E-bike in Toronto

E-bike are Great and in Toronto it is fun to drive them by the lake
My main question is where to buy one without Frustration ???
I did at Blue Avenue and didn't like the Service any one had the same Experience with them ?

the Charger cost twice the price of other bike in the same caliber
So Blue Avenue in Toronto by the Beaches you have a 2 out of 10 in my book.

Hi incredibledad - I live in Toronto (Mississauga - actually) and I've done a lot of groundwork around here. You can find the Bionx kit at a few places (Bikezone claims to sell them.) Bionx is a simple install, but not what I was looking for. I was driving along Lakeshore (just west of Humber college) and saw a store on the south side the other night - looked new. They had e-bikes out front. Didn't stop to look, but I plan to go back and take a peek.

Your best bet if in Canada is to order from ebikes.ca. Their customer service is awesome and they seem to know what they're talking about. I just got a Nine Continents kit and am in the process of installing it. It took about a week to ship it to me (roughly $1200 for the kit - including shipping and taxes, Cycle Analyst, Li-Mn 36V 10Ah battery and torque arms) Will post some photos once it's done. (nothing online yet, but I'm going to post my entire experience online on my blog http://www.egcskates.com/)

In terms of "frustration" - I'm just starting, but ran into some issues. I have to file some material off the fork drop outs. They're 9.5mm cr-mo steel so taking .5mm off won't be an issue. If you can handle installing yourself (looks pretty simple - a matter of doing some filing here and there, a little drilling, some sheet metal cutting/bending, plastic zip ties and some electrical and duct tape.) The trick (as it appears) is to read up on this forum and look at the close up photos. The kit DID NOT come with installation instructions. For example - the axle came with a variety of spacers and washers. Although it specified 100mm drop-out (front wheel) I still had to open up the fork a little for it to fit. Only after looking at close up photos of someone else's install, did I see how all the washers and spacers were supposed to fit. I'm planning to fabricate some parts out of carbon fiber for this build, but that's just my choice (and area of expertise) and not necessary.

You'll have to provide your own bike. If you live right downtown, my favorite bike shop is Urbane Cyclist (http://www.ucycle.com/) - they're one of the few GTA shops that sell an ALL STEEL frame in various configurations ideal for ebike conversion. Especially if you're looking for a 700c road/touring machine. Full frame is around $300 and they will build it up any way you want.

Good luck!

-Eric

there is also silent rider by jarvis and front

and there is daymak

i have not experienced their customer service

i built my bike up myself from a kit

Are you kidding me? Blue Avenue ebikes is the best company out there. They are knowledgeable and they care. I bought my Monsoon from the Beaches store because I love how they warned new buyers on their website like myself what to look out for when selecting the right ebike for me. The other companies don't even have that at all. All they have is their bikes and their price. Daymak has 90 days warranty and Mobility Unlimited gives only 30-day warranty. Blue Avenue gives 6 months on the battery and 1 year warranty for the rest of the bike. They even serviced my Monsoon 10 days after I bought it just to make sure everything is tightened and safe. Now that's service. So Incredibledad or Daniel or whatever your name is all over the boards, you're just full of it.

Blue Avenue just posted their new testimonial page with their repeat customers. You don't see that often when companies post real people testimonials.

Here is the link:

http://www.blueavenue.ca/RepeatBuyers.html

Hi, guys! Nice to see someone from TO. I'm not selling bikes just yet, nor am I suggesting any good place because no one can guarantee you won't get a headache eventually there as well. What I can do for you guaranteed is actually doubling of your actual real life riding range and rewire your existing battery with much better then stock wires, so you don't waste your energy heating your thin stock wires and melting connectors. I've done it for my bike, so I can do it for you. Look for my ads at http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...V-e-bike-or-electroscooter-W0QQAdIdZ230424150. Also I sell brand new good quality AGM SLA batteries from a reputable US source cheaper, then any bike seller in Toronto, because I don't have to pay for a store or storage rental. If your bike needs more agility when accelerating or climbing, I can help with that too. Just contact me here or from my blog... Now relax and have some fun watching this video meanwhile: http://ebikerlubo.blogspot.com/2010/09/understanding-shanghai-traffic-lesson-4.html

egc, make sure to keep the filing even on all 4 faces. that keeps the dropouts square to the direction the wheel points in the end. so .25mm off each side of each dropout and keep the sides parallel too. i also file the bottom of the dropout to a square and then file a notch in the threads on top of the axle where it goes up into the dropout so where it finally bottoms out in the dropout, (or tops out), that flat face on top of the axle where you filed off that little bit of threads will seat just another .5mm deeper, and the faces are square on the three sides (except in the very end of the corner. the tighter the fit on the three sides gives the greatest resistance to the initiation of torque induced rocking of the axle in the dropout, so reducing the chance of twist off. along with using the torque arm. some people don't think you should file the dropouts that way though. jmho.

Well recently i purchased a Blue Avenue Dragoon on kijiji and went to blue avenue for some help getting it going and to purchase a couple body parts for it.
The young guy at the islington street store was very helpful and instructed me in a lot of things i wanted to know. So i bought all new batteries from him for my dragoon.
I left a message for the owner, Vince? , about getting some parts for replacement, he never bothered getting back to me, even after 2 more calls and messages.
Later, i needed to get a new controller, I went to the danforth street store for it, the owner was gone again, this time the guy running the shop didn't know a thing about the bikes, had no answers to questions about making a purchase for a new bison and the didnt know a thing about replacement parts for my dragoon.
He called the owner , who really didnt seem all that interested in after sales purchases at all. Told me to leave a message and write down what i wanted again. He would call me back and give me a quote on parts and shipping to me .
Once again, I'm still waiting for a call, 2 weeks later now ... nothing .
All i wanted was to get the bike back into running shape, sell it and get a bigger one now that I was hooked on electric scooters.

OK, so here it is .. They may be great when you purchase a bike, after that your pissiing up a rope. I was all set to purchase a new bison , because the Dragoon, while a great bike, isn't enough power for me.
After all this running around and no answers, I'm thinking now about a giobike from BC, (Mr. Scooterboot) Those guys called me right back when i asked them online about my bike and actually tried to help me out , even thought they didn't have a thing to do with my bike or know exactly what my problem was.

Personally, I think I'd avoid Blue Avenue unless your local to them ... They're after market sales are for shit i think and they really don't seem to give a crap if your not a direct customer. Although i would have been if i could have gotten any kind of answers from the owner.

Blue Avenue, Daymak, and Mobility Unlimited are Electric Scooter Stores.



EzRiders is the Pedego, Wisper, Stromer, Izip and Polaris dealer and is located on the Danforth near Woodbine Avenue. Their phone # is 416-461-8989

Amego is the new dealer for the Epik mid drive bikes as well as a couple other brands.

I bought my BionX at Sweet Pete's on Bloor and Urbane Cyclist also carry BionX. Skiis and Bikes on Dundas in Missassauga are a BionX dealer and were the first shop to provide me with a test ride.

Mike