Questions about 2008 E-Zip trailz electric mountain bicycle

[aduialion]

So, since my trip to china and getting to see how well an electric bike can work I've wanted to buy one and I think the 2008 E-Zip trailz electric mountain bicycle is the best for me. Mostly because of price being 400+tax at toyrus (me=poor college student). But I do have some questions

From what I've seen from the Currie website, which is horrible, and the owners manual, I have not learned very much.
So if possible here are some questions I have because I have read for about a two days and cannot find enough information about this model.

I basically plan on using it mostly for rides no more than 5-6 miles long, (trying to save that extra bit of gas), relatively flat roads, just one hill on the way to university. Will it get the job done for me?

Motor: is it brushed or brushless?
Battery: I know its stock with lead acid, but when I'm ready, does anyone have a good place/website to find the lithium or nickel batteries for replacements. I live in Long Beach, Los Angeles area, but a website will be just as good.

Dont figure it would be a problem but just in case, I'm just barely over 6ft tall, its' a good size bike for me, right?

Thank you all very much, I'm really excited to get my first electric bike.

Oh and if you have any other suggestions for different models, maybe below 600 dollars I'd appreciate that.

Thank you again.

Greg Morales

 

[davespicer]

Hi Greg -

I'm sure others can do a more thorough job of replying, but I'll get things started at least.

One of our ebikes is an E-Zip Mountain Trailz, a 2007 from walmart.com which I've had since last October. At 6'1" and 215 lb. I fit on it, but I'm glad it isn't any smaller.

Overall I'm very happy with it. This mostly involves having realistic expectations of a low-end ebike: cruising at 16-18 mph on the level, putting up with some gear whine from the power train, wrestling with a lot of weight (almost all at the back) when lifting it up steps. Depending on your housing situation (stairs to take the bike inside/outside?), this could be a deal-breaker unless you're able to manage that much weight.

The 2008s may be different, but my E-Zip has an "On/Off" pushbutton which switches the controller between "pedal first" and "immediate power" modes. The documentation wasn't clear about that and the inconsistent behavior was confusing

Some owners have complained about the battery racks being bent during shipment, so the pack wouldn't slide in and lock. Mine didn't have that problem but the screws holding the lock and the battery contacts came loose which made operation intermittent. No big deal to tighten 'em.

SKS Beavertail fenders fit nicely once I lopped a little off the front of the rear fender. They're cheap ($15 at rei.com) and look good IMO.

Hope this helps - Dave

 

[Jay64]

Yeah, I had problems with mine, also an '07 model, when I first got it, but it was just from the damage from shipping. I am really happy with the bike considering the cost. I feel it is a great deal. It should easily get you 5-6 miles. I took mine, when it had the stock battery pack, for about 16-20 miles. I was pedaling a lot, and it was really dead when I got home, but it made it. I wouldn't recommend it (I just had forgotten my keys at work, so I had to go right back and get them before re-charging.) I upgraded mine with some lithium battery packs from my Milwaukee 28v cordless power tool set. Took a little more then 10 lbs off the bike.

All in all, for the price it is a great little bike. Oh yeah, I'm 6'0 and don't have any problems with the size.

 

[bumper]

Greg,
If you are starting out, i would recommend you look for a Wilderness energy hub kit. You can get it new for $250. I've seen their basic kits go for $150-200 on ebay used. These are pretty indestructable. The new kits come with batteries, battery bag, controller, rack. YOu can move them from bike to bike. Upgradeable. You can boost the power with more batteries, diff. controller.

When I was starting out I looked into the currie bikes, but decided against them because of the noise. Those WE brushed kits are whisper quiet.

 

[donob08]

Greg I'd recommend the eZip as a good low cost entry bike. Ive had mine (2008) for about 10 weeks and 1500 miles. I commute on it regularly. The motor is brushed it is the Unite MY1018 that Tyler Dunn has done so much with. Bike is good, heavy, noisy and a good value. The noise is the gear reduction which WE's don't have at the cost of torque. Don

 

[aduialion]

Thank you all very much,

I'm going to look into those other models now...

Are there any brushless bikes or kits our there that are decently inexpensive?
I've just heard that a brushless motor is less hassle than the brushed ones are.

Thx.

 

[docnjoj]

Dont believe that brushless is more trouble-free! It may be old Tech, but it is cheep and simple, like the Ezip. Motor replacement is 50 bucks from TNC scooters! I am about to try my first brushless (well, i had one, a TONgxin that lasted 4.5 miles a while ago) but brushes rule for simplicity and price, especially for newcomers to ebikes. Yes, I am a brushless virgin! Soon to be deflowered! Oh yeah! Check all the threads devoted to fixing and connecting brushless systems and youll see what I mean!
otherDoc

 

[Jay64]

Hi guys
Not trying to change the thread too much but how can you extend the range of these e bikes I have a '06 currie mongoose with the 450 watt motor and i want to extend the range. I am happy with the speed but I am at the weight limit almost 225 lbs and my range stinks! Any comments are welcome!

Change to lithium and get more ah. I think you can get about 9 Milwaukee 28v packs for the same weight as the stock ezip battery pack, I think that is about 25 ah or so. Just run them in parallel for the range cuz the 28v will be fine if you are happy with the speed.

 

[docnjoj]

Or one 36 volt Ping pack, maybe 15 ah. He can make them to fit the space U need them in, like that battery case! More power and double the range! Those SLAs from Currie really bite!
otherDoc

 

[aduialion]

Walmart has just gotten some in stock but I have one last set of questions, and if you're not exactly sure I'm perfectly fine taking estimates.

Let's say the motor dies or something breaks and I can't use the motor stuff.
Can the motor, and battery and any heavy parts be taken off pretty easily? or does the motor have to stay on there?
If so is the bike itself a decent bike just to ride with all that weight off it?
How much do you think it weighs without all those things off it?

Thank you, thank you

 

[Jay64]

The bike is a decent bike with out the rest of the stuff. About as good as any other $100-150 bike you would get from walmart. I have two regular bikes that I bought from them too. I heard the motors were dirt cheap on those, so if the motor dies, I don't think it would be that much to replace them. But yes, it looks like it wouldn't be that much trouble to just completely remove the motor if you felt you really had to. I don't know what the stock weight of the whole bike is, and I have never weighed my motor, but I do know that the battery pack is about 15 lbs. and I have a similarly sized motor that I just weighed at about 5 lbs. If you pulled all the wiring, controller, etc off I would guess you would save between 20-25 lbs. I have actually rode mine without using the motor a few times and it really isn't that bad. You just have to get used to using the shifter again. :lol: But like I said before, the motors aren't that expensive, also, brushed controllers and stuff are cheap too. So you might as well just replace it if something ever went wrong.