Have any of you looked into Honda trail alike ebikes?
Specifically I saw the Radruner plus, and the Fiido T1 look like they may be a good mini electric cousin.
With the Trail 125 being so hard to find right now, I'm thinking about getting one of these ebikes until inventory is back up, and I can get my hands on one of the Trails.
Trail 125 vs. eBike - Similarities:
- Both are slow vehicles (unless you're just DUMPING money into it)
- Both are quiet
- Both are faster than a bicycle
- Both are incredibly maintenance friendly
- Both are very easy to maneuver
- Both are easy to pick up if you drop them.
- Fixing a flat rear tire is involved and requires mechanical aptitude.
Trail 125 vs. eBike differences
- eBike and the like power and acceleration is just out of this world for the form factor.
- eBikes masquerading as bicycles do not typically harden the components that need to be toughened so the parts that do wear wear substantially faster. For example, the drivetrain of a mid-drive eBike is typically hooked into a regular 10sp 11/128" bicycle chain, as opposed to the fat plates of a 420/428 chain like we have on the CT125.
- eBikes are a little finicky with the battery systems. The Bosch system clicks when the battery is supposed to be in place, but I've had the click and had the battery dislodge several times.
- If you drop a battery or it's impacted in the slightest, you should really replace it. It's incredibly fragile.
- eBikes masquerading as bicycles are deceptively heavy, in the 60 lb. range, and sometimes that weight is not well distributed.
- eBikes are not always stiffened in ways that prevent the frame from flexing, creating dangerous situations such as the frame snapping, bolts coming loose or the frame swaying as you go around a corner at speed.
- While it is involved to fix a rear flat tire, it is generally REALLY involved on an eBike if they're using a hub drive system. You have to know how to disconnect the motor, any counter-rotation arms, and then all the regular stuff with fixing flats.
- eBikes take several hours to recharge to full.
- eBikes typically have slightly shorter range than the Trail 125.
- The Trail 125 doesn't lose range when it's cold outside.
- The Trail 125 doesn't lose 20% of its range when it's older than 2-3 years.
Yah, I've done a pretty damn deep dive into what's available, feel free to DM me questions. There's a Chinese version of the Supercub that's electrified, essentially it's a gas to electric swap. It's based on the old C110/C90/C50 frames though, and it costs a pretty penny. Then there was the Tokyo Roadshow prototype of a full electric Cub with hot swappable, removable batteries which looked cool AF and then never really materialized more than that, back in 2016 or thereabouts - you can likely find concept material online still.
Not content with that, CSC Motorcycles released their Monterey Electric Scooter, which is about as capable as a Honda Metro 50. I've seen one in person and apart from the color scheme, it is nearly indistinguishable from a Cub as you ride past. I scared the shit out of the rider when I saw it because I did a uey and immediately gave chase knowing the C125 does not come in yellow. Yes that's a roadgoing beast but it gives some context on what's out there.
Something to think about is that sometimes companies aren't just... their primary product company. For example, Subaru only makes cars, while Honda makes other with engines; Ryobi and DeWalt don't make tools, they make stuff that interfaces with their batteries. In that sense, Shimano is a bicycle parts company, and Bosch is a company that makes motors that spin very well. Aside from the motorcycle specific class, there's quite a few MTB style eBikes that cross over into the trail bike vs. MTB territory and generally straddle or sometimes outright flaunt whether they're an electric motorcycle or not. Juiced Bikes and Surron are two examples who produce some pretty mad bikes, but even regular makers like Raleigh have productions out there.
There's three kinds of motors, which I affectionately refer to as Japanese, German and Chinese. To understand this, you have to understand that road bikes and mountain bikes have different ideology when it comes to race tech - MTB will use anything and everything first, while road bikes are steeped in history, traditional approaches and reliable standards. With that in mind, Shimano is the new kid, innovative, quality, but not yet quite proven and not everyone who sells Shimano knows how to service them. They're doing a good job though. Bosch is ol' reliable, safe, uninspiring but very standardized - the road biking engine that came first. Chinese is the wild west, questionable quality control, next to no support, latest and greatest tech held up by the golden comradery of the modding community and a f**king dream, limiters be damned, if you can dream it it can be realized. They are the MTB of the biking world, and for that reason if you look at those crazy (often illegal) bikes, they're all running Chinese boards and motors.
I say this as the owner of a Chinese motor EUC - it is utterly incredible what they can achieve. But as literal statements, I don't leave my unit charging unattended, I have a fire extinguisher for all fire types mounted nearby, and it charges next to an exterior door so I can throw it out of the house if I need to. For that I am rewarded with a device that can propel me up to 47 mph before it throws me face first into the pavement, because there's no hard speed limiter to prevent me from going 47 mph.
I would avoid Radrunner right now. They're in legal hot water with a bunch of lawsuits and just fired most of their staff. They're local to me and I'm not convinced about the future of the company. Normally this would be one of those moments I'd grab stock while I could, but they also use non-standard bicycle parts so if the company goes belly up you'd have to convert it.
I think they are phenomenal options if you're looking for something to solve the problem of, "my bike wouldn't be warmed up by the time I got there". Zipping to the store, picking up takeout, short distance trips that would normally be suitable but inconvenient on a bicycle are well suited to eBikes. I think they're also great for filling the gaps between ability or desire and need, such as my eCargo bike which can tow up to 540 lbs of cargo (and I've loaded it with more than that), including UP some of the hills around here. They'd be an astonishingly good value pick for slinging one over the back of your pickup after work, driving to the trailhead, and getting some phenomenal use out of the trails before they close for the evening. It's almost like the value you'd get out of shuttling a trail.
eBikes are a fantastic equalizer for people of different skill or ability when they want to ride together too. It's why those newer riding tours on eBikes are so successful - you're still getting exercise, you're still out for a ride, but there's zero chance you'll be left behind. For my Dad and I, he had a heart attack and it allowed him to bicycle places without the worry of being stranded and overstressing his heart as he recovered.
eBikes are a potential solution for a generally hassle free, cost friendly need. I bought my electric unicycle because I needed something faster than a bicycle but didn't cost me a parking spot in Seattle, which costs $150 a month. I've owned it now for 4 years, put on over 2000 mi, and even with the high up front cost literally the only maintenance I've done on it was to change the tire when I wore the old one out. So for the time of ownership and the overall cost, it cost me $1865, and saved me $4350+ in costs.
For me, eBikes are the form factor that solve the question of "How do I put a speedy vehicle inside another vehicle?" That might sound weird until you learn I rent cars frequently, so I have to drop them off and pick them up. I can Uber, or I can electric vehicle it. I'm well, well in the net positive for cost by using my electric vehicles.
