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Looking for an Electric Bike, which one?

44K views 410 replies 67 participants last post by  LeverAction35 
#1 ·
So, I’m thinking about selling off all of my target archery gear (that rarely gets used) and look into an electric bike. I will have roughly $2,500 to spend and want a bike that will go off-road and up hills.

There are a lot of conflicting reviews so I want to hear from the Hunting community on here.

Recommend a mid-drive motor or rear hub motor?

I’m pretty tall and there aren’t many around to look at and try. I’m 6’4” 215lbs.

I was looking at the Rambo and Rad e-bikes, but I’m sure there are many others.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!


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#20 ·
So much bad information in here. Most of the bikes mentioned have crap components and won't hold up to any abuse at all. If you want a real e-bike get one of the big brand bikes (Trek, Specialized etc.). You will be better off in the end and won't have to replace crappy components. You will almost absolutely pay more upfront, but you'll have a bike that won't break when you need it.

The bikes in stikbow's videos are hundreds if not thousands of times better than the Rad bikes, don't expect to even come close to being able to do that on one of the bikes mentioned in this thread.

The other thing that has only kind of been mentioned here are the E-Bike regulations. We are only at the beginning of new laws being introduced, so whatever you get now may not be legal in the near future. This coming from someone who MTB's regularly in CO and is seeing the increased legislation that is already happening with more E-Bikes on the trails.

As for tires, absolutely go Tubeless, do not use Slime it's garbage. Use Orange Seal, Stans, or one of the other popular MTB brand sealants. Slime is alright in car tires etc. but there is a reason no one who rides a MTB regularly uses it. A good sealant and a plug/patch kit will get you through almost everything. If you want additional rim protection and the ability to run a flat tire, albeit slowly, add Cushcore inserts to the tires.
 
#22 ·
The bikes in stikbow's videos are hundreds if not thousands of times better than the Rad bikes, don't expect to even come close to being able to do that on one of the bikes mentioned in this thread.
And there's the other side of the coin. Although I won't be doing anything near what the guys in the videos are doing, my hill is still plenty steep and high enough to majorly suck when walking up it. It's not far removed from what a motor cross hill climb would command.
 
#128 ·
I never followed up yesterday...I had the opportunity to test the new 2020 MuleST 1000wt and 2 new Rambo Pursuit G4s...there was a distinct difference in all three, but there is also almost a $2k difference in price between the Mule and the Rambos as well, so keep that in mind as you read.

Yes, I said two 2020 Rambo Pursuit G4’s the only difference, one was standard, the second had upgraded suspension forks and seat post. Let me tell you, the ride was night and day different. The test was rather simple, there was a 40lb weight that he strapped to the rear rack and sent me on my way. I am 5’10” roughly 170lbs.

For those local to northern Chester County, the ride was in Woody’s Woods from the Coventryville Road lot to the radio tower which is one of the more steep climbs in this area. Walking from the lot to the tower with your gear is a rather daunting task. Believe it or not I didn’t measure the distance, but that climb has easily taken me 40-minutes with my gear, trying to get up there without dying of exhaustion.

I wanted to run all three bikes using the throttle only, I didn’t want to pedal at all to see how they handled the climb and descent. I did take a wide circle around the tower on each trip to get a feel for the bikes off of the trail. I should mention the trail to the top isn’t paved, but it’s a solid, maintained trail.

Both Rambo’s performed about the same with regard to power…I was effortlessly going up the trail, but on more than one occasion, I did get the feeling that I needed to pedal, but pedaling didn’t help the process. The bikes certainly were not struggling to go up the hill and were very stable. The brakes seemed a little sloppy, especially coming downhill, both handled the little bit of off trail with ease. The real difference between the two was in the ride itself. I think I felt every stick, stone, ditch and bump with the standard bike. It certainly wasn’t unbearable, but my wrists, elbows and rear-end took a little more than I would have expected. To say the ride was stiff would be an understatement. The bike with the shock forks and upgraded seat post, literally felt like a completely different bike. I tried to make it a point to hit the same spots and to say the shock was cut by 75% is probably another understatement; it was likely much higher than that….

The Mule was a totally different beast…it did have shock forks and seat post, which he told me were standard. The Mule went everywhere effortlessly and the ride was smooth, to be fair it was close to the Rambo with the shock absorbing forks and seat post. The difference was in the feel, while the Rambo’s made it there were times when I felt like the little train that could…in that I was pushing the bike, whereas with the Mule, it almost felt as though it had plenty more to give if I wanted to push it. To be fair, I was moving a little too fast for my comfort on the way down and the brakes on the Mule were VERY responsive. The 1000wt motor is programmable down to 750wt for applications where that distinction is a requirement. Jay told me the programming is simple (not real sure what that means). The Step Through feature of the Mule was also appealing. My first reaction was it looked like a girls bike from when I was kid; you know where the boys bikes had the high nut-crusher bar, but the girls bikes had the top part of the frame that dipped lower. I could see this being very desireable if your riding with any bit of bulk and/or heavy boots. It was comfortable to stand over at 26”, where as the Rambos were 29”. Again, I didn’t notice the stand over height as much as I did the ability to get on and off…I wasn’t wearing anything heavy as it was close to 70 degrees.

It was clear to me the Mule was the best of the bikes, whether it was $2k better; that’s probably debatable. The Mule comes standard with Air shock forks and a suspension seat posts, as well as, fenders, and rear rack. You can find it around $4400 with free shipping…the Pursuit G4 can be found around $2400 with no upgrades. The forks and seat post could likely run about $250 -$500 depending on your choice, the fenders and rear rack another, $150-$200 for an estimate total ($2800-$3100).
From what I can gather, the real difference is in the specifc components, the Mule’s Bafang Ultra M620 750w/1000w mid-drive Motor not only has all metal gears (whereas the Bafang 750W BBS02 High Torque Mid Drive of the Rambo has Teflon gears), the Ultra of the Mule also has the integrated Torque Sensor which is apparently superior with pedal assist (I did not engage). I will also note that shifting gears on the Mule was much smoother than the Rambo.

Here is link to the trail with topo lines so you can see the climb.
http://southcoventry.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Woodys-Woods-Trail-Map-2015.pdf

Links to specs for Mule and Pursuit.
https://www.bakcou.com/product-page/mule-st
https://www.rambobikes.com/rambo-pursuit-750w-26-matte-black-charcoal/

If $$ were no issue, the Mule was top of the day….how far over the top, $1600 - $1300, not sure, that’s probably up to the individual rider. The fact that you can dial that motor up or down and has all metal gearing is likely a big advantage as well.

Hope this helps.
 
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#338 ·
I have the single bike one - up trailer and I like the quick load up and unload. You do have to lift it up on instead of roll it up on, so I just lift the front up on and then lift the back up on and I'm 60 and don't have a problem. I also built my own bike and I got the motor from luna cycle and got it in the Hot Rod mode which is 1200 watts which is there top wattage motor and I also got a 52 volt / 21 a/h battery. I'm not sure where the 1600 watt motor mentioned above came from because I talked to them at luna cycle and he told me that was the highest watt motor they had. Maybe he reprogramed it ! Anyway I also got a 30 tooth front chainring and I have never had a problem with any hills and that is with just throttle control no pedaling !
 
#375 ·
I don’t have one...that black widow seems nice...

 
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#382 ·
I found my hauler. Gonna go with the harbor freight 400 lb motorcycle carrier. Reviews, youtube vids are great. So is the cost. $139.99, have a 20% off coupon on top of that. Local store has 2 in stock. Will have one by the weekend.
 
#392 ·
You can give them a call the guys at M2S are great!!

If you won’t be doing a lot of hauling or climbing steep terrain the the 750HT is likely plenty. It is a hub design as opposed to mid-drive, but most mid-drives will drive you out of your $2k price range.

I believe the most significant distinction between the 750 and 750 integrated is the battery configuration...but again a quick call to them during their hours will get all your questions answered.
 
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#393 ·
I appreciate the speedy response! I just got off the phone with them and like you mentioned, the battery is the main difference from what they told me. Sounds like the new battery configuration actually has a slightly shorter battery life when at full charge compared to the old design. Didn’t ask why that was but I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on the r750 ht. Question is is do I go with the white over the cool green or the black and grey for the fact that the white is $200 cheaper lol? 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
#405 ·
Just received my M2S bike last week,I got the All Terrain 750 HT and its a beast well built bike. The guys at M2S were very helpful, they have contacted me 3 time wanting to know if I had any concerns, none yet. One thing I could have changed was getting a step thru model, I have a hard time getting my 67yr old, 3 back operation leg lifted over the back of the bike with boots and a pack, I have to lay it on its side some to get on. I just ordered new grips the Ergon GP4 and a comfort seat, I do this with all my mountain bikes. Very impressed so far.
 
#3 ·
You'll likely get some "mine's the best " replies so look for what appeals to you. I have a Rambo 750 that pulls a 300+ lb man on the cart with ease but that may not happen on steep hills. The 1000 watt motors will have more power but may not be legal in some places. Mid motors have very good torque but you will need to carry a chain repair kit because the bike is useless with a broken chain, where a rear hub drive can still be ridden with power. A front shock will be more comfortable as will a better seat.
 
#5 ·
If you want to go uphill and/or pull some weight, you’ll want a mid drive motor. They offer much more torque than a hub motor. Regardless of what brand of bike you go with, the majority of mid drive Ebikes have one of two motors on them - Either the Bafang BBS02 which you’ll commonly see associated with bikes being advertised as “750 watt” or the Bafang BBSHD which is commonly the “1000 watt” bikes. The HD is built with better components and is capable of handling more torque than the BBS02.

In addition to the motors, some other components I would look for when comparing bikes are fixed forks vs suspension (suspension will absorb bumps better and make for a more comfortable ride), disc brakes vs hydraulic (hydraulic is better), and internal rear gear hub instead of a rear cassette with a derailleur. The IGH is a better setup for off-road use since you won’t have to worry about something getting caught in the derailleur or it breaking off, or the chain coming off while switching gears. All the gear switching is done within the sealed rear hub with an IGH.
 
#10 ·
Interesting topic for me, too. I'd love to hear from people who have an ebike. There's a steep hill on my hunting property that is about 400ft vertical climb in short distance. I have to climb that hill every hunt to access the ridge top. Once up there I can travel with ease, but getting up there sucks. I'm so sweaty by the time I get to the ridge that scent control in a non-issue. It becomes entirely about hunting the wind. If an ebike could get me up there without getting sweaty, it would be worth its weight in gold to me. I'd already have bought one except I'm afraid I'll spend a few grand only to find out it won't climb that hill, and I haven't yet seen or heard anything to give me confidence.
 
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