This evening my fiancé and myself went for a little jaunt downtown for dinner. We took our electric bikes. I rode Old Trusty
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16823&start=0 and she rode the A2b down there. Thoughts from the evening of mayhem, fun, and drunkardness:
She perceived the Metro as:
Bouncy. This was her first observation. Interpretation: Not enough rebound control on the shock.
Rough on the Vajayjay. Interpretation: Seat too wide for pedaling, and vibration from motor. Could have been caused from a seat a few cm too high.
Hard to handle at low speeds. Interpretation: Friggin heavy for a 113lb lady.
Difficult to pull over curbs. See last interpretation.
Nice throttle. Interpretation: she loves half throttles where she can rest on a normal grip.
Plug and play! She isn't into battery management, and I really don't like manual BMS either.
Fast! It was a mph or two faster than my old trusty, and has great pep.
Nice and tidy looking. Hidden wires, clean looks, etc.
Ugly looks. Too boxy, weird geometry, she likes round tubes (hehehe).
Pedals too far forward (or seat too far back). Interpretation: Geometry of the bike didn't suit her. It seems made for a much larger person with too little weight over the pedals. She is 5'4".
We swapped after dinner, and she rode my Old Trusty on the way back. The light weight and ease of handling on the homeade one was a winner, but the plug and play and tidyness of the A2B was a bigger factor if she were to choose one. With a BMS on Old Trusty it would be no contest for her if I put a half twist throttle on it, the heavy weight of the Metro was a HUGE negative.
One big thing I did notice on the ride home- the A2B Metro steering geometry does not have enough trail (or maybe way too much, I haven't measured). It is absolutely not ridable with no hands, it will flop around with no steering input. The profile of the tires may be a factor in this, but my gut told me that the steering angle was too sharp or the trail was too short.
Now, it may seem that most of the observations are negative. Certainly, the ride is not a bad one. In fact, we both had an absolute blast this evening no matter what bike we were riding. It should just be noted that a discerning enthusiast like myself, or even fairly novice rider like my fiancé will find items that could be improved on the bike. Certainly we hope that A2B could take notice and improve the bike on future revisions. What is really nice (to me) is that the electronics are totally set. Besides putting the PWM frequency into the inaudible range, there is absolutely nothing that would need an upgrade. What stands out to both of us is the geometry of the bike and the cheap rear shock, however.
Not all roses here, but NO WAY am I getting rid of this bike right now. We had an absolute blast, and I think the Metro is an all around great bike. It has secured a spot in my stable and will be used for years to come. Looks like I have to get rid of another bike now. I have limited myself to 24 bikes and this puts me past that limit....