Prodeco Phantom X 6 months of ownership

It's been roughly 6 months since I got the Phantom x which I use daily as a short commuter ebike to go to work (very short 1 mile round trip). For a sturdy, reliable albeit slow, (17-20 mph) production bike, I am happy with it, and it uses safe LifePo4 but that won't stop me from modding it the day the warranty runs out. (the warranty actually did me some good because I had to give it to the dealer for battery repair.) Reason # 1: all the weight is on or over the back tire (motor, controller, and battery) making the steering a little squirrelly. Reason # 2: It's a hardtail and all that weight on the back magnifies the bumps. Reason #3 After building a 72v50a bike it seems a little slow.
I'll probably use a safer chemistry than lipo and hang the battery box in front of me. The physical size of the battery won't matter because if you look at a Phantom X there is no triangle to restrict battery box size so I can get a 60v15Ah headway setup if I want. The motor is DD and sensored so I'll probably go lyen 12 mosfet controller that will also go in front. Those changes will address all concerns I have with the bike. Only 18 months to go on the warranty.

Good bike! Best I have seen for the price of ~$1100. Have heard nothing but good things from dealers about Prodecco as well. American made, reliable, decent quality, not much more you can ask for in a bike at this price point! I recommend them routinely when asked a good bike for around $1000... I hope they do well, they deserve it.

hi-powercycles said:

Good bike! Best I have seen for the price of ~$1100. Have heard nothing but good things from dealers about Prodecco as well. American made, reliable, decent quality, not much more you can ask for in a bike at this price point! I recommend them routinely when asked a good bike for around $1000... I hope they do well, they deserve it.

Click to expand...

That was a nice thing to say and very helpful to me.

The physical size of the battery won't matter because if you look at a Phantom X there is no triangle to restrict battery box size so I can get a 60v15Ah headway setup if I want.

Click to expand...

Just in case your really going to go forward with all those batteries. Hanging the batteries without bottom support is asking for trouble. And if you do decide to put a D.I.Y. bottom frame support, you lose the folding mechanism. :?

I've had mine for 1 month. I also don't like the lack of power. I'd like to up the voltage. Do they make the same kind of battery controller set up that I could just replace that portion. Or is there another controller that could plug in.. I'm still new to this stuff but I am getting addicted.

Mike

Wow USMC you got some bad luck I seen your post in the HPC thread about how you lost on that bike too. I really don't think it's going to be easy to upgrade the Prodeco bike for less then buying a 48 volt battery if your going to do that seems like you might as well sell it. To bad we can't work something out I'm ready to buy. I don't know why you did not just return it I thought all the prodeco bike could be returned within so many days. Hope you work it out Good luck

Actually HPC is making good. They have repaired a wheel/motor and the controller I should have them by Friday morning. I will post another comment about them when I receive the parts. I'm almost thinking about buying a new bike and using the repaired HPC parts in the build. All I will need then is another battery. Yes I'm getting addicted.

I want to sheare my experiences with the Phantom X. I received my bike in early 2012 and used it a lot during that year.
It is top and back heavy due to the battery placement.
It did not ever acheive a top speed of 20 mph.
It did have some minor design/manufacturing issues that I corrected easily.
I was constantly getting flat tires until I inserted tire liners.

In general I liked the bike a lot, but I think that I was more enarmored with electric bikes in general than the Prodeco bike in particular. My single biggest gripe with the Prodeco was the short battery life and unavailability of an original replacement. I used the bike from Spring until Fall of 2012. I probably averaged 2-3 battery charges a week for 6 or 7 months. In 2013 my housing situation changed so I used the bike very little. Same for 2014. Now in Spring 2015 the battery no longer takes a charge. Prodeco no longer carries the original, long rectangular battery. They offered me the newer, shorter style battery and mount for $449, plus shipping (I assume). I found an original style battery online, but the retailer is in China, so the bargain-priced battery with shipping approaches $400. Why doesn't Prodeco carry an original battery replacement for their bike? I have decided not to throw good money after bad and will upgrade to a better designed and more technically advanced bike, with a better quality battery. Unless someone has a good option for replacing the battery on the cheap???

TomH said:

I received my bike in early 2012...
It is top and back heavy due to the battery placement.
It did not ever acheive a top speed of 20 mph.
I found an original style battery online, with shipping $400...
a good option for replacing the battery on the cheap???

Click to expand...

Since your warranty is expired you could try a 48v battery for more power and speed.

$250 shipped to the US
https://bmsbattery.com/71-48v-li-ion?orderby=price&orderway=asc&id_category=71&n=24

You could put it on the rack. Or get a triangle bag for $15, add some plastic bracing so maybe it won't sway bad.

If you don't like it you could sell it in the classifieds, good luck