The elusive $1k quality E-bike... Coming this year?

[Timpo]

The 15mph restriction is limited electronically. The motor is capable of propelling more.
If they come to the US market, they can just unlock it to 20mph.

The Japanese ebike motors have been around for decades, and made to be robust. They do look outdated and aesthetically unpleasant, but worked for a very long time. Also because they see little to no updates, they can keep the price very affordable despite having torque sensor and mid drive.

Not just Yamaha, but Panasonic has very outdated model too. But these bikes are very affordable and backed up by good warranty.

In the US, there are only top of the line motors available. They get redesigned very often and keeping prices high.
The US customers only get the top of the line expensive models, because ebikes are hobbies.

I think they should bring $1,000 entry models. It gives people more options.

Panasonic Hurryer

Yamaha PAS Brace

Bridgestone Real Stream

 

[BigNerd]

@Timpo We need to import these Japanese mid-drive affordable bikes and see if there is a market for them... TimpoBigNerd Ebikes!

 

[Timpo]

@Timpo We need to import these Japanese mid-drive affordable bikes and see if there is a market for them... TimpoBigNerd Ebikes!

There are ebike shops that privately imported JDM (Japan Domestic Market) ebikes.
Kaeru Bikes was one of them.

However, by the time they imported Japanese ebikes, the prices became double.
Which was understandable, because they had to purchase Yamaha ebikes in Japan at retail price, and do all the warranty work and had to have all the spare parts and all that... and still make money to make the business viable.

In short, manufactures need to bring them in to maintain $1000 price mark.

Yamaha was able to maintain pretty much the same price on YPJ series, in addition, if you look at motorcycles / scooters / cars, Japanese manufactures can maintain pretty much the same price, maybe 5% increment, if that.

 

[BigNerd]

Cheaper mid drive e bike, Buzz bike, is around $1500.

Any others? The only other one I can find is the Ariel C-Class for $1799 and it has a Nexus IGH which is interesting as I don't know much about internal geared hubs.

 

[CityExplorer]

Lectric XP vs Ride1Up Core-5

The Lectrix XP wins this little shootout, but now the owner likes the Core-5 more, as he found out he could put an adjustable stem on the bike and get the ride position he wanted.

 

[BigNerd]

Saw that video already. Although he likes the regular bike profile of the Core-5, he has more "fun" riding the XP.

 

[Asher]

Couldn't agree more. Like so many things the vocal minority on social media seems to drive companies these days. YouTube is full of videos of fast, throttle driven ebikes. A 15 mph PAS doesn't have a chance to excite the market. Non cyclists have no idea that 15 mph is difficult to maintain on most bike paths. Whether true or not it seems most want a minimum 28+ mph. I'd love to see a scientific poll of the speed members here average over a year of riding.

A bike you can only use on bike paths is next to worthless in the US, for actual transport. There just aren't very many bike paths.

15 mph is quite easy to maintain for a fit adult on a non-crowded flat, straight bike path, using say a hybrid bike. I did a bike ride with a friend in Europe, I had a hybrid, she had a euro e bike, and she could not keep up at all at 15.5 mph on flat grounds ( I slowed down to accommodate).

I did a survey here and few go 28 mph with Class 3. But plenty go 20-25, and speed is useful when you need it.

As long as cars are going over 20 mph, limiting vehicles to 20 is just pointless, because 20+ mph speeds are just useful. I prefer 22-24 for cruising.

 

[CityExplorer]

Saw that video already. Although he likes the regular bike profile of the Core-5, he has more "fun" riding the XP.

Not any more...

 

[J.R.]

A bike you can only use on bike paths is next to worthless in the US, for actual transport. There just aren't very many bike paths.

15 mph is quite easy to maintain for a fit adult on a non-crowded flat, straight bike path, using say a hybrid bike. I did a bike ride with a friend in Europe, I had a hybrid, she had a euro e bike, and she could not keep up at all at 15.5 mph on flat grounds ( I slowed down to accommodate).

I did a survey here and few go 28 mph with Class 3. But plenty go 20-25, and speed is useful when you need it.

As long as cars are going over 20 mph, limiting vehicles to 20 is just pointless, because 20+ mph speeds are just useful. I prefer 22-24 for cruising.

I can't imagine what you think I said. Follow the thread back to the original post I responded to. It had nothing to do with laws or keeping up with other vehicles. It had to do with low cost, modest power ebike availability. One size never fits all.

 

[Asher]

I can't imagine what you think I said. Follow the thread back to the original post I responded to. It had nothing to do with laws or keeping up with other vehicles. It had to do with low cost, modest power ebike availability. One size never fits all.

It was right there in my post. I'll quote it again for you

"Non cyclists have no idea that 15 mph is difficult to maintain on most bike paths. Whether true or not it seems most want a minimum 28+ mph. I'd love to see a scientific poll of the speed members here average over a year of riding."

 

[J.R.]

It was right there in my post. I'll quote it again for you

"Non cyclists have no idea that 15 mph is difficult to maintain on most bike paths. Whether true or not it seems most want a minimum 28+ mph. I'd love to see a scientific poll of the speed members here average over a year of riding."

Precisely, non cyclists have no idea. Doesn't really come into play when asking riders how fast they have ridden over the last year. Which means they aren't who I was referencing when talking about a non cyclist's perception of needed speed when shopping for their first bike. I placed no value to experienced riders. Often when someone is new to cycling or ebiking they have no idea how fast 15 mph on a crowded path can be.