What to consider when buying an e-bike?

You can check our current stock of bicycles and e-bikes here (only in German).

When buying an e-bike, apart from the general points you should consider when buying a bicycle, there are a number of e-bike-specific points you need to be aware of.

An e-bike is something very comfortable, especially when you would like to have a bit of help at covering long distances or hilly stretches, but also if you use your bicycle only in Vienna or any other city. There are some pitfalls, however, you will want to be aware of before going off and buying an e-bike. Stadtradler in Vienna has summarized what to look out for.

E-bike, pedelec, electric bike - are these all synonyms or is there a difference? Often these terms are mixed up or used wrong. Let's start with pedelec. This is a bicycle with electric support. When you pedal you get support until 25 km/h, when you stop pedaling the support stops too. That is why a pedelec in the eyes of the Austrian law is a bicycle: you don't need an insurance or helmet, and for the user of a pedelec the same laws apply as for any other cyclist.

To ensure yourself that the e-bike you are considering is a pedelec and can therefore be used legally as a bicycle on Austrian public roads, the simplest trick is to look for a European CE - EN 15194 approval: when the e-bike the has this approval it conforms to the European standard for Electrically Power Assisted Cycles(EPACs) which again is recognized in Austria as Austrian national standard ÖNORM EN 15194.

Almost always a pedelec is ment when referred to by e-bike or electric bike (also in this website). But there are also e-bikes which do not qualify as a legal bicycle. This can be the case when the electrical motor offers support even when the user does not pedal, or if the support goes beyond speeds of 25 km/h. And here it gets complicated. Some of these vehicles qualify as motorvehicles and need homologation and a valid liability insurance to be used on public streets. Some others do not qualify as motorvehicles and therefore can not used legally on public streets at all. In short, when purchasing an e-bike, make sure you buy a vehicle you are allowed to use legally!

You can find more information on the European regulations for pedelecs and other e-bikes in the White Paper of BIKE Europe (2017).
Since an e-bike is heavier than a normal bicycle due to the extra weight of the battery and the motor, and as it is often used at higher speeds than a regular bicycle, for safe operation it requires a sturdier frame and fork and more robust brakes than a normal bike.

Note - regularly (mostly cheaper) e-bikes are offered for sale where the frame, fork or brakes do not comply with the heavier usage requirements of e-bikes, and the operation thereof can even be life-threateningly dangerous. Please only buy an e-bike which has been designed explicitly as one. Special caution is warranted when modifying a regular bicycle with e-bike upgrading kits.

Have a close look at the wiring of the e-bike. Are the wires positioned flush to the frame, or even better, in the frame, so that you will not damage them when parking your bicycle?
Can the battery be removed, so that you do not have to charge the battery in the same location where you have parked your bicycle? Can the battery be locked to prevent theft? Does the same key lock both the bicycle and the battery, or do I need separate keys? Can the charger-plug easily be attached to the battery? Does the supplier offer several battery-sizes so that you can use a larger battery if you decide you need a longer range for your e-bike.
Is the removable battery positioned in a way that problems with the contact-plug of the e-bike battery are minimized?

The contact plug of a higher-placed e-bike battery is better protected against splashing water and dirt than the contact plug on a lower-placed battery.

The contacts of a lying e-bike battery are less susceptible to being damaged than the contacts of a standing battery. Especially in the case that you plan to regularly remove and insert your battery for charging, you'd rather minimize the risk of damage due to incorrect insertion of the e-bike battery.

As the placement of an e-bike battery behind the saddle bar is more susceptible to damage or contact-errors, the positioning of the battery behind the saddle bar is decreasingly implemented as the design of choice for modern citybikes and trekking bikes.

Moreover the placement of the e-bike battery behind the saddle bar requires the frame to be longer to make room for the battery, which results in changed riding characteristics compared to a regular bicycle. This is another reason why the saddle-bar positioning of the e-bike battery is seen by many as a dying design.

You can find more technical details about the placement of e-bike batteries in our e-bike technology overview.

Make sure that the motor of your e-bike is strong enough for your bicycle and for the routes you intend to take it on. Too light motors can easily overheat, and may then switch off automatically to cool off halfway up the hill. Moreover a regular overloading will diminish the lifetime of the motor.

On the other hand a stronger motor uses more power which will drain the battery quicker, so more is not alway better. This is why it is important to clearly formulate how you want to use your e-bike and then find a bike which is equipped accordingly. You can find more technical details about e-bikes in our overview of e-bike technologies.

Batteries of e-bikes come in a wide range of qualities and technologies, correlating with a wide range of prices. A modern e-bike battery uses Li-Ion-cells, which are no longer adversely influenced by unfavourable charging cycles.

Make sure that the battery you purchase has the capacity you will need: review the distances you intend to cover without recharging, and the conditions under which you want to use your e-bike (winter, hilly terrain, with luggage, etc.). As battery prices also strongly depend on the battery-capacity, it pays off to make sure you buy what you really need. The Bosch e-bike range calculator provides you with a tool to determine which battery-capacity you will need.

tips on getting the most out of your e-bike battery

Do yourself a favour, buy an e-bike with quality components. Careful with special, one-time offers from non-industry players: these e-bikes often use very cheap component which regularly are of doubtful quality. To avoid problems the best you can do is choose an e-bike manufacturer who already has considerable experience, as this manufacturer will more likely offer spare parts and services for years to come, compared to another manufacturer who offers a one-shot cheap product, but then leaves you to solve any warranty-questions, spare parts or other service related issues yourself.
Finally, get professional advice in a good bicycle store and take a test-ride before you buy an e-bike. E-bikes do not come cheap, and as with any bicycle it is important that you end up with a bike which you will enjoy for years to come.

A further advantage of buying an e-bike in a specialized bicycle store is that you will be able to get support for your e-bike, even long after the warranty period has expired. This situation unfortunately is different with many retailers who offer e-bikes as one-time only articles. Moreover, specialized bicycle stores often do not want to offer support on e-bikes which they have not supplied themselves, as offering support would expose them to unforeseen liabilities for these supported e-bikes, despite the fact that they have not received training for these bikes.
Visit us at the Stadtradler store in Vienna! We have a nice collection of quality e-bikes by Gazelle, Tenways and Azor. Here you will find more information on Gazelle e-bikes, the largest e-bike manufacturer in Holland.
Interested in the nuts-and-bolts of e-bikes? Have a look at the overview of e-bike design issues comparing the main technical aspects of e-bikes.