If someone says For me, they are afraid of electric bikes, but they have As for bikes that have been ridden before, I’m guessing the type of bike you’ve tried looks like something like Ride1Up’s Cafe Cruiser. Every direct-to-consumer electric bike company has a model with the same components, frame style, and price point as an affordable entry-level bike.
I’m always surprised that this is considered an entry-level electric bike. With a plush seat and big fat tires, the Layback Beach Cruiser makes sense on paper, but in practice it weighs 65kg and has an electric motor bolted to it! That once easy, comfortable ride is now big and heavy. With a less complex computer, it is difficult to adjust the correct level of assistance. There is no way you can handle yourself properly. Basically swinging yourself around on what is called an e-motorcycle is a bit scary.
Well, Ride1Up’s version isn’t bad for its kind. It has a powerful 750W rear hub motor that delivers steep hills, integrated lights and footrests, a rear rack with a 150-pound load capacity, and a battery that seems to last forever. But – and this is hard to write – this is not a bike that I would recommend to a new rider, or even the slightest, especially because of Molly Steinsapir’s death in the same RadRunner 2.
Big boy
Photography: Ride1Up
The Cafe Cruiser is a big bike, with an alloy frame that hides the electronics inside. It comes in two different styles, step-by-step and step-by-step, which I still have. yuuuust A little too tall for me at 5’2” (Ride1Up’s minimum height for a rider is 5′, but I have short legs). Both versions weigh 65kg and have curved handlebars that allow you to sit upright, your elbows relaxed and your hips firmly planted on the large, squishy seat.
For such an affordable bike, it’s quite powerful. It has a 750W rear hub motor with five-speed assist. It is a class 3 bike, which means it can travel up to 28 miles per hour. I easily went above 20 mph with the pedal, but the thumb throttle on the left could give up to 20 mph. (This can be really frustrating if you’re driving somewhere and suddenly tag the throttle.)
To counter this, the Cafe Cruiser also has hydraulic disc brakes with an electric cut-off sensor, which means it will cut engine power if you press the brake lever. The battery is a 48V battery with Samsung cells with a range of 30 to 50 miles depending on the rider’s weight and position. I weighed about 115 pounds and rode it on 1 to 2 mile trips around my neighborhood for a couple of weeks, and saw the battery level drop.
