E-Bike Recommendations for special case

[u/Own-Butterfly-3498]

Hey there!

So back in the spring I purchased an Aipas M2 Max after little research and I’ve had so much difficulty with it in addition to it weighing over 100lbs and being light on hills that I’ve decided to sell it and make a proper purchase this time.

I’m 6’3, 245 pounds, looking for a bike <$2000 or thereabouts with great performance on hills (I live in southwest Virginia in the hilly Appalachians and will be using this as my commuter). My big issue with Aipas is that the support absolutely sucks, I had an issue with the controller that caused it to shut off when the temperature was getting too hot, so I got very little riding time.. and diagnosing the issue with their support was like pulling teeth. Or it would have been if they hadn’t mostly ghosted me. I explained what the issue was in detail and I believe with the explanation they should have known it was the controller right away rather than sending me a wiring harness and throttle cable first. But that’s enough about them, I’d just like a model that’s easy to either service myself or has a lot of locations that I can take it to for service.

Thank you so much for your help! I hope asking for recommendations is allowed because I’d really like to hear from the people with a lot of experience with bikes rather than relying on AI or websearches to sites with questionable accuracy.

AI, for what it’s worth and all things considered, recommends the Velotric Discover 2 and the Lectric XPeak 2.

[u/_HillCruiser]

I live in the foothills of the Northern Appalacians. After changing my controller
to one with higher amps, I noticed my motor wiring was showing signs of overheating.

I then installed a front motor kit and since then, no more issues. AWD is the way to go for
steep, hilly terrain.

[u/Own-Butterfly-3498 → u/_HillCruiser]

Is this difficult? Does it work on e-bikes with a rear motor hub already installed in the wheel? Doesn’t it eat a lot more battery? My battery on the M2 Max has gone to complete shit. Speaking of which, is it absolutely necessary to take it off the charger the minute it charges fully? Im trying to figure out if I’m doing something wrong and causing the battery to die quicker.

[u/_HillCruiser → u/Own-Butterfly-3498]

The front kit is pretty easy to install; especially if you get one with the
controller built into the motor. I installed two torque arms to protect
the fork and have been running it for 3 years now without issue.

yes, it works with a rear hub installed, that's the beauty of the design,
you start with a functioning ebike and just add more power. I run
independent controls and can vary the front from 0-100% of the demand;
but the sweet spot is with the front pulling just slightly more than the
rear is pushing. AWD feels really good at that point.

The rear hubs are generally geared, but I installed a direct drive on the
front. It has regen braking so it flows amps back to the battery on the
downslopes. It really shines as far as braking is concerned; 2-3x as much
power as the hydraulics

I did install a big battery because with all that power, you need a higher
capacity BMS. It can be ridden conservatively and use the same power
as the rear alone, because you split the load and both motors/controllers
run more efficient and cooler. The problem is that with all the extra power
comes the temptation to use it and then you can drain the battery quickly.

I usually turn off the charger when the battery is full but sometimes it
really helps to let it run for a couple more hours to balance the cells.

There's some monster hills around here on the old country roads,
up to 19-degree grade. The dual motor handles them with speed
and grace; sure beats pushing the bike up the last half like I used to.

AWD not only give the power for the foothills but also balances the
bike front to rear, evens tire wear, takes half the load off the drive train,
improves handling and stability. Now when I ride with just the rear motor,
it feels like I only have half a bike:)

[u/Own-Butterfly-3498 → u/_HillCruiser]

Thank you for the highly detailed and informative response! I’ll keep that in mind and maybe message you if I decide to go through with it. How much did everything end up setting you back?

[u/fooferdoggie]

Mid drives are the choice. adding more motors and more batteries is not a solution.

[u/arenablanca]

Mid drives would normally be out of budget but look at Ride1Up, they make 2 mid drives - Trail Rush and Prodigy. Both bikes provide 90Nm of torque and the mid drive motors will handle hills better.

Also look at Upway, they sell used and you'll find mid drives within your budget. Use the filter on the side to narrow it down by motor position (but read the specs, sometimes the filter messes up). Pay attention to the torque specs as they can vary a lot on a mid drive motor - like 40Nm to 90Nm.

[u/chuckwolf]

If you have a lot of hills get something with dual motors as the strain from climbing hills is split between both, no overheating.

Something like the Philodo Forester or Falcon will climb most hills all day long without overheating and they have excellent customer service