E-S Stealth Electric Bike Owners

[GCinDC]

turns out to be it wasn't an afghan, it was a wolfhound...Are they friendly too??

Haha. I stayed on a sheep farm in Northern Victoria and the Irish Wolfhound there used to chase and catch kangaroos...

 

[full-throttle]

Yep, that's the dog. The roos in Northern Vic are Eastern Grey - medium sized. Not very fast and rather lazy, on a bike they are harder to avoid than to chase.

What were you doing on a sheep farm?

 

[competitions]

Hi
Is anyone in Sydney area available mid July in the Pyrmont area to show their Stealth so I can see how it 'fits'? Please PM if you're able and willing.

Thanks!

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a Fighter later this year (gotta save my pennies first) and have a few questions.

Does anyone know if there is a new model (or changes to the current model) in the works, or far off? If there's a new one around the corner I might hold out a bit longer before buying.

Most bike shops will usually allow negotiation on price to take place, listing bikes well over there RRP expecting customers to barter them down most of the time.
Is that the case with Stealth? Does anyone think I would have much chance bartering John down to say $5500?

Also, I know people won't look to kindly on this, but I'm hoping to use the bike mainly as my commuter to/from work each day. It's going to be replacing a full carbon fiber Team Felt F5.
Does anybody have any recommendations for making the Fighter more commute friendly? I know the tires would be the first port of call, but is there any other modifications that can be made in particular to make it lighter? Can I request any to be made by John in the construction phase?

competitions, did you manage to tee anyone up see their Stealth? I wouldn't mind having a look as well.

Cheers,

 

[Paul_G]

A great choice, I have a new Bomber and after I tried it I put my Optibike up for sale the 1st day.

John is backed up months and the most you will get off is maybe an extra set of tires or tubes.....don't expect money off.

The Fighter is the new model that just came out a few months back.

There is also a Stealth group growing over on Google that's more active and faster answers.

 

[Hyena]

Does anybody have any recommendations for making the Fighter more commute friendly? I know the tires would be the first port of call, but is there any other modifications that can be made in particular to make it lighter? Can I request any to be made by John in the construction phase?

A set of semi slicks would be the obvious choice for tyres for onroad use. There's plenty of stealths getting around with them on so I'd say they can be optioned with those. As Paul said you could probably get a set of road and offroad tyres thrown in with the deal but given their demand I think anything else would be optimistic.

As for slimming it down, if you only need it for a short commute you could replace the large lifepo4 pack with a smaller, lighter lipo one. Full throttle has done this as has kelper I believe. One of the other owners could tell you how easily the packs come in and out and if it's feasible to keep the stock battery for long range weekend use but swap out the smaller light lipo one during the week. If you only ride offroad say once every fortnight but commute every day it might be worth the effort. If it was me I'd run the bike on lipo permanently but I'm pretty sure you can't buy them without the battery pack and you'd likely not get much back for it if you tried to sell it seperately.

I can build you a lipo pack that will take several kg off the weight but I'm not sure if this will void your warranty. It shouldn't really as you'd be keeping the stock controller and motor so by switching battery chemistry and capacity you're not risking anything.

 

[competitions]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a Fighter later this year (gotta save my pennies first) and have a few questions.

Does anyone know if there is a new model (or changes to the current model) in the works, or far off? If there's a new one around the corner I might hold out a bit longer before buying.

Most bike shops will usually allow negotiation on price to take place, listing bikes well over there RRP expecting customers to barter them down most of the time.
Is that the case with Stealth? Does anyone think I would have much chance bartering John down to say $5500?

Also, I know people won't look to kindly on this, but I'm hoping to use the bike mainly as my commuter to/from work each day. It's going to be replacing a full carbon fiber Team Felt F5.
Does anybody have any recommendations for making the Fighter more commute friendly? I know the tires would be the first port of call, but is there any other modifications that can be made in particular to make it lighter? Can I request any to be made by John in the construction phase?

competitions, did you manage to tee anyone up see their Stealth? I wouldn't mind having a look as well.

Cheers,

I had a reseller contact me via the PM system here to which I replied via their website, but nothing since.

The $5500 is the price quoted less than 12 months ago to me, I'm surprised that it's risen by so much as most high tech items reduce in price over time and the Aussie dollar has never been stronger.

 

[Justtoby]

The Aussie dollar is strong but inflation is high so the cost of living has gone up, Australia also has to import most things therefore with fuel prices high it costs lots to get the parts there.

The bike has also grown in popularity, I expect he has improved his margins?

I think that if you poem to John you could spec it without battery, he is so helpful and a nice bloke, I am sure any deal can be done. He may limit the warranty but he seems such a fair chap that you will not have troubles in my opinion.

 

[Fabs]

Gday, Those of you they need to check out a Stealth I might be able to help pending how long its takes John to get me my bike

I placed an order for a new Stealth Bomber featuring the new shape/design.

I am based in Sydney CBD. So the sooner i can get John to ship me the finished product the sooner i will be able to demo it for those that need to have a look.

Will keep you posted.

 

[Jerome Daoust]

I placed an order for a new Stealth Bomber featuring the new shape/design.

What are the changes corresponding to the "new shape/design"?

Update, 2011/6/29: Got a message from "Fabs" who says he got confused with the new Fighter.

 

[Hyena]

I think that if you poem to John you could spec it without battery,

My dearest John
The fairest in the land,
Might I make a request,
That you lend me a hand.
I'd love one of your bikes,
For elsewhere there are no likes,
But I wish to use a battery of my own
One that is light and home grown
Please, may I have a fighter,
With a belly that is lighter


That should do it I reckon

:lol:

 

[sn0wchyld]

I think that if you poem to John you could spec it without battery,

My dearest John
The fairest in the land,
Might I make a request,
That you lend me a hand.
I'd love one of your bikes,
For elsewhere there are no likes,
But I wish to use a battery of my own
One that is light and home grown
Please, may I have a fighter,
With a belly that is lighter


That should do it I recko

:lol:

mozart himself couldnt have done better.

 

[full-throttle]

mozart himself couldnt have done better.

yeah cause Mozart wrote music not poems :wink:

 

[sn0wchyld]

mozart himself couldnt have done better.

yeah cause Mozart wrote music not poems :wink:

your right... sarcasam doesn't translate well to forums.

:wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:

wait, what does sheldon say?!

thats right

BAZINGA!!!

 

[competitions]

The Aussie dollar is strong but inflation is high so the cost of living has gone up, Australia also has to import most things therefore with fuel prices high it costs lots to get the parts there.

The bike has also grown in popularity, I expect he has improved his margins?

I think that if you poem to John you could spec it without battery, he is so helpful and a nice bloke, I am sure any deal can be done. He may limit the warranty but he seems such a fair chap that you will not have troubles in my opinion.

John can charge what the market will bear, so no need to come out with arguments that inflation is high as Inflation in Australia isn't 20%.

 

[full-throttle]

There's a new video - NOT MINE, but I know who's:[youtube]0tamP4IjyN0[/youtube]

 

[Fabs]

There's a new video - NOT MINE, but I know who's:[youtube]0tamP4IjyN0[/youtube]

Nice colour!

And very interesting that it fits on that bike rack!

Keep them coming stealth owners I must have more footage!

 

[remf]

There's a new video - NOT MINE, but I know who's:

That's one of the best I've seen....great camera mount. Looks like it's a helmet mounted counterbalanced arm but then he's wearing what looks like a Steadicam Merlin vest too. Whatever it is, it works beautifully.

 

[Hyena]

Thats the same guy with the white bomber isn't it ?
Looks alot like the trails I ride around here but then I suppose half of Australia probably looks like that :lol:

From the shadow the camera mount looks alot like a certain other persons I know :wink: , only his is fixed

 

[Justtoby]

Hyena, your POEM was really funny, I had a good laugh....at my expense I would add.

I think that the iPad spell correction combined with a few glasses of wine changed my "if you email him" to poem but I think your tact would be better.

Seriously John is a good guy and very accommodating, I was asking him if my little girls trailer hook from my mtb would fit over the axle, he said send me one to look at...literally days later he said, I will machine it to fit, don't worry. He has accommodated my request for the gusseted frame design so I can put a lock through it and he has allowed me the carbon trim that I wanted.

To the other reply, I agree that he can charge what he wants but there has been a lot of inflation in aus and nz, I have family there and they moan all the time...I think this is caused by all the flippin Brits moving there! Plus the cost of shipping and parts have gone up.

 

[Justtoby]

The vid is really good, another poster talked about it fitting on a bike rack but I would have thought a fighter would fit on most racks wouldn't it?

 

[Kepler]

Thats an interesting colour combo with the orange bars and white rims also added. The carbon inserts sets it all off nicely too. I like it.

That rack isn't even a tow bar mounted setup. Just clips to the back of the car. Very interesting. looks like it works fine. Must be close to the weight limit though.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Thanks for all the helpful replies guy's. I really appreciate a forum like this.

One of the reasons I'm considering weight is because part of my daily commute will involve carrying the bike up/down a small flight of stairs. With my current 05 Norco BigFoot, this can be an effort after a tiring ride, so just not sure what to expect.

I'm not a huge guy, but don't mind lifting a bit of weight when needed. I'm dead-set keen on getting the bike, so will manage with whatever it takes. Just wondering what to expect.

 

[Hyena]

Yeah I noticed that rack. Is that one of those suction cup ones ? I sure as hell wouldn't trust a bike that heavy and worth that amount of money on one of those!

my daily commute will involve carrying the bike up/down a small flight of stairs. With my current 05 Norco BigFoot, this can be an effort after a tiring ride, so just not sure what to expect.

Expect not to be tired riding a stealth bike :lol:

I'm not a huge guy, but don't mind lifting a bit of weight when needed

If it's a fighter you'll manage as they're "only" 35kg. I wouldn't want to carry one far but up a flight of stairs would be fine. If you're looking at the bomber, forget it. I'm not big either and I think I'd really struggle to lift one into a ute, let alone carry it up stairs.You may be able to walk it up under power though

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Thanks Hyena. Good to know it should be ok.

I'm really looking forward to getting it. I will be getting the Fighter, but as I said, gotta save my bickies first.

I'll be selling both my current bikes for the stealth. A Norco BigFoot 05 and a 2010 Felt F5 Team edition. So I hope it turns out well.

If anyone in the Sydney area is interested in either of these bikes and wants more info/make me an offer let me know.