Continued from http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6000
Well first impressions are that it is indeed Chinese. Heavy frame which IMO is over the top. I regularly carry 20-30kg on a Hybrid made of alloy and have never had a problem with the frame handling the weight, so I think E bike engineers should reconsider what frames these things are going on. Having said that, I will be ditching the front suspension forks, not necessary and loose a lot of energy. Also will be ditching the knobby tyres for slicks for the same reason.
All the nuts and bolts were tight, a wheel reflector fell off, no great loss, the headlight wont turn off, no great loss and the supplied computer is a bit dodgy, so that will go as well. Its only a cheapie and the functions are not easy to use.
The front wheel with disc brake I dont like, brake is a bit loose but easily fixed. Ill get a light weight standard rim and new forks.
The back wheel looks a bastard to change the tyre on. I will have to have practice removing and replacing it over the weekend to prevent murphys law coming into play.
I rode it for 30 min yesterday, just locally. The computer played up so I lost the stats from that. Lets just say 15k on the flat with no wind. It was averaging about 25kph and 30 with me pedaling. There seems to be a lot of resistance when I pedal. Motor off, theres definatley resistance that prevents maximum output.
There is a red switch on the LHS of the handle bars. I think its a kill switch, but Im not sure.
The throttle is a bit uncomfortable. I think this is because the handle bars are a bit narrow and too low. I cant budge them. I will get the bike shop to change them and also fit the supplied pack rack. It should go on with a few bends and washers spacing it out, but its not really designed for this back wheel I think. With the extra nuts and bolts and wires and spacing, its not a simple job to fit a rack.
So until it is set up properly, I cant tell how comfortable the ride is. I noticed a dreadful rattle of the battery box going over bumps, so will have to add a bit of foam or rubber to make it more secure.
Today I went for a bit of a ride, the battery died after abt 25k, add yesterdays 15 for 40k life span. I was told the battery had been fully charged, and the lights indicated this, but wont know until I recharge a few times the true life of each charge. It cruized at abt 25kph I found that due to this resistance in the motor, its really only worthwhile putting another 5 k on this to make 30kph. So I pedaled the 25k home. The resistance was again noticeable going down hill. I should have been going 50 but had to pedal hard to get to 40 and the bike immediately slows when you stop pedaling, defying the laws of physics!
Battery seemed to run full for 90% of the riding, only noticed the slowing for the last 10% of the time I reckon. So the battery and controller would seem to be getting the maximum out of the battery.
For $999.00 lil Aussie ones, it seems OK so far. I have no steep hills to climb, so should be OK. Getting to work without needing a shower was the aim of the exercise and I think it should cope.
I drained the battery totally and its now on charge, more tests tomorrow.
Well first impressions are that it is indeed Chinese. Heavy frame which IMO is over the top. I regularly carry 20-30kg on a Hybrid made of alloy and have never had a problem with the frame handling the weight, so I think E bike engineers should reconsider what frames these things are going on. Having said that, I will be ditching the front suspension forks, not necessary and loose a lot of energy. Also will be ditching the knobby tyres for slicks for the same reason.
All the nuts and bolts were tight, a wheel reflector fell off, no great loss, the headlight wont turn off, no great loss and the supplied computer is a bit dodgy, so that will go as well. Its only a cheapie and the functions are not easy to use.
The front wheel with disc brake I dont like, brake is a bit loose but easily fixed. Ill get a light weight standard rim and new forks.
The back wheel looks a bastard to change the tyre on. I will have to have practice removing and replacing it over the weekend to prevent murphys law coming into play.
I rode it for 30 min yesterday, just locally. The computer played up so I lost the stats from that. Lets just say 15k on the flat with no wind. It was averaging about 25kph and 30 with me pedaling. There seems to be a lot of resistance when I pedal. Motor off, theres definatley resistance that prevents maximum output.
There is a red switch on the LHS of the handle bars. I think its a kill switch, but Im not sure.
The throttle is a bit uncomfortable. I think this is because the handle bars are a bit narrow and too low. I cant budge them. I will get the bike shop to change them and also fit the supplied pack rack. It should go on with a few bends and washers spacing it out, but its not really designed for this back wheel I think. With the extra nuts and bolts and wires and spacing, its not a simple job to fit a rack.
So until it is set up properly, I cant tell how comfortable the ride is. I noticed a dreadful rattle of the battery box going over bumps, so will have to add a bit of foam or rubber to make it more secure.
Today I went for a bit of a ride, the battery died after abt 25k, add yesterdays 15 for 40k life span. I was told the battery had been fully charged, and the lights indicated this, but wont know until I recharge a few times the true life of each charge. It cruized at abt 25kph I found that due to this resistance in the motor, its really only worthwhile putting another 5 k on this to make 30kph. So I pedaled the 25k home. The resistance was again noticeable going down hill. I should have been going 50 but had to pedal hard to get to 40 and the bike immediately slows when you stop pedaling, defying the laws of physics!
Battery seemed to run full for 90% of the riding, only noticed the slowing for the last 10% of the time I reckon. So the battery and controller would seem to be getting the maximum out of the battery.
For $999.00 lil Aussie ones, it seems OK so far. I have no steep hills to climb, so should be OK. Getting to work without needing a shower was the aim of the exercise and I think it should cope.
I drained the battery totally and its now on charge, more tests tomorrow.