Revi Cheeta Cruiser ebike

[The Madmadscientist]

Hello All,

So yesterday I picked up a Revi Cheeta. It's brand new never been really ridden. Apparently it was a an unwanted gift...it does have the bigger battery though. I did manage to pick it up for half the new $2500 cost.

After I got it home I took it out for a ride to the grocery store. When I got back the battery gauge hadn't changed.

Here are my initial thoughts:
Holy carp is this thing heavy.
Holy carp is it ever huge. Like 1.2 times a regular bike size.
I'm worried about squeezing it onto the local BART train. Have to see how it goes I guess.

Comes with a whopping 3A charger. I'd like to find a 5A charger. Keep the 5A at home and bring the 3A to work.
750W is more powerful than I thought. Going up a small hill in PAS 2 took some work but I was going much faster.

I really like how the majority of cables/wires are routed internally. That and the batteries being in the 'gastank' it's hard to pick out as an ebike.

What I'm going to change.
I've already ordered a springer front end. Why these bikes don't come with them is beyond me.
I've ordered the accessories package. The rear rack, fenders, guard for the headlight.
White wall tires.
Quality replacements for the cheesy seat and hand grips.
I'm going to get rid of all the brown hopefully. Except the brown on the gas tank.
The bike will be flat black with red anodized accents.
Looking into getting a Schumplf drive. Need the BB inside dia and width.

I'll update with my impressions as I get more milage on it.

 

[amberwolf]

Comes with a whopping 3A charger. I'd like to find a 5A charger. Keep the 5A at home and bring the 3A to work.

Anything specific you want in features for it? Or other requirements? Budget?

750W is more powerful than I thought. Going up a small hill in PAS 2 took some work but I was going much faster

Do you have a wattmeter to verify it's actually just 750w? (or what the actual power usage is, in whichever mode and situation you're in)

 

[The Madmadscientist]

Comes with a whopping 3A charger. I'd like to find a 5A charger. Keep the 5A at home and bring the 3A to work.

Anything specific you want in features for it? Or other requirements? Budget?

750W is more powerful than I thought. Going up a small hill in PAS 2 took some work but I was going much faster

Do you have a wattmeter to verify it's actually just 750w? (or what the actual power usage is, in whichever mode and situation you're in)

I don't know enough about chargers unfortunately. Guess I'd like a 'smart' charger designed for lithium batt.

I don't have a watt meter.
Are you saying that you think the motor is more powerful than stated?

It did help my 260 pound fat butt up a decent hill in pas 2. Haven't even gone any higher than that.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a schumplf if I want to pedal at high speeds.

 

[E-HP]

So yesterday I picked up a Revi Cheeta. ...it does have the bigger battery though.

Comes with a whopping 3A charger. I'd like to find a 5A charger. Keep the 5A at home and bring the 3A to work.
750W is more powerful than I thought. Going up a small hill in PAS 2 took some work but I was going much faster.

Always look at the cells and pack configuration when deciding how the pack can be charged and discharge. The website doesn't provide the cell type, but provides enough info to guess and states the brand of cells (Samsung). A 48V 17.5Ah pack is likely in a 13S5P configuration, since the common capacity options for Samsung cells are 3.5Ah, 3.0Ah, and 2.5Ah. 3.5 goes into 17.5 evenly, so the pack is likely 13S5P of Samsung 35E cells.

Charge current for the 35E is around 1 A for longevity/pack life, and 1.7A max, so 5A is the max rate for longevity, but in a pinch, you could charge at up to 8.5A max. Discharging, the cells are good for 8A, but they sag a lot, so using something like 6A might be more realistic. At 6A, the pack would be capable of 30A continuous, so sized well/conservatively for the bike in stock form. This doesn't mean the pack is actually discharging at that rate, since the battery's BMS would/could impose limits to protect the battery, but the cells are capable, and the website doesn't state the BMS rating.

You need the wattmeter to see what your bike is actually doing. It's likely providing more on the hills than you think, and more likely something closer to 1000W (the peak rating per the website), depending on the design of the controller and if it cuts off at the rated current or allows for peaks above that. 750W isn't how much the motor/bike outputs, it's the amount of power the motor can take all day long without overheating. The motor can handle double that or more, for shorter periods, like accelerating from a stop, etc.

 

[The Madmadscientist]

Thanks for the reply.
The seller said that there are ways to unlock the display to change things like use of throttle and max allowed speed...

 

[The Madmadscientist]

It's been a bit let me share some thoughts.

The weight of the bike is manageable after you get used to it. So is the size. This bike is sized for 6 footers.

Here's what I've done so far.
Changed out the tires for white walls.
Added new grips and got rid of the throttle.
Replaced seat and tube with quality pieces.
Set up the ergonomics. This makes such a big difference in enjoyment.

What's up.
Change out brakes front and rear for 4 pot with floating disks.
Changing disk size from 180 to 203 in front.
Maybe Change out the handlebar it seems a bit flexible.
Adding a 56 tooth chainset which should be higher quality than stock.
Adding an adjustable handle bar mount.
Add the springer front forks.

Riding Impressions:
It's big and the ride is soft. I kinda compare it to the ride of a 70s Cadillac.
It's got enough power so far.
Uh, you can tell it was built down to hit a cost target.
I probably haven't found all the total crap parts. I am suspicious of the bottom bracket.
Why is the batt not easily removable for charging?

That's it so far.

 

[E-HP]

What's up.
Adding a 56 tooth chainset which should be higher quality than stock.

am suspicious of the bottom bracket.

No Schlumpf?

 

[The Madmadscientist]

What's up.
Adding a 56 tooth chainset which should be higher quality than stock.

am suspicious of the bottom bracket.

No Schlumpf?

I decided to try the 56 first as replacing the crankset is much easier and cheaper.

Also, can't get Revi to give me the measurements of the bb.

One bit I forgot to mention earlier is that it appears all cust support comes from China and emails...

 

[Chalo]

If by "springer" fork you mean a linkage suspension fork as opposed to a telescopic fork, I don't think you're going to get what you want from it. There are two commonly available types anymore: pivoting truss forks like those from Schwinn Krates etc., and Monark style leading link forks. They both have in common inadequate to non-existent pivot bushings, total lack of damping, and shoddy construction quality.

But of the two, only the Monark type has a prayer of delivering any effective suspension action. The swinging truss kind moves at a right angle to oncoming bumps, so it is capable of bobbing, brake jacking and other unwanted movement, but not capable of mitigating bumps. The Monark kind moves more or less vertically which is good, but the lack of damping and play in the pivots will make its suspension less than satisfactory anyway.

For the Revi Cheetah, you're much better off keeping the rigid triple clamp fork and using low tire pressure, rather than using a crude linkage fork. If you must have mechanical suspension because of high speeds or bad surface conditions, you definitely should use a telescopic fork with adjustable hydraulic damping.

 

[E-HP]

For the Revi Cheetah, you're much better off keeping the rigid triple clamp fork and using low tire pressure, rather than using a crude linkage fork. If you must have mechanical suspension because of high speeds or bad surface conditions, you definitely should use a telescopic fork with adjustable hydraulic damping.

Unless the purpose is for looks/style. I see modded versions on YouTube with dual and triple motor setups. More performance, but I think the mods kill the aesthetics.

 

[The Madmadscientist]

For the Revi Cheetah, you're much better off keeping the rigid triple clamp fork and using low tire pressure, rather than using a crude linkage fork. If you must have mechanical suspension because of high speeds or bad surface conditions, you definitely should use a telescopic fork with adjustable hydraulic damping.

Unless the purpose is for looks/style. I see modded versions on YouTube with dual and triple motor setups. More performance, but I think the mods kill the aesthetics.

I admit that my sense of style is a little weird. My bike will be all flat black with the white wall tires and red anodized bits sprinkled around.
I've decided to not keep the tank brown (it's the last brown thing on the bike).
They have red tank covers at the factory. I wonder if they will do a swap?

 

[The Madmadscientist]

If by "springer" fork you mean a linkage suspension fork as opposed to a telescopic fork, I don't think you're going to get what you want from it. There are two commonly available types anymore: pivoting truss forks like those from Schwinn Krates etc., and Monark style leading link forks. They both have in common inadequate to non-existent pivot bushings, total lack of damping, and shoddy construction quality.

But of the two, only the Monark type has a prayer of delivering any effective suspension action. The swinging truss kind moves at a right angle to oncoming bumps, so it is capable of bobbing, brake jacking and other unwanted movement, but not capable of mitigating bumps. The Monark kind moves more or less vertically which is good, but the lack of damping and play in the pivots will make its suspension less than satisfactory anyway.

For the Revi Cheetah, you're much better off keeping the rigid triple clamp fork and using low tire pressure, rather than using a crude linkage fork. If you must have mechanical suspension because of high speeds or bad surface conditions, you definitely should use a telescopic fork with adjustable hydraulic damping.

I bought a supposedly high strength Monark fork for fatbikes from Tracer. It seems plenty beefy...
Yes the Monark forks require a bit of fiddling before they will actually work decently. Found a how-to but promptly lost it...

And yes it is partially for style points and partially for the potholes.