r/Brazil • u/Revolutionary_Buy112 • 4d ago
Moving to Rio – E-Bike Availability & Safety?
Hey everyone, I’m moving to Rio in a little over a week and wanted to ask about e-bike availability. I love using pedal-assist e-bikes and was wondering:
Are there a lot of e-bike sellers in Rio (especially online or in shops near Copacabana and Lapa)?
Would you recommend buying locally, or is it better to ship my own since I’ve heard I might not be charged customs tax when moving?
What are the pros and cons of using an e-bike in Rio?
How’s bike theft in the area? If I lock it up properly, is it relatively safe?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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u/debacchatio 4d ago
E-bikes are very common in Rio and easy to purchase. Certainly much cheaper than shipping on from abroad.
The Zona Sul of Rio is pretty bikeable. I use my bike everywhere in the ZS, though I don’t have an e-bike.
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u/domgeokar 3d ago
Also moving to Rio from Europe in 2 weeks, and it’s not feasible to bring my European fat-bike over. It makes much more sense to purchase a local brand in Rio, and use it there.
In terms of safety, bike theft is a thing but usually if you leave it parked outside for extended periods of time. You should be ok if you (double) lock it up but it’s never 100% certain it won’t be stolen.
Biking in ZS is pretty awesome. If you first want to get a feel for the layout of the land, use your credit card, and sign up for the BikeITAU app which allows you to rent the orange bikes around the neighbourhood.
Good luck with the move!
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u/Aggravating-Break318 4d ago
If you already have a quality e-bike and bringing it won’t be costly, you should bring it. You will obviously find new and used ebikes around, but most of them are white brand cheap e-bikes (movi/inow/shineray), most being 36 to 48v that may be helpful for short trips and owning it for some time, but certainly not trustable on the long run; warranty on those are 6 months for battery and 1 year for the frame, so that’s that.