Ok guys, I am trying to convince myself to get a e bike but I am not quite there yet.

an acquaintance of mine, not a close friend but someone who I respect and consider intelligent, purchased a e bike about six years ago from a shop in Ann Arbor specializing in electric bicycles in 2018, just before covid. Well, he used it and enjoyed it for five or six years and all was good. quite expensive although I do not know the brand. Well now the battery is not delivering and he went to purchase a new battery and the E bike maker is out of business and the bike shop is recommending that he have the original battery rebuilt. He is not comfortable with this because of the safety aspect (fire) which I have a healthy respect for.

Now I go to Home Depot and purchase Ridgid tools and they got a lifetime warranty on the batteries as long as you register them. Cool, Ridgid has been offering that for some time and the warranty is proving to be solid, owners are getting new batteries with just a phone call. Granted, Ridgid is generally more expensive than most of the competition but I can justify that cost with their track record and history.

My first thought is that if a e bike maker made a bike that utilized Ridgid 18v batteries or a number of Ridgid Batteries I would be their first customer!

So I am thinking of getting a E Bike and the only manufacturers out there that I am familiar with are Trek and Specialized. Bikes are about $5,000 for the models I am interested in but they use proprietary batteries and even with a name like Trek and Specialized, I am concerned that I will be in the same boat as my buddy, holding a $5,000.00 paperweight that is not wore out but no longer useful. Furthermore, I am finding out that Bosch is no longer supporting their earlier e bike motors that are really not that old.

Is there any consensus of a standardization of batteries? Maybe a standard size that is universal?

This is the main reason that I am reluctant to spend a lot of money on a e bike, even though I would really like one, would get a lot of use out of it, and it would help me out in a number of ways. Generally, when I buy something, I use it for a long time and repair it instead of replacing it when it is broken.

Looking for someone to recommend one that I can be comfortable purchasing such that it will be operable 20 years down the road like a majority of my mechanical equipment (vehicles, small engines, outboards, tools, lawnmower, generator, chainsaws, etc.).

I thank you in advance for your advice and expertise.

Regards,
Crankster