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My First Ebike

Published by on February 17, 2023

One of the questions that Tim Ferriss asks his podcast guests is, “What’s been your favorite under-$100 purchase this last year?” I’ve always loved that question, as I always have a good answer for it.

In this blog post I’m sharing about a recent purchase that I’m very happy about, and though it was more than $100, it’s been totally worth it.

In October I purchased my first ebike. Before I tell you about it, let me set up the back story. In October, 2021 Mandy and I took a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. On one of our days there we rented bikes. I rented a regular bike for me and an ebike for Mandy. After riding around Duckbrook Pond together, she wanted to walk around and take photos, so I decided to take the ebike for a spin. I absolutely loved it.

Fast forward to our trip last summer to Switzerland. One of the highlights for me was renting an ebike and riding from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken, and then taking the train back to Lauterbrunnen. What I discovered was that I could ride a much greater distance on an ebike than a regular bike. And a greater distance means more great things to see.

This past fall the four of us were back in Bar Harbor, and we rented bikes again. The boys and I rented regular bikes, and Mandy rented an ebike. And like last time, after spending some time riding together, I took off on my own on the ebike. I think I ended up riding 20 miles that day.

That evening I started doing some research on ebikes, and as luck would have it, Rad Power Bikes was having the biggest sale they had ever had. The Rad Mission was on sale for $500.

I had three goals with this purchase. First, I wanted to ride more frequently. This is the exercise and fun goal. Second, I wanted to be able to ride greater distances when I rode. And third, I wanted to drive my car less often.

This third goal was inspired by Mr. Money Mustache. Based on this, a specific goal was to bike to Kroger whenever I needed just a few items. Like many midtowners, the Kroger on Union isn’t my favorite place to go. One of the issues is the parking lot. This year I purchased a Walmart Plus membership, so we’ve been having our groceries delivered once or twice a month. But there’s still the need to stop by Kroger every once and a while, but “just stopping by” can be aggravating. But riding my bike, and securing it right in front…that sounded appealing.

So those were my three goals. After a few days of research, I took the plunge. I found out later that the reason for the sale was that they were discontinuing the Mission. Some have been concerned about this. I wasn’t.

Here’s what I liked about this bike…

  • Price – just $500!
  • Single speed
  • Lighter than most ebikes yet feels solid
  • Battery is sufficient for my needs
  • Throttle

Besides the bike, I knew that I would need some accessories. Here are the accessories I ended up purchasing.

I spent around $800 total for the bike and accessories. I was quite pleased.

There was one issue, though…

Rad underestimated how many people would take advantage of this sale, which meant that they oversold. I lucked out that I still got a bike, but I ended up getting a different color than the one I ordered, and it also meant that there was a long delay. The bike didn’t arrive until the beginning of December.

It came in a box, which meant that I needed to figure out how to assemble a bike. I ended up buying a torque wrench but had the other tools I needed. Rad provides some helpful video instructions, so it ended up being easier than I thought it would be.

I rode a couple of times in December, but in January I rode several times. Aren’t mild January’s just the best! I’m looking forward to riding even more once spring rolls around.

I can without hesitation recommend an ebike. And though my particular model is no longer available, I can recommend RadPower as a great company.


Published inTravel