Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the e-bike craze is a real thing. Only two or three years back, in many communities, it was rare to see an e-bike. No longer — now e-bike sightings are a common event almost everywhere. The biking craze is literally sweeping the world.
Road bikes, commuter bikes, electric mountain bikes (EMTBs)…people everywhere are learning about the many pluses that come with healthy and fun outdoor exercise. That health benefit can easily be combined with real savings in the cost of commuting. This is true for those who commute to their workplace daily, and also for anyone who makes regular trips to the grocery store, post office, gym, etc.
Sales Growth — Pros and Cons
As you would suspect, the rapid growth of e-bike popularity is accompanied by rapid growth in sales. For 23 years, e-bike sales in the US were minuscule compared to Asia and Europe That has changed dramatically! US sales are now hitting one million units annually, and are expected to grow to 3 million within 2 years.
So you can readily see that you are definitely not alone in your growing interest in electric bikes for adults. Entrepreneurs are also very interested–there is lots of money to be made in the e-bike market. This has resulted in a fast-growing number of e-bike brands. This growth in brands is both good and bad.
On the positive side, it is good that consumers have many choices, and competition helps keep prices in favor of the consumer. On the negative side, the multitude of new brands includes some that do not have ethical business practices, including quality control that is questionable at best.
With so many choices available for e-bike fans, it becomes more and more important to shop carefully. It is worth your time to become well-educated in the pros and cons of any e-bike you seriously consider purchasing.
An e-bike purchase is an investment in outdoor fun, exercise, improved health, and enhanced mood. That makes it worthwhile to shop carefully. A good example of comparison shopping is the Magicycle Cruiser Pro versus the Trek Powerfly 4. When comparing e-bikes, shoppers are especially interested in quality, price, power, and appearance.
1. Quality
Quality control affects buyer safety and satisfaction, as well as return business. If you don’t have a good experience with your e-bike, why should you consider buying the same brand again? For any brand that values return business, quality control just makes good sense.
MAGiCYCLE Cruiser Pro
MAGiCYCLE has the advantage of very thorough quality control. This is no accident — it is because MAGiCYCLE owns the factory that manufactures its e-bikes. This makes it one of the very few elite e-bike brands that actually own a factory. Many e-bike brands are simply selling e-bikes purchased from a factory that supplies multiple brands. In other words, Brand X, Brand Y, and Brand Z all sell the same e-bike built in the same factory. Only the label and perhaps the color are different.
It is impossible to maintain satisfactory quality control if the brand does not own the factory. The 107,000 sq.ft. Magicycle factory boasts the best manufacturing technology in the world. Magicycle’s factory has been in Wuxi, China, the Capital of Global Electric Bicycle Manufacturing for more than 16 years and has produced more than 1.2 million e-bikes, which are sold to North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and other countries & regions.
From these countries, 800,000 users provided riding data that helped Magicycle develop its uniquely stable and comfortable e-bikes. This gives Magicycle customers the ultimate cost performance with state-of-the-art technology and materials, consistently exceeding client expectations.
Quality is very difficult to judge only by looking. For example, the Chevrolet Vega car was very nice looking, but buyers soon learned that the car had serious quality control problems. Six out of every seven Vegas experienced a factory recall! Certainly, it is bad news for consumers if a great-looking product is not backed up by quality engineering and production. The primary consideration is that Magicycle owns its factory and also has its own design and engineering team. This gives Magicycle complete control over the quality of its e-bikes, from concept and design to manufacturing and shipping.
Trek Powerfly 4
Trek also has a good reputation for quality. It is also important to note that Trek does own the factory that builds its e-bikes. Trek is a very large company, selling its products under nine different brand names. Responses in regard to questions, repairs, customer service, etc. may not be as personal as the experiences Magicycle customers report.
2. Price
MAGiCYCLE Cruiser Pro
The Cruiser Pro is currently priced at $1899. No other brand offers the same quality and power at this low price.
Trek Powerfly 4
The Powerfly 4 is $1950 higher at $3849. To put it another way, you can purchase a Cruiser Pro for yourself and another for your wife…and still spend less than the cost of one Powerfly 4.
In recent months, most shoppers say that every dollar counts. The Powerfly 4 is a very good bike, but when you can get a different very good e-bike and spend $1950 less, that makes the decision easy.
3. Power
With the power to spare, the Ocelot will get you where you want to go. Its 52-volt 20-amp battery (LG brand) powers a 750-watt (1100 peak watts) motor. Very importantly, the Cruiser Pro’s upgraded motor puts out 96 Newton Meters of torque.
Torque is important because of its relationship to power. You can think of torque as the power available for turning the rear wheel on your e-bike. The torque can be provided by a motor or by the pedaling of a bike rider. The harder the rider pedals, the more torque is applied to turning the rear wheel. In the same manner, the more powerful the battery and the better the motor design, the more torque is available for turning the rear wheel and propelling the e-bike forward.
A motor with 96 Nm of torque gives your e-bike quicker starts and more powerful hill-climbing ability than a lesser motor with a lower torque output. Magicycle is absolutely the leader in available torque, giving you more power than any competitively priced e-bike!
To summarize, higher torque provides quicker takeoff, easier starts on an uphill incline, and greater ease of climbing hills.
Trek Powerfly 4
The Powerfly 4 sports a 250-watt motor, but it is powered by a battery that provides only 36 volts. The total available torque for the Powerfly is just 85 Newton Meters, a significantly lower power point than the Cruiser Pro.
4. Appearance
It’s true, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Every shopper has to judge the looks of an e-bike, and decide how important appearance is for the purchase decision.
MAGiCYCLE Cruiser Pro
With the release of the Cruiser Pro, the Magicycle Design Team maintains its reputation of developing strong high-quality e-bikes that are also very appealing to the eyes.
This e-bike is reminiscent of a beach cruiser that can easily traverse soft sand beaches while admiring the scenery. The comfortable wide seat, full fenders, and all-terrain tires make the Cruiser Pro ideal for cruising city streets, countryside lanes, off-road trails, or ocean shores.
In short, the Magicycle Cruiser Pro does it all—long distances, smooth pedaling, and sure-footed travel on everything from grassy knolls to sandy beaches or forest pathways.
Trek Powerfly 4
The Powerfly has somewhat of a utilitarian appearance, perhaps because of the lack of fenders. It does not have the sleek look of the Cruiser Pro, but it does offer some interesting color combinations — perhaps with a bit too much emphasis on the brand name.
Which of these two e-bikes has the better appearance? It’s your call!
An e-bike purchase is an important decision, and not to be taken lightly. Consider all the factors as you work toward making a choice, especially those that affect the safety of the rider. Ask and answer these questions:
•Is this brand known for its quality control?
•Does this brand own the factory that manufactures its e-bikes?
•Does the motor provide enough power and torque for the terrain you plan to ride?
•Does the tire size provide the best stability and traction?
•Is the battery strong enough to give you the range you need?
•Will the e-bike carry the gear you want to bring?
•Are you satisfied with the looks of the e-bike?
•Does the price give you the best bang-for-the-buck?
If you do your homework (research), you can feel that you are more likely to make the right decision. A chart similar to the one below can help you organize your research:
Variety is the Spice of Life
No two people are alike. You are unique and at least a little different from anyone you’ve ever met. That uniqueness, along with different life circumstances, jobs, locations, etc. makes it important for a brand to provide a variety of e-bike models. MAGiCYCLE is working hard to give you plenty of e-bikes for your selection.
You will enjoy browsing through the various styles, models, colors, and sizes to find exactly the e-bike that best meets your needs. Whether you want a fat tire cruiser, a folding bike, an easy-riding commuter, 26″ or 20″ tires…MAGiCYCLE has a ride for you. You can choose from the original All-Terrain Fat Tire Cruiser, the upgraded Fat Tire Cruiser Pro, the Jaguarundi Folding Bike, the Light-Weight Commuter, or the Ocelot with 20″ fat tires designed especially to accommodate riders from 4’10” to 6’2″. And coming in 2023, Magicycle is adding a full suspension ebike to its lineup of great rides.
