits mostly in the trunk with a bungee cord. Able to bike about 50 miles at speed assist level 1. This is a class C bike which means that the top power speed is 28 MPH. Most of the time not going that fast, but on occasion helpful to reach destination faster when the coast is clear.
The wide tires and shock absorbers make the ride smooth and cushy- and loving the bigger seat... have a hard time thinking about a tiny hard seat that has become the standard in the biking world... also the hydraulic disk breaks stop on a dime!
Wallke has been great with customer service- responsive and helpful.
From an overall price value perspective, I'm very happy. My biggest complaint is the weight, but over time that has become overshadowed by the functionality. And I will find any excuse to use my ebike and would highly recommend considering this addition to your active lifestyle!
