Justwin Cool E-Rider tricycle

EDIT 6/03/2016
THE JUSTWIN COOL E-TRIKE FROM 2012 IS NO LONGER OFFERED SO DON"T READ THIS
I hope my review isn't what killed it's manufactured existence because this trike has (had) so many really good features I was just about to order another one when... IT"S BEEN REPLACED WITH A DIFFERENT "COOL E-TRIKE" -probably much easier and less expensive to manufacture as it uses a front wheel motor and a tiny lithium battery pack and only one seat. But I need the two-seater and would much prefer a rear motor so I won't be purchasing the "new" version.

edit 1/6/2016
]NO PROBLEMS WITH THE MOTOR after my personal rebuild back in '12.
I carefully reassembled the swag clutches and probably modified them a bit, but memory fails me as to what I actually did.

Beleze was ever so helpful during my initial purchase... I can't emphasize this enough. Justwin does make inprovements as they get reports back as my second controller was was a different version. Unfortunately because of connector issues I asked (and received) the earlier version (repaired)

Running the motor below 30V (7S Lithium Turnigy from HK) probably solved much of my issues with it. but I think the following info is still informative so:


edit 2-19-12
The Justwin's motor (edit- 2012) is subject to having the swag clutch self-destructif you ride the trike in reverse (like I have to do)
After this happened the first time I had to disassemble the trike to remove the motor, send said motor back for repair (to canada-shipping cost $100 of my dollars)
Upon replacing the motor it worked twice under the conditions I have to use it before the swag clutch blew out again.
(reversing the trike for 30 feet to leave my garage/workshop area)

My suggestion- DON"T BUY IT EXPECTING THE ELECTRIC PARTS TO NOT FAIL. I don't know if the trike is sold separately, which is really nicely built.

Ordered this to replace my recently squished custom tricycle.
cost: $2299
cost range: 2299-2899
Delivered from Belize Bicycles, it took about a week to get to me from Canada.
note- too large too heavy has to be shipped by truck (for me ~$200)
The truck driver was very nice. Called when he got to town and delivered it to my front yard.
The box was a little squished in the center but I assumed that wasn't a problem. The driver and I opened the box to verify no damage was done.

This trike is shipped fully assembled except the normal unmounted front wheel and handlebars.
The tires are all Maxis Hookworms and no major struggle putting things together, which was good as rain was eminent.
The trike is well-equipped lighting-wise, having bright headlights, taillights and turn signals.
Even the speed-o is lit by a blue glow.

First impressions:
If this thing came with motorcycle rims it'd be a motorcycle. The tubes are BIG and the trike is HEAVY. Everything about it is heavy duty including the mudguard mounts. Impressive + I can just clear my leg over the tube.
The motor is HUGE, about 150-200mm thick, flange to flange.

Bad parts:
24V system- the controller has a fan on it
the horn is quieter than a bike bell- pretty useless.
Comes with 39Ah 12V sled batteries and my favorite brainless charging system. Charges though the controller and the charger is marked "not to used outside"
Also the trike is marked as to not ride in mist, fog, rain (maybe even sun?) -who knew?
Strangely enough the trike's steering is not any more stable than my weirdly-sprung custom builds.
more to come later, as it started raining.View attachment 6

Looks like they paid attention to lots of the details such as tires and lights, etc.

Are you going to run it on higher voltage? May need a step down for the lights and other electricals if you do.

Does the motor run through any of the gears?

Looking forward to a new saga.

Just started raining here too. I think summer is over. It was a little chilly on my ride today.

Rassy said:

Looks like they paid attention to lots of the details such as tires and lights, etc.

Click to expand...

...and brakes.
Dual disc brakes in the rear and a v brake up front. The brake levers are interesting as they have parking brakes, e-brake switches and mirror mounts incorporated saving handlebar space.

Rassy said:

Are you going to run it on higher voltage? May need a step down for the lights and other electricals if you do.

Click to expand...

-not gonna do anything until the batteries die. I intend to add a front motor because first impressions shows this to not have much "omph" on a hill.
However it might only be the 'soft-start' nature of the controller.
Further rides shall reveal all once the rains end (supposedly by Tuesday)

Rassy said:

Does the motor run through any of the gears?

Click to expand...

nope- it's like a rear-hub motor setup. I'm assuming the motor has internal gears and freewheel as the gear cage is bolted directly to the motor's right flange.

Rassy said:

Looking forward to a new saga.

Just started raining here too. I think summer is over. It was a little chilly on my ride today.

Click to expand...

thinking the same: as in summer's ended.

clear sky
dry roads
-continuing the review



Took the trike outta the shed and... it wouldn't turn on.
Called Belize and talked to the service guy, mainly to ask if I wouldn't kill any warranty by working on the trike myself.
Got the ok to do so and fixed the problem by tapping on a relay.

With the batteries supposedly fully charged they weren't. They sat at 12.6V and 12.54V. i.e dead batteries..
The repair guy suggested I cycle the batteries a couple of times so I rode the trike across town to the LBS and back.
6.5 miles total.
The battery indicator showed dead batteries at the end of the ride (charging as I type this)

I must have read the advertisement wrong as I expected a top speed of 17mph. It was 17kph.
It climbed the 5% hill no issues at 8mph.
Pretty sure with the 800W motor it should climb a 10% grade... at 8mph.
Everything's peachy... at 8 mph.
Of course, the top speed on the flats was... 8mph . The pedal gearing topped out at... 8mph.View attachment 5
I suppose that's ok.

Got back too late to complain about the delivered wrong seating. Instead of a mesh back, the seat came with the fixed back support.
The tiny back support digs into my kidneys. I suppose it was designed for munchkins; not adults
and... it's exceptionally painful for me.

Other conversations with the service guy revealed the light system works on 24V and the controller likely will stand up to a 36V battery.

The trunk is tiny. Big enough for a bike helmet I suppose, but not one day's worth of groceries.

The running lights can't be turned off, meaning a continuous drain on the battery while the system's turned on.

the motor label clearly indicates it to be a 750W motor
I suppose the "A" has something to do with the wind.

I really like the looks of that , but man that's a lotta dough especially to do such a slow speed and include lead.

Still looks like it's built with quality in mind.

ohzee said:

I really like the looks of that , but man that's a lotta dough especially to do such a slow speed and include lead.

Still looks like it's built with quality in mind.

Click to expand...

The frame parts are very reasonable.
The pedal system uses some of the lowest quality drive parts and it won't bother me one bit to remove and replace the three-piece crank with a one-piece crank.
I'll lose the pedalec system but that works intermittently anyways.
I'm thinking the electrical system is gonna be a pain.
So far the lights work ok.

I'm gonna assume at this point the battery(s) are damaged, but whatever happens...

to be fair about the trike it seems I have damaged batteries.
The Belize guy has been very helpful so far.
The top speed for the trike is really about 23kph, or 14mph with good batteries.
14mph is ok with me, as I'm never in a hurry anyways...

nXt is to test the charging integrity of the system.
If that's functional then it's cycling the batteries on my solar system through the MPPT with the desulfate recycler.
If there's -0-change by tomorrow then it's pretty obvious the battery(s) are kaput.. Recycling sled batteries actually takes 3-4 days or more, but incremental changes are pretty apparent.

The rear back mesh seat was out of stock when Belize got my order so they substituted the other seat. He promised to exchange the seats once they get them back in stock.

the batteries measure 24.8V at the charging terminal which is an XLR connector using pins 1 and 3.
The charger output (unloaded) measures 26 point something volts.
The batteries aren't accepting a charge.

nXt is to use my 'real' AGM battery charger on individual battery(s) for a little shock treatment. This unit does provide desulfatation treatment also..

results:
One 'bad' charger
A replacement to be shipped this afternoon.

The batteries are recycling just fine.

To finish up the review:

The trike comes from the factory/distributor almost completely assembled. You only have to mount the tire, handlebars, mirrors and mudguards.
Everything is accomplished using a same-sized allen wrench (maybe-haven't mounted the rear mudguards yet lol)

Everything on the trike worked outtada box (except the [external to the trike] charger which was faulty from the get-go)

The trike is equipped with:
-rear limited-slip differential
-7-speed derailleur with separate click- to- shift up/down thingies
-rear suspension... that works good
-turn signals, brake lights, headlights (running lights can't be turned off) and everything's bright and happy
-16" front wheel mounted with 13g spokes. The fork is steel and has generous dropouts with no lawyer lips (very easy to add a front motor, which I've already ordered from highertechbikes) (because of dos heelz)
-20" rear tires- same rims and spokes mounted on the limited-slip differential using standard 3-pin trike hubs. Both wheels driven (kinda)
-tires are all Hookworms
-frame is fashioned from large heavy steel tubes (a good thing for an e-trike)
-Large, well lit speedometer/odometer with several modes of operation
-a (gasp) assembly and user's manual
-750W jackshaft-mounted rear motor 7-speed gear cage bolted to the motor's right side. Left side motor-mounted chain sprocket dives the rear differential.
-both a keyswitch (under the seat) and handlebar-mounted on/off switch which completely shuts down the trike (takes yur picz or yuse'm all)
-pedalec system plus half-twist throttle (for the pedal-shy amongst us)
-dual rear disc brakes activated by the left brake lever. Front v-brake activated by the right brake lever.
-e-brakes... like, whoopee they both work
-horn (finally, something to complain about- gonna add a 'much louder' bicycle bell *ding ding*)
-a lockable trunk for whomever uses a helmet and possibly large, heavy chains and locks for bondage purposes)
-2 each 39Ah 12V sled batteries (and one non-working charger to be replaced soon)

did I forgets anything?

Actually for $2300 (shipping additional) this is a pretty nice electrified semi-recumbent tricycle.

wanna go faster?- add enough battery to up the controller's voltage to (just below) 63V... but the lights/speedo run on 24V and a certain amount of re-wiring is required- not a problem for those electrically-inclined. Minor problem for those who isn't so-inclined.
The controller handles 36V without modifications but there's still the lights that will either need their own 24V battery or dc-dc converter and no-haven't measured the lighting speed-o system draw yet.
With the 'soft-start' controller wheelies are not gonna be an issue.

Top speed is verified at 14mph, no pedaling (advertised 15.5mph) The pedal gearing is appropriate (but with the 170mm cranks I can't pedal more than 55-60 rpm so I spin out over 15 mph downhill)

The motor controller uses 'soft start'. (redundancies are redundantly redundant)

The pedalec system is pressure sensitive i.e using less pedal pressure garners less motor assist. (personally I don't care for 'intelligent' pedalecs)

The batteries are located in (my way of thinking) the best places. (see: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41572&start=90 )

Bottom line:
it ain't a MT... but it abides by my needz

That really seems like a great deal. The only other suspension delta trike I know is that really expensive Hase from Europe and they are 5 grand and no electrics. Ya done good! If that were availible 3 years ago when I got my wife the Sun USX I woulda bought yours too.
otherDoc

docnjoj said:

That really seems like a great deal. The only other suspension delta trike I know is that really expensive Hase from Europe and they are 5 grand and no electrics. Ya done good! If that were availible 3 years ago when I got my wife the Sun USX I woulda bought yours too.
otherDoc

Click to expand...

lol- I didn't do anything but buy this trike.
The designer of the trike did good!
I don't work well enough to get on/off the USX or I would a bought one earlier this year.

Not only is this an inexpensive well-equipped electric delta recumbent, but for a miserly extra $100 it's a 2-seat inexpensive well-equipped electric delta recumbent.
The seat that came delivered on mine is the folding seat for the two-seat version of the trike.

Hey ddk! Any chance you could post a couple of close photos of the rear suspension. That rear end looks suspiciously like the rear of a Sun trike (the one with the overhand handlebars. I am considering making my wife's USX a rear suspension. Too bad Sun doesn't make it!
otherDoc

no problem...
except this week I'm dog-sitting for some people, so I'm only 'home' late in the evenings

I'll attempt to take photos this week but expect to not have much time to do so until next week.

these will have to do but they only resemble a trike in vauge ways

Quadra-peds I believe? The doggies look pretty well taken care of also.
otherDoc

derp
forgot to take pictures of the trike's suspension+ before I hauled it (via MT trike) over to the LBS to get the cranks shortened.
I'll trip on over to the LBS after lunch as they might have it up on the bike stand, making picture taking an easier task.

(part of the 'review')

-Also the rear disc brakes keep getting out of alignment

-Also the battery soft cases have super-crappy zippers- already destroyed them by just lifting the batteries out of the trike.
Being sled batteries, these are heavy; adding about 50 pounds to the trike.

swing arm, as reqested
although there were some camera settings issues-View attachment 4
-and I got a poor picture of the dual brake pull assembly thingy

It looks fairly well designed, ddk. I can't quite tell from the pictures but are there dual shocks/springs or just one central one? Looks well made too. Taiwan?
otherDoc

docnjoj said:

It looks fairly well designed, ddk. I can't quite tell from the pictures but are there dual shocks/springs or just one central one? Looks well made too. Taiwan?
otherDoc

Click to expand...

Yes
I believe most or all the bikes Belize resells are imported from Taiwan
http://www.justwin.com.tw/ Is the company website.
And I agree with the assessment that, excepting some minor details, this is a well-engineered and constructed e-trike.
Now if only the LBS would give it back to me, so I can get the full-body fairing welded up. Clear 0.112 polycarbonate glazing material except for the pan which will be of 10mm coroplast... windows everywhere I look except down by my lil'feats *grins*
I received the geared front hub motor mounted in a 16" wheel (it's sitting next to me) and have the battery packs built for it.

i.e this trike becomes my 'local' all-weather total car replacement with The Hitch ready to be mounted

I just got a Justwin Cool E-Rider off of Craigslist… before it was sold to me i was told that the motor has a tendency to cease up… i was riding it and the motor started jerking (intermittently ceasing) and making noise. Then i couldn't even roll the trike back in reverse. After riding it around a bit, it just went away, does anyone have any recommendations for how i can keep it for locking up? is there an issue with going in reverse?

robertmdm said:

is there an issue with going in reverse?

Click to expand...

Well, you might want to read the post just before yours--it has the info you're looking for.

(so does the first post in the thread)

Hello, 8)
How Are you making out with your Trike these day???. I have had one for five years and love it, but the motor recently wore out, and I decided to switch to a Mid Drive Motor (I got a 8FUN Bafang). The Trike is still in pieces :'( :'( :'( and has been for six weeks becuase a part on the pedal assembly got stuck (thats where the new Bafang Motor will go), and I had to order a special tool to get it unstuck. Also, I have to remove that heavy and dead motor that it came with. Do you know anything about what I need to put in place of that heavy motor, so that the 2 chains will rotate the wheels???? I havn't taken it off yet, but I imagine there is going to be a gap there. . It's actually hard to find other people that have a Justwin Trike. I guess we are far and few. Looking foarward to hearing from you.
SherriSmall

Maybe send ddk a PM. He is like the US expert on those trikes.
otherDoc

This is one of the really-informative reviews in this forum, on the apparently "not-so-Cool" Justwin e-trike.

Thanks for posting.

Hope the manufacturer pays attention to your review.