582 ebike rabbit hole part 4

So where were we? 

Right, Alibaba. Direct from China. Where it seems like I can get all the specs I want, for about $1500 less than buying through a US company that buys bikes from China and puts their logo on them. Plus shipping. And a few weeks/months of wait time.

To review: I'm looking for an electric mountain bike (eMTB) that can keep up with my brother-in-law's Specialized Turbo Levo ($7500, 500watt mid-drive motor, 720 watt hour battery, dropper seat post, 29" tires) but for under, well, i would love to be under $3k, but it seems like under $5k is more realistic. 

Unless I roll the dice and buy direct via Alibaba. This Joyebike Ares seems to tick all the boxes. But I haven't been able to find a single review online. Maybe worth reaching out to the manufacturer.

Or is saving $1500 versus a Luna actually worth the hassle?

I'm not sure. But I am sure there are even more options. Why? Because I took screenshots!

Here's a Gonped. It's carbon. It's a fat tire bikes tho, not a true eMTB. 

At this point, I'm also sort of wondering: are all these fat tire bikes popular for a reason? Are they a better option? And how much real mountain bike riding will I do? In the first 52 years of my life, I've done almost none. 

And at least the seat on this one looks kind of comfortable.

The battery on this Joykie is a bit small at 14Ah, but the price is nice. It has the "old" geometry though, with the up and down rear shock. And minimum order is two, so that's a bigger dice roll.

This was a fun find. Actually found the Alibaba source of a Eunarau bike. How do I know? They left the logo on in the picture. Whoops.

I won't be buying 50 of them, tho. Eunarau does, however, and marks them each up about $2k.

Since we're playing that game, here's the real manufacturer of the Luna Cycle X-2 or Z-1 or both, I dunno. No real savings tho.

The 52 volt battery option is nice. At this point, you may have guessed that this isn't really so much about buying a bike as it is about educating myself on the ebike scene. There's a lot happening!

There are new options since I started looking a few months ago. And advancements. Prices have come down a bit. 

As I see it, the next big thing for the whole category is higher voltage (more power) and torque sensors (smoother more bike-like experience). 

This bike has caught my eye. The Wired Freedom. It has higher voltage, 60 volts. The reviews I've seen say it tops out about 38 mph. It's got full suspension, and the new geometry. But that rear suspension doesn't have much travel, especially because the controller (40 Amp, very good) is mounted awkwardly behind the seat tube. It's a rear hub motor (1000 watt, a fatty!), Fat tite and no dropper post, so not a true eMTB. But at 38 mph I'd have time to go slow through the tricky stuff and still be ahead of my bother-in-law (yeah right, who am I kidding? He's a former pro motocross racer and has ridden mountain bikes for decades.).

Still, it's kinda on my short list. 60 volts is the new new. It's got the right geometry. Plus it can carry a rack, which I want. And it has fenders, which are really important if you're looking for a bike for transportation versus just fun. Fenders are so much more comfortable when it rains.

But I haven't committed yet, so I keep looking. And learning. 

The Area-13 Sabre. Not full suspension, next!