EZip Trailz - On Sale!

[dumbass]

Midnightrider, Glad you like your purchase but I'm a little confused on your chose of charger. I can understand you wanted a 36v throttle to use the voltage lights ( but that's the only reason you needed it). I'm assuming you are still using the original 2 24v packs as 24v and connecting each of them to a 3rd 12v battery to make 2 10ah 36v packs. Correct? There's no reason that you had to have a 36v charger because in a sence you still have 3 24v packs. Of course your breaking one in half to add it to your others to accomidate the 36v. I assume you needed to charge faster anyway which would have required another charger. If you haven't already done it I would recommend that you put a jumper between the 2 26v packs. This will reduce the wear on them and give you less voltage sag while riding.

BTW, how long have you been running on the 36v? And how much are you actually using the full throttle while riding?

Bob

 

[MidnightRider]

Bob, you are basically right on... I bought 2 extra (loose) 12V 10 Ah SLA's and put them in a plastic storage container that I fastened to the top of the rear bike rack above the two 24V Currie packs. I made two wiring harnesses to go from the 3rd 12V battery's terminals to banana plugs and then I plug them into the top of each Currie pack where I have the pos/neg female connectors for the banana plugs. Initially I charged the 24V Currie packs with the 24V charger and then swapped out 1 pack's batteries to charge the other 2 loose batteries. That was too much handling as well as time and effort so I bought a 36V 4A charger and just leave the batteries all on the bike and charge each 36V side with that. Each side takes just about 1.5 hrs to charge and I usually let it float for another hour. Main 'downside' I have is the high center of gravity as a result of the batteries being above the rack. Because of this I've dumped the bike over numerous times - more when just moving it rather than when actually riding it due to the momentum of the SLA's once they get tilted too much. Guess I should post some pics of this so you can see my setup. Nice thing is the storage container holds the charger as well as other things.

Prior to that I did try a parallel harness I made, but it didn't seem to work as I thought. See "Running Currie eZip Trailz Batteries in Parallel" (http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=38031). I never revisited that, but am hoping to later this summer. I think the issue may have been due to the 2 loose batteries I purchased. My order arrived damaged so the seller sent me a 3rd battery to serve as a replacement. I'm thinking I may have been using a 'bad' battery which was damaged in shipping. I never used a multimeter on those 2 batteries and assumed the one with the dented corner was the bad one, so I used the other one plus the 3rd battery they sent me. Maybe the un-dented one was the bad one, but all three have since been used with the bike and seem to give me the expected mileage. Other issue was I don't think that the parallel harness allowed all batteries to be charged off just one Currie pack charging port and I'd still need to plug the charger into both Currie packs for charging. I didn't really look into this since the 36V 4A charger charged each side quickly enough.

I've been running on 36V for over 1400 miles (over 4 months) along with the freewheel upgrades (maybe I did 100 mi @ 24V and no upgrades). I typically average 22-23 mph and get 20 mi range at that speed in about 55 minutes. My top speed is just over 32 mph with 36V and the freewheel upgrades. I weigh about 150lbs and pedal most of the 55 minute (20 mi) commute. Depending on wind conditions, I typically switched to the 2nd battery pack about 11-13 miles into my commute. Worst case was 8.5 miles w/ strong headwinds (21 mph avg speed) and best case was 14.5 miles with 22.6 mph avg speed. Usually I'm not running full throttle and seem to run a max speed of 27-28 mph to get through intersections or traffic. The motor is typically warm, but not hot and I'm still using the original one. I did re-grease it around 1000 miles, but that's it. If I don't pedal much or go faster the motor will get quite warm, but I try not to do that unless I'm going a short distance (under 5 miles each way).

 

[dumbass]

Midnight, Sounds like everything is working out weel for ya. One thing I would warn you of though is your charger. I relize that you have been using it for a while now with no problem. But the max recommended charge rate for any lead battery is 25% of it's rated ah. So a 10ah battery should not be charged with anything over a 2.5a charger. That's one of the reasons the original Currie charges were all 1.5 to 1.8a. In any case, good to hear the bike is doing well for you and hope it continues to do well for you.

Bob

 

[MidnightRider]

Bob - I didn't want to clutter up DrkAngel's thread so I posted a new topic for you to see the pics of the battery upgrade...

EZip Trailz 36V Battery Upgrade:
(http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40929)

 

[DrkAngel]

Best price in a long time.

10/15/12

$401 delivered!- Amazon

Continuously updated price tracking!

 

[DrkAngel]

Walmart has the 2013? eZip E Trailz "Step Through" - $499

2013 "Ladies" Info

Reputably, tho not yet confirmed, eZip is making great strides in improving this years offering.
New designed alloy rear hub.
Properly directionalized spokes.
Removable motor side freewheel.
"Manly" Blue color.
Quieter motor.
A variety of Lithium battery packs available.

They seem to have addressed nearly every one of my published complaints!

Sadly, I have yet to receive a consulting fee!

You would think, they could, at least, send me a sample, so that I could expound my praises, after testing.

In fact, I have enough time and room ... they could send me examples of their entire line-up.
I would even be willing to test any prototypes!

Crank attached motor drive?
Hybrid ... with miniature diesel turbine generator?
Electric car?

 

[DrkAngel]

$308.26 for 2013 eZip Trailz LS = Low Step aka Womens - Amazon.com
With free shipping!!!
6 month warranty (battery 1 month)

Click on picture


Choose Color : Blue

Confirmed as 2013 Model!

 

[DrkAngel]

2013 EZip Trailz LS - Click on picture


Choose Color : Blue

 

[DrkAngel]

Received 2013 eZip Trailz LS
$333 delivered
Preliminary evaluation - EZip Trailz LS - 2013

 

[DrkAngel]

Added to end of thread, for easy access.

Continuously updated price tracking!

Amazon.com

Amazon eZips

Click on picture


Walmart Prices

Click on picture

 

[DrkAngel]

It appears that Currie has discontinued their eZip line of eBicycles!

Just when they perfected the eZip Trailz, culminating in the eZip Trailz Commuter, they have ended production.
Hopefully the eZip will show up under some other manufacturers name?
It is a shame that the most affordable eBike has been abandoned - discontinued!!

Please post up any clearance, NOS, reappearance, bargains etc. !!!