You want to go for a long trip or maybe you are an avid RVer and thinking to buy right e-bike for your self. There are many options in market each claim to be the best.

Here we will cover the top 5 options in terms of best options available in market. We will check what they offer, mobility and price.

And also cover quality of parts they use as one very important point about these bikes is they shall not require any service or as few as possible.

So here are the 5 bikes we cover.

Tern Vektron, Ariel Rider M-Class, E-Joe Epik SE, Rad Mini, Haibike Radius Tour.











Motor Performance

Motor performance is viewed on how well motor performs in different circumstances. Such as on flat surface but also on steep hills. As you are a traveler you don’t want to limit your options only in flat places.

At this point, Mid-drives have a huge advantage. Due to speed reduction gears, they have in the motor they can create a much higher torque and can climb hills much easier. On flat surfaces hub motors have more zippy feeling but mid-drives here have an advantage.

Before jumping into the mid-drive motors, let’s compare two hub motors.

Among two Rad mini stands out with their Bafang motor system. The specs look a little bit exaggerated as so far no hub motor we tested including bafang create 80 Nm torque, the actual value is around 45 Nm. I think this value was sent to them by Bafang as bafang has the same “high torque ” value. you can check here. As hub motors have only single gear ratio at such small hub motor impossible to create such high torque and if it has such high torque it means their top speed can never exceed 8 mph . Bafang proved themselves as a reliable motor brand. The 750W seems like peak power rather than nominal power.

E-joe uses Yonge 500w hub motor with 35 Nm torque so they come last in terms of motor performance.

In none of those two motors, you can expect good climbing skills.

Tern Vektron is using Bosch Active Line, Haibike is using Yamaha PW and Ariel Rider is using DAPU mid-drive system. We will check specs rather than focusing on the brand name of the systems.

From specs point it seems Ariel Rider has the highest torque and motor power then it is followed by Yamaha System of Haibike and Bosch of Tern.

I have tested all those e-bikes so i can agree about the “credibility” of the ratings.

PORTABILITY AND MOBILITY

E-Joe seems like the obvious winner here in terms of the size and weight. This isn’t a surprise as they have a small battery and a very small size.

The second one is Tern . Tern isn’t a light e-bike but it can be folded into a very small size and Tern is famous for their folding bikes.

The third position goes to Rad Mini. Actually, in terms of weight, it is heavy but can be folded so can be carried inside certain SUVs.

Fourth position goes to Ariel Rider. Actually ariel rider has a compact size and lighter than counterparts but it can’t be folded so we have to put it into 4th position.

Fifth position goes to Haibike as it can’t be folded and weight is very heavy.

COMFORT

This is a fairly important part which is ignored by many magazines. I think main reason is either they don’t ride e-bikes or only ride bicycles. We e-bike riders are different from normal bicycle riders. Maybe a normal cyclis will care about gear ratio more than anything but for us range, motor and comfort levels are important.

E-joe even the most portable one seems least comfortable one due to the saddle they have and strange riding geometry which i feel awkward. Can be ok for 5′ riders but for someone like me who is 6-ish feel strange.

Tern comes fourth as it doesn’t have an upright riding position.

Haibike has the third position. Frame geometry is slightly better than Tern has a more upright position.

It was hard to choose the first position between Rad-mini and Ariel Rider. So both get 5 star here.

Ariel Rider has a more comfortable riding on paved roads due to their adjustable stem, suspension seat post. Also it has the best upright riding position. But lack of suspension fork can be challenging for terrain rides.

Rad-mini is maybe the most comfortable one on terrain due to fat tires and suspension seat post but I can’t say the same thing on the flat road. Fat tires make it much harder to pedal and start and fat tires let your journey be very bumpy.

So depending on where and how will you ride Ariel Rider or Radmini can give you the most comfortable ride to you.

RANGE

Range of bike depends on two major factors.

How efficient is your motor

How big is your battery pack

There are other minor factors too such as weight of bike, gears and tyre type. But we don’t get into so much details.

Hub motors don’t have the efficiency of mid-drive so unless they have a huge battery pack they won’t go as far as mid-drive.

E-joe has the smallest range and Rad-mini follows it.

Below check comparison of the battery packs.

When we check the above values Ariel Rider seems have the biggest battery pack which is followed by Haibike and Tern.

PRICE

This is easiest one to compare.

Price for e-bikes are as followings

Ariel Rider : $1599

E-Joe : $1599

Rad-Mini : $1499

Haibike : $3000

Tern : $3400

In terms of price Rad-mini is the winner with lowest price 2nd position is shared with E-joe and Ariel Rider both offering e-bikes for $1599. Haibike and Tern gets 4th and 5th position respectively.

But when you compare prices please check what each company offers such as Radmini even 100$ cheaper it lacks mudguard and if you want to add mudguards you need to pay additional 89$ and it doesn’t have a tail light where other bikes all have it. And if you want to add tail light (which works with 3A battery ) need to pay extra $25 . So this way Rad seems more expensive than others.

OTHERS

This part i am not going to rank but just give some feedback about parts.

If you are going to ride an e-bike i advise you to have Hydraulic brakes on it. Only these brands have it.

Ariel Rider, Tern, Haibike

In terms of accessories, I can see those accessories for each brand

Tern : Rear Rack, Pannier bag, Cover

Rad Mini : Front Basket, Rear Rack

Ariel Rider : Rear Rack, Frame Lock, Front Basket, Pannier Bag

Haibike : Rear Rack

E-joe : Front basket, rear rack.

CONCLUSION

Ariel Rider seems to offer best motor, range and ranks second in most.

Ariel Rider is followed by Rad mini, Haibike, E-joe and Tern .

You can check links for each bike

Ariel Rider

Haibike

Tern

E-joe

Rad Power