I'm looking for an e-bike for my GF to go ride together. She would need a little built-in tail wind to help her keep up with me on the flats (somewhat beyond 30km/h) and on climbs. Can you suggest a model? Interested in brand bikes and DIY builds. It should be street legal.
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Best option for e-road or gravel bike beyond 25km/h (brand or DIY)
- Thread starter ElEsido
- Start date
I'm in the US so 28 MPH or 45 KMPH is our max. The Specialized Creo SL is my top choice. It is an excellent bike....seems modeled after the Roubaix (which I also own two of). Pretty sure they have a road and gravel version but regardless, it was always the same frame with different tires and a couple of different components. The range is pretty good. Depending on the assist/mode, I can get 40-75 miles out of the main battery. I take it on days when I want a long road ride but am too cooked to ride the regular road bike, or a big climb but am too cooked.
- Thread starter
- #5
IT seems to be - this must be rooted in regulatory reasons since e-bikes faster than 25km/h count as small motor bikes and come wiht a requirement for a licence plate and drivers license. Probably the manufacturers don't want to go there.
If anybody is aware of officially available bikes or successful DIY builds (which can theoretically be individually registered with the road traffic authority), please do share your experience.
If anybody is aware of officially available bikes or successful DIY builds (which can theoretically be individually registered with the road traffic authority), please do share your experience.
@ElEsido In Switzerland you're looking for what's classified as an S-Pedelec (45 km/h, yellow plate, helmet, licence cat. M or higher, mirror, etc.). There are actually a fair number of road/gravel-style options homologated for CH/EU, you just won't find them in the standard road bike catalogues. Worth looking at the Stromer ST1/ST2 (more urban, but Stromer is Swiss and dealer support is excellent), the Riese & Müller Roadster/Charger3 GT speed versions, and the Moustache Friday 28 Speed. For something closer to a proper drop-bar gravel feel, the Klever X Speed and the Bulls Grinder EVO / Daily Grinder 45 are about as close as it gets off the shelf.
For DIY, the cleanest route in CH is a mid-drive conversion using a Bafang BBS02/BBSHD or a TongSheng TSDZ2 on a steel or alu gravel frame with a threaded BB. The catch: to register it as a "Motorfahrrad schnell" (45 km/h) with astra/Strassenverkehrsamt you need a Typengenehmigung (type approval) for the complete vehicle, and that's where almost all home builds fall over — individual approval (Einzelgenehmigung) for an e-bike is theoretically possible but in practice the cantonal offices rarely grant it without EN 15194 / ECE paperwork from the motor and battery supplier. A few builders have managed it by using approved kits like the GoSwiss Drive (Swiss-made, has been used in homologated builds) but expect paperwork pain.
Honest suggestion: if the goal is just riding together and your GF needs a tailwind on flats around 30–35 km/h, a 25 km/h pedelec with a strong motor (Bosch Performance CX, Specialized SL 1.2, TQ HPR50) will let her sit on your wheel comfortably at 30+ because she's still pedalling and drafting — the assist cuts at 25 but the bike doesn't suddenly become a brick. The Creo 2 or a Moustache Dimanche 29.5 in the 25 km/h version would likely solve your problem without the plate/licence/insurance overhead, which adds up to several hundred francs a year and bans you from a lot of the nicer cycle paths and forest tracks.
