I’ve been thinking about buying a bike and am likely interested in buying an electric one. I’m not looking for a pro/super-fast road bike (like the pricey new Gogoro eeyo) nor am I looking for one of those low-framed models I see around. In the US, I sometimes enjoyed riding the electric pedal-assisted “Jump” bikes. Essentially, I’m looking for a practical commuter electric pedal-assist bike. Think U Bike but with pedal assist. Two-seaters welcome as well!
Does anyone know where I could shop around to find this sort of thing or have any models to recommend? My budget is around 25k NTD, hope that isn’t too low for this sort of thing.
I have a second-hand Giant electric assist commuter bike I got off Facebook Marketplace for 18k - new, they go for maybe 29k. Giant are a highly reliable local and international brand, and you can’t go wrong - if you buy them on websites like PCHome, I think there are sometimes government support schemes that allow you to get a little money back on the purchase.
I’ve found the Giant to be highly reliable and easy to ride - good for shopping, or taking my dog to the riverside. If you browse that same FB Marketplace for electric bikes, you can see there are quite a few locally-made brands that are close to or cheaper than your budget, though I can’t speak to either their reliability or quality.
Most Giant shops have several varieties of electric bike, ranging from low-end like mine to really expensive.
If you’re in the Taipei area, you can check out the Hsintien Carrefour. They usually stock a nice mix of Giant ebikes including racing bikes and fat tires. Those aren’t cheap though (around 70k+) I also remember them carrying “normal” hybrid touring bikes that might be around 25k. I do a walk by whenever I go there (about every two weeks) because I’m somewhat interested as well. They must be moving them pretty quickly because they almost always have a “sorry sold out” sign on them. Good luck.
I did buy a bike, but not an electric one. I’m glad I didn’t because I really fell in love with regular ol’ road biking in Taiwan. I was originally thinking I would get the electric bike for commuting, but now I bike just for pleasure and have an electric scooter that I use for commuting and running errands!
Do electric bikes make sense if you dont have space in your apartment? Like, can you use store them safely and easily on the street and charge them quickly and infrequently? In central Taipei if that makes a difference.
I’m looking into an electric bike, to ride for fun on weekends, as well as sometimes commuting to work. I’d like something with at least 100km potential range (though I know this depends on how I ride it, etc).
Currently, I’m very interested in the Giant Fastroad E+. They’re around 70-80,000 TWD new, and I haven’t been able to find much used.
Does anybody have any experience with this particular bike? Or have any recommendations for other make/models?
I think this would be better (or at least will have more visibility) in the cycling subforum. I don’t know if @ranlee agrees and if he can move it there.
Regarding the bike, it’s Giant, so you’ll usually get a very decent bike at a decent price (at least decent compared with current prices). As long as it can fit mudguards and maybe a rack, it can be a really great commuter bike.
For the long weekend rides you mention, I have my doubts.
The 42-36 lowest gear, plus the extra weight, will make you need electric assistance to climb almost anything. I’m not sure if your weekend rides include climbing and I don’t really know how much the motor, and more importantly the battery, can keep up with Taiwan mountains.
A standard flat bar is not as comfortable over extended periods of time as a drop bar. You could add some extensions to increase hand positions. As an alternative, there are some alt bars (flat bars with special shapes providing more hand positions and more comfort) in the market that you could look at if you feel uncomfortable during longer rides.
Giant says that their Fastroad E has a range of 50-150km, depending on use. My commute will be about 50km round trip. As for weekend riding, if I can’t climb a hill with an electric bike, I certainly wouldn’t be able to climb it with a non-electric bike. In terms of range, I’m not a hardcore cyclist, so around 100 km will already be plenty for me (if I become more serious about it in the future, then I imagine I can get an additional battery, or consider other options at that point).
Do you know much about the BESV PSA1? Their website says that the range is up to 95km, but reviews seem to say that it’s actually much less.
Also, I don’t particularly need a bike that folds, but my impression is that with folding bikes, you generally get less for your money, because of the folding option.
Hello everyone, I would like to ask how much the cheapest electric bike (pedal-assisted bike) I could buy here in Taiwan would cost. I’m not planning on staying here for a very long time, so something that’s just serviceable would be more than enough.
