Currie EZ-ECO-GR for $550? seems good - St Pat day special

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dgk02

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Woot has a link to this: http://www.secondipity.com/Currie-Technologies-EZ-ECO-GR-Electro-Drive-Bike/dp/B004S52MQS which, for today, has a price of $550 including shipping. If meets your needs, it seems like a good deal on a basic ebike.

I have a Trek Valencia+ and have put over 3000 miles on it since I bought it last year. I just ordered one of the Currie's for my Significant Other, who is not much of a biker but I would like along for some rides. I figure I can also use it for those days when I need to leave the bike outside- normally my Trek sits in my office with me as it's doing now.

I know that Currie is pretty well respected so I'm taking a chance on $550 for a Li-On battery bike. Review will follow after I get it and put it together.

I should point out that I have no connection to Woot or Secondipity nor any other incentive to post this except that it does seem like a good deal.
 
Welcome to the forums.

That is indeed a good deal, but in our eyes it is slow. Slower than you can pedal by far. More of a mobility aid for old people than a real useable electric bike.

I believe top speed is 15mph on those. I am 29 and out of shape, and i pedal faster than that normally.
I believe this uses a slower version of the currie eZip setup, and not the geared hub motor, and a 24v battery.

If you wanted to upgrade it, you would end up replacing all of the components and you'd basically just have a heavy frame.

Good deal as a starter bike i guess, but it is slower than the lead acid eZip, and that's kinda sad.
 
So negative. Seems very reasonable at 550. If I figure 150 for the bike, 50 for the motor, 50 for the charger, 50 for the controller, the rest for the battery. Not to mention you don't HAVE to dick with anything unless you want to. And 15mph is not for only old ladies.. some people are fine with that speed! If you're not you'll just mod anything you buy anyway, so why not this. I'm sure this will go twice as fast without too much work.
 
I think that people that are okay with 15mph are probably old or have some kind of disability.

And it really has low-no modding potential. The currie motor will last a few months on 36v and then die. The controller is likely limited to 20 amps. The 24v lithium battery is the only good thing about it, but the $400 eZip has better performance and can actually help you out some on hills.

The controller also has some electronics in it that block you from increasing the voltage, so you have to replace the controller.
 
Not of much interest for many of us, but still a great way to get started cheap. To those who didn't spend a lifetime on two wheels, 15 mph is fast. Bear in mind too, not that long ago you got lead with those bikes.
 
Well, I'm 59 and have been commuting by bike for 12 years, 38,000 miles more or less. The first 11 years I averaged 10.9 mph. With the Valencia+, it went up to 12 mph, mostly because I wasn't struggling with hills and headwinds. I usually still ride without the assist turned on. So, for me, 15 mph isn't exactly a handicap. Frankly, there aren't too many places on my commute through NYC where I'd feel safe going much faster. Oh, once in a while I'm running real late and flip the switch to 100% assist and zoom along at 18 or so, but that is on pretty open roads near my house. It's fun but really isn't all that smart; bnes take a real long time to heal when you get over 40.

The Valencia+, in Sport mode as mine is set, maxs out at 20. In the default Econo mode, it maxs at around 16. Nah, a 15 mph limit is fine for me and more than sufficient for the Significant Other, who doesn't even like to ride on streets. Like I said, it seems like a good deal if it meets your needs.
 
Subject: 12/05/2010 24V 10AH lith Ezip $599 @Target

ecowheelz said:
Just wanted to verify this information. Physically, the motor appears exactly the same as the 450W motors on the SLA models. But Currie had to lower the discharge rate to protect the lower C-rated Li-Ion batteries. So they reduced the rating on the motor to 250W and dropped the controller from 35A to 15A.

There is noticably less power with this model in comparison to the SLA version. For someone who has never rode an e-bike before, it might feel OK. But it's definitely weak for most people on this forum. Probably only suitable for lightweight riders who ride mostly flat terrain...
Click to expand...

I'd guess the 35A eZip controller would be a direct plug-in swap if you wanted to parallel or upgrade the batteries. Once that was done the eZip sprocket mods would be the same.
 
Cool thing about a bike like this is you can almost average the top speed. If you can average 15mph riding a pedal bike on a 10 mile trip IMO you are in good shape.

If it turns out it is the same 450 motor, should be good for 20 or 25mph.
 
vanilla ice said:
Cool thing about a bike like this is you can almost average the top speed. If you can average 15mph riding a pedal bike on a 10 mile trip IMO you are in good shape.

If it turns out it is the same 450 motor, should be good for 20 or 25mph.
Click to expand...

There did seem to be some confusion over the motor, some specs mentioning 250, others 450. So with a slightly different controller and adding another battery this could go faster/further? Nice to know, but given the cost of batteries, I don't think really doable for this pricepoint.
 
Might not be suitable for most ES members, but $550 is definitely a good deal. The battery alone costs $400 retail. They are basically giving away this bike (without a profit) at that price. Not saying it's a great bike, just saying it's a good price...
 
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