I bought an E.V.! (... a cheap used e-mountain bike)

[MetroMPG]

I always figured I would wait until I was old to get an e-bike... I guess I'm officially old!

It's a brand I've never heard of before - "Metakoo Cybertrack 100". (China makes e-bikes by the billions, so I'm not surprised I've never heard of it.)



I got it used (50 miles on it) for 900 CAD from a 6'3" guy who bought it online without taking the frame size into consideration -- it's WAY too small for his height.

Cost...

Original owner paid 1250 CAD after taxes, and he could have returned it, but opted to sell it at a discount rather than go through the hassle of re-boxing, shipping & paying a restocking fee. Hassle for him = deal for me!

I specifically chose this bike because it's a "normal" bike with 21 speeds that has electric assist. It's rideable as a bike (though it's portly at 46 lbs), which was important to me. I've ridden several other e-bikes that were either so heavy or awkward that you would be in trouble if you ran it out of charge far from home.

Range...

I've owned it since August and have charged it twice so far. Even limiting the max. charge level to around 80% and not draining it empty (to extend the life of the battery pack), I was able to get 40 miles / 70 km per charge. I almost always pedal when I'm riding it - I use the "pedal assist" mode rather than the hand throttle.

Usage...

I already do a lot of errands around town by bike. My justification for an e-bike is for the trips where I'm in too much of a hurry or feeling too lazy to take my regular bike. So it's replacing some car trips.

Also it's fun. I've taken it on a couple of longer recreational/sightseeing rides that I wouldn't normally do on my regular bike.

I was worried it would make me lazy... and that risk is real!

But so far, it's resulting in me getting extra exercise instead of sitting on my butt in the car.

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