E-Bikes & Bikes Customised to You
Dustin Gyger
Updated On: July 29, 2024
An over-60 rider is going to test-ride five e-bikes and choose her favorite. Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry and today I'm joined by Phyllis who's 67 and she's never ridden a two-wheel electric bike in her life. She just experienced electric tricycles for the first time but never a two-wheel e-bike. So we've got five e-bikes behind me that are all great for senior riders. We're gonna have her test them out and then have her give her feedback and pick a favorite at the end.
Dustin: All right, so when's the last time you rode a regular two-wheel bike?
Phyllis: Probably four or five years ago.
Dustin: Okay. All right. Well, right here, we've got five e-bikes. We'll start over here.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: This is our 20-inch Simple Step-Thru 500-watt rear hub motor. And go ahead and get on there. We'll figure out what seat height is right for you. Now, this e-bike is good for riders 4'11", up to 6'4".
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Does that feel safe to you? Do you want the seat lower?
Phyllis: I think it's perfect because, you know, my feet touch the ground. Okay. I see there's a little kickstand. Should I leave that on for the moment?
Dustin: Yeah, you can. That's fine. Okay. All right. So the handlebar is good for you.
Phyllis: Yeah.
Dustin: Yeah. Okay. All right. So this is the same concept. You've got your power button right here. Now it looks a little bit different, but you've got your plus and minus, which is your assistance. And you hold this to power on.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Your screen comes on.
Phyllis: That's a nice screen.
Dustin: You can see you're at level zero here. OK. So the motor won't work and everything else is the same. You've got a throttle here as well. You're in zero. So it works the same as the trikes. You push it in a little bit to get going. You want to ease into that in the two wheels because, on a two-wheel, you're going to zip even more than on the trike. So you just want to ease into the throttle when you want to use it.
Phyllis: And I have to put this up to at least one.
Dustin: For the motor to work. Yes.
Phyllis: Okay. Yeah. And that's the assist, right? Or no?
Dustin: Correct.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Now, do you want to try just pedaling without the electric?
Phyllis: Sure.
Dustin: Since you haven't been on a two-wheel.
Phyllis: Right.
Dustin: We got to get the pedals. Yeah, right. Because it's walking. There you go. Now you can put the kickstand up.
Phyllis: Got it.
Dustin: And when you start.
Phyllis: Yes.
Dustin: Put the pedal there.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Then you can push down with that foot and it'll get the momentum going.
Phyllis: Okay. Well, they, you know, they say it's like riding a bike once you learn.
Dustin: All right. Whenever you're ready.
Phyllis: Here we go.
Dustin: There you go.
Phyllis: Yeah. Nice. Okay.
Dustin: All right, are you ready for electric?
Phyllis: Sure. I feel like I'm earning my lunch, though. You know, it's good. It's a good little workout.
Dustin: You may be in, I don't know what gear you're in also on the bike.
Phyllis: Oh, I didn't even check that.
Dustin: Oh, you're in second. Yeah. All right. Do you want to spin around here and then we'll get the motor turned on for you?
Phyllis: Sure. All righty.
Dustin: Okay. All right. So let's go ahead and push it on.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: And... Just start pedaling and you'll feel it kick in. Then if you want to use the thumb throttle, you can.
Phyllis: Okay, cool. Let me get this pedal in good shape here. Oh, yeah. Wow. Whoa. It's very responsive!
Dustin: Different than the trikes, huh?
Phyllis: It is.
Dustin: Much zippier. Oh sorry.
Phyllis: Hey hey buddy whoa.
Dustin: All right that's your first two-wheel electric bike experience.
Phyllis: Whoa.
Dustin: Got to get a hang of that throttle, huh?
Phyllis: Yes. It was fun, though.
Dustin: All right. So that's bike number one. Thoughts?
Phyllis: Peppy. Once, you know, I got used to the fact that it was two wheels. Things smoothed out. Good control. Yeah, it was fun. And... goes fast if you let it, right?
Dustin: The other feature we focused on was how easy it is to get on and off because we made that frame low.
Phyllis: Yeah, I can appreciate that.
Dustin: So that's our Simple Step-Thru 20 inches. So now right here we have a Relaxed Body. So this one's got more of a forward-pedaling design. So it's gonna feel a lot different that seat may be too high. Go ahead and see if that is…
Oh, just step through the frame? There you go.
Phyllis: Don't need to make things harder than they need to be. Okay.
Dustin: How does that feel? Do you want to be lower to the ground, or is that okay?
Phyllis: I think I'm good.
Dustin: And then how about the handlebars? Too high? Because we can tilt them into you, too. Let me show you.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: I think you may like this better. Let's see.
Phyllis: That's a cool feature, by the way.
Dustin: Yeah.
Phyllis: Oh, yeah.
Dustin: Maybe right there? Okay.
Phyllis: That's neat.
Dustin: Yeah, all of them are fully adjustable to your body. All right. So this is a 500-watt, so same power as the one you just rode. But as I said, it's a forward-pedaling design. So you're kind of if you notice how the pedals are out in front of your body a little bit okay and so it's a little bit different feel, but everything's the same up here. So you just power on.
Phyllis: Nice.
Dustin: Same thing you have your pedal assist you have your throttle
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: And I'm gonna get on my bike here.
Phyllis: My pedal assist is to one should I go to two maybe.
Dustin: You can go to two. Yeah.
Phyllis: Nice. Okay, are you using your throttle already? Can I use mine to start too?
Dustin: Sure, yeah. You just want to make sure you ease into the throttle.
Phyllis: Okay. Yeah, because it's very sensitive. Do you want to start pedaling before you start the throttle?
Dustin: You don't have to. You don't have to. Oh, you got your kickstand back there.
Phyllis: Oh, I was wondering what that noise was.
Dustin: It's way back there.
Phyllis: Did I get it? Yeah, I got it.
Dustin: You got it.
Phyllis: Oops.
Dustin: All right.
Phyllis: Give me just a little. Oh, yeah. This is nice. Whoa. Okay. I got some solid pedaling going on.
Dustin: Do you feel how different of a riding position it is?
Phyllis: Yeah. It's always because I feel like more of a low rider.
Dustin: Yeah. Yeah.
Phyllis: You know, it feels a little more stable, but I mean, the other one didn't feel unstable. It's just.
Dustin: That's good. There you go opening it up.
Phyllis: Yeah. That's super fun. Nice. I like this Dusty, this is fun.
Dustin: Yeah.
Phyllis: Much more fun than the gym.
Dustin: Okay, so e-bike number two. You said you feel a little more stable on that one.
Phyllis: Yeah, I think so. Super easy to get on and off. Yeah.
Dustin: Comfortable?
Phyllis: Very comfortable. Had a lot of get up and go, just like the first one. But felt a little bit more in control because it was... Probably lower to the ground, maybe.
Dustin: Yeah. Yeah.
Phyllis: OK. Yeah.
Dustin: All right. OK, we got another one here now. This is called the Zip and Fold.
Phyllis: It looks like a caterpillar to me. Beautiful.
Dustin: So this one's, even more powerful. It's a 750-watt rear hub motor.
Phyllis: Oh, my gosh.
Dustin: So this may be too tall for you. Let's see.
Phyllis: Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Well, no.
Dustin: You're OK.
Phyllis: OK.
Dustin: Well, it's up to you.
Phyllis: Yeah. Once I'm on it, I can still touch the ground.
Dustin: OK, perfect.
Phyllis: Okay, cool.
Dustin: Controls are all the same. Now, this one is a twist throttle. Okay, right here.
Phyllis: Oh, I do prefer the twist, if you must know.
Dustin: Okay.
Phyllis: That's okay.
Dustin: Okay, so this one's got more power. Okay, so you want to be gentler on this one. Probably want to keep it in level one.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: And I think you're going to feel that, do the handlebars feel okay to you? Are they too low?
Phyllis: No, they feel great. The different levels, this is for the assist. I know you've explained this before, but just…
Dustin: So the higher, the more power it's going to give you when you pedal.
Phyllis: Okay. And then these are pretty much more when you're manually, although it's in five right now, but I'll probably just use the throttle for now. But normally I would want it to lower the number, right?
Dustin: Not really. If you have it in pedal assist and you're getting assistance from the motor, you probably want that in a higher number.
Phyllis: Oh, okay. But if I didn't have the pedal assist on and the power here, the electric part.
Dustin: You probably want it lower.
Phyllis: Okay, got it. Yeah.
Dustin: Yeah, because it's going to be harder to pedal without the motor.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Now try twisting the throttle a little bit.
Phyllis: Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, this is fun wow.
Dustin: Do you feel the power difference?
Phyllis: I do. Yeah. I think you were trying to race me over there.
Dustin: So what do you think difference-wise? Comfort?
Phyllis: Woo!
Dustin: Power, steering, the whole nine yards.
Phyllis: Yeah, the power. I mean, it was practically, I mean, it was ready to leap and have fun, but it's low to the ground. So again, I felt stable. I felt more resistance with the pedals, and hugged the corners, just a really fun ride.
Dustin: Okay, cool.
Phyllis: Yeah, I like this little guy.
Dustin: All right, let's move on to our next one here.
Phyllis: All right, sweetie, yeah.
Dustin: Okay, so this one is the EvryJourney. And this has a 500-watt rear hub motor. Now this has a pretty unique riding position and also a unique handlebars. Let me see. Do you mind putting the seat down just a little bit?
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Here, can you hold this quick? Sure. All right. Let's try it right about there.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Okay. Give that a shot.
Phyllis: Okay. Let me do the kickstand. All right. Yeah, I think that's perfect.
Dustin: Okay. All right. So a little bit different looking display on this one. Same kind of premise.
Phyllis: Oh, wow. Okay.
Dustin: Okay. So you hold the power button. So you still got your plus-minus.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: Now you're back to a thumb throttle. So we're changing it up on you here every bike you ride.
Phyllis: I'm going to put it at a... Wait.
Dustin: Do you want to do two? Three? That's in three.
Phyllis: Oh, I didn't. I was looking at the zero.
Dustin: Uh-huh.
Phyllis: I was looking at the zero. What's the zero?
Dustin: That's your miles per hour.
Phyllis: Oh. Well, finally, she figured it out. Okay, I can do this. Maybe a two?
Dustin: Yeah, maybe start at a two.
Phyllis: Okay. Ready?
Dustin: Ready when you are.
Phyllis: Okay. Ooh, okay. It wants to go. Woo!
Dustin: What do you think?
Phyllis: It was super fun. It was super fast. Woo! And it felt like it had a lot of power, but was lighter.
Dustin: Lighter, okay.
Phyllis: Yeah. More like it was kind of... The other one felt very sturdy and close to the ground, and this felt a little bit more like I was gliding, I think. Yeah, it's a nice ride.
Dustin: All right. Let's move on to our final... The final... e-bike countdown. All right. This is the Simple Step-Thru 26 inches.
Phyllis: Okay. Simple is good. Yeah, I want to make sure I don't compromise any of these.
Dustin: So let's see this one right here.
Dustin: Okay. All right. See if you can get on there.
Phyllis: Okay. There, I made it.
Dustin: Okay.
Phyllis: Okay.
Dustin: All right. So this is the same kind of premise. Push the middle button right there.
Phyllis: Power. We have power. It's at one.
Dustin: Yeah. And you can your plus buttons here if I put it in, too.
Phyllis: Okay. It seems to be my favorite.
Dustin: So this one just has the really low step through the same kind of riding position as the last one you went on. But we'll see how you think of it.
Phyllis: The low step-through is always nice.
Dustin: Yeah.
Phyllis: How fast have I been going? I keep meaning to. I'm going to look this time. I'm going to take a peek.
Dustin: I think about 15-ish.
Phyllis: I'm a hot ridder. Okay, here we go. Nice. I got up to 17 and a half.
Dustin: Wow, really?
Phyllis: Yeah.
Dustin: That's pretty fast.
Phyllis: I thought so.
Dustin: Now it's the ultimate choice.
Phyllis: Oh, no. We have to choose.
Dustin: So you've just ridden five e-bikes for the first time, and they all are a little bit different.
Phyllis: And the wheel size and everything, yeah.
Dustin: Power size, so you have a relaxed body, semi-recumbent forward pedaling, 500 watts. The zip and fold folding is 750 watts. The EvryJourney, which has forward pedaling, is a 500-watt as well. The simple step-thru 26 inches with the low step through 500 watts and then the 26, 20-inch version with the 500 watts as well. So which one is it?
Phyllis: He's gonna make me pick one? I like them all.
Dustin: If you were to leave today with an e-bike, what would be your choice? You can also, if you remember what you liked about each one... Okay, go ahead.
Phyllis: Yeah, I think this one. What I liked about each one was pretty similar. I mean, they all had great get-up-and-go. They were all very manageable.
Was that my first one, I think? Uh-huh. I think because it was my first one and I hadn't been on a regular bike in a while, I was maybe not as comfortable. But it was still fine, but... That's super cute. Maybe a little low for me. Uh-huh. Although I like the stability of it.
Dustin: Uh-huh.
Phyllis: Um, you know, but I like this one too.
Dustin: Uh-huh.
Phyllis: Um, because it felt very sturdy, but it was also very fast, which was super fun. Maybe I'll pick this one.
Dustin: Okay.
Phyllis: Yeah.
Dustin: So she instinctively went on Evryjourney. Flip-flop back to the Simple Step-Thru two of our typically most popular e-bikes with our riders over 60. So I didn't coerce you or tell you anything.
Phyllis: Not at all.
Dustin: For your first experience on e-bikes ever right now.
Phyllis: Yes.
Dustin: So there you go. So yeah, Phyllis chose a simple step-through. And don't forget, if you have any other additional questions or comments, please reach out to us, at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us at 310-982-2877. Don't forget, we have a 30-day test ride 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. Also, we warranty everything for the first year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of its parts and labor. And lastly, join our Facebook group, sixthreezero Pedalers, and download our app. Two places to connect with our community before you purchase so you can get comfortable. Talk to existing riders before you make your purchase. Then when you have your e-bike, post in the group, make friends track your rides on the app, and compete on the leaderboard. It's a lot of fun. All right. Are you ready to do the tagline? We'll see. And don't forget. Oh, and don't forget. It's your journey. It's your experience. Enjoy the ride.