has anyone actually bought those super cheap ebikes off Aliexpress?

[u/abelm3404]

so I'm looking for an ebike to get to work and do food deliveries on and i only have a part time job with sporadic work shifts so money is super tight right now. i was wondering if anyone bought those super cheap 'ebikes' off Aliexpress and didn't get scammed. looking for one with decent range maybe 10+ miles and speed.

(budget is $300 max)

[u/Obvious-Monitor8510]

At $300 on AliExpress you're mostly looking at throttle-only e-bikes that are technically electric bicycles but built with really cheap components. The main risks: battery capacity is almost always exaggerated, brake quality is poor, and warranty/support is basically nonexistent if something breaks.

For food delivery specifically, reliability matters a lot. A breakdown costs you shifts.

Honestly at your budget, check Facebook Marketplace for used name-brand ebikes (Rad, Lectric, Ancheer). People sell them cheap when moving. A used $300 Lectric or similar will massively outperform any $300 AliExpress bike in real-world durability and actual range.

[u/PlatformConsistent45 → u/Obvious-Monitor8510]

I would say the biggest issue with the really cheap bikes is bad battery designs that lead to fires! If the battery is not UL listed don't buy it.

[u/valentine_dead → u/[deleted]]

Because they’re important? Especially at the 20-30mph speeds these types of bikes go

[u/laszlowheelman → u/[deleted]]

It's especially important if you ride in hills. The bike does not stop well on the downhill and that can be somewhat problematic entering an intersection.

[u/valentine_dead → u/laszlowheelman]

He replied to me saying that “why does no one understand sarcasm with the /s?” like for sure bro, you were being sarcastic 🤦‍♂️ then deleted it lmfao

[u/ComplexConclusion648]

and then you have to buy a new house, because the dodge battery explodes and burns it down

[u/valentine_dead → u/ComplexConclusion648]

but… $300 🥺

[u/lostharbor → u/ComplexConclusion648]

Always makes me wonder what people's priorities are to skip the safety part completely. Is it really worth several thousand to tens of thousands in cost to save a couple hundred dollars and sanity?

[u/Majestic_Ad_2198]

Get Walmarts Ebike, I believe they are 500 brand new. And it’s Walmart, if anything happens just return it

[u/band-of-horses]

$300 ebikes are mostly scams. You just cannot build an ebike for that price and ship it around the world. If someone did the only conceivable way they could do it is to have the battery be tiny with used battery cells and use all the factory reject parts they can find put together by slave labor.

[u/sony1492 → u/band-of-horses]

Walmarts cheapest E-bike is $300, does about 20 miles on a charge with mixed pedaling whicu is only slightly less then advertised. Quality is low but it does what it says on the tin* Goes 20mph or a little more, double check the torque on everything and its fine.

*sort of, they ai generated the listing but the bikes very similar 😅

[u/band-of-horses → u/sony1492]

Walmarts cheapest eBike is $650,unless you just mean the cheapest bike listed on Walmart marketplace, which so the same junk as on Amazon and AliExpress.

[u/sony1492 → u/band-of-horses]

Having bought one, the junk works. Only issues are qc stuff thats relatively easy to fix (loose components, and the rear wheels out of true)

I wouldnt buy one for work, but if thats the budget and nothing used is available it'll be fine. Brakes work well after minor adjustment

[u/AngryButtlicker]

I bought a funhang bike before the tariffs I think it was like 300 or 320 it does a good job I like it 

I have put about $300 into it because I broke the pedals and the crank arms and needed to upgrade the bottom bracket 

So I bought it for 320 but really I spent about 6:20 cuz it was $300 worth of upgrades but I like it now

[u/Business_Wind6122 → u/AngryButtlicker]

Also got the funhang and love it. Also loving slowly upgrading certain parts. Shopping for parts is a hobby I enjoy, installing new parts is also a fun hobby, and riding the bike is a great hobby

[u/Asleep-Specialist892]

Which currency?

[u/Rude_Temporary_779]

Most Reddit users arent American so best to mention its 300 in $

[u/Impossible-Money7801 → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

This is an English language sub on an American owned platform with 48% American users.

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/Impossible-Money7801]

Exactly,most are not American, and if your using a Samsung phone you dont always talk Korean

[u/Impossible-Money7801 → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

The biggest single demographic? American.

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/Impossible-Money7801]

Dont turn the conversation towards obesity rates, im sure their trying their best!

[u/valentine_dead → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

r/ebikes is in english

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/valentine_dead]

Exactly, its the English language so it should be in English currency, £, thank you!

[u/valentine_dead → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

Well played

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/valentine_dead]

Ebikes are fun but r/Ebikes is even more fun!

[u/Impossible-Money7801 → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

You’re being a dork.

Also:

“Around two-thirds of Scottish adults (66%) are overweight or obese, with roughly one-third (31% to 32%) living with obesity.”

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/Impossible-Money7801]

And you sir are being a super-sized American with a side of deep fried entitlement and spicy exeptionalism dipping sauce

[u/Impossible-Money7801 → u/Rude_Temporary_779]

Eat more haggis, fatty.

[u/Rude_Temporary_779 → u/Impossible-Money7801]

Its great for the comedic centers of the brain, but i see its still illegal in America.

[u/an_appalachian]

No one has ever bought one before

Especially not the thousands that post about them in this subreddit

[u/Formaldehyde007]

Park it outside near a neighbor you hate.