LeftieBiker
100 kW
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2012
- Messages
- 1,122
I've been riding E-bikes for about 17 years now, and mainly EZIP Trailz bikes since 2013. Last Summer I finally upgraded to a Magnum Metro. It's a great bike, but it's been a bit problematic for Winter riding (the lowest assist speed is too fast for cold PAS riding) even with a windshield, so I've been looking for a folder, both for the smaller size and hopefully slower assist speeds, and the ability to carry it in our two cars. I'd been looking at everything from a $700 fat tire folder on Ebay, to the Rad Mini for about $1700 with fenders and rack. I eventually happened across the GreenBike GB1 and GB-5 bikes, and I was struck both by the large number of extra value features (geared 500 watt 8-Fun motor, pack-powered lights front and rear, turn signals in the taillight, fenders and rack included, etc) and the almost universally positive reviews. I've had a LOT of trouble with bikes getting damaged in shipping, and one of my prime considerations was how well a given bike would survive the trip to me. Several reviews mentioned the bikes arriving in perfect shape, even with a damaged box. I was then torn between the older version of the bike with 2.75" street tires (lighter and cheaper, but with a very primitive control panel, only 3 assist speeds, and rear rim brake) and the newer fat tire version with full LCD panel, 6 assist levels with two modes, and full mechanical disk brakes. Despite it being somewhat heavier and pricier, I settled on the fat tire GB1. So after doing some price shopping I scored a deal and got one for $1225 with free shipping and no tax, in one of the colors (blue) I liked.
I wasn't in a big hurry for the bike to arrive (lousy weather) but I was kept in agonized suspense waiting for it to get here, worrying that it would be wrecked or otherwise damaged. (To add to the drama, UPS screwed up the final address label, and the driver was in the process of returning it when I intervened and got it delivered.) It was way below freezing and snowing hard, and the box was just slightly damaged, so the suspense lasted right until I opened the box later that evening. Happily, the reviews were right: the bike was packed well enough, with lots of big styrofoam sheets, that the only damage was to the box containing the charger and manuals - that caused further suspense that lasted until the battery was warmed up and I charged it with no problems. I did have to slightly straighten the forks and steering stem with my legs clamping the front wheel, but that was easy.
The bike powered up with no problems, other than it being a little hard for me to figure out the control options setup. A short test ride brought up no issues other than a surprisingly hard ride. I spent a couple of hours that night in my chill garage transferring accessories (better seat with suspension post, saddle bags, removing the saddle bags because they seemed too loose and floppy, rack pack, Mega Horn, cheap mirror...) from the Metro, for a ride the next day.
THE REAL TEST RIDE:
Me: about 190lbs, 5'9", bad back, legs, feet, poor circulation, getting elderly.
Weather: 37F when I left, about 34F when I returned, about 35F for most of the ride (guess).
It was about as cold as I can stand when I left for a hopefully 10 mile ride. The tires were at about 46psi. I had the new seatpost set for best leg extension, which brought me up to almost tiptoes on the bike: it's surprisingly large for a folder, and pretty substantial-feeling, except for just a little bit of play in the handlebar stem riser. I was wearing OTG goggles as usual for a really cold ride, and they were fogging more than usual, distracting me a bit and making the ride less pleasant...
I started out for the second time (having forgotten the goggles on the first try), through my suburb and headed for my usual rural route. The first thing I noticed, and a welcome relief, was that the lowest assist speed (I left it in Eco mode for now) is about 7MPH, MUCH BETTER than the Metro's 11-12MPH lowest setting. PAS-2 is just a little faster, about 8MPH, and PAS-3, at roughly 10MPH, give me a total of three usable assist speeds for cold weather riding. Excellent! The one gripe I have with the assist system is that, unlike the Metro, you don't get throttle-only assist with the PAS-0 setting: it's entirely unpowered, making it unsuitable for people like me who like (or need) to use the throttle (thumb in this case, but pretty good) to get moving. Fortunately, PAS-1 is low enough to serve the same function, with only a slight risk of the bike getting away from you in low speed maneuvers. Remember to hold a brake lever until moving! I did notice one little glitch - one that I hope happens only in Eco mode - where the motor stumbles very briefly when accelerating hard from a stop in PAS-2 with the throttle. It doesn't lose all power, but it's annoying.
Once I was up to speed (well, 8MPH, anyway, at first) on my rural secondary road, I was able to assess the bike's handling. It's clear enough that the bike has little 20" wheels, even if the tires are fat, by the increased oversteer, but just a few minutes had me readjusted to this. The tires are about as loud as the geared motor, but the overall noise level is a little bit less than most of the EZIP Trailz bikes I've owned. Still, I've already swapped over my Bluetooth speaker so I can play music on my rides. The overall ride was too hard, with the forks barely moving and the rear end almost bouncing (but the suspension seatpost mostly compensating). On my second stop I looked at the forks (Mojo? I'll check that) and saw adjustment caps that were labeled "preload." About 5 turns back to minimum preload and the forks softened up enough for me. I expect them to wear in enough that I'll probably add back a little preload. I'm a little concerned about the rear tire possibly being a bit out of round: the bike was bouncing rhythmically in the same sections that one of my EZIPS with knobbies would bounce. I'll look into this as well. UPDATE: The little manual had given me the WRONG tire pressure: 50psi instead of the correct 5-30psi. The ride is still firm, but acceptable, with 27psi. I may go down to 22 or so. I rode my usual 11 miles, including suburban streets, country secondary roads, small hill, larger hills, pavement, and just a little snow berm to test the tires (yes it will push through snow). The bike has, in Eco mode, almost as much power as the Magnum. It will be interesting to see how much more it has in Normal mode. The power indicator never dropped below 4 out of 5 bars, and the end pack voltage was, IIRC, 48.5, down from the 52.5 starting voltage. This is about the same as my also-48V Metro.
One more modest complaint: they programmed the control/display screen to treat resetting the trip odometer the same as changing a menu setting: you have to enter Set mode, get down to that option, then reset it and exit Set mode. That's way too much effort for daily rides, so I guess I'll save the trip odometer for actual & unusual trips...
PROS:
* No obvious defects out of box. Excellent fit & finish.
* Preassembled - just slide the upper steering stem into the lower folding stem joint and adjust for fit.
* Plenty of power, even in Eco, with geared hub.
* PAS* + Thumb throttle assist works well.
* Fully integrated front and rear lights, with dedicated power button & rear brake light and turn signals!
* Handlebar rotation is adjustable without tools.
* Front and rear fenders and strong luggage rack with grab handles included.
CONS:
* Bike is pretty heavy: 52lbs with battery removed.
* No throttle assist in PAS-0 mode.
* OEM seat is wide but lacks springs - too hard for bike's ride.
* Trip odometer is too hard to reset. They treat this common action the same as changing the wheel size in the menu.
* Apparent glitch in PAS-2 when full throttle applied from stop.
http://greenbikeusa.com/storefront/bike-model-gb1-fat-tire/
UPDATE: I discovered why the ride is so harsh: the included manual suggests "50psi" for the bike, but it appears that this was actually for the one with 2.75" tires - they didn't bother to carefully revamp the already skimpy manual, and it lists a very wrong tire pressure for the fat tires. I just noticed yesterday that the 20" x 4.00" tires have "5- 30psi" in white letters on the sidewall! I hope I haven't damaged them by running 46 or so...
I wasn't in a big hurry for the bike to arrive (lousy weather) but I was kept in agonized suspense waiting for it to get here, worrying that it would be wrecked or otherwise damaged. (To add to the drama, UPS screwed up the final address label, and the driver was in the process of returning it when I intervened and got it delivered.) It was way below freezing and snowing hard, and the box was just slightly damaged, so the suspense lasted right until I opened the box later that evening. Happily, the reviews were right: the bike was packed well enough, with lots of big styrofoam sheets, that the only damage was to the box containing the charger and manuals - that caused further suspense that lasted until the battery was warmed up and I charged it with no problems. I did have to slightly straighten the forks and steering stem with my legs clamping the front wheel, but that was easy.
The bike powered up with no problems, other than it being a little hard for me to figure out the control options setup. A short test ride brought up no issues other than a surprisingly hard ride. I spent a couple of hours that night in my chill garage transferring accessories (better seat with suspension post, saddle bags, removing the saddle bags because they seemed too loose and floppy, rack pack, Mega Horn, cheap mirror...) from the Metro, for a ride the next day.
THE REAL TEST RIDE:
Me: about 190lbs, 5'9", bad back, legs, feet, poor circulation, getting elderly.
Weather: 37F when I left, about 34F when I returned, about 35F for most of the ride (guess).
It was about as cold as I can stand when I left for a hopefully 10 mile ride. The tires were at about 46psi. I had the new seatpost set for best leg extension, which brought me up to almost tiptoes on the bike: it's surprisingly large for a folder, and pretty substantial-feeling, except for just a little bit of play in the handlebar stem riser. I was wearing OTG goggles as usual for a really cold ride, and they were fogging more than usual, distracting me a bit and making the ride less pleasant...
I started out for the second time (having forgotten the goggles on the first try), through my suburb and headed for my usual rural route. The first thing I noticed, and a welcome relief, was that the lowest assist speed (I left it in Eco mode for now) is about 7MPH, MUCH BETTER than the Metro's 11-12MPH lowest setting. PAS-2 is just a little faster, about 8MPH, and PAS-3, at roughly 10MPH, give me a total of three usable assist speeds for cold weather riding. Excellent! The one gripe I have with the assist system is that, unlike the Metro, you don't get throttle-only assist with the PAS-0 setting: it's entirely unpowered, making it unsuitable for people like me who like (or need) to use the throttle (thumb in this case, but pretty good) to get moving. Fortunately, PAS-1 is low enough to serve the same function, with only a slight risk of the bike getting away from you in low speed maneuvers. Remember to hold a brake lever until moving! I did notice one little glitch - one that I hope happens only in Eco mode - where the motor stumbles very briefly when accelerating hard from a stop in PAS-2 with the throttle. It doesn't lose all power, but it's annoying.
Once I was up to speed (well, 8MPH, anyway, at first) on my rural secondary road, I was able to assess the bike's handling. It's clear enough that the bike has little 20" wheels, even if the tires are fat, by the increased oversteer, but just a few minutes had me readjusted to this. The tires are about as loud as the geared motor, but the overall noise level is a little bit less than most of the EZIP Trailz bikes I've owned. Still, I've already swapped over my Bluetooth speaker so I can play music on my rides. The overall ride was too hard, with the forks barely moving and the rear end almost bouncing (but the suspension seatpost mostly compensating). On my second stop I looked at the forks (Mojo? I'll check that) and saw adjustment caps that were labeled "preload." About 5 turns back to minimum preload and the forks softened up enough for me. I expect them to wear in enough that I'll probably add back a little preload. I'm a little concerned about the rear tire possibly being a bit out of round: the bike was bouncing rhythmically in the same sections that one of my EZIPS with knobbies would bounce. I'll look into this as well. UPDATE: The little manual had given me the WRONG tire pressure: 50psi instead of the correct 5-30psi. The ride is still firm, but acceptable, with 27psi. I may go down to 22 or so. I rode my usual 11 miles, including suburban streets, country secondary roads, small hill, larger hills, pavement, and just a little snow berm to test the tires (yes it will push through snow). The bike has, in Eco mode, almost as much power as the Magnum. It will be interesting to see how much more it has in Normal mode. The power indicator never dropped below 4 out of 5 bars, and the end pack voltage was, IIRC, 48.5, down from the 52.5 starting voltage. This is about the same as my also-48V Metro.
One more modest complaint: they programmed the control/display screen to treat resetting the trip odometer the same as changing a menu setting: you have to enter Set mode, get down to that option, then reset it and exit Set mode. That's way too much effort for daily rides, so I guess I'll save the trip odometer for actual & unusual trips...
PROS:
* No obvious defects out of box. Excellent fit & finish.
* Preassembled - just slide the upper steering stem into the lower folding stem joint and adjust for fit.
* Plenty of power, even in Eco, with geared hub.
* PAS* + Thumb throttle assist works well.
* Fully integrated front and rear lights, with dedicated power button & rear brake light and turn signals!
* Handlebar rotation is adjustable without tools.
* Front and rear fenders and strong luggage rack with grab handles included.
CONS:
* Bike is pretty heavy: 52lbs with battery removed.
* No throttle assist in PAS-0 mode.
* OEM seat is wide but lacks springs - too hard for bike's ride.
* Trip odometer is too hard to reset. They treat this common action the same as changing the wheel size in the menu.
* Apparent glitch in PAS-2 when full throttle applied from stop.
http://greenbikeusa.com/storefront/bike-model-gb1-fat-tire/
UPDATE: I discovered why the ride is so harsh: the included manual suggests "50psi" for the bike, but it appears that this was actually for the one with 2.75" tires - they didn't bother to carefully revamp the already skimpy manual, and it lists a very wrong tire pressure for the fat tires. I just noticed yesterday that the 20" x 4.00" tires have "5- 30psi" in white letters on the sidewall! I hope I haven't damaged them by running 46 or so...
