How To Choose An EBike as an Overweight Person? Heavy Riders Test Ride & Review Electric Bikes

How to find the best e-bike as an overweight person. Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry. And today we're going to show you how to find the best e-bike for an overweight rider. And we're joined by Adam and Lexi. All right, so I'm joined by Adam, who's 5'10", 315 pounds, and Lexi, who's 5'1", 230 pounds. And we are going to have them try out all of these e-bikes and choose which one is their favorite. We're also going to show you how each of them performs with their height and their weight. I know there are a lot of riders out there with over 200 pounds who are curious about what type of e-bike is right for you. Now, a lot of it does depend on the terrain that you're going to take on, the type of riding you're going to take on. But we're going to give you a demonstration today, and then they're going to pick which one is their favorite after they ride all five of them. All right. So let's move over here to our first e-bike. This is the Simple Step-through 26-inch. Now, this has a very low step-through height. which is amazing for mounting and dismounting. Very simple and safe. Now, off camera, Lexi already tried to get on it at 5'1". She couldn't. Now, we have a sizing video of this particular bike. 5'1 riders can ride it. Depends on your inseam. So I'm guessing Lexi has an inseam on the shorter side, but we've got other models that will work for her.

Dustin: So, Adam, if you want to hop on and... go ahead and give it a rip. Now, it's a 500 watt rear hub motor now we talk about heavier riders north of 250, 500 watts is still going to be a lot of power in particular on flat ground. Now, if you're doing a ton of hills, you may want to increase the power, but we're going to have Adam take a test ride and he'll see how it feels for him. 

Also, the low step-through makes it really, excuse me, easy to get on and off.

Adam: Super easy, yeah. All right, here we go. And that assist helps with the get-go. Here we go. There we go.

Dustin: All right. You seem to be picking up some speed.

Adam: Smooth as butter. I wanted to do a speed test.

Dustin: Yeah?

Adam: I got up to 15 miles per hour without getting it past one.

Dustin: Are you using the throttle?

Adam: Yeah. Yeah. Using the throttle.

Dustin: And how was the acceleration for you?

Adam: It was incredible. Uh, super smooth.

Dustin: Yeah?

Adam: Just like…

Dustin: Turn this off.

Adam: There we go.

Dustin: So you didn't feel like your weight inhibited the acceleration or the top speed.

Adam: Not at all. No. It just, I wasn't even, like, I was getting good and I wasn't even, like, getting on the throttle.

Dustin: Full pushing.

Adam: And again, I was only in one.

Dustin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

Adam: So, yeah.

Dustin: Cool.

Adam: Effortless.

Dustin: How do you feel about that one? Let's move on to this one. So Lexi, why don't you go ahead and give this one a shot? So this is the 20 inch version of the Simple Step-Thru. Same bike, a little smaller. I think it'll work for you. Go ahead and get on. You can see I can easily step through the frame there.

Lexi: Yeah, definitely.

Dustin: And we'll go ahead and turn this on for you.

Lexi: Thank you.

Adam: Doesn't have to be like mounting a horse.

Lexi: I know.

Dustin: And yeah, whenever you're ready, go for it.

Lexi: Awesome. Thanks. That was a lot of fun.

Dustin: And you use the throttle and the pedal assist? 

Lexi: Yes.

Dustin: And how was the throttle acceleration for you?

Lexi: It was honestly a lot of fun. It made it feel like kind of like I was flying because of how breezy it went.

Dustin: Because you've never ridden an e-bike with a throttle, right?

Lexi: I haven't.

Dustin: You've never used a throttle.

Lexi: Yeah. So that was unique and I love the feeling of it.

Dustin: Cool. All right, Adam, you're up. Now, this is the same power as the first one, just a smaller frame.

Dustin: All right. There you go.

Adam: All right. Let's step through from the other side this time. Ooh. You can step through from both sides. Get that kickstand up. All right. Let's try it. Again with the assist. Look at that. You're right, that is fun.

Dustin: How do you compare these two?

Adam: I gotta say I like that one a little bit more.

Dustin: Okay.

Adam: This one... Whoa! Caught the throttle there for a sec.

Dustin: That's something to be careful of.

Adam: Just gotta watch that.

Dustin: I always recommend when stopping, or coming to a stop.

Adam: Turn it off.

Dustin: Put it down to zero.

Adam: Zero. Yeah.

Dustin: Yep, yep. So this one you like a little more.

Adam: I do like that one a little more.

Dustin: What's the difference in your opinion?

Adam: For me, just the feel of it. It feels a lot. I wouldn't say more comfortable. It feels a little more comfortable.

Dustin: Okay.

Adam: A little smoother.

Dustin: Cool.

Adam: Not to say that this one is all jerky or anything. It's smooth itself.

Dustin: No.

Adam: But it just feels, like this one, I like this one a little better so far.

Dustin: Okay, perfect. All right, so let's move on to the EvryJourney. So, Lexi, why don't you try this one? Now, this is a 26-inch, and has a unique pedaling position. There you go. Okay, so that works for you. You're good. You can kick it back. There you go.

Lexi: Yeah, this one is perfect because I could still get on it and not be too one-sided.

Dustin: Okay.

Lexi: I'm able to be on my tiptoes.

Dustin: So powered on right here. There you go. And same thing in principle, you're in one and when you're riding, you can push this to one or two if you want to go faster.

Lexi: Okay, cool. Do I go to the lap?

Dustin: Yep, just do a lap and let us know what you think. 

Lexi: Thank you. Whoa.

Dustin: All right, how'd you like that one?

Lexi: I like it. It's got maybe a little bit too much power for my liking.

Dustin: Too much power, okay.

Lexi: For someone who doesn't mind going over like 12 miles an hour, it's perfect. But I love the body style feel of this one.

Dustin: The comfort.

Lexi: Yeah. So this one I like a lot.

Dustin: Because these are the same power.

Lexi: Oh, wow. It felt like it took off a lot quicker. At least just for whenever I started pedaling.

Dustin: Fair enough. Okay. Do you want to raise the seat?

Adam: Yeah. Let's raise it up. Just here.

Dustin: That's probably too high.

Adam: Yeah.

Dustin: Probably about there. I bet you it's good. Yeah.

Adam: And just right now to say, I know nothing about what I'm doing. The fact that I was able to raise that seat by myself with no instructions. Super simple. All right. Let's give it a go. Again, I love using that assist to get started.

Dustin: All right.

Adam: This one has some power. I got up to 17.

Dustin: And how do you like the comfort on that one?

Adam: It is super comfy. Definitely. I don't know whether it's more comfortable than the first one. I think slightly less only because of the step-through.

Dustin: Okay, so you like to step through.

Adam: I like the step-through. I do like the step-through, yeah.

Dustin: Fair enough.

Adam: But this was great.

Dustin: Okay.

Adam: I may have to call that S-tier, this A-tier.

Dustin: Okay, all right now.

Adam: And that one's a solid B.

Dustin: Now, I think this one's also gonna be too tall for you, Lexi. You can try it. Do you want to try to get your leg over that?

Lexi: Sure. Yeah, I'm a little too short for that.

Dustin: All right, fair enough.

Lexi: I almost took out the other bike.

Dustin: Okay, now this one is the most powerful.

Adam: And it's foldable.

Dustin: That's right, yeah.

Adam: Oh, that's cool.

Dustin: So this is the Zip and Fold. Now this is a 750-watt. So the most powerful motor we've got. So be easy on the throttle when you..

Adam: Yeah.

Dustin: It's a twist throttle. So hold on a second. So let's put it in zero.

Adam: Yeah.

Dustin: So you can test it here. So you twist it backwards.

Adam: Okay.

Dustin: So you want to go gentle on that.

Adam: Right.

Dustin: I'd also recommend not starting in the pedal assist. Get moving a little bit.

Adam: Okay.

Dustin: Then kick it in because it is very powerful when it starts up.

Adam: Yeah, yeah. All right so get that on and I'll start.

Dustin: There you go. Now kick it in. All right.

Adam: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean.

Dustin: Now could you feel the power difference with that one?

Adam: Definitely. Although I will say it did not get to as high speed as that other guy.

Dustin: Did you go full…

Adam: Full throttle, yeah.

Dustin: You did?

Adam: Yeah.

Dustin: So having the smaller wheels may have an impact then on your top speed.

Adam: I think that might be, yeah.

Dustin: Interesting. Okay, good to know. All right now, last but not least, we have our Relaxed Body. And this is a 500 watt as well. Now, I threw on an aftermarket seat here so it's our super max cush seat, so it may give this one a little bit of an advantage. But, you ready, Lexi?

Lexi: Yep.

Dustin: So this one's got a unique riding position. Oh, here, let me help you with the kickstand.

Lexi: Thank you. Yeah, I like how this one feels with, like, the body style.

Dustin: Yeah, the handlebars and everything?

Lexi: Yeah.

Dustin: Okay. So you're in zero. Do you want to put it in one?

Lexi: Okay. Thank you.

Dustin: And you're off and running.

Lexi: Cool.

Dustin: How do you like this one?

Lexi: I like this one a lot. I was able to get up to 20.

Dustin: Oh, yeah?

Lexi: Yeah. I was like, whoa, that is so cool. And I love, like, the comfort of, like, the body style.

Dustin: Uh-huh.

Lexi: And it's just, like, chill. I don't know. That's the best way I can explain it.

Dustin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was getting on and off for you.

Lexi: A lot easier, yeah.

Dustin: Yeah. Yeah, because it's a forward-pedaling design. It's called the relax By. So the pedals are forward and it's very unique. Yeah.

Lexi: Yeah.

Dustin: Did you like the seat too?

Lexi: Yeah, that one was cool too. I feel like it holds you a little bit better.

Adam: All right, let's give it a try. Yeah, great step through. Let's see. Yeah. Yeah, this guy.

Dustin: Testing out the agility.

Adam: Super comfy. I got it to 24 without even trying.

Dustin: Oh, it might be kilometers an hour on this one.

Adam: Oh, it is kilometers an hour. 

Dustin: Yeah.

Adam: It felt like it was.

Lexi: It also seemed like we were going faster.

Adam: Well, at least it felt like I was going super fast.

Dustin: How did you like the feel of that one?

Adam: Oh, I love this. I have to say the seat is a game-changer.

Dustin: Okay.

Adam: Yeah.

Dustin: So yeah, this is our Super Max Cush. We also have the Super Duper. You can add those on but you like the seat, the width of the seat.

Adam: Yeah, I'm even gonna go so far as to say this one was my favorite.

Dustin: Okay.

Adam: Out of five. Yeah.

Dustin: Is that the same for you?

Lexi: Yeah, yeah definitely.

Adam: Rank one, S-tier.

Dustin: Okay, cool. Well, now what I want to do is I want to have them each get on their favorite. Now only one can get on this one.

Adam: I'll get on that other one.

Dustin: Okay. So Adam will do the first one, which was his second choice, Simple Step-Thru. We're going to take them over to a hill so we can just demonstrate how they can get up a hill on these e-bikes. It's gonna pull off right here. So now would be a good time. So I didn't explain to you guys yet, but there are actually seven gears on here, like on a bicycle. So, the way you shift that is you twist this. So when we ride up to the hill, you're going to want to twist this back and put it into one. So it'll be easier to go up the hill, but don't do it till you're riding. 

So twist it this way. Same with you. Otherwise, the hill is going to be even more challenging. So let's wait till these cars pass and then... And if you need to make a loop back this way just to get it into gear, we're going to want to make sure we're in first by the time we get... To that stop sign.

Lexi: Okay.

Dustin: All right. Let's... Got a clear shot here. I'm just going to pull on the sidewalk. All right, so here we are at the base of the mountain. Just kidding. This is the hill we're going to go up. So again, Lexi's 230 pounds. She's on a 500-watt and Adam's 315. He's on a 500-watt. We've got them both in first gear. 

So what we're going to do is Lisa is going to just take off to the middle and then you guys are going to go go up the bike lane and then I'll follow in the back. All right. Whenever you're ready, Lexi, go for it. You got in level five pedal assist, Adam?

Adam: Yep. All right. Here we go. Nice. Nice.

Dustin: All right, make a right right there, Lexi.

Lexi: Cool.

Dustin: We'll reconvene and discuss. How was it for you?

Lexi: It was extremely easy.

Dustin: Yeah?

Lexi: I had a lot of fun. I was like, that would have been a lot more difficult on a regular bike.

Dustin: Yeah.

Adam: I was just going to say, I would have had to stand. I would have had to be standing and pedaling.

Dustin: Right, right, right.

Lexi: I would have had to walk it up the hill.

Dustin: Cool.

Adam: And, you know, I had to pedal for sure, but, like, I didn't have to stand and pedal.

Dustin: Yeah. Awesome.

Adam: It wasn't even that much of an effort. Super great.

Dustin: So there you go. So the 500 watts was enough for you guys coming up the hill?

Lexi: Yeah.

Dustin: All right, let's go back down the bike lane over there. Adam, you can lead, and then we'll just go back to the office.

Adam: All right.

Dustin: Go ahead of me then, Lisa. After her, yeah.

Lexi: Oh, thank you.

Dustin: How was the break? How was the breaking down the hill?

Lexi: Very easy.

Dustin: What's that?

Adam: Not grinding at all. Super smooth.

Dustin: Did you feel safe coming down the hill?

Adam: Yeah, good. It's good.

Lexi: It's soft. Thank God. 

Dustin: All right, well, we completed our e-bike ride for Adam and Lexi. So Lexi, tell me about your experience going up the hill and then why you like this e-bike so much.

Lexi: It was super easy and comfortable.

Dustin: I'm just going to turn this off.

Lexi: And I didn't have to like... I wasn't out of breath by the time I got to the top. I was just like, whoa, this is a smooth ride where I could just relax.

Dustin: Have you ever taken a knee bike up a hill like that before?

Lexi: I have not.

Dustin: Cool.

Lexi: But it was super, super easy.

Dustin: Good. Good to hear. And this one was easy for you to get on and off. Do you like this seat too?

Lexi: Yes. A lot.

Dustin: Cool. So that's a supermax cushion. Again, you could put that on any seat. And there's also an option with a backrest. And then Adam, she took your first pick, which is a Relaxed Body, but how did you do on the Simple Step-Thru up the hill?

Adam: Oh, this was great. It handled like a dream. Sure, I had to make some effort, but for a hill, for me, I would normally have to stand and I probably even still wouldn't make it. But with this, didn't stand once, I just had to pedal a bit. And that was it.

Dustin: Would you like to put that seat on here too, you think?

Adam: 100%.

Dustin: Yeah.

Adam: That seat on here would be my top-tier bike.

Dustin: Okay, cool. All right. Well, there you have it. They made their choices. I'll make a note about which one is Lexi and Adam's picks so you can check them out. So if you are a heavy rider over 200 or 300, I hope this gives you a good idea of what could work for you. If you have any other questions at all, please reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.com, or call us at 310-982-2877. In addition to that, we offer a 30-day test ride on your e-bike policy. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, send it back. 

No questions asked, no money out of your pocket. In addition to that, we warranty everything for one year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of it, parts and labor. Now lastly, join our Facebook group called sixthreezero Pedalers. There are thousands of members in there. You can go in there before you purchase, and get comfortable making your purchase. Then when you have your bike, post in the group, and make friends. Also, download our app to track your rides. That's a lot of fun as well. You can compete on the leaderboard and also in the app. So thanks for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.