There are a confusing number of e-bikes out there. In the chart below we'll focus on a few current choices and see how they compare to the VoltRider™.

Note: This is our subjective comparison, derived from our knowledge of the e-bike business.

Conclusions and Footnotes:
The VoltRider™ is an excellent value in today’s e-bike market. It has features that meet or exceed those found on e-bikes costing twice as much.

1. Headache in a Box – We like the creativity and abilities some people have to build an e-bike from scratch. If you have built your own car from scratch, go ahead and build an e-bike. But we don’t think that the build-it-yourself approach is for everyone, for several reasons:

  •  Price: By the time you buy a good conversion kit and a decent bike, you may end up paying far more than the cost of the VoltRider™.

  •  Safety: Many of the conversion kits require modifications of the bike frame. To fit the internal hub motor you most likely will have to bend the front or rear forks to fit the wide motor. Bending your bike frame can stress the metal creating the possibility of bike frame failure. The VoltRider™ frame and all components were designed to used on an e-bike.

  •  Wattage: Some of the conversion kits and using electric motors with unnecessarily high voltage. We don’t recommend exchanging all your 60W light bulbs in your home with 500W light bulbs. It’s unnecessary. In an e-bike, a high-wattage motor can quickly drain your battery and greatly decrease the range of your bike. With VoltRider™ you are buying an e-bike with an excellent balance of power and driving range.

2. Drive Type – Front-wheel drive versus rear-wheel drive. This is one of our favorite discussions. Hands down, we like Rear-wheel drive. It was at the top of the list for features we required on the VoltRider™. There’s different reasons:

  •  Feel: To us it just feels strange riding a front-wheel drive e-bike. You start pedaling and suddenly you feel like you’re being “yanked” forward by the front wheel as the motor kicks in. From that point on there seems to be an ongoing battle between the motor in front and the rear-wheel that you are pedaling. The two forms of propulsion just never feel in sync with each other. Test one out yourself. Ride a VoltRider™ and then try a front-wheel drive bike. We think you’ll agree with our assessment.

  •  Steering: You steer with your front wheel. It doesn’t make any sense to us to put an 8-pound weight (the electric motor) on the wheel you’re steering. Take a 40-mile ride on an e-bike and make thousands of small turns and you’ll wonder why that weight is up front.

  •  Ease of transport: It’s much easier to take the front wheel off the VoltRider™ than almost all front-wheel drive bikes. We like to take the front wheel off our VoltRider™, and toss it in the backseat or trunk of a car. We don’t always want to use a bike rack. Many front-wheel e-bikes make this difficult. The electric motor must be disconnected first. Some bikes require special tools for this. Plain and simple – it’s a hassle!

  •  Wheel Damage: When you ride a lot, you’re more likely to damage your front wheel than your rear wheel. The front wheel is the first to hit a curb, and usually finds the street potholes first. If you damage your front wheel it’s a lot cheaper to replace it when it’s a standard wheel without a motor.

3. Battery Location – We really like the placement of the battery on the VoltRider™. The battery sits low on the frame behind the seat post. It’s very well balanced. When designing an e-bike or any 2-wheel machine like a motorcycle, you want your weight low on the frame to lower the center of gravity.

4. Shaft Drive – Some e-bikes are being sold with shaft drives instead of a chain drive. We designed the VoltRider™ as a go anywhere, anytime bike. There’s nothing more frustrating (we know from experience) than being in the middle of a great ride, or being on a biking vacation, and having a breakdown that you cannot get repaired locally. We use a standard chain drive on the VoltRider™. In case of breakage this can be easily repaired by yourself or at any local bike shop (unlike a shaft drive).

5. Multi-Speed Cranks – There are a number of multi-speed crank e-bikes out there. A brief explanation: Chain driven bikes that you shift have a bracket on the rear hub with anywhere from 1-10 gear rings….If you have 3 gear rings, you have a 3-speed bike; 6 gear rings is a 6-speed bike. If you want to increase the number of gear speeds, an easy way is to put a 3-gear selector at the front of the chain where you pedal (called the crank). This multiplies your number of gears. If you have a 3-gear front crank and a 6-gear rear hub, you have an 18-speed bike. This arrangement requires additional parts and often needs more adjustments when you ride. We chose to go with a simple 6-speed rear hub arrangement on the VoltRider™. We have chosen a range of gears that will allow you to pedal comfortably over 99.9% of the roads and trails you will likely travel.

6. Modes – Modes are simply the different ways that you can power an e-bike. There are three basic modes.

  •  Pedal Only: This is where you pedal the bike without any assist by the electric motor and battery. This mode is an option on nearly all e-bikes.

  •  Pedal-Assist Mode: This is where you pedal and are assisted by the electric motor. Almost all of your riding is done in this mode.

  •  Throttle Mode: A few bikes (including VoltRider™) offer this mode. It’s basically an independent throttle. Going up hill and need some extra help? Want to go on battery power only? Just twist the throttle grip on the handlebar. A great feature that we’re surprised is not standard even on the bikes costing twice as much as the VoltRider™.