Flat bar ebike for $3 - 5k?

[apatheticaf]

I checked out a Gumtree ebike recently that's beautiful in every way, except it's a few centimetres too large for me (it's their small frame). I can stand over the top tube fine, but the seat is a little bit higher than I'm used to and a little further from the handles.

I know there are tons of options in that price range, but the aesthetics need to work for me. I'd prefer a flat bar, but would consider a road bike. I don't love the wart-y look of external batteries, but I could live with it.

I checked out a rear hub drive at 99 Bikes and it felt odd (pace wasn't constant when pedalling at high boosts). Which makes me wary of the Merida eSpeeder or even the Orbea Gain. I read of BMC Alpenchallenge AMP on this site, looks sweet but its too pricey at the moment.

In short, got any recommendations for the type of ebike I'm after in the $3 - 5k range, or should I go for the oversized Gumtree buy?

[blizzard]

What kind of riding do you want to do / what kind of flat bar Ebike? Most in that range are hybrid city style bikes. For that price range I would be looking at middrive bikes.

Are racks / fenders important to you?

Merida and Cube have a whole lot of flat bar ebikes in that range with the battery reasonably well integrated with the downtube.

[apatheticaf]

what kind of flat bar Ebike

Throw me options and I'll take it from there.

I noted the Merida eSpeeder, which certainly suits my aesthetics. Not sure about the rear hub though.

I'll look into Cube.

I take it you're not recommending the slightly oversized Gumtree buy option?

[blizzard]

Best to buy a bike that fits you, with Gumtree buys, I would look for something that is a good saving over new, say 50% of new price. Also be wary of any ebikes sold without a charger, it's a big sign of the Ebike being stolen.

For ebikes I personally think 10sp is the sweet spot for having a good enough range of gears, durability and reasonable price

Something like this which is verging towards hardtail MTB

https://www.99bikes.com.au/merida-22-eb ... -blue-lime


Or
This which is still a hybrid style bike (9 sp)
https://www.99bikes.com.au/cube22-touri ... sharpgreen



Personally, I really like low step ebikes, but definitely not for everyone.
https://www.99bikes.com.au/cube22-react ... additional

[Andy01]

I checked out a Gumtree ebike recently that's beautiful in every way, except it's a few centimetres too large for me (it's their small frame). I can stand over the top tube fine, but the seat is a little bit higher than I'm used to and a little further from the handles.

I know there are tons of options in that price range, but the aesthetics need to work for me. I'd prefer a flat bar, but would consider a road bike. I don't love the wart-y look of external batteries, but I could live with it.

I checked out a rear hub drive at 99 Bikes and it felt odd (pace wasn't constant when pedalling at high boosts). Which makes me wary of the Merida eSpeeder or even the Orbea Gain. I read of BMC Alpenchallenge AMP on this site, looks sweet but its too pricey at the moment.

In short, got any recommendations for the type of ebike I'm after in the $3 - 5k range, or should I go for the oversized Gumtree buy?

Could the saddle not be lowered and brought forward to suit ? Maybe even a shorter stem ? If it is already a Small frame, you may not get much smaller ?

What bike was the Gumtree one and how tall are you ?

[apatheticaf]

Could the saddle not be lowered and brought forward to suit

I would love it if either of these were possible. The battery is in the down tube and the saddle was as low as it would go. Might be able to nudge it forward a centimetre at most.

I'm just 160cm. I've ridden Tokyo Bike medium, would probably ride Merida medium too. I'd go for a small Orbea though.

I'm trying to find a local bike shop that's stocks either Merida eSpeeder or Orbea Vibe in my size. Depending on how the rear hub of those feel, I'd definitely do that over Gumtree. So far, the locals mostly stock large though.

[Duck!]

There maybe some room to cut the seatpost shorter while still maintaining the safe minimum insertion. It is common practice in The Industry to use the same length post for all sizes, which means on smaller frames a bit needs to be lopped of to get it low enough.

[50+Chubbs]

Not sure where you are based, but I recently purchased two ebikes at Melbourne Powered and they were amazingly helpful. They have a good range and you can test ride anything you are keen on.

[Andy01]

Could the saddle not be lowered and brought forward to suit

I would love it if either of these were possible. The battery is in the down tube and the saddle was as low as it would go. Might be able to nudge it forward a centimetre at most.

I'm just 160cm. I've ridden Tokyo Bike medium, would probably ride Merida medium too. I'd go for a small Orbea though.

I'm trying to find a local bike shop that's stocks either Merida eSpeeder or Orbea Vibe in my size. Depending on how the rear hub of those feel, I'd definitely do that over Gumtree. So far, the locals mostly stock large though.

I am 165cm and found a Merida Small frame (hybrid bike) was too big for me. The standover height was 30mm more than the standover height of my Giant Roam 1 (also Small) - was a little uncomfortable on the dismount In my experience Merida and Cube bikes seemed to have the highest standover heights of the hardtails and hybrids I was looking at, with Polygon probably the lowest.

Of course, e-bikes may be completely different

[timbo]

I know a few people who have gone for the Trek FX+ hybrid e-bikes. They have gone from a regular hybrid to an e-bike version and comment that even without the e-power engaged, are a smoother bike to ride. Another one to consider.

[grt046]

I know a few people who have gone for the Trek FX+ hybrid e-bikes. They have gone from a regular hybrid to an e-bike version and comment that even without the e-power engaged, are a smoother bike to ride. Another one to consider.

Agree.
Saw a FX+ 2 in the local store last week and it looks pretty neat. At $3600 RRP is within your budget range