E-bikes purchase advice

For your needs, I would probably go for something like this, on the higher end:
https://m-way.ch/cannondale-adventur…=155.12.100846

Or something like this on the lower end:
https://m-way.ch/allegro-invisible-a…=500.21.000576

I probably wouldn’t go lower quality than this. Coming down the hill from Aegeri to Zug is steep and you want something with sufficient quality to ensure safety

There is an M Way shop in Zugerland, where you can get a real feel for the bikes before you decide what’s best for you. I have an eMTB and I absolutely love it!

Ok, so how does this stack up?

https://www.fr.bikester.ch/ortler-be…32#cgid=240813

Have you seen the road from Aegeri to Zug? You descend around 400m in 3km!

Looks slightly lower quality than my suggestions, but all in all it looks like a solid bike with a mix of known brand components. Certainly much better than the Decathlon suggestions.

This is basically an evolution of the my bike I commented on earlier...at least they have upped the wheels to 36 spokes.

Having said that, mine did last 9'000km before becoming a wreck.

I bought my e-bike from rebike, it's a German company, that sells good quality used e-bikes that come back from rentals. Mine had a few hundred kms on it. It arrived within a week and I have been very happy with it so far. I bought a KTM, but they also have Flyer and others.

The price of the bike is not a great indication of quality. It depends an awful lot on how that money is distributed over the components. Reviews don’t often mention much about rims, spokes and hubs, so guess where the costs get cut! I ride a 30 year old Dawes Super Galaxy and the spec goes right down to who made the spokes! Not something you’d see today.

I always translate‘proprietary wheels’ as: the cheapest crap we think we can get away with.

Look around,there are lots of good component bikes available for around 1500 Fr. Go cheaper and the components will be inferior. Important is frame size and I can recommend a frame with half height crossbar for ladies as it gives more stability than the traditional ladies frame.

I splashed out on an Aureus drive two years ago (after riding my own ebike conversions) and am not disappointed but I know I could have got better value from suppliers such as bikester.ch

One consideration is the maintenance/service of the bikes, and how close the cycle shops are to where you live and work. Some dealers will work on only their own trusted brands. It's worth considering the time and effort it will take you to get to the next dealer or your brand or the next generalist mechanic to do any work you can't or don't want to do yourself.

Get one with a mid motor.

Cube sells good bikes with all the right specs (Bosch motor, good disk breaks, etc.) and are slightly cheaper than other brands with same specs.

Try before you buy. Some bikes will "fit" you better than others.

I have a Cube '21 Hybrid EXC trekking bike I bought through Bike24.de. Due to often needing to haul 1 or 2 kids, 4-piston calipers were a must. Unfortunately I missed out on the 12mm rear axle.

It's been a very reliable and solid unit, but they do use a lot of proprietary parts , and the battery was stolen at the train station because the locking system has a known weakness. Still, 4800km in less that 18months isnt bad.

I've got a Cube E-Bike but don't agree with "the right specs". Cube, like many other manufacturers, doesn't use a full Shimanu group but mainly the visible parts of the expensive range and invisible parts of the cheap range.

For example, mine had Deore XT drivetrain and M315 brakes. These brakes are really crap (so much fading that I needed to take breaks to cool down when going downhill) and I've upgraded them in the meanwhile.

Exactly. That's why I went for one with M6120 brakes (4-piston). They are better, but chew through pads and discs more than I'd hoped. Good thing they are very cheap and easy to change.

It depends what model and price range you buy. Mine is full Shimano XT drivetrain and brakes.

So the Cube E Bikes are recommended by a good few people here ? Im looking for something with panniers to take me down to the village and back but not a dedicated road or mountain bike. these guys sound fairly decent ?

Panniers are an add-on, and best suited for a trekking bike. Most come with a luggage rack that will take click-on panniers.

I bought a Prophete e-bike from Marktkauf , Weil am Rhein, Germany, in 2014, for 1000Euro , I think.

Am still using it, always with a double child-chariot attached behind. That's a lot of weight to pull.

No probs.

It does not have disc brakes.

It has a front wheel motor.

I have replaced the tires maybe thrice.

I replaced those rubber brake things once too.

I spend a 60-100chf per year on servicing. This amount includes the above parts.

I have replaced the battery once (500chf from Amazon.de),

(I do need a new battery again now)The removable (for charging) battery sits below the seat thereby lowering the centre of gravity.

It has 3 gears.It is used only for city riding. So if that's your thing, this is great. There are also many models for different uses.

Correction !!

A new battery costs 200chf , not 500 !! Just ordered one.

an ebike from Giant for less thank 2.5K?

agree on the braking. v-brakes and disc brakes have their pros and cons. but stopping power is not really a major consideration for most people.

i was hurtling down a steep hill in torrential rain the other day with a heavy load on the bike and the v-brakes were more than enough to handle even excessively aggressive riding style. the ability to avoid flipping over or skidding will probably be a bigger limiting factor before the breaking power/type of brakes.

i typically would recommend v-brakes for beginners due to easier maintenance.