bluegoatwoods
10 W
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2011
- Messages
- 66
It's hard to believe that there's no review thread for this model bike here. I almost think I contributed to one. But if so, I can't find it now. So I guess I'll start a new one.
Mine is a 2008 diamond frame model. I bought it at a local Wal-Mart. This particular store stocks them on the floor (I don't suppose I would have even discovered this bike otherwise), but they can be ordered online and picked up at the store you designate at list price plus tax (no shipping).
All in all, I'm calling it a pretty good bike for the money. I'll start with the cons, though.
Some of the electrical components are really not good enough. The charger that came with the bike let me down pretty early in the game. The first riding season or else early in #2. But other chargers are easy to find and not all that expensive. Also the slide-on connectors from the battery pack to the wiring harness don't seem to be able to handle the load. It looked to me as though some overheating then weakened them mechanically, leading to melted posts. Luckily the bike has a spare connector on the other side where the optional second battery pack would be installed. When that connector started showing signs of wear I replaced them both with some new wiring and battery mounts of my own. A review thread probably isn't the place for details of my mods. They're not rocket science and others are surely possible. I'll share mine with anyone who needs them. At this time I also bought two more batteries, identical to the ones in the stock battery box (12 V, 10 Ah SLAs).
So I've been running for a couple of years now with 20 Amp/hrs @ 24 Volts. There've been times when it seemed like even this was not enough. Part of the trouble was that I took a bit of time to fully learn how to conserve my available electrical power. Also it seems to me that on occasion the batteries just don't seem to have as much charge as on other days. I think that this is just occasional strange behavior of the batteries/charger and not particular to this model of e-bike.
There've been a couple of times that I've walked away from this bike in disappointment at how much maintenance it's required plus my perceived lack of range. But I've come to see that the trouble, really, was that I needed to learn how to ride it. (Surprising. I'm a well established bicyclist and know what I'm doing. But...) I needed to constantly realign the rear wheel and drive chain because I was bouncing it on these roads and shoulders a bit too much. I had assumed, as well, that a higher average speed would mean more battery drain. It would stand to reason. What I hadn't realized is that the curve is very steep. I've managed to get both troubles in a manageable range by simply slowing down.
Riding it in the 10-12 mph range my drivetrain is staying intact and my batteries have all the range I need. It's nice, as well, to have 18 or so mph available when I do come across smooth roads or where traffic demands that I get on through as quickly as possible. In the last few weeks I've taken a few rides that were in the twenty five mile range, give or take 10%, in moderately hilly areas riding knobby tires inflated to about 50 psi. (For reference I'm 175 lbs and a pretty strong pedaler) I've gotten home with the batteries still pulling me just fine. Though I don't know exactly how drained they were, they were obviously not near-exhausted.
I can ride this bike at about the same average speed as I can on my 'fred' pedal bike at about half the effort with plenty of power to spare for about as far as I'll ever need to ride a bike in one day. Farther than any casual rider ever would ride in one day.
The frame and wheels are more stout than your average bargain-basement, big box store bike.
I would define an e-bike as something that will do most, even all, of the work for you. An 'electrically assisted' bike would be one that helps but makes you get some exercise. By that definition, this is an electrically assisted bike, not an e-bike. But that's not so bad.
Last I knew, not long ago, list price at Wal-Mart was $448.00. I'd call it a good buy. It's not the King of e-bikes, I suppose. But when you factor in the low price, it could well be one of the better values out there.
It'll almost surely require a few mods. But if you are able to keep a bicycle in good running shape and if you are able to wire a very basic DC circuit, then these mods are not beyond your abilities.
One last thought; though I'm willing to let an appliance look like an appliance and I'm not concerned with looks, I do think that the stock rack and batteries in their plastic case look kinda 'cheesy'. When you come up with your new battery mounts and electrical connection, you'll have your chance to make your bike look a bit better. Mine does.
Mine is a 2008 diamond frame model. I bought it at a local Wal-Mart. This particular store stocks them on the floor (I don't suppose I would have even discovered this bike otherwise), but they can be ordered online and picked up at the store you designate at list price plus tax (no shipping).
All in all, I'm calling it a pretty good bike for the money. I'll start with the cons, though.
Some of the electrical components are really not good enough. The charger that came with the bike let me down pretty early in the game. The first riding season or else early in #2. But other chargers are easy to find and not all that expensive. Also the slide-on connectors from the battery pack to the wiring harness don't seem to be able to handle the load. It looked to me as though some overheating then weakened them mechanically, leading to melted posts. Luckily the bike has a spare connector on the other side where the optional second battery pack would be installed. When that connector started showing signs of wear I replaced them both with some new wiring and battery mounts of my own. A review thread probably isn't the place for details of my mods. They're not rocket science and others are surely possible. I'll share mine with anyone who needs them. At this time I also bought two more batteries, identical to the ones in the stock battery box (12 V, 10 Ah SLAs).
So I've been running for a couple of years now with 20 Amp/hrs @ 24 Volts. There've been times when it seemed like even this was not enough. Part of the trouble was that I took a bit of time to fully learn how to conserve my available electrical power. Also it seems to me that on occasion the batteries just don't seem to have as much charge as on other days. I think that this is just occasional strange behavior of the batteries/charger and not particular to this model of e-bike.
There've been a couple of times that I've walked away from this bike in disappointment at how much maintenance it's required plus my perceived lack of range. But I've come to see that the trouble, really, was that I needed to learn how to ride it. (Surprising. I'm a well established bicyclist and know what I'm doing. But...) I needed to constantly realign the rear wheel and drive chain because I was bouncing it on these roads and shoulders a bit too much. I had assumed, as well, that a higher average speed would mean more battery drain. It would stand to reason. What I hadn't realized is that the curve is very steep. I've managed to get both troubles in a manageable range by simply slowing down.
Riding it in the 10-12 mph range my drivetrain is staying intact and my batteries have all the range I need. It's nice, as well, to have 18 or so mph available when I do come across smooth roads or where traffic demands that I get on through as quickly as possible. In the last few weeks I've taken a few rides that were in the twenty five mile range, give or take 10%, in moderately hilly areas riding knobby tires inflated to about 50 psi. (For reference I'm 175 lbs and a pretty strong pedaler) I've gotten home with the batteries still pulling me just fine. Though I don't know exactly how drained they were, they were obviously not near-exhausted.
I can ride this bike at about the same average speed as I can on my 'fred' pedal bike at about half the effort with plenty of power to spare for about as far as I'll ever need to ride a bike in one day. Farther than any casual rider ever would ride in one day.
The frame and wheels are more stout than your average bargain-basement, big box store bike.
I would define an e-bike as something that will do most, even all, of the work for you. An 'electrically assisted' bike would be one that helps but makes you get some exercise. By that definition, this is an electrically assisted bike, not an e-bike. But that's not so bad.
Last I knew, not long ago, list price at Wal-Mart was $448.00. I'd call it a good buy. It's not the King of e-bikes, I suppose. But when you factor in the low price, it could well be one of the better values out there.
It'll almost surely require a few mods. But if you are able to keep a bicycle in good running shape and if you are able to wire a very basic DC circuit, then these mods are not beyond your abilities.
One last thought; though I'm willing to let an appliance look like an appliance and I'm not concerned with looks, I do think that the stock rack and batteries in their plastic case look kinda 'cheesy'. When you come up with your new battery mounts and electrical connection, you'll have your chance to make your bike look a bit better. Mine does.
