HATES,LIKES,DETAILS
hey all, cold wet weather has been nice enuff to give me some free time, so heres a bike nerd rant.in future ill try and edit in pics as well as post some bike computer accurate ranges and speeds.
THE HATES (in no order)
weight distrubution,
rear motor with a rear battery is too ass heavy. since a front motor is a bad idea for a few reasons, how about in the future models redesign the frame to accept a verticaly mounted battery in front of the seatpost/frame(i know theres a hinge i say it would fit). which would also allow a rear cargo capability. im no engineer but what you want to go for is as forward and as low as you can get the battery or if nothing else the rider a lil forward and/or the rear wheel a lil rearward. i agree the bike rides/handles/stops very well but it lacks a certain nimbleness that could be lifesaving in traffic. its just tacticaly unsound to have that much weight that high and that far behind you,yes it works and you can get used to it,its a balance/feel thang but just trust me prodeco my ideas are the future! use engineers/computers and get the battery forward and low in all future models.
center stand,
you would be better off to throw your bike as hard as you can at the ground then to subject your bike to the impact that it would recieve from trusting this lil gem. between the high center of gravity and the handelbars tendency to suddenly spin randomly 180 degrees this center stands apparent only funtion is to get your bike closer to the speed of light on its way to the ground. which it will attempt to do even after a solid wiggle test, your hardest stare down, it wont matter the second you look/try to walk away it will basicaly launch your bike at the ground. to top it all off it doesnt even work when your not using it because the chain is permanently trying to cut one of its legs off. hated on day 1, removed on day 2. a truly epic fail at a very simple goal.
thumb throttle/battery gauge
yah my hating a thumb throttle(bike screams twist throttle) is personal preferance and unfair but the integrated battery gauge has to go. first off neither of the battery gauges has any real function if you were expecting any battery/range information. atleast the battery, battery gauge is push to test and very small just bright enuff lights while the three multi colored lasers on the throttle which can be seen 2 to 3 miles out, did i mention they were bright? are allways on while you have the key on. and i thought electicity was to be conserved. even if the loss was very small its amazingly annoying and attracts unwanted attention especialy in a city, even in the day time. hated on day 1, covered by electrical tape on day 2.
the key
yah the key. it locks/unlocks the battery and turns on/off the juice to the throttle and does that very well. so what could possibly go wrong here? how bout you can remove the key while the battery is on the bike with the battery in an unlocked posistion. you might be asking why would anyone ever want to leave their battery on their bike in an unlocked position? well while your pondering that one consider the key while your riding sticks out the left rear SIDE of the bike. im not making that up ill try and edit in some pics in the future. MY REALLY IMPORTANT KEY STICKS OUT THE SIDE OF MY 2 WHEEL BIKE (sorry bout the caps) its a really smart integrated battery/controler/key and lock that all needs to be moved as mentoned above but they easily should have put the key on top below the seat and or recessed for obvious reasons.
ive previously mentioned the hinge locking knob,the front reflector, as well as my brake rotor problem. some other design improvements this bike could use but arent exactly hates.
rear light
kinda dont like the integrated battery/rear light, its a cool idea and a very nice saftey feature but id prefer to get my own lights as well as i strongly dont like the on/off switch that allows someone to turn my rear light on and drain my battery while the key is off. also ive heard if it gets wet you cant shut off the light till it drys out. all in all a nice idea but bad in practice. trying to do to much leave, a battery a battery and a light a light.
its a very nice 7 speed which has a cool left grip twist shifter. the over all gear ratio is much too low idk what the ratios are when changing a front sprocket but id guess it needs a jump 2 or more ratios higher. 2nd and especialy 1st gear are pretty useless and i have trouble keeping up with the rpms needed for any meaningfull pedaling assist in 7th at approximently the 15 to 17 mph rate and up. ill get a comp and post semi accurate date in the future. its probably intentional to keep speeds down as its probably shaky legal ground for a new tech. but i would definately pedal more and use less assists on long flat/slight down hills etc.
i should also mention 220lb weight limit probably do to folding hinge but it gives me a legitimate reason to keep most of my friends from riding it maybe this should go in likes.
my last mention for future redesign should include rear suspension i plan on adding a rear suspension seat post as the increased speed and time on the bike can be a lil bruising. tho i run the full 40 psi in the tires.
THE LIKES
too many to list i love this bike so far and im very happy with my purchase. ive been sorta researching/reading about custom builds and was conviced i wanted to build my own untill i started reading about this bike. as mentioned its far from perfect but its alot of folding bike for 1300 dollars. and a very nice integrated design that has some battery placement design teething issues but all in all with a 2 year warranty from a company located in america its a tuff bike to beat for a 1st time ebiker like myself in reasonably flat/windy city. the almost motorcycle feel with the big disc brakes and the big fat tires really make it fun to ride and easy to stop.
some nice also mentions, thicker spokes, really nice padded vented seat, brake shut off switches, and a very solid feeling front suspension. easy assembly/directions,owners manual,very nice multi tool/tire spoons and a three way allen wrench
i also like the quick to use folding feature as well as the folding pedals, a real space saver. its very simple/fast tho a lil akward and i have to lower the seat to get a full fold(im not loosing the steering bolt to get the handlebars the additional 90 degrees for its complete fold) its easy enuf for my apartment and works like my own bat cave turnaround in a way. i havent tried on public trans but its a nice if i ever need feature.
im more of a function kinda guy but i feel i should mention the excelant fit and finish. its a very clean, nice,minimal, wiring harness with an integrated battery/controler almost stealthy.looks even better in real life. the paint job is top shelf for a bike and if any of the writing(decals) are stickers i cant prove it. its a realy nice paint job and i believe all paint.
its not a moped,its not a bycycle, it can be either tho in a limited way but where this bike is worth the price in a pioneering(folding ebike) still too heavy still to expensive kinda way. is if your interested in some pedaling, not hard pedaling, light a lil more than the weight of your foot pedaling combined with resting when ever you want i find myself having alot of fun running errands/cruisng the scenery while getting some excersize and not worrying about the heat or hills or headwind etc. you basicaly set your pedal assist level and adjust the throttle for speed. so far id guestimate real world electric assist only, speed/range, to be much closer to 15 mph/miles than 20mph/miles but i could see with a perfect flat track with no stops/wind and a lighter rider the magic advertised 20 mph/mile range is possible. obviously range and speed can go up with pedaling tho electric assist shuts off at 20mph but truly 15mph is faster than you think in a city. i have years of motorcyling experience and this is a whole differant ball game. traffic will not respect you they expect you to be going slower and tend to pull right out in front of you. same for pedestrians(human car shields), broken bottles,road iregularities and car door openings while forced to stay in a 2 foot lane. maybe after a season or so ill want more acceleration or range but i believe 20mph is more than enuff for a city bike.
so for me for now im more than pleased with its speed/range. you sorta need to pedal from a stop or up a hill unless your in no rush what so ever and dont need to go farther than say approx 15 to 17 miles between charges. i could add a higher amp battery after the warranty ends tho i plan on waiting for the next generation batteries so i hope the alleged 2000 charge cycle is enuff.