videos
Breadtube if it didn't suck.
Post videos you genuinely enjoy and want to share, duh. Celebrate the diversity of interests shared by chapochatters by posting a deep dive into Venetian kelp farming, I dunno. Also media criticism, bite-sized versions of left-wing theory, all the stuff you expected. But I am curious about that kelp farming thing now that you mentioned it.
Low effort / spam videos might be removed, especially weeb content.
There is a cytube that you can paste videos into and watch with whoever happens to be around. It's open submission unless there's something important to commandeer it with at the time.
A weekly watch party happens every Saturday (Sunday down under), with video nominations Saturday-Monday, voting Monday-Thursday. See the pin for whatever stage it's currently in.
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What's a good brand?
I'm really satisfied with the Specialized Vado
It varies country-to-country, but the main thing is that you want a long-established brand with the strictest battery safety standards you can find and the newest model available because that tech is advancing so rapidly. At least in the US I'm happy with my Aventon Abound LR, would side-upgrade to a Specialized Globe Haul, and am looking to upgrade to a Tern/Cannondale/Urban Arrow eventually as a long-term cargo bike. I would avoid the Lectric Xpedition because it has worse components than the Aventon, as well as Engwe and other direct-to-consumer brands (Aventon only gets a pass because it's a quality bike with a big service network, the main thing you'll struggle to find with a generic Amazon bike). Rad Power Bikes is the big one to avoid for battery safety and the company voiding warranties during their bankruptcy. If I could only buy one bike from the start, I would have invested in a Tern that stands up and has the highest rear rack weight rating I can find.
In terms of bike category, I value utility more than anything. Within the same ebike Class everything powers to the same speed, so the increased bulk of the cargo bike over my commuter bike doesn't really matter unless I'm storing it. I can fit a week's worth of groceries, big bulky items, two kids, an adult below 63kg, a full camping kit, or everything I need for my commute on the back. Carrying another adult with confidence in the frame is the only reason I want more weight capacity. The wider tyres allow it to handle better on uneven terrain and snow, while having a rear-hub motor allows me to use a throttle that makes starting painless. My commuter bike has a better quality mid-drive motor which makes it feel like a normal bike that I'm peddling with the strength of an Olympic athlete, but those don't handle throttles well so I'm actively pedaling even when it sucks to.
edit: And most importantly, a cheap bike is expensive. Cheap components either can't handle the stresses of ebikes or will fail within a few years of heavy use, at which point you're paying the cost of a new cheap bike to replace the motor and battery in a bike that doesn't feel good to ride. I thought I was saving money with my first purchase, a Lectric Xpress 750, and it sucked compared to my Aventon.
Tern is S-tier but you'll pay for it. Happy badger is very happy with their Aventon though and they're much cheaper.
What's a good place to buy from?
It's good to go through some sort of local shop for initial warranty and tune-up reasons. Manufacturer websites will allow you to look up a local dealer.
I got mine from REI because it was the same price as manufacturer MSRP but with that 10% member reward, and good discounts on bike shop work.
I bought my Aventon directly through their website because the manufacturer warranty is 2+ years normally.
I bought my commuter bike from Upway.co, which sells dealer overstock and slightly used bikes at a steep discount with a one year warranty. As long as you're buying a high quality bike the components should be fine for 3-5+ years of heavy use. Everything went fine with my Upway purchase and it shipped as fast as Aventon.
You'll pay a price premium for this one, but the best option is to buy from a local bike shop. They'll usually include free maintenance, tune-ups, and an initial inspection. The speed and weight of ebikes means more stress on the components so that will save you a lot of money and heartache. I'm buying my next ebike from REI for the same reasons Abracadaniel did. It's the closest bike shop that I would feel comfortable walking a dead bike to.
So like, what features do I need to look for to get the ones that can unlock the speed and go line 45?
Usually the speedometer has a setup screen and you lie to it about the tire size.
That's a Class 3 bike, but you'd do well to buy a Class 2 bike that has a Class 3 unlock mode. My Aventon Abound LR is Class 2 limited to 32kmh which my city regulates as the max rating for any bike infrastructure. It unlocks a 40kmh mode from the display if I want to ride faster on roads. Most non-cargo ebikes with that feature will go the full 45kmh, with the utility tradeoff not being worth it for me. Unpaved infrastructure like trails are limited to Class 1 where the motor reaches 32kmh but you can't use a throttle. If you buy a bike that goes faster than 45kmh, increasingly cities are outlawing those and regulating them as motorcycles.
https://www.aventon.com/products/level-3-step-through-commuter-ebike?variant=44177465082051 Something around the specs of this would be a good budget commuter bike, with the comfortable carrying capacity of 2-4 bags of groceries, that reaches full Class 3 speed. Velotric and Specialized have some good models that you can pick up, especially used/overstock, for $1300-2000 and have quality components from. My commuter bike is a Class 2/3 Bianchi Omnia that I got from Upway.co with $3500 components for $1600. The electronics on that will probably last me 5-10 years of heavy use.
Where I am in Canada, the speed limit for ebikes is 32 km/h, which does feel too slow at times especially when riding on the road with cars. I understand the slower speed limit for bike paths that might be shared with pedestrians too. I've heard I can take my Specialized bike to the US and have them program it to the US speed limit (I believe 38 km/h) but that also comes with risks.
I've come to terms with 32kmh as the compromise speed, albeit I try to avoid traffic at all costs and can for 90% of my commute. Even when I've unlocked my commuter bike to 45kmh, it doesn't really get me there faster because I end up being more cautious and slowing down whenever I think I might have to brake at max speed. I still feel slow next to the cars on half our urban roads, but I feel too fast to safely correct/stop/ditch the bike. At 32kmh my reflexes are a lot better and the injury risk of the crash is halved. I can keep the speed consistent while still having enough time to safely stop in 2m. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast in my case.
Any of those that don't have built in GPS tracking?
I think most pre-2023 models don't include it outside of super premium models, but now that's becoming pretty standard in anti-theft suites because they're priority targets. For me the privacy concerns are a worthwhile tradeoff for the other modern features. My 2025 Abound auto-locks the kickstand and rear wheel, is password protected, has a motion alarm that notifies me on my phone, and I can geofence it or lock the motor remotely. Those features are really uncommon in older bikes. At the same time you're also getting an older and smaller battery that you can't replace as easily, maybe a cadence sensor that feels a lot worse than a torque sensor, and limited app support for things like real-time monitoring of the electronics.
On my 2023 Bianchi's Bosch app, I can disable the GPS tracking by disabling location permissions on my phone. Presumably other bikes with Bosch systems have that same software option, but my Aventon's GPS tracker is built into the bike's motherboard.
Ideally somewhere in person so you'll know you can get support for the brand of things go sideways and you want the mechanic to bail you out.
Get one at a local bike shop that's willing to repair it or verify that a local bike shop can support whatever you buy. Or plan on fixing it yourself when the electronics inevitably have an issue.
There are many good brands and many okay brands but the biggest difference in overall experience will be what happens when it breaks and how often it breaks.
Decathlon has very cheap ebikes that are a good quality for the money.
Anything with a Bosch, Shimano, cyc, or tangshen mid drive motor (mounted in the bottom bracket, adds power at the crank) is a good starting point. Hub drive motors tend to be used on cheaper bikes. As someone else said, Aventon is a better choice among the lower price options
I'm super happy with my Bianchi's Bosch mid-drive motor compared to my Aventon's. It's maybe half as loud, which is nice for not scaring animals at a higher speed and hearing more birdsong, and will reliably last for twice as long. The more naturalistic feel of a mid-drive is nice, with it just feeling like the bike is an extension of my legs instead of a moped I can pedal, but the throttle with a rear-hub is really useful. It's there when I don't want to pedal, when I need to crawl over ice with my legs down, when I'm awkwardly weighted down, when I feel sick, and when I need to start at a green light with a car waiting to turn. I get a lot more utility from that cheaper and more inefficient motor.