revetment

constitutes the best bang for the buck? Thanks for replies.

Polaris OBark

The Trek Domane+ SLR

It costs about the same as the non-ebike version with the same level of component set.

veganbikes

There is no consensus anywhere about anything. I would say breathing could be the closest but plenty of people have hung themselves or enjoy being choked or just don't want to breathe anymore.

I will say things with a Bosch motor or similar motor with good support behind it are the better bangs for bucks as they generally have fewer problems and better support if you do have problems and a good solid warranty.

Bonzo Banana

Definitely no agreement, I would say the opposite of veganbikes with Bosch motors being expensive, less reliable and highly proprietary meaning more environmentally damaging. Bosch motors are typically quite complex with many moving parts including nylon cogs and sometimes internal belts. I'm more in line with Grin Technology who favour hub motors for general use although mid-drive motors can be better for e-mountain bikes.

Ultimately there are advantages and disadvantages to all ebike motor systems and one person's good ebike is another person's rubbish ebike.

fooferdoggie 

bosch does nto use belts and their reliability is extremity high I have so vew complaints about them. Plus htey have a huge support network like no other.

veganbikes

We replace maybe a few Bosch motors every few years and usually not to worn out internals and I say that as a small number vs the number we sell and service, the last one was a cable port issue that didn't actually effect the functionality of the motor just the front light and they replaced it with little hassle and excellent diagnostics to figure out the issue. No internal belts you are talking about Brose and those are replaceable out of warranty but all the ones we have done generally are done under warranty and most of them have been from Specialized who provides excellent support on them.

Bosch motors aren't that exceptionally complex compared to other motors and generally if there is an issue they are well supported and after the warranty is out and they won't support it you can still get parts to fix them.

Grin is a fine company they have their niche in hub drives and other electric stuff. Generally if we are building a kit bike for a customer usually because they have brought us something odd like an trike with a food cart at the front and no good way to mount a mid-drive motor we generally go for Grin.

However over the 1000s of bikes sold with Bosch from our shop we have had very little reliability issues and anything major was a manufacturer issue outside of Bosch, that Bosch and the manufacturer took care of. Bosch is a well known company who makes motors for a lot of quality products. That is why a lot of companies are moving towards Bosch and away from others. Bulls for instance had a bunch of bikes with Brose, now they are Bosch exclusive and Raleigh/Izip did a bunch of different motors and are now mostly doing Bosch and then some more cheapie hub drive stuff (which isn't out of character for them). If Bosch motors especially where so bad, you would hear a lot about it and especially from me because I own a Bosch bike and went for it because of motor reliability.

Nothing particular about Bosch that makes them more or less environmentally damaging unless the company itself is doing something particularly bad. That is just a silly statement all major companies and plenty of smaller ones are causing ecological issues. It has nothing to do with them having their own system rather than something generic or differently proprietary.

In terms of cost, Bosch can be seen as certainly more initially expensive but if I don't really have to do much they are rather cheap. A product that will last me 10+ years is worth it in my book and I have certainly seen some people still riding Gen1 Bosch stuff that is over 10 years old and Bosch will generally support their stuff for 16+ before it is finally discontinued so not a bad deal in an every changing market with new technology coming out frequently and a lot of older tech not supported.

fooferdoggie 

bosch does not use belts and their reliability is extremity high I have seen few complaints about them. Plus they have a huge support network like no other.

2old

Different strokes etc, different tools depending on the function; as above, there's no consensus except among those selling a product; then, theirs is best..

tds101 

​​​​​​ It's all dependant on what you're able to afford. It's as simple as that,...

cat0020

Consider the cost, motor output, battery capacity; there is not much to compete between hub-drive in "bang for the buck".
Mid-drive is always going to be more expensive.

As to reliability,
you need to consider how many hub-drive ebikes are produced and sold vs mid-drive ebikes,
ratio is likely 10:1 (if not 50:1) or more; of course hub-drive ebikes are going to have more problems or failures.

FREEBIRD1

I've seen hub motors for $50 or less lately, not bad if you put 5000 miles on one before you replace it. The Chinese make a lot of them.

tds101 

Again, you posted a generic, blanket question asking: Then came back with a useless, antiquated, vague, pointless gun reference about killing people with an expensive OR inexpensive gun equally as well. A $500 bike might be one's best "bang for the buck", and another individual might say "$8,500 is my sweet spot". Some here swear by mid drives, while others won't go anywhere near 'em, and even prefer home built rides. Take that to the range and shoot it hoss. I'll say it again:
​​​​​​​

Hermes

Temporarily locked for moderation review.

Hermes

Moderation note: Thread is reopened. Gun references or discussion is not allowed in the open forum and only in Politics and Religion. We did cleanup of posts that referenced guns. Please no more gun talk. Thank you for your compliance.