IZIP Urban cruiser

[notoka]

Thougth about getting the mongoose after seeing knightmb's review but could not find any in the walmart stores in South Florida.
Decided to go with the izip urban cruiser mainly for the comfort and look since the mongoose and the izip have the same spec. (see knightmb mongoose review)
Dennis from BernsonEV.com gave me a great deal on the bike. it's about $100.00 more than the Mongoose's online price which include shipping and tax.
I've been riding my new izip urban cruiser for about 2 weeks now and I love it exept for the range.
The advertised range is misleading, I don't get close to 25 miles advertised, more like 15 miles with assisted pedaling. Status light starts going red (low) after about 10 miles. Since owning the bike, i've never seen the status light go green (high) I'm 185lbs, no hills.
I'm seriously thinking about adding extra batteries to extand the range, i'm new to the ebike world, so I would not know where to start. Any ideas?

Here's the spec with pics.
MOTOR
450W of power from a DC Earth Magnet Motor

BATTERY
EV Rated SLA Type
Plug and Play Battery Box Design
24V / 12AH Pack
(2) 12V / 12AH Valve regulated, rechargeable

CHARGE SYSTEM
UL Listed Currie Smart Charger
1-color LED status display

CONTROLLER
Exclusive Currie Electro Drive 24 Volt
fully potted with safety current limiter

TOP SPEED
15 mph (24 kph) (rider weight contingent)

RANGE
Up to 25 miles (40 km) with normal
pedaling (rider weight contingent)

DRIVE
Patented Currie Electro Drive System
Shimano 7-Speed Derailleur
Shimano Cassette with Sram Shifter

BRAKES
Tectro Front Disc & Rear Alloy Linear Pull
with Tectro alloy brake levers

WHEELS
LORC 26â€￾ x 1â€￾ A-Type double wall
6061 Alloy rims with stainless steel spokes

TIRES
26â€￾ x 2â€￾ Currie E-Street tires

HANDLEBARS
Alloy Adjustable Rise Stem and Street Bars with Krayton Grips

FORK
RST CAPA T-6 Suspension Fork with disc brake mount

USER CONTROLS
Twist Throttle with battery gauge
Power On / Off Switch
Easy Access Charger Port

SADDLE
Urban Cruiser with Springs and micro-adjust post

FRAME
Exclusive Currie Cruiser Design with Cr-Mo Frame

CRANK AND PEDALS
Samox Alloy Crankset with Single Chainring
and dual chainguard and Alloy Pedals

NET WEIGHT
65 lbs (29 kg)

RIDER AGE & MAX WEIGHT
Ages 12 to Adult / Do Not Exceed 240 lbs (109 kgs)

 

[D-Man]

It goes 11.5 miles on 24 volts and will do 18 miles on 36 volts as tested by members.

 

[sabrewalt]

Buy/borrow a new set of 12 AH batteries and swap them out and see if you get any improvement. The ones it came with may be old. If you find your range is much better with new one's contact Currie and have them covered by your warranty??

Just a thought.

 

[knightmb]

Nice and smooth looking bike. I like the head lamp on the front, nice touch. As others have already posted, it can faster and farther without too much modification to do.

 

[knoxie]

Hi

I like the look of these, id like to get my hands on one with some Lipo and boost the motor up, you can run cheapo brushed motor controllers on these which is good as they are brushed, I dont think its a candidate for a straight swap for a power pack as the motor shaft is different.

So id look at powerscoots or superkids get a 50V 30A brushed controller and feed it with some nice Lipo or NIMH, you would have a super fast urban cruiser, if thats what you want.

Nice bike thanks for posting

Knoxie

 

[Lessss]

I was looking aty the izip electric chopper.
http://www.thesuperkids.com/20izfamichfr.html

I liked the look but it was too skewtchy on the details. Didn't like the fact that it was 24 volt either.

I think that a HUB motor chopper with proper FUNTIONAL fenders at 48 Volts and 15-30 Amps, 500 W would be a sexy seller.

Cruisers are ok but I don't like the way the batteries are placed. It just seems they should make use of that space in front of the crank shaft.

 

[TylerDurden]

I'm actually selling one of these...

They are pretty neat and fun to ride, but be well aware these izip choppers are truly kid-sized.

The fat tire on the back gives a very comfortable ride, but the bike is just too small for an adult to pedal effectively.

I got the barely-used chopper from a kid (and his dad) who let the bike fall over. Bent crank and broken charging connector were the only flaws, which were easily repaired.

An adult sized e-chopper with >500w motor would be sweet.

 

[Lessss]

216x75x112 cm (85x29.5x44.1 inches)
http://www.usangell.com/support.htm
Look at Harl-E

 

[restlessnative]

notoka,

I just found one same color, so I guess same year... in good shape with two batteries and charger for 275. Are you still happy with yours? I like the platform, and am new to E-biking too, and see the potential in this for more upgrades down the line. Just wondering if in hindsight you'd do the purchase again, or not... 275 is hard to pass up for everything.

Thanks,

Harley

 

[dogman dan]

Nice frame on that thing! Looks like a longer than normal wheelbase, good for other purposes. Huge area to carry more battery.

As to range, now you know. Cut ALL manufacturers claims for range in half. In some cases, cut speed claims too. Still, that's very good range for an sla pack. Put that thing on some lithium after a few months use of the sla's and you will really be happy. But for now, if 15 miles is enough, you are set for the summer. Or set for a year, if you ride less than daily.