Total Newbie Saying Hi

Hi everyone. I just bought my first Ebike, the E-Zip Trailz. Maybe this forum isn't the right place for me - I don't plan on building an Ebike or messing with mine much, except for looking into battery options when this battery nears the end of its life cycle. But I haven't found any other forum yet so I thought I'd say hey. I put the bike together, charged the battery, and then got to go for a 10 mile ride before I had to leave town. Now it is supposed to rain for 2 days . But as soon as the rain stops, I need to test it out to make sure I can make it the 13 miles to work on one charge (there are moderate hills). I'm pretty psyched!

Cathy

Oh, and I just want to add that y'all might think that my E-Zip Trailz sucks, but I only want a little help on the hills to get to work (13 miles), and it's working like a charm so far.

hi vermontcathy,

welcome to the forum,
hate to say your wrong on your first post but there are two counts
firstly this is exactly the place you need to be having bought an ebike as the guys here will have a lot of answers for you on so many fronts its nuts.
secondly, no one will mock your ezip - as far as i understand they're pretty good bikes
i tried this forum a while back and ive been here since being as the guys are so helpful, hope you find the same.


Cheers

D

Yeah ! welcome aboard !

If it's got wheels and a motor.. and runs on batteries.. we welcome it ! ( and even the occasional gasser.. i suppose ! hehe )

Got pictures of your ride ?

Eventually. something will lead to questions if you ride this bike any at all.. best instruction manual you can find is a forum full of addicted ebike nuts like us !

Welcome!

You'll find we're a very welcoming, including group. You'd be welcome here if you had seen an E-Zip inn a store window and wanted to know what it was.

Everyone's setup is different, since everyone's needs and wants (and budgets!) are different. If it does what you want, awesome! If it doesn't, just ask, and we'll be happy to help. Any question you ever might have, you should ask.

OK, I added a pic. (avatar)

Welcome. The guys were recently wondering why there were so few female members (assumption based on username). I suspect a bunch of us are still a little rough around the edges, so excuse any harsh language.

Your bike looks great. We're always interested in user reports. How fast does it go?, what kind of range does it get?, glitches, those kind of things. If you have trouble with anything in the future, I'm sure someone can figure it out.

If you want to make it go 100 miles or burn rubber or stuff like that, someone can figure that out too. Can't help with the rain though.

Can't help with the rain though.

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But several can help with waterproofing, so that you can drive in the rain.

fechter said:

a bunch of us are still a little rough around the edges, so excuse any harsh language.

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Bah.
Bennington makes a biker-bar look like a tupperware party.

TylerDurden said:

fechter said:

a bunch of us are still a little rough around the edges, so excuse any harsh language.

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Bah.
Bennington makes a biker-bar look like a tupperware party.

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Well, I'm in the more civilized northern part of Vermont, but still, no worries.

With regards to why there are not more females on the list... there are two factors:
1. The likelihood of a woman buying an ebike
2. The likelihood of a woman wanting to find people online with whom they can chat about their ebike

From my narrow experience, I'd say women would be perfectly likely to buy an ebike, but perhaps are less likely to know that they exist (maybe because men would tend to research technology and vehicles online more). But I do think woman would be less likely to want to chat online about their new toy. But I'm a bit of a geek, and I'm stuck at work and can't play with my bike, so this is the next best thing.

It's raining today and still a chance of rain tomorrow (Wednesday) but I'll ride it after work tomorrow if it's not raining. I hope to test it to make sure it can go 13.5 miles to my work. I've gone 10 with no sign of the battery dying, and they say the range is 15-22 miles with normal pedaling, so it should be fine. So then, assuming it does fine going 7 miles out and 7 miles back home, I hope to bike to work on Thursday. It might be chilly though - 45 F or so in the morning. I wonder if that will affect the battery much. Of course, I'll have kept the battery inside before riding.

The only thing I don't like about the bike so far is the hand grips. On the left side, the shifter is a wider part of the hand grip and it's a bit uncomfortable to have my hand gripping there the whole time - I'll have to tweak that.

Cathy

So then, assuming it does fine going 7 miles out and 7 miles back home, I hope to bike to work on Thursday.

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You don't have the ability to charge the battery at work? If anyone asks, you can always explain that it's just you laptop's extra battery. This usually makes explanation simpler and pus people at ease. They're more likely to say "yes" if it is phrased in terms with which they're familiar.

It might be chilly though - 45 F or so in the morning. I wonder if that will affect the battery much. Of course, I'll have kept the battery inside before riding.

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What sort of battery is it, chemistry-wise? If it's SLA, you'll definitely want to charge it and store it in a warm place. If the battery is at room temperature when you start the ride, you won't see too much of a difference.

I can charge it at work, no problem. But it is 13.5 mi to work, one way, so if I go on a test ride from home, after work one day just to try it out, 7 mi out, 7 mi back, that will assure me that the battery can go 14 miles, in the future, when I try going to work. C'mon, I thought boys were supposed to be good at math! :wink:

The battery is SLA.

Welcome.

Search on E-Zip Trailz to see what others have said on previous entries, YMMV (your mileage may vary) of course.

Charge SLA batteries right after use, and some say to take it easy on the brushed motor the first ride or two, for breakin purposes.

Its a bicycle, be sure to do bike type things to get best performance... Good fit, better tires, brakes adjusted, etc. the emotor smiles more, (just like the human) on a well running bike. Maybe flat proof the tires.


Best and tailwinds

dick in colorado

Ah, I misread that paragraph.

Now, many of us would not leave well enough alone. You can always put a bigger, or lighter, or higher voltage battery on it.

Well, the controller might not handle more voltage (I have no idea what they use in the e-zip), but I think it is begging for a small-medium sized Ping pack.

Welcome, Cathy. Nice to have you with us.

The stated range figures for most ebikes are very opimistic and most people report significantly shorter range than published. Over time, the range will gradually diminish due to battery deterioration.

Yes! pump those tires up to the max, as this makes a big difference in rolling resistance.

Carry a flat repair kit! :wink:
I've had to walk my 100 lb scooter home over a mile with a flat tire. I was lucky it was only a mile. Plan B: carry a cell phone to call for a pickup.

I bought an e-zip a few months ago. In my experience, the stated ranges are very optimistic. I get ~7mi out of the stock battery, but I have the worst possible commute conditions: lots of stops at intersections and lots of hills. I constructed an extra 36V battery recently out of 3 x 12V 7Ah SLA batteries which give me another ~6mi in range (but with a 23mph top speed instead of the usual 18mph). Now I can make the 9mi in to work with an average speed of 15mph (including stops) and still have some juice to spare. I charge up again at work for the ride home.

Phote said:

I bought an e-zip a few months ago. In my experience, the stated ranges are very optimistic. I get ~7mi out of the stock battery...

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Well that's discouraging. But I took the bike out this evening and went 14.5 miles, using the motor on the uphills to my satisfaction. It did seem to be running down by the time I got back - there's a steep dirt road/trail behind my house and it was pretty sluggish going up, whereas the other day after a 10 mile ride, it zipped right up the dirt road. It is pretty hilly on the route I took. I don't mind working a bit, I just don't want to get exhausted, which I would without the motor. I averaged just over 15 mph.

Now I'm just hoping that the battery doesn't deteriorate much over time. My actual commute is 13.7 miles, so I went almost a mile extra on this trip. I also hope that as the battery deteriorates, my legs get stronger.

I did manage to shake some screws loose! I lost a screw that holds the rack on, which holds the battery! I thought something sounded loose and stopped but didn't see the problem until I looked again at home. Luckily the rack didn't shift much and nothing was damaged. Now I have to buy spare screws, and tighten EVERY screw on the bike before my next trip. I guess I should carry a screwdriver at all times...

Cathy

Use this stuff:


You might want to put together a bike-kit with tools and such:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3578