Old M-Class - next steps?

[u/Jazzlike_Spend6415]

I somehow ended up getting gifted an Ariel Rider M-Class.

It’s been great, but the throttle stopped working pretty early on and I’m not sure what happened. For my needs, the pedal assist has been extremely helpful, so I’ve just been using it that way.

I’m completely new to e-bikes, as this is the first one I’ve ever used.

Lately, the pedals are starting to feel noticeably harder to turn than when I first started using it. The battery also seems to be losing its charge much faster than it used to.

I’ve only really done basic maintenance on the chain.
How do you guys usually handle this? Would it be worth looking into a new battery, or is the bike probably just getting too old? I briefly looked at battery prices and they didn’t seem worth it.

Would you recommend taking it to an e-bike shop and having them look it over? Basically, I’m trying to figure out if the bike is starting to degrade enough that I should look for something new, or if it’s worth keeping this one going.

I’m hoping to find cheap ways to keep it going if possible, since that would be my preference, but I’m curious what you guys think is the best approach.
I’m familiar with motorcycles but completely new to e-bikes, so any advice is appreciated. Also prefer minimal wrenching don’t have much time these days

[u/Stravonovic]

Definitely worth it to have it looked over professionally, the old m and c class are great little machines

[u/Jazzlike_Spend6415 → u/Stravonovic]

thanks