Originally Posted by
urbanadapter
I guess it depends on your budget and personal preference.
For me I don't see how much more value you get from a kit by Bionx retailing for $1890 versus a kit from AmpedBikes retailing for under $500- at the end of the day both will propel your bike pretty much the same way.
It's true that Bionx has some extra bells and whistles but I am not very impressed by them personally.
There's no question that the Valencia is a nice bicycle, but it is very pricey. I think that you can find better values out there for complete solution ebikes.
I work in the business and don't wish to use this forum for shameless self promotion so I will refrain from mentioning brands. If you are curious you can look at my profile or send me a PM.
I'm asking for opinions so voicing them shouldn't be a problem. You clearly have more experience on the subject than I do.
The big cost in the more expensive systems appears to be the Li Ion battery, the big benefits are reduced weight and more recharge cycles which should offset the cost difference - how much I can't say. But if I can use a Li Ion battery twice as long as an SLA, that sort of makes sense.
I also would prefer a bike that is light enough so I don't need to use the battery at all some of the time or even most of the time. The Valencia seems light enough that I can likely add the whole kit and not be much heavier than my current 7100. I do think about just puting a kit on the 7100 but it's a cheap bike that has gone through a lot of all-weather miles. It just doesn't seem cost effective to do that.
The old mortgage ends in 11 months - which is why I'm considering this at all.