The Emotion Street 650 from BH is an ideal bike for women. I use it for commuting as well as weekend leisure rides and running errands.
You can read here about how I have started using this bike more and more, moving step-by-step to greater health and a car-free life. Below is a video where I introduce my Emotion 650!
Note that the noise in the video is passing traffic, NOT my almost silent bike.
I changed jobs and my commute changed. Before, I rode my Giant Avail 3 (reviewed here) on a relatively off road and level terrain from Burnaby to Vancouver. Now I had to travel a rough industrial and hilly ride from New Westminster to Coquitlam.
After a few trips on my Avail it became evident that one or both of us was not going to survive this commute. Out of love for my Avail, I retired it to weekend jaunts and charity rides such as the MS Bike Ride. I had spent countless hours in bike shops while Joe test drove endless bikes, and talked endlessly with bike shop owners about the benefits of BH bikes versus BionX kits and Panasonic electric bikes versus Bosch engines … blah, blah, blah. However, on one trip I could not help but notice the very good looking Emotion Street 650, and was curious enough to take a test drive of my own.
It took me about two minutes to fall in love with the Street 650.
I had a vision of myself wearing a summer dress, large sunglasses, and a scarf…think Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. I imagined myself meeting friends for a glass of wine, perhaps with one of our dogs in a front wicker basket.
What can I say…she is gorgeous. Stylishly curved step-through frame, black with orange accents, integrated dynamo front and back lights, big comfy wide tires and super comfy saddle, front shocks, and custom rear bike rack. The motor lives in the drive train and the battery tucks nicely behind the down tube, next to the back tire.
The battery is represented as having a range of approximately 40 km when new. This is dependent on so many factors that it is hard to verify. I can only confirm that I have never run out of power on any commute. Best of all, the battery charges in a couple of hours, seated in a soundless floor charger unit.
The bike is much heavier than my racer, but it is surprisingly nimble. Despite weighing in at close to 50 lbs, the bike is easy to maneuver without battery power. I only bought my Easy Motion Street 650 because of the tough commute I was facing. I still wanted to improve my fitness. The Street 650 is pedal-assist technology which means that the motor only engages when you are pedaling. With 7 gears and 3 levels of assist, you have 21 optional settings to tackle any terrain the Lower Mainland can throw at you. It is only a 250 W engine, but I find this more than enough to get me up hills and all the way to work. After all, I ride to get some exercise as well as to get to work – if I wanted no exercise, I would take the car! To me, this size engine achieves the perfect balance of enabling me to get some exercise but not arrive at work exhausted and sweaty.
(Note: Full technical specs of the Emotion Street 650 are at the bottom of this post.)
Things I like about my Emotion Street 650
- The frame is step-through, making it easy to get on – even in a dress.
- I love the fact that this bike is pedal assist. Down with throttle drive! (Joe is spitting as I write this.)
- The bike is fully accessorized. I only bought a bottle cage and more ergonomic grips.
- The built-in lights (powered by a dynamo in the front hub)
Things I don’t like about the Emotion Street 650
- The bikes comes with V-brakes which means they wear out a lot if you bike a lot. Which I do. I understand that some of the new models will come out with disk brakes – that will be better. (Update: We later put on the absolutely excellent Paul brakes, which are the best V-brakes money can buy. They cost a lot of money, but are well worth it if you want great brakes, without adding the weight of disc brakes.)
- There is no place to mount a water bottle except on the stem. Maybe it is the sort of bike you shouldn’t need a water bottle for. But I ride it hard and need water.
My solution to this is the SKS Bottle Cage, which fits well. You can see it on the photos of my bike. You need to get the adapter mount (which has an orange dot on it) and the water bottle cage, and use the adapter mount to attach the bottle cage to the head tube of your bike. You can get these both quite cheaply on Amazon.
This bottle cage fits perfectly with the SKS Cycling Sports Drink Water Bottle, to provide an easy solution for carrying water on this and other electric bikes. ote that regular water bottles are a bit too thin for this bottle cage.
Price of the Emotion Street 650
I paid just over $3,000 for my Emotion Street 650.
Being an accountant, I have to mention the rationale of why I spent $3,000 on a bike. Factoring in that a transit ticket would cost me $170 per month (!!), the bike can be paid off in 18 months – and after riding it for about a year, my bike is still almost as good as new! I contrast my commute, rain or shine, by myself, in the outdoors, versus a crowded, smelly transit trip dependent on the transit system’s schedule. My trip only takes 4o minutes on a bike, and would take over an hour on transit. So I’m saving time and money – while burning calories and getting fit! (And on transit I would risk getting sick too – transit riders are six times more likely to catch acute respiratory infections.)
If you are going to get a great bike, get a great bike lock. This is the best selling bike lock on Amazon, and it’s great value for money.
Bottom Line on the Emotion Street 650
Unlike Joe, I didn’t do a lot of research before I bought. Quite frankly there was nothing remotely as stylish on the market. The Emotion Street 650 comes ready to ride with very few add-ons required. This is a great alternative to a crowded commuter train any time of the year!
This bike rates an Average Joe Cyclist Gold Bike Star!
Deciding which electric bike is the best electric bike for YOU is difficult. Joe has written a book about how to choose the best electric bike for you. The book includes reviews of many of the best electric bikes on the market today. Click here to find out more about this book.
I just published the expanded, updated, 2nd edition of How to Buy the Best Electric Bike. This brand new, updated and expanded edition of How to Buy the Best Electric Bike is presented in collaboration with Turbo Bob and the Electric Bike Review, two of the greatest ebike reviewers and bloggers in the world. As a result, this new edition includes many more reviews of new, quality electric bikes (see below in this post for a list of the bikes that are reviewed). For a very limited time, I am offering the new Kindle edition for a discounted price, cheaper than the first edition.
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Bose SoundSport Wireless Headphones vs Jaybird X3 Sport Headphones |
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Technical Specs of the Emotion Street 650
Frame: Alu Hydrof. 26″ City
Weight: 22.5kg
Fork: Suntour M3010 AL
Headset: Integr. 1″ 1/8
Rear Derailleur: Shimano TX35 7SP
Brake Levers: Shiimano Tourney 7SP
Front Levers: Shimano
Brakes: V-brake Aluminum
Handlebar: Ergonomic Aluminum
Grips: Ergonomic
Stem: Aluminum Adjustable
Cassette: Shimano MFTZ21 14-28 7SP
Chain: KMC Z51
Sizes & Colours: 44 (Black N11)
Crankset: 41T
Pedals: Alu Safety Pedals
Hubset: Shimano Dinamo
Spokes: Stainless
Wheels: Aluminum Double Wall
Tires: Kenda 26×1.75 Anti Puncture
Saddle: Emotion Comfort
Seatpost: Alu 31.6x350mm
Front Light: LED Herrmans H-Diver
Rear Light: LED Spanninga Brasa
Electronic Specifications of the Emotion Street 650
System: IBS PANASONIC
Battery: Lithium Ion PANASONIC
Voltage: 36V
Capacity: 208Wh (26V / 8Ah)
Battery Weight: 2.3kg
Range: 80km
Motor: “Brushless” 250W
Motor Weight: 3.6kg
Regeneration: No
Display: LED PANASONIC
Warranty length: 2 years
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